King Campbell......

.......will go down in history as the worst premier we ever had, kept in power by a corrupt media.

Not enough articles of this kind

I enjoyed reading this article, but am dissapointed that I don't see more of them. I know our media is probably on par with the media from the reich in the late 1930's, but with the internet, I thought there would be more out there.
The sad part is, this King is actually elected and I don't see an end to his tyranny.

I think Rafe could have carried on a lot more with the things our povincial liberal party has decimated from our province. In fact you could probably write a book about the underhanded and seedy dealing he's done over the past decade.
The depressing part is he will get away with what he's done and will also prove that the politicians are always above the law. We will see this in the Basi, Basi Virk trial that no one will ever hear about it with the exeption of the internet or a short 20 second statement in one of our reich owned media..

Autocratic rule

Perhaps it has escaped your notice that this is happening all over the place; think GW Bush, Stephen Harper et al. - there is nothing unique, special, or different about the way our Premier is behaving.

In this era, when manners, honour, respect, gentlemanliness and genuine public interest are no longer predominant, our antique electoral systems are truly dysfunctional. The notion of meagre "checks and balances" limiting the incumbents' power to act unilaterally is now clearly seen as the myth it always was.

There is only one way to control this lunacy: electoral reform.

The first priority of the citizenry must be to repair the system that permits oligarchical, dynastic rule. The stagnation, favouring special interest, and unwillingness to consider public opinion will continue as long as we permit it.

Status Quo will not answer any of the challenges the world faces: environmental disaster, homelessness and poverty, war and hunger - any of it.

This is why the Party that gets my vote from now on will be whichever one most strongly supports electoral reform - some form of proportional representation.

Because without actual representation of all our opinions, the current cadre of self-interested "elites" will continue this, as you call it, monarchical rule.

from Kelowna, BC

murdock

You guys won't be getting a new right-wing party for the foreseeable future so by all means keep voting for Gordon while proclaiming you're "forced" to do it.

Its actually pretty funny.

"Forced"

By the way, I'm only voting NDP because of the lack of choice we have politically. If there was a party that ran the province democratically and with a conscience I'd switch to them in a heartbeat but since all we have are the semi-literate Liberals and the privatize-it-all Greens I'm forced to vote NDP.

El Gordo

I agree with the king metaphor Raif uses, however, I also see Sinclair Lewis' 'Elmer Gantry' alive in those 'crazed' eyes of Wee Gordie...

from the Literary Encyclopedia,

"Elmer Gantry is the story of a young roughneck who abandons his early ambition to become a lawyer and embarks on a career in the ministry. The opening sentence of the novel, “Elmer Gantry was drunk”, introduces one of Lewis's least likeable protagonists. While an undergraduate in an obscure denominational college, Elmer discovers that he loves to be the center of attention. While he is drunk one day in a small town near the college, he is lead to defend a classmate who is preaching on a street corner. Elmer beats up an irreverent heckler and then says a few words in support of religion. From that point on, the classmate and members of the faculty identify Elmer as a candidate for the ministry and try to convert him. In spite of the fact that he is tempted by the social position the ministry would offer, Elmer resists because he does not feel “the call” to preach, but at a crucial point he is converted, more by the power of raw whiskey than by his faith. After graduation, he moves on to a Baptist seminary.

Elmer is ordained a Baptist minister and licensed to preach after two years in the seminary, but he fails to graduate when he is dismissed after seducing a young woman and going on a drunken spree. He channels his power of persuasion into a secular field, selling farm implements, but he misses the attention that he received as a preacher. His chance to return to preaching comes when he meets Sharon Falconer, a successful itinerant evangelist. Elmer serves as her manager and becomes her lover but loses both her and his position when her new tabernacle is destroyed by a fire which kills Sharon."

Murdoch

There are some concerns on the horizon that the U.S economy is in serious trouble and the word "recession" is being used. It is only a matter of time before the BC bubble bursts. When it does, will you be as quick to blame Gordo as you were to give him credit when with higher world commodity prices, increased federal transfers, service fee increases and cuts to education he claimed that he single-handedly turned the economy around?

