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BC LIBERALS 8 POINTS AHEAD
With only a few days remaining in the BC Election campaign, a new Ipsos Reid poll reveals the race is tightening, but the BC Liberals are still heavy favourites to win a third consecutive majority government. The NDP currently has the support of 39% of decided voters, an increase of 4 percentage points from a March Ipsos Reid pre-election poll. However, the BC Liberals continue to lead at 47% support (up 1 point), 8 points ahead of the NDP. Green Party support has fallen to 10%, down 5 points from March. These results exclude the 11% of British Columbians who are undecided or express no preference.
WHO IS MORE GREEN?
BC voters have quite a dilemma on their hands. If they don't want to cast their vote for Gordon Campbell's Liberals, who do they vote for - Jane Sterk, Leader of the Green Party or Carole James, Leader of the NDP?
James' experience is in social services and as a school trustee. She has little experience with, or knowledge of, business. That's a big problem considering she wants to run a multi-billion dollar corporation called the BC govt.
On the other hand, Green Party Leader Jane Sterk has more experience than one would think from a college professor. Her bio says she ran a computer retail outlet with 60 employees. That experience should at least provide her with the fundamentals of business.
So voters should ask themselves....who is more green....Jane or Carole?
STV-BC MAY OFFER A SOLUTION
British Columbians may have an opportunity to change the dysfunctional politics in B.C.
Right now, there are only two choices at election time - the Liberals and the NDP. The Liberals have done a reasonable job governing. They revived the economy in much shorter time than expected after the previous NDP government buried taxpayers in debt and unemployment. In addition, there have been very few scandals, especially over two terms.
Compare this with two terms of NDP government where cabinet was a revolving door for disgraced ministers, and the Conflict of Interest Commissioner was working overtime.
But eventually people grow tired of every government, and that is when the public sector unions, disguised as the NDP take power. And you have no choice in the matter.
If a business supports the Liberals, you can choose not to support that business. But when public sector unions support the NDP to the tune of millions of dollars, you cannot opt to choose a competitor. You must support the public sector with your tax dollars or go to jail.
The Single Transferable Vote (STV) helps break BC'ers out of this cycle and being held hostage by public sector unions and the NDP.
STV creates more options, and while it may not be perfect, it appears to be an acceptable solution to BC's pendulum politics. To learn more about STV, go to www.citizensassemby.bc.ca
Otherwise, be prepared to work for teachers, nurses, and bureaucrats -the people who are supposed to be working for you. If not in May 2009, then in May, 2013.
TIMES COLONIST'S IMMODERATE EDITORIAL
The Times Colonist newspaper editorial says "NDP proposes moderate path." That moderate path includes a 25% increase in the minimum wage of $8 to $10 per hour.
The biggest expense to most businesses is labour. The NDP are proposing a 25% increase in this cost to many small businesses during one of the biggest global financial crises in modern history. The T-C calls this "moderate." We understand the NDP's motivation - they support unions and most small businesses are not unionized. The NDP have no business experience and don't represent employers the people who sign paycheques. The NDP don't understand small business and never will.
In fact, Bill Tieleman, an NDP supporter and communications consultant that worked in the Premier's office under an NDP government said on CKNW's Bill Good Show that small businesses paying $8 per hour don't DESERVE to be in business. NDP'ers like Tieleman will be very involved in forming government policy should the NDP win the election.
Similarly, the editorial writers at the T-C are employees. They employ no one, and write no paycheques. They call the 25% increase moderate because they also don't really understand business.
However, the owners of the T-C do employ people, sign paycheques and should understand the impact a 25% increase would have on their advertisers during these difficult and uncertain times. At the very least, a 25% increase is a significant cost and far from moderate. The T-C owners should issue an apology to small business owners (their advertisers) and review the expertise, (or lack of expertise) on their editorial board. That, as opposed to firing, would be a moderate approach.
"FRIENDS" AND "INSIDERS"
NDP Leader Carole James recently accused Premier Gordon Campbell of having "friends and insiders" and we don't doubt that's the case. Every leader from Sir John A. MacDonald to Barack Obama can be accused of having "friends" and even some "insiders." Are they rewarded in some way for their support? The answer to this is sometimes yes and sometimes no. As long as we have an electoral system allowing donations, there will be "friends" and even "insiders" rewarded for their efforts. That is reality and human nature.
So knowing this, it is probably best voters concern themselves with trying to minimize the number of these "friends" and "insiders" as well as the potential for influence, and their relationship with the leader.
