The Legislature Raids

What's interesting here is Palmer's "terseness" in not saying very much at all, but cutting to the crux of the issue....I suspect there was a LOT more to this column before Neal Hall took his editor's scissors to it.

The Premier has already violated the conventions of the constitution by not resigning when his name was first associated with this scandal, i.e. through the agency of his political appointees, namely those three erstwhile gentlemen currently in the dock. That he might even think of invoking parliamentary privilege as a reason to not testify in court is ludicrous; not even the monarch can defy a court (remember Charles I?). The secrecy around this case has had only to do with the kind of privilege associated with power, and not that kind associated with law.

I suspect Palmer's original column probably went into the various possible angles of why the Premier can be expected to be called to the stand. That he would not be is completely ludicrous - especially given the way Martyn Brown's cross-examination has already gone (until truncated and delayed and otherwise adjourned).

The real question here is why would the Sun even print this little bit of op-ed? The speculations made by Palmer are blatantly obvious and it's about high time he made them (this case has gone on, after all, over six years). But why now?

The most disappointing shortcomings in those whole affair are not those of the politicians, who can be expected to be tawdry by nature of their profession. The disappointing shortcoming are those of the "accredited" media (the self-accredited ones, that is).

No doubt when the press awards are next awarded, Palmer will walk away with "best coverage of the BC Rail scandal", simply for not having said very much at all....
 

In spite of the links at one time between the so-called BC Liberals and the Martinite wing of the Federal Liberals, to call what rules the roost in Victoria today Liberal in the sense of Lester Pearson or Trudeau is as mis-leading as calling the theocrats in Ottawa today Conservatives. I especially see red when lazy journalists and such refer to the Harper goons as Tories - it is an insult to real Tories like those who left the 13 colonies or call themselves that in the UK today.

The Harperites hijacked the hide off the corpse of the Mulroney road kill remains of what once was the Progressive Conservative Party with the help of some slimey treachery by McKay and others, because they could never have even pretended to form a minority government calling themselves their true name as CRAP, Reform or the Alliance.

The goons that answer to the white haired prevaricator from Pt. Grey did the same thing with the "name" Liberal once they did a drive by character assasination on the other Gordon, Wilson, because thanks to Bill Vander Zee and Bennett the Lesser their real name (Social Credit) had lost its luster. All that was left to accomplish was a phoney drive by on Glen Clark and voila, the province was Gordo and Gang's to plunder!

When political parties start lying by the very name they call themselves, before getting around to the outright policy lies such as "I won't sell BC Rail" "The HST isn't even being considered" and "we won't privatize BC Hydro" we the people are left with almost no option other than the type of "political action" resorted to by the US "founding fathers" like Washington and Jefferson or the French in the late 18th century when they tired of "eating cake!"
 

Skookum 1, that's a fine job of critical thinking you offered up there. Lots to mull over, and a great lens through which to view events as they unfold.

We, the people of BC, need more of your kind of incisive analysis.

Thanks,
CC
 

To Kootcoot

My reference to all things in my memo to Jim Travers relates only to the Federal Liberal Party.

The BC Liberals are not Liberals nore for many years have they ever been Liberals.

Campbell and his cabinet of fart-catchers especially Kevin Falcon have no more in common with Liberalism than Augusto Pinochet.