Letter Tune From America, No. 2

On
HolidayVille


We're down in northern California now.

Out on the coast, at the southern end of Mendocino county.

Today it was swimming with littler e', first up the river because of the coastal morning fog and then in ocean waves after the sun broke through later in the afternoon.

And this evening it was Bigger E. and me at maybe the most fun and inclusive open mic I've ever been to (not that I'm really an expert or anything) at a fantastic little bar called 'The 215 Main' in Point Arena, CA.

It sure is a hard knock life being the father of two kids who want to do so much fun stuff with, uh...

...Their own Dad.

****

This is an old one,  originally done for our old friend and compatriot in Bloggodoming Ian Reid...




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Letter Tunes From America.

HaveZoomWill
TravelVille


We have left Canada for two weeks in the Excited States.

We are currently in Southern Oregon, Ashland, where they have the summer Shakespeare festival, to be more precise.

The only federal election signs we have seen so far have been for he who would be king.

Don't know about you, but when I leave Canuckistan, I sometimes think of this tune...




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Subheader?...Longtime reader and musical-guy-of-all-trades Don F. sold me on a little multitrack Zoom recorder that I invested in and use all the time (although rarely taking advantage of all the tracks which would probably improve the guitar sounds if I did.



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The Bloggodome Files...

YouCan'tReadItInThe
SundayPapersVille


Norm Farrell, who has been on fire, lately has a really, really, really important post up on the 'Destruction' of BC Hydro:

...Until 1961, with a patchwork of private and municipal systems, many BC residents paid among the highest electrical rates in North America. Others had no reliable service at all. Bennett expropriated the largest private operator and formed BC Hydro, a public corporation.

In 2001, forty years later, residents and businesses enjoyed some of the lowest electrical rates anywhere. BC Hydro sold energy worth $7.9 billion, including $5.5 billion from exported power. Those numbers made the hearts of BC Liberal sponsors beat rapidly. However, it was not the value realized by taxpayers and BC Hydro customers that caused excitement, it was the prospect of privatizing those values. The first step in 2002 was “Energy for our Future: A Plan for BC” that included creation of BC Transmission Corporation, setting the stage for generation and export of private power...


Laila Yuile once again proves that all politics are local, for her in Surrey: 

...Last night, that lack of foresight and continued preference to rampant development (by Surrey council) was displayed again as council put a motion on the table to approve the development in the middle of summer when most people who were opposed, were on vacation,taking care of kids out of school or otherwise occupied.

There was no direct notice to the hundreds of neighbours impacted that this was going to occur and local resident Cindy Dalglish did not receive advance notice either. In fact several emails to the planning department and a councillor, left questions unanswered repeatedly.

Cindy was stunned last night, stunned that after council represented to the attending public big concerns for where the kids will go to school from this development ( keep in mind there are hundreds more units planned for this area as we speak) they would pass it just weeks later in such a stealthy manner. And other residents felt the same way. One I know called their realtor this morning to list, knowing school is going to be an overcrowded nightmare here for years – even the local highschool is vastly overcrowded as well...


The notorious NVG, who usually does his digging thing quietly, expertly and calmly, got pretty worked up this week over that 'vote' that our fine Premier took a (now apologetic) pass on:

...Premier Christy Clark has been missing from the action in the legislature so much that we've lost count, whereas Opposition Leader John Horgan's one absence was noted by Christy Clark in her 'replies' during Question Period when the BC NDP caucus popped the question, the same question over and over without the Premier giving any answer except .... I see your leader is not here.

Laurie Throness, who spoke against the transgender rights Act, didn't, doesn't, appear to have the balls to back up his responsibility to all British Columbians by his deliberately leaving the chamber in order not to have a black mark lodged against the BC Liberals.

Laurie Throness' duty is to vote, come hell or high water, its in his bible.

Throness was in the building! Throness WAS IN THE BUILDING up until Speaker Linda Reid called for the vote. Admonishment? Not bloody likely by the speaker.

