I’m consistently reminded that social media is a cesspool. It amplifies the most extreme voices & rhetoric. Rather than foster dialogue, it seems to foster polarization, vilification & outrage. Language never used face to face is common. Seems to be fueling a downward spiral. ☮️.

An underrated aspect of good leadership is knowing when to step down & cede the floor to the next leader. And yet the hubris of many leaders blinds them to this….

Blazing-fast image creation – using just your voice. Try Grok Imagine.

John Horgan will be remembered as a capable, respected & popular Premier and, most importantly, a good man. RIP. also Fuck Cancer.

On the one hand, @MetroVancouver hasn’t been collecting sufficient taxes to fund infrastructure for years to keep taxpayers mollified. On the other hand, Metro’s expenditures are out of control & must be reined in. And the ⬆️ development cost levies will kill housing. A mess.

I keep hearing the “NDP” needlessly picked fights with municipalities on housing. Those same people also say the NDP haven’t done enough on housing. And then we see places like Central Saanich ⬇️ that are clearly the biggest gatekeepers…. So the province is forced to step in.

I suspect the strategy is to foment anger about anything/everything & many will vote for any alternative in that agitated state. By most measures, we are doing relatively well in comparison with the past or other places. But people “feel” like everything is going to shit.

I had the same impression as ChrisWalkerCBC - namely many people are angry & this played out in a “change” election. But it seems that they are angry about things (a) that have little to do with provincial government or (b) are hard problems that’ve persisted under past gov’ts.

This election will likely be close, in this riding & the province as a whole. Independents & Greens could hold ths balance of power & we desperately need their moderating influence. I urge people to exercise their franchise & to consider voting for Karin. Your vote matters. ✅.

VOTING DAY!. I’m voting for Karin Kirkpatrick in West Vancouver - Capilano. She’s experienced, intelligent and centrist. We don’t need extremists or ideologues in our leaders. We need people who are reasonable and can work with others across party lines.

Amen @42kareemallam ⬇️. Principles before partisanship.

RT @KirkpatrickWVC: Momentum is building! Honoured to have the endorsement of two more experienced and accomplished past elected officials….

You know, folks, there’s a reason why Kevin Falcon kicked Rustad out of a fairly big tent BC Liberal/United caucus. And it wasn’t because he was a threat. When people show you who they are, BELIEVE THEM.

I’m so tired of hearing Rustad (and others) claim that “climate tax won’t change the weather”. Catchy but wrong. Climate taxes reduce fossil fuel use . Fossil fuel use creates climate change. Climate change impacts the weather. Applied on a global scale, carbon taxes are key.

Interested in @42kareemallam thoughts about another apparent ethical lapse by ABC. Council members being advised behind closed doors by a staffer with an apparent conflict of interest & abruptly changing city policy on natural gas. This stinks. Not the way to do public business.

Area man discovers city planning ⬇️. Why are we surrounded by so many kooks all of the sudden? Where did they come from?.

2/ Each plastic bag takes 1,000 years to break down & ends up as microplastics. So where are the alternative Con policies to more effectively reduce waste? . I get this just another cynical election wedge issue. But what does it say about our inability to look to the future?.

I’m actually not fussed about reversing the single use plastics ban. I don’t think it moves the needle much & paper straws do suck. I’m more concerned about the overall message this sends about waste & sustainability. We should all be in favour of reducing unnecessary waste.

There is a reason we have the system we have, and not direct democracy. It works better. Governance by referendum is poor governance, and ultimately unworkable.

👏👏👏.

Nick nails it ⬇️ re the carbon tax. It’s not that the tax is bad policy or politically unsalable. It’s more that it has been chosen as a wedge issue, associated with an unpopular leader & buried in misinformation. The result of this is no meaningful action on climate change.