All Hail King Ralph!!

[kipperfan]

I know "ralph bashing" has become fairly popular over the last few years in this province. But as we sit here today, 1 month away from Ralphs last victory, his time is quickly coming to a close in this province, like it or not.

For all the good hes done here, many still believe he should no longer be in power, and that the small c conservatives should be voted out of office. Yet how can you possible complain about ralph and the job he has done with the economy, defict and unemployment. This province is thriving, and its not just beacuse we have oil. To some people surprise, this province wasnt always thriving as it is now, and the premier and his polices have a lot to do with our recent promiscuity. The fact is our high school level test scores rank amongst the highest in the nation, our health care system, far from perfect, has less waits due to the availibility of private services to those who wish to use them. This province has made postive steps forward ever term of the Klein reign, and I know will comtinue to do so the next 4 years.

You have to know that as soon as Ralph leaves, even though another conservative will be Premier(most likely) Ralph will begin to be more and more liked with each passing month. The old adage, "you dont miss a good thing until it is gone" will prove to be very true in the case of our Premier.

[amiy1]

I with Ralph all the way!

[Lanny_MacDonald]

Ralph rules! I still remember him sitting in several of the bars downtown after counsel meetings hoisting beers with the locals. God bless him, he made politics real again.

[Calgary Flames]

Ralph will win why? Because there is nobody better to replace him.

[icarus]

Originally posted by kipperfan@Oct 26 2004, 02:28 AM
the premier and his polices have a lot to do with our recent promiscuity.

You have no one to blame but yourself!

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally posted by SuperNilson@Oct 25 2004, 09:40 PM
Ralph will win why? Because there is nobody better to replace him.

Did you even vote in the Federal Election?

Don't complain unless you vote man.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally posted by SuperNilson@Oct 26 2004, 03:40 AM
Ralph will win why? Because there is nobody better to replace him.

Well yeah isn't that the point of democracy? We pick the best cantidate, and that happens to be Klein.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally posted by icarus+Oct 25 2004, 09:42 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (icarus @ Oct 25 2004, 09:42 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-kipperfan@Oct 26 2004, 02:28 AM
the premier and his polices have a lot to do with our recent promiscuity.

You have no one to blame but yourself! [/b][/quote]
No Ralph has nothing to do with our current rage in Alberta, stripping in public.

Prosperity though...maybe.

[nieuwy-89]

Great post kipperfan. I've already got a garrish blue and orange lawn sign in front of my house. Alberta is the envy of the nation when it comes to responsible, stable government. I pretty much sat back and observed the federal and municipal elections this year, but I'll be campaigning for a return of our PC government in Alberta.

[Cowboy]

Although I respect what Ralph has done, I think anybody with a grade 9 education could make this province as succesful as it is today do to the economic times. He has done great things. But for the same reasons you guys love the Provincial Conservatives you seem to hate the Federal Liberals. Our Conservatives (Provincially) have done some pretty corrupt things, yet you don't hear anything, not a peep. Our health care is in shambles, and we are mysteriously missing. The majority of the board here jumped all over the Liberals for miss spending money, I think what everybody was really mad at is that the miss spent money was not spent on us spoiled Albertans.

It amazes me how everybody hates the Liberals and calls them corrupt yet they vote Klein in every year
(I might vote for him, but at least I am not being two faced about the corrupt politics that goes on in this country)

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Cowboy, do you have links for anything, and by links I don't mean Alberta Liberal Party leader quotes for we all know what those are worth (I misread the report, great leader there). Ralph said he would do something, and he did it, there is no way around that. As for the Grade 9 Education thing I would have to disagree, it took a lot of testicular fortitude to do what he did in terms of bolstering the economy while cutting back on public spending.

Health care in shambles? There could be long wait times for a minor cut or what have you, but that is the same no matter where you go in Canada, in the United States, and well lets face it anywhere in the world really.

[Cowboy]

Originally posted by Mean Mr. Mustard@Oct 25 2004, 11:51 PM
Cowboy, do you have links for anything, and by links I don't mean Alberta Liberal Party leader quotes for we all know what those are worth (I misread the report, great leader there). Ralph said he would do something, and he did it, there is no way around that. As for the Grade 9 Education thing I would have to disagree, it took a lot of testicular fortitude to do what he did in terms of bolstering the economy while cutting back on public spending.