Frank is right. It actually is pretty funny>

We crowned King Gordo when

We crowned King Gordo when we allowed him to escape unscratched from his drinking/driving debacle. The PR that surrounds the man pales even the Exxon Valdese oil spill. And because we all lap it up like good little serfs it is only fitting that we get a government that doesn't give a shiii about us. Keep voting for them. The pennies you recieve for the loonies they steal are what keeps the average guy hypnotized into accepting a very shabby legislature performance from a crew whose only concern is themselves. BC's new motto should read Bring Cash.

gordo - bad king

Raif,

Congrats again on a great article. This ahole and his band over followers are a huge problem. They do not think, they react to the C.D.A. and his wishes. Remeber this, if the Virk, Basi, Virk ever get to trial, his name will surface. Then lets see the double speak, the passing of the buck, and such. I wonder how kingly he will feel in jail? (Convicted D Abuser)

Bigger Plans...

Right on Rafe...!!

It is unbelievable that one person has been responsible for selling out the fragile eco-systems on the West Coast. We all must have been sleeping to have allowed this to happen. He's brutal, but the people are a majority, so why are we not acting like a majority? Anyways, it is not because Campbell has a hard-on for wild salmon...No...they are just obstacles to weave around. It is because he has "bigger" plans.

Alex Morton, a lady, a warrior, and the one who volunteered to be the pointy end of the sword on this devastating issue wrote this:

Thank Alex. We are with you in this fight.

Peace,

Bear

who crowned gordo?

the welfare bums in ivory towers in new york city... that's who. (surprise;)

i can hardly wait to see what debauchery is involved in this latest multi-billion dollar round of (no doubt) p-3 plunder-governance.

btw, where is carole james... is she still a resident of british columbia?

has she left planet earth?

wtf indeed.

tks,
rjm

Louis XIV and His Council of Half-Wits

Louis XIV's government is hell bent on destroying our wild salmon...

What a tragedy. Thanks for all your work on this, Alexandra and Rafe.

Great comments.

What arrogance continually being displayed by this government.....what utter lack of any real kind of intelligence, foresight, compassion, or humanity has held sway over this province for so long now.

The brain, I agree, Gordo's got to go.... yesterday.

And you nailed it, Bear, no doubt, there are "bigger plans" in the works....once again man and nature are just "obstacles" in the way of the business plan of The Province of BC Real Estate Company.

I heard that bad King G. just turned sixty....and still not an ounce of wisdom in him.

Sometimes you feel like giving up when you read about the devious stuff the King and his Half-Wit Court have been up to. It helps to remember there are people like this still carrying on:

In Powell River there is a group of men affectionately known as the "Bloody Old Men's Brigade" or B.O.M.B Squad. They are a group of men, retirees that range in age from sixty years old to....well... into their eighties.

They are volunteers (who have come to be good friends) and who rain or shine and with the blessing of the Forest Service, have over the years quietly and with little fanfare cleared trails and built wonderful wooden bridges (works of art, really) deep in the forest here so that others could more easily wander and hike through our coastal woods.

Their touch to the forest floor has been exquisitely tender for "a bomb squad" - they pack everything in and out themselves. They labour for free, often with worn-out tools, and are a delightful anarchistically organized group made up of millworkers, engineers, surveyors, tradesmen, a medical doctor. Their work and their genuine respect for the natural world much appreciated by so many of us who enjoy the outdoors.

Kings and fish

Rafe agrees with me (or I with him) so he has done his part. However, as MOAT says: "How do we effectively get people to care...?"
Apparently we won't. Most BCers are busy "eating cake" since they lack bread.
You gotta respect Gordon and his mini Harper/Bush settup - it works like a charm!
Votes are gotten
Plebes are (well if not happy) comfortable.
Very few think at all and those who do get confused
"The best lack all conviction..........

How long does it take you boneheads to post

Or have I been banned for some unknown violation.
Very occassionally Rafe piques my interest. Otherwise thetyee seems to be wandering off into "Starf===er" heaven
See ya later

doggone

You've run afoul of the rating system.

