by Sean Orr | Levant’s latest rant about Tyee ‘dead wrong’ says editor. “I’d rather not respond to demagoguery, but here goes…” Oh man, is it too late to change the name of this column from Tea & Two Slices to I’d Rather not Respond to Demagoguery, But Here Goes? [ed. note: I’m afraid so]

Jordan Bateman: Metro Vancouver should stick to core services. (Ahem, I’d rather not respond to demagoguery, but here goes) It might be that simple in Langley where there is a long history of anti-city sentiment, Mr. Bateman, but cities need to be more autonomous, not less, and not more dependent on a larger bureaucracy, which is even less proportionately represented, but less. Mr. BC Tax Federation would rather have a hick from Calgary living in an Ottawa mansion make all our decisions. Let Langley form their own fucking regional district and see how easy it is for them to deal with higher levels of government.

And as Mr. Bateman’s own Peter Fassbender is about to find out: Mayors must decide on joining TransLink board. For what is dressing up an appointed board (of diamond CEOs and developers) with two local mayors (who will have little to no say in the regions’ transportation future) if not bureaucracy? Perhaps he should be directing his Ayn Randian cynicism towards this:  TILMA Gums up Public Works Bidding, Say BC Engineers.

But Mr Bateman shouldn’t worry. I’m sure Vancouver will look exactly like Langley soon: Vancouver’s arts and culture bleeding out in “steady migration”, warn city creatives.

New Testament: Evangelical Christianity using iPads, big screens and electric guitars. OK, maybe now it’s time to get one of those Atheist Bus campaigns going.

Why does anyone take Kevin Krueger seriously?. Ha! Oh, wait…that was a question?

Here’s the media running a picture of someone who isn’t rioting (nor intending to riot) while talking about rioting (and intending to riot): Should it be a crime to cover your face during a riot? The Guy Fawkes mask was adopted by the Anonymous movement, a peaceful group. The real crime is the media using it to talk about this stupid bill.

A Tale of Two Readerships: Please Don’t Advertise and Ban Billboards, Fund Journalism! One is about cuddling and the other is about advertising).