How cool would it be to have one of those brand spanking new lawn signs on your front lawn just in time for the good weather!
It can be yours for a mere $6.30.
The good guys ( the would be the Notranslinktax guys) don’t have the resources that the yes folks do.
You can help.
As I said above “each lawn sign costs about $6.30 when the cost of the plastic, the wire frame and the taxes are included. And we need lots of them – can you help us buy a few lawn signs? Just click here to buy lawns signs using our secure online form.
Only $63.00 will buy us 10 signs – think of the impact that ten signs will make in your neighborhood or along your commute home. Help us buy 10 .”
As if we need another reason to Vote NO in the upcoming transit referendum, rumors are filtering down that if people vote NO in the upcoming referendum the government will step away and do nothing about the transit problem affecting the Lower mainland.
Nothing could be further than the truth unless you think the BC Liberal government is prepared to walk away from a number of seats they hold in the area.
A NO vote will force the government to act before the 2017 election and perhaps rewrite legislation so that they can reorganize the Translink board and get this whole thing done right.
A NO vote will wrap the whole issue like an Albatross around the governments neck and force them to act.
Don’t let the Yes side convince you other wise.
Any organization that tosses their so called top guy aside and keeps him around at a salary of $35,000 per month needs reorganizing. If you weren’t convinced of that before that happened it’s a no brainer now.
So Vote NO and tell your government to get the job done right!
Once again somebody has their hand in your pocket asking for an additional $258.
I get that taxes pay for essential services.
But TransLink with all their mismanagement?
Please gimme a break.
There is enough fluff in their budget to make a few cuts and make up the money there with once again gauging the good citizens of BC.
This need to be stopped and you can do your part by signing the NoTranslinkTax and sending a message to your government to think twice before they take you for granted.
If you are not incensed yet, read the news release issued by the Canadian Tax Payers federation. Pay particular attention to the part that says:there is a rumored $4 million dollar spending plan to get a yes vote.
In a little less than a year another federal election will have happened and the results will have been sliced and diced well before now.
I can almost guarantee the topic once again will be the lousy over all voter turnout .
At some point during the election someone in the media will be shocked at the size of the advance turnout suggesting that change is in the air. ( It’s convenient for people to vote at advanced polls rather than just one certain day, when will the pundits figure that out?)
This theory will once again be kneecapped after election day itself when the pundits will be once again gob-smacked by the low overall turnout.
Why aren’t people voting they will cry? What can we do about it ?
Nothing of course until they address the flaws in the political nomination process.
Perception is everything because in the eyes of the public not only is the process flawed but it might even be corrupt.
It’s a simple process really.
It start’s with a questionnaire the prospective candidate fills out.
It is then sent on to a committee for review. They look to make sure everything is answered etc.
It is either approved or rejected,sent back to redo and then an interview is arranged.
The candidate is interviewed and then ultimate approval is given.
Should be simple enough.
But it’s not.
During the nomination process the prospective candidate has to sell more memberships than the other potential candidates and get them out to vote.
Cue the upcoming nomination battle in Surrey-Newton an Electoral district in the lower mainland of British Columbia.
Two so-called wily political adversaries selling memberships by using prepaid visa cards.
The end result is that people are disgusted and want no part of the process including voting on voting day.
To get people involved where they care,volunteer and vote at the ballot box all parties must stop appointing candidates.
They must evaluate potential candidates early in the process and remove them then not mere days before the vote. At present I believe the parties wait to the last-minute to allow input of extra membership money from the soon to be disposed of candidate.
If they opt to remove them closer to the big day than provide a reason publicly. The candidate should not be in politics if they can’t handle rejection and the reviewers should not be reviewers if they don’t have the moxie to toss a candidate and say why.
Above all the process should be open,accountable and transparent.
Right now it’s not and it’s disgusting, don’t you think?
Kathleen Wynne and her scandalous crew of Ontario Liberals won an overwhelming majority in the Ontario Election tonight and make no mistake about it: This win lands squarely in the lap of the dearly departed ( Tim Hudak) and the soon to be departed, Andrea Horwath.
Neither of them could get their respective bases out to vote and just like here in BC NDP Horwath’s crew LEFT her in droves in the last week of the campaign.
Their will be two leadership campaigns before the next election.
Wynne has said that she intends to recall the legislature with 20 days and reintroduce her budget that brought the election upon is in the first place.
If That budget goes through without huge changes expect credit rating agencies to start slashing Ontario’s credit rating making Canada’s largest have not province into largest Have even less than not province.
To preserve the credit rating and do the things that Wynne was proposing in budget will make some of Hudak’s campaign pledges look like a walk in the park.
So get ready for Rae days, they are coming to a community near you!
People will remember: There is no difference between Wynne and McGuinty!
In my experience two things happen in debates.
Firstly they are stacked against the sitting Premier or Prime Minister by way of being out numbered by the opposition.
Secondly,first impressions matter and each leader gets one shot at either gaining or holding an audience.
Rarely is their ever a zinger the so-called knockout punch.
I can recall only three zingers in the number of years I have watched debates.