Given that standard, voters should be far more concerned with Carole James. Voters pay for government employees, and their unions, using your tax dollars, overwhelmingly support Carole James and the NDP.
In 2001, despite their accumulated 40 billion dollar debt, the NDP government signed off sweetheart deals with public sector unions. It was the same year the NDP were bounced from office by BC voters. The deals cost taxpayers a bundle. This cozy employer/employee relationship is a huge problem in our system and far bigger issue for taxpayers than anything involving Campbell.
As a reminder, here are a few "friends" offering donations in the 2005 election. Are they "insiders?" You decide on May 12.
Teachers' Associations - British Columbia Teachers' Federation: $874,964.14 Boundary District Teachers' Association: $3,782.91
Bulkley Valley Teachers' Union: $8,327.41 Burnaby Teachers' Association: $45,155.21 Burns Lake District Teachers' Association: $8,984.42
Campbell River District Teachers' Association: $6,946.49 Cariboo-Chilcotin Teachers' Association: $8,244.36 Central Coast Teachers' Association: $2,042.10 Central Okanagan Teachers' Association: $17,304.68 Chilliwack Teachers' Association: $4,559.72 Comox District Teachers' Association: $12,153.69 Coqutilam Teachers Association: $1,588.34 Cowichan District Teachers' Association: $6,784.26 Cranbrook District Teachers' Association: $6,004.78 Creston Valley Teachers' Association: $4,888.61 Delta Teachers' Association: $25,959.82 Fernie District Teachers' Association: $4,131.79
Fort Nelson District Teachers' Association: $6,310.37 Gold Trail Teachers' Association: $539.92 Golden Teachers' Association: $2,116.80 Greater Victoria Teachers' Association: $40,647.57 Gulf Island Teachers' Association: $900.64 Howe Sound Teachers' Association: $2,617.11 Kamloops Thompson Teachers' Association: $28,008.78 Kimberley Teachers' Association: $4,234.60 Kitimat District Teachers' Association: $4,268.72 Kootenay Columbia Teachers' Union: $10,314.81 Lake Cowichan Teachers' Association: $1,245.09 Langley Teachers' Association: $19,007.84 Maple Ridge Teachers' Association: $5,219.58 Mission Teachers' Union: $7,069.08 Mount Arrowsmith Teachers' Association: $4,395.91 Nanaimo District Teachers' Association: $3,897.41 Nechako Teachers' Union: $3,042.03 Nelson District Teachers' Association: $6,025.65 New Westminster Teachers' Union: $1,961.22
Nicola Valley Teachers' Union: $2,478.58 Nisga'a Teachers' Union: $5,004.54 North Okanagan Shuswap Teachers' Association: $7,747.00 North Vancouver Teachers' Association: $25,646.00 Okanagan Skaha Teachers' Union: $11,629.00 Peace River North Teachers' Association: $3,550.00 Peace River South Teachers' Association: $5,535.69 Powell River District Teachers' Association: $10,522.72 Prince Rupert District Teachers' Union: $14,087.24
Princeton District Teachers' Union: $6,712.57 Queen Charlotte District Teachers' Association: $9,662.00 Quesnel District Teachers' Association: $7,512.52 Revelstoke Teachers' Association: $3,468.41 Richmond Teachers' Association: $21,585.00 Saanich Teachers' Association: $12,134.57
Sooke Teachers' Association: $14,225.99 South Okanagan Similkameen Teachers' Union: $10,803.00 Stikine Teachers' Association: $5,378.34
Sunshine Coast Teachers' Association: $4,813.34 Surrey Teachers' Association: $48,044.29 Terrace District Teachers' Union: $16,646.53
Vancouver Elementary School Teachers' Association: $20,958.00 Vancouver Island North Teachers' Association: $5,469.08 Vancouver Island West Teachers' Union: $5,597.52 Vancouver Secondary Teachers' Association: $7,949.00 Vernon Teachers' Association: $14,127.00 West Vancouver Teachers' Association: $18,561.02 Windermere District Teachers' Association: $3,312.11 Total: $1,516,806.92
Unions - B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union: $45,962.00
B.C. Government and Service Employees Union: $431,250.80 B.C. Federation of Labour: $113,547.44 British Columbia Nurses Union: $257,282.00 Canadian Farmworkers' Union: $535.00 Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union Local 378: $148,614.00 Canadian Union of Public Employees: $56,416.40
Communications, Energy and Paperworkers' Union: $4,700.80 Compensation Employees' Union: $589.25 Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of B.C.: $209,602.00 Health Sciences Association of British Columbia: $112,531.55 Hospital Employees' Union: $549,760.92 International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local 138: $4,405.00 International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local 2009: $4,405.00 International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local 1527: $4,405.00 Kamloops and District Labour Council: $5,929.94 Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada: $2,691.00 Squamish and District Labour Committee: $639.60 Steelworkers District 3 Local 1-85: $1,890.96 United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 1518: $12,750.22 United Steelworkers District 3: $16,863.00 Total: $1,984,771.88
LUONGO AND BURROWS FAN FAVOURITES
A recent poll by Ipsos Reid showed nearly half (45%) of Vancouver Canucks fans chose captain Roberto Luongo as the team’s most valuable player for the 2008/09 regular season, with Alexandre Burrows clinching second place as fully one-quarter (25%) of fans think he should be named MVP. And with the retirement of Trevor Linden, Roberto Luongo wins the favourite Canuck award (27%) with Alexandre Burrows (20%) not too far behind. In fact, among “avid” Canucks fans (defined as those who follow the Vancouver Canucks “very closely”), Burrows is named as the “fan favourite” ahead of Luongo (31% vs. 24%, respectively).
