And it's great that Bob Dylan went on to become a popular musician in his own right. Some commenter over there says "This is the single most Canadian bit of humor I think I might have ever seen." I don't know, but I want to find out. Join us, Alberta!
Now, maybe you think I'm getting ahead of myself, and I am. I lived through the arrival of the 49th state and the 50th state, and — I was a kid — I just thought new states would be joining us every year or so. Alaska and Hawaii clamored to join the coolest place on earth, and I thought everyone else would just be piling in. Why wouldn't they?! Why didn't they? Here it is, 66 years later and not one new entrant. So it would really warm my heart — I literally had tears in my eyes — if Alberta would come on in.
Once again, Alberta voted overwhelmingly conservative. And once again, it made no difference. The Laurentian elite held their grip on power — propped up by Quebec voters, hostile to Western interests, and smug in their belief that Alberta’s wealth is theirs to take, er, “redistribute.” For decades, Alberta — rich in oil, fiercely independent, and proudly conservative — has been treated not as a partner in Confederation, but as a colony of the East.... In short, Alberta can join America. And if it does, it will thrive.Oh, my heart is so sad/'Cause I want you so bad....
Alberta isn’t Quebec. It’s not even Vancouver. Alberta is culturally and economically tied to the American West. Drive from Calgary to Montana, and the only thing that changes is the gas prices and the gun laws.
Albertans hunt, ranch, drill, and pray like their counterparts in Texas, Wyoming, or North Dakota. They believe in private property, free enterprise, and the God who made both. If Alberta were already a U.S. state, it would fit right in — and be far better governed than it is now.
In many ways, Alberta already acts like an American state. Its largest trading partner is the United States. Its pipelines, railroads, and highways run south. Its energy exports fuel American cities. Its people watch the same shows, shop at the same stores, and cheer for the same teams.
The accident of a dotted line on a map is the only thing keeping this natural union apart.
Don't let them keep us apart!
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77 komento:
This is not a new conversation. The geo-political writer Thomas P. Barnett was giving talks about how easy it would be for the USA to poach Alberta away. If you think Cheyenne is suspicious of Washington, you should see how much Calgary despises Ottawa.
The 51st. The 52nd was not a viable choice. And there will not be time to invite the 53rd.
I read that, even though Alberta is more conservative than Eastern Canada, only about 30% actually want to leave Canada. So this is far from a done deal. There's a lot of inertia to overcome and people usually prefer the devil they know.
It took a lot to alienate Alberta from Canada. Pierre P would have put considerable effort into making Alberta an integral part of the country- which is doubtless why President Trump didn't want him to win. Besides the oil revenue, Alberta separating would make trading with the Pacific very difficult indeed for Canada- nothing outside British Columbia would have easy access. Whereas President Trump would quickly work to integrate Albertan oil into America's networks.
I lived through the arrival of the 49th state and the 50th state, and — I was a kid — I just thought new states would be joining us every year or so. Alaska and Hawaii clamored to join the coolest place on earth, and I thought everyone else would just be piling in. Why wouldn't they?! Why didn't they?
Donald Trump, and a lot of people who were kids back then, probably felt the same way. Puerto Rico would have been the next logical step. Then Greenland. And why did the British still have half the Virgin Islands and the New Zealanders half of Samoa?
I don't know about Alberta joining the US, though. There's something to be said for maintaining one's identity and not being swallowed up by post-cultural America. If some of our current states and regions were outside the union and asked now if they wanted to submerge themselves in the superpower, would they all say yes?
It's certainly true that Canada -- at least the parts west of Quebec -- lost its identity when it dropped its Britishness, but an emphasis on one's cultural distinctiveness can grow stronger as that distinctiveness is lost. If all you have left is Tim Horton's, Tim Horton's can become everything to you.
Millenial Moron looks so much like KD Lang that I'm wondering if they've ever been seen in the same room together.
Not only would Alberta have to secede, but the US Congress would have to accept them. Would the Senate filibuster come into play?
My understanding is that after the last Quebec rhubarb as well as the talk of Alberta and Saskatchewan leaving in the 1990s(IIRC), the Canadian Confederation agreement was changed to make it a lot harder for a province to leave.
Trump was talking about how he is artistic and when looking at the map the land mass of the US plus Canada just looks right.
But Canadians are losers, sorry guys, it's part of their national psyche and ethos. Their humor bares this out.
