Sign in

Dennis Buchanan

@lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social
501 followers 319 following 976 posts

Alberta lawyer, formerly of Ontario. BA (Hons), LL.B., CIPP/C. He/him. Expect law (not legal advice), dogs, politics, and bad jokes.

PostsRepliesMedia
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 3h
Visiting my parents, I brought my Meater probe, because, well, my mother's turkey is famously dry, and I figured this will help. I'm showing her how to configure it, and setting the target temp being set to 165...and she says that doesn't sound right.
100
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The UCP gets so mad that Alberta, with little representation in the governing party Federally, has to deal with Ottawa regulations. Then she goes and stomps on local democracy in Edmonton, which elects exactly zero UCP MLAs.
141
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
We've been watching Mr. Mercedes. I get the distinct sense that Kate Mulgrew really enjoyed this role. (She's completely and gleefully psychotic.) A far cry from when she was tormented over what to do about Tuvix.
010
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A privacy professional I work with suggested that I ask my AI engine of choice: What do you know about me because I told you? What do you infer about me that I haven't told you? And then dig deeper - specifically asking about inferences about values, ethics, relationship with money, etc.
110
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
On my way to a conference in Quebec City, where I'll be staying at a hotel on René Lévesque boulevard. And just thinking, "God I hope we never name a major street after our first separatist Premier."
060
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
So it looks like the plan is to release only non-biting sterile males...but I still feel like the literacy requirements to read past the headline here will make this REALLY bad PR for Google. (That's even aside from the conspiracy theorists who will assume that the mosquitos are robots.)
121
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Just saying... It seemed weird that Trump even bothered to try getting money for his sycophants in the first place. Backing off that outrage, but giving himself and his family tax immunity...it's Trump's signature. Threaten a BIG corrupt act so that the real corrupt goal seems minor.
010
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Probably figures he'll charge the Federal government licensing fees to let them have a hotel with his name on the side. His successor will just have to rename the "Worst President Ever Museum and Hotel".
010
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
I just had a really interesting conversation with Gemini about comparative Canadian and US legal approaches in the context of the Trump settlement, and the need for judicial oversight. Of course, take AI with a grain of salt, but a really interesting take here.
110
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
What we're seeing now proves that the 'invisible hand of the market' is drunk. The Trump administration hints that peace is imminent, so markets surge. Then they launch another volley of missiles, and stocks tank again.
110
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
It's weird. Non-yes/no referendum questions are unusual, but having options that aren't the direct inverse of each other...is particularly odd. What will the answer fields look like on the ballot?
120
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Watching "The Terminal". While there aren't a huge number of obvious differences between when the movie was made vs today, Tom Hanks learning that cannelloni for two at a NY Italian restaurant would cost $40... ...was definitely a "This is an old movie" moment.
000
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
My letter to the Premier, the Minister of Justice, and my MLA, calling for a public inquiry into the elector list privacy breach. (For the curious, I included Mickey Amery on this as he is the Minister responsible for the Public Inquiries Act.)
140
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Apparently May 1 is "Law Day". My wife seems none too pleased about being wished a Happy Law Day, however. Must just be grouchy about turning another year older today.
media.tenor.com
a man in a blue shirt is saying that he is not a smart man .
ALT: a man in a blue shirt is saying that he is not a smart man .
000
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
As a privacy lawyer, it's seemed to me for a while that the treatment of the list of electors is misaligned with privacy principles - an anachronistic laxity with PII that operates without regard to the scope and the sensitivity of information they're entrusted with. This is the exclamation point.
12616
Reposted by Dennis Buchanan
Charles Rusnell @charlesrusnell.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
A must read. Serious questions raised about the competency of Elections Alberta. They were warned, in detail, a month before they acted. Meanwhile, the private information of millions of Albertans was wide open. Incredible. This may be the biggest privacy breach in Canadian history.
5202114
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
I have a suggestion for negotiations with Trump - play to his ego. In exchange for material concessions, we should offer to brand a TransCanada Highway - maybe TC-16 - with the following image:
020
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
So this is fun. At a conference in Vancouver, and I'm with a dozen of my co-workers at an Oilers bar here. And trolling my friends who are Canucks fans... #oilers
010
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Conservatives: Even a modest UBI is too expensive, and would make people lazy and hurt the economy. Also Conservatives: What if we gave EVERYONE a million dollars?
140
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
This is what happens when you put a toddler in charge of the biggest military in the world. Leaving the world a worse place, one diaper-rash-induced temper tantrum at a time.
001
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
On a Venn diagram, "Albertan separatists" is basically completely inside the circle of "People who think that voting should require a photo ID." Which makes this really funny.
