Remedial Direct
Democracy 1A

Herr Colin Hansen,
Minister in Charge of HST Propaganda and Sneers

Now that the Anti-HST forces have already collected at least 10% of the voter's signatures in all 85 ridings in BC, Gordo's PR Flacks like Vaughn Palmer and Keith Baldrey have had to revise their pronouncements that the petition didn't stand a chance in hell of passing. Unfortunately they are right in a way, as the Petition most likely can't or won't lead to a retraction of the Hey Sucka Tax, even if over 50% is achieved in every riding. However, it still won't be a waste of time, just the first step in bringing to heel the criminal organization posing as the government of the allegedly democratic province of British Columbia.

Like the phoney STV vote and any similar legislation designed to give the illusion of public participation in democracy, the legislation was designed to be difficult to impossible to meet the requirements and then isn't even binding on the creeps in Victoria anyway. It was absurd for the STV to require 60% in every riding, when you consider that we have a DickTater in Victoria whose party manages to get barely more than twenty percent of the eligible voters, and less than half of those who can still be bothered to play along with the phoney game.

With only half of the allowed time elapsed and having reached the minimum requirement in every riding, it is a foregone conclusion that the petition itself will succeed, unless thousands of the signatures are forgeries by Campelloids, as if there were that many people in the province who can even tolerate the stench of these guys anymore. But the horror and absurdity is in the details.

1. If the petition meets its required number of signatures the government can (or some say can only) hold a refrendum in just less than a year and a half from today at the soonest. Then if a referendum is held, to pass it must garner over 50% of the ELIGIBLE voters in EVERY RIDING. Now since that many voters don't even turn out in most ridings during a general election, that would seem pretty well impossible.

2. The government can choose instead to craft a bill to (supposedly) address the concerns of the petitioners. But then after crafting the bill, there is NO REQUIREMENT to actually bring it to the floor for debate or a vote - what is this, some kind of JOKE - and one in very poor taste at that? Then even if it did come to a vote, if the fence posts with hair that do nothing but cat-call, thump their desks and vote the way Campbell, Brown and DeJong tell them to or bizness as usual, what's the point?

However all is not lost, and the exercise with the petition is not a waste of time. If the canvassers continue for the next six weeks or so, they could easily have a million or more signatures of folks that aren't happy with the crooks in charge. Then come November, in the selected ridings with weak, especially vulnerable MLAs (increasingly is there any other kind of LIEberal MLA?) initiate the recall process.
And ANY recall petition that meets the requirements in the allotted time, results in a vacant seat with a bye-election required in jig-time - no ifs ands or buts!

The bar is higher, 40% of the voter's roll in the riding, and the time allowed is half as much, but with a million or a million and a half signed up HST opponents to start with, with some effort (and benefiting from the practice gained with the HST petition)it should be achievable, no matter how hard the court stenographers (Palmer, Baldrey et. al.) may try to convince us otherwise.

As to which MLAs to unseat, I'll let others decide riding by riding, but the more the merrier. However I do have some personal recommendations.

1. Gordo - just because, and he didn't win all that impressively last time, he is not a popular prevaricator even in his own toney neighborhood.

2. Kash, of course, if he hasn't done the right thing and stepped down from his seat already or had his seat vacated by Elections BC for electoral hanky-panky!

3. Carole James and Leonard Krog - Since the NDP is our only viable option at this time, we need at least a new rejuvenated NDP with a new leader and a justice critic who does more than eat popcorn and watch the crooks corrupt the justice system. Also removing these two might make the rest like Horgan, Farnsworth, Dix and Herbert re-consider their current style of going along to get along with corruption.

Who knows, maybe Corky would come out of retirement to lead a rejuvenated NDP that was truly dedicated to the common good! WE NEED BETTER!

For some other cogent recent commentary on the dreaded HST and the lies and the liars that tell them see:

Our buddy Grant at the Straigt Goods:

Baldrey and Palmer, Fools!

Michael Campbell, messages from the enemy!

The incomparable, always articulate Norm Farrell:

Stop, hey, What's that sound. Everybody look what's going down

Why (some of us) hate politicians