I came across an article that truly made me burst out laughing. It was an article from the Telegraph. The headline read as follows: “Islamic State forced to halve its jihadist’s monthly salaries in tough times”.  ISIL’s SLT, Senior Leadership Team, (honestly, I’m actually laughing while writing this) in Syria and Iraq released the following statement, “because of the exceptional circumstances that the Islamic State is passing through, a decision was made to cut the salaries of the mujahideen in half.  No one will be exempt from this decision, no matter of his position”. There was no clear explanation as to why terrorists would be forced to take a pay cut. Did the price of suicide vests go up? Was there a run on virgins in paradise, thus increasing the virgin acquisition costs? There was also no mention how those most impacted would respond.  No word if front line terrorists planned on withholding their services.  I guess they could all vote to strike or take some kind of work to rule action. So many unanswered questions.

There’s nothing funny about terrorism, and the ridicule, contempt and derision these mass murderers receive is justly deserved. Now they’ve earned the right to be mocked as well. The absurdity of the article should help all of us put things into perspective. Yes, our economy is sluggish. Yes, the price of oil is causing angst in Alberta. Yes, our dollar has fallen. Yes, our exports have not benefited from a devalued Loonie. But none of these challenges will defeat us. It’s not the first time since confederation that we’ve faced uncertain economic times.  So maybe we should stop acting like it is. Furthermore, no one should question Alberta’s resolve. This is not their first rodeo. Albertans have been there before, and history has taught us they always come out stronger on the other side. It’s what all Canadians do. We thrive I spite of the circumstances.  Could things be better economically? Of course. Could they be worse? You bet. Like having a drone missile aimed at us, with the sole purposes of getting us to the hereafter, a lot quicker, while being forced to take a pay cut.

Until next time,

Cheers.