Same old same old BC Liberals

The BC Liberals are now trying to pass themselves off as the

BC Christy Party, 

but the same old henchmen 

are still running the over-the-hill gang!

What does all this mean to you?

It means the BC Liberal government

under Christy Clark will continue

to work against you instead of

working for you.

We don't need to turn the page, Christy, 

we need a whole new BOOK!

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Will we have RCMP or BCPP?

Why don't the BC Liberals want a BCPP? Forget the rhetoric and threats they are using to counter the bullying by the Federal government. Believe that they do NOT want a BC Provincial Police Force in spite of what they say, they are only trying their own intimidation of the RCMP. It is negotiation.

The BC Liberals will probably sign a new deal with the RCMP BEFORE all this talk takes hold of starting (REstarting) a BC provincial Police force.
Why?
Ask yourself if something is up, when Rich Colemen, Shirley Bond and all those other same old scandal plagued BC Liberals WANT the RCMP, and oddly enough, the LEAD investigator on the BC Rail scandal was an RCMP officer who had close connections with Christy Clark and her family.

Yes, the same Christy Clark who said she only knows some of these BC Rail scandal people from passing them at airports when it is proven that they had dinner at her home with her family!
The BC Liberals are deathly afraid that if they betray the RCMP by going to a BC Provincial Police Force, the RCMP will squeal on them under oath if the NDP ever get their inquiry going into the sale of BC Rail and reveal under a REAL investigation and trial that there was collusion between the RCMP and the BC Liberals to hide the facts of the BC Rail sale! 

But perhaps it is too late? The talk is taking hold, the trending going to a BC Provincial Police Force.
Something of our own, with BC native born police members as part of the communities they serve. BC boys and girls who grew up right here keeping the peace for us. And BCPP members who actually CARE about the land they were born in. Not imported from a distant land. Yes, Quebec IS a distant land and totally alien to British Columbians. As is Ontario for that matter.
Everyone seems interested in a do it ourselves police force! They want input and accountability.

Right now we have a Federal police force that brings us policemen and women from elsewhere across Canada, a lot from Quebec. They are poorly trained and involved in scandal after scandal everywhere they work. We have unexplained shootings and assaults on BC citizens; the fatal and mysterious in-custody shooting of Ian Bush in 2005. It seems they are unequipped to deal with simple drunken citizens! These imported constables are ill equipped to deal with hardened criminals and imported drug dealers. Indeed, serious criminals have many charges mysteriously dropped. The Picton trial seemed content to get Willie and leave the out sensitive evidence that may have implicated others in high places. Yet they spent millions. The deadly tazering of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver's airport in 2007  is still unresolved in the minds of many.  And one of those RCMP officers was already waiting trial on charges of drunken driving causing death!
The total deficiencies in the investigation of serial killer of Clifford Olson who killed while under surveillance!
The Mountie in Kelowna who kicked a man in the face as he was surrendering on his hands and knees. That indicates a serious fault in training. And the costs skyrocket each week!

BC and Ottawa used to share 50/50 the costs of operating the RCMP, and we had control too. Today we pay 90% of the cost and it is totally controlled from Ottawa. These are the same people who are not sure what happens after you cross the Rockies!

In 1950 the BC Provincial Police was disbanded and many of those officers suspected dirty tricks then which smelled of political interference! We suspect the same today!
The former BCPP was a highly respected and progressive organization. It had a coastal patrol fleet, its own forensic unit, employed the best pistol shots in the Pacific Northwest, established a highway patrol unit and connected the office in Williams Lake with Victoria through short-wave radio! All this before 1950. Even had its own magazine, the Shoulder Strap, which was sold on newsstands and kept the public informed about policing issues around the province. They were first to use an aircraft in patrol! They were working for the people of BC and proud of it!

IF the BC Government did REstart a Provincial Police Force a prerequisite should be that the new members are BORN in BC! Then we get rid of these poorly trained Quebecker RCMP who are so used to growing up with corruption they have no idea how to deal with criminals! We could establish a police force of British Columbians second to none in the world. We have the brains and people and technology right here in BC. The public is motivated.

Nothing to do but tell the RCMP to ride off musically into the sunrise. And we go it alone.

But don't count on that from the secretive BC Liberals. They have things to hide.

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While you were sleeping ...

The BC Liberals stealthily changed their name from the BC Liberal Party, to the BC Christy Party.  Trying very hard to launch themselves as something new and escape the gravity of Gordon Campbell and his henchmen and head for the moon.

Christy is using phrases like 'new beginning', 'turn the page', we even expect 'New World Order' soon!
We think Christy might be moonstruck, in both definitions of the word -
Moon·struck - 1 - Dazed or distracted with romantic sentiment.
                       2 - Affected by insanity; crazed.

Trouble is, all the henchmen are still the same and there's nothing romantic or sentimental about them. And that moon still shines down on the BC Liberals with Gordon Campbell's guilty face.

Hmm, and Christy is going after John Cummins because of HIS ego?
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don't go to sleep again.
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Attack of the Scoundrels

This might be as silly as the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!
The Liberals recently put out an attack advertisement directed at John Cummins, leader of the BC Conservatives. Someone must have said to Christy Clark,  'be afraid be very afraid.'
The advertisement is played mostly on CKNW, the Liberal mouthpiece station. The next provincial election is in 2013, seemingly eons away when you have a present government who seems to be against British Columbians instead of working for them.

The Liberals say Cummins voted NDP in the last election, when he should have voted Liberal. They never considered the fact that he looked at the worst case scenario and voted accordingly. All things, including integrity on the line.  Faced with a Conservative candidate in every riding, many British Columbians, even Liberals, might feel the same way.

Isn't Canada doing the best of all democratic nations right now? Doesn't Canada have a Conservative government? Duh.
The Liberals are saying we would be going backwards by choosing anyone but Liberals to run BC. Ahem, but me thinks the federal Liberals just lost official opposition status and look destined for that office beside the broom closet in parliament.

Perhaps what the Liberals are really afraid of in BC, based on their dismal record, is that the NDP will win the election, become government, and the Conservatives will become the official opposition in BC. Leaving Chief Tomato Christy Clark and her same-old Liberals with that little office in the janitorial building.

We'll look at integrity and spaghetti sauce then.

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BC Government corruption AND the RCMP?

Not only are some BC Government Liberals involved in the BC Rail scandal, but the RCMP officers actively investigaing the case being related to members of the Liberal government at the time are suspect too!
Is this why the present government is so anxious to sign a new 20 year deal with the RCMP for policing of our province without even seeing a Policing Report Study? Would signing a new deal guarantee the continuing silence of the RCMP investigators who are involved in BC Rail via a conflict of interest?

Are you such a Liberal apologist that you still scoff at the suggestion of our provincial politicians being involved in this obvious corruption? Do you still do the 'anything but the NDP' running the economy without wondering why we had to sell OUR railroad in the first place? Have you been ignoring the known connections between certain BC government people (Yes Christy Clark) and the Federal Liberals? 

Didn' t you think at the time that perhaps when Gary Collins was summoned to give evidence in the trial that he might have told Gordon Campbell and maybe Christy Clark that he wasn't going down to protect the Premier? If he went they went too? He might reveal everything? And THAT was why Gordon Campbell had the whole trial shut down overnight? Whatever damning evidence the prosecution had was now negated. Basi and Virk startlingly pled guilty the very morning Collins was to testify! 
Didn't you even twig that maybe the BC government actually interfered with a criminal trial in progress?

