- Ms Kaye is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Mary Carlisle is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Prem Gill is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Nancy Flight is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Justin Everett is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- John Westover is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Nora Etches is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Edward Henderson is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Bharadwaj Chandramouli is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Dean Chatterson is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Marius Scurtescu is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Robert Parkes is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- James Murton is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Susan Doyle is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Vincent Strgar is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Helen Spiegelman is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Subir Guin is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Kimball Finigan is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Joanne Manley is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- David Leach is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Foiling Freedom of Information
Gordon Campbell promised the FOI process would be easier, cheaper and solidly funded. The opposite has happened.
Second in a three part series on 'open government' in BC
BC's Freedom of Information Act and Protection of Privacy Act was designed to give political parties, businesses, reporters and the average citizen keys to unlock official facts otherwise hidden away. The law, passed in 1993 under Mike Harcourt's New Democrats, requires the provincial government to respond to formal requests for information, including specific documents.
As such, the FOI act is arguably the most important measure ever undertaken in the direction of open government by any B.C. regime.
And when Gordon Campbell's Liberals were in opposition and campaigning in 2001, they promised to strengthen the effects of the law by making FOI requests less expensive to file and broader in scope.
Instead, since the BC Liberals have been in office, the cost of filing FOIs has if anything increased, as have delays in receiving. And in a critical blow to the process, the Campbell government has gone back on a promise by slashing the budget for the government agency that polices FOI requests.
Liberals were avid FOI filers
The B.C. act is stronger than any of its Canadian counterparts, and considerably more powerful than those in many other jurisdictions, covering, as it does now, not only government ministries and most Crown corporations, but health authorities, universities, colleges, municipal governments and even the self-governing professions such as the Law Society of B.C. In all, more than 2,000 such "public bodies" are covered by the act.
In opposition, the Liberals made heavy use of the FOI law. In 2000-the last full year of the Liberals' opposition--political parties filed 731 FOI requests of the government, according to records supplied The Tyee by the management services ministry.
Though official records don't reveal which parties filed the requests, it's a pretty safe bet that the vast majority of them came from the Liberals.
Yet by 2002, the first full year of the Liberal government, the number of requests filed by parties fell to a mere 52. It is likely that almost all of those came from the by then resource starved NDP opposition.
Making info expensive
As heavy users of the FOI law in opposition, the B.C. Liberals continually complained about being hit with large fee assessments by the NDP for the records they sought. Although there is no fee to apply for the records, public bodies are entitled to assess applicants for any costs of searches that exceed three hours, as well as for photocopying.
By routinely responding to requesters with heavy fee estimates, public bodies can easily discourage citizens-and opposition parties-from making requests in the first place. While it is true that fee estimates can be appealed to the office of the information and privacy commissioner, that means a lengthy delay to obtain records that could easily be stale by the time they arrive. Thanks to dragged-out appeals, several of my FOI requests have taken more than 18 months to resolve.
During the estimates debate for the premier's office, on July 22, 1998, then-opposition leader Gordon Campbell summed up his party's position on fees for FOI requests. "There are a number of things that I think we do need to do to reinvigorate our public institutions, to re-establish trust in our institutions," Campbell told the house. "Freedom of information is really one of the easier ones. It's direct; it's simple. It says simply: Make information available when people request it, as opposed to trying to stop them and sending them large bills to get the simplest information."
If Campbell were to be believed, a Liberal government would halt the practice of demanding big money in exchange for public records. Unfortunately, while I am aware of no government policy to encourage public bodies to assess fees, my own experience is that there has been a sea change since the Liberals took office. There appear to be no official figures for the number and amount of fee estimates.
Previously, fee estimates were extremely rare for the hundreds of requests I make each year. Now they are the norm. Many kinds of requests that would previously have cost nothing, these days come back with an assessment of a four-figure fee.
Of course, that might be just a coincidence.
Slashing the commissioner's office
Before the 2001 election, the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association asked then-opposition leader Gordon Campbell a series of questions concerning freedom of information. In a letter dated April 17, 2001, Campbell offered some reassuring answers.
Perhaps the most important: Campbell made a commitment about the funding for the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.
The office is a crucial one for FOI applicants, since it is the independent agency that deals with requests for review and complaints, as well as conducting inquiries and making orders when disputes between applicants and public bodies cannot be mediated. The office is, in effect, the policing agency for FOI.
