Campbell has to go..

[NAB]

Another Campbell Government "quiet" flip flop to add a log to the fire...

Aid for mentally disabled adults cut if IQ over 70
'Interim' order quietly signed by premier, minister
Lindsay Kines, Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, July 24, 2008
The B.C. government has reversed course and quietly given itself the right to deny services to developmentally disabled adults with IQs over 70.

In a move critics say will put vulnerable young adults at risk, Premier Gordon Campbell and Childrens' Minister Tom Christensen signed an order making an IQ of 70 or under one of the criteria for receiving services.

The rule change allows government to get around a B.C. Court of Appeal ruling last year that found the province had no authority to turn its back on people simply because their IQ was above a certain threshold.

Only a few months ago, Christensen told reporters that changing the law to circumvent the court decision would be the wrong thing to do.

Full article: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolo ... e83b264feb

[BoyzMommy]

That is APPALLING!

And yet, why am I not surprised?

[BoyzMommy]

Here are some email addresses for anyone who wants to rant at the gov't about this. I've already sent my emails to each of them (not that they give a damn, but at least I told them what I think of them and their joke of a government)

Gordo himself: [email protected]

Tom Christensen, the man who signed the legislation in secret: [email protected]

Rich Coleman, the man in charge of adults with disabilities: [email protected]


May they all get what they deserve when karma comes sniffing around...

[NAB]

Another nail in this Government's coffin...
Nab

Liberals should follow Washington state's lead on ferries
Jack Knox, Times Colonist
Published: Saturday, July 26, 2008
Chris Gregoire for premier.

Too bad she's already running for re-election as governor of Washington.

Gregoire, unlike our own politicians, understands there's no point bleeding ferry passengers until they're actually dead.

Or, as a letter-to-the-editor writer points out today, isn't this why W.A.C. Bennett brought in a public ferry system 50 years ago, to free Vancouver Island from being choked unconscious by a ferry system that operated with no regard for the people it served?

"Raising ferry fares is not an option because that just reduces ridership, which reduces revenue," the Sequim Gazette quoted Gregoire as saying during a Monday campaign stop on the Olympic Peninsula. "You never can raise ferry fares enough to be a long-term funding source."

She should know. After voters rescinded an auto tax that provided Washington State Ferries with 22 per cent of its operating funds and most of its capital, fares jumped 67 per cent in seven years, resulting in a big drop in traffic.

Similar story in B.C., except here it was the provincial government itself that pulled the plug on public funding. It's ironic that they changed the name from B.C. Ferry Corp. to B.C. Ferry Services in 2003, then began to run it less like a public service and more like a private business fixated on its bottom line, blinkered to the impact on the economy of coastal communities.

That's what we forget when ferry fares rise, as they will on Aug. 1. Don't blame B.C. Ferries. Don't blame CEO David Hahn. They are just wriggling around in the financial straitjacket in which they were wrapped by the provincial government, which made a deliberate, political decision to divest itself of the cost of running and building the ferries, then ran away from the responsibility for the mess it made.

The province still subsidizes minor routes, but fares have doubled in just five years. The major routes pay their own way. Fares cover not just operating expenses, but capital costs, including -- according to B.C. Ferries' advisory committees -- a whopping $725 million to replace 16 ships between 2012 and 2020, without a penny from the government. (You know, the same government that is throwing $10.3 billion at four Lower Mainland transit lines.)

OK, OK, I've gone off my nut moaning about this three, four million times now, perhaps to the exclusion of more pressing issues. It's not like people in Darfur are shaking their heads and going "those poor buggers on Saltspring are paying $73.70 for a car and driver one way from Tsawwassen."

But jeez, the politicians act like the ferries do nothing but prop up the leafy island lifestyle of the Fabulous Furry Fulford Harbour Freak Brothers and fat-cat retirees sipping Pimm's in multimillion-dollar Pender palaces. Ignored is the ferry system's role as a highway for coastal businesses. "It's used every day by people who move goods and services back and forth," says Tom Skillman, human resources manager at Walcan Seafood on Quadra Island.