Has anyone ever had that inkling that perhaps many in the BC media are under the care and control of the BC Liberal party? Haven't you ever wondered why certain so called reporters from the Victoria Bureau never ask the obvious questions? And why certain talk show hosts shut down the caller dialogue when an embarrassment about BC Rail and Christy Clark begins to emerge? And even TV news stations refuse to follow up on revelations about the BC Rail characters?

Well Alex Tsakumis is relentless in his pursuit of the truth of the BC Rail sale. He keeps publishing information. Even from the transcripts of the trial! Testimony! In spite of emails and notes still disappearing! He seems to be the Champion of truth on behalf of British Columbians. And he is embarrassing the Liberals.

If you are a diehard Liberal supporter then move on, you don't want to see this. You'll have a hard time chanting your 'Fast ferries' mantra after it. But if you are a staunch British Columbian who is STILL festering because the government of Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark sold YOUR railroad, then read on, some of us won't forget and refuse to allow the Liberal rug pullers to cover up their nefarious past deeds.

If you care at all about your province and justice, you must read this -

http://alexgtsakumis.com/2011/08/24/exclusive-breaking-news-the-strongest-evidence-yet-that-a-full-inquiry-into-the-sale-of-bc-rail-is-a-must-defence-frustration-collins-under-investigation-rcmp-conflicts-federal-liberal-tip/comment-page-1/#comment-27504

It ain't over till the fat lady sings, and she's not even warming up her tonsils in the UK.

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Catch up time.

And I don't mean on your chips.I mean like your past catching up with you.
In the latest revelations of past doings going awry, the present BC Hydro chief questions the ability of the utility to support the IPPs and their high priced electricity. We have all suspected that these Independent Power Projects built on our rivers by foreigners would only siphon off dollars from BC Hydro. Those dollars of course belonging to you and me.

When Premier Gordon Campbell started these IPPs by handing out licences to entrepreneurs to build dams and power stations on our smaller rivers, many people questioned why BC Hyrdo didn't do it themselves if that power was needed. What would have been the reason to allow strangers into OUR environment to build high profit making power stations while ignoring other issues.
Some could only see the reason as personal gain.

Why would you sell off the production of power when we already had the crown jewel of public utilities in BC Hydro? Some of these IPPs paid a pittance for the licence. Well, at least on the surface. It was even suggested there might have been a secret side payment to those who could make these easy money schemes happen! If you were granted a licence to print money at the cost of the BC taxpayer, a million in cash slipped quietly as 'tip' money into an offshore bank account was little to pay when you would, in the future, be charging BC Hydro way above the going price for he power your IPP would be producing.
What a sweetheart deal!

Now even the CEO of BC Hydro is questioning those deals. Forced by the government to buy power at a premium price when BC Hydro doen't even need it, Putting our public corporation at the brink of bankruptcy because of it. What could be the next result of this grand scam? Perhaps the handing over of BC Hydro to foreign interests?

All that this deception on the BC taxpayers will result in is to dig deeper into our pockets while a certain few make billions on the scheme. And was that the plan all along when the BC Liberals, all quiet and looking the other way, allowed the premier of our once proud province to sell us out completely? Wasn't that the BC Rail result too? Are we on the same level as some hapless middle African country being exploited by a greedy dictatorial leader who runs off to the South of France with his unctuous money later. In this case the UK.
Seems that way.

Christy Clark will probably do her usual, "We don't like it but we can't do anything about it, they have contracts," rote comment.
Wasn't Mz Clark there when Gordon tore up legal union contracts?
Wouldn't it guarantee her re-election if she promised to expose the corruption in the BC Rail sale? And return it to its rightful owners? We the people of BC. Couldn't she tear up David Hahn's obscene contract and fire him too? Couldn`t she exproprate those IPPs operating with impunity on OUR rivers?

Yes, imagine the fallout. Lawsuits by the bushel. If I was premier I would simply say the sale of BC Rail was obtained through illegal means, therefore it is illegal and negated. I would challenge David Hahn to go after us in the courts, reminding him that he had a sunken BC Ferry on his watch, at the same time promising that he will be in for a 20 year ordeal. And those IPPs? I would suggest that the first one to come foreward with information of corruption on the part of anyone within the BC Government would get to keep their IPP, and make their profits. The rest would come under BC Hydro care and control.

But that's not going to happen. Is it? Simplistic. We can't. That's the operative word with BC Liberals. These current MLAs voted 84% to back Gordon Campbell the week before he stepped down in shame. How's that for an approval rating. Scoundrels backing a rogue. Circle the wagons, zip the lips.
Same old same old over there in Victoria, picking at the taxpayer's bones and what WE all owned as part of a thriving British Columbia.

One can only hope that this trail of corruption and disregard for the people of BC catches up with the perpetrators. Heavy on the word traitors.

No, that is not ketchup up on my chips, it's blood.

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Justice, Punishment, none of the above?

Didn't you see Mz Clark? Our Raggedy-Anne BC premier telling all who would listen that she would swiftly bring the perps of the Vancouver riot to justice and punish them for their deeds?
I thought that was what I heard. But that was the day after I think, she was working photo-op time while everyone was watching. Things have changed since then.
What happened next was the result of hundreds of uploads to YouTube and to the police; rioters breaking windows, smashing cars, setting fire to them and looting stores. The phone camera videos implicated hundreds. Welcome to 2011.

And complicated the issue. Like that boy who cried while admitting his crime, he was sorry, the Devil made him do it. His Doctor father and Doctor's wife mother crying along with him. He came forward as we watched him on video blatantly setting a car on fire (Alleged?) and admitted his misdeed. If that's not too soft a word for what he was doing.

In Vancouver, it is crown counsel who decides the charges and proceeds with the case against the perp. Not always the police. Chief Jim Chu seems almost relieved that he doesn't have to do it.
Ah, but this is where the complication is.

It seems to me that the lag in these proceedings might be caused because the crown lawyers are reluctant to prosecute doctors' children. And damn, why did he have to be the first!
The bad guys are supposed to be Downtown East Side kids all full of anger for being poor, not having opportunities for education, good jobs or secure futures.
This complicates everything and goes against all those talking heads who keep telling us how bad things are among the less fortunate.
The most fortunate weren't supposed to be the rioters. My gawd they have no reason to be pissed off with their position. The bad guys are not supposed to be doctors' kids who have pool tables and pools at home. They have everything going for them.
But here we are. A dilemma with horns. Professionals facing professionals!
That kid had to come first, or they might have been able to lose him in the crowd. And now the British are throwing a wrench into the works by sentencing harshly. Four YEARS for INCITING via social networks! 
Before this the judges might have been able to do their usual 'be a good boy now and run along' sentence.
This is trouble, even political trouble. How much cash do doctors plow into Liberal re-election coffers? And those private clinics that ignore the health system and cater to the rich? The Campbell/Clark Liberals let them start up all over the place. And now we're supposed to go after Liberal doctors kids? No way, Dr. Jose.
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Isn't there a way out of this? Is Christy Clark asking that? What can be done, just wait and we'll see how we can get this to be gone.

Just wait. The public forgets easily. We'll work something out.

Just wait.


We are.
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Last chance at HST vote

So what should you ask yourself as you make a decision about the HST?

