Leadership

FrontRoom/BackRoom
LINOVille


"What's leadership all about really? It's about being positive, not negative.......It's about being optimistic, not pessimistic."

Gordon Campbell, B.C. Leadership Debate, May 2005.

"He (Campbell) really does care about people, about how they are doing,"

Christy Clark, Flacking on the Hustings, May 2005

"It was late on a Tuesday night. We were all tired. One member was talking about a fundraiser and the Premier made some comment to the effect that he didn't remember it or if he wasn't there it didn't happen.

"I just said, and it was meant to be funny, 'You know Gordon, it isn't all about you.' It got a big laugh.

"He (Campbell) got up and walked along, like he does when he's on stage, and then he said it. 'F*** you too, Elayne.' People laughed a bit but I think most were shocked. I tried to be tough and not show how I felt. But when I went out to the car I was crying."

Elayne Brenzinger as reported by Mark Hume (b/w Mike Smyth), March 2004.

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What, No Willie?

NoHortonIn
SmearVille

If they're gonna go low, is this really the best the LINO's can do?

"Campbell also brought up the name of former NDP premier Glen Clark, accusing the New Democrats of running a "fair number of Glen Clark retreads" in this election. "Do you really want to have the old Glen Clark gang back in the cabinet room," he asked the crowd, which responded with a loud "no."

A party spokesperson says they will now begin to aggressively counter the NDP's message – noting the real campaign is now underway."

Hmmmmmm.........now who could that 'spokesperson' be we wonder?

Could their initials possibly be M. M.?

Regardless, the fact that Mr. Campbell's handlers decided to burst his bubble on the low road is a pretty good indication that they must be staring some pretty darned scary internals in the face.

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Morton Hears a Who - Part Deux

BudSmith'sOldCellPhone
TricksVille

BC Liberal Party Flack Hack Mike Morton appears to have been thumbing through his well worn copy of "The Neandercon Stratgeist" once again:

"The Liberals also appeared to be organizing direct protests against the New Democrats. While the NDP campaign bus was travelling toward Nanaimo, Liberal strategist Mike Morton called a radio reporter on his cellphone to ask where the bus was heading. Five minutes later, two moving vans waiting at the side of the Trans- Canada Highway sandwiched the NDP bus with large crudely painted red signs just outside of Duncan.

One sign said "Moving to Alberta if the NDP is elected." The other, misspelled, sign read: "NDP is Driving Us to Oblivain."

The driver of the van, who later stopped by the NDP bus in Nanaimo, blamed the people who brought him the sign for the typo. He did not elaborate.

Mr. Morton denied later that he was responsible for the vans sandwiching the NDP bus.

"The James gang is the Clark gang," Mr. Morton said.

Petti Fong, The Globe and Mail, May 7 2005.

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Morton Hears a Who

NotSeussVille

Yesterday we linked to a quote from BC Liberal Party flack/hack Mike Morton that is coming back to the bite Mr. Campbell with a vengeance:

“We’re not going to participate in any forum at which the moderator or the host are not objective.”

And today David Schreck catches Mr. Morton in another act of flim-flammery, this time in a futile attempt to re-spin some recently released Statscan's numbers that are very bad news for his paymasters:

"On the defensive, the Liberal campaign issued a news release saying: "If you look at the median incomes for the province as a whole, they are actually UP by 1.8%." Unfortunately for Mike Morton (listed as the contact for the BC Liberal Party release), he forgot to allow for inflation. The news release put out by Statistics Canada said: "All figures for previous years have been adjusted for inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index." The Consumer Price Index for BC increased by 2.1% between 2002 and 2003, so a 1.8% province wide increase in the median wage still means a loss in real income. Everyone knows that the Interior got hit hard, but the latest data shows that even Victoria and the Lower Mainland lost ground for most individuals"

Couple this with Mr. Morton's numerous ineffectual non-denial denials in response to the seemingly endless series of DonateGate revelations and you've gotta wonder if heads willroll in the BigRedWarRoomMachine anytime soon.