BCTF ADS IGNORE THE FACTS
The BC Teachers Federation continues to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayers' money into their anti-Liberal campaign which ignores the facts behind school closures. The facts are that since 2000-01, student enrolment has declined by nearly 53,000 students. School Districts report that number continues to increase. It is an issue of demographics.
You would think teachers might demonstrate a little more integrity...and set a better example for students, whose interests they claim to support.
NDP "JUST DON'T KNOW" - Clark
Former NDP Premier Glen Clark admits the NDP have no knowledge of the decision makers in BC's business community. And he believes he would have done a better job had he possessed business experience.
In a Vancouver Sun interview, called "From the Ashes: Ex-premier Glen Clark's surprising new start" by Douglas Todd, Clark says, “I mean, I was finance minister at 32. And it’s not a criticism of myself. But you don’t know. When you’re in the NDP and you’re young and you get elected and you have a union background you don’t really know the people who are running the big businesses."
Clark now works for BC business magnate Jimmy Pattison.
Clark says of his experience with Pattison and working in big business, “I think it would make me better if I ever went back to government.”
Much of what Clark says explains why he and the NDP government ran the province into the ground during the 1990's - BC's Lost Decade. Businesses, investors and thousands of young people seeking work fled the province; BC's GDP dropped to 10th in Canada; and BC's credit rating plunged.
Clark finally understands what most of us already know. The BC government is a multi-billion dollar corporation requiring significant business savvy and knowledge of the business community. And Clark admits the NDP lack this important expertise and knowledge.
NDP Leader Carole James also lacks any business expertise or knowledge. Her backgound is in social work and as a school trustee. She has spent much of her career as a professional politician.
Perhaps Carol James should take Clark's sage advice and spend time working for Jimmy Pattison...BEFORE she decides to manage the biggest, most influential corporation in British Columbia.
BC BEST PLACE FOR LOW INCOME EARNERS
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business recently released a study on income tax rates and discovered that British Columbians earning $25,000 pay the least personal income tax.
The study says, "At the $25,000 taxable income level, British Columbia scores the best with total tax payable of $4,654, while Manitoba scores the worst with total tax payable of $5,737. At the $50,000 taxable income level, British Columbia also scores the best with total taxes paid of $12,447, while Quebec scores the worst with total taxes paid of $15,542."
Given that BC has has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Canada, the lowest personal income tax rate for low income earners, and has one of the highest credit ratings...what is the advantage in changing the government? There's really only one answer to this question - higher taxes, higher unemployment, higher provincial debt, and a lower credit rating.
BC TAXPAYERS FUND BCTF CAMPAIGN AGAINST LIBERALS
How do you feel about your tax dollars funding anti-Liberal campaigns?
That’s right. Regardless of your political beliefs, you are helping to fund a campaign against the Liberals in the upcoming election. In fact, your money is also going directly into the NDP’s campaign fund.
The BC Teachers Federation is running an ad campaign attacking the Liberals. Check out their website at www.bctf.ca.
For the moment, let's ignore BCTF's ad content, which uses our children to achieve their political agenda. It happens every election.
For now, let's focus on how your tax dollars enable the BCTF and other public sector unions to carry out their political agenda.
