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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - January 3, 2006
Dear Editor,
I'm just back from a walk through town with our Christmas guests and I am angry, disgusted, embarrassed and humiliated. Our company has a dog that is
trained to heel and is always cleaned up after when he does his business. Downtown he is on a leash, always.
In four short blocks we encountered land-mined sidewalks littered with dog excrement, large, lunging dogs tied with leather leashes to door-handles of two - count em - two! different businesses and of course the hounds of hell that are tied in yards with nothing to do day and night but lunge and bark, lunge and bark.
This is not a good thing if we are trying to impress potential businesses, tourists and productive, constructive lifestyles. I am well aware that certain dog owners let their dogs out to do their business at night so they don't have to clean it up themselves.
I know that fining someone for contravening bylaws is not working. I am challenging our brand new town council to come up with a solution to this problem. My suggestion would be to cough up for a twenty four hour bylaw officer and give him or her full support.
Research how other towns have handled this situation. I for one am going to carry my bear-spray downtown until we find a solution that is actually used instead of just talked about.
- Sincerely,
Merrilyn Huycke, Princeton
To The Editor;
Last Sunday night, on my way back from the Wet Coast, I swerved to miss one of Princeton and areas infamous deer...who gracefully leaped in front of the van...at 1:00 AM.
I then went into a black-ice skid across into the opposing twin lanes West of Town and into the snowbank, ending up flopping onto my right side. I was trapped in the air in my seat belt, which wouldnıt release and was unable to even open up the door. It was simply too heavy.
A young trucker named Cliff Hansen from Trail went by and was unable to stop (the ice), but geared his rig down...dropped his trailer off, about a mile further, and came back in his tractor to help me; and then ran me into Princeton to get help. It was a minor Christmas miracle to me.
Cst. Myrl Stus of Princeton RCMP attended and was very professional, courteous and helpful in finding my diabetes pills and searching and finding my blood sugar monitor.
This whole incident gave me a new respect for legitimate, professional truckers who are out driving all night and day moving goods to keep our society supplied with everything.
Wherever you are hauling tonight, Cliff, thanks!
- Sincerely, Chuck Clements, Princeton
To The Editor;
Since the installation of the Campbell government in 2001, thoughtful citizens have attempted to circumvent the commercial media long enough to establish an objective and accurate public understanding of what Gordon Campbell and his bunch are really up to.
The root of the administrative configuration accurately labeled 'Thin Democracy' by author Frances Moore Lappé has been identified as a threat for a very long time. U.S. Presidents Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Eisenhower pretty well covered the political spectrum in recognizing the need to make note of the problem in the form of specific public warnings.
Perhaps even more relevant than Democrat Rooseveltıs eloquent illumination of the terror potential of the privatization of democracy, was Republican Eisenhowerıs warning of the related private black hole he identified as "the military industrial complex".
Confidence scams have a well established history in that they all have a functional shelf life. The ruse may prove successful within a given jurisdiction for a certain amount of time; then people become aware and the perpetrators must move on to find a fresh crop of victims.
P3ıs are but one example of the insidious black hole of democracy privatization, and its demonstrated tendency to metastasize into the civilian sector of government spending throughout the industrialized world. These global, prioritized profit programs result in crippling wealth extraction and leave virtually no hope of recovering legitimate control of either the spending process or the assets involved.
Massive cost overruns piling up at the P3 hospital in Abbotsford are no surprise, indeed they mirror facts widely known before the project ever started.
Modern technology provides access to ample evidence of the effects of the P3 scam in other jurisdictions where, like electrical utility privatization, the con' has already played out.
- Robert MacKay, Merritt
To The Editor;
The Liberals must want something. BC is receiving rare attention from the Federal Liberals since they now need our votes to retain power.
However, a look at recent history shows how much BC has been short-changed by the Liberal government since they were first elected. Federal Public Accounts calculations show that from 1993 - 2004 BC contributed, on average, $1,846 annually per person more to Ottawa than they received in Federal transfers for services such as EI, Canada Pension and Health Care.
In 2004 BC residents were paying a near record $2,174 per person more than they received. Even when BCıs economy was depressed and under performing the national average in the 1990s, the Federal Liberals were still taking $2,000 more per person than they paid out.
For a BC family of four, that is $8,000 dollars less to spend every year. For comparison, the East Coast was, and still is, receiving annually over $3,000 per person more than they pay through taxes. While large amounts of British Columbianıs incomes are being confiscated, and BC social programs are starved of revenue, the Federal Liberals are swimming in billions of extra cash.
This has been used to buy votes in Eastern Canada on countless programs and grants, many totally unrelated to Federal responsibilities, along with some of it finding it's way into the pockets of well connected Liberals. If we support the Liberals this election we are sanctioning their shameful treatment of our tax dollars, even when BC was struggling financially. In contrast, the new Conservatives have their roots in the West and have always been sympathetic to BC. We only see the Liberals when they want something.
- Jeff St. Gelais, Victoria
Letter To The Editor;
A vote for the Liberals is a vote for Communist China!
Paul Martin's strong ties with Communist China is a bit scary for the faith of Canadians. Let's take a look at their past record.
First there was $50 million in foreign aid that went to a country with a strong military build-up and a space program which the Conservatives strongly opposed.
Then the Liberals initiated a motion in the House to not support Taiwan--instead they supported a dictator's state (China) in their war games against a democracy. Again opposed by the Conservatives. Then the selling out of our natural resources not to mention the Noranda deal that felt through due to strong opposition from the Conservatives.
It is clear that the Liberals have not done anything to clean out the strong network of industrial Chinese spies that infilters our economy en masse.
As this wasn't enough the Liberals are opening the door to 700,000 chinese tourists per year to come and visit us--carte blanche for long term espionage if you ask me!
The list is getting long and I haven't mention the fact that Martin with huge investments in China, will do anything they want at anytime.
They have gone as far as deporting Falun Gong, an ancient self-improvement cultivation practice, knowing too well that they face torture once back to China--breaking all the rules.
I'm afraid that if Canada continues to serve the communist party we will soon be the main course.
Please don't vote corruption this time around.
- Yamin Wang, Penticton