With results like this, we sure hope not.
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The Group 'W' Bench

YouCanGetAnythingYouWant
ArloVille

There are a lot of memorable scenes in Arlo Guthrie's 'Alice's Restaurant'.

But my favorite bit of whimsy is when Arlo is banished to the Group 'W' bench with all the Mother rapers and Father stabbers who treat him like one of the gang when he lets on that his crime was littering and creating a nuisance.

Which is how I would like to be able to deal with the other side of the big wide bloggodome (ie. by acknowledging our differences and then getting on with it).

But everytime I go over to to one of those waygone right sites, like say the Free Republic down south or the Shotgun up here, I just can't do it.

Because there is just so much bile, meanness and wilful ignorance masquerading as righteousness at those places that I inevitably conclude that I would rather have sharp sticks poked in my eyes than sit on the 'W' bench with those people.

But some folks have to, regardless. Like the young guy who called into Al Franken's show yesterday and made the point that, because he lived in South Carolina he couldn't hate everyone who had a Bush/Cheney 'W' sticker on their bumper because if he did that he would have absolutely no friends.

Which I guess might be the case for me if I pulled up stakes and moved across the mountains to, say, Calgary.

So, what am I trying to say?

Not sure exactly, but I could see Kid from Carolina's point. And I also get frequent contributor lenin's ghost's point when he says that most people don't see enough of the big picture to understand what is really going on.

So, I guess ultimately, to prevail, we must strive to get along well enough with most of the people who disagree with us politically so that we can increase the understanding levels enough to make a difference.

But that's a strategy reserved for the reasonable people only.

As for the rhetorical Father Stabbers.......well, those guys will still be sent to the 'W' bench, but instead of getting to listen to somebody witty and wise like Arlo the Litterer they will instead be forced to listen to scratchy old recordings of Wacky Bennett's top 10 stump speeches from the 1950's over and over and over again, 24/7, for the duration.


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Even More Gonzo For Gordo

NoRoomAtTheOceanPointeInn
HighSociety/HigherSecurityVille

Look.

Mr. Campbell and the rest of the LINO's* are doing their darndest to avoid any public meeting where they might be held to account.

Or, as one BC Liberal Party flack , who has obviously been reading his prized, gilt-edged copy of the Rovian Playbook obsessively, put it:

“We’re not going to participate in any forum at which the moderator or the host are not objective.”

Which, of course, is a load of tripe.

Especially when you consider that there are many duly nominated and recognized candidates that are trying like heck to get into debates and forums but who are being shut out.

Or even worse, being arrested for trying to do so.

Which is exactly what happened to our favorite extreme green Ingmar Lee yesterday when he tried to force his way into an invitation-only Chamber of Commerce-sponsored** (not)All Candidates meeting in Victoria recently.

Now, the mainstream media will immediately write Mr. Lee off as a crank.

And Gary Collins' fixers will surely soon figure out a way to use him as Kool-Aid if needed.

But before you come to any conclusions yourself, you should read the following explanatory not-so mea culpa directly from him:

"....I've already been to several all-candidates meetings in this campaign, one organized by the Victoria Seniors Association, and another by Victoria's Social Workers, and if you ask the organizers, my fellow candidates, as well as audience members, they will tell you that I am polite, well dressed and friendly, and that I have a peaceful, credible and important message to present in this campaign. Of course, neither Murray Langdon, nor Victoria's Gordon Campbell's bothered to show up. At those meetings, and at All-Candidates meeting across the province, neither the Gordon Campbell Liberals, nor corporate television are bothering to show up to meet the public. "Bubble Boy" Campbell and the rest of his "BC Liberals" have apparently been instructed not to participate in any open public discourse."

Hard to argue with that.

At least if you believe that a truly representative 'liberal' democracy is a good thing.

OK?

____
*LINO - Liberal In Name Only
**We can only conclude, based on the fact that Liberal Candidate Sheila Orr was in attendance, that the Chamber of Commerce passes Mike Morton's sniff test for extreme objectivity.