Health care in shambles? There could be long wait times for a minor cut or what have you, but that is the same no matter where you go in Canada, in the United States, and well lets face it anywhere in the world really.

Sorry I should know better, I will find a link, it was just in the paper not to long ago.... I will find it.

As for waits for minor cuts??? Pardon, I waited 4 hours for a heart condition by the time they saw me it had gone away....sorry I don't have a link for that though. But there are some pretty horrendous stories. My buddy sat with a broken arm for 3 hours. You would have been better off arguing that it has as much to do with the Federal govt as it does the provincial govt.

Edit- I will delete the stat for now, in my quick look I haven't been able to see exactly what i am looking for.

[arsenal]

Originally posted by Cowboy+Oct 26 2004, 12:02 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Cowboy @ Oct 26 2004, 12:02 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Mean Mr. Mustard@Oct 25 2004, 11:51 PM
Cowboy, do you have links for anything, and by links I don't mean Alberta Liberal Party leader quotes for we all know what those are worth (I misread the report, great leader there).# Ralph said he would do something, and he did it, there is no way around that. As for the Grade 9 Education thing I would have to disagree, it took a lot of testicular fortitude to do what he did in terms of bolstering the economy while cutting back on public spending.

Health care in shambles? There could be long wait times for a minor cut or what have you, but that is the same no matter where you go in Canada, in the United States, and well lets face it anywhere in the world really.

Sorry I should know better, I will find a link, it was just in the paper not to long ago.... I will find it.

As for waits for minor cuts??? Pardon, I waited 4 hours for a heart condition by the time they saw me it had gone away....sorry I don't have a link for that though. But there are some pretty horrendous stories. My buddy sat with a broken arm for 3 hours. You would have been better off arguing that it has as much to do with the Federal govt as it does the provincial govt. [/b][/quote]
How is throwing money at it going to solve the problem of wait times? We still need the staff. That takes time to find and hire. And if you do find the staff, the majority will be out of school grads. Not saying that out of school grads don't know what they are doing (since I will be one in a few months), but you still need experienced people to guide the new people.

What you will end up with, most likely is more over worked health care staff, that could lead to more accidents.

The better solution is a mix of private and public health care. Those that can afford it, and don't want to wait in lines, will go the private route. This will then in turn free up space at public places, reducing wait times.

Full publicly funded or privately funded do not work best for the people. There are no wait times in the US, but you pay through the teeh. Conversely, you don't pay anything in Canada, but you deal with long wait times.

[Cowboy]

Originally posted by arsenal+Oct 26 2004, 12:21 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (arsenal @ Oct 26 2004, 12:21 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>

Sorry I should know better, I will find a link, it was just in the paper not to long ago.... I will find it.

As for waits for minor cuts??? Pardon, I waited 4 hours for a heart condition by the time they saw me it had gone away....sorry I don't have a link for that though. But there are some pretty horrendous stories. My buddy sat with a broken arm for 3 hours. You would have been better off arguing that it has as much to do with the Federal govt as it does the provincial govt.

How is throwing money at it going to solve the problem of wait times? We still need the staff. That takes time to find and hire. And if you do find the staff, the majority will be out of school grads. Not saying that out of school grads don't know what they are doing (since I will be one in a few months), but you still need experienced people to guide the new people.

What you will end up with, most likely is more over worked health care staff, that could lead to more accidents.

The better solution is a mix of private and public health care. Those that can afford it, and don't want to wait in lines, will go the private route. This will then in turn free up space at public places, reducing wait times.

