The half-time show for Super Bowl XLI in 2007 was looming and it was raining. Something that had never, ever happened before..“Put me on the phone with Prince,” said live event producer Don Mischer, according to press reports..“Now, I want you to know that it’s raining,” Mischer told Prince on the phone..“Yes, it’s raining,” He answered..“And are you OK?” Mischer wanted to know..Prince paused … and replied: “Can you make it rain harder?”.That little bastard..He went on to perform perhaps the greatest NFL half-time show in history, finishing with Purple Rain in a complete downpour..The sheer courage of that man..The guts, the charge, the bolt, the buzz … the sheer f–k off-ness of it all, my God..Well, I once knew of a man who had such courage and in my books he was the heart and soul of Calgary..A man who had our backs at every turn and kept those self-serving, opportunistic city councillors (or whatever they’re called now, I could care less) on the straight and narrow..No matter what was said, what was done, what was tried, we all knew MLA Sheldon Chumir would step in and do the right thing. He would speak up and the media types would listen..It didn’t matter how messed up our city was, Sheldon was there and as long he was there we would be OK..And then, the Lord took him away from us … on January 26, 1992. So long ago, so so, long ago..And that my friends, was the day Calgary died..It was the end of the end and I knew it. I mourned for him and our city because I knew there was no one who could fill his shoes..From then on it would be one big overspending buffet with everybody filling their pockets on everything that came along..There was just too much money to be made and things were out of control. Nobody, not anyone on this earth could possibly reign it in..It was simply winner take all and loser lose all. That’s about all I can say for every city council since then. .It was generational too. In the old days, businessmen gave back, donated money, built the infrastructure we still use today..Nowadays, highly paid execs treat themselves to Ferraris, Aston Martins and Lamborghinis instead — with not even a thought of helping the community that made them so wealthy..Calgary deserved better — much, much better — but we didn’t get it. .Instead, we ended up with outrageous over-spending on boondoggle projects like the Green Line, which will tear up the city at tremendous cost and add to an already insane tax bill..And then, the unthinkable happened. .While businesses were choking under the yoke of horrendous, debilitating taxes, some idiots on council actually wanted to hold another Winter Olympic Games..Never in the history of our city was a project so poorly thought out..They saw dollars before their eyes and a few rich folks (the usual suspects) obviously stood to get richer. It was just like the old days..But something happened — and they call it democracy..Thank Christ, they allowed us to vote and we killed it. Killed it dead. Which is exactly what that idiotic idea deserved..And we still don’t have an LRT line to the airport — something that most other major cities in Canada now have. And by the way, it didn’t kill cab business in Vancouver and Toronto, so don’t even go there..People, mostly business people, have to get places in a hurry. And that will never change..Getting back to the Green Line, in June of 2020 council voted 14-1 in favour of the revised Stage 1 alignment for the $5.5-billion megaproject — the largest in Calgary’s history..Only one man, had the guts to say no — Jeromy Farkas. The man who is now running for mayor. .A man who, in many ways, reminds me very much of Sheldon Chumir, the lawyer and politician who had served our city so impeccably..Farkas asked to delay the Green Line decision to allow Calgarians to vote in a plebiscite saying a decision of this magnitude needs citizens’ approval..But Calgary city council knew better, just like they always do..Spend. Spend. Spend..These people wouldn’t know accountability if it bit them in the ass..Fluoride in the water? Daylight Savings Time? Three senate candidates?.And removing equalization from the Constitution — yeah, like the eastern Laurentian mafia is gonna let that happen! .We’ll sooner get water from the moon..But strangely enough, no vote on the biggest project in the city’s history..Move along. Nothing to see here, folks..Go watch the Stamps game instead. We’ve got it all under control. Just like we’ve been doing for the last decade..And sorry about that airport LRT leg, we’ll get to that some day. We promise..But first, how about another Olympic bid?.Dave Makichuk is a Western Standard contributor. .,He has worked in the media for decades, including as an editor for the Calgary Herald. He is also the military editor for the Asia Times.,.makichukd@gmail.com
