NevermindTheDossier
ThisStuffMattersVille
From Michael Shear et al., in the NYT:
A prominent anti-vaccine crusader said on Tuesday that President-elect Donald J. Trump had asked him to lead a new government commission on vaccine safety and scientific integrity — a possibility that spread alarm among medical experts that Mr. Trump could be giving credence to debunked conspiracy theories about the dangers of immunizations...
So.
Now, instead of lone crazy-induced outwardly rippling outbreaks in the Valley or at Disneyland it could be entire swaths of Red States backed with trojan horses emerging from New Agey elitist enclaves in the coastal Blues.
It's almost like we're watching a self-induced Zombie Apocalypse play out for real, in realish-type time while Mr. Obama invites the Chicago Cubs to the White House as if nothing untoward is going down.
And if Dr. Salk flew in today, would Mr. Trump decide, through surrogates, to deny him funding anyway?
_______
Meanwhile, closer to home, the Dean almost keeps up with Laila's shocking discovery that there is Swift Boating going on (again) in Lotusland...Say Anything, indeed.
.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Sunday, January 01, 2017
There's A New Media(ish) Service In Town...
BreakerBreakerOneNine
UncleBobVille
Bob Mackin unveiled a new website today called 'the Breaker'.
It is BC-centric and it has been built to, according to Mr. Mackin, do the following:
...It is a vehicle to stop secrecy, unravel the spin and enable citizens to better scrutinize those who hold power and influence on the west coast of Canada and beyond...
Which is pretty hard to argue with if you are someone who has been paying attention to how the puffed-up proMedia punditry 'round here dealt with the dybbling of winning quick, the post-it noting of the cool boss, the de-railing of conflictyness, the cuckholding of BCUC, the grocery billing of a massive deficit, the supreming of school teachers and scores more stories of Clarklandian malfeasance, obfuscation and/or outright media manipulation that actually matter to British Columbians.
Here's one small item from one of Mr. Mackin's first pieces:
...It was a classic case of campaigning from the left in 2015 and governing from the right in 2016.
The Trudeau Liberals gave thumbs up to Woodfibre LNG, Petronas Pacific NorthWest LNG, Kinder Morgan and Energy East. Who knows when or if they’ll get built, but it sends a message to the environmentalists who voted for the Grits to beat the Harper Conservatives that the economy takes precedence over the environment...
Hmmmmm...
Me thinks progressive folks with an environmentalist bent here in Lotusland should think hard about what they wish for in May 2017 from a slightly different perspective.
And this time I'm not thinking about a carbon tax-type wedge issue like the one that Gordon Campbell drove deep into the heart of hardcore environmentalists that helped keep us from electing the best premier we never had in this province in 2009.
Instead, I'm talking about the very real possibility that vote splitting sent the way of those fine folks running with the good Mr. Weaver could elect the Clarklandians to do their cronies's bidding for another four years.
Which is something we'll have much, much more to say about on a riding-specific level in the weeks to come.
OK?
.
UncleBobVille
Bob Mackin unveiled a new website today called 'the Breaker'.
It is BC-centric and it has been built to, according to Mr. Mackin, do the following:
...It is a vehicle to stop secrecy, unravel the spin and enable citizens to better scrutinize those who hold power and influence on the west coast of Canada and beyond...
Which is pretty hard to argue with if you are someone who has been paying attention to how the puffed-up proMedia punditry 'round here dealt with the dybbling of winning quick, the post-it noting of the cool boss, the de-railing of conflictyness, the cuckholding of BCUC, the grocery billing of a massive deficit, the supreming of school teachers and scores more stories of Clarklandian malfeasance, obfuscation and/or outright media manipulation that actually matter to British Columbians.
****
Here's one small item from one of Mr. Mackin's first pieces:
...It was a classic case of campaigning from the left in 2015 and governing from the right in 2016.