Here's Campbell's promise: "Our commitment to open government means providing a stable funding base for the information and privacy commissioner's office to ensure that the office has the resources it needs to discharge its statutory mandate."
Campbell's letter went out just one month before the election. But once elected, his government reneged on that "commitment." Rather than "providing a stable funding base" for the office, which was never extravagantly funded in the first place, the Liberal government slashed its budget by 35 percent over three years.
Consequently, there are now long delays in appeals, and some applicants likely now simply drop unsuccessful requests rather than having to endure waiting a year or more for the appeal process to conclude.
Given that the office has new responsibilities, administering the personal information protection act-which extends the protection of privacy to the private sector-and the lobbyists registry, the cuts were felt even more strongly.
On December 7, 2004, the legislature's finance and government services committee recommended that the office's operating budget be increased for the 2005-06 fiscal year-by a mere $78,000. That comes to less than four percent, and the committee recommended freezing the budget at that level for the following two years.
Shielding MLAs from scrutiny
In addition to the office's budget cut, the Liberals failed to act on another promising statement made before the election. In the same April 17, 2001 letter to the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, Campbell offered hope that a Liberal administration would do what the NDP had steadfastly refused to do. His government would consider extending the FOI law to include the administrative functions of the legislature itself, Campbell said in the letter.
That would correct a curious imbalance in the act's coverage. For example, all it takes is a simple FOI request to obtain details of a deputy minister's spending on furniture for her office. But since the legislative assembly is exempt from the act, it is simply not possible to do the same for MLAs' office furnishings.
Expanding the law's coverage in this way, explained Campbell, would "ensure that the legislative assembly is accountable to taxpayers, and [would] thereby enhance public confidence in the institution of parliament."
But once in office, the BC Liberals failed to act on Campbell's stated interest in adding the legislative assembly itself to the FOI law's coverage.
Yesterday: 'Open, Transparent and Accountable'
Tomorrow: Shutting out the Public
Russ Francis is a veteran legislative reporter based in Victoria. He writes for Monday magazine and a variety of other publications. This article is adapted from his chapter in Liberalized: The Tyee Report on British Columbia under Gordon Campbell's Liberals. ![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
- The Gem of Canadian Science that Harper Killed
- Who Mowed Down the Premier?
- Canada's Economy, Deconstructed (by a 12 year-old)
- Death in Remand: a Tyee Inquiry
- Now Is the Time to Talk up Big Ideas
- Bill C-38: the Environmental Destruction Act
- 'A Gut Feeling'
- Sexism Tinges Criticism of Teachers' Job Action
- Bias in BC's Pesticide Decision? Follow the Bouncing Verbs
- Why Blackberry's Embrace of HTML5 Is Good Karma
- The Gem of Canadian Science that Harper Killed
- Sexism Tinges Criticism of Teachers' Job Action
- Now Is the Time to Talk up Big Ideas
- The Ethics of Addiction Studies
- Bill C-38: the Environmental Destruction Act
- Alberta Fills Pipes with Corrosive Denial
- Does BC Stand for Ban Clotheslines?
- BC biotech company seeks approval for GM apple
- Bias in BC's Pesticide Decision? Follow the Bouncing Verbs
- What's Behind BC's Doors?
- Tyee Builders Tally: Amazing!
- From Financial Advisor to Occupier
- 'Storage Wars'
- How Our Immune Systems Exaggerate Fear
- Does Simon Fraser University Need a Men's Centre?
- Now Is the Time to Talk up Big Ideas
- Why Blackberry's Embrace of HTML5 Is Good Karma
- Bias in BC's Pesticide Decision? Follow the Bouncing Verbs
- Death in Remand: A Jail Crammed with Risk
- The Ethics of Addiction Studies
80
Login or register to post comments
jesterjogger
7 years ago
Comments on "Foiling Freedom of Information"
If you were about to betray the people you just lied to in order to get elected is it any suprise you would wish to mask your sinister activities?
gordo and his cabinet henchmen are being directed in their actions and policies by hidden and threatening forces who must remain anonymous until the grand betrayal is complete.
think about who the fraser institute represents and you will come face to face with grendel himself.
Who will be Beowulf?
sirjohna
7 years ago
pump it up tyee!!
