Thoughts on BC Politics and More

I’M AN OLD MAN. That might not seem like much of an accomplishment to you, but there’ve been times when I thought I might not make it this far. I’ve turned 75 and that pretty much seals the deal. It doesn’t bother me anymore, being old, though it seems to be an issue with people who disagree with my opinions. A man who looked about my age approached me in the super market the other day. He said, “You’re the Armchair Mayor. I agree with you 99.9 per cent of the time.” People like to tell me how much they agree or disagree with me in percentage terms. Some say 80 per cent, some say “half the time,” and so on. It would be interesting to compare the percentages with the ages of those who are calculating them. My favorite meme, often posted on social media in response to my columns and editorials, is a newspaper clipping that shows a photo of Abe Simpson under a headline that says, “Old man yells at cloud.” I like yelling at clouds. Always have. Let’s be cle...

THE ARMCHAIR MAYOR SAID TODAY ... " OH, GOSH when will the BC Conservatives give up and find something better to do ?" This of course followed my latest commentary in which, nearing the end, I made the following disclosure: And now a confession must be made because just a short time ago (prior to completing this post), I received an invitation to rejoin the BC Conservative Party … I have done so.   Those who know me will understand that my heart has always been with the BC Conservatives.  I hope that the corner has been turned on past difficulties.  Let the rebuild begin!   Did I have to post a response to Mel?  Of course not, but I did think that perhaps just a short comment might not be bad, so I said: I know you won’t be surprised that I disagree with you Mel.  You stated: “ For months, Forseth has been asking plaintively whether it’s time for a rightwing alternative. The answer is, not any time soon, and if it is, the BC Conserva...

SOME PEOPLE are concerned about the fact B.C. Liberal candidates Peter Milobar (Kamloops North Thompson) and Todd Stone (Kamloops South Thompson) haven’t accepted invitations to attend certain forums. It came up again with respect to last night’s (April 13, 2017) forum at TRU co-sponsored by the TRU Faculty Association, CUPE 3500, CUPE 4879, and Kamloops Thompson Teachers Association. I’ve commented here a couple of times about the Liberal record on avoiding some of the forums, but I can see their point of view. There are, actually, several good reasons why candidates should not attend so-called single-issue forums: Single-issue forums get too detailed. You have to do way too much homework on whatever the topic is. It’s too hard to use weasel words at forums, so if you can reduce the number of forums you have to attend, and have a plausible-sounding excuse such as “I’d rather be door-knocking and talking to people on their doorsteps,” it really helps. ...

The Armchair Mayor , Mel Rothenburger, gave me an interesting read this morning.  Entitled, " Thank you, Lord, for giving us more places to buy $5 coffee and $40 wine ", it was a sarcastic, yet accurate, portrayal of what some at least find most important in their day to day lives.   It got me to thinking about what really is important, at least to me, as an immediate need ... having a family doctor (our family has had four in the past 24 years ... all who have eventually moved from our city to greener pastures).   Unless you've been hiding under a rock these past several years, we are all very well aware that nearly a third of the population of Kamloops residents is without a family doctor. The insanity of this situation ... the fact that it has been an ever growing epidemic for many many years  ... and that no provincial government (NDP or Liberal) has found a solution to this BC health care crisis ... is quite frankly, ridiculous! BC Liberal He...