The Trudeau Liberals gave thumbs up to Woodfibre LNG, Petronas Pacific NorthWest LNG, Kinder Morgan and Energy East. Who knows when or if they’ll get built, but it sends a message to the environmentalists who voted for the Grits to beat the Harper Conservatives that the economy takes precedence over the environment...
Hmmmmm...
Me thinks progressive folks with an environmentalist bent here in Lotusland should think hard about what they wish for in May 2017 from a slightly different perspective.
And this time I'm not thinking about a carbon tax-type wedge issue like the one that Gordon Campbell drove deep into the heart of hardcore environmentalists that helped keep us from electing the best premier we never had in this province in 2009.
Instead, I'm talking about the very real possibility that vote splitting sent the way of those fine folks running with the good Mr. Weaver could elect the Clarklandians to do their cronies's bidding for another four years.
Which is something we'll have much, much more to say about on a riding-specific level in the weeks to come.
OK?
.
Friday, December 30, 2016
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Tonight's The Night.
HolidaysGoingGoingGoing
AlmostGoneVille
We got home from the People's Republic of Vancouver Island tonight.
And me, I took almost a whole week almost completely off.
From thinking science geek things I mean.
Which always scares me a little.
Why?
Well, it turns out that I always worry that the obsessiveness it takes to do the thing might not come back if I take a chunk of time off.
Weird that, eh?
______
Was surprised to see just how much snow there still is in the near eastern townships of Lotusland central...Our back alley is, essentially, a frozen Norwegian fjord...Or some such thing.
.
AlmostGoneVille
We got home from the People's Republic of Vancouver Island tonight.
And me, I took almost a whole week almost completely off.
From thinking science geek things I mean.
Which always scares me a little.
Why?
Well, it turns out that I always worry that the obsessiveness it takes to do the thing might not come back if I take a chunk of time off.
Weird that, eh?
______
Was surprised to see just how much snow there still is in the near eastern townships of Lotusland central...Our back alley is, essentially, a frozen Norwegian fjord...Or some such thing.
.
This Day In Clarkland... Pomp And Circumstance.
AllDebtIs
DebtVille
The VSun's Dan Fumano had an interesting story on the Clarklandian's Condo Bubble Re-Inflation program yesterday.
Fumano has been talking to mortgage insider types about the thing and has come to the conclusion that many of them categorize the loans as debt that will be folded into the total deal.
Which is most interesting on a whole lot of levels if you think about it.
Not the least of which is that, ultimately, this won't help anyone who is truly struggling to buy their first home make the nut.
Which, according to the VSun's Mr. Fumano lead one of the 'insiders', a fine fellow named Chad Oyhenart, managing director of DLC Canadian Mortgage Experts to state the following about the Clarklandians 'motives':
...Oyhenart said the program may be more about “pomp and circumstance” than about helping people.
“The B.C. government here, is obviously doing what they can, coming into an election year,” Oyhenart said. “Whether it’s viable or not, it doesn’t even matter … The government can still say ‘Hey, we’re trying our best here to help everybody get in to a home here in B.C.’ … It just makes them look like good guys.”...
Hmmmmm...
Kinda sounds a little bit like that time that Christy Clark said she and hers all 'say things' to get elected.
Which is all fine and good.
Except that, at the moment at least, Ms. Clark is being paid by the public* to govern rather than just make stuff up to get elected.
Right?
______
*And, to be clear, I'm only talking about the portion of Ms. Clark's salary paid for by you and me...As for that other portion?....Well...
.
DebtVille
The VSun's Dan Fumano had an interesting story on the Clarklandian's Condo Bubble Re-Inflation program yesterday.
Fumano has been talking to mortgage insider types about the thing and has come to the conclusion that many of them categorize the loans as debt that will be folded into the total deal.
Which is most interesting on a whole lot of levels if you think about it.
Not the least of which is that, ultimately, this won't help anyone who is truly struggling to buy their first home make the nut.