Looking at the world map and considering the element of national psyche and ethos, imo Australia is a better fit to be the 51st state. And it would piss off China, big time. Just a thought...
Should Alberta Become the 51st State?
What?! And give up that wonderful state controlled free healthcare!
Perish the thought!
Just googling quickly, I found out that Michael J. Fox was born in Edmonton and probably lived there for a while. Army brat, moved to Vancouver when he was 10, and I've always thought of him as being from there. More famous than K.D. Lang? Most famous Albertan in the States? Probably a topic that Americans find extremely boring. Weirdly, K.D. isn't even on Wikipedia's list of people from Alberta. I'll raise my hand: I'm from Alberta. My wife and I caught K.D. and the Reclines (she claimed to somehow embody Patsy Cline) in Toronto many years ago; great stuff.
Another surprise: Joni Mitchell born in Alberta, but really a Saskatchewan person. The movie "Atlantic City," an aging Burt Lancaster and a young Susan Sarandon, some Canadian actors and I guess funding from the Canadian government. Young couple on the run; guy thought he could rip off some criminal mob if he ran fast enough. Didn't work. Beautiful wife/girlfriend is pregnant, feeling vulnerable, has a few choice words for him. "Oh yeah?" he says I think with some wisdom. "Who else would have got you out of fucking Saskatchewan?"
Canadians are mostly clustered close to the border. Please, please let us share in the good things of the United States while somehow keeping a little distance.TV meant we watched cable TV from American cities: Boston in the Atlantic provinces, Buffalo and Detroit in southern Ontario, and on from there. I've watched some Spokane TV.
Calgary and Edmonton together have less population than the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area--and the two Alberta cities are about three hours apart by car. Going west from the Twin Cities, no really big cities until the West Coast? So yes, there is a certain similarity between the American Great Plains and Canada. Varieties of grains were developed by modern science to flourish in a harsh cold climate. Alberta has oil and gas like Texas. Used to be called the Bible Belt, but some of my teachers pointed out that there was a high rate of illegitimate births, even in the 50s or so. The enthusiasm of the pulpit and the worship service, to a more private enthusiasm.
Tons of respect for entrepreneurs. Oil and gas were found in southern Alberta in the 1920s, but it was largely of regional interest. Oil experts were convinced there were bigger deposits somewhere, but where? The story goes that Imperial Oil, a subsidiary of J.D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, was about to give up looking. A "last" meeting in Winnipeg as I recall: some engineer or seismic guy said let's make one more try, I know the place. Leduc #1, 1940s, in many ways made the province what it is.
I could live in the States. Hell, I've lived there.
If you’ve ever been to Dylan’s hometowns of Duluth and Hibbing, you know they are more like Canada than Canada itself.
Alberta, the Praire Provinces and BC should just form their own country. Good God, if El Salavador or Jamacia can be their own country, so can the Canadian West. Of course they wont do because $$$$$. Everything to Anglo-Americans gets down to money. So, the fact that some rich people might lose some Canadian hand-outs is a deal breaker.
If you think guarding the Canadian border against Fent and illegals is hard now, think of how much worse it'd be if Alberta was in the USA. Besides, we'd be setting up BC as "East Prussia" and you know what happened after that.
Bob Dylan is not k.d. lang, but that may be closer to the truth than one might think. What if Bob Dylan knocked up the Girl from the North Country? k.d. was born in 1961, so the timing is possible.
Though not prime, 51 is an inconvenient number (3 X 17 = 51) for flag designers. Consequently, a 51-star flag would likely have some form of circular arrangement in the canton, which would be a nice change from the current echeloned rectangle designed to accommodate Alaska and Hawaii. The arguments in favor of Alberta joining the Union mostly apply to Saskatchewan as well. If we do one, let's do the other for an even 52.
The thing about conservative secession is that secession isn't very conservative. The national project is part of what conservatives want to conserve. It takes a lot to overcome that attachment.
But it can happen. The AmRev and the Confederacy can be thought of as conservative secessions. Also the various Scandinavian separations, and the divorce of Slovakia from the Czechs.
British devolution isn't conservative: the Welsh, Irish, and Scots movements all include social reengineering.
JSM
true, the american revolution was classical liberal, unlike many which have had a jacobin character from the french to the Chinese revolution, so called that arose out the Second World War, one might say the Southern secession was largely in rebellion to Northern industry, that didn't depend on slaves,
Kraft Dinner.
I'd eat that.