Go back to the end of the story - any story - and select the ALL COMMENTS tab. Your post will reappear.

Every time you sign out the software defaults to the 'BEST COMMENTS' version and you only make that list if the powers that be decide your comment deserves it.

You haven't been around for a while - this new deal fools a lot of people until the realize if you want the whole enchilada you have to stick with the ALL COMMENTS version - nearly everyone does - the BEST COMMENTS track is often pretty lonely!

Glad to see you back.

gordo's only the best

gordo's only the best premier since wac. while the ndp are, as usual, stuck in the mud or out counting potholes, the libs are moving forward and preparing for future growth and progress. it's easy to whine when you don't have any ideas yourself. what a sad bunch. and will their new saviour, mr. robertson, now abandon them for the mayor's seat?

as for your question mr.

as for your question mr. mair; the electorate crowned gordo in two consecutive elections and will undoubtedly do so again for a third time.

Elliot et al

Lib supporters loved it when Campbell made cuts to health and children. Told us that's why they voted Lib, because they weren't big spenders.

Yet when they decide to embark on huge spending plans over decades they support that too, call him the greatest premier ever.

When transit fares go up the Rightees declare its a good thing because they love "user pay".

When people don't use transit because its too expensive they tell us transit is a waste and the money should be spent on wider roads and more bridges because people want to drive cars.

Now we will get the worst case possible, we'll break the bank building a huge transit system that many people its supposed to be for can't afford to ride. And the Rightees will cheer that too.

Carol James

James has not been completely invisible, she wrote this for the Province on the subject of a carbon tax.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/editorial/story.html?id=464ba875-4ec8-4d13-acb8-3bb30c97737b

And today...

And now a multi-billion-dollar transit plan worthy of Eisenhower, on a budget worthy of Ken Lay.

Has he actually run this by anyone, or is someone going tohave to rescue his hide again?

King Campbell proclaims billions

for the environment by buying billions of dollars worth of transit. How is that going to help the environment when most families will continue to shop and drag their kids in their cars because like how else do you get around take transit? Not happening. So how is that going to help the environment you say well hey taken a 3 hour bus ride lately? Not likely. I can hear it all now as the King speaks, "This government is especially committed to the environment". Its so committed that billions of dollars are to be spent on transit the very same transit where buses where cut back not to long after this government came into power something to do with supply and demand. Its pretty dishearting when you know these Billions will have little effect or no effect at all on the environment while jacking up the prices eluding those who really need to take transit while the environment is left to chance.

Choking on Grapes, Swallowing Watermelons

For years, I have wondered at the harsh double standard in BC where we happily accept bad governance daily from the party of the corporate elite (currently the BC Liberals) that we wouldn't tolerate once a year from the NDP. What gives with that?

Spheres of Influence...

Moat said:

Hi Moat,
Good question... I would say, as good as anything else. I can tell you however, what doesn't work, and that is to do nothing. We need to look at it like it was really OUR salmon that is being killed. OUR coasts that are being raped and pillaged. It has to get personal, real personal, before we can make good decisions on how best to approach this issue affecting all of us, and all our children to come. Is it personal to you?

The Nuxalk people went to Calgary a couple years ago all dressed in their regalia and stuck "Farmed and Dangerous" stickers on all the packaged farm salmon in Safeway and protested with signs outside. They did this because as "The Salmon People", it was personal. Did it work...? Safeway still sells farmed salmon, but if enough of the general public took the loss of the wild salmon as personal as the Nuxalk did, I think we could turn this thing around. We all are responsible to our "spheres of influence" and within those spheres we all can be impacting...

Cheers,

Bear

Province oped

Thanks for that Frank - I thought the comments were interesting - nice to see that Jean-Jacques Elliot gets around. Not a big surprise he 'reads' the Province.

The Neanderthals around here and there still don't understand laws of general application OR the concept of equity and fairness.

Blue Greens vs NDP

for some reason the Conservative Green Party takes votes from the NDP and not the right wing BC Liberals.