The $50,000 stipend paid to Christy Clark for her working the BC Liberal fund raising circuit proves that the only family that comes first in British Columbia is her party membership family...


Grant G, as bombastic and over-the-top as he can be, is right, again, about the (economic-, not Dipper-, induced) Death of LNG:

...There are those who say that the Petronas proposal..PNW LNG in Prince Rupert is different..people like BC Liberal spin doctor Tom Cassada(Twitter @lotuslander1000)...He claims PNW LNG is different because the consortium are offtakers of the gas...in other words, partners, equity partners don't care what the price is...that according to Tom Cassada..

Shell Canada had as partners..PetroChina and Kogas..(China and Japan)..and they were offtakers of Shell's gas too..

What some people can't digest, and it is a very simple concept...Why spend $billions to ensure $10 dollar LNG when you can lock in longterm LNG buys for $4 to $5 dollars per MM BTU's...That way these companies keep their cash, and get cheaper LNG...


And, finally, Mr. Beer 'N Hockey gets down to the real brassiest of brass tacks:

...One of the best bits of news I heard all year came courtesy of one of the DCFP's fine readers correcting my belief BC's bush track crowd was not going to be able to put on a Race Day this summer for the first time. Your fellow reader informs me Desert Park is indeed racing August 20th! Post time is scheduled for 1:00 PM if that is ok with Christy Clark.

Seems the provincial f*cking government is getting in the way of my interior friends putting on more Race Days. One more reason not to vote for the crooked f*cks if you ask me. Horgan is up there this weekend. Hope he has made it clear to people up there the NDP will not stand in the way of people doing their god damnedest to keep racing alive and well outside of Dope City...



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Earworm in sub-header got you goin'?....This!


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The Keef Report...I Told You (Idiot Bloggers) So.

HindsightIsTweefy
KweefyVille


Looks like one of Keef's latest offerings on the Twittmachine aims to rub some folks' noses in it by simultaneously calling back to....

...Himself.

So.

What did the Keef have to say back in January that we, the great unwashed need to read?

Well...

How about, this:

One of the more intriguing demands by those opposing the Site C dam is that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau step in and block its construction, using the argument that the dam infringes First Nations' rights and poses environmental risk.

The odds of the Trudeau government taking such an extraordinary action are, of course, fairly remote. But the root of the argument -- that the dam tramples on First Nations' rights -- remains very much alive even while the dam's construction proceeds every day.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, a leading First Nations leader in B.C., has tried to make the case that only by killing the dam will the Trudeau government show it cares about First Nations. Other dam opponents -- notably environmental and aboriginal activists -- have echoed his demand.

But politically, the argument is a non-starter. There is no way a federal government will override a provincial government decision that is constitutionally protected (provinces have power over non-renewable natural resources, and section 92(a) of the Constitution Act specifically gives provinces power over electrical energy projects, which is precisely what the Site C dam is).

If Trudeau were to indeed try to shut down the dam's construction, he would create a constitutional firestorm that would mortify all provincial governments. Provinces always look askance (or worse) when a federal government tries to stick its nose in their constitutionally-protected business, whatever it might be...

Now.

Here's the thing.

The real issue at hand, as Laila and others have pointed out many times (and which we discussed here the other day) is entirely procedural in that any and all provincial decisions on Site C have been exempted from oversight by the province's own watchdog the BC Utilities Commission.

Therefore, on that basis alone, separate from any and all First Nations and constitutional issues, Mr. Trudeau could have and should have rejected the permits.


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Oh and, for the record...The Keef just waves away environmental concerns given because they don't concern the provincial government....Therefore, ipso facto Neener! Neener! Neener!...Or some such thing.
A very sharp Anon-O-Mouse on the comment threads the other day suggested that Mr. Trudeau may actually be betting that the courts, ruling on the First Nations issues, will ultimately get him off the hook on this one.
Previous Keef Reports can be found...Here (scroll down).