One is the often talked about Mulroney line that sunk John Turner back in 1988. ( you sir had an option)
The second would be Jack Layton’s dismantling of Mike Ignatieff in the 2011 election. ( worst voting record)
The third,surprisingly enough was John Cummins when he opened the 2013 BC Provincial election debate with the line:You all tuned in tonight to get a good look at the next premier of BC, Adrian Dix.
Well look they did,Dix was a deer in the headlights and Christie Clark shone and went on to win that election.
In the Ontario debate tonight, no matter how much BS the newspapers will have you believe ( maybe) there was no knock out punch.
There was however Kathleen Wynne making a lousy first impression and getting hammered on gas plants.
She looked awful and yes she apologized but guess what an apology is an admission of guilt.
One I think the voters of Ontario have been waiting to hear.
Prediction: This election, like all elections is about the economy and Wynne just reinforced in the voters minds ( she could have said no) that she is a weak leader who cant be trusted to manage their money.
On June the 12th the voters will vote no to Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals.
They will vote yes to Tim Hudak and the PC’s with an NDP led opposition.
( In BC people used to moan and groan about Gordon Campbell and then hold their noses and vote for him. They will do that for Hudak as well)
Rumor has it there is an election in Ontario and it’s going to happen on June 12,2014.ZZZZZ
The Ontario Liberal party should be sent to the penalty box for a long time to think about the mess they made of what was once a great province . They should be #notwynning but if you read the polls the result as of this writing would be close.
Will Kathleen Wynne summon Justin Trudeau as she did during the by-elections and if she does will he be too busy to help as he is apparently learning to lead while most of us know he is Justin in so far over his head. ( So is Kathleen for tha matter )
This is Tim Hudak’s time to shine and I expect that to happen on the night of the election debates. ( I’ll have a special entry on Ontario debate (S) depending on whether Andrea gets her way at a later date)
There are days when everybody feels like this, sadly they are becoming more frequent!
As I sit at meetings or walk and talk with people the discussion always seems to be the same.
It revolves around the theme of lack of involvement by either voters, younger people or volunteers.
I have friends in all walks of politics and this is a problem that is common to everybody.
Why don’t people vote they ask? Why aren’t young people getting involved?
I think people are involved, just differently than vote counters are accustomed to.
People are crying our for fiscally,socially and morally responsible politicians.
They want to know that their vote matters,that the people they elect will vote how their constituents feel. ( Not the party or the slate way)
They need to know that when politicians campaign on openness and accountability that they mean what they say.
They want to be consulted before major decisions are made. ( As do some politicians too!)
Right now that doesn’t happen.
Need an example? Time and time again all politicians refuse to show their expense receipts.
How big a deal would that really be?
They don’t want politicians to take advantage of the rules even though there are loopholes that make it okay. ( See any number of articles that reference taking a spouse on a taxpayer-funded trip).
So maybe just maybe those missing people are voting, just in a way the world is not accustomed.
Maybe (people) are voting with their feet and maybe voter turnout should be counted differently.
As in voter turnout was 100% but only 35% bothered to use a pencil.
Over the next couple of years we face elections in this country that range from municipal, provincial to federal.
We need to evaluate our choices more than ever.
We need honest, moral people willing to play leading roles in their community.
Leading roles that not only encourage young people to volunteer and vote but also to grow up and be the kind of politician we all want and need.
We also need to encourage those folks who vote with their feet rather than the traditional way in the booth.
I’ll do my part to help.
I’ll use this space to help evaluate both the good and the bad leading up to those elections no matter what the political stripe.
It’s why I’ll stand on my soap box , megaphone in hand being a shameless self promoter of those folks that represent the best interest of the voting public. ( My megaphone is very social and it can be heard on Facebook and Twitter)
It’s why I say It’s Rasode Time and you should too!
It wasn’t long ago the pollsters had the PQ up 22% and ready to form a majority government and wreak havoc on the rest of Canada.
Then Pierre Karl Peledeau turned the election upside down with his entry as a PQ candidate and his one fisted ( some would say ham handed ) declaration that he was a candidate for one reason and one reason only: Separation.
The election was turned upside down!
With 2 days to go it appears that the Liberals are going to win.
The latest Ekos poll shows them somewhere around 40% and the PQ support is still crumbling while the CAQ support is on the rise.
Lots of questions still to be answered: Who will win? Majority or Minority? What will it mean?
Lost in the discussion it seems is the question “What will the voter turn out be?”
A large turnout will surely mean a PQ wipe-out and perhaps a surprise with a large number of CAQ seats.
Today, Premier Marois is threatening the Quebec voter with the resumption of the corruption hearings and how the Liberals will cover that up if they win.
Marois would do well to remember that ” she who lives in glass houses should throw stones” given the PQ has a lot to lose with the resumption of those hearings as well. I think this strategy will also backfire and drive even more of their traditional support into the waiting arms of the CAQ.
The PQ could finish as low as third!
I think the big questions that will be answered quickly after the election are : How long will it take Pauline to retire and will we have to wait until the polls close before the knives come out to get her. ( Maybe Pierre Karl Peladeau will shove her off the stage )
Should be a fun night!