That's because a lot of directly self-employed people and people working for small, employee-owned companies are interested in Green issues such as the local economy, preventive healthcare, the environment etc. They never did like the way the NDP always has been and always will be in the pockets of union bosses. Light blue greens held their noses and voted for the NDP anyway. Now there's a Green alternative for small businesses.

The Chinese government recently admitted that birth defects have doubled in their country within the past 6 years due to increasing industrial pollution.

Meanwhile, the NDP plan is to give subsidized below market cost energy to unionized industries and charge ongoing capital taxes on energy-conservation equipment. It would make more sense to eliminate sales taxes and ongoing capital taxes (including municipal taxes) on residential, commercial and industrial energy conservation equipment, allow an instant Capital Cost Allowance write-off of such equipment, provide low-interest, long-amortization loans for said equipment, then charge full market price for energy plus a pollution tax on top of that.

Cycling Commuter

Actually, many in the NDP talk of doing similar things. You're comparing NDP policy from the 70's with Green policy now.

Conservative-Liberal policy has been to ignore the environment and develop the tar sands, refuse to put money into anything remotely green except photo-ops and so on. However, even they have people talking about doing things differently.

The difference is that they are beholden to business, and thus their hands are somewhat tied.

If and when the Greens ever form a provincial government it'll be interesting to see how many, if any, of their green policies actually come to fruition. And who will pay for it. My own guess is it won't be their friends in the business community. I expect their libertarian sympathies will take money from health and children and put it into helping business adapt.

Not something the NDP would do and which should give clear-eyed people the ability to decide who best represents them.

Gordo the Sun King

Yes, I agree with no1important. Those of us who are so apathetic must have blinders on. We need more people to join the NDP and vote in a new leader. Carole James does not have the clout necessary to take down the King.

Instead of the mobster 'Teflon Don', our leader could be called 'Lord Gordo the Grease'

On topic

I think a good read along with this column might be at http://www.kootenayactivist.ca
Scrool to "the Big Lie". Corky tells about a chance meeting with a political adversary. Whomever this person is he sure has a grasp on the Campbell administration.

frank and gwest; not sure

frank and gwest; not sure why you continue to call me elliot, but i'm assuming you think it's b/c i used to post under that moniker. not true. i did, however, read that link to the teacher's diaries that you provided the other day mr. west, and learned that you used to post under another name and support your own arguments with your other handle. well done. very ethical. i wouldn't cast too many stones if i lived in your glass house sir.

Can't win

Frank

Don't worry Frank, as you said a couple of months ago, "Lots of things pay for themselves if given enough time. The Fast Ferries would have too if they hadn't been sold off by Campbell for peanuts."

Sun god

Canada and its subordinate governments in the provinces are all established oligarchies - any canadian citizen that expects 'democracy' is getting just that - the rule of the majority or 'mobocracy'. This mob is unwitting as it is manipulated into putting all governments into an omnipotent position between elections - The BC Refederation Party would end that with a Swiss model of direct democracy which gives the people the last say in all legislation - a process that requires a double majority that removes centres like Vancouver from dominating the province - like carbon taxes to pay for lowermainland assets.

rousseau

Another similarity between you and elliot is the fact that you never do anything BUT make personal and ad hominem remarks , vilify the BCTF and unions generally (Ginny Simms was his favourite target and David Beers a strong second place)- without ever actually contributing something to the conversation of a substantive nature.

Elliot used at least five labels serially when he was here, a couple of them before I ever made a single post. You can refer to Frank for that information because he’s another one who was always getting dumped on by Elliot – using more or less the same bad spelling, poor grammar and syntax.
Elliot did much the same sort of thing all the time.

As I said, I'm inordinately proud of the contribution I made during the year in question - so bring it up as often as you want to.

It was especially useful when dealing with the kind of bullying behavior I used to run across here at Tyee almost on a daily basis. Most of those trolls have left – I’m not at all sorry to have seen the back of them.

Who me?

