The Village of Lions Bay's Most Prominent Political Commentator
Posted in The Tyee on May 14th, 2012
Pundits celebrating BC Lib defector’s Railgate statements should dredge up his fish farm file. Writer Nelson Algren had as three rules of life: “Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom’s. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own.” To this I might add [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Apr 30th, 2012
There was a time when BC’s politicians had the nerve to say no. Political times have changed mightily since I left the legislature 32 years ago. Of course one would expect change over such a long period, but I’m not talking about the coming and goings of leaders and such. I speak of a sea [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Apr 17th, 2012
By bringing back the Mental Health Advocate her party yanked. There are 600,000 British Columbians with mental health issues. I am one of them. If the physically ill in our province were dealt with as mentally ill people are, the legislature and its lawn would be crammed with irate people and there would be violence. [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Apr 2nd, 2012
Why Premier Clark has her hands full keeping her own party in line. Premier Christy Clark is in a lot of trouble — especially if she loses the Chilliwack byelection to the Conservatives which, with John Van Dongen crossing to the Conservatives, is almost a certainty. That she’s in trouble anyway has been (finally) canvassed [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Mar 19th, 2012
Under a premier’s iron fist, our representatives quiver. Here’s the fix. I’m going to vouchsafe unto you the secret of radically improving government. On Dec. 11, 1975, I was elected MLA for the then-single riding of Kamloops, on the Socred ticket under Bill Bennett. During my time as a minister, I had the extraordinary good [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Mar 6th, 2012
Driven by one irrational fear, business leaders ignore host of financial pratfalls by Campbell/Clark. The emperor has no clothes, nor has the empress for that matter. As I read about the fawning receptions by the Vancouver Board of Trade for former premier Gordon Campbell and the present premier, I found it nauseating and bewildering — [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Feb 20th, 2012
As opposition mounts to Northern Gateway, backers will promise big bucks for BC. Alberta Premier Alison Redford stated in a recent speech that her government is looking to “clear a path for the oil sands through British Columbia by upping the economic benefits for its western neighbour — including the option of paying to modernize [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Feb 7th, 2012
Eight old dents in believability Clark’s polish hasn’t fixed. So, Adrian Dix is higher in the polls than Christy Clark. It comes as no surprise to me, who has said from the beginning that Christy Clark did not have what it takes to lead a party, much less a province. If she were not premier, [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Jan 23rd, 2012
Keystone is no victory if dangerous bitumen instead pumps through Kitimat or Vancouver. What will happen to the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta’s tar sands to Houston, Texas? Will it finally be a go after the November presidential election, or will it be tubed? Before I go on, Damien Gillis, the master filmmaker and I, [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Jan 10th, 2012
On decisions that matter most, how much say do you and I really have? On New Years Eve, in addition to looking to a new year like the rest of you, I started my ninth and likely last decade. Before going on, let me thank all of you who helped celebrate my roast back on [...]
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The Village of Lions Bay's Most Prominent Political Commentator
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