Costs are at the point where B.C. Ferries risks losing business customers to barges. Commuters don't have that option, though. Walcan, the biggest employer on Quadra, draws half of its 100 employees from Campbell River. Ferry fares make it tough to recruit workers. "They have to work for an hour just to pay for the ferry," says Skillman, a Campbell River resident who saves $1,000 a year by keeping a beater car on Quadra Island, riding there as a walk-on.

It ticks him off when politicians sniffily use the hey-you-chose-to-live-on-an-island argument for foisting ferry costs on the locals, as though no one else in B.C. chose to live in an isolated place. You don't see people in Fort St. John being forced to pay for their own highways.

The heads of B.C.'s 12 ferry advisory committees issued a letter this week warning that surging fares threaten to make both B.C. Ferries and coastal communities unsustainable. They also released a paper sent to the government in June, outlining the "urgent" need for a strategy to save ferry-dependent towns. Alas, their pleas appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

Maybe they should have written the governor of Washington instead.

[guicho]

What I don't get is how Harcourt was forced to step down for inappropriate conduct by one of his ministers. Clark had to step down for an incident that which he was later exonerated of. Yet Campbell who not only was convicted of drunk driving in Hawaii, a serious offense in BC, not to mention the whole raid on the legislature incident, and he never got the bad press and scrutiny. The media wasn't sitting outside his home or calling for his removal. Not that I support the NDP, because I don't. I think both parties are full of incompetents that represent special interest groups and care nothing about what is good for this province. Just saying, if two premiers were brought down over things they were not guilty of in the end, how is it that Campbell is immune?

[NAB]

Interesting questions guicho. Are we to presume in addressing them that the mainstream "media" is above being politically biased in any way?

Nab

[guicho]

I guess that would be too much to expect or ask for. Silly me.

[steven lloyd]

What I don't get is how Harcourt was forced to step down for inappropriate conduct by one of his ministers. Clark had to step down for an incident that which he was later exonerated of. Yet Campbell who not only was convicted of drunk driving in Hawaii, a serious offense in BC, not to mention the whole raid on the legislature incident, … Just saying, if two premiers were brought down over things they were not guilty of in the end, how is it that Campbell is immune?

Arrogance?

Yet Campbell who not only was convicted of drunk driving in Hawaii, a serious offense in BC, not to mention the whole raid on the legislature incident, and he never got the bad press and scrutiny. The media wasn't sitting outside his home or calling for his removal.

Interesting questions guicho. Are we to presume in addressing them that the mainstream "media" is above being politically biased in any way?

Nab

Right-wing owned media biased toward right-wing interest ??? No way you say !!!


What’s even sadder than something as obvious as that, is that our electorate is so easily duped by such obvious bias and misrepresentation. We didn’t just elect this criminal regime once. We re-elected them into power a second time so they could screw us just a little bit more. We truly do get what we deserve.

[kingsandman]

Call me a killjoy, but I kind of like the guy.

[steven lloyd]

What I don't get is how Harcourt was forced to step down for inappropriate conduct by one of his ministers.

It wasn’t so much that he had to step down, but that he chose to step down (in consultation with other significant members of the party) because it was the action that demonstrated integrity – a value the party wanted to impose.

Clark had to step down for an incident that which he was later exonerated of.

It wasn’t so much he had to step down, but that he chose to step down (in consultation with other significant members of the party) because it was the action that demonstrated integrity – a value the party wanted to impose.

Yet Campbell who not only was convicted of drunk driving in Hawaii, a serious offense in BC, not to mention the whole raid on the legislature incident, …

… and a plethora of other offences which we still have yet to wait and see the charge approval state. Conveinient that certain laws have been passed (by a criminally elected government) since Herr Gordo’s rise to power that limit Crown’s ability to proceed with charges against a sitting government. However, as ignorant and gullible as this electorate has proven itself to be, there is hope even the dumbest among them are finally beginning to recognize this current government is out to screw them.