Should you hold the Liberal government responsible because you believe they cheated you?
Did Gordon Campbell really cheat you when he said no HST and then implemented it?
Did the Liberal MLAs cheat you by endorsing Gordon Campbell's actions by 84%?
Should you give up the right of future British Columbia governments to tax you themselves?
Should you cede that right to levy taxes at whatever rate BCers want?
Should you hold premier Christy Clark responsible for this?
Will Christy Clark actually put the tax free PST back or will she cheat you again?
Do you trust Chisty Clark about ANYTHING after her refusal to even TALK about BC Rail?
Is Christy Clark following the Campbell policy of cheat the people and then be silent?
Will the HST federal government tax be better for Britsh Columbians or someone else?
Will you mind paying higher tax on HST when hundreds of items had NO tax on PST?
Is a three year wait enough for a 2 point reduction in HST taxes?
Should you move on, accept the tax and just let it pass that they got one over on you?
Are you masochistic to the point that you LIKE and expect to be cheated?
Are you just struggling to make ends meet for your family and don't care?
Do you actually believe Christy Clark's family first rhetoric when the HST will actually be 140% increase in some prices?
Will you be paying more in the future for all Liberal government decisions?
Will the Federal government treat you fairly when you give them your HST windfall?
Will big companies actually lower their prices because they save on accounting?
Are these corporations telling you the truth that BC will be better off or just them?

Will YOU as a British Columbian actually fare better with the HST?

Wow. Lots to think about. But why it is that it is always the Liberals AGAINST the people of BC? Why is it they are ALWAYS defending their actions? Why is it that they always say they can do nothing about it?

Think carefully, giving up your right forever to use the PST tax however you like is important.
The Liberals told us that we still own BC Rail. The contract is for 990 YEARS. Sure we do.

Why is it the Liberals do so many things against British Columbians?

Vote however you like.
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Governments of BC

In August 1952, WAC Bennett was elected the premier of the province. He began a process of instilling pride into our people through his actions on our behalf. We were naive but emerging into a new world. Among the things he did was to take over the Pacific Great Eastern Railroad and change it into BC Rail. It was now to be used for opening up of our vast interior and to provide service to the small communities full of vibrant and hard working people. Bennett took over the BC Electric Company and formed BC Hydro. They built dams for power and controlled the expansion of our great land for the potential of British Columbians! We had BC built ferries and once had more ships than the Canadian Navy! We were moving ahead into a brave new world run by competent industrious BC born and raised people.

Then came Dave Barrett in 1972. They said he was a strident voice, too much union, but on the eve of his election, he gave a totally controlled and rational speech to the electorate.  No shouting, just a soft dialogue in his dark blue suit while calming the fears of business. He started ICBC and brought in agricultural land control. 

William Bennett took over. Engineering the province to more prosperity. He brought Expo 86, the party of a lifetime and the spotlight on the people, resources and grandeur of BC. Tourism flourished. The Coquihalla highway further opened up a fast track to the interior.

Then Bill Vander Zalm, the Dutchman was all smiles and fun. But earlier had stopped the bickering over rapid transit and said, 'Enough talk, we're going with Skytrain', our present system. 

Rita Johnson was next, who was honest but the people were ready again for change.

The dynamic Mike Harcourt stepped into the breech. Ran a logical and prosperous government and showed that he could deal with anyone. He contributed again to the continuing prosperity of British Columbia. The title of his book, City Making in Paradise, tells something of his respect for our province.


Followed by Glen Clark, the bright new star. Remember he tried to stop the Americans from testing their torpedoes in OUR waters? And the feds told him to go to hell! He also brought lawsuits against cigarette companies who were partly responsible for the huge costs against our health care plan. And Clark at least attempted to build his ferries here in BC shipyards.

Then Dan Miller, the hard working guy who talked common language and made good sense in BC. Miller's short term became much like the Rita Johnson's short term.

Ujjal Dosanje, our premier of East Indian heritage who proved you could come to BC and contribute no matter where you came from. Dosanje brought in balanced budget legislation.

Every single one of these former premiers of BC, in spite of their vastly diverse philosophies, and yes, in spite of their problems, and in spite of not being perfect, had one glorious thing in common: They all worked for the benefit of British Columbians! They were trusted with the caretaking of our grand province, they moved us forward and we remained proud of ourselves for all those years.
Some believe it was the restless media that started their collective downfall, often making the simplest mistakes look like serious transgressions, and steering the public from the real issues. 

Well you all know what happened next. Gordon Campbell and his Liberals emerged, took control of BC and started the plundering of our country. We lost OUR railroad in a scandalous action still being unraveled.
BC Hydro which had been trusted all those years to do right for us was now run by foreigners. It seems that Gordon Campbell had no trust in BC people. And the IPP Run of the River contracts went out to more foreigners to rape our rivers while undermining BC Hydro, the once jewel of BC utilities.
Our natural salmon fishery is declining to the point of collapse while our government defends the foreign owned fish farms. We send millions to other countries to build ferries while our own workers go hungry. Campbell even tried to shut down the independent voice of the Georgia Straight and the Knowledge Network! He tore up legitimate union contracts.
And how has BC fared under the Liberals? We are in serious moral decline because the people who control our province have no loyalty or respect for British Columbians. They are here for the big money.
The working people are struggling with providing the necessities for their families. Homelessness is becoming out of control. 

Gordon Campbell, and now Christy Clark, have implemented a sea change in BC. Under the pretense of entering a global economy, while many British Columbians believe we have entered a far more dangerous era where personal greed is the raison d'être of the government. And now the media is mainly controlled by the Premier's office, and says not a word about court cases against them, a corruption becoming rampant, sneaky nefarious dealings with far off people and businesses with no real interest in BC except money right now. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Isn't it time we rejected this attitude from our elected Liberals and our unelected Premier and threw them out? It is time we quit tolerating them explaining why things are good for us when we all know those things are only good for them and their friends.
If you still trust these crooks, you haven't been here very long to realize the pride we once had that British Columbians could control their own fate and could do it better than anyone else!
That was a great feeling then.
We need to take back our province and tell the politicians what to do.
Anything but Liberals.
Anything.

HST vote

It seems to be that the whole idea of this crucial HST vote, is one of confusion and disinformation. Why couldn't the question have been simple?
'Do you want the HST'  - - - Yes. No.
We have instead, 'Do you want to extinguish the HST?'  Like it was on fire or something. Both sides are vitriolic about their concerns.

The Liberal government which has implemented the new tax, without consultation to the taxpayers, and some say even lying about it before they brought it in, is FOR the HST. It will be great for BC they tell us. So far, in my unprofessional polls, I have found no human who thinks it would be great for them. Instead, we have a grass roots movement who is still seething at the Liberals (and Gordon Campbell) for their sneakiness. [indeed, people are incensed about his appointment as High Commissioner]
So the people seem overwhelmingly against the HST.

The government's position is that business in BC will have huge benefits and those benefits will be passed down to consumers in lower prices. Some housewives, struggling with prices, think that even if there was a 10% reduction in prices it would only get them even to the point they were before the HST! Not likely though, is it?
What many say happens with the change to the HST tax is that those businesses save money on accounting by having to account and submit only one tax to the Federal government instead of two, one to the Feds and one to the Provincial government.
Most consumers seem to scoff at the idea that business savings will result in lower prices. Show me, they are asking. I suppose the ultimate benefit might be to  shareholders of large companies in increased stock values and dividends. But how many hard working people does that actually help?

The government is trying to sell the HST as a tax cut. The tax WAS 12% and they are lowering it to 10%, hence their rationale. Yet they are omitting the fact that the former PST had hundreds of items that were completely exempt from tax. So instead of a tax cut, it seems to many that something that WAS tax free, now is taxable at 10% (12%) How is that a tax cut even by the current Liberal figuring? It is a huge tax increase!

This is my simple figuring = Hundreds of items previous to HST were ONLY taxed as GST@ 5%. NO PST. Now these items are HST @12%. = 140% INCREASE in the tax!