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This Day In Clarkland...Local ProMedia Organ Uses The 'L' Word To Describe BC Liberal Caucus Housing Tax Smear.

TheTurningOfThe
HerdVille


Yesterday, we noted the BC Liberal government caucus' baseless (some are calling it libelous) smear of Opposition member David Eby in attempt to deflector spike-spin his rising approval ratings in the wake of their cynical (geographically) limited foreign buyer housing tax.

Well.

It turns out that the caucus division of the Wizards of Clarklandia (who are being paid by you and me) didn't stop there. They also falsely characterized the NDP's longstanding (and long-called for) suggestion about how to slowly deflate the bubble without unfairly whacking anyone...

 Link

Interestingly, and potentially importantly, a single proMedia outlet has called this codswallop out for what it is.

The following is from a piece written by Martin MacMahon posted on the CKWX 1130 website:

...In separate Tweets, the BC Liberal Caucus appears to mischaracterize the proposed NDP speculation tax as one that would apply to all home buyers.

“Which is a lie, right? At the very least, it’s an extremely misleading statement,” says (political scientist David) Moscrop. “Everybody knows that there’s going to have to be some sort of taxation measure that’s levelled to start dealing with this. Either that, or there’s going to be a crash. I mean, there could be a suite of things, but taxes are definitely on the table for this. That’s not what the NDP was proposing, whatever side you’re on.”....


Why is the inclusion  of the word 'lie' important in a local proMedia story important?

Because, unless our local proMedia herd turns, hard and starts calling the BC Liberals out for their lies, fabrications and misleading mischaracterizations, long and hard, we could well find ourselves with the same government this time next year.

OK?


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One small thing bugged me in Mr. MacMahon's otherwise excellent piece...Which is that he let a little bit of 'both sides do it' - type stuff sneak in at the end. That is not a good thing because it allows the dye-filled false equivalency boats to start floating which can be a real problem in the end (and is something truly cynical Wizards count on to muddy all waters).


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This Day In Clarkland...Trudeau Green-Lights Site C.

Oversight?
WeDon'tNeedNoStinkingOversightVille


As Laila points out on the Twittmachine, it's hard to believe that the Trudeau government would approve permits for a massive hydroelectric project that the provincial government's own oversight body is not allowed to, well, you know...oversee.

It's something that makes you wonder if, indeed, Marky Mark and the Godfather still have some pull with the mandarins in Ottawash.

Anyway....

As Jonny Wakefield notes in Glacier's far northern press organs, many of the locals are not happy.

And that includes folks whose livelihood will be directly affected by Mr. Trudeau's 'permits' (and who likely have a decent Charter challenge in their back pockets):

Justin Trudeau’s government has authorized its first set of Site C permits, allowing construction to continue on the controversial $8.8 billion project.

Critics of the dam say the approval quashes any hopes they had of the new government delaying or further reviewing Site C...

{snip}

...The West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations continue to challenge the project in court, saying flooding the Peace River Valley will disrupt their ability to exercise Treaty rights. The two nations will be in federal court in Montreal this September...


Something tells me that this is not over regardless all of our fine Premier's word salad-spun promises to get the project in cronification 'past the point of no return'.




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This Day In Clarkland...They Only Smear Those That They Fear Most.

TheIncredibleLightnessOfBeingLiars
KloutKlubVille


Given that David Eby's advocacy, backed by the proMedia digging of Sam Cooper, Kathy Tomlinson and Ian Young, helped alert the public and force the Clarklandians into their cynical limited hang out on the Lotuslandian Real Estate Bubble,  the following clearly demonstrates the latter group's utter depravity:

Link

This really and truly is disgusting.

And, to be more precise in codswalloparian political terms, it is clearly one more variation on what is now a classic Rethuglican Swiftboat strate(r)gy in which the operating procedure is to lie, twist and cheat again and again and again until you convince the rubeiest of the low information voting Rubes (and proMedia types too) that someone's greatest strength is actually their greatest weakness.