Which, according to the VSun's Mr. Fumano lead one of the 'insiders', a fine fellow named Chad Oyhenart, managing director of DLC Canadian Mortgage Experts to state the following about the Clarklandians 'motives':
...Oyhenart said the program may be more about “pomp and circumstance” than about helping people.
“The B.C. government here, is obviously doing what they can, coming into an election year,” Oyhenart said. “Whether it’s viable or not, it doesn’t even matter … The government can still say ‘Hey, we’re trying our best here to help everybody get in to a home here in B.C.’ … It just makes them look like good guys.”...
Hmmmmm...
Kinda sounds a little bit like that time that Christy Clark said she and hers all 'say things' to get elected.
Which is all fine and good.
Except that, at the moment at least, Ms. Clark is being paid by the public* to govern rather than just make stuff up to get elected.
Right?
______
*And, to be clear, I'm only talking about the portion of Ms. Clark's salary paid for by you and me...As for that other portion?....Well...
.
Forty-Four Characters Too Many.
TheDonaldMakesAMeanWordSalad
TooNotWhoVille
Mr. Trump when asked what he thinks about the Obama administration's plans to sanction Russia in the wake of the hacking scandal:
"I think we ought to get on with our lives. I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly. The whole age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what's going on."
Hmmmmm...
Sounds more like Richie Rich in a dunce cap than a president/twitmachine expert.
Which, of course, is pretty 'bad' with or without exclamation marks.
And/or ALL CAPS.
.
TooNotWhoVille
Mr. Trump when asked what he thinks about the Obama administration's plans to sanction Russia in the wake of the hacking scandal:
"I think we ought to get on with our lives. I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly. The whole age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what's going on."
Hmmmmm...
Sounds more like Richie Rich in a dunce cap than a president/twitmachine expert.
Which, of course, is pretty 'bad' with or without exclamation marks.
And/or ALL CAPS.
.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
This Neverending Day In Clarkland...Ragging The LNG Puck With Sticks Made Of Sparkle Ponies.
NoSavardianSpinaramasAnywhere
NotGallivanVille
Well, well, well....
Would'a thunk it:
B.C. Deputy Premier Rich Coleman believes in the long-term prospects for exporting liquefied natural gas from British Columbia, saying patience is a virtue during an industry slump.
Pacific NorthWest LNG, led by Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas, is a high-profile consortium that will be closely watched in 2017.
Mr. Coleman, who is also Natural Gas Development Minister, said based on his discussions with Petronas management, a final investment decision will be made in the summer of 2017. Assuming Pacific NorthWest LNG sticks to its timetable, the co-owners could potentially make an announcement roughly three months after the B.C. election is held on May 9, 2017...
And that, of course, is when the previously promised (i.e. before the 2013 election) trillions will flow and our total provincial debt, now heading towards a de Jongified $200 billion, will be wiped out forever!
Right?
_________
proMedia piece linked to, above, is under Brent Jang's byline in yesterday's Globe and Mail...
.
NotGallivanVille
Well, well, well....
Would'a thunk it:
B.C. Deputy Premier Rich Coleman believes in the long-term prospects for exporting liquefied natural gas from British Columbia, saying patience is a virtue during an industry slump.
Pacific NorthWest LNG, led by Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas, is a high-profile consortium that will be closely watched in 2017.
Mr. Coleman, who is also Natural Gas Development Minister, said based on his discussions with Petronas management, a final investment decision will be made in the summer of 2017. Assuming Pacific NorthWest LNG sticks to its timetable, the co-owners could potentially make an announcement roughly three months after the B.C. election is held on May 9, 2017...
And that, of course, is when the previously promised (i.e. before the 2013 election) trillions will flow and our total provincial debt, now heading towards a de Jongified $200 billion, will be wiped out forever!
Right?
_________
proMedia piece linked to, above, is under Brent Jang's byline in yesterday's Globe and Mail...
.
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
This Coming Year In Clarkland..."Other Fees And Charges".