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Jumpin' Jack Max Factor

GBCBs
TheBowelsry


We were happy to read that Rob Cottingham liked our reference to the hot air-based aerosolization of the Premier's heavy make-up Tuesday night.

So much so, in fact, that Rob now places us firmly on the waygone lefty side of the partisan ledger.

Which is is fine by me.

Except that, now that they are a club that won't have us, I've developed this vague hankering to join James Bow and Company in the Non-Partisan Bloggers Alliance.

Regardless, we sure are glad that our favorite (sorry Bob B., you're 1A, OK?) Green blogger, Andrea Reimer, pulled our fat from the proverbial Max Factor Firestorm with her tale of unexpectedly running into a fully primped Mr. Campbell deep within the bowels of CBC Vancouver's Bunker just before the start of last night's debate:

"The only way one could actually come into contact with anyone they weren’t supposed to was if they got lost going to the can. Which is exactly how I ended running into Premier Campbell seconds before he was due on stage. I was so taken aback by his blush in person (it was greatly diminished on TV) that I scarcely knew what to say. It’s hard enough to point it out to a close girl friend, let alone Mr. Premier. I won’t even get into the eyeliner problem…"


Ahhhhhhh.........Eyeliner.

I'd missed that the first time around.

But now that I think about it, perhaps we should not be surprised.

After all, there was a time, back in the days of softness and light (ie. before the humiliation of 1996 led to the permanent courting of the Redmeat Brigade), when Martyn Brown and the Gang happily trotted out a flannel shirt-wearing, guitar carrying candidate.

Except they now know that the Grunge look is all wrong for El Gordo because, after Tuesday night, it is clear that Glam Rock is the ticket for him.

So, given the fact that Bruce Springsteen has forced the LINO's* to pull 'Glory Days' from their campaign rallies, perhaps it is time for Gary Collins to put down the hatchet for a day or two so that he can swing into his legendary negotiation mode in an effort to make a deal for use 'Jet Boy' by David Johansen and the New York Dolls.

If nothing else, such a strategy just might give Lorne Mayencourt a snowball's chance in Hades of retaining Vancouver-Burrard.

____
*LINO: Liberals In Name Only

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The List....

EMailBox
OverflowethVille

......of Seventy-Seven

Need a ready example of LINO harm well done when trying to win over your friends and/or influence your uncle in the run-up to the election?

Well, have we got a list for you.

We received it by Email after posting the Mr. Campbell's debate exposure list of our own earlier today.

Feel free to cut and paste to your heart's content.....or send us comments regarding edits/corrections/additions etc. and we will update in the future.

In 2001, Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberals promised to deliver health care
when and where British Columbians need it. They promised to protect
society's most vulnerable citizens. And they promised not to rip up legally
binding contracts. But the Liberal record tells another story.

Health Care
1. Promised 5000 new intermediate and long term care beds for seniors by
2006.

2. Closed 2,529 residential care beds and added 1,065 assisted living beds,

for a net loss of 1, 464 beds between May 2001 and December 2004.

3. Closed 1279 hospital beds 2002-2004.

4. Closed or downgraded services in over a dozen hospitals including
Hospitals in Kimberly, Delta, Sparwood, Enderby, Lillooet, Summerland,
Vancouver, New Westminster, Richmond, Kootenay Lake, Castlegar, Ladysmith,
Burnaby, Shuswap Lake, Victoria and Cumberland and Powell River.

5. Increased wait times by 30% on average since 2001 (orthopedic surgery
wait times alone have increased by 83%).

6. Vancouver Coastal Health Authority alone reduced home support services
(cleaning, laundry and shopping) to 5600 residents requiring assistance in
their homes.

7. Increased Pharmacare costs for 420,000 seniors.

8. Cut 17 drugs from Pharmacare.

9. Increased MSP premiums by 50%.

10. Raised Pharmacare deductibles for the poor on MSP premium assistance
from $600 to $800 a year.

11. Privatized MSP billings to Maximus, an American company, making private
BC records subject to disclosure under the US Patriot Act.