And this so called tax cut? The 10% they are yelling about does not take place for three YEARS! The tax is 12% now. (They conveniently forget that in their advertising) And will be gradually scaled down to the 10%. Which brings up a further point of contention among many taxpayers: The fact that the Provincial government, Premier Christy Clark, ASKED the Feds to reduce the tax, and are boasting about them allowing it. 
If the former tax in BC, the PST, (Provincial Sales Tax)  was controlled and administered by we the people of BC, and the NEW tax, the HST, is administered by the Federal government, why would we choose to lose control of that tax base to the Feds? And do we believe that anything as political as this would be done fairly and for the people? Are we losing sovereignty to the Federal Government of the day?

The Federal Conservatives lost seats in Quebec in the last Canada election. Do we think that they won't be siphoning huge funds into that province for future votes? Do we want those funds to come from our taxes re the federally controlled HST?
Many say that a tax of about 2 billion dollars was transferred from corporations to taxpayers in BC. (8 billion in Ontario) We are to receive 1.6 billion from the feds to implement it. So how do we pay back that money if we choose to repeal it? The feds have hardly paid anything yet, only a few million dollars. And the NEW tax on items untaxed before has filled the coffers already. So the hit will not be huge.

This IS a crucial vote. It is a choice of whether you choose to help British Columbia businesses by allowing the HST, (and you always have to consider these days, how many big corporations in BC are foreign owned) to hopefully get some kind of benefit up the road, or whether you reprimand the Liberal government for sneaky doings against the people. It is the Liberals mess, let them show us how smart they are by figuring out something else. There are also many respected organizations disputing the true benefits to British Columbians emerging lately.

It IS confusing and full of misinformation and disinformation. Do you want to extinguish the HST? Or do you want to believe the Liberals, keep the HST as a tax cut that doesn't go from zero to 12%, but in three years will go from zero to 10%.
Some tax cut.

I want to extinguish the politicians and start over again.
I can't trust these ones.

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Here's a bit extra for all you untrusters - - -
You open your HST vote package - 3 portions inside.
So first you do your address and signature envelope. Putting in your name, signature and birth date etc.
Then you make your vote on the paper, and insert that paper into the SECRECY envelope. Sealing the envelope.
Now, you take the vote envelope AND your personal envelope, and ALSO place it into the secrecy envelope. So your 'anonymous' vote and the information of who made that anonymous vote are nestled cosily together in the SAME envelope! How's that for secrecy? Then you put that envelope into the Elections BC envelope and send it off. Confidant that no one would ever open BOTH envelopes and compare them to see exactly WHO voted for WHAT. Sure.
And of course you licked the envelopes shut, all three of them, didn't you? Carefully leaving your DNA on all three.
Big Brother knows which way you voted.
Sorry.

Blair Lekstrom - MLA again

We love stuff like this:
June 11, 2010 - Blair Lekstrom - you'd almost believe he had integrity

"I was elected to represent the people of Peace River South and I have always committed to working with and for my constituents. I believe that my first priority as an elected official is to the people that elect me and then to the political party I represent. It is clear to me that the residents of Peace River South are opposed to the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) and are unhappy with the way in which our government moved forward with this policy ...
My decision to resign from Cabinet and the BC Liberal Caucus was very difficult, but I fundamentally disagree with the direction our government is headed ... When I was elected, I promised myself, my family and my constituents that I would not change who I am to do this job, and I have reached a point where my beliefs and values no longer align with my government.

Wow, personal standards. Only one in that mess of Liberals over there.
But wait, that was then, this is now - here we are in 2011 and what is this?


The all new, June 2011 subservient version of Blair Lekstrom - 

"I made a commitment when I took my oath of office. I think I can better serve the people of B.C. and my constituents if I'm going to stay in cabinet, if I'm going to stay in government," he said, acknowledging a tradition that would have likely seen him have to resign from cabinet in order to vote against his government.

Hmm. I guess integrity is buttered on the other side of the bread.
Who wins? Lekstrom gets his pay and personal power over beliefs and values.
Who loses? The people of Peace River who elected him. Nice that Blair Lekstrom's stars all align with his government this year. Threats of losing your job will do that to a man. 

Of course, no one is explaining WHY an MLA would lose his job over representing his people's wishes. Isn't that exactly against why we elect someone in the first place? Is this democracy or dictatorship?


In contemporary usage, dictatorship refers to an autocratic form of absolute rule by leadership unrestricted by law, constitutions, or other social and political factors within the state. 
Well yes, that is Christy Clark's Liberalism defined perfectly.

The BC NOT Liberals

The BC Liberals are tired of being BC Liberals. 

They are seeking a new name. They don't want to be associated with the Liberal party anymore. They want something catchy and new that will fool you into believing they are not the same old faces that pulled all those tricks and cheats on you. They want to present new images. Too many old scandals. Too many suspicions. Too many bad memories. Too many unanswered questions. Maybe too many crooks. And they don't want you to see those same old faces of deception that you're so familiar with. 

So they will all be new again. Reborn. Honest. Full of integrity. The Not Liberals.

The new name is up for grabs. There must be thousands of potentials. This could actually be fun. Thinking up new names for scoundrels.

Why our new Premier wants to divorce her party name to seem to separate from Federal Liberals is her reasoning, and anyone's guess, while she stacks her backroom deck with many former federal Liberals. A paradox there.
But we think it is probably because of the procession of discredited Federal Liberals; Chretien, who said he would rescind the GST. And Paul Martin known as Mr Dithers. And Stephane Dione, supposedly a brilliant man who was plain stupid in politics and presentation. Michael Ignatieff, who seems to have accepted the coup de grace, if not actually administering it. Yes the word Liberal definitely has the odor of a cadaver.

Well, no wonder she wants her own name, the tainting of the Liberal name is complete within the latest Federal election. Demoralizing. So Premier Clark will bring in the brain trust of those guys to be her confidants. Confusing isn't it?
Some might say arrogant.
Some would even suggest that the tainting of the Provincial Liberal party is also almost complete.
All that is needed is a Provincial election.

I heard they put out a call for more paper bags.
Try the Unknown Comic, somehow that fits.

Trust issues

So Christy Clark squeezed herself into the Premier's chair in BC.
Quite remarkable actually. Considering her silence on the BC Rail issue. Yes, it seems that is still an issue except for many of the people of Point Grey, who probably never took a train into BC's interior in their lives. Maybe they are just Palm Springs people. I don't know.
But we have a new Premier who seems to be hoping the people of BC will forget Gordon Campbell, and indeed that she was even part of his government.

We have noticed that most of the radio talk shows, both of our so called newspapers, TV News hours and many other media outlets are pretending the issues with the Liberal government are over. They poopoo any talk of the past with scolding comments of 'moving on'.
Well the news outlets want fresh news, and we don't have a real investigative reporter anywhere within our news media system. Sorry, but I am old, I remember Jack Webster and Simma Holt.
Mz Clark is working hard to convey an image of newness in her new (old) government. She and her shopworn colleagues are putting themselves forward as the new Liberals, even though the faces remain etched on the bathroom walls of deceit.

You see, that IS the issue. Only one Liberal has stepped away in shame. All the others pretend they had nothing to do with the actions under Campbell. These are the same people who voted 84% support of him one week before he stepped down in humiliation.
So Christy Clarke is asking us to trust her. That she will look out for us. Save our families. Guard our future. Yet too many questions remain. Most of them embarrassing. And too many more are emerging. There are way too many doubts about how well we really are.