So.

Why are the BC Liberals doing this, really?

Because they are scared crapless of Mr. Eby.

That's why.


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And, for the record, this is not the first time on this topic alone...

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Lotuslandian Real Estate Stories Are Not Just For Cooper, Tomlinson And Young Anymore.

TheHoofBeatsOfThe
HerdVille


Heckfire.

Even the VSun's Jeff Lee has gotten into the act:

On Wednesday the (Real Estate) council (of British Columbia) said it was aware of a statement by Mike Stewart of Century 21 offering ways people could avoid the new 15 per cent tax, including selling presale contracts to friends or family members who are Canadian citizens or residents...


Imagine what would happen if the proMedia herd were to turn swing into action like this when evidence of wrongdoing in the Premier's office surfaces.

(again)


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This Day In Clarkland...When Is An Abstention Not An Abstention?

AllThingsToAllBasesWithoutReallyBeingAnythingAtAll
AbsenteeGovernanceVille


Well, well, well, whaddy'a know.

Our fine Premier was not in the legislature to vote for human rights for all on Monday.

So.

I guess this latest thing then is actually a reverse expedience slither from the piked position (a.k.a. being for something that the Opposition has forced you to do without actually being for it when you actually endorsed it).

On the flipside, at least Ms. Clark didn't go full metal Throness on the legislation.

At least not in public.


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And where was Ms. Clark, instead?...Well, as Rob Shaw of the VSun notes, she was...Wait for it...At a party-scheduled (it's all 'party officials'/Laura's fault!) fundraiser...
Laila has more...and gets red-herringed by a Klout Klub member...on the Twittmachine.


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Traffic Circles I Have Known...

...30th and Walden, Just East Of Main.

It's an interesting stretch of street.

And in the morning it's a slight incline and just the start to my ride out to work on Lotusland Central's farthest most western edge.

So if I'm late I start pushing right about here. If not I take it easy pretty much all the way to Cambie. The latter was the case this morning, even though I was not early (because it's summer!*).

In the evening it's the last 10% and it's coasting before the last blast up to Fraser parallel to the edge of the cemetery, a two block stretch that now includes six, count 'em six!, speed bumps. Clearly, the folks paying $1.8 million to live in the neighbourhood are not going to put up with speeding bicycles.

Or.

Maybe it's all the cars that seem to be using bike routes as their own (relatively) traffic-free short cut these days.

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*And, probably, because we were one of the very, very lucky 13% to get a grant last week.


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This Day In Clarkland...Guess Who's Doing The Legislative Press Gallery's Job For Them?

ThereIsA
ClubVille


Why, it's Jonny Wakefield, working 1,300 km from Victoria:

"BC Hydro's electricity demand projections were off by more than half a dam last year, according to the Crown corporation's annual report.

Steep declines in electricity demand from mills, mines and oil and gas producers, as well as a warm winter, contributed to a 3,351 gigawatt-hours (Gwh) shortfall in demand forecasts. For comparison, the Site C dam under construction on the Peace River near Fort St. John would generate 5,100 Gwh a year..."


I mean, Mr. Wakefied's got quotes from pols, including the Old Turdstormer, and everything!

..."The (Opposition NDP) member (Dix) mentions the demand forecast for one year as if it should be bang on, spot on accurate," he said. "From time to time, the demand forecast is going to change on a year-by-year basis."

He said that long term, B.C. will need more power.

"We know that our economy is going to continue to grow," he said. "We know that our population is going to continue to grow, because it is. We know that B.C. is going to continue to attract new jobs, leading the country, and that's what's going to drive new demand."...


Of course, as Norm Farrell has pointed out repeatedly, Mr. Bennett is flat out wrong.

****

Meanwhile, in other non Ledge Gallery worthy news, Norm also has a post about the real story of the true cost of IPP-generated power up.

