Category Archives: Municipal

Federal, Issues, Municipal, Provincial

Politicians Lie? What a Shock!

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I'm Shocked!
I'm Shocked!

Why is anyone surprised that politicians would lie, withhold information or release information when it is most favourable to the politicians?

After all that is how the voting public has trained them to behave.

When you punish those of integrity – who tell the truth, want to address important issues, are solution oriented acknowledging that solutions are not going to be neat, tidy or free, are interested in the wellbeing of all Canadians and in bringing change; then have the audacity to insist on talking about these things when Canadians want to hear everything is wonderful and it is easy, simple and inexpensive to fix problems – by refusing to listen or think about what they are saying and refusing to vote for those of integrity because they insist on telling the voting public the truth, is it any wonder that people of integrity cease seeking office?

When you reward those who tell the public what it wants to hear no matter what the reality of the situation is; listen to their fear-mongering tales of boogeyman; accept unquestioningly financial statements and claims that if applied to your personal finances would have you homeless and on the street; accept unquestioningly statements that cannot stand up to event the most elementary logic or reason; insist that problems have easy, neat, tidy and fast answers; claim that everything is wonderful and there is not need for change; pit citizen against citizen for personal and political advantage – voting for them simply because they tell the voting public what it wants to hear, is it any wonder that politicians lie, withhold information or release it when it is to their advantage?

“What is the primary purpose of a political leader? To build a majority. If voters care about parking lots, then talk about parking lots.” Newt Gingrich

When the public votes only for those who tell them what they want to hear and about parking lots, refusing to listen to, consider or vote for those who insist on addressing issues, how can they be surprised that they end up without people of integrity in government and with a legislature populated with those who will lie and tell them whatever they want to hear in order to win?

If citizens want people of integrity in government then they have to convince people of integrity that they are ready to listen, to think about and to engage in discussion of important issues – even if they would rather not hear about issues, about making choices and change.

Then they have to be willing to vote for them.

There is a joke that goes: Stop repeat offenders. Don’t re-elect them.

If citizens want honour and integrity in those in elected office they have to vote for people of honour and integrity.

Understand that if you elect people of honour and integrity they are not going to lie to you and tell you what you want to hear, they are going to tell you what is and what you need to hear about, think about and decide about.

Caveat emptor, Consider, Municipal

Homelessness can kill you.

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The death of an ex-member of homeless community while riding his bike to work reminds us how fragile life is. He had been hit by cars while riding his bike many times and if he could not walk away from all of them, he at least survived these earlier encounters with Abbotsford drivers.

Cycling in Abbotsford you almost feel that there must be some kind of secret contest being held by drivers where they score points hitting cyclists (or pedestrians).

The tally of scrapes, bruises, torn muscles, concussions, broken arms, legs and collarbones would fill volumes. Since bicycles are the major form of transportation for the homeless, marginalized and poor this group suffers most from Abbotsford drivers.

When the immutable laws of probability catch up with the cyclists and a cyclist dies it is usually a member of the homeless, marginalized and poor who is sacrificed to chance.

People think about winter weather killing members of the homeless community but the truth is that it is the summer, especially hot summer, weather that is a greater threat to life. It was luck that some homeless I know told me about someone needing help during the last day of the oppressive hot spell. I was able to get him onto his unsteady feet and into the cool conditioned air. After keeping his water glass filled for over three hours his colour improved, his temperature cooled down and he perked up enough to eat some salted crackers, have some more water and get some sleep.

This experience is made more sobering by the news reports of Curtis Brick’s death from heat in Vancouver.

But it is health care that kills the most. Not strictly as a result of medical personnel’s attitudes (although attitude does kill some) but from the reality that being homeless makes it hard to take good care of your health. Currently someone I know lies in a coma as a result of infection.

Infection nearly killed me while homeless. If it had not been for the kindness of a fellow Alanon member giving me a bed to stay in and a good supper every day so I could make the three weeks of twice daily, 3 hour intravenous antibiotic treatments I would have been another homeless victim, dead of unnatural ‘natural causes’.

As a modern society we have forgotten the death toll infections of various types inflicted on the human race in times past.

Fire, pneumonia … the list of ways that homelessness can kill you goes on and on and ….

So the next time you hear some loudmouth talking about the easy life the homeless have and how everyone should have that wonderful an easy life, know they are only demonstrating their ignorance of the harsh reality of a life of homelessness.

Homelessness can kill you and is a curse I would wish on none … well except politicians and loudmouths who could greatly use just such a reality check.

Consider, Municipal, Snafu

Sad State of Affairs

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It is a sad state of affairs when the citizens of Abbotsford find themselves depending on the provincial government to say “NO” in order to save citizens from Abbotsford city government’s out of control and fiscally irresponsible behaviour. Find themselves dependant on the provincial government to force Abbotsford’s municipal government to exercise self control and discipline, to prepare proper operating budgets and to plan rather than scrambling from cash grab to cash grab, from problem to problem never doing anything to solve the problem, but merely haphazardly plastering over problems.

Lamentably that is the position the citizens of Abbotsford are in, dependent on the provincial government to reject city council’s latest attempt to pillage citizen’s already impoverished pocketbooks in order to satisfy city council’s every growing need for cash to pay for their spending addiction.

Like the panhandlers in parking lots around Abbotsford who approach the unwary with their tale of having run out of gasoline with their car “just a few blocks over there” and in need of gas money to get home, but who are in reality seeking money for their addiction, Abbotsford Council is telling their tale for the unwary of having run out of money and needing gas money (a gas tax) so they too can have money to feed their addiction – to spending taxpayer’s dollars.

Like any addict, Abbotsford city council’s addiction has grown worse year by year until they find themselves teetering on the brink of financial disaster.

Unfortunately, unlike the panhandlers in the parking lots whose addiction has left themselves homeless, it is the citizens of Abbotsford who will bear the financial consequences for city council’s addict mentality and behaviour.

Even, as George Peary was quoted in the local paper, “to the point where people lose their homes because they can’t pay [their] taxes.” A position some citizens have already reached and that current economic conditions have more citizens fast approaching.

Enabling an addict, or in the case of city council a group of addicts, by giving them the money needed to continue in their addiction, does nothing more than enable them to continue in their addiction.

We have to stop enabling city council and allowing it to stay in its addiction; stop permitting city council to continue to act with fiscal irresponsibility, to mismanage city operations and to spend taxpayer dollars as if taxpayers have bottomless pockets that city council can reach into to meet their endlessly increasing need for more (and more and more and …) money.

There is no need to wait to the fall and “public meetings” to begin to act. This is a provincial decision.

Citizens can, and should, begin now and often to contact our MLAs (John van Dongen, Michael de Jong) and the Premier (Gordon Campbell) telling them to “Just say NO” and not to further enable Abbotsford’s municipal government’s addict behaviour.

Indeed citizens who know just how worthless an addicts promises and assurances are, may well want to request the provincial government send in the provincial Auditor General to determine the true state of Abbotsford’s financial affairs and operational status.

We must say NO to enabling Abbotsford city council’s bad behaviours and urge the provincial government to say No as well or accept the consequences of our enabling behaviour and pay the ever escalating costs of enabling city council’s spending addiction.