Call me a killjoy, but I kind of like the guy.

Some are still dumber than others. Like not paying attention or having the education to understand the long term implications. He/She obviously doesn’t understand what we have already lost (increased income gap, increased welfare dependence and homelessness, increased property and violent crime, increased stay of sentences due to long waits for trial dates, increased numbers of people dying waiting for health care “where you need it when you need it”, increased numbers of seniors dying while waiting for case management plans to be implemeneted – ya really must like those photo ops though.

Oh, I’m sorry kingsandman. You must be one of those folks who thinks Gordon Campbell was somehow responsible for the increased global demand for our raw resources (did Gordo tell you that?). It would only make sense then That Gordo was also responsible for the real estate boom as well. You must either live in the Okanagan valley or lower mainland because only in those two microcosms could you be so oblivious (not to suggest everyone living in those microcosms is oblivious).

I wouldn’t call you a killjoy kingsandman. A killjoy is someone with credible information that could and would refute or dispel the argument at hand. Gordon Campbell and his regime is criminal – that position has been strongly supported by a number of very intelligent posters here. You, on the other hand, “kind of like the guy”.

[kingsandman]

Wow, aren't we bitter. The guy's guilty of driving while impaired, something that 95% of the population has done, but just never got caught for. He surrendered his B.C. license (which there was no legal requirement to do) for one year, and got on with his life. Do you spend your days wondering where you went wrong, or are you just that bitter after 50 years? You claim intelligence, yet just bash everyone who opposes your opinion. This government has done absolutely nothing to lessen my lifestyle. I make more, I'm worth more, and I pay less taxes. I merely express how I kind of like the guy, and you go off on some mudslinging tangent. I don't envy the job, or the condition the province was in when he came to power. Many factors outside of the liberal party have contributed to our current prosperity, just as many have contributed towards a down turn in certain sectors. I just think they've done a better job than previous governments. There's an election coming, throw your name in the ring as an independant, good luck.

[steven lloyd]

Wow, aren't we bitter. The guy's guilty of driving while impaired, something that 95% of the population has done, but just never got caught for. He surrendered his B.C. license (which there was no legal requirement to do) for one year, and got on with his life. Do you spend your days wondering where you went wrong, or are you just that bitter after 50 years?

.


Bitter because a loser like Campbell gets away with a drunk driving conviction? Nope. More embarrassed that the so-called leader of our province didn’t have the cajones to step up to the plate and do what he said was the least his oppononents could for allegations they were ultimately proved innocent of. Complete arrogance. A move he expected from his opponents, but not something expected from someone like him.

I can think of many times in my life where I “went wrong” (as you will probably also be able to do yourself once you grow up). The point that was made by other posters, and then reinforced by myself, is that certain politicians accused of, and ultimately aquited of crimes they did not commit still removed themselves from a position of trust as a matter of integrity. Gordon Campbell, on the other hand, in spite of acknowledging his guilt, essentially told the electorate to “*bleep* themselves” saying “screw you”, “I’m the man”.

You claim intelligence, yet just bash everyone who opposes your opinion.

.

Actually. There are more than a couple of posters here who diametrically oppose my opinion (please note I have many opinions on a diverse range of subjects). A couple of them are very intelligent, and further, have the ability to present logical, well-founded arguments that have to be at least carefully considered before responded to. I don’t bash them. I appreciate and respect intelligent argument. Do you have something like that to offer?

[hellomynameis]

The real problem for BC is that we do not have a truly positive party option, Both the NDP and Liberals have set themselves awash in effluent waste. Then compound matters by, for all intent and purpose, limiting viable parties to two, maybe three, of the worst options (good options being nonexistent, which is worse than a “lesser of evils argument”) and you have yourself some classic BC politic.


But then again I stand on a position that politicians only make minor changes away and the popular vote is subject to outside forces that are either accredited or blamed on the current, past or ( if you’re good enough with your rhetoric) future government.

And I just don’t know why we call Gordon and his crew liberal are they really?


not a very positive or productive post but the rose does not always bloom.

