Kevin Packer
kpacker.bsky.social
Kevin Packer
@kpacker.bsky.social
Husband, dad, acoustical consultant/engineer, music geek. Host of Katharsis (https://cjsw.com/program/katharsis/) since November 2000. Trying to understand this world through a glass darkly...
Pinned
With so much wrong in the world it's easy to go beyond seeking justice to judging others and laying blame. I believe I'm here to build others up, not tear them down. In light of this I'm reevaluating my social media use. Feel free to call me out if I stray.

bibleproject.com/articles/wha...
What Matthew 7:1-5 (Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged) Means
Unpack the meaning of "Judge not lest ye be judged" in Matthew 7:1-2, exploring its historical, ethical, and practical implications for Christians today.
bibleproject.com
Will Alberta taxpayers get fleeced by oilsands companies and the Alberta government to close the gap between government-set carbon prices and real prices in TIER? This sounds like a wealth transfer scheme.

Looming carbon-credit windfall in the oilsands - The Logic share.google/y3nAWSG4xZTJ...
Carney’s pipeline deal is set to create a carbon-credit windfall in the oilsands - The Logic
Suncor, CNRL and Cenovus have stockpiled huge inventories of carbon credits. Now, Alberta’s pipeline deal with Ottawa could ratchet up their value.
share.google
December 22, 2025 at 10:33 PM
As with many other things, frankincense demand exceeds supply, and the world seems hellbent on extraction, exploitation, and consumption rather than conservation.

www.bbc.com/future/artic...
Why the world is running out of frankincense
The precious, fragrant resin is the scent of the festive season and rising in popularity in the wellness industry – but its natural source is being decimated.
www.bbc.com
December 22, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Forgotten in the Israel-Palestine struggle are the Christian minority, dispossessed of their land, disappearing as a people, and forgotten by their fellow Christians in the West.

www.westernstandard.news/internationa...
The Last Christians of the Holy Land
In the land of Christ's birth, life, ministries, and crucifixion, his followers — the Christians — are fading away.
www.westernstandard.news
December 22, 2025 at 1:26 AM
170 sq kilometres of tailings lakes, flat-topped sulphur pyramids, some taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza, and an insatiable thirst for water for processing, carbon capture and storage. Tolkien's Plateau of Gorgoroth will no longer be a fictional place.
World's biggest carbon capture project could 'essentially drain Alberta', experts warn
Government-commissioned modelling of water use by the planned $16.5 billion Pathways CCS project, a linchpin of the energy deal signed by Ottawa and Alberta last month, concluded its use of the region...
share.google
December 21, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Reposted by Kevin Packer
Satellites in low earth orbit are a recipe for Kessler Syndrome + climate disruption
2.8 days to disaster: Why we are running out of time in low earth orbit
A "House of Cards" is a wonderful English phrase that it seems is now primarily associated with a Netflix political drama. However, its original meaning is of a system that is fundamentally unstable. ...
phys.org
December 16, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Kevin Packer
Rightwing MAGA Christianity has about as much relation to the gospels as MAGA politics does to the Constitution.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
They’re doing to America what they did to Christianity | Bill McKibben
Trump’s wrecking-ball approach to America has a precedent: the evangelical perversion of Jesus’s message of radical love to one of hate and aggression
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:56 PM
I am a big fan of Back Up and Push on WTJU, but dj Ryan Grant's episodes are exceptional. He seamlessly blends old timey bluegrass folk and blues gems from the past with more modern artists pushing traditional music in new directions. Check out his November 17, 2025 episode for an example:
November 19, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Reposted by Kevin Packer
David King delineates the choice Albertans face.

An education system that fosters community & solidarity

Or an education system that favours individual freedom/liberty

But you must make this choice assuming the veil of poverty - not wealth

What say you now?

#abpoli #ableg
Opinion: Alberta undermining public education — and democracy
Any government that undermines ... the project of improving public school education in the face of difficulty is undermining ... democracy.
edmontonjournal.com
October 25, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Reposted by Kevin Packer
ICYMI - Crisis looming for Alberta healthcare system already in chaos, experts say.

'Pure Chaos': Warnings of an Alberta Health-Care Crisis via @thetyee.ca thetyee.ca/News/2025/10...
‘Pure Chaos’: Warnings of an Alberta Health-Care Crisis | The Tyee
Experts say AHS data obtained by The Tyee further indicate the system faces being overwhelmed.
thetyee.ca
October 27, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Reposted by Kevin Packer
Where's the premier while MLAs rush through an all-night debate on stripping Albertans of their Charter rights?