12. Delisted physiotherapy, podiatry, chiropractor, acupuncture, Naturopathy
and eye exams from MSP coverage.

13. Contracted out diagnostic services like MRI and CT scans.

14. Contracted out more surgeries to private, for-profit clinics after
promising to make this unnecessary.

15. Further undermined our public health care system by giving private,
for-profit companies the go-ahead to build and operate the Regional Hospital
and Cancer Care Centre in Abbotsford and the Ambulatory Care Centre at
Vancouver General Hospital.


Community Social Services
16. Cut over $200 million from programs for children and families under the
Ministry of Children and Family Development.

17. Eliminated the independent offices of the Child, Youth and Family
Advocates.

18. Eliminated the independent office of Mental Health Advocate.

19. Cut support for shelters, troubled youth, families in crisis and the
disabled.

20. Cut social assistance for the poor.

21. Made disability benefits harder to get as a result of onerous new
medical reporting required from doctors to defend disability designations

22. Cut $50 million from child care.

23. Spent $5 million to cut 46 people off welfare.

24. Cancelled bus passes for seniors, reinstated after intense public
outcry.

25. Cancelled audio book program for the blind, partially restored funding
after intense public outcry.

26. Cancelled camping passes for the disabled in provincial parks.

27. Cut number of interpreters for deaf students at Vancouver Community
College by 50%.


Employee Rights and Job Protection
28. Broke contracts with health science professionals, nurses, health
support workers and community social service workers.

29. Under Bill 29, legislated away key job protection rights previously
provided under the Labour Relations Code to health care workers and
community social service workers.

30. Cancelled a negotiated $2.5 million wage increase for community social
service workers, and then rolled back their wages by a further $40 million.

31. Rolled back wages of hospital support workers by 15%.

32. Fired 8,000 hospital workers (87% of hospital workers in B.C. are
women).

33. Privatized laundry, food, cleaning and other hospital services.

34. Privatization resulted in wages being cut to $9.50 to $11.00 an hour
with few benefits.

35. Reduced minimum wage from $8 to $6 an hour for new workers.

36. Amended BC's child labour laws to make them the weakest in North
America.

37. Cut 550 staff at Workers' Compensation Board, contracted out WCB work,
removed services to injured workers, and cut prevention.

38. Cut compensation and benefits for workers injured on the job.

39. Cut pensions paid to workers with a work-related permanent disability.

40. Deep cuts in regulations and resources for workplace health and safety.

41. Changed Employment Standards Act to reduce call-out provisions and
overtime benefits for non-union workers.

42. Deleted one third of staff at the Employment Standards Branch. Non-union
workers facing unfair treatment at work are now on their own with a
"self-help" kit in English only.

More Highlights of Gordon Campbell's Record

43. Closed 113 schools.

44. Deleted 2,500 teachers (350 teachers because of declining enrolment; the
rest because of government cuts).

45. Broke contract with teachers.

46. Increased class sizes.

47. Closed over 100 school libraries.

48. Cut special needs education.

49. Increased college and university tuition fees by 104%.

50. Cut training and apprenticeship programs.

51. Tripled the number of slot machines to over 8,000.

52. Eliminated the Debtor's Assistance Program that helped 70,000 BC
families each year.

53. Closed 24 courthouses.

54. Cut legal aid funding by 40%.

55. Eliminated the Crown Victim Services.

56. Cut 1,200 staff between 2001 and 2004 from the 2 main ministries dealing
with the environment;  Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, and the
Ministry of Forests.

