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“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

2018 - a look back with Alan Forseth, Ben Besler, John Feldsted, Frank Leonard, and guests


As the year 2018 comes to a close, I thought you might be interested in the top 18 most read blog posts of the year.  The covered things like the tragedy of overdose deaths ... Justin Trudeau’s continued experiments in social engineering ... a third vote in BC regarding how we would vote ... the United Nations ... leadership ... populism politics ... and more.

We appreciate the comments you have made over the past year ... story suggestions (please keep those coming) ... and friends we have made through this blog site.

May the new year be a time of reflection, and good things for you and your family.  We’ll be hear again in 2019, and hopefully with we what say and share, you’ll take time to questions what we are fed from our politicians, and if it makes sense or not.

Now ... here the Top 18 ... for 2018

#18  BC Conservative Party leadership campaign will open on October 29, 2018

A leadership race timeline has been adopted for the BC Conservatives.  This morning (April 7th) current party President Ryan Warawa stated, "I would like to begin by thanking Scott Anderson for doing a tremendous job as Interim Leader of the BC Conservative Party, and congratulate Justin Greenwood on recently having been named as the Party’s Interim Deputy Leader" ...



I find it interesting to note, given all of the recent hypocrisy about racial intolerance, the words to the national anthem of our country ...


#16  JOHN FELDSTED:  Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods 

Henry Louis Mencken (1880 – 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic and scholar of American English. He was of the opinion that ...


#15  ALLEN HERN: Asking men in leadership to set aside their egos, in the interest of a greater good, is an unlikely prospect -- it would require a miracle

At the risk of wasting my breath and my time, I want to express the following suggestion ...


#14 
To deal with the carnage addictions to drugs,alcohol, tobacco, and
gambling wreak on a small portion of BC residents,government slaps a mini band-aid on the problem, instead of the biggest size needed for a gaping wound

I admit to be stymied, or better yet obstructed, from getting information that I believe is pertinent for all British Columbians to know – BEFORE the legal sale of cannabis begins in October.  It’s information I have requested both from the Ministry of Health … and from the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions.  And what is it that I’ve been trying to find out?  Pretty simple really



#13  There are some things that people should NOT be allowed to Google - vaccinations should top that list!

A couple of weeks back I came out of a medical appointment to hear Dr. John Harding, a medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health, speaking on the CBC Noon hour radio program out of Vancouver.  His being asked to be a guest came about as the direct result of an individual with measles, having attended the Skookum Festival ...


#12  LEAH McCULLOCH: I believe firmly that this party is the only chance BC has for honest, righteous government and I look forward to watching it all unfold

Tonight, comes word from Leah McCulloch, who was a candidate for the BC Conservative Party in the 2017 provincial election, in the riding of Courtenay-Comox – someone many were hoping would consider running to become leader of the Conservatives
...


#11  JOHN FELDSTED: How Can Populism be Extreme? Unless you consider the people, who vote, and those you represent, to be an unnecessary nuisance once you acquire power

The news media in Canada has reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, “… called hate speech and the politics of division a “dangerous path” for Canada. Trudeau said he fears a rise in extreme populism and polarization around the issue of immigration and he accused some of feeding intolerance with partial truths and outright lies.” – this is just one example from the CBC ...


#10  99% recovery, in my opinion, is a figure which has to be grossly inflated -- or a misdirect of numbers

The issue of discarded needles has been a prominent topic of discussion around the city of Kamloops as of late, but it's not just a problem happening here.  For months now, all aspects of media have been running stories about the issue, and problems associated with it.  Here's just a very small sampling:
... (she) is speaking out after her six-year old nephew stepped on a used needles
...


#9 
Of the grant money our BC NDP government announced today, twenty-six percent ($45,000) is for events which have already taken place, or will end shortly

Today, the BC government announced 23 communities will gain valuable experience staging a total of 39 provincial, regional, national and international sport championships over the next year, thanks to $175,650 in grants from the provincial government.  Most people, I believe, would consider the words “will gain valuable experience” to relate to the future.  Not necessarily our NDP government however; they have their own definition, which allows for them to include sporting events which have already taken place .... 


#8  LEADERSHIP of the BC Conservative Party … and those who would seek it. “Where are our leaders? Our statesmen for the new century?”

On July 20th, 1871 British Columbia became the sixth province to sign on to the audacious vision laid out by the fathers of confederation. A vision that was as bold as it was courageous. To create a new nation, one that would stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific. To unite the small, disparate and insignificant colonies of British North America in the greatest nation building project the world had ever seen.  Over a century and a half later much of our prosperity, identity and independence we owe to them - and those who followed in their footsteps ...


Mr. Mayor ... Mr. Chair ... Mr. President.  Carry one of those titles around for a while and you’ll think you’re pretty special.  In fact, you might even seem smart as so many marvel at your words. The key is though to know how you’ll be treated when the title is gone ...

 

#6  BEN BESLER: BC Liberals Cutting the Last Cord, of a Well Grounded Coalition, For Want of the Flashy New Green Look

I can be pragmatic, at times. I can compromise for the greater good. I can restrict my social views to the federal arena, for the greater good of a unified province. I can even allow for give-and-take and bend on taxation policies.  BUT ...


#5  JOHN FELDSTED: Diversity Wars ... Part 1 and 2

Justin Trudeau’s ruminations about ‘diversity’ is incomprehensible; I don’t think he has any idea of what cultural diversity is.  I grew up in a community that was diverse, with many families speaking different languages at home. They came from different cultures, had different customs, and attended different churches. We struggled to adapt, and adopted English as a common language for communications. With the exception of those of British heritage, we were all in the same boat ...


#4   BC Conservative Party leadership campaign will open on October 29, 2018

A leadership race timeline has been adopted for the BC Conservatives.  This morning current party President Ryan Warawa stated, "I would like to begin by thanking Scott Anderson for doing a tremendous job as Interim Leader of the BC Conservative Party, and congratulate Justin Greenwood on recently having been named as the Party’s Interim Deputy Leader".  He then went on to say that the leadership campaign, for the Conservatives, will open on October 29, 2018, with a new leader being selected ...



The 2018 BC wildfire season has already been declared the worst on record. Firefighters have done an amazing job and we are all thankful for their work.  The most import thing to keep mind is how much did we learn from the 2017 wildfire season, and did we put that knowledge to good use this year? Unfortunately ...



From Todd Stone, to Tracy Redies, to John Yapp, to Jane Thornthwaite, to Doug Clovechok, to Mike Bernier, to Lorne Letnick … the list of BC Liberal MLA’s all singing from the same song book goes on and on as their united voices all say, “Vote One and Done". Let me say this … they, along with supporters of the BC Liberal Party are


AND THE number one post of the year is ....

#1  What, Judy, is the response, to the urgency and compassion show by British Columbians for WHAT IS NEEDED? What are the‘action words?’

Today is International Overdose Awareness Day.  Did you know such a day existed? I wasn’t until early this morning.  My God, it’s pathetic we even need to have a day like this to mark – and celebrate is obviously a word that would never be used for an occasion like this! So, for an occasion such as this, Judy Darcy, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, trotted out ‘words’, because ...

And that's it ... the top 18.  We'll see you soon in the New Year!

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