The HST is great for British Columbians. That line has been heralded for months, yet a new report claims otherwise. That it will hurt us. Us people. Yes we know it will be good for companies. They will save millions in accounting costs. I would like to see a list of the larger corporations operating in BC, just to see ownership and where they send THEIR profits. Whenever a big business tells me something is good for me, I am naturally suspect that it is exactly the opposite!

Our new Premier has effectively shut down all discussion about BC Rail. In spite of her suspected involvement in the scandal. In spite of her government paying the guilty parties six million dollar lawyers' fees! Can we trust a premier with this kind of evasiveness? Do we just let a massive deception like this melt away? Do we let them get away with their scam?

Clark refused to attend any all candidates' meetings during her short run up to the by election. Was she afraid of prickly questions? Or was it just plain arrogance? Learned from following the attitude of her mentor, Gordon Campbell?
We know nothing of her plans for Run-of-River Private Power Projects, even though information is surfacing that they will hurt the BC economy in favour of foreign profits.
And we wonder what she is planning for BC Hydro, the jewel of BC utilities?

We know nothing about her stance on the foreign owned fish farms and the Liberal denial that they could be destroying our natural sockeye salmon fishery. Once one of the wonders of the world! Do we allow a resource to perish in favour of foreign profits?

It was the attitude of the Liberals toward the people of BC that brought them down in my mind. Sending 430 million dollars to German families to build our BC Ferries instead of using our own competent shipbuilders was yet another slap in our faces. Those Germans bought fridges and stoves and cars and holidays for their families, spent their money in German communities while British Columbians were left wondering.

There are so many questions that no one will answer. If a government evades a confrontation with the electorate, the voters have no choice but to assume the worst. That is human nature. Especially if you have a history of deception, arrogance and scandal. Her stealthy handlers successfully kept her away from any uncontrolled contact with an inquiring public. From anyone who might inadvertently ask an embarrassing question.

Christy Clark will probably spend a ton of OUR money on trying to get us to buy into the HST. They she will go into a general election, hoping for redemption for her party.
My only point about the HST over the former PST, is that we in this province control a PST. Provincial Sales Tax. With the HST we simply send all the money to Ottawa. And you know from the last federal election result that most of that money will be funnelled into Quebec. I would chose to have our sovereignty intact and not relinquish a power we desperately need to keep the hard earned tax money of BCers remaining in OUR province.

I am not against Liberals at all. This argument would be the same regardless of what party had been in power. But I do believe we need to throw out these people, simply to force them to start afresh. We need to give someone else a chance, yes, even the NDP, or Conservatives or BC First if it falls to them. Then the Liberals can come back as truly fresh faces and try to win us all over again.

But for now, I have seen nothing in these same old Liberals that warrants my vote. I simply don't believe anything they say. It's a trust issue.
The washroom graffiti needs a good scrubbing.

And some politicians need their mouths washed out with soap.

A concerned citizen's letter re BC Hydro

published in the April 15 edition of the Campbell River Courier-Islander.

"Now there's a profundity! Merely a month on the job and Hon. Rich Coleman is qualified to single-handedly determine the engineering, safety, and financial merits of BC Hydro projects. Does he think that Hydro would be proposing the project if it didn't need to be done? Some sort of a 'make work' project perhaps? In your article Mr. Coleman goes on to say "...But we also need to minimize costs and take care about the burden we're placing on families ... you also have to figure out how you an bring your costs in and cash-flow it through so that your rates will be kept down..."
To ensure that Mr. Coleman's prerequisites can be met, he has struck a panel of 'senior officials' to examine Hydro's financial performance, its operating and capital requirements, the reliability of its forecasting systems, administrative expenses, procurement processes, cost containment strategies, and opportunities for savings.
As a retired BC Hydro manager with 36 years service I feel both compelled and qualified to comment. The underlying implication of Mr. Coleman's comments and actions is that BC Hydro is inept and that somehow by the end of June his panel of 'senior officials' is going to identify the various errors of Hydro's ways and get them on track towards providing low cost, reliable, clean hydroelectric energy for the citizens and industry of British Columbia.
Whoa! Reality check!
The facts of the matter are that BC Hydro, through the watchful eye of the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) and the incredible foresight of the W.A.C. Bennett government has been providing the lowest cost, reliable, green, 100% renewable electrical energy in North America to the citizens and industry of B.C for the past 50 years. >
And, just as importantly, they would still be doing so if the provincial government (yes, the same Liberal government that Mr. Coleman is and has been a Minister for) had not decided to use (or more accurately abuse) BC Hydro as an enormous "cash cow" and steal hundreds of millions of dollars from them per year in "dividend payments" to the "shareholder" (the government on behalf of British Columbians).

The fact is that the government saw Hydro's large cash flows and capital and operational program funds as huge cash reserves that they could 'better use' to fund other government programs for which funding would otherwise have to be reduced or taxes would otherwise have to be increased. Our 'diligent' premier and his cabinet simply didn't care that their 'rob Peter to pay Paul' actions would require Hydro to cut and/or seriously curtail their requisite system operations and capital programs.
In fact, to add insult to injury, the Liberal government under Premier Gordon Campbell forced BC Hydro to take on billions of dollars in additional debt in the form of long term (30 -- 40 year) 'use or pay' contracts with private run-of-river and wind power developers. Furthermore, the contracted energy costs are two to three times higher than current electrical energy value.
So, back to Mr. Coleman's quandary. What will his panel of experts determine? What can we do to ensure that the citizens and industry of British Columbia are getting the best bang for their energy dollar?

How can we be sure that Hydro and its villainous team of engineers and technicians isn't out to screw us? Well, I would like to humbly suggest the following solutions: Get your grubby government hands out of BC Hydro's pockets. For the past 50 years the citizens and industry of British Columbia have enjoyed 'real' dividends from BC Hydro in the form of the lowest cost, clean, reliable electrical energy in North America (possibly the world). This didn't happen by accident and it certainly isn't indicative of a poorly run energy corporation.
Let BC Hydro work to its mandate and let BCUC do its job of overseeing Hydro's operations.
Make the government the 'fall guy' rather than BC Hydro and explain why Hydro is in the mess it's in. The government created the mess so they should at least have the intestinal fortitude and integrity to admit it.
Unfortunately we are all going to have to pay to get ourselves out of this mess but at least we should know the real cause so that future generations don't repeat this sham.
M.J. (Marv) Everett, Retired,
Campbell River

(bolds are mine)

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There are many people in British Columbia who harbor suspicions about the motives of the current Liberal government to undermine the work of BC Hydro in the first place, and the reasons for private power Run of the River projects.
Some believe that, (using the BC Rail trial jargon) that 'Tips' might have been provided to certain officials. Most of these power projects have a limited liability to even provide power for the people of BC and after their initial contracts run out, said to be for only five years, they are free to use the resources of BC rivers for their power to supply out of country electricity, to California air conditioners and Nevada neon etc without having to provide one milliwatt to British Columbians!
BC Hydro has, as Mr. Everett said, been trusted for fifty years by British Columbians, to look after OUR needs, and he is careful to acknowledge the foresight of WAC Bennett to build this into the corporation. Alas, governments with benefits for BCers in mind are sadly gone.
We notice Mr. Colman's clever use of Christy Clark's new election buzzword, 'families', and we wonder how many journals, radio, newspapers, TV stations and other media will bring up even ONE question in the coming provincial election to a Liberal candidate regarding the destruction of the jewel of Crown Corporations in BC and it's effect on the families of British Columbians?