If I had a million dollars.
Wow, that althousian stare decisis out the window with this post. A few decades means never touch abortion, that crap about alternative electors and tossing corrupt judges is just filler but tears in the eyes for new state Alberta- sniff!
Nothing about Velveeta says food…
Almost tricked me into listening to Bob Dylan.
I did used to love k.d.lang. Just kinda got lost in the years.
Great line. And true!
"Drive from Calgary to Montana, and the only thing that changes is the gas prices and the gun laws."
Then, if they vote to do so, the northeast down to Virginia should be able to join Canada.
As a massive huge biggly fan of KD Lang - that was well done.
Strewn with KD Lang Song Lyrics and song titles.
Well done.
I especially like the "why do we fight" inserted at the end. That song is on the Case Lang Veirs album ---an Album that is more recent and mucho fabulouso. . .. getting much play in my car.
Btw, bullying a small country is a bad look to the rest of the world.
…because you liked this video we recommend Corner Gas. Stay away from Letterkenny or Shorsey…
Bare Naked Ladies are From Canada.
That said - I would never buy a real green dress, because that is cruel.
"If I Had a million dollars
We wouldn't have to walk to the store
If I Had a million dollars
We'd take a limousine 'cause it costs more
If I Had a million dollars
We wouldn't have to eat Kraft Dinner.
(But we would eat Kraft Dinner. Of course we would, we'd just eat more.)
Bullying a small country? Have you seen their land mass??
Alberta, Alberto, or AlbertX?
Rehajm: that's just the Mercator Projection. 16th-century selfie filter.
JSM
"Does this projection make my Arctic look big? Good!"
JSM
let me get this straight?
1st: Canadians call Kraft mac&cheese Kraft Dinner?
That is just WEIRD..
however;
2nd: Canadians like the powdered orange mac&cheese, just like humans do?
i NEVER would have EVER imagined that!
3rd: assuming, for the sake of argument, that Canadians DO like Kraft mac&cheese (even though they call it ESSO, or backbacon or something); then there IS HOPE for our cousins from the north.
Serious Question:
is mac&cheese most best with
a) sliced hotdogs?
b) crumbled sausage?
or
c) by itself
[this is a trick question.. it's ALL orangy goodness]
Love kd Lang, the big boned girl.
My. Imitation of the Rankin Family:
I had a dream, the other night.
Me and Joe and Billy working frozen ground.
We sunk the shaft with steam and steel.
To see a gleam of colour in a bedrock crack.
Western Canada. The Mounties saved girls captured by the Indians and helped the masses climb to the Klondike to find gold.
From Mt Forbes, western Canadians can see the Laurentian Bankers that send their money to Ottawa elites.
Alberta Bound, second half. Gordon Lightfoot
Oh the skyline of Toronto
Is somethin' you'll get onto
But they say you've got to live there for a while
And if you got the money
You can get yourself a honey
With a written guarantee ta make you smile
But it's snowin' in the city
And the streets and brown and gritty
And I know there's pretty girls all over town
But they never seem ta find me
And the one I left behind me
Is the reason that I'll be Alberta bound
Never happen. But maybe they can use the threat to leverage some provincial autonomy. Look at Quebec. It isn’t like Ottawa is going to put the Canadian Army on the streets of Edmonton. Canadians fear a fit. But it has to be too big to de-bank.
At the time of the Revolution, Pennsylvania became know as the keystone as it stood in the critical center of the 13 colonies. Without PA, you really could not stitch together a nation.
Without Alberta, how would Ottawa be able to govern among non-contiguous provinces? How does British Columbia survive disconnected from the rest of Canada? In such circumstances, how does a rump Canada avoid being absorbed into the United States?
Maybe that's the plan.
I stayed in the hotel room next to KD LANG at the Soho Grand Hotel for a couple of nights. Friendly, but understandably awkward, saying "hello" on the elevator. I liked (and like) her music - surprised she didn't become a bigger deal.
66%of Canadians live within 60 miles of the US. It’s a fringe. The Laurentian Elites think they are still an EU country. The problem is they let Asperger people run the place. The Univ of Toronto is very good, but we can’t let Harvard run the country.
I suppose with "annexation" or "retreat" or whatever, we'd get Banff and (what used to be know as) the Banff Springs hotel.
I'm in.
Princess Alberta in a CANada? That's not funny.
Michael said...