WaitingForTheGreatLeap
BackwardVille
From Shane Woodford of CHNL radio:
BC's Finance minister is hinting at financial relief for British Columbians when he tables February's election year provincial budget. Mike de Jong says the province has a big surplus and is leading the country in job creation and now is a good time to share the wealth. But de Jong says it won't just be tax breaks.
"People make the point, I think with validity, it is not just income tax there are the other fees and charges that people are obliged to pay. That adds to the burden that they face."...
Look.
This avalanche of "paying us back with our own money" business is coming.
And there is nothing that anybody can do about it.
Except that...
The puffed-up punditry could call out the now completed great regressive tax shift off onto the backs of the citizenry for what it actually is.
Because if they did, then the citizenry would at least understand that it is those 'other fees and charges' that have been gouged from their backs that have paid for Mr. de Jong's phony surplus in its entirety.
While, simultaneously, the wealthy have received the tax breaks on their European SUV's and their private school tuition (as well as their private school lunches and after school care too) that they so truly deserve.
Not to mention the fact that the resource extractors are now paying, essentially (as Norm Farrell has shown)...
...Nothing.
OK?
_________
Of course, we don't need a weatherman to know which way the punditry's wind is blowing given that the Dean recently made it clear that putting the egregiously regressive MSP head tax back into the progressive column where it belongs is Horgan's $2.5 billion a year problem...And, as we all know, where the Dean goes the obvious are sure to follow.
.
BackwardVille
From Shane Woodford of CHNL radio:
BC's Finance minister is hinting at financial relief for British Columbians when he tables February's election year provincial budget. Mike de Jong says the province has a big surplus and is leading the country in job creation and now is a good time to share the wealth. But de Jong says it won't just be tax breaks.
"People make the point, I think with validity, it is not just income tax there are the other fees and charges that people are obliged to pay. That adds to the burden that they face."...
Look.
This avalanche of "paying us back with our own money" business is coming.
And there is nothing that anybody can do about it.
Except that...
The puffed-up punditry could call out the now completed great regressive tax shift off onto the backs of the citizenry for what it actually is.
Because if they did, then the citizenry would at least understand that it is those 'other fees and charges' that have been gouged from their backs that have paid for Mr. de Jong's phony surplus in its entirety.
While, simultaneously, the wealthy have received the tax breaks on their European SUV's and their private school tuition (as well as their private school lunches and after school care too) that they so truly deserve.
Not to mention the fact that the resource extractors are now paying, essentially (as Norm Farrell has shown)...
...Nothing.
OK?
_________
Of course, we don't need a weatherman to know which way the punditry's wind is blowing given that the Dean recently made it clear that putting the egregiously regressive MSP head tax back into the progressive column where it belongs is Horgan's $2.5 billion a year problem...And, as we all know, where the Dean goes the obvious are sure to follow.
.
Monday, December 26, 2016
The Clarklandian Year In Review...Dueling Priorities.
AndPrettySoonWe'reTalkingAboutReal
MoneyVille
A tale of two 2016 'programs' for your consideration...
Job training for all of the high school students of British Columbia versus photo-ops for one single British Columbian potentate.
Which one do you reckon won the tax dollar tug-of-war?
Well...
If you were thinking that a policy that actually helps all of the citizenry is the only possible right answer you would be wrong.
Job training for kids = $728,000.
Photo-ops for potentate = $1,000,000.
Selah.
.
MoneyVille
A tale of two 2016 'programs' for your consideration...
Job training for all of the high school students of British Columbia versus photo-ops for one single British Columbian potentate.
Which one do you reckon won the tax dollar tug-of-war?
Well...
If you were thinking that a policy that actually helps all of the citizenry is the only possible right answer you would be wrong.
Job training for kids = $728,000.
Photo-ops for potentate = $1,000,000.
Selah.
.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Advent Jukebox... Day 25
AtTheChristmasParty
HopVille
Benny's doing quality control under his second tree of the season...
Merry Christmas Everyone!
_____________________________________________________________
Previous Jukebox tunes, 2016 Edition (had some doubles in there...sheesh)...
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