From the moment life left the body of former Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, there arose such a clatter that, hummmm, no one seemed to know what was the matter. Here was a politician who ensured that everyone possible in Alberta bought the cowboy myth, adopted “Don’t Tread On Me” as a personal motto and “I’m all right, Jack” as a personal ethos, all the while shovelling boatloads of cash to oil interests both in and out of Alberta (and Canada). “He” paid off Alberta’s debt: that is to say, he was hailed as having engineered that feat of financial prestidigitation, but did it with Alberta tax dollars and very much at the expense of social programs. He also did it with cash out of the pockets of every Canadian driver, so, while we ought to give King Ralph credit for having the cojones to pull the con game on a grand scale, there is perhaps a little room in the outpouring of sentiment for some skepticism in regard to the monetary genius or the societal innovator as which he’s been hailed over the last few days. My reading (I get to do that here) is that he was not a particularly nice man, either, given to blustery pronouncements on those less fortunate or who would dare dissent and descending into outright loutishness at times. I get the feeling when I hear that a figure of this nature has moved on that I will have to avoid all media for a week or so until the balm of saccharin has run its course in the hope that another event of like nature and stature will not follow up too closely.