According to Elections BC, unions accounted for 32 per cent or $1.9 million of the NDP’s election contributions in 2005. Unions also ran election advertising valued at $3.5 million, with 44 percent coming from the BC Teachers' Federation and teachers' associations.
Where do these unions, and therefore the NDP, get their money? From you….the taxpayer. Taxpayers of all political persuasions, including Liberals, end up funding anti-Liberal campaigns and are forced to contribute to the election of the NDP through their taxes. Taxpayers have no choice. It’s the law.
You must pay your taxes to fund public sector employees. Their unions, for the most part, support the NDP. It's systemic. Knowing this, should Liberal taxpayers be forced to pay taxes when they know their money supports opposing values?
Contribute to attack ads against the Liberals and help fund the NDP or go to jail.
Plus, if the NDP get elected, they will be the employer of the public sector unions - their supporters. And an NDP government will be making decisions on public sector employees’ wages and benefits.
We looked up the definition of kickback - "A kickback is a payment of money, favors, or some other valuable to another individual to perform a certain desired action or to make an important decision in the kickbacker’s favor."
We’ll leave it up to taxpayers to decide how comfortable they are with this arrangement.
In the meantime, enjoy the BCTF campaign.
You paid for it…
Fighting in Hockey Takes Ultimate Toll
Fighting in hockey has taken its ultimate toll with the death of Don Sanderson, a defenceman for the Whitby Dunlops. Sanderson died in Hamilton General Hospital on January 2. He had been in a coma since Dec. 14, as a result of a fight in an Ontario Hockey Association senior game. During the fight his helmet came off, both players fell, and Sanderson's head hit the ice.
Sports analysts, who have mostly either ignored or supported fighting in hockey, look a bit sick on air.
Some are asking for a "committee" to review fighting policies. Few appear to have the guts to advocate the removal of fighting from the sport.
Long time advocates of fighting in hockey, like Don Cherry, have had their views aired on CBC television for years, paid for by Canadian taxpayers. Their views are rarely supported by facts.
Former coach and player Mike Milbury has said that without fighting, the NHL would become a league for sissies and Canadians would not watch. Except the least penalized team for fighting is the Detroit Red Wings, one of the most successful and popular teams in the NHL.
Cherry's argument that you need fighting to protect your star players is not supported by virtually any other professional sport.
Hockey in Canada is run by dinosaurs without vision. Thousands of talented Canadian kids leave the sport because they want to play hockey, not engage in boxing. But the dinosaur culture in hockey is powerful. For example, most players still refuse to wear full face protective shields or cages because it "interferes" with their vision. Except the guy whose vision is most critical wears a full mask - the goalie.
It is time to remove fighting from hockey, and time to stop the dinosaurs airing their pro-fighting views paid for by Canadian taxpayers. If organized hockey and the CBC can't summon the courage to do the right thing, then it must be up to parliament to protect our kids playing Canada's most important sport. Send a message to Canada's Minister Responsible for Sport here. Or contact Prime Minister Stephen Harper directly at pm@pm.gc.ca.
Obama Wins Over McCain
Barack Obama won the U.S. Presidency handily over John McCain on Tuesday, and both men gave inspirational speeches, alluding to the historic importance of electing America's first black President. There is great hope by both U.S. citizens and citizens of the world that Obama marks a new direction in America's participation in the global community.
Bob is no Rae of Hope
Bob Rae has announced his intention to contest the federal Liberal leadership. Presumably, after bankrupting Ontario as NDP Premier, Rae would like to see what havoc he can wreak with our the national economy. The mere notion that he has viable support from Liberals indicates how bereft of values and common sense exists in the federal Liberal party. No wonder they don't have two nickels to rub together.....excuse us if we prefer to keep ours.
Canada’s Top 100 Employers Don’t Make Everyone’s List
When we had a glance at the newly announced Top 100 Employers List, some of the winners caught our eye. Many of the alleged Top 100 are government organizations – not normally known for flexibility, creativity, or rewarding employees based on merit. In fact, we expect there were many chuckles among government employees, present and past, with stories to tell about the work environments of some of these “winners.”
So we did a little investigating into the competition criteria and process. Here’s what we discovered. The competition organizers, Mediacorp Canada Inc, don’t actually require feedback from employees of the winners to determine if their organization is a great place to work. You would think employee feedback would be a critical component.
Instead, employers were asked to complete applications about their operations and human resource practices. These included Physical Workplace; Work Atmosphere & Social; Health, Financial & Family Benefits; Vacation & Time Off; Employee Communications; Performance Management; Training & Skills Development; as well as charitable efforts.