I didn't call you Elliot, you just assumed that. I did notice though that you even post at the same time of day as Elliot. Same hours, same grammar, same spelling, same nicknames for other posters, same strong opinions on the same subjects. All just a coincidence.

Realisticman

Assuming you sincerely believe what I write, do you believe that?

Awash in money

Since it has turned out that our old right-wing friends were wrong, and we actually appear to have 14 billion for spending I propose a different tack than the one put forward by our illustrious premier.

I called to see how much it would cost to convert my truck to propane. About $3,000. So that means for a measly 3 billion Gordon could have converted a million cars in the GVRD to propane. Anyone with a car too old to make that conversion worthwhile could receive the same amount of money towards getting a new hybrid or something.

It would reduce our CO2 output more than Gordon's plan and at only about 20% of the cost and without forcing people to change their lives.

What to do with that other 11 billion we'd still have left over?

The $2.75 billion Translink is putting into this would be better spent on reducing fares so that people will actually have an incentive to use transit when possible. I'd make it free but that's just me.

Money could be used to help people switch their homes and businesses to a variety of greeny ideas like on-demand hot water, heat pumps, geo-thermal etc.

We'd probably reduce our carbon footprint more than building skytrains people don't leave their cars to ride.

Or the savings could go into all the things the Rightees keep telling us there's no money for like child care, training more doctors, keeping operating rooms open for more hours per year, providing low-rent housing etc.

frankwest; speaking of

frankwest; speaking of posting at the same time...
also, it sounds like you spend far too much time here. i wonder what you intend to accomplish by arguing with anonymous cyberspacers 24/7. you must have a public sector union job to have that kind of time to waste.

Elliot-boy

Elliot always posted just before 11pm too Jean-Jacques. Just pointing that out, don't get all bitchy about it.

As for me, I've said what I do about a kajillion times and have also said I haven't been connected to a union of any sort in decades.

You on the other hand, like many other Rightees, have always been shy about saying what you do which has led me to believe you guys do nothing at all.

Nemesis

I post here because you read what I write Jean-Jacques.

Thanks

the problem with the extreme

the problem with the extreme left in this province is that they disagree with everything that the libs do on principle. ultimately that is what will sink the ndp b/c at least 90% of lower mainlanders will agree that our transit system MUST be improved. even the suzuki spokesman lauded yesterday's announcement b/c it makes sense at many levels.

Big spending right-wingers

And in the 1990's the extreme Right disagreed vehemently with everything the NDP did.

so did everyone else.

so did everyone else.

he's right Frank

77 - 2 wasn't just "extreme" right-ees

No, it was always the same

No, it was always the same Right-wing voices, over and over. The ones who never seem to have trouble finding a pulpit.

But go on believing 90% of the people in this province want Campbell's transit plan. I'm sure self-delusion works as well as prozac, and its cheaper to boot.

Unhappy

So Canada stopped believing in conservative values when the Tories were reduced to just 2 seats across all of Canada?

Interesting, yet only a little more than a decade later they formed the federal government.

The NDP popular vote was almost as high as the Socreds last election, does that mean more than half the province were unhappy with Socred policies?

Happy-redux

Or perhaps it means the "extreme" Left makes up almost half the province? Interesting.

Franko

Frank says

"The NDP popular vote was almost as high as the Socreds last election, does that mean more than half the province were unhappy with Socred policies"

I don't know Frank. The Lib popular vote was higher than the NDP in the Clark election. Using your logic they should have won, no?

sorry frankie-boy. saying

sorry frankie-boy. saying it's true doesn't make it so. the libs continue to dominate the polls. 50% to 32% and holding fairly steady. and that's between elections. considering that the ndp ALWAYS have their traditional 30% support b/c the union leaders tell their charges who to vote for, you have to admit that you don't have much of a chance for some time to come. then you have to ask yourself why. if you need the answer just let me know.

Happy=math genius

Hey Happy, you know there's more than two parties that contest elections in BC, right?

Elliot

Yes, but we were talking about actual elections. I didn't see you guys talking about polls so neither did I.

And in rousseau-world the people in unions do exactly what their leadership says. They never waver.

