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On Taxpayer-Funded Ads And Babiarz’ Sasquatch Goin’ Out Fer Big Rips

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by Sean Orr | Ad’s All Folks! B.C. government sued over use of taxpayer-funded advertising. What an outrage. But don’t take my word for it, here’s Christy Clark herself:


And here is the requisite GoFundMe

Unfortunately, the ads will probably have the desired effect on low-information voters. Why? Because they’re not quite as attack-y as those Say Anything John ads. Steve Burgess does a public service and decodes them:

These ads are all about the B.C. economy and how much it rocks. Government ads are supposed to serve some sort of public service such as “Careful walking down slippery stairs in the rain” or “Replace your wiper blades regularly” or “Don’t drink Drano because it rains every goddamn day,” etc. But if there is any public service message in these B.C. government ads, it seems to be that British Columbians should understand how lucky they are. Or the message might be that we should all put on hard hats, just like all the happy workers in the ads and, coincidentally, just as Premier Christy Clark seems to do as soon as she gets out of bed every morning.

I wonder if she was wearing her pink anti-bullying shirt when she said this? Premier Clark dismisses Horgan as a leader who lacks a spine. We all know that’s code for “has no balls”.

But who needs a spine when you can’t even ask a question in the god damned legislature?

Meanwhile, it’s BC’s version of inception: a secret loan for developers wrapped in a donor kickback inside a taxpayer-funded luxury condo deal. David Eby asks minister how many secret loans given to BC Liberals big money donors.

And all this while 102 people died from drug overdoses in B.C. last month. Maybe that’s what “Today’s B.C. Liberals” mean when they say we’re lucky to live in British Columbia. We’re lucky to be alive at all!

But hey, at least we know how many people are dying on the streets because No One Knows How Many People Are Dying in BC Recovery Homes.

Two former residents described being kicked out a few days in, after their social assistance cheques were signed over to the operator. Welfare scams disguised as recovery homes is not a new phenomenon. Abstinence rules allow these operators to accuse residents of drug use, and kick them out after days-long stays.

Not an article from 2007: Downtown Eastside homelessness reaching crisis levels: Carnegie report. Raise the motherfucking rates, for the billionth fucking time!

This: Opinion: Paying people less isn’t economic innovation. Wherein the author manages to tie in precarious labour, environmentalism, Christy Clark’s RCMP investigation, the anger of millions of Americans and “their determination to punish the immigrants, the educated, the Muslims, the experts — someone, anyone — for the indignity of their lives”, living wage, and free-market fundamentalism.

Related: Uber president quits, says firm’s values are incompatible with his.

Presented without comment: How a Feminist Library Opening Became All About the Definition of a Woman

Bonus: Vote for Mike Babiarz’s Squatchers.

On Ken Sim’s So-Called “Swagger” and ABC’S Class War

Sean Orr is back from his hiatus with a rundown of the local headlines that have been running on a ticker tape through his mind over the past six months...

On Post-Election Recuperation, Platform Paradoxes and Refund Communities

In his latest read of the local news headlines, Sean Orr finds irony in "safety, affordability, and sustainability", and shouts out a bunch of amazing local organizations working on the frontlines.

On Running for City Council, Playing Whack-a-Mole with Homelessness, and the Public Washroom Deficit

In his latest read of the local news headlines, Sean Orr finds a park ranger with a grudge, a gross misuse of air quotes and Tripadvisor slander.

On Living in a City Preoccupied with Street Cleaning, Chandeliers, and Campaigns Against the Homeless

In his latest read of the local news headlines, Sean Orr hones in on the recent Langley shootings, and the ongoing criminalizing and dehumanizing of the homeless population.