020
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Tomorrow's headline is likely to be about the Premier musing again about getting rid of the RCMP.
110
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Find someone who looks at you the same way a lab does when you have food.
110
Reposted by Dennis Buchanan
Jared Wesley @jaredwesley.ca · 07/03/2026
Smith says she's cutting access to social support programs because she "heard that people were moving here just to be on social programs." This sort of hearsay framing is a dangerous rhetorical device employed by populists. Consider Donald Trump. +
1318788
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
media.tenor.com
Khan Kirk GIF
ALT: Khan Kirk GIF
131
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
The job was recently reposted. Looks like they're having a hard time filling it. Imagine that.
010
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
In this day and age, the question of when to 'buy the dip' is really about trying to estimate when DJT's friends are going to close their short positions and then tell him to course-correct.
010
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
This is an important piece right now.
000
Reposted by Dennis Buchanan
George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
THIS.
9902761311267
Reposted by Dennis Buchanan
Anne with an “e” @redheadinthecity.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
We can see that Iran is a toxic and dangerous regime and ALSO disagree with America unilaterally bombing it without apparent urgent provocation. It’s okay to see the grey and not only black and white.
0134
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
For some reason, Alberta politics over the last several days remind me of Moe from the Simpsons: "Immigints! I knew it was dem! Even when it was da bears, I knew it was dem."
032
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Frustrated by this game. Canada's been the better team, by far, but just couldn't convert this to a goal advantage. Add to it some lousy officiating... 3-on-3 is basically a coin flip, and it'd be awful to lose this game in that. McDavid has to put this away fast.
010
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
I'm appreciating how red this arena appears to be...
010
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Let's be clear on the issue of judicial appointments in Alberta. There's no partisanship to the appointments of King's Bench justices. Nor is there a pro-Federal bias. Canadian judges are duty-bound to interpret and apply the Canadian Constitution. And that's why Smith doesn't like them.
12311
Reposted by Dennis Buchanan
The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
“Threatening to withhold this funding is not only unconstitutional, but also undermines the administrative autonomy of the courts” The Canadian Bar Association has written to Danielle Smith about her threats. #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli
20259128
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
I've written a lot about the Free Alberta Strategy - focused on the 'how' - but in this video, Markham begins to illustrate that the 'why' of the FAS, the grievances driving it, is grounded in fiction. The video is worthwhile, and Markham is talking about what he knows. I'd also revisit the 'how'.
362
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Citizens United - a decision that explicitly concluded that wealth, in a country with vast wealth disparity, gives a person a superior right to political speech - effectively made the US a plutocracy, where politicians are primarily accountable to the wealthy donors who fund their campaigns.
121
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
No part of this statement is the least bit controversial. Anyone even remotely connected to the justice system knows that this is all true. Judicial independence is a keystone of our way of life, in more ways than we can count.
130
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Looking through job postings - more out of curiosity given that we're hiring, rather than me looking. A posting, for a lawyer with a finance company, starts with an anecdote about how John Adams defended British soldiers even though it was unpopular and unlikely to help his career.
100
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
In 2013, a Toronto police officer shot and killed Sammy Yatim. Yatim was high and disoriented, ending up in a standoff with police, standing in an empty streetcar with a switchblade drawn. His last moments were caught on video from several angles. He stepped back and forth anxiously.
144
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
We just got the professional photos from our wedding. We quoted Princess Bride in our vows. So sad to hear about Rob Reiner. RIP.
030
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
Just passed a line of vehicles on the Henday who seemed to be protesting...something. With flags and handwritten messages on their vehicles like "Wexit Warriors" and "Say no to digital ID" and "F*** Carney" and "STOP OVER GOVERMEN REACH"... It's a weird mode of protesting.
230
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Just putting this out there: When GTA6 is released, somebody should create a mod with a mission that involves union-busting at a videogame company.
010
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Kirk just needs a base hit to win it all.
040
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Vladdy, this is your chance to take your place in World Series history. Go Blue Jays!
050
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
The Jays' fielding has been something tonight. Vladdy in particular has made a couple of good ones.
030
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
After Jimenez showed bunt 4 times, then Clement stole, Wife asked: "So what happens now?" Me: "Now he swings." And oh boy, did he!
000
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
After Wroblewski hit his teammate, Springer hit Wroblewski. These are hockey rules.
040
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Where's the penalty box in that stadium? Maybe we need to hand out a couple of five minute majors...
010
Dennis Buchanan @lawyerbuchanan.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Bo knows baseball!
020