"Without Alberta, how would Ottawa be able to govern among non-contiguous provinces? How does British Columbia survive disconnected from the rest of Canada?"
Alaska does just fine separated from the rest of the continental US. Alberta is not the province in the middle like PA; it only has BC blocking it from the west coast.
Besides, if you include the 3 territories at the top of Canada, Canada becomes a contiguous horseshoe shaped country, albeit one where most of the population is in the feet.
Okay, I've come up with a secession anthem for Alberta from a Canadian band - one that I really like, "The New Pornographers". The song is, "You Won't Need That Where You're Going".The NP's are based in Vancouver but they are Canadian and they are very good.
When I moved to Blue Bell PA (Norristown area, suburb of Philly), I was taught that Pennsylvania was "The Keystone State" . In second and third grade, I had NO idea was a keystone was. No teacher bothered to explain its role in, say a bridge arch.
Root for the same teams? When the Avs play the Oilers or the Flames, not bloody likely. But other than that, in my travels in Alberta (and Eastern B.C. for that matter), yeah, folks seemed pretty much like the Montanans I grew up with.
New Pornographers drummer Joe Seiders arrested for child pornography
This is fun to talk about but generally nonsense.
I thought Jean Cretien solved the separation issue back when Quebec had their last referendum in the 90's. Leaving the confederation is not straightforward.
Alberta as a part of Canada has more freedom to govern thN it would being in the US. People may not like Ottawa but wait till they get a load of DC and all the commandments that come from it.. National Healthcare would disappear. Despite being terrible it is generally believed to be good.
Peachy, Now that you mention it, I think that I did hear that. Ick - all around.
Yes, Canada that mercator makes your butt look big but point of order Canada is second only to Russia in land area…
Canadian conservatives are like USA conservatives. They bitch, moan, and complain, but they will never DO anything. When the Left loses, they change the rules. When the Right loses, they pride themselves on being good losers.
If parts of Canada were to become states, just imagine the fights on how to define the territory. One state, two, several? With each new state getting two federal senators, just imagine. Reminiscent of the old one slave state for each free state fights (1820, 1850, 1854). Only this time it will be lefty/big government states v. limited government states. For this reason we do NOT want any Canadian land from Ontario or Quebec.
National Healthcare would disappear. Despite being terrible it is generally believed to be good.
National healthcare in Canada survives because most Canadians live within 50 miles of the US border.
Drive through Niagara Falls sometimes. Imaging services- MRIs, CAT Scans, those kind of businesses, have billboards up advertising walk-in service. Right past the entry points for Canadians so they know where to go. Get the scan right now for cash rather then waiting 9 months to a year. For and emergency MRI...
Having a premature birth? US maternity wards are right over the border, with lots of NICU units. More in one hospital then in the bordering province.
Wile some US residents go overseas for cheaper healthcare, people from around the world come to the USA for readily available healthcare.
From the time my wife finally decided to get a new knee to surgery was 3 weeks- because the knee had to be ordered and received. From google AI: "In Canada, the benchmark wait time for knee replacement surgery is generally considered to be 26 weeks (182 days) from the date a patient is ready for treatment. However, wait times can vary significantly across provinces and even within different hospitals. For example, in 2022, only 50% of knee replacements in Canada were completed within this benchmark timeframe, and the wait times for knee replacement have been increasing since before the pandemic. " Half a year, the targeted benchmark of how long it SHOULD take, and only 50% make it. I know a number of people with artificial knees- none took more then 2-3 months from decision to surgery.
So, it's "macaroni and cheese" in America and "Kraft dinner" in Canada? Somebody said the other day that it's just "macaroni cheese" in Britain.
Break-up plans tend to break up when people think about going through customs every time they visit their relatives and everything they buy being taxed when it crosses a border. That was especially true of the plan to break up the US by counties with the rural areas and urban areas in two different nations. Admittedly, that's less of a problem for Western Canada. Joining the US might even be a plus if grandma and granddad have already moved south.
Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and possibly Newfoundland all received federal land to the North after they entered the confederation, and the federal government won't let them leave and keep that land. That's not a problem with Alberta and Saskatchewan, but they'd still be saddled with a big share of Canada's debts. Maybe Ottawa would even make them go on making them pay equalization payments.
