Midrange Weekly Jan 25
Your Weekly Round Up On What’s Got The Midrange Staff’s Attention
Midrange Staff @midragneyvr
Welcome back to Midrange Weekly, and in the words of roughly 80 million people, what a difference a week makes. Just like that the United States has a new president and a new eternal meme god. As Covid immunization schedules crystallize into slightly less ephemeral time tables the world has also taken it upon it self to rename the vaccine the Fauci Ouchie. So all and all a fairly productive week. Lots to cover this time around; Tristan is indisposed for a few days so aside from random internet gossamer down below, Jamie is handling the Op-ed stuff this week. Mickey continues to explore his Lynchian obsession with alt contemporary counter culture music trends that are too esoteric to name here. Enjoy!
Jason Kenney Needs To Go
In a week where Donald Trump finally left office, Joe Biden ascended his place as President of the United States and Canada’s Governor General quit her job over scathing allegations of creating a toxic work environment for her staff, the main topic I want to discuss is how incompetent the Alberta Premier is.
Am I wrong to feel as if Premier Kenney and his supporters in Alberta are living in a fantasy world, one in which they believe that if they build useless pipelines, their economy will magically return to the boom days of yesterday? Is he living out his best Twilight Zone episode or has he fallen down the rabbit hole in search of Alice and the Mad Hatter? Seriously, what gives?
He had to have known last summer when he pushed ahead with Keystone that there was a possibility that Biden might not only win the election, but that he would overturn Trump’s executive order the first chance he got. And hey guess what? He did just that — on his first day in office!!
Who didn’t see this coming?
The guy invests $1.5 billion of taxpayer money on a project with a 50/50 shot of surviving. Nice one bud.
Then he has the audacity to challenge Prime Minister Trudeau in putting sanctions and tariffs as retribution. Is he crazy?
We’re just beginning a new relationship with the Biden administration, you think the Federal government wants to start things off on the wrong foot? In what world do we have any power against the US? We’d be skinned alive if we acted foolishly. Kenney should be forced to resign for even suggesting such nonsense.
Part of being a leader is having the foresight to see how you can better things for those whom you govern. Putting your neck on the line for a project that’s been marred since inception shows that he’s either reckless or careless with regards to the needs of his constituents. During a pandemic, I’m sure his citizens would have loved to have seen that $1.5 billion used more wisely. Investments in green technology, education and training, healthcare improvements are all measures he could have worked on. Hell even cutting checks for every citizen over 18 would have been better than this. The Keystone XL pipeline would have created jobs for a short time, then after that it’s maintenance and a continued reliance on the volatility of the market, which is a problem this province continues to grapple with in spite of mounting evidence they need to re-think how they manage their coffers.
Norway has $1 trillion dollars in their wealth fund. Alberta has $17 billion. They both have similar population sizes and oil reserves. One saved for a rainy day and taxed appropriately, while the other kept taxes low, spent frivolously and left themselves open to boom and busts whenever oil prices fluctuated. Oil prices bottomed out in 2014 and have yet to return. They probably never will as the world wakes up to the reality of global warming. Staying the course is suicide for all Albertans and Canada as well. Kenney needs to understand this.
Oh and just incase you were wondering, I’m not alone in thinking this way. Jen Gerson penned a scathing op-ed this week for the CBC. Here’s a bit of what she had to say.
“Something needs saying here, and there’s no way to say it kindly. Boom times and wealth have conditioned Albertans to believe that we matter a lot more than we do.
Money gave this province delusions of self-importance that is reflected in a premier whose bombastic bar-brawl banter is increasingly revealed as short-man bluster. We’re the guy who gets drunk and picks a fight but can’t actually land a punch.
I don’t mean to be too mordant about all of this. I love Alberta, and I still think we have a lot going for us. We’re good people, we work hard, and we pull together in a crisis. But we’re a landlocked jurisdiction of four million on the high plain that happens to enjoy large oil and gas reserves that are costly and emissions-intensive to produce. By population, that puts us somewhere between Oklahoma and Oregon, and all the less important to a United States that is effectively energy independent.
In other words: we don’t matter to these people.”
There’s a future here for Alberta. It starts with a competent leader. I don’t see Jason Kenney being that guy. He needs to go. - Jamie
When They Say There Is Waste In Government, The Governor General’s Annuity Is A Clear Example Of This
Now here’s a story which just baffles me. First, as a Canadian, someone who has lived here all my life, I cannot, with a clear conscience tell you what the job requirements are for Canada’s Governor General. Seriously, I have no idea. All I can surmise is that they are a liaison and stand-in for the Queen in acting as our head of state.
Regardless, a Governor General’s duties are immaterial, as I’m sure many of you, like myself, feel they are far less important than the realization that Julie Payette will be receiving a $149,484 annuity each year, from now on, for the rest of her life. Can someone please explain to me why anyone is deserving of such a ransom once, let alone for a lifetime?