Sugar
7 years ago
Come on! This is the most open and accountable government in history. Televised cabinet meetings, citizens advisory committees, the list goes on. Gordon is a man of the people. An open book for all to read. Just look at his campaigning... hand shaking, baby kissing, gives the average joe his ear for as long as needed.
In all seriousness, as putrid as this is - it's not surprising. Just chalk it up as another broken promise. He promised "the most open and accountable government in history" and it's been the complete opposite. What puzzles me is why he would even make that promise when he didn't have to. It's not like that was a pivotal topic in the last election. Did he say that out of pure spite, knowing that he would run a communist jack boot regime that punishes members who speak out on his plethora of malicious transgressions?
Limiting and almost eliminating the electorates ability to scrutinize and view the business of government is just another appalling mark on Gordon's legacy. I keep drawing references to Robert Mugabe and I still think there is a comparison. The only difference, beside the obvious geographical and demographic changes is that Mugabe has never been arrested for breaking the law.
JIm or Erwin: I would enjoy a note from one of you supporting Gordon's claim to be the most open and accountable government ever. (Fast ferries have nothing to do with this topic BTW..)
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes: It does make you kind of wonder what the big secret always is, and why these officials have to hold these meetings behind closed doors etc. I guess they worry that if they were to do business in broad daylight people might find out what they're up to and have some time to complain.
As a perfect example, does it make any sense to anyone (other than Brian Burke of course), that a city would hand over millions of hard earned taxpayer dollars and take out a massive loan to build an opulent ice arena in support of a broken-down Junior A hockey team owned by a car dealer? - (especially if you consider that the city also makes the payments.)
Budd Campbell
7 years ago
I am not sure that the FIPAct covers this, but at what date to BC Cabinet documents go into the public domain?
The reason I ask is that nationally there is usually a thirty year rule, and then the documents are made public. So it is in recent years that we have heard news analysis stories covering the thinking of Prime Minister Trudeau and Justice Minister Turner during the October Crisis, and the information that was reaching the Cabinet.
But at the provincial level I don't recall hearing any similar stories on what kind of discussions Premier WAC Bennett and Lands and Forests Min Ray G. Williston had in the BC Cabinet around the "Two Rivers Policy" and the hydro construction of that period. Or why Cec' Bennett and Flying Phil Gagardi decided to reduce the Port Mann Bridge to a four lane structure from the original design for either six or eight lanes. Or how it was the NDP Premier Dave Barrett and his Agriculture Min Dave Stupich and his Lands, Forests and Water Resources Min Robt Williams came to their decisions over the Agricultural Land Reserve.
Those kind of provincial Cabinet documents seem to never come out, at least not here in BC. Maybe they just haven't kept any documents so there's no issue? What do the historians and government experts have to say about this?
The punisher
7 years ago
Yesterday, All my troubles seemed so far away, Oh!- I believe in ....
Coyote
7 years ago
An aside to this freedom of information issue, of course, but can you imagine the wave of media hysteria, private and public, that would be going on right now if it had been the NDP that was the recipient of these municipal funds story, broken by Tyee and just now being quietly broached in the corporate media. This "kept press" would have been on top of this story, mayhaps even the RCMP involved, instead of on the bottom, humping and bumping as they are.
Free Press, my ass. Like I say, kept press, like the proverbial "kept woman", doing it for advertisement cash for the boys on Howe St.
Remember that recent photo of Colin Hanson, who walks around with his mouth in a permanent, tight little [I]O. That's the brand trademark for the entire corporate media, for the same reason: all the time they spend on their knees under the corporate boardroom table.
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes: - and they're all out just to get the KYOOT! - no doubt.
Bailey
7 years ago
Dear Sugar; I think he did have to make that promise. During his campaign there were people howling in the wilderness that there was a big surplus, not a huge deficit as claimed. Even though the mainstream press played it down, it caused doubts among the electorate.
I recall press conferences where the questions of privatization were raised directly and repeatedly. along the lines of 'BC loves its hospitals and Hydro and its railway, and has chosen over and over to keep them public. The Campbellites have said they want to loot these pillars of our economy, then flog the bodies. The people are afraid to elect you. Will you reassure British Columbians'...etc.
