Martin Grasdal 🍁
@mgrasdal.bsky.social
Old IT guy, nearing retirement. Living proof that a degree in Engl. Lit & Philosophy is far from useless. Lover of fiction (including sci-fi & fantasy), history, classics, etc,. Classical music lover.
This might be a more suitable profile pic
November 15, 2025 at 8:47 PM
This might be a more suitable profile pic
Aurora Borealis visible in the middle of Edmonton tonight.
November 12, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Aurora Borealis visible in the middle of Edmonton tonight.
Very good blog post on the hysteria surrounding an edit of Trump's comments. if BBC and other broadcasters, both public and private, can't stand up to the lies and pressure from the right and vested interests, we are in a dark place. BBC is both bulwark and bellwether in this moment.
November 11, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Very good blog post on the hysteria surrounding an edit of Trump's comments. if BBC and other broadcasters, both public and private, can't stand up to the lies and pressure from the right and vested interests, we are in a dark place. BBC is both bulwark and bellwether in this moment.
The Second Sons group, founded by Jeremy MacKenzie. For those with short memories, here's a picture of Jeremy MacKenzie, along with Pierre Poilievre.
October 27, 2025 at 8:10 PM
The Second Sons group, founded by Jeremy MacKenzie. For those with short memories, here's a picture of Jeremy MacKenzie, along with Pierre Poilievre.
Mickey Amery will provide details. What a joke.
I wish Albertans had better understood the regulatory capture, privatization, and separatist agendas that were the true goals of the Smith & the UCP before the last election. These are not the people you want deciding who can best represent you.
I wish Albertans had better understood the regulatory capture, privatization, and separatist agendas that were the true goals of the Smith & the UCP before the last election. These are not the people you want deciding who can best represent you.
October 21, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Mickey Amery will provide details. What a joke.
I wish Albertans had better understood the regulatory capture, privatization, and separatist agendas that were the true goals of the Smith & the UCP before the last election. These are not the people you want deciding who can best represent you.
I wish Albertans had better understood the regulatory capture, privatization, and separatist agendas that were the true goals of the Smith & the UCP before the last election. These are not the people you want deciding who can best represent you.
Trying to give Vance a run for his money.
October 19, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Trying to give Vance a run for his money.
Looks like the block party is continuing apace. It is sad to witness the wholesale destruction of trust (with ample cause) in government agencies that are meant to serve their citizens.
October 18, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Looks like the block party is continuing apace. It is sad to witness the wholesale destruction of trust (with ample cause) in government agencies that are meant to serve their citizens.
I wonder if meeting with the Project 2025 Premier of the Province of Alberta caused him to fantasize about violence. Maybe it had something to do with his company, the odious Jordan Peterson and the felonious Conrad Back.
October 17, 2025 at 1:01 AM
I wonder if meeting with the Project 2025 Premier of the Province of Alberta caused him to fantasize about violence. Maybe it had something to do with his company, the odious Jordan Peterson and the felonious Conrad Back.
Danielle Smith's threats are on par with this one. Sorry to say, though, someone did shoot Cheeseface, the dog used as the model in the photo, 3 years later.
October 8, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Danielle Smith's threats are on par with this one. Sorry to say, though, someone did shoot Cheeseface, the dog used as the model in the photo, 3 years later.
Here are some pics from the earlier rally in Edmonton.
October 6, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Here are some pics from the earlier rally in Edmonton.
I had a very good public education in Alberta. I want other generations to have the same or better.
October 5, 2025 at 5:55 PM
I had a very good public education in Alberta. I want other generations to have the same or better.
Nuts.
I am sure any EA employees with options are going to exercise them and start polishing their resumes.
I am sure any EA employees with options are going to exercise them and start polishing their resumes.
September 29, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Nuts.
I am sure any EA employees with options are going to exercise them and start polishing their resumes.
I am sure any EA employees with options are going to exercise them and start polishing their resumes.
Waiting for the Upper Arrow Lake Ferry at Galena Bay.
September 28, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Waiting for the Upper Arrow Lake Ferry at Galena Bay.
You certainly are.
September 27, 2025 at 4:14 AM
You certainly are.
Saw a pileated woodpecker on a walk today on a day that suddenly felt like Fall.
September 22, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Saw a pileated woodpecker on a walk today on a day that suddenly felt like Fall.
New Yorker cover for September 29.
September 19, 2025 at 1:43 PM
New Yorker cover for September 29.
Great blog post that provides a good summary of the issues behind the government's labour dispute with the teachers and the moral panic about pornography in schools based on a complaint of dubious origins.