What’s crazy is it’s written into law, so reversing such a measure will be tough. In addition, get this, all past Governor General’s receive this annuity, plus a lifetime expense program for office and travel expenses. That expense program can be up to $206,000 per year! Oh boy have I picked the wrong line of work. Sheesh.
Clearly upon learning of this, the Prime Minister finds himself with the unenviable task of not only making sure he selects the correct person for the job next time but what to do with this annuity and its completely unreasonable expense to the Canadian taxpayer.
There’s the obvious dilemma here. How can the government expect to ask certain Canadians to repay back CERB benefits when this type of waste occurs? This is just one issue many Canadians will want answers for.
Julie Payette was deemed a toxic Governor General. A $400,000 audit concluded as much. She in no way deserves this annuity. We know this as much. Can anything be done about it? I doubt it. Doesn’t mean Trudeau and the Liberals shouldn’t at least look into the matter.
Here’s part of what Trudeau had to say.
“These are people who’ve stepped up and offered tremendous service to this country but Canadians expect a certain level of transparency and accountability, and we’re going to make sure we’re moving forward in a thoughtful way,” he said.
If the vast majority of Canadians don’t know what a Governor General does, how are we supposed to support positions such as these? Especially when so many are hurting in this time. Her annuity is more than two teachers salaries. There’s no way what she did or what the role requires is worth that much, particularly for a lifetime.
There are 5140 comments in this CBC report. This needs to be fixed. - Jamie
The Lost Art Of Objectivity And Fairness
There’s this wonderful quote I try to read every so often. It’s from Michael Bugeja, who teaches journalism at Iowa State: “Objectivity is seeing the world as it is, not how you wish it were.”
I reference this quote in part because a few days ago I read a rather tone deaf feature from the Georgia Straight by it’s editor Charlie Smith. Smith’s column is titled, 10 service tips for B.C. restaurants in a pandemic. You can read it here.
Since reading it I’ve come to wonder what purpose Smith hoped to achieve in writing it? Each time I do, I come back to Bugeja’s definition of objectivity.
The difficult part of writing about the restaurant industry, especially if you don’t work in one, is remaining objective. It’s hard to judge, critique, or in Smith’s case, add fairness when you’re not in the trenches so to speak. Respect is earned and it’s hard to garner when those whom you discuss are always on the periphery. However, this concept doesn’t negate or even dissuade from the reality that for many who work in journalism, their views and biases are and will forever be, entrenched from the angle of a bystander. Some of the world’s best journalists never partook in the field they observed. It can be done. Roger Ebert was never a director, yet, he knew how to critique the art of filmmaking. He did it well for decades.
But part of this dichotomy between journalist and the industry they report on is this idea of objectivity and fairness. Smith’s column lacks both. Sadly, it’s more detrimental than anything. When a fighter is down on the ground, similar to how Connor McGregor was this past Saturday night, you don’t continue to punch away, you stand back and either watch them get up or you offer a hand in sportsmanship. The fight is over. Smith’s column seemed to lose sight of this. The restaurant industry as it currently stands is hanging on by a thread. Smith’s 10 service tips don’t help. They’re just obvious solutions the vast majority of restaurants have already implemented. Fairness was taken out and objectivity lost. It’s unfortunate. I hope he sees that now. - Jamie
Flux Five
This Week:
Dark Star “Ostkreuz” 2010 North
The Olivia Tremor Control “Frosted Ambassador” 1996 Music From The Unrealized Film
Marco Valle & Azymuth “Esta Fazendo um Ano - Aquarela do Brasil” 1972” Fly Cruzeiro
Ashley Eriksson “Widower” 2010 Decarnarnation
Baba Zulu Feat. Mad Professor “Gerekli Seyler” 2001 Dubal Oryantal
Enjoy! - Mick
Things From The Internet We Liked
Four Years To Infinity
Jezebel has an excellent feature up looking at the most malignant, incompetent and morally onerous operators and supplicants of the Trump era. Disingenuous administration officials, shitposting trolls in his inner circle, and the big man himself are all subject to a much earned skewering and documentation to their evil mark on history. Definitely worth reading, if only for the counter intuitive but no less satisfying rage-catharsis.
Lande Hekt Brings A Crystalline Sparkle To Brit Rock
Bristal based singer Lande Hekt’s new album Going To Hell is out. In her excavation of coming out in a very unforgiving landscape her audio production brings a refreshingly acute sharpness to a genre that often hides behind granularity or warmth. Check out the opening track Whiskey
Bill Maher’s New Rule: Hello, Douchebags! Is So Perfect. A Must Watch
On his most recent episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, the famed comedian ends the night with a hilariously funny video about all the new douchebags in the US Congress and Senate. Say hello to Josh Hawley for starters. Enjoy!
The Last President Was Who?
IG impressionist extraordinaire Jordan Firstman roasts you know who in a manner that you just know would piss him off to the nth degree