In the Sixties when I lived in Canada the attitude of Alberta and Saskatchewan toward Eastern Canada was: "Let the Eastern bastards freeze in the dark." Meaning: [Let's turn off the oil and gas energy we send them for their lights and their furnaces and] "Let the Eastern bastards freeze in the dark." - Or, [Let's join the USA and get on the other side of the oil and gas tariff barriers and] "Let the Eastern bastards freeze in the dark."
Albertans would be a nicer bunch than the US-hating bunch in Upper Canda but after they joined us, we'd start noticing ... noticing their socialism, their gun control outlook, their support for China, their pacifism, their refusal to serve in the Armed Forces, their desire for a government job or pension, for government censorship. And they are quite racist in a slippery, underground way.
I haven't heard much KDL, but her tendency to show off how well she can hold a note detracted from her obvious talent.
Ralpf L... huh?
Even if Alberta seceded and applied to become a U.S. state, there would be the problem of political balance in Congress. Just as Republicans weren't about to let Washington, D.C., become a state with two automatic Democrat Senators and a Democrat Representative, so the Democrats wouldn't allow Alberta to come in and have two conservative Senators of whatever party the Albertans would have and a conservative Representative, without some kind of counterbalance. You would have to admit two states or it would be a nonstarter.
Once written, twice... said...
Then, if they vote to do so, the northeast down to Virginia should be able to join Canada.
Please do this.
Please.
If Alberta were to become a state, they would have to change their orthography. No more colour, humour, or honour. It would be a deal breaker.
"You would have to admit two states or it would be a nonstarter."
Or you dump the filibuster.
On the adding two provinces/states: Alberta and BC would work (BC is like WA, AB is like MT, though with two cities of around a million each), as would BC, AB, SK, MB (D, R, R, D). The real difference would be in the House: BC has about 5.5 million, Alberta 4.8 million, Manitoba 1.5 million and SK 1.4 million. So that could be a net boon to Democrats. Also, it is useful to remember that when Alaska and Hawaii were admitted, it was expected that HI would be Republican and AK Democratic. That reversed pretty quickly.
As a MT born and living and ex-AB resident (25 years), I would be happy to have them join us. But Parks Canada allows dogs in the parks while the US Parks Service does not. So there is always a cost.
"No more colour, humour, or honour. It would be a deal breaker."
I could live with the useless u, but not centre.
Add Vancouver to Washington state so the rest of BC can have a normal life.
One more thing: On the areas:
AB is 255,541 square miles, which would put it third in US, behind Alaska, 665,384 sq mi and Texas, 258,596. California 163,635 and Montana 147,040 sq mi each. If BC, AB, SK, and MB were added, it is 364,764 (BC), 251,366 (SK) and 250,116 (MB). So that would add an area of 1,120,000 square miles, an area nearly as large as Alaska, Texas, California, and Montana at about 1,155,000 square miles.
"Add Vancouver to Washington state..."
Adding Washington state to Vancouver would be preferable. Well- except for eastern Washington, maybe.
Puerto Rico doesn't want to lose its status as a protectorate, where most people live off our tax dollars without getting their act together and contributing back. Alberta may act, given its government's increasing lockdown on free speech, secret tribunals, and other creeping fascism.
BC can stay put. They collude with Quebec, and who wants Quebec?
This Canada annexation nonsense is a good example of how DJT ruins himself as POTUS. Between his narcissism, ADHD, Tourettes Syndrome, and 10 second long attention span, all the good and popular things DJT has done are overshadowed by this lunacy. Reality Check: Canada isn't breaking apart, Greenland isn't for sale, and NATO is and always will be 90% wine-sipping surrender monkeys and all of DJT's blather & snark about it changes nothing.
Step one is to bring it up, and you can't skip step one.
I remember when people said "There is never going to be a President Trump." Oh how they laughed and ridiculed.
"Between his narcissism, ADHD, Tourettes Syndrome, and 10 second long attention span, all the good and popular things DJT has done are overshadowed by this lunacy."
Everybody is certainly entitled to their opinion.
Do yourself a favor and watch a few episodes of Corner Gas.
Per Wiki: "The National Energy Program was an energy policy of the Canadian federal government from 1980 to 1985. The economically nationalist policy sought to secure Canadian energy independence, though was strongly opposed by the private sector and the oil-producing Western Canadian provinces, most notably Alberta. (...) (T)he popular western slogan during the NEP, appearing on many bumper stickers, was "Let the Eastern bastards freeze in the dark.""
Corner Gas was a favorite of mine, discovered by accident. The attempt to make it into a cartoon series, not so much
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