Please look at Kenney’s face as he delivers this information. He has a look of seriousness. I swear he practices these facial expressions in the mirror before giving a scrum. His facial expression doesn’t change once. His speech is a tempered cadence and calm. Raised brows.
But watch it with no sound. It’s contrived. Because it doesn’t vary once. The only time he varies his facial expression is when he looks down for a moment.
At the end of the clip he answers the question and then an instant look of welcome to the press asking the next question.
He just told the press the qualifications for AISH will be narrowed, leaving many without anything but social assistance to rely upon for income. Or they could try to get a job. Without blinking an eye in compassion or regret.
This is the emotional engagement of our premier. Zero empathy, contrived concern, blatant disregard.
He’s sociopathic. He’s got ice running through his veins. Anyone who can deliver news that the govt will be creating poverty for thousands without any emotion is empty.
Watch the video again, in silence. He immediately switches to a pleasant welcoming look after the last question. He’s unfazed by the cuts he’s about to make. Devoid of compassion.
One could make the argument he’s aware of GBI Liberals are planning.
But social services are provincial purview. Keep an eye peeled for Kenney will argue the transfers for GBI are to be controlled by the province. Just send the transfer money.
But I believe LPC will make these transfers conditional and with strict guidelines on who qualifies.
Kenney and other conservative premiers will rally all premiers to reject the conditions.
The way around this is for federal government to change how social safety net is administered. By assuming purview to ensure all provinces offer the same services, like with healthcare.
But there will be a battle over purview. Who gets to decide whether a disabled person qualifies for benefits? Who gets to decide whether welfare rates are too low? Who gets to decide if public social supports are paid for through public funds or if faith institutions take it on?
Because that’s where Kenney is moving towards. Transferring responsibility for social safety net to faith institutions. He’s already demonstrated his preference for Christian institutions. Covenant Health and Religious schools. Drug rehabilitation.
UCP has shown a clear preference for Christian organizations by awarding them funding or minimizing cuts. Some even receiving modest increases.
Because anarcho-capitalists and paleolibertarians don’t believe in forced charity.
That’s the belief and value being promoted by UCP. That the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged must rely upon voluntary charity. The state (govt) has no right to tax citizens to force them to participate in charity. Those that feel compassion are welcome to donate.
Those who feel no obligation to donate to charity are not forced to do so through taxes.
Citizens can choose their charity of choice. If the disabled do not receive enough charity, that’s their lot in life to bear. It’s God’s will and individuals can NOT question divine right.
I have no idea if Kenney truly believes this ideology or if he supports it to placate his big donors who don’t like to pay taxes at all. I presume he genuinely believes his ideology. Because he has no emotional reaction to causation of suffering and poverty.
None. A blank slate. Knowing thousands will be left destitute, including families with children and multiple individuals, makes no discernible emotional impact. Calm, tempered and serious. But “just” because this is natural law.
Those with advantages deserve their privilege. Those with disadvantage deserve theirs. The utter cruelty is rationalized through the belief in theocratic meritocracy. God blesses those who deserve divine blessings and leaves the sinners and disadvantaged to suffer.
These are the rationalizations, justification and reasoning of sociopaths with consequentialist ethics.
If god has blessed the wealthy, then carrying out god’s wishes by removing benefits is god’s work, and cannot be questioned or refuted. This is the prosperity gospel.
It’s also the fulfillment of the Great Transfer of Wealth supported and promoted by Dominionist Christians.
Kenney and UCP are devoted Anarcho-capitalists who do not believe social safety nets should be publicly funded. At all. These beliefs are so extreme, there are some anarcho-capitalists who ardently defend parents’ rights to selling children.
The connection between Dominionism and Anarcho-capitalism is Natural Law.
That’s why the premier can deliver this information to a room full of journalists with nary a wince or regret.
This is what Alberta elected. This is Dominionism and the laissez faire free market advanced by UCP.