In Frank-world people who work for non-union companies all vote for the Socreds because that's what their bosses tell them to do. All those non-union workers don't have minds of their own after all.

I've actually told you why before Nemesis but since you insist on continuing this charade I'll make you happy and say its because the population is not as left-wing as the NDP. We live in a capitalist country next to a massive capitalist country and thus most people hear just the one message from the time they're born till the time they die.

Values such as greed are instilled in our society and that is not going to change in the near future.

The only reason NDP ideas like pensions, medicare, welfare and unemployment insurance are policies now is because people can see how they will benefit from it and the business community believes they're necessary to buy societal peace.

Happy again

Yes, and you believe it was right that they didn't?

Happy

By the way happy, you decided not to answer this question, why?

Frank again

A lot of posters here say there is no difference between the Libs and Cons. Do you?

So Canadians didn't really stop believing in conservative values. Your argument would make more sense if you substituted NDP for Lib

And no, I don't believe it was right (the Clark election results) We agree on that

Happy

Yes, their differences are not ideological.

I assume that means you agree with me that Libs and Cons are the same thing? If not, you wouldn't try to make that point.

And on that point, would you prefer a new voting system which would reflect the popular vote more than FPTP does?

Frank

"And on that point, would you prefer a new voting system which would reflect the popular vote more than FPTP does?"

I don't honestly care. The results will be more or less the same over the long run. The problem with changing the system, is the alternatives that have been proposed are more complicated than the present system, and for the average person, making something more complicated is not considered an improvement. Just my opinion.

Happy

You never answered my question as to whether you think the Libs and Cons are the same thing. As your point seems dependent on your answer.

So complexity should therefore be avoided as the results would tend to be the same anyway? Although I doubt any party would be reduced to 2 seats again.

Frank

Libs and Cons the same? In many ways yes. I respect Paul Martin for the work he did as Finance Minister, too bad he reverted to Old School politics when he became PM - as in spend the surplus faster than its coming in. Look where it got him.

As for the complexity thing, I didn't say it should be avoided. I just said, in my opinion only, this could be a reason why the general public might be resistant to wholesale change.

Happy

So since you agree that they're the same I will say no, conservative values were not rejected when the Cons were reduced to two seats as people could vote for Chretien and get the same policies anyway.

In BC the Cons don't even exist as a real party, they aren't needed as the Libs are already here. Due to the strength of the NDP, it would just cause problems if the Right was divided.

On the issue of simplicity when it comes to politics, we have that now. BC is pretty much a one-party state. The existence of the NDP is all that allows this province to be called a democracy. If the NDP went away tomorrow very little would change.

The NDP have only been elected 3 times, once was a fluke due to the electoral system. The only other times was when the natural governing party had pissed so many people off they lost the votes of their own supporters. The existence of the NDP provided a way of forcing the natural governing party to take a time-out and get a new leader, that is all. It wasn't NDP policies that got them elected. They don't even need to have policies to win or lose elections as people don't care. (Which is why I always tell Working Man he doesn't understand the political system and Carol James does)

Most people on the Right have no real ideology, they will simply repeat the mantra of their leader, whoever he may be. If he's a big spender, then so are they, if he's a tax-cutter, so are they. Like those in Orwell's 1984 they will claim after changing their mind to match their leader that that is what they have always believed.

What passes for ideology is simply a rejection of anything the NDP supports.

last post Frank

cause I think we're guilty of thread drift. This supposed to be about King Gordo. But before I go, I have to say I agree with practically everything you say in your previous post!
Cheers

Superficial environmentalism

I think if Al Gore is able to say how wonderful it is that a leader like Premier Gordon Campbell will be able to dazzle the world with his "green" environment during the 2010 Olympics, then I think it's time Mr. Gore did more effective research on who he pats on the back. Especially if real progress in addressing these environmentally desperate times is really going to happen. (Due to the policies of this government we have thousands of felled trees inside a watershed reserve near where I live, and absolutely no action by this government has been taken over the public's serious concerns over this excessive logging....and the threat to our water quality.)