57. Cut regulations protecting the quality of drinking water.

58. Cut spending on wildlife protection and law enforcement to the lowest in
20 years.

59. Introduced parking fees in provincial parks, reduced provincial park
attendance by 25%.

60. Lifted moratorium on hunting grizzly bears.

61. Returned $2.3 million in fines and rents to fish farms that violated
environmental regulations.

62. Preparing to privatize ICBC.

63. Privatized one third of BC Hydro to Accenture, a Bermuda based company.

64. Privatized B.C . Ferries, ferry fares increased.

65. Privatized inland ferry services operated by the Ministry of
Transportation in the Kootenays.

66. Tried to privatize the Coquihalla.

67. Privatized BC Rail by means of a 990 year lease.

68. Sent ferry shipbuilding jobs to Germany.

69. Increased gas taxes 3.5 cents/litre.

70. Increased property taxes.

71. Increased the sales tax to 7.5% for three years.

72. Raised Hydro electricity rates.

73. Reduced subsidies for childcare, putting quality childcare out of reach

for thousands of BC families.

74. Increased ICBC rates by an average 18.6% over the last 4 years.

75. Increased drivers' license fees.

76. Increased parks, hunting and fishing fees.

77. Cut taxes by $2.2 billion - the biggest benefit going to business and
the wealthiest.

And remember this most important fact when talking to folks on the fence whose vision you are trying to help clear prior to May 17th..... as Anon. so aptly put it in the comment threads to Paul Willcocks most recent post:

'the most likely indication of future behavior is past behavior.

____
Coming soon: The Quotes.

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That's Why They Call It......

KudosToCarole
BubbleBoyExposedVille

.....A Freakin' Debate!

I did something last night that I rarely do and should probably do even less.

I listened to the talk shows.

And, in addition to the total lack of substance in most of the discussion due to the laser-like focus on the 'who won/who lost' angle, the bizarre thing was how 'scripted' most of the 'typical' callers were.

But even if Ms. James really was 'pushy, forceful and overbearing' as the Liberal shills constantly opined - so what?

After all, it was a debate, not a TV-assisted Tea at the Empress.

And in debates the main goal is to expose your opponent's weaknesses and then attack them.

Because that's how you win.

And that's what Ms. James did to Mr. Campbell.

Here are a few of my favorite specific examples:

1) Mr. Campbell being suckered into stating that he is proud of his creature, the Ministry of Air, Land and Water Protection which is responsible for such magnificent acts of Protection as the building of huge revenue generating pay parking lots in Cathedral Grove.

2) Mr. Campbell being forced to defend the indefensible continued expansion of Open Pen fish farms by stating that the NDP brought in the Fish Farms when it was the Socreds.

3) Mr. Campbell stating that the Fisheries Protection Regime he has intalled is one of the most 'scientifically rigourous' in the world.

4) Mr. Campbell stating that the sale of BC Rail is not a sale - numerous times.

5) Mr. Campbell being forced to state that you have to make tough choices when you destroy peoples' lives by moving them from Golden to Abbotsford. Or was it that he was proud of destroying peoples' lives in Golden so that he could build a private hospital in Abbotsford to replace the one he destroyed in Delta - not sure what he was saying in all this pretzel logic self-bamboozlement, actually.

6) Mr. Campbell stating that he had done great things....things like completing 90% of the New Era Document promises which is truly bizarre given that he was forced to pull that same New Era Document from government websites when it became plain for all to see that so many significant promises of substance have not been kept.

7) Mr. Campbell having absolutely no answer about why homelessness and the need for foodbanks have exploded during his reign except to say that the working poor no longer pay provincial Income Tax, which would be fine and dandy if this were just a shell game with peanuts, but as Ms. James made very clear...user fees, medicare fees, transportation fees, school supply fees, recreation fees, liscencing fees, pharmacare fees, physiotherapy fees, optician fees etc., etc. have all jumped to such a huge extent that they dwarf any and all of the so-called tax savings considerably.

8) Mr. Campbell being unable to articulate a single believable rationale to convince the electorate that he would not break ideologically incompatible promises of substance this time around as he did in 2001.