September 2, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Great blog post that provides a good summary of the issues behind the government's labour dispute with the teachers and the moral panic about pornography in schools based on a complaint of dubious origins.
Smith's view is both simplistic and wrong.
Rand was disdainful of the poor and middle class who, in her view, are takers: entitled parasites who rob from the superman entrepreneurial class (makers) through taxes & regulation. A poisonous ideology that places selfish greed above compassion.
Rand was disdainful of the poor and middle class who, in her view, are takers: entitled parasites who rob from the superman entrepreneurial class (makers) through taxes & regulation. A poisonous ideology that places selfish greed above compassion.
![Smith’s admiration for Rand surfaces most clearly in her celebration of entrepreneurialism. As she once put it: “What I take from [Rand’s] work is her celebration of entrepreneurship. All of the wealth created in society comes down to the bright spark of someone’s idea of bringing together capital and labour and producing a product people want.”
She also uses Rand to flesh out her own view of the state’s role in society: that it’s [sic] only legitimate functions are protecting individuals from foreign and domestic threats through a robust national defense, police, and law courts. Smith’s politics, in this sense, represent an ideological project to “create Alberta’s little bastion of freedom and free enterprise” — a goal she quite literally wears on her sleeve, in the form of a tattoo of the Sumerian symbol for liberty (which is also the logo for the Liberty Fund).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:sjceg2kpphlc2gior56gpid6/bafkreia65wtsldithzzg5pxcblhqng4kb6he3nwgnfyp2hvkzy6ulwtfga@jpeg)
September 1, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Smith's view is both simplistic and wrong.
Rand was disdainful of the poor and middle class who, in her view, are takers: entitled parasites who rob from the superman entrepreneurial class (makers) through taxes & regulation. A poisonous ideology that places selfish greed above compassion.
Rand was disdainful of the poor and middle class who, in her view, are takers: entitled parasites who rob from the superman entrepreneurial class (makers) through taxes & regulation. A poisonous ideology that places selfish greed above compassion.
Every time she says, "Well, you know, look...", she is going to lie. It's a tell.
What analysis? What's it based on? The deliberately poor public & pathetic awareness campaign for the vaccines last year that had the desired effect of suppressing vaccine uptake?
www.thestar.com/politics/the...
What analysis? What's it based on? The deliberately poor public & pathetic awareness campaign for the vaccines last year that had the desired effect of suppressing vaccine uptake?
www.thestar.com/politics/the...
August 31, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Every time she says, "Well, you know, look...", she is going to lie. It's a tell.
What analysis? What's it based on? The deliberately poor public & pathetic awareness campaign for the vaccines last year that had the desired effect of suppressing vaccine uptake?
www.thestar.com/politics/the...
What analysis? What's it based on? The deliberately poor public & pathetic awareness campaign for the vaccines last year that had the desired effect of suppressing vaccine uptake?
www.thestar.com/politics/the...
Dusk at the lake.
August 28, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Dusk at the lake.
Discovered this in a small town in the interior of British Columbia. I don't know much about these books, but I like leafing through them and looking at the art. Appreciate people who like these books, even if I am not a reader and don't know much about Manga.
August 24, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Discovered this in a small town in the interior of British Columbia. I don't know much about these books, but I like leafing through them and looking at the art. Appreciate people who like these books, even if I am not a reader and don't know much about Manga.
Thanks for the TL:DR. But I did read the original as well. Great information.
As a resident of Alberta, I despair at the direction our government is taking. Most cons talk about the virtue of "common sense" government. The UCP wouldn't know common sense if it hit them with a truck.
As a resident of Alberta, I despair at the direction our government is taking. Most cons talk about the virtue of "common sense" government. The UCP wouldn't know common sense if it hit them with a truck.
August 23, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Thanks for the TL:DR. But I did read the original as well. Great information.
As a resident of Alberta, I despair at the direction our government is taking. Most cons talk about the virtue of "common sense" government. The UCP wouldn't know common sense if it hit them with a truck.
As a resident of Alberta, I despair at the direction our government is taking. Most cons talk about the virtue of "common sense" government. The UCP wouldn't know common sense if it hit them with a truck.
The provincial government gets a lot of money in federal health transfers to ensure that ABs have proper health care. This includes preventive health care, such as vaccines. The AB gov't needs to be good stewards of health care funds. Mitigating COVID is a good use of that money.
August 21, 2025 at 9:57 PM
The provincial government gets a lot of money in federal health transfers to ensure that ABs have proper health care. This includes preventive health care, such as vaccines. The AB gov't needs to be good stewards of health care funds. Mitigating COVID is a good use of that money.