Elections, Polls and Lying

     The Feds have started their election campaign. May second. The three amigos, Harper, Ignatief and Layton are all about to pretend to suck up to us. Each to blatantly lie about what their government will do for us. Prosperity and success are just around the corner, they'll say with a straight face, get those other people out and our people in! The people I know are worried about what the government will do TO them.
The polls will be polling right left and center. With all the politicians grouping themselves into that center. Man on the street polls. Web polls, shopping mall polls, telephone polls, newspaper polls, tabloid polls. Exit polls, entrance polls. Bar polls. Man on the toilet polls. All purporting to ask questions about your political intentions and print results honestly about who YOU want to govern you and your family. Be aware that veracity is not on the federal political comprehension list.

There'll be Ipsos polls, Compas, Gallup, Nanos, Polara polls etc etc ad nauseum. And by the time anyone in the West turns on the TV election night, without counting a single vote, you'll hear someone like Bill Good in his stentorian voice simply TELL you who your government is. Isn't that speshul?

It's the polls that irritate me. They ask you all these questions and we are supposed to answer candidly to some stranger with a clip board. I would sooner answer to a guy with a bicycle clip on his pantleg and an arrow through his head.
So I have promised myself I will lie to each and every one of them. Of course I will watch poll results previous to my being asked. If the Liberals are leading in my area, then I will be voting for NDP or Conservatives. No question asked of me will receive an honest answer. If it looks like a landslide for the Conservatives I will leap on that bandwagon and lie like hell about voting for them.

You see, if we ALL lie to these pollsters, the effects of polling become irrelevant. No one will believe the results because they might have forecast a landslide win by the Reform party and the Marijuana party snuck in somehow! A gleeful result, get some potting soil!
So the guy approaches you on the street and asks if you will be voting in this election? You say Yes, I will. And who for? You say, (randomly) the NDP. Conservatives, Liberals, the Bloc even! (That ultimate lie is to make Quebeckers think someone outside of the 'nation' of Quebec likes them) Saying you will vote for the obscure parties will be fun for you too. Here you have lots of choices among the oddballs and their silly promises: You could validate them by lying about your vote and INvalidate other polling results. What fun ...

The Abolitionist Party - Whatever they are abolitioning.
Animal Alliance Party - Become a dog and vote for more soft watery food.
The Atlantica Party - They just might find Atlantis with taxpayer money!
Bloc Quebecois - Bloc this, bloc that, bloc anything that doesn't give money to Quebec.
Christian Heritage Party - A vote for them might bring protest from Shinto Priests.
Communist Party - Well isn't China doing ok? They OWN the US now, you know.
Freedom Party - Is there something paradoxical in that name?
Libertarian Party - I read de Sades book, Justine was a Libertine.
NeoRhino Party - It's time we changed from those old leather rhinos anyway.
Parti Populaire des Putes - Yes, I know what it says in French.
Work Less Party - Take the whole election day off.

These are only a few choices of where to actually place your vote in the silence and secrecy of the polling booth. And actually voting for any one of these will probably result in the same outcome of who will be governing you in the next few years anyway.
You see? Your vote will probably have little effect on the way your life will progress after May second, 
Lie to them all, they're going to lie to us.

If it is a sunny day I might just head for the beach instead.

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addenda: Mar 30 -  You saw it here yesterday and now a late news item today, already all around the blogisphere, a developing scandal  - 'CBC caught promoting a rigged Compas poll!  CBC has no explanation for why no matter which button the user always clicked, the "answer" always came out as "Liberal"!

Something is amiss with the CBC and the 'Compass' and that it is not to be trusted.' 

Isn't that what I said?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/votecompass/
http://www.bloggingtories.ca/forums/viewtopic.php?p=94888 

Our new Premier

     Christy Clark has been sworn in to be the new Liberal leader and Premier of British Columbia. She named her new cabinet and continued with her specious comments on listening to the people. Hmm. However listening seems to have certain exceptions; like any talk about BC Rail and the six million dollar hush money.

No need to list her cabinet choices right now, they are the same old cadre of conniving characters that you know from the last movie. Still wearing the black hats too.

So it seems to me, that Christy is embarking on a new path under a cloud of suspicion. You know how these things go, when there are so many questions without answers, the people begin to speculate and make up their own. But this has been going on for years. Seven years. The conclusions, however ridiculous, have been made, rehashed, revisited and readorned into the general belief that Christy Clark, once Deputy Premier, had inside knowledge of what was going on with the corrupted sale of BC Rail. The people surrounding her then, and even now during her campaign run for this esteemed office, were under that grey cloud of suspicion then and still are. The only difference to many is that the cloud has become black.  

But are all her cabinet people sworn to secrecy? Have they promised to keep these Liberal secrets? Do they all have skeletons in their closets too, precariously piled in there, hoping no one opens the door. Is there integrity somewhere or is it trumped by power?  Seems to me the latter.
Christy said she wants to move on, but do the people of BC want to just go ahead and forget? Justice not only needs to be done, but has to be seen to be done. Would this rationale be good enough for the RCMP? Murderers go free because it would cost too much to nail them after seven years? How strong is the public's cry for satisfaction? Are the tools of Bill Good, Vaughn Palmer and Keith Baldrey enough to defray the public concern? They are already hard at work on the Liberal message convincing us that the Federal HST is good for us.

Does our new premier think we will simply accept her refusal to take responsibility for her government's actions on BC Rail and the ensuing lengthy trial? Does she believe she can simply carry on with Gordon Campbell's destruction of the province? There are already rumors that she intends to try to sell off our BC Ferries, AND the jewel of BC Utilities; BC Hydro.
Who knows what the deal was with BC Rail, OUR utility? Does she believe she can simply continue the rape of this province?

Of course she has no mandate yet from the people of BC, but how hard can it be? We are the dupes, Gordon got elected three times by fooling us. Or lying to us. And eventually cheating us out of our heritage. Christy could intend to continue Gordon Campbell's plan of bankrupting BC Hydro, for the good of Run of the River Private Power operators and then allowing nuclear power to move into this province. Many believe that is what Campbell was planning. Perhaps the fix is already in? Perhaps a payoff was already made? A 'TIP' in BC Rail trial jargon. Ask Christy, she probably knows. And she might know a lot more about 'tips' too. We the public are wondering who does know what deals have been made?

Well I am only questioning if the people of BC can still believe ANY Liberal in this province. This is no change, and we desperately need one, no matter who takes over the reigns of control, it could not be worse than what we have now, and what Christy Clark and her band of scoundrels are planning.

The whole trouble is, these people are simply untrustworthy, we cannot believe what they say. A cleansing readjustment is crucial in British Columbia.

Putting on a new white hat just won't do it. It's covering the same old black hat.

I am old.

     And I guess I don't like changes.

I was hoping Fleers Double-Bubble Gum would always have a Pud cartoon in it. When I was little we picketed the grocery store against 6 cent chocolate bars. You rode swaying street cars then. My first car was a '46 Ford.

I never even cared about politics until I was involved in researching and writing a film called Twenty Great Years for the then Social Credit government. That was when I began to realize what a great province we were building.

So now as my life deteriorates into the grey morass of remembering what was, I need to express some things about today's reality.

When WAC Bennett expropriated the BC Electric Company it was stunning news. It became BC Hydro. And built itself through British Columbian management, into the jewel of an asset for the province. We could trust BC Hydro to be acting in our interests. The dams and power projects were all built for you and me.

Then we took over the Blackball Ferry line. To become BC Ferries. And boasted often that we had more ships under a BC banner than the whole Canadian Navy!  in those days, if they couldn't get your car on the last ferry, they would come back for you! We proudly constructed BC Ferries' new ships,  most of which are still working here, in BC shipyards.