Full publicly funded or privately funded do not work best for the people. There are no wait times in the US, but you pay through the teeh. Conversely, you don't pay anything in Canada, but you deal with long wait times. [/b][/quote]
Well spending money the right way does help the problem. You can afford to pay quality doctors so they do not go to the states, same with nurses. That eliminates your whole staffing argument. Its not like there isn't enough Med grads in Canada they are just going other places. I just don't think it is right that well to do families should have access to better health care, and that is what happens in the states. I am not however fully against privatizing some parts a medi-care, I just think your argument is poor

[arsenal]

Originally posted by Cowboy+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Cowboy)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>I just don't think it is right that well to do families should have access to better health care, and that is what happens in the states.[/b]

I think there just needs to be options. If someone wants to pay more money, so they don't have to wait in line for their health care, I feel they should be able to. I am not saying abandon publicly funded health care either. I said that the best option would be for a balance to be in place. I am against fully privatized health care, but I am also against fully public health care.

<!--QuoteBegin-Cowboy
You can afford to pay quality doctors so they do not go to the states, same with nurses. That eliminates your whole staffing argument. Its not like there isn't enough Med grads in Canada they are just going other places.[/quote]
The reason doctors and nurses go to the States? More money. Putting more money into health care doesn't mean that individual doctors/nurses get more money, just means there is more of a pool to draw from. That would mean hiring more people, not giving higher/better wages. Or if you don't hire more people, then the people already working get raises. Yes more money, but it doesn't solve the wait times. So you will have to come up with a better argument than that. Plus, some of that funding has to go towards supplies, over head, building actual building, rent, etc. Oh, and BTW, there are some forms of privatized health care in Canada. They are mainly cosmetic, but they are still private. They just can't have patients stay over night.

And your right, well off families in the States, do get access to some of the best doctors in the world. And people from Canada do go to the States to get certain surgeries done, becuase they 1) They can afford it 2) Don't want to wait 6 months to 2 years to get it done. Why should they have to go to the States? Shouldn't we be able to take care of them in Canada?

Is it not right that families that can afford it, put their children in private schools? Education is pretty important don't you think. Yet no one complains about the 2-tier education system.

[Frank the Tank]

If anyone lives in the NE, vote for my cousin, Mike Smyth!!

[Resolute 14]

On the health care situation, look higher than Alberta. It was the federal liberals who chose to rape health care so they could balance the budget, while also blaming any province that didnt deficit spend to cover the shortfall for health care problems.

Go live in a socialist province for a while and tell me the system is any better.

As it is, for every horror story, there are ten where the system works fine. I ended up in the hospital for a gall-bladder problem a month ago, and I was in to see a doctor in 15 minutes. They knew what was wrong within an hour, and I was free to go after three. System worked perfectly fine for me. It has worked perfectly fine for everyone I know.

But, the Federal Liberals answer to health care problems was to blame the provinces. Now that they are stuck in a minority situation, they are throwing money at the problem. Agree or disagree with what Klein is tried to do with Bill 11, at least the provincial government recognizes the problem, and is trying to do something.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Originally posted by Snakeeye@Oct 26 2004, 06:44 AM
On the health care situation, look higher than Alberta. It was the federal liberals who chose to rape health care so they could balance the budget, while also blaming any province that didnt deficit spend to cover the shortfall for health care problems.

Go live in a socialist province for a while and tell me the system is any better.

Glad you made that point.

Fact is about 70% of our taxes go to Ottawa, who in turn fund less than 20% of our Health Care, Education, Roads, Welfare...you name it.

People can still criticise the AB government on a lot of fronts, but bear that in mind.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Snakeeye here is what I don't understand, someone works their entire life, and works really hard, makes a great deal of money, why shouldn't they be able to spend it the way that they want. No-one complains when they send their children to a better school, or pay for their childrens wisdom teeth to get taken out/get othadontics (braces as I can't spell), so why are they forced to sit and wait in line. They worked for their money, so why shouldn't they be able to spend some money, and well get whatever needs to be done, done. In fact I would say that this might benifit the regular joe who now has smaller wait times due to the fact that there are fewer people in the line.

Also from my experiences (and those of my family) we have never had a problem, and in fact we have many good stories to tell about the system...

[Agamemnon]

This oil/healthcare and liberal/social/conservative debate can usually be summed up by identifying what you believe in.

Are you an Albertan first or a Canadian first? Depending on how you answer that question will probably intensly colour the way you view the provincial and federal governments... and their competency.