9) And my alltime favorite....Mr. Campbell stating that the best way to rectify the health care crisis is to eat more fruits and vegetables. Which had me wondering - did the Green Grocer Lobby make out like bandits in a manner similar to that trumpeted by the Prince George Airport Authority Guy during DonateGate?


Hang on a second.....what's that hissing sound I hear?

Could it be the rush of fetid, TV light-warmed, MaxFactor pancake make up-laden air escaping from the not-so Golden Boy's punctured bubble?

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Debate-O-Rama

OurHouse
IsOpenVille

The Tyee is going to have a realtime blog-o-rama on the BC Leaders debate which starts at 7pm PDT (and can be streamed off of the vancouver.cbc.ca website).

Mr. Beers and the Tyee are doing a great job on the election and their chat/discussion is likely to be lively....but you also have to register, and there are likely to be shadow trolls sent over from the darkside.......

So, if you wanna say something here about the debate unencumbered feel free to consider this a good old fashioned open thread/bar/troll-free zone.

___
Update: 9:28pm: Mike Smyth, Keith Baldrey and Vaughn Palmer all call it for James.
Double Secret Probation Update: Christy Clark calls James a creepy zombie; starts the sledghammer swinging on the 'Don't Vote for an Opposition;Vote for a Government' meme. Clearly, the LINOs know that their support is soft and that there is blood in the water.
Triple Super-Secret Probation Update: Jeebez! Who is coming in from HYHEY and going rank in the archives? Latest is 42 pg views over 55 minutes! This has been going on for days now. Are you stealing our stuff?!? Unlike all those hits we've been getting from bc.ca lately, this looks to be a private citizen, but cripes it's giving me the creeps. Happy to help out though if you are digging the site. If that's the case, feel free to comment or send an Email.
QuadrupleSuperSundaeWithACherryOnTopUpdate: Best quip of the night, and he was flingin' 'em.... 'It's made for TV Bubble Boy!' from Mike Smyth who also said that Ms. James looked like, 'A debutante with a stiletto in her purse'.
FertilityDrug-AssistedQuintupletUpdate, 11:06pm: Willcocks calls it for James and suggests that it will cause a shift in the campaign.
NoSexing-Up TheDocumentUpdate, 11:55pm: Mark Hume, he usually the pitbull of Eddie G.'s LeftCoast team, goes milquetoast and makes no call. Guess maybe Mr. Mason is rubbing off on him.

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Gordo's Own Private Idaho

PublicPrivatePandering
GoldenVille

Yesterday we suggested that it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that Gordon Campbell might have gerrymandering on his mind.

And no, we're not talking about the former punk rocker turned Green Party operative.

Instead, we suggested Mr. Campbell might want to neutralize those enclaves of semi-wealthy people in his riding who somehow cling to their progressive roots, not to mention all of those wacky kids out at UBC - especially the 7, 000 radicalized graduate students and post-docs that are there all year round (ie. during May elections when classes are most definitely not in session), by downing a finger-full, or may even a whole tumbler-full, of Shaughnessy next time around.

But we've decided that will likely no longer be necessary by 2009 - and not because we are convinced that Mr. Campbell will still be on the wagon by then.

Why?

Well, because the extremely developer-friendly Board of Govenors has given UBC Properties Trust free reign to sell-off huge swaths of their (ie. formerly our) Campus to, well, whaddya know - Developers.

And those Developers are going for the super-creme-de-la-creme that will make those folks living along the Arbutus Railway right-of-way look like cheap, stale-dated, low-fat yogurt.

Need evidence?

How about the following Email that found its way to our inbox yesterday:

_________________________________

Dear Member of the UBC Community,

Corus is conceivably the most high-end residential highrise in UBC. Rising out of the lush estate landscaping, its clean architectural presence personifies all that is sophisticated and luxurious.

With Corus comes an urban design style that has never before been offered at UBC. House-sized Garden Townhomes and Tower Suites, entertainment-sized decks, expansive windows, integrated kitchens, contemporary appointments, and enclosed garages are only some of the urban luxuries introduced to the natural and secluded setting of UBC.