And, as you might expect, that cost is way more than a bunch of teachers, classrooms, and bus passes for the disabled every single year for, essentially, ever, for no good reason at all.


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There is a Club?...You bet there is...Our dear, departed friend Ian Reid explained how it works awhile ago. 


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At The End Of The Day...

...You've Got To Keep It Light Enough To Travel.

I spent a good chunk of last week climbing in and out of goddamn cigar tubes.

Which I can just barely handle these days when things go well.

But when you're forced to fly steerage/TangoDoublePlusUngood (for good reason) when working for health charities and things go wrong like, say, a three hour delay at the pandemonium end of Pearson's Terminal 1 when you're trying to get home late on a Friday night...

Well,  then happens I am not a happy (or even remotely friendly) traveller.

Luckily, I had a really good mechanotransduction paper to read/figure out (to help with the discussion to a manuscript of our own that I'm working on) as well as John Irving's latest (the guy is flat-out indefatigable) to get me through it.

Still, we finally got to YVR late enough that I had to take a cab home because the last train had left already.

I really hate that given that the difference between $2.10 and $40.00 is a whole lotta daffodils.

Anyway, the next morning, Saturday, I took the Whackadoodle down to the river and noticed that there were no Helijets buzzing overhead.

Which, in my mind at least, meant the Clarklandians must have been away for the previous afternoon's big liquor announcement.

****

littler e. climbed into the cigar tube herself on Sunday morning. All carry-on, no checked-baggage for a trip to New Hampshire via Toronto and New York (three flights!) so that she can spend the week at a tap dance work/sweat-like-crazy-shop.

And this time next week we'll be on our way down the coast to Mendicino (the coastal county, not the town, although we will pass by the latter on our way to our friends' place just south of the magnificently bizarre hippie/fishing/flying burrito town of Point Arena).

Always.

Travel.

Light.

OK?


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Image at top of the post is the two E's from a California trip 12 summers ago...From the long climb up 101 south of Eureka on the way to Redway and our favourite Eel River swimming hole...Getting more and more beat-up all the time beach guitar is just visible behind them...

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The Reaping Of The Sown.

 FeedTheBirds
TrumpenceADayVille


Oh.

And for the record, Ms. Parker is neither a Hillary Clone nor a Bernie Bros.

Instead, she is a reporter for the New York Times.


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Meanwhile, over in the real problem corner of the USian proMedia rumpus room, NPR refuses to call Ms. Trump's stealing of Ms. Obama's words plagiarism....

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This Day In Clarkland...Ya, Sure, But Will The Premier's Funny Business Make Its Way Into Your Copy Mr. Zussman?

Turnin'RebellionInto
MoneyVille


Seriously.

Why?

Because the Lotulandian proMedia not calling Ms. Clark out, long and hard, on her non-stop Oompa-Loompaing of the truth is the real problem around here.


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Header + SubHeader earwormish thing gnawing at you?....This. 



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This Day In Clarkland...Will The Limited Real Estate Tax Hangout Actually Work?

ExpediencyIsTheirOnlyReal
GameVille


First....

I'm not talking about whether a tax that doesn't actually follow the (foreign) money will actually work in real terms that actually means something of true significance for actual British Columbians.

Instead, I'm talking about whether it will work in purely politically expedient terms for the BC Liberal Party and their crony paymasters.

****

Of course...

The Wizards of Clarklandia probably figure they have a good chance of pulling off that expedient thing as long as they can count on proMedia folks like Ron Obvious to keep on focussing on the trivial:

But here's the thing...

The day before Sam Cooper's big story was published/posted he was on the Twittmachine doing a foreshadow dance that got folks of all stripes  chomping at the bit, eyes bulging, looking for the real thing rather than the pablum leaking from the seams of the likes of Mr. Mason et al.

How very un-club like of Mr. Cooper.


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And why, exactly, isn't this special sitting of the legislature being called the Dippers' Summer Blow-Out Bash anyway?

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