Gore should know the kind of environmentalism he is championing by patting politicians like Campbell on the back. So yesterday we sent Rafe's Tyee article on "King Gordo" off to Al Gore, including the comments....noting that because of the arrogant and so-called environmental policies of the Campbell government 2010 may instead ring the death knell for one one of the most wonderful species on earth - the wild salmon. Let's hope Mr. Gore reads it.

Now if environmental groups would just stop shmoozing with guys like Campbell and his self-interested supporters, ( and with governments everywhere that are intent on merely acting the environmental part through the easier sell of an environmental image rather than the real thing)....if here in BC, environmental groups would just refuse to participate with a BCLiberal government that has clearly shown over the years that it has no regard for "the wild and the beautiful" in what used to be "wild and beautiful BC" - we and the natural world around us just may stand a chance of making it through this.

(50% to 32% and holding

(50% to 32% and holding fairly steady. and that's between elections. considering that the ndp ALWAYS have their traditional 30% support b/c the union leaders tell their charges who to vote for.) These sort of wild statements are simply not factual. I was in two unions as a elected director. The constitutions of both forbid any money going to a particular party, nobody told anyone who to vote for. Let's face it unless someone goes into the booth to force you vote one way or the other. And since no one goes into that botth, only the voter knows who he or she is supporting.
Dislike the NDP as much as you like as a voter but please make some sense of your statments.

Some folks try to ge a different voting system and other folks from all parties argue no change. In my view Gordon Campbell is a pawn of business and if the folks keep voting for him, the province will soon run out of things to sell

DPL

Oh, its just Elliot, he's always saying stuff like that. I remember on here at the time of the last election (before his "Elliot" days actually, he was "Nemesis" then, he said the very same thing over and over.

Don't worry, no one actually believes that stuff except Elliot himself and the Rightees that live in bizarro-world.

Surprise?

We cannot be surprised to experience a regal Premier - again. Our party system and constitutional form guarantees it.

In 1952, newly installed W.A.C. Bennett was obscure but untainted by the shady administration that preceded. When he left twenty years later, Victoria had long been ripe with cronyism and corruption.

Like his father, Bennett the Younger built a reputation for strict central control. When his eleven-year reign ended, it did so after prolonged civic unrest and amid suspicions of scandal. Then came the obloquies of Vander Zalm, Harcourt and Clark Johnson, Miller and Dosanjh served too little time to gain regal status.

The common thread here is an unrestrained premiership. Unrivalled power of one person eventually overwhelms collegiality. Authority turns arrogant and perceives its wisdom as infallible. Opponents are removed; critics ignored. Soon, only sycophants remain to reinforce the leader’s conceit.

Campbell’s eventual replacement will begin with appearance of change but human nature will prevail. As David Brin wrote, “It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible.”

We should limit the terms of party leaders and give counterbalancing strength and influence to individual legislative members. Presently, citizens only vote for the least important cogs of government. Unless the roles of MLAs change, Government will be or become corrupt.

As an afterthought, I suppose the secret roof ornament that Gordo plans atop Robson Square would be a CROWN?

Moat wrote: "Yeah, but

Moat wrote:

"Yeah, but what do we do?"

Perhaps eight years ago, I had a large group over for dinner, served three salmon - 2 wild (sockeye and pink) and one farmed. I'd never done a side-by-side before, and this wasn't intended to be one - I simply didn't have enough to feed 25 without the farmed one.

But the farmed one - flabby, flat, colourless wretch that it was - became the goat of the show for its lack of taste and mushy feel. Grabbing the bull by the horns, I encouraged everyone to taste-test the three, and let people draw their own conclusions. Some folks still mention that day to me, noting they've never eaten another farmed fish.

I do that again periodically - I've parents and in-laws who believe they're doing the right thing by getting something on sale and giving it to us kids, ignoring the fact that life's too short to eat bad food. So rather than throw them away, I invite a bunch more over and do the same thing. I'm gonna guess that over the past few years, another twenty people are definitely not eating "farmed" as a result of those dinners.

