When I retired from Progress Alberta in January of 2025 and became a student at glorious Macewan University in downtown Edmonton, I didn’t have a plan to keep writing or researching. I knew I had to concentrate on my studies and that I was in the midst of pretty serious burnout/midlife crisis so I hunkered down. But besides a somewhat active Twitter account and one story about the Edmonton Police Service’s luxury secret plane I haven’t written a thing.
And it’s sucked.
I like writing. I like the process of organizing my thoughts into a coherent and persuasive piece of writing. I like researching and going down rabbit holes and sharing what I learn with the world. It’s something I think I’m pretty good at. And I want to start again.
As you may know I’ve been charged with vandalizing two separate Nazi monuments here in Edmonton. Yes, Edmonton has two separate Nazi monuments. I’ve pleaded not guilty and said from the beginning that this is a politically motivated case that was a clear attempt by the EPS to silence and discredit a critic. I face up to ten years in prison from these charges.
My trial will run from Oct. 19 to Oct. 30. Two weeks. If you’re coming to this Substack looking for details on that I’m sorry I can’t help you out. There is a publication ban and I can’t talk about the substance of the case. But I can’t scratch the itch I’ve got. I keep reading and collecting academic articles on how this happened. How does Canada’s entire parliament get up on their hind legs and give a Waffen SS veteran a standing ovation? How does Canada’s fifth largest city have two separate monuments to Nazis? Why is Alberta like this?
And aside from the history of Nazi monuments there is another fertile subject area to write about. This fucked up province that we live in. I want to write about how Alberta works and why it’s so bad.
So if you want to know how Edmonton got Nazi monuments and why Alberta is such a terrible place, please subscribe.
FYI, this will be a totally free publication. No paywall, though I may ask for help with my legal costs from time to time.