Experienced business managers do not oversee the selection criteria, which is also a surprise. Instead, this is done by four academics, professors of various universities, with expertise in human resources.
So how can they claim to be top employers if we don’t know how the employees feel about working there? Mediacorp Canada Inc says an optional employee survey procedure is provided to applicants, but they can keep the results confidential. They say employers will be provided with “a report at the end of the process that provides an estimate of engagement levels among your employees. You have the choice of submitting this report to us by email, but you're not obliged to do it.”
How can one judge “Work Atmosphere & Social” without employee feedback? The employee feedback is pretty much most of what we want to know.
In the real working world, often the best places to work are those without extensive benefit packages. In fact, extensive benefit programs, like those in government, are often an indication of the opposite. The employees are usually unionized and negotiate those benefits to justify working in an oppressive and bureaucratic environment.
So excuse us if we don’t fire off resumes to many of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. We prefer our existing jobs with flexibility, creativity, and reward based on merit.
(Editor’s note: The regional competition - BC’s Top 40 Employers - was also announced. The winners include the BC Public Service, BC Lottery Corporation, WorkSafeBC, and Provincial Health Services Authority.)
Obama Thumps McCain in Debate
In last night's debate, Barack Obama came across as an articulate, calm, well-reasoned leader, while McCain flailed back and forth between "frothing attack dog" and "condescending, but confused grandpa."
McCain said, "I don't care about an old, washed-up terrorist," and then did an about-face, hammering on Obama for sitting on the same education board as William Ayers, co-founder of a 1960's radical group, accused of bombing government buildings. But that was a long time ago, and since, Ayers has been awarded Chicago's Citizen of the Year, and is now a professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois, holding the title of Distinguished Professor of Education.
McCain knows his accusations are a pathetic stretch, which is why he claimed he didn't care "about an old, washed up terrorist." But it's all his floundering campaign has, so he went after Obama anyway, revealing McCain to be an old, washed up political opportunist.
Next, Obama said he would commit funds to finding a cure for autism, and McCain jumped all over him for being a "tax and spend" kinda guy. So it was a shock when McCain said he would fund a cure for autism, because Sarah Palin has a lot of experience with that. (Except Palin's son has Downs Syndrome.) Of course, Obama isn't going to attack McCain for this outrageous about-face.
The result? McCain came across as an erratic, confused, cheap shot artist, while Obama was clearly the statesman.
This election should be a no-brainer for thinking Americans.
Next Up: BC Municipal Elections
BC's municipal election campaigns are underway. Voting day is November 15, and candidates are voted in for a three-year term.
The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce is posting the profiles of Greater Victoria candidates' on its website at www.victoriachamber.ca You can get more info on BC's municipal elections at www.municipalelections.com .
And the winner is....
Stephen Harper's Conservatives won a minority government in the federal election, after Liberal Leader Stephane Dion crashed and burned leaving only die-hard Liberals to offer their support. The university professor's fuzzy answers to the global economic meltdown did not inspire voters.
The NDP's Jack Layton and the Green Party's Elizabeth May trotted out the same old class warfare. Want to fix employment, health, the environment, etc? Simple - make the rich/corporations pay. Most voters are simply more economically sophisticated than either Layton or May.
Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe did well, once again appealing to parochial voters with little interest in a national vision.
Bottom- line? If Stephen Harper's social skills equalled his strong performance in office, he would have had a majority government.
Harper, Dion, Layton, Duceppe, or May?
There's no more putting it off. On Tuesday, Canadians will go to the polls and elect a new government.
Each leader and party has its hardcore supporters/followers. Many wide-eyed young people will vote Green, socialists and union supporters will vote NDP, Toronto's lefty, social elite and backroom players will vote Liberal, Quebec's lefty, social elite and backroom players will vote Bloc, and the "family values crowd" and Alberta oilpatch will vote Conservative.
The rest of Canadians will vote for economic stability, accompanied by a reliable social safety net, which includes good, reliable health care, education, and social services.
But the most urgent need right now is to ensure people won't lose their jobs and default on their mortgages in the face of the global economic crisis.
Faced with this crisis, only the Conservatives have the expertise and policies to manage this environment. Just imagine Elizabeth May at the wheel. We'd rather not.
Is Palin Another Nixon?
Remember Richard Nixon's, "I am not a crook." That was his public denial after firing Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, and prior to resigning over the Watergate scandal.