[BoyzMommy]

Wow, aren't we bitter. The guy's guilty of driving while impaired, something that 95% of the population has done, but just never got caught for. He surrendered his B.C. license (which there was no legal requirement to do) for one year, and got on with his life. Do you spend your days wondering where you went wrong, or are you just that bitter after 50 years? You claim intelligence, yet just bash everyone who opposes your opinion. This government has done absolutely nothing to lessen my lifestyle. I make more, I'm worth more, and I pay less taxes. I merely express how I kind of like the guy, and you go off on some mudslinging tangent. I don't envy the job, or the condition the province was in when he came to power. Many factors outside of the liberal party have contributed to our current prosperity, just as many have contributed towards a down turn in certain sectors. I just think they've done a better job than previous governments. There's an election coming, throw your name in the ring as an independant, good luck.

Wow I'm glad you make more, keep more, and live better now. I have to assume that you were in the upper echelons of society to begin with because the rest of us living in middle, lower middle and lower income families sure as hell aren't doing better. And with increased taxes at the pump, you certainly won't be keeping as much of your money now. The rest of us who live in the real world are making less in relation to the cost of living as the price of everything requiring transportation goes through the roof. Our tax burden hasn't changed a whole lot because we don't make as much as you apparently do, and we certainly aren't worth more money because we spend everything we have just trying to make ends meet. Wait times are up at hospitals, so god forbid if I need medical attention. Education is continually underfunded. (unless you believe the spin doctors from Ms. Bond's office who will tell you that money falls from the sky on the school grounds and the money problems come from greedy teachers requiring a paycheck, and school boards not being able to make one dollar pay for ten dollars worth of materials...) Social services are underfunded. Programs for the mentally ill, battered women, people with addictions, etc, etc, have been cut. In fact, the only programs that seem to get MORE money are those related to the almighty Olympics. If that's what Gordon has given me, then he can kiss my *ss.

And yes, many people have driven drunk (although 95% is a pretty ridiculous stat to just throw around considering how many non-drinkers there are in society), but most of us had the brains to stop doing it when we were 20 years old, not 45 or 50!! And none of us were the premier of the province at the time. When one is elected to office, there should be a basic standard of decency and respect for the law. When the person we have elected to make the laws shows blatant disregard for laws, that is a problem. And before you get all "get off your soap box" on me, yes, when I was younger, I did drive home on several occasions when I had had more than the legal limit. Am I proud of that? Not for a second. How old was I the last time it happened? In my early twenties. Now, however, as a GROWN ADULT with children and responsibilities, I would never do it. He should have known better. He should have resigned when he did it. He was too arrogant to do so.

[steven lloyd]

The real problem for BC is that we do not have a truly positive party option, Both the NDP and Liberals have set themselves awash in effluent waste. Then compound matters by, for all intent and purpose, limiting viable parties to two, maybe three, of the worst options (good options being nonexistent, which is worse than a “lesser of evils argument”) and you have yourself some classic BC politic.

That would almost certainly seem to be the case. However, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Ujjal Dosanjh was elected premier over Herr Gordon Campbell. I mean there still would have been increased global demand for our raw resources (like the Liberals had anything to do with that –LOLOLOL). There would have still been increased employment because of that as well (as well as a real estate boom), however, there is a really good chance we would have been putting people from NDP employment preparation programs to work instead of having to advertise out of province for laborers. No worries though -there has always been room on the street for folks who don’t vote Liberal.

The most frustrating thing, however, for those who are really paying attention, is that the politician who was blatantly lying (I’m going to lower taxes and improve services) was more believed than the politician who was telling the obvious truth saying we need to maintain current taxes to maintain current services. So today, while our services crumble, we continue to spend more and more every day to support the mistakes and mis-management of right-wing social / economic policy.

It’s good that we help the ultra-rich figure out how they are going to survive past this crisis (you do know we are in a global economic crisis right now right?). After all, once we help the rich and powerful, we know they will help us next – right?