Just forget the words and sing along

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Well, let's take a break from the federal election to share the latest scandal erupting in Alberta. First, though, let me take a moment to set the historical context.

Back in the spring, a rookie Tory MLA stood up and presented his private members bill: a 100% ban on smoking in the Province of Alberta. Sadly, the bill didn't pass, but there was surprisingly a lot of support for it. So, it wasn't long before the Torys introduced their watered-down version: a ban on smoking in all public buildings where children are present. The goal was to make it lienient enough so people could still light up in their favourite bars and bingo halls. Ralph Klein even stood up and went on the record as saying, "Even the Alberta Legislature will be a 100% non-smoking building."

Well, that bill passed, and it's scheduled to fully become law on January 1. But now, as the public is reviewing this law, they've noticed some fine print. The law actually reads that there will be no smoking in all public buildings where children are present...

...except for the Alberta Legislature offices of the Tory MLAs. And a special smoking section of the Alberta Legislature cafeteria. And a special smoking lounge in the Alberta Legislature.

Oh, we've been assured that all these exceptions in the Alberta Legislature are following the letter of the law, and that they'll all have "No Children Allowed" signs posted on the front doors.

But still, the entire province is screaming "double standard."

Yeah, and things aren't going much better for Ralph Klein today. You may remember that it was about 4 years ago that Ralph Klein had his drunken altercation with some homeless people in a homeless shelter and swore to give up drinking. In his annual year-end interview, published today, Klein let slip that he got so drunk over the summer that he had "one hell of a hangover," leading most to believe that Klein has gone back to his ol' heavy-drinkin' days.


Well, I'm never doing that again.

I'm going to ruin a surprise for you. I got my Christmas cards together and sent out today. And, tucked inside each one is a special CD...my "2005 Year in Review Broadcast." 13 of the suckers went out, and I was in for a delightful surprise at the post office.

Turns out a conventional 50¢ stamp isn't enough for a Chrismtas card with a CD inside. I had to upgrade to the 85¢ stamps. Oh, and to send the Christmas cards with CDs to my friends in Japan and Scotland, and even one to my German relatives, well, that cost me $3.40.

When all was said and done, I had to drop $25 in postage for 13 Christmas cards.

So, yeah. I don't think I'll be sending out CDs again next year. Instead, I'll just do a more conentional newsletter, and on it will be instructions on how to download my Year in Review broadcast.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need a drink of water. Those $1 stamps aren't self-adheisive yet, and they need a lot of licking.

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