An airport lounge, waiting for a flight to Saudi Arabia. She didn't even bother to show up for the vote.

I remember when conservatives turfed premiers for this level of hubris.
October 28, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Reposted by Kevin Packer
Alberta Strong and Free, Notwithstanding
open.substack.com/pub/drjaredw...
Alberta Strong and Free, Notwithstanding
The UCP's Bill 2 skirts the legislature and the courts, leaving it up to the public to push back swiftly
open.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Reposted by Kevin Packer
And since this use of the notwithstanding clause involves Alberta, it is perhaps relevant to note the three caveats/conditions that Peter Lougheed, a proponent of the notwithstanding clause, proposed in 1991.

www.constitutionalstudies.ca/wp-content/u...
October 28, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Reposted by Kevin Packer
So far the GoA has shelled out (only what we know) $237.8 million (142.8M to Atrum and 95M to Evolve) to cover its mismanagement of the coal file
Meanwhile coal revenues for 2004/5 brought in a mere 0.4% of total resource revenues for AB or $15.5M.
And why is there no money for teachers?
#abpoli
October 22, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Reposted by Kevin Packer
The provincial government stopped recording class size data in 2019 and halted extra funding to reduce class sizes, claiming it wasn’t helping.

Some divisions do record it voluntarily. #abed #ableg
September 7, 2023 at 5:32 PM
Heard this anthem for parents on Wide Cut Country this morning. Where does the time go?
youtu.be/w8_HsMQ_AQw?...
Old Man Luedecke - The Early Days
YouTube video by OldManLuedecke
youtu.be
August 30, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Reposted by Kevin Packer
The writing and recitation are top-notch.
Do the Pulitzers have a category for best dramatic Tik Tok?
This is one of the most beautiful things I have witnessed, the craft here is impeccable.
August 13, 2025 at 6:11 PM
It is illegal to modify vehicles to be obnoxiously loud. We need widespread enforcement of this in all urban municipalities:

edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
Turn down the vroom: Councillor's motion targets noisy vehicles in Edmonton
This isn't the first time Janz has railed against vehicle noise in council chambers, but he said the technology has come so far, so fast, that the police now have a reliable tool to use.
edmontonjournal.com
August 13, 2025 at 8:32 PM
I can’t stay silent about Grassy Mountain – and neither should you | Calgary Herald share.google/PW7RI2GGyGe1...
Opinion: I can’t stay silent about Grassy Mountain — and neither should you
Province's coal mine strategy relies on advice from boardroom CEOs and not expertise from engineers.
share.google
July 22, 2025 at 4:24 AM
This is outrageous! Trying to contact the CRA should not be a nightmare

CRA taxes: Some Canadians unable to access refund, benefits share.google/glAg5T1m1OqY...
Canadians voice frustrations with CRA over delays accessing benefits, refunds
Canadians told CTV News about the significant wait times and other challenges contacting the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) are preventing them from accessing certain benefits.
share.google
July 22, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Noctilucent clouds super bright tonight
June 30, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Reposted by Kevin Packer
“The UCP often governs 4.9M Albertans for benefit of a faction within the party.

Smith amplifies separatist claims to avoid outright hostility from the hornet’s nest.

…eases referendum rules…says [there’s] more support than ever.

[It’s] a distraction, manipulated to preserve UCP power.” #abpoli
Alberta Separatism can't win a riding, sure can't win government. But even a fragment of support for a separatist party is a mortal threat to the UCP. Smith often seems to govern for the alone. Column. calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu... #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #IndependentAlberta #yyc #yeg
Braid: Focus on separatism is all about keeping UCP in power
Premier Danielle Smith is worried about separatism because losing even a few percentage points to a separatist party could defeat UCP
calgaryherald.com
June 28, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Reposted by Kevin Packer
Today's essential watch/listen for all Albertans.
Bob Weber, of the Canadian Press, opines on the media landscape in Alberta, and in particular on the threats of coal mining on the Eastern Slopes.
Media Matters. Essential to our democracy
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF57...
Ground Truths with Bob Weber
YouTube video by UCalgary Law
www.youtube.com
February 12, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by Kevin Packer
The Stink of BS at Premier Smith's Coal Town Hall via @thetyee.ca thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025...
The Stink of BS at Premier Smith’s Coal Town Hall | The Tyee
The rowdy meeting’s air reeked of government deception. Locals were having none of it.
thetyee.ca
June 13, 2025 at 2:49 PM