That's when they told the lies that got them elected. Actually, quite often it was Campbell himself, if memory serves, though I also heard Graham Bruce do it, and I think Gary Collins.
The people were very uneasy, but they believed what they were told. Honest people are easy to lie to.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
The punisher
7 years ago
Yes Bailey they all lied. So what? the court said it was ok! - so what now?
Please think! - you keep repeating yourself.
Coyote
7 years ago
Give us the anser, O' Wise One.
Speaking of repeating yourself, here he is rationalizing lying-, again and again.
Tells us something about Brownshirt Libs.
The punisher
7 years ago
I'd rather tell you about the "long term care facilities" the New Democrats invented in the 90's and openly dream about for your future. - but you'd probably end up wanting to slit your wrists. (if you had wrists)
Bailey
7 years ago
Dear punisher; I'd rather you tell us what court ruled that lying was OK.
What was that ruling? What was the action? Who brought it? When? Where? Why?
It sounds like a remarkable story, and I don't recall ever hearing about anything like that. So please fill in some details.
Jeeves
7 years ago
Bailey: An insightful and likely accurate response to Sugar's question. Many thanks.
Punisher: You sound a little uptight. You sounnd like my Liberal MLA about to lose his seat!
The punisher
7 years ago
Well Bailey - and I thought you knew everything ...
Google "FUDGE" for the remarkable answer.
chuckstraight
7 years ago
What I find unbelievable is the reponses from the 3 "debaters" Punisher (alias Gordo himself?) John A , and Spinnette. Isn`t there anything the Campbell Liberals nave done that you don`t like?
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes: The NDP team makes Liberace look straight - Chuck.
Gary
7 years ago
It has been said tha Westerners are easy to forgive, except when it comes to LIARS and cowards.
The punisher
7 years ago
How quaint of Westerners.
Bailey
7 years ago
Dear punisher; I Googled FUDGE as you suggested. After disregarding all the entries on sticky confections and one on hagfish slime research as unlikely, I was left with Professor Judy Fudge, of Osgoode Hall.
http://www.osgoode.yorku.ca/faculty/judyfudge.html
Is she the reference you were trying to cite? Because reading the list of her publications there, I don't think she would have been likely to agree with your premise that lying is OK, or that some court ruled so.
Please be more specific. Which flavor of fudge legalized political deception?
The punisher
7 years ago
Keep trying Bailey - trust me! it's there.
The punisher
7 years ago
Hint: it looks and feels like "hagfish slime" and you might turn to your friends for help.
Regards,
The Punisher
Bailey
7 years ago
It's official. I'm convinced anyway. The punisher is some kind of Liberal.
That "trust me!" while declining to give any support to his statement is a dead giveaway.
Maybe you'll provide us with details after the election?
Sorry, I don't feel too trusting. Tell us what court ruled that lying to constituants is OK, or admit you're lying about it. One or the other.
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes: - You're probably right Bailey. He could be some kind off-center Liberal. - who knows?
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes: Bailey, I wouldn't be surprised if he was talking about the infamous "Fudge-it Budget" class action Lawsuit by the folks from HELP bc.
off-handed
7 years ago
http://liberalsbrokenpromises-truthtranslator.bc.ndp.ca/
an impressive list I must say...
The punisher
7 years ago
Geez! off-handed, I wouldn't visit that site unless I had a vial of Holy' water in my hand.
Bailey
7 years ago
If you do, wear rubber gloves. Who knows what might happen if you got any on you.
The punisher
7 years ago
I know, I'd hate to ruin the Armani ...
Sunny Samson
7 years ago
I'm really, really tired of the exchanges going on in The Tyee now. Perhaps it was inevitable that during the election, The Tyee would become a target of the Liberals. That they would "gum up the works" of one of the only free media outlets at our disposal, by turning the forum into childish discourse.
Very sad. I've encountered these bully boys before, in the Reform/Alliance camp, in the federal/provincial Liberals, and yes, even in the provincial NDP. I'm so tired of people grasping for power. There are some good people in politics but they are so scarce they may as well be extinct. I've seen these slime tactics that The Tyee is experiencing up close and personal -- it's real, it happens all the time. Somehow those people who engage in deceipt, bullying and so forth have no shame, no morals, no hesitation. Very sad, these "role models."