The Pacific Great Eastern Railway was next. The provincial trust believed we needed our very own railroad, to open up our vast interior and service the small towns and help them build into vibrant communities. It became BC Rail and worked for all of us.

When I had my first house, and if my gas furnace broke down, BC Gas guys would come out and fix it, giving you the part free if they had it with them!

Our wild salmon fishery was so huge it could have fed the world with fresh fish. Forestry was growing and our mills were busy with lumber production. Mining was thriving with exploration and ore shipping. We built hospitals, highways, towns and bridges. How many can recall old WAC cutting the ribbon on the Lion's Gate Bridge and saying, "No more tolls for British Columbians." And smiling that toothy smile like a friendly Grampa.

British Columbia was being built and managed by proud teams of competent British Columbians.

But I'm not living in that past, only remembering it.

When did the balloon deflate? When did we lose control of our own future? Do we blame someone specific? What about those NDP governments? Social Credit had started the build. Did new governments of a political opposite carry it on? Did they respect the heritage of BC? I believe they did.

Even though the Social Credit, NDP governments had their share of scandals, they both had a constant direction: to improve BC for British Columbians. The things both these governments did wrong, were wrong, but not about selling out the people, their directions were still about what was good for us.

Had WAC Bennett lasted one more round we would have a Bank of BC now. And our share of the profits of the other banks which can amount to one BILLION dollars per quarter! That money would go into BC coffers.

But somehow a different mindset began to evolve. One that concentrated on how bad others were and not how good one could be. Every decision became political. A mindset grew that looked at profit first and not later. Patience was no longer a virtue. Protection of self interests was more important than public interests. Outsiders were suddenly deemed to be better than our local people. The Liberal government had no confidence in British Columbians to continue leading our people into the 21st century. They became polarized so badly that they were unable to look upon BC people and BC companies to do the job.

Today we consider only the so called global economy. What someone from somewhere else dictates as how we need to operate, what we need to produce, what we export. How we need to run our provincial business, and who we hire to do our jobs. International shareholders have taken precedence over resident workers and taxpayers. We need to reverse that direction.

British Columbia is huge, bigger than Washington, Oregon and California combined. (California has the eighth largest economy in the world.) We could go it alone. We wouldn't be swallowed up. Small countries like Sweden, Belgium, Uraguay, Jordan etc. do just fine with good management. And we have everything the world needs today, but we need to nurture our economy from a personal angle: what is the best for British Columbians.

The people of BC are vibrant, smart, tough when need be, inventive, adventurous,  and competent to do any job put to them. They are ready willing and able to continue building this great province into the pride of Canada and the world. We need only to place them first, and let them lead us further into this century.

Be proud of British Columbia accomplishments.  But don't try to keep it the way it was .... make it what it is.

I am old and I like where we came from, and want desperately to like where we're going, but we need to bring a little of that past with us.

Liberals revelling in the glory of choosing a Premier.

    They are happily glowing with the prospect of being the sole party to choose the leader of British Columbia. They are using their own weighted system this time, (you can vote for your first, second, third choices, etc)  and at the end of Saturday, the province will have a Liberal Premier. But how legitimate is this choice?

The open line talk shows have been busy all week with speculations, comments and explanations about the process. The party had to disallow 6000 applications to the party lists. They didn't say what was wrong with them. This follows on the Junior Hockey team sign up and Olivia the cat member. The candidates seem confused. The American company hired to execute the program admits they don't know what is wrong.
And during the week, when the PIN numbers were being mailed to party members, (one PIN one vote) there were many inconsistancies.
One lady called because she didn't get her number, then got two the following day. One guy called both telephone numbers and got a PIN in response to each call. Two PINs. Simi Sara's father got a PIN. He is not a member of the Liberal party. Another woman phoned in saying she got two and her husband one, so she could have three votes. Her husband is also not a member of the Liberal party.
It seems that the process is even a mystery to the organizers.

Regardless how much glee the Liberal party shines on their choice, or how much the media pimps the Party, the spotlight is not bright enough to light the way for the voting public. Whomever is accepting the bows at the end of the day, will remain in a cloud of doubt and not be the elected representative by the people of BC and as a premier, should have no right to make decisions that affect us all.
I'm swaying to Olivia, she purrs and doesn't bad mouth anyone else. How much worse could she be than the Gordon Campbell clones?

Elections BC = BC Liberals?

     Correct me if I am wrong, but this whole idea could be just a little bit important .....
When there was the recent recall effort of an MLA about to begin, Elections BC curtailed the start of the signing period. At that time it seemed to be an attempt to influence the potential signings of the recall petition within that riding.  And you might remember Elections BC’s concerns about 2,200 duplicate signatures out of a total of 710,000 signatures on the Citizen’s Initiative Petition against the HST. 
This was so serious to Elections BC that .... "they ordered an RCMP investigation to look into the problem at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. They did all that three months after the petition was validated, for what amounted to less than .03% of invalid signatures on a non binding petition."   according to Chris Delaney of the BC First Party.

So now we come to the election by only the BC Liberal party members of who will become the next Premier of British Columbia.  With no approval of this person from the taxpaying voters of the province.
Consider this;  It has been revealed that there were 6,000 BC Liberal Party members who cannot be accounted for. These are among Olivia the cat and a BC Junior Hockey League team! None of which signed up to be Liberals. 

“We don’t know which campaigns those memberships were from. We don’t know who signed them. We don’t know who solicited them. We don’t even know if there are thousands more. If this is what the BC Liberals are actually willing to admit to, imagine how much worse the problem could potentially be?” - again from Delaney.
Of course this is a huge problem, yet Elections BC seems to be taking no notice whatsoever of a 10% discrepancy when they sprang upon a .03% difference previously. And the local media will not see the elephant. They simply wait for the inauguration.  
It might be just a little bit important if we have a non elected Premier of our province carrying on the cover-up of the BC Rail scandal, allowing the fish farms to continue the destruction of our wild salmon industry, and encouraging more Run-of-River Private Power Projects to produce electricity for California air conditioners, or selling off other assets belonging to British Columbians.
Shouldn't these 60,000 Liberal members who are about to aggrandize one person to the throne of BC Power have to be validated by an outside agency?  Could anyone have run for this Liberal leadership, submitted thousands of unconfirmed names and become the High Boss of BC?
'But they are confirmed,' you say.
'Who confirms them?'
'The Liberal party.'
'Oh.'
Does Elections BC have some explaining to do to avoid being considered a protective arm of the BC Liberals? 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this could be just a little bit important.

Banks deserve a break?

     This is what Liberals do ...

On February 19, 2008, then BC Liberal finance minister Carole Taylor tabled the province's 2008/09 budget - her last before quitting politics - she wiped out B.C.'s corporation capital tax on banks. Carol, all toothy smiles and new shoes, seemed to think banks needed a break.

Want some info?

Here are some bank profits for only the FIRST QUARTER of 2010 . . .

• Bank of Nova Scotia                           988 MILLION dollars
• CIBC                                                   652 million
• Bank of Montreal                                657 million
• National Bank                                     215 million
• Royal Bank                                         1.2 BILLION
• TD Bank                                             1.5 billion  

These figures are for a THREE MONTH period! The banks are getting virtually ALL their profits from YOUR bank account. They manufacture nothing. They don't wholesale anything to stores. They have no research and development of a product. Just a new fee here and a higher interest percentage there.

Yet Carole Taylor, in her wisdom and authority, thought that banks needed a break.