As a member of the UBC community, we extend to you the first opportunity to register your interest. Registrants from this program will be invited for an exclusive preview event with priority and selection, before the general public. To learn more or to register, please visit www. ubchigherliving.com. Rest assured that your registration will be processed in the priority sequence of receipt.

Yours truly,
Corus Sales Team
604-222-View (8439)
info@ubchigherliving.com
_________________________________

Price?

Can't get there from here, or from the Corus website.

But, given that a site nearby that was snatched from the now cold, dead hands of a tenant-driven equity co-op by another creme-sucking Developer that has recently been used to generate $800,000 townhouses and huge profits for a company called Amacon, I'll eat my mouse if there aren't 7 figure units involved in this latest venture.

Which, I guess, is just one more example of how, with this bunch, when Public meets Private the Public always gets screwed.

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Gonzo Comes To Gordo

AnEmpressNotSoFairAnymore
GordoPaloozaVille

Only in Victoria-Beacon Hill you say?

Pity.

Because we'd like to see the 'Extreme Green' Ingmar Lee climb on the Boohoo Train* and follow Mr Campbell all over the province like a 10,000 lb doppleganger.

Here, with an assist from that 2 million hit albatross hanging from Gordo's neck, is why:

"On the stage, Gordon Campbell, whose election Motto is: (Get this folks! You're hearing it the first time from me!) "Real Progress, Real Leadership," viciously attacked the NDP, and I almost agreed with him, but then he spouted off all this nonsense about how fantastic the BC Liberals had been caring for the Environment, the Poor, the Disabled... Well I'll spare you the details, I'm sure you'll all be hearing a whole lot more of all that. About half way in, I was beside myself with horror and I realized that there would not be any questions, so I waited for a lull while he caught his breath, and then stood up and asked as loudly as I could raise my voice: "lAre any of your 79 candidates running with a Criminal Record?? Are there any Convicted Felons??" "Have you vetted the candidates for criminals?"

To butcher a phrase from the one true original 'It never got weird enough for Lee.'

______
*The original Boohoo was a guy named Peter Sheridan who got ahold of Hunter Thompson's Press Pass and climbed aboard Ed Muskie's 'Sunshine Special' in 1972. Now, if only we could hook Ingmar up with, I dunno, how about Sean Holman?

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Which One's Hans.....

StrangeTalesFrom
AVeryStrangeLand

.....And Which One's Franz?

Oh boy.

Looks like we're in real trouble now.

Because those Minutemaid Men, who are bad enough all on their own, now have the Govenator on their side:

"California Govenor Arnold Schwarzenegger.....praised the civilian volunteer Minuteman Project for its patrols to spot illegal immigrants.

"Look, they've cut down the crossing of illegal immigrants by a huge percentage," Schwarzenegger told KFI-AM's "Hans and Franz" Show on Thursday.

OK, OK, OK - it wasn't really Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon, but instead two guys named 'John and Ken' in that huge mega-mediamarket of Sacramento CA.

And while we don't have a transcript from that fine program right at our fingertips, we don't think that it would be unreasonable to suggest that there was plenty of wink, wink, nudge, nudge talk of pumping-up and girlie-men throughout.

Which brings us to our point......

We've already suggested that a team of hockey brawlers could sucker the Juice Squeezer brigade threatening the Manitoba/NorthDakota border in about, say, 15 minutes.

But given this latest development we've come to the conclusion that we need a homegrown Ringer to really put the scarves to 'em.

And we were thinking that maybe Scott Thompson, he of "Kids in the Hall" fame, just might fill the bill.

After all, not only could Scott keep the JuicerBoys under his rainbow-coloured thumb at all times during their pre-deportation stay in Flin Flon's YMCA, but we also hear he does a lean, mean Anita Bryant machine.

Just ask Amistead Maupin.

OK?

.

The Signs Have It

Vancouver Pt. Grey
CremeDeLaCremeVille

One of the great things about riding your bike to work is that you notice things.