On this point, I heard a sound clip of Gordon Campbell being heckled by one brave man in the Interior of BC a day or two ago, at a Prince George rally I believe. The "heckler" was calling into question Campbell's insistence that selling BC Rail was good for BC. Campbell's response to this man's specific, and forceful but respectful, points was -- and I'm not kidding -- "blather, blather, blather." Campbell actually responded by saying "blather, blather, blather." That was his entire answer to this man's concerns. It was like a child would respond, sticking his fingers in his ears so he can't hear what someone is saying to him. Of course, the media didn't call attention to Campbell's astonishing response. Folks, if this isn't reason enough for us to run screaming to the polls to mark an X for anything but the Liberals, I don't know what is.
I agree with a previous writer: fool us once, shame on you (Liberals); fool us twice, shame on me/us. We'll deserve everything we'll get (announced during the campaign or not) if the Liberals win again.
I wish the New Democrats would print a single space typed single page listing all of the horrendous things the Liberals have done that have seriously compromised our lives: allowing mining companies to stake claims on our residential properties online without recourse or even needing to notify us; gutting the FOI law to protect themselves; selling off BC Rail (to organized crime perhaps?); and on and on. I'd like to see such a one page list of these things mailed to every voter with a link to a website for detailed background info.
I'm convinced most voters have little idea what the Liberals have done to compromise our lives for years to come (and that of our children). Voters need information now, not platforms, to show voters what Liberals have done to us over the past four years so they can judge how aa Liberal government will behave if they pull another one over on us this time.
Jeeves
7 years ago
Sunny my dear chap:
The Fiberal campaign of deception is in overdrive. Gordon "Bubble Boy" Campbell can't be seen or touched by us mere mortal servants. He only associates with the beautiful people, and urinates on the great unwashed that is the working class and un-wealthy filth.
I saw him the other day. He was 4 nautical miles SE of me on a yacht while I was passing by on the ferry (deck class - couldn't afford the affluent "Maui class" {$7.50 surcharge} for the corinthian leather seats). I was using some binoculars and I could swear he was waving at us from afar. He seems like a real "people person". I'm sure he has your best interest at heart.
You see Sunny, Gordon wants your trust. He has earned it over the past 4 years. He never breaks promises and of course he wouldn't break the law. It's about trust Sunny, not the economy.
The punisher
7 years ago
Another bunch of "Crybaby's"
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
Almost every where I go on here this morning there is punisher calling whoever a bunch of "crybaby's" what's the matter punisher has no one spanked you for a day or two? Feeling lonely? maybe you need your handlers to find some recording of people saying how great you are. By the way I've seen the New Liberals ads still no leader in sight but two extremely nervous and uptight women stumbling over their scripted endorsement;and one man who did manage to speak fairly well but his body language screamed "bullshitting". You guys might just stick to scenes of mountains and wildlife cause your not doing well with people...
The punisher
7 years ago
Nope - Ain't been spanked in a while. Those two babe's sound like Kwan and McPhail, consumate "bullshitters" for sure. Have they joined the big "Party"?
Bailey
7 years ago
Dear BLONDE PITBULL, I don't think they're lacking attention. I think they're probably working some kind of distraction. They seem desperate to hijack and ruin any conversation that seems bad for their masters. They're succeeding with offensive tactics like "babe's" and "Crybaby's" (sic). And with these foolish one liners.
I suggest for the next couple of weeks we all just refuse to acknowledge them. Ignore them completely unless they actually say something true that also advances whatever discussion it appears in.
If we refuse to change the subject they can't make us.
The punisher
7 years ago
Good idea Bailey, you're absolutely correct, 50% of the polls does tend to make a person nervous and desperate. I like it - carry on the good work.
What was the subject?
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
Good idea, Bailey,after this I will, but punisher if you and the Liberals are so proud of GC and his / your "accomplishments" including that poll why do you NOT have him in your ads and allow the public advanced notice/access to question him? What it tells me is that you/him/they are afraid to....Oh, and the subject of this story is how GC promised better access to FOI's and delivered the opposite...
The punisher
7 years ago
What on earth makes you think I'm proud of GC? - I think he might be a bit of a "Girly Man".
Sunny Samson
7 years ago
I just heard another CBC Radio report of the Prince George incident where a lone dissenter was bullied into silence by the words "blather, blather, blather" and this show said it was Campbell's aid who said these words, not Campbell himself. So, I wish to correct my earlier account. Apparently, Campbell himself is so surrounded by security men that such an encounter wouldn't have been possible.