Eighteen months later, Taylor joined the TD bank as a director which could pay her up to $350 THOUSAND dollars a year!

If that isn't sleaze I don't know what is.

But this is just what Liberals do.

Steerage.

     Steerage used to be a term about the poorest ship passengers. They had so little money that they could only afford to travel in the bowels of a ship to get to the 'New World.' In steerage. They weren't even allowed out on the decks for fear of contaminating the real class passengers and their tea and crumpets.

Steerage today means an entirely different thing. And it is political. Almost everything you read in the newspapers has a political point of view. The writers and pundits seem to have given up truthful reporting. Instead, they choose their words to seem like they are being objective, yet they want you to think a certain way. They are trying to steer you into a direction of their choice. It used to be called yellow journalism, or slanted writing; interpreting or presenting in line with a special interest.

TV and radio do the same thing. Commentary always has a direction. And often the specific questions put to these pundits by the program hosts are asked in order to set a purposeful, specific direction in the minds of the listeners. And a preconceived answer. How often have you seen an interview where an answer begs a followup question, yet the host ignores the obvious pursuit.

If you watch a sharp lawyer during cross examination, he leaps upon a wayward answer from the witness and suddenly opens up a revelation that may turn the verdict. Not so in  today's media.

Now we have polls. These are the darlings of  'steerage'. Polls can be easily manipulated by the pollsters. Steered. Political polls are particularly suspect. You need to know first of all who paid for them. Which immediately skews results. If the results are against what the sponsor likes, you will likely never even hear of that poll. Many polls show one party so far ahead just before an election that you wonder if it is worth voting at all if you don't like that party. That is exactly how the poll sponsor may want you to react. Polling companies are in business for profit. They give their customers what they want just like your corner grocer. The old saying, 'Figures don't lie but liars can certainly figure.' applies.

As a political event moves closer, especially an election, the polling information develops into a maelstrom of figures and conclusions. All telling YOU what someone wants you to believe. This party is now ahead of that party. This leader is deemed best by the voting public. etc etc ad nauseum.

When they say 9 out of 10 people surveyed agree on something, it only means that the 10 people included in the survey indicated those results. If they eliminated 90 other people from the survey, then what does it actually mean?

This steerage only works if you allow it. Your own independent thoughts and actions can defeat insidious steerage. Go ahead up to the deck and mix with the tea and crumpets set. Sway them. Contaminate them with reality.

Just don't trust polls to be honest.

HST debate?

     Well, everyone seems to be for or against it, don't they? Corporations for, people against. Is it a debate or a concentrated effort on one side?

I have not heard anyone make this point yet: The HST replaces the GST (federal tax) and the PST (provincial tax) and so will be totally controlled by the federal government in Ottawa!

Before the HST we could change our PST as a province before. So in good times, we could lower the PST if we liked. And yes increase it if we needed to build a bridge to Vancouver Island, for instance. PST money goes into provincial coffers.

However, with the HST, it will be taken and administered by Ottawa, and when was the last time you felt that Ottawa gave British Columbia a break, say over Quebec?

With the HST we lose control of a tax of our own people here in BC, and relinquish the ability to look after a huge proportion of tax money that will now go to Ottawa instead of Victoria. Sort of a reverse Robin Hood syndrome, steal from the poor and give to the rich, but then that's what taxing is all about anyway, isn't it.

I suppose if you are in favour of British Columbians paying for Quebec's arena in hopes of getting an NHL franchise that will be okay. But I would rather have the ability to spend BC taxpayers money on things for British Columbians.

In my mind, the HST represents a huge tax windfall for those forlorn foghorns in parliament to use. They get enough GST now. And remember way back when and Jean Chretien saying he would cancel the GST? Like you can believe any of these bleating tricksters?

The last anti-HST spike in my mind is because so many big corporations are now telling us, the people paying this tax, how good it is for us. Whenever big business works that hard to tell you something is good for you, beware!

I am against the HST and will vote that way if given the chance. I will always put British Columbians first.

Here's a start - - - BC Rail scandal

     No one in the Vancouver media seems savvy enough to even speculate on this one: the newspapers ignore the news, the local TV stations concentrate on little lost dog stories. It is like they are actually afraid to report political news. Just like in Libya or Bahrain. Or else they have another motive for their non performance for the people of BC. Look at what happened and ask yourself why? 

The trial of the two perps who were involved in the illegal sell off of OUR railroad lagged out the criminal trial with the help of their lawyers, for six YEARS! Then suddenly, out of nowhere, they reverse themselves and plead guilty, get their lawyers expenses paid to the tune of 6 MILLION dollars, and walk away free and easy without any punishment for their admitted crime. 
So what did happen?


They won't tell us so in my not so humble opinion, this is what I think happened:
Gary Collins was about to testify the very next day! 
Remember he resigned from the Liberal caucus just after the RCMP raided his office and carted off all those boxes. We had no idea why he left at that time, except to suppose that perhaps he was guilty of something. But my own speculation as to why he wasn't allowed to testify is that Gordon Campbell and his back room henchmen, couldn't trust what Collins was about to say through cross examination. Maybe they asked Collins what he was going to say to certain queries they knew would come up. Maybe he told them he would not lie under oath for them. Maybe he said he wouldn't lie for the Liberal party, specifically Gordon Campbell, and perhaps Christy Clark and others? They could not be sure of the continuing cover-up So they hastily ended the trial by having Basi and Virk suddenly plead guilty.


These Liberal henchmen, whoever they are over there in the shadows, approached the Basi Virk team who had worked so diligently for them in steering the railroad sale, (even criminals can be diligent) and told the two who had been fighting for seven years to now plead guilty in order to end the whole trial. The coincidence of Collins' testimony being the next day cements my speculation. The Liberals feared that Gary Collins was too honest. He might have told them that he would tell the truth if sworn under oath. And what he might have said could be explosive. Maybe even ruin the Liberal party for decades. 
Which gave Basi and Virk a 6 million dollar bargaining card.


The Liberals had already sent their spin doctors in the forms of Keith Baldrey and Vaughn Palmer out into media land with the seeds of a concept that it was all over anyway, too long in the making, and way too costly to even think of inquiring any more about anything related to BC Rail. No consideration about justice being served of course. BC Rail is now way too old to talk about but fast ferries are not?
So with the aid of Bill Good's popular talk show, they all three scoff away any idea by irate callers to negate the sale entirely because it was conducted fraudulently in the first place, much less anyone actually doing a public inquiry on WHO authorized the sweet deal to free Basi and Virk!

No names. No places. No shadowy smoking man to expose. No nuthin!

So the Liberals are forced to offer to Basi and Virk, the SIX MILLION dollar package of hush money and no loss of their homes (in spite of liens) in return for ending the trial with a sudden guilty plea! Team Basi Virk realized their strong position to negotiate the deal. 


The Liberal sleight-of-hand shell game is being played all over again to retain power over the so called bad guys, the NDP.
And our naive media won't touch this idea, wanting proof, facts, notes, names, dates, places. 
But isn't that exactly what an investigative reporter is supposed to be doing?There is a trail here, and several bloggers, even with their restricted access, are following it.
Don't count on revelations though. Power trumps truth in British Columbia. So the people of BC lose one of their prime assets because of whatever greed was going on about money. No recourse?
So many questions still out there hanging on those rusting rails. No answers.
But the problem with secretive governments, is that if they won`t tell us anything, the people will continue to speculate and make up their own scenarios even as these new Liberals ask for our vote. And every one of them supported Gordon Campbell through this travesty without a whimper of protest.
We know now that there is no pea under any of their shells.