The half-time show for Super Bowl XLI in 2007 was looming and it was raining. Something that had never, ever happened before..“Put me on the phone with Prince,” said live event producer Don Mischer, according to press reports..“Now, I want you to know that it’s raining,” Mischer told Prince on the phone..“Yes, it’s raining,” He answered..“And are you OK?” Mischer wanted to know..Prince paused … and replied: “Can you make it rain harder?”.That little bastard..He went on to perform perhaps the greatest NFL half-time show in history, finishing with Purple Rain in a complete downpour..The sheer courage of that man..The guts, the charge, the bolt, the buzz … the sheer f–k off-ness of it all, my God..Well, I once knew of a man who had such courage and in my books he was the heart and soul of Calgary..A man who had our backs at every turn and kept those self-serving, opportunistic city councillors (or whatever they’re called now, I could care less) on the straight and narrow..No matter what was said, what was done, what was tried, we all knew MLA Sheldon Chumir would step in and do the right thing. He would speak up and the media types would listen..It didn’t matter how messed up our city was, Sheldon was there and as long he was there we would be OK..And then, the Lord took him away from us … on January 26, 1992. So long ago, so so, long ago..And that my friends, was the day Calgary died..It was the end of the end and I knew it. I mourned for him and our city because I knew there was no one who could fill his shoes..From then on it would be one big overspending buffet with everybody filling their pockets on everything that came along..There was just too much money to be made and things were out of control. Nobody, not anyone on this earth could possibly reign it in..It was simply winner take all and loser lose all. That’s about all I can say for every city council since then. .It was generational too. In the old days, businessmen gave back, donated money, built the infrastructure we still use today..Nowadays, highly paid execs treat themselves to Ferraris, Aston Martins and Lamborghinis instead — with not even a thought of helping the community that made them so wealthy..Calgary deserved better — much, much better — but we didn’t get it. .Instead, we ended up with outrageous over-spending on boondoggle projects like the Green Line, which will tear up the city at tremendous cost and add to an already insane tax bill..And then, the unthinkable happened. .While businesses were choking under the yoke of horrendous, debilitating taxes, some idiots on council actually wanted to hold another Winter Olympic Games..Never in the history of our city was a project so poorly thought out..They saw dollars before their eyes and a few rich folks (the usual suspects) obviously stood to get richer. It was just like the old days..But something happened — and they call it democracy..Thank Christ, they allowed us to vote and we killed it. Killed it dead. Which is exactly what that idiotic idea deserved..And we still don’t have an LRT line to the airport — something that most other major cities in Canada now have. And by the way, it didn’t kill cab business in Vancouver and Toronto, so don’t even go there..People, mostly business people, have to get places in a hurry. And that will never change..Getting back to the Green Line, in June of 2020 council voted 14-1 in favour of the revised Stage 1 alignment for the $5.5-billion megaproject — the largest in Calgary’s history..Only one man, had the guts to say no — Jeromy Farkas. The man who is now running for mayor. .A man who, in many ways, reminds me very much of Sheldon Chumir, the lawyer and politician who had served our city so impeccably..Farkas asked to delay the Green Line decision to allow Calgarians to vote in a plebiscite saying a decision of this magnitude needs citizens’ approval..But Calgary city council knew better, just like they always do..Spend. Spend. Spend..These people wouldn’t know accountability if it bit them in the ass..Fluoride in the water? Daylight Savings Time? Three senate candidates?.And removing equalization from the Constitution — yeah, like the eastern Laurentian mafia is gonna let that happen! .We’ll sooner get water from the moon..But strangely enough, no vote on the biggest project in the city’s history..Move along. Nothing to see here, folks..Go watch the Stamps game instead. We’ve got it all under control. Just like we’ve been doing for the last decade..And sorry about that airport LRT leg, we’ll get to that some day. We promise..But first, how about another Olympic bid?.Dave Makichuk is a Western Standard contributor. .,He has worked in the media for decades, including as an editor for the Calgary Herald. He is also the military editor for the Asia Times.,.makichukd@gmail.com
