The Village of Lions Bay's Most Prominent Political Commentator
Posted in The Tyee on Aug 8th, 2011
How to make Parliament healthy, so MPs actually work for you and me. Listen my children, and you shall hear (apologies to Longfellow) kindly old Doctor Rafe as he cures our political ailments. Doctor? I have a Doctor of Laws (albeit honourary) from SFU — any university who would present honorary degrees to Alexandra Morton [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Jul 27th, 2011
Good question. In asking it, a number of points to consider. The Campbell/Clark Liberal government makes Peter Sellers as Chief Inspector Clouseau look brilliant — both were bumbling and stupid, but at least Clouseau meant well. The answer to the ongoing mess seems to be, “Do you want the NDP back in?” Premier Campbell, a [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Jul 11th, 2011
And other consequences for daring to speak the plain truth as I see it. Today’s effort is inspired by a recent Globe and Mail article on CBC reporter Terry Milewski, where Terry observes that in his line of work, one doesn’t make a lot of friends. I’m not in Terry’s league, but I know what [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Jun 28th, 2011
Public keeps letting governments with slimy records stay in office. Why? At some point, the voting public are going to demand integrity in government, a commodity not only long missing, but seemingly extinct. We just gave the federal Conservatives, on the heels of being found in contempt of Parliament, a resounding victory. We evidently don’t [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Jun 13th, 2011
Paper runs SFU prof’s damning critique of BC Liberals’ misnamed ‘green’ energy policies. Hats off to the Vancouver Sun! In Tuesday’s edition, the op-ed page contained an article entitled Clean Energy Act Is What Needs Renewing by Dr. Marvin Shaffer, adjunct professor at the School of Public Policy at SFU and widely accepted as an [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Jun 1st, 2011
BC Conservatives overrated as vote splitter for potential Lib supporters. We exaggerate the potential of the BC Conservatives and their newly affirmed leader John Cummins to seriously cut into the voting base of the BC Liberals. My experience is admittedly ancient, but in Kamloops in 1979, as a member of the Social Credit coalition, I [...]
Posted in The Tyee on May 17th, 2011
The pleasures of roaming a small bookshop, the joy of holding a bound tome. Fading fast? Whither books? Are they doomed to be curiosities on an antique table, along with coal oil lamps and ear trumpets? They well might be, with the advent of the e-book accessing hundreds of thousands of books — and cheaply. [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Apr 6th, 2011
They’re tucked in so tightly together it’s a blatant, ongoing conflict of interest. I want you to use your imagination, hard as it might be under the circumstances. Suppose there is an NDP premier (see, I told you it would be tough!) who, it’s disclosed, is the honorary chairman of the B.C. Government Employees Union [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Mar 21st, 2011
Does Christy Clark know the difference between a caucus and a cactus? To survive, she’d better. Understanding how caucus and cabinet work requires a mind that doesn’t believe what he/she is conditioned to believe by politicians and the media. It’s like most of our political system — what we think happens is not so in [...]
Posted in The Tyee on Mar 8th, 2011
Incoming premier faces a raft of challenges. Hardest might be building a loyal cabinet. Christy Clark faces the Vander Zalm syndrome, and I question her ability to handle it. I would say the same thing about any of the other candidates had they won. Before I go there, let me express my horror at the [...]
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The Village of Lions Bay's Most Prominent Political Commentator
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