by Sean Orr | Tower of Babble: Speak English, s’il vous plait! or one of 200 other languages – Pete McMartin in the Vancouver Sun. It’s not xenophobic if you admit it might be xenophobic. “We step carefully around those questions, ever so sensitive to charges of racism. We are such a nice people, at least in public”. And it’s not xenophobic if you bury it in rhetoric:

“Language, after all, is only the vehicle for culture. And my culture, the one I believe in, is a society that embraces women’s rights, sexual tolerance, a healthy skepticism of authority (rather than a deference to it) and a belief in the Canadian brand of socialism. I don’t want to see these beliefs eroded.

In Pete’s world we’re all going to be getting arranged marriages and living in a feudal caste system where we elect tribal chieftains and do war with neighbouring clans. The fact that the recent surge of misogyny by our government is a much greater threat to our so called cultural fabric and milquetoast identity is completely lost on him.

Miss Ogyny 2012: Tory MP names two anti-abortion activists for Jubilee medal. “The tough-on-crime Conservative cabinet is taking a hands-off approach to a Diamond Jubilee medal being awarded to a repeat offender jailed for harassing women over abortion”. So not only are they scumbags, they are also total hypocrites!

Martyn Brown’s mea culpa: Free advice for ‘Free Enterprise’ in B.C..

As the B.C. Liberals contemplate how to use those tools to better position our province and their party for the future, they would be wise to move beyond the false dichotomy of “socialism” versus “free enterprise” that has long polarized political debate and choice in British Columbia and Canada.

A noble declaration to be sure, if it wasn’t from the man who is almost singlehandedly responsible for said dichotomy.

Peter Ladner is losing his shit and I like it! Unaffordable housing is Vancouver’s secret brand, dressed up for lattes in cuddly green amenities. I swear I said this same thing in a post years ago. Alas, in true Peter Ladner fashion, he capitulates in the end and agrees with Vision Vancouver’s recent density initiatives.

Bula gets cheeky: Province gives Vancouver winter shelter beds, transition housing dollars before a single story written about standoff between the two. We must claim our victories.

Speaking of: First Nations lead the way in Victoria protest against pipelines and oil sands. Alas, it appears Enbridge is up to their usual tricks.

Concerned Mount Pleasant friends have been posting this all over my facebook feed. I understand the need to protect each other, and that sharing information is important in a civilized society, but what if the man is no longer a rapist? If only because he doesn’t want to go back to maximum security prison? Are we equally distrustful of all other attempts at justice or just those involving rape? Would people say “once a drunk driver always a drunk driver”? Would it not be better to welcome him into society as opposed to isolating him further?

Cascadia now! Washington state poised to legalize marijuana, with implications for B.C. Am I the only one who finds it uproariously funny that the guy advocating for this has the last name of Plant? Thought so. Must be the blueberry indic…

Bonus: My beach got made into a song: Bobby Draino on AdHoc.