Extremism so objectionable that the govt speaks in codes language to its supporters, because the truth is so ugly.
AISH is just the beginning. The cuts Kenney has planned are much far worse.
That’s why waiting until a 2023 election, three years away, is not an option. We must remove this govt much sooner.
None of us will have anything left if we wait three years.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
What happened to society that people feel justified to spit on the dead and put their feelings of hatred and shameless self gratification before those who are grieving?
Is Gen X the last generation taught manners?
Honestly! Libertarianism is a cancer in society.
Your rage at Senator Lindsay Graham is irrelevant. It’s your burden. Not the burden of his surviving family and friends who are grieving.
It’s customary to offer condolences to surviving family and friends of someone who recently died.
The grieving are under no obligation to acknowledge your rage and disgust.
What idiot started the rumour that expressing your rage, hate and disgust for a dead human being is appropriate before he’s buried?
@SoMersVick @saucyseawitch Spirituality is not a religion, but it connects us to the bigger picture.
As social animals, it’s in our nature to be part of a whole community and function as a valued member of a diverse group. It’s why evolution selected us for survival: our propensity for interdependence.
@SoMersVick @saucyseawitch But interdependence is also a vulnerability when too many of a community are removed by war, pestilence or climate changes.
The more advanced a society is, the more specialized its members are for the survival of society. Remove too many and society collapses.
@SoMersVick @saucyseawitch When society collapses, the worst of humanity emerges. Like Trump, his father before him and thousands of other wealthy merchant class opportunists.
When regulated, through laws and enforcement, capitalism created huge advantages for human beings.
I don’t kid about this. It’s not an educated guess. I’m not hyperbolizing.
This is real.
Perhaps Canadians don’t understand what a key role Canada played in the WW2 supply chain for war materials.
There’s a reason Trump wants control of Canadian natural resources.
Canada has what the world wants.
We develop what the world needs for weapons, food, clean water, educated workforce, and we are stable, having never fought a formal war on Canadian soil since war of 1812.
While Métis rebelled in 1870 & 1885, that was a rebellion, not war.
I’ve been asking people to reconsider their adversarial approach to this situation for years. These pleas occasionally get a like, but the public has not shifted its behaviour.
I sometimes feel powerless to impact others, but then I realize I’m up against military grade PSYOPS.
I understand the mechanism of this PSYOPS. I’ve described it in detail, to no avail. People still resort to stereotypical defence tactics when they perceive themselves under attack.
And we are under attack. It’s been relentless since 2015. So this is engrained behaviour now.
It’s like a reflex arc. Or a Pavlovian response. But it gives me hope that others can see the aggravated nature of continuing this behaviour arc. It will continue the process of dividing us more and more until reconciliation is impossible. Like it is in the US right now.
This is what I am talking about John. Smith is attempting to circumvent treaty obligations. Legitimizing separatists’ binding referendum through trickery.
This is how indigenous people have lost land, rights, freedoms and dignity in the past.
Governments just run roughshod over indigenous rights and a small elite group of individuals benefit.
This is exactly why indigenous people don’t trust government. Because so many with malignant intent use the legitimate authority of govt to perform illegitimate acts.
If a referendum is held in October, those stolen voter profiles will be used to reject Canadian federation? Which will lead to a binding referendum being scheduled, and all investment in Canada to dwindle and an economy that’s contracted to recession or depression levels?
Alberta is not getting out of this situation without it becoming extremely uncomfortable & awkward. Because our opportunity to do this the calmly & without a fight ended May 30, 2023.
There are no options before us that include easy, cakewalk, simple or nice.
If you’re a polite person who has trouble with conflict, you’re going to be uncomfortable.
There are no two ways about it! You will feel uncomfortable and want to run & hide.
But that’s not an option.
It is Canadian democracy’s survival at stake. It’s under existential threat and unless we remove this regime because they are deeply corrupt, we will lose our democracy, our country, our constitution, our human rights.
I’m not sugar coating the problem or required solution.