And this morning on the last leg of my trip in from the Eastern Townships I noticed the signs.

So much so that I decided to count them.

Here are the results of West 16th Ave all the way from Arbutus to UBC.

__________________________________________

Mel Lehan (NDP) - 23
Gordon Campbell (LINO*) - 15
Damian Kettlewell (Green) - 3 (and all of Pacific Spirit Park's Powerline Trail, of course)

__________________________________________

Now, of course, in the big scheme of things Mr. Lehan's clear win really means nothing.

Except maybe for two things.

First, this is the City of Vancouver where a bylaw prevents party hacks from loading up public spaces. Thus, these signs were all on private property.

Second, this is the extremely wealthy Northern Frontier of Mr. Campbell's riding, a place where everyone has done very well in the Real Estate bubble of the last 4 years. And still the LINO's could only get 15 people to put their Maximum Leader's sign on their lawns?

That's astonishing really, if you think about it.

All of which kind of makes you wonder.....if Mr. Campbell does manage to squeek in this time due to the success of his 'No Student's at UBC' election date strategy, will he pull a Gracie and add a Shaughnessian Finger to the riding next time around?


____
*LINO = Liberal In Name Only
3rd Party Signage Update: 3 for the UBC Botannical Gardens (clearly they didn't get in on DonateGate given the way they are being squeezed by UBC Properties Trust); 1 for JACK-FM (another failing brand decked out in LINO Red, White and Blue -there oughta be a Kool-Aidian investigation on that one).

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Munigate Goes to College

Money, Money, Money
InTheRichMan'sWorldVille


"The town of Fort St. James knew it was sending town officials to a Liberal fundraiser last year. The motion to attend won council approval on Jan. 14. Mayor Jim Togyi told The Tyee buying a $500 table at a Liberal fundraiser was a cost-effective way for the town to get the ear of visiting ministers...."

Munigate Rising
Dee Hon, The Tyee, April 25, 2005.

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According to the minutes of a district council meeting on Jan. 28, Togyi argued the fundraiser was “an opportunity to lobby, exchange information and bring up issues” with the Liberal government."

Fort St. James Mayor, and former failed BC Liberal party nominee, Jim Togyi explaining
his rationale for funneling public funds into BC Liberal party coffers.
Dee Hon, The Tyee, April 25, 2005.

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"We've taken in over the last few years $4.5-million [in donations] and this $2,000 is nothing," Mr. Reichert said.

BC Liberal Party executive Kelly Reichert explaining why the
spreading stain of Munigate is of no consequence.
Petti Fong, The Globe and Mail, April 30, 2005

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"The B.C. Liberal party has received thousands of dollars in political donations from airports, colleges and other public bodies over the past four years, according to a review of party records...."

The Vancouver Sun, May 01, 2005
(behind subscription wailing wall)

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"Colleges are free to do whatever they want with their funds."

BC Liberal Party Leader Gordon Campbell demonstrating why his handlers
pull out their hair everytime he temporarily escapes from his bubble
CBC Radio, Vancouver, 10am PDT Newscast, May 01, 2005.

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"The Ministry of Advanced Education provides funding and policy direction for British Columbia's public post-secondary education system, and administers student financial assistance programs. The ministry also administers provincial statutes governing public and private post-secondary institutions....."

B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education Website
Honourable Ida Chong, Minister (B.C. Liberal Party)

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"Unjust extraction (as by the misuse of authority); "the extortion by dishonest officials of fees for performing their sworn duty"

Definition: Extortion
WordReference.com

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Updated: 3pm Sunday May 1st to take fullest advantage of the Billmonian Formatage.
For South of 49ers (and many East of the Divide Canuckistanis, not to mention more than a few residents of Shaughnessy who have fooled themselves into believing otherwise), Gordon Campbell, the Premier (ie. Govenor) of the Left Coast Province of British Columbia is a LINO (liberal in name only) whose policies are actually neanderconnish in the extreme.

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