Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of my father, Dr. John LeRoy Climenhaga.

Dad, who died in 2008, is best known as an astrophysicist, and his name is most often used nowadays in connection with the respected astronomy program at the University of Victoria, and in particular with UVic's Climenhaga Observatory.

But my Dad's strong belief in and support for the value of public education -- and that included public post-secondary education in all fields, including the arts and pure sciences like his area of studies for which there was no obvious commercial application -- is my topic for today.

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As one of many Alberta university history instructors busy marking students' final research essays this term, I'm instinctively aware how important it is to critically analyze our past in order to come to a fuller understanding of how we got to where we are now.

It was with this in mind that I came across Canadian Taxpayers' Federation Alberta chief Paige MacPherson's open letter to the NDP government published in the Edmonton Journal.

Now that the Orange Team has crushed the Blue Team and Blue Team Captain Jim Prentice has taken his ball and gone home, we must ask the difficult question of what is to become of the swiftly exiting former premier's previously dynastic Progressive Conservative Party?

As an organization that for some years has had no reason to exist but to remain in power, and which is now pathetically reduced to the third party in the Legislature, it seems probable that the PCs will rapidly wither and die as a political entity. Even the political science professionals agree with this assessment.