The punisher
7 years ago
Correction! Sunny Boy - Bully Boy was fighting "Blather" with "Blather".
Bailey
7 years ago
Dear Sunny Samson; It doesn't matter who chanted blathers. The interesting thing is the purpose and the implied world view it displayed.
Interesting how much disrespect can be shown with such short sound bites.
For one thing, they are saying that points of view that differ from their own are not worthy of consideration.
Another, Since the lie about not selling the railway worked, the victims of it should just shut up and start tugging at their forelocks. They are liars, but since their lie was believed and they were elected on the strength of that belief, they should not be held to account. Being believed in a lie is the same as telling the truth.
Also, people are winners or losers, and the winners get all the marbles and the right to blow raspberries at the losers. In their list losers include anybody stupid enough to believe them, anybody too weak or damaged to defend themselves, and the elderly with too loose a grip on their pension cheques. Winners include successful criminals like the Enron accountants they hired to dismantle BC Hydro, anybody richer than themselves regardless of their morals or sanity and anybody stronger or more ruthless than themselves.
Also, they believe themselves invulnerable, so they can afford these public insults. This overconfidence seems too oddly misplaced to be based on mere polling figures. I suspect they have something underhanded up their sleeves. I don't know what, but I suspect it's something to do with the actual voting process. Otherwise they wouldn't feel able to insult voters on camera like that. It was a very strange thing for a politician to do, unless he thinks he has a lock on it that can't be broken.
What could that lock be? Anybody have any ideas?
The punisher
7 years ago
Bingo! my dear Bailey, you found the Master Plan - "to have a Liberal in every voting booth."
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
Or the master plan could be that old classic if you can't blind them with your brillance baffle'em with bullshit.... Personally I went to school in the old days when you were taught to do your own research, to think for yourself, and to develop your mind/memory so that I didn't turn into people like the Liberal Puppets.
The punisher
7 years ago
I think you're losing your grip there Blonde Pitbull.
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
Coming from you, punisher, I'll take that as a compliment, thanks.
The punisher
7 years ago
You're welcome Blonde Pitbull In the meantime I'm outa-here! on a holiday to the Cayman Island's and won't be back until May 18th. - See you then?
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
What, you're not taking your laptop? They have to have internet there for all the right wingers and/or criminals who hide their money there....Anyways have fun take plenty of sun block and of course you'll find me/us here on the 18th....I'm still waiting for the other half of the story, you know....
The punisher
7 years ago
Nope! won't need it, I can always borrow one from Bob William's if need be. And if I decide to extend my holiday and head over to the Canary Islands, there are plenty of well-heeled left-wing NDP criminals in hiding in that paradise to borrow from. (I'm sure you've forgotten).
Too-da-loo!
Patience is a virtue -
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
No, can't say I've ever managed to vacation with the "well heeled" criminals of either end of the spectrum... Well,least you'll be comfortable there - a criminal is a criminal are they not? Be careful which one you borrow from I hear payback can be deadly. As for patience being a virtue you're right and it's one I had to work on all my life but am so good at now I'm sure I won't lose any sleep over your oddly timed vacation.....You did do an early vote didn't you? First thing I want hear from you though is the half a story you promised and then all about the beaches and fun things you did, okay?
The punisher
7 years ago
auto reply:
the Punisher will be away on vacation until May 18th.
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
One gone two to go....
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes: How unneighborly of you to talk behind someone's back Blonde Pitbull ...
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
Jean Binette, I highly doubt that the punisher would drive through my neighborhood let alone be one....Besides like Coyote said, us animals like to play with our food,and the punisher knows what he is to me....
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes: - chopped liver?
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
I'd prefer to think of him as roast turkey, but, if chopped liver works for you fine with me....
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes: I never touch the stuff myself Blonde Pitbull Airhead, (liver) - ever since I found out what they used it for in reform school.
I see you are an avid coyote supporter and I wonder if you're telling us true, it seems to me that you prefer the licking's of his regurgitated bile, rather than dining on roast turkey.
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
Now I know where they get your name "Spinney". How do you get that I do? I told you that I'd perfer turkey....As for being an avid Coyote supporter well, I've just recently begun reading his stuff so so far it's been quite humourous, but really I'm going to have to abstain from answering that.....
