What Matters to You – Harvest, Thanksgiving & Direct Communications

Right now, there isn’t a corner of the province where the crop is not being pulled off the field—God willing the weather holds. At the time of me putting pen to paper, the province has pulled 79 per cent off the fields. Let us all do our part to make sure it is a safe and successful harvest. Be patient on the roads as the equipment is being moved from one field to the next. Some of the headers out there are almost “Saskatchewan” sized, and they sure do take up the single lane highways; therefore, be very aware of what’s going on. For heaven’s sake, keep the phone out of arm’s reach, and avoid temptation. A distraction for a few seconds could be the difference between enjoying Thanksgiving at home, or from a hospital bed.
I also know full well that most of the gardens have been coming in as well, and for most accounts, it looks like it was a bumper year for the squash, but not too sure about the potato crop. At home here, it looks like an old-fashioned canning factory. Tomatoes are being processed every night, cucumbers are wrapped up, and the beats are next-up on deck. It is with great satisfaction this year that my two younger girls are proud as heck that all their hard work has paid off. One of the absolute best years for our little garden, as they were out there pretty much every day weeding or watering. All that hard work paid huge dividends. The freezer and pantry will be full. They also took care of the chickens and the turkeys, so we won’t be running short of poultry either.

This Thanksgiving, in Germany

Thanksgiving for us has always been a good time of year. Although, we are not real farmers, we do raise and grow as much as possible ourselves. For the items that we do need to buy, we buy local from farmers that we know and trust. This year, I was fortunate enough to get a couple pails of wheat, that wasn’t sprayed, so that we could grind our own flour. The bread and pasta made from that locally grown grain was excellent! Thank you, Garth! My wife and I grew up differently: her from the city, and myself on a farm. 40 acres was the compromise. Raising our kids to know where their food came from, and how to take care of themselves was a priority. Our little corner of the province allowed us to do just that.
This will be the first Thanksgiving that I won’t be home for, and my family is a little sad, as am I. The only ones I think are happy are the 13 turkeys that will be around a few weeks longer until I get back home. I’m on my way to Germany, with a group of Senators and Representatives from the USA, to have a first-hand look at what the German government has done in regards to their energy file, and as they transition off of conventional energy production. The German government (for the most part) is funding the trip, and I’m looking forward to seeing their approach.
I have my own ideas of how it’s going, and I’d like to hear first-hand what’s working, and what is falling flat. The deal of us supplying them clean natural gas and hydrogen, but fancy-sock Trudeau messing that up for us still has me irritated, to say the least. Germany signed a deal with Qatar to supply them with the gas that they needed, after Trudeau said that there was no business case for Canada to be that supplier. Having our own prime minister paint us as an energy deficient corner due to his half-baked ideologies is reckless at best, and I am looking forward to hearing what Germany would have done if they had our abundant resources so readily available. I’d be willing to wager that they wouldn’t be chopping off their nose to spite their face.

What I am planning for when I get back

When I get back, we are going to be having our second podcast episode of What Matters to You. Topics will range from what happened in the Legislature that week, fascinating constituents (we are actively looking for guests, so if you are interested in telling us your story, please reach out), things to see, as well as direct and interactive communications. The idea is to have a weekly Friday episode, with the intent of having a livestream once we get the bugs worked out. Now that the federal law came out last Friday, whereby they are wanting to censor podcasts, I want to do this more than ever!
If you would have told me ten years ago that the mainstream media would have been for all intents and purposes, heavily influenced, funded (bought off?), that the content that people were able to access would be restricted or censored, and that civil protest would be stopped by evoking the emergency act, I would have called you crazy. No way, not in the land that we call the “True North Strong and Free”, I would have said you were referring to a socialist state. If you would have told me that people would be incarcerated for months for “mischief”, or that bank accounts would be frozen for making donations to a civil protest, I would have told you, “That’s not how things happen in a free country; not here comrade.” How things have changed.

So, as we look at fixing a few things that we ran on, such as the health care file, updating the curriculum, balancing budgets, standing up for Albertans, the propaganda ministry is in full swing.  Recently, we released a third-party report on the merits, and even the drawbacks (very minor in my opinion) of a potential Alberta Pension Plan. The chain letters and radio ads have gone into hyper drive. All the while, it has me wondering why in the heck are there so many that don’t want people to know the truth? I’m sure it will come to me when I’m on the trip in Germany. I think that while I’m there, I’ll also tour a few of their museums. Perhaps have some conversations with senior citizens and ask them about their past, and what advice they may have regarding communications, and media becoming controlled by the government, and not by the people themselves.

I am thankful for

This is one of the many reasons why I am so very grateful to be able to write this little article, uncensored, in a local paper that is still privately owned and operated.

I am very thankful for the feedback that I receive, whether good or not so good, because I know that we are still able to discuss ideas. When we have town halls, like we did for the wildfires, we can have direct exchanges. Let’s not take for granted this ability, or become complacent, because there are far too many that are wanting us to lose this ability.

I am truly thankful that I live in this province, and that we have folks who stand up to represent, and who continue to work hard to address what matters to them.

Sincerely,

Shane Getson

Useful links:

https://www.albertapensionplan.ca/

https://www.albertapensionplan.ca/the-report

Download the report here!