Now we have Sarah Palin's statement, re: an investigator's report on "Troopergate." Palin said, "I'm very, very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing, any hint of any kind of unethical activity there. Very pleased to be cleared of any of that."
Except the report says, Palin "knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda, to wit: to get Trooper Michael Wooten fired." Palin tried "to get Trooper Wooten fired for personal family related reasons."
Palin "abused her power by violating Section 39.52.119(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act." The Act says, "The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust."
Alaska's former Publc Safety Commissioner confirms he was fired because he refused to carry out Palin's personal agenda.
But the worst of it is that John McCain knew about this investigation before he asked Palin to be his running mate. Palin is clearly unfit for the position of VP. But McCain has also shown, and continues to show, extremely poor judgment. How can he claim to clean up Washington, when he can't clean up his own campaign?
John McCain's McCarthyism
John McCain's tactic of "guilt by association" politics is denigrating American democracy and the electoral process. Rather than debate the issues, McCain is engaging in the character assassination of his opponent - Barack Obama.
Joe McCarthy engaged in similar tactics in the '50's, when he chased after alleged communist sympathizers. (see the movie "Good Night and Good Luck," starring George Clooney). Some very courageous journalists challenged him, and McCarthy eventually became a laughing stock.....but not before he had gripped the nation in fear and destroyed the lives of many Americans. It is a form of bullying, and if McCain had a stronger VP candidate, he might have been talked out of such a tactic. But his VP Sarah Palin has just been found guilty of abusing her office as Governor of Alaska by trying to get her ex-bother-in-law fired from his job as a state trooper. Palin's lack of judgment and abuse of power is becoming more evident. America can only hope that she and McCain become a laughing stock before they do any more damage to their country.....and long before they reach the White House.
Barack Obama's Policies May Hurt Canada
And just so there's no misunderstanding, it is very possible Canada's economy may suffer under Obama's opposition to the free trade agreeement. Obama leans a little to the left, and is pro-union. Neither predeliction supports a strong economy, however, we are hoping that economic reality will sink in at some point, and pratical considerations will take over. Certainly Obama appears to be more open to participating as a member of the global community. And the alternative is not a credible option - (eg) "What's good for Sara Palin is good for___________(fill in the blank.)"
John McCain's "Dancing Queen"
By now you probably know John McCain has stated, without reservation, that his favourite song is "Dancing Queen" by ABBA. Pretty scary....there's a lot of music out there....but to each his/her own. Given this revelation, we shouldn't be surprised at his choice of running mate - Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska. Sarah got her start as a Mayor, elected by about 600 voters. Small town mayors can get away with a lot. Separation of personal interest from the office can be a stumble-block for many....and we know this from the small town politics in BC, and undoubtedly across Canada and the U.S. Sarah Palin has brought that same lack of perspective to the Governor's Office. Her anger toward her former brother-in-law during her sister's divorce bolied over into her office leading to "Troopergate." A state-appointed investigator is looking into the whole sad affair, but suffice to say her relatives will want to stay on her good side if she ever reaches the White House. Then there's the "Bridge to Nowhere," which she actually supported despite her denials. This expensive boondoggle was a prime example of pork-barrel politics. Sarah Palin's claim that she and John McCain will clean up Washington is unlikely. But we do expect to hear a lot more ABBA coming from the White House.
Mr. Clean
And speaking of cleaning up, if Palin and McCain want lessons on "cleaning up" the established "me-firsters" in Washington, they should call Canada's Stephen Harper for some advice. Regardless of politics and policies, few Canadians can remember a time when there has been so little in the way of scandal. The previous three or four decades in Canada were rife with federal government corruption led by the usual suspects - Paul Martin, Jean Chretien, Brian Mulroney. Harper has cleaned it up significantly, and he deserves the credit.
A Blast of Cold Canadian Wind
Which of Stephane Dion's PR dipsticks suggested he pose playing ball hockey to show he's a "regular" guy? This is Canada pal, and in this country, we lace up the skates. Dion came off looking like a doofus.
A Blast of Cold BC Wind
The BC Liberal government is in serious trouble. They have turned governance of the province over to the bureaucrats, which awarded themselves fat raises. There's an election next spring and the government is mimicking the same pattern of many fallen governments before them. They cancelled a Fall session of the legislature for PR reasons, and it's tough to find a business person (their traditional supporters) with a kind word to say. Business people keep running into a wall of bureaucrats dominated by agendas of self-interest. The NDP are lovin' it and are hoping the Liberals don't wake up. Stay tuned....