Oh, and Spinney I'm way past the helpess pup stage where the parent(s) brings home/up the brekky....
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette: Well thanks Blonde, I'm sure you'll be suitably impressed with him by the time you get to the part where he daydreams of doing lurid things with the Premier's secretary.
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
Spinney, I've already read some of that.From 8 to 80 all men think like that some just aren't as honest about it....
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes: Thank you! - I'm sure he appreciates your personal support, and I'm sure your leader appreciates support from wherever ...
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes: by the way Blonde, I'm completely surprised that such a Man-Hater would support Hairy Lali.
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
Who said I hate men? They can be funny, articulate, and even useful. You know bed warmers, trash taker outers, grass cutters, door openers the list goes on. Just kiddin' guys....
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes: So why support Hairy Lali?
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
Spinney,where did supporting Hairy Lali come from? That wasn't in my conversations with the punisher or this dribble with you....
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Obviously you support the woman abuser Coyote, yet remain silent about Hairy Lali. Carole James supports Hairy Lali, but turns her back on Veteran Rollie Keith - go figure!
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
I find Coyote amusing and informative if that constituents "support" so be it.
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Funny Blonde, bestiality is never funny at the best of times. He's an "animal" - and you must have a hell of a sense of humor if you find his "brownshirt" routine amusing.
On the other hand, Carole's Hairy Lali is not funny at all, even his sister is working against him. (with good reason!).
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
Spinney, as did Mary Polak's relative. People can and do have a variety of veiws on subjects some they agree on more readily than others....
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
Spinney, "brownshirt routine" I see that as a tit - for - tat tatic. Try having lucid conversations with him and see what happens.
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes: I don't know who Mary Polak is and no thanks on the conversation suggestion.
I take it you support Hari Lali.
BLONDE PITBULL
7 years ago
Spinney, I don't know who Hairy Lali is and no thanks to the conversation.....
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes: He belongs to Carole James - Ditto on the converse.
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes:
Aloha! Rafe - nice friends you have.
Bailey
7 years ago
Beautifully done, you two!
I would complain about the hijack, if the last couple of days on this thread weren't such a perfect example of exactly how freedom of information is foiled by these guys. A lesson in disinformation techniques by a good workmanlike fink.
Binette, I don't know how you sleep at night, knowing that how successful you are at derailing democratic debate and free speech will be the exact measure of how little real democracy your children and theirs will have to grow up in.
Or do you think that they'll somehow be spared from the consequences of your manipulations?
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes: I don't have any children, and I owe you no constitutional right's my fiendish friend, so the sooner you understand that simple concept, the better-off you will be.
So keep the noise down. I'm trolling for desert.
sirjohna
7 years ago
bailey; it would be really nice if you made some sense at least once in a while.
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
Jean Binette writes:
Aloha! Rafe - nice friends you have.
Jeeves
7 years ago
No kids? No kidding.
dearpremier.ca
7 years ago
No kidding, we had to eat them all during the last NDP Depression.
Bailey
7 years ago
Dear sirj, punnisher, dearpremier, jeanbinette, et. al.;
Alright, let me be clearer.
Since 4/30/05 counting from your punisher persona's first use of the word "crybaby's" on this and many other threads, you have successfully prevented free speech and freedom of communication on this thread and on this topic by systematically insulting and otherwise offending the decent feelings of those who come here for legitimate purposes.
You heckle, then make offensive personal remarks, then play whatever outraged responses you generate for all they're worth. By doing this you hijack the public space here, fill it with your drivel and make freedom of association impossible.
I find it impossible to believe this behaviour on your part is random or unintentional.
My belief is that you hate so much the fact that others who don't agree with your own narrow and self-serving point of view should be able to see how many others feel as they do that any assault on their basic human right to speak, to associate, to organize seems justified to you.
Then of course as anyone who ever raised a two year old knows, sometimes when you can't get attention in positive ways, raising a little crap for the negative attention will do.
So, to summarize, and make sure you can't miss my meaning, I think you and yours are childish hecklers who know you can defend hardly any of your points, so you wreck it the best you can for everyone else.
It's contemptible and embarrassing. I'm ashamed of you. You should be ashamed of yourselves.