Sunday, August 16, 2009

GETTING THE PICTURE YET?


While Carole James may not be setting new heights for political leadership, one of her camp is demonstrating the best traditions of a good opposition member.

I speak of Adrian Dix, the NDP provincial health car critic.

It is Dix who keeps supplying me and you with these delicious tidbits of flesh and flash around the Premier's ongoing disregard for citizens.

600 seniors affected by health-care cuts

Program could be kept afloat this year for less than Premier's recent pay hike, NDP critic says

In the piece in yesterday's Globe by Robert Matas, we learn, among other things, "A community home-care program in the Fraser Valley that helps more than 600 seniors stay in their home will be discontinued. But without the program, seniors may be more likely to move into long-term and acute-care facilities. The seniors' care program in Langley, which received about $88,000 from the government this year, is run by about 100 volunteers and five staff members,"

So 100 good people volunteer their time and energy to help the elderly in their community and the reward from the Premier is that the entire program may be starved shut.

Nice.

Don't forget that the Cambie Line is opening next week. Wave a flag.

And thousands of government employees are "volunteering" their PAID time to the...what's it called? Oh yah, the Olympics.

7 comments:

Wherescarol? said...

Good thing they canceled camp for inner city kids. I am sure that will save enough money to pay for a day of govt employees working for vanoc. Why do we hear more from Adrian than we do of Carol? Has she gone back into hiding again? Maybe when the gas tax increases she'll come out of her cave and make another appearance?

Norm Farrell said...

You are on the right track, I suspect, when you talk about Adrian Dix being attentive to meaningful detail. He understands the issues and also the backroom political process.

Over the next few years, operatives will learn much studying Obama's drive from near nowhere to most admired leader in the world. He isn't just a marvelous speaker, able to articulate the hopes of so many fine Americans (chop off the 30% lunatic fringe, please). He gathered smart people together, political operators, academics, youth, minorities, a whole coalition of those unheard during Republican times.

I don't know Carole James but she doesn't seem capable of putting together a coalition of interests to take over the political centre in this province. But, who can?

Can we do a little gene manipulation on Adrian? Maybe take a piece of Corky Evans, a gene from WAC and add the enthusiasm of a young Dave Barrett, the tenacity of early Grace and the humour of Joy MacPhail.

Laila Yuile said...

David,the icing on the cake is this story, that only appeared briefly on CTV last week.Could have paid for all the seniors programs with this raindrop.

http://lailayuile.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/do-we-really-need-another-raindrop-in-a-city-where-it-rains-for-months-on-end-do-we/

Norm Farrell said...

The story about the giant plastic raindrop that Laila provides is sad, sad, sad.

At the same time, they cancel surgeries.

Anonymous said...

It's a giant plastic TEARDROP, and a cathartic reminder of the human tears we did not shed on the road to the Olympics.

chris M said...

No, no, no. The giant tear drop is government telling us (in a visual manner)
Cry me a river - we don't care about any of you.
In fact, we are rubbing it in.

Norm Farrell said...

My blog has this report although I have not yet totally confirmed the accuracy:

Cabinet Minister Kevin Krueger said BC Liberals are supporting the arts in other ways and noted that only this week they installed a 19-meter polystyrene raindrop in front of the new Vancouver convention center. This million dollar piece was designed by four German artists and constructed by Calgary fabricator, Heavy Industries. Krueger added:

"The future will prove us right. The sculpture will jumpstart B.C.'s raindrop building industry, create thousands of jobs and become phenomenal moneymaking statues for the taxpayers of B.C."