Some probably are, though. The "marketplace mentality" still rules for some people, even in their food choices. They'd eat rat poison if it was tasty and cheap enough.

Getting personal - Doggone, Right to Bear, Zalm

Good suggestions. However, I am not so convinced that the letter writing works. It is like signing those petitions.

However, the idea of serving farmed salmon beside the wild one is intriguing. I think I got to give that a shot.

We know that McDonald's food is not really a wise choice nutritionally, and we know that McDonald's is hard on the environment. However, we can accept it as a guilty pleasure. Some of us do have secret McDonald's cravings once in a while.

What is killer though, is that people are so willing to eat the farmed salmon under the guise that they are making a "healthy choice" and an environmentally wise decision.

Let's keep supporting the restaurants that serve wild salmon, and avoid the ones that are most likely using the "net penned" stuff from our coast.

At the moment, I am not willing to go to war with Safeway, Superstore, or Costco. We know that they are merely providing what the consumer wants.

However, I am willing to educate those at the dinner table through experience rather than words. The trick is to pull it off without looking like an organic food snob (which I am not).

The other food that kind of drives me batty is the beef jerky that is made in Brazil. But that is for another discussion.

Tumor Choppers...

I am disappointed in Gore to say the least. Right on lynn. I hope Gore reads what you sent him. I have to say though, as much as he is the top whistle blower ever in the history of man, he sure has made some incredible mistakes. He supported the Makah whale slaughter a few years ago where a young grey whale took 24 hours to die from her wounds. People just floated around, waiting for her to die. Gore's support helped promote this pathetic event. Praising the Campbell government for greenness is so off base one can only hope the spin off from such a comment will induce the feedback necessary for Gore to see the truth of it...

Peace,

Bear

ps
Did you guys know that most fish farms hire "tumor choppers". This is an employee responsible for cutting off all the tumors on the farmed fish prior to processing...apparently it's kinda a secret position (no doubt). I think restaurants should have "Tumor-free" Salmon" written in their menu's if they want to sell farmed salmon... The public deserves more honesty. They are calling these fish "sustainably harvested" and other hidden words for farmed salmon... They should be forced to own up to their deplorable choices. B.

hmmn...

i wonder if campbell has 50% support in his own riding yet?

liberal support in british columbia is entirely dependent on the lack of effective opposition which carole james seems more than happy to provide.

a "real" leader of the ndp would have picked a fight with bctv and the fraser institute a long time ago.

identify them as propaganda whores in the same vein as fox news and neuter the effectiveness of their message.

people need a basis upon which to openly challenge these globalist shills such that their message is not delivered with carte blanche immunity to critical examination.

carole james should never give another interview/sound bite/single second of air time to bctv... period.

that would give her much more time to talk to cbc and bctv and would give bctv and cbc a reason to take her just a little bit more seriously.

the ndp, provincially and federally, should just walk away from canwest althogether.

tks,
rjm

oops...

should read

"that would give her much more time to talk to cbc and ctv and would give ctv and cbc a reason to take her just a little bit more seriously"

tks
rjm

to the editor

'Don't worry, no one actually believes that stuff except Elliot himself and the Rightees that live in bizarro-world'
would a poster not be banned if he were to use the word 'lefty'? is there a double standard at the tyee?

Nemesis-Elliot-AdamWest-Robin

Double standard? Like maybe a guy that was banned for calling other posters names and constant trolling hides behind his 6th alias and yet is still posting?

Don't cry Elliot, just be glad you're still here.

Campbell's emissions

For those that believe Campbell just fixed the problem of carbon emissions in BC check out the column you'll find funny by Vaughn Palmer.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=81d41ec8-f24a-4719-bb99-35bb6048fc52

Who else?

He did.
But "Gordo" is much too modest.
We, the people, need a "royal" handle, worthy of the king. Contest!

Zalm...

Study Finds Sea Lice From Salmon Farms

Bear

this article contains an error

The Sun King wasn't invovled in the mess when this happened - it was just God's mistake that Rafe was born.

BC Mary

And the thing is, if the NDP actually do do something, it's a bonus!