Monday, October 04, 2010

Premier Gordon Campbell - found political poetry - "And then it was over as fast as a zip-line ride. Bang, it was done."

Gordon Campbell, Poet Laureate of BC?

Here's a bit of word play, by rearranging what the premier had to say

Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/The Tyee column

Tuesday October 5, 2010

By Bill Tieleman

"A found poem is made up of lines of non-poetic text that someone else already wrote."

- Katie Haegele

Premier Gordon Campbell -- poet laureate of B.C.?

Surprising idea, but when Campbell addressed the Union of B.C. Municipalities on Friday, an astonishing political poetry emerged from his 8,500 words of prepared text.

The premier said everything here, but the order of sentences has been rearranged and the context intentionally removed. The results? Poetic justice:

I serve as the Premier of the province.

A long time ago, eight years, I came here.And then it was over as fast as a zip-line ride. Bang, it was done.

I heard the message loud and clear. I totally understand
it. In fact, I embrace it.

I can tell you this, and I can tell you with a degree of confidence that you can take to the bank.

The great irony is the only way that I can convince some people I was telling the truth is to tell them a lie.

I'm not going to do that.

Of course there were some people that said you'll never do it. You shouldn't try.

Some will always say that that is too ambitious.

Most people will say to me. "I'm working a lot harder. I don't feel like I'm getting any further ahead."

So we've done pretty well over the last eight years.

It's hard to believe we did as well as we did sometimes.

A young man came up to me maybe four or five weeks ago and said, "You know, I love that Canada Line." I said, "Well, that's good."
He said, "Do you know how much parking costs?" I said: "I have an idea."

Any of you guys drive the Sea to Sky Highway to get up here?

When I come to Whistler I never get in a car again once I stop.

But now is no time to stop. It's no time for us to feel tired.

Not everyone can do that. But many, many of us can do that if we work together to do it.

I can tell you it costs us something not to do it as well, and equally important, it costs our families lots if we don't do it and we don't do it well.

We threw the HST up in the air.It'll be integrated, it'll be focused, it'll be relentless and it'll be well funded.

And waiting won't save us a penny.

Should we do it? Shouldn't we do it?

I get one vote.

Some will say that we shouldn't reach too high. I say we should reach high.

We will be commissioning three totem poles on the lawns of the Legislature.

We have three pine beetle action committees. They call themselves the "three-backs.

"Anyone ever heard of the gold rush in British Columbia?

You don't have gold medals if you don't have mining.

One last thing: Does anyone know what's happening in 2015?

.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ha! Brilliant!

Thanks for the chuckle.

Anonymous said...

Bill, you're really slipping in quality.

Anonymous said...

This is much more intereting than listening to him speak. I've got to the point that when I hear him being announced prior to an interview on the radio that I turn the radio off. Can't take him anymore.

DPL said...

No matter the sequence of statements, he is still a liar, convicted drunk driver and a guy who is plundering BC resources as quickly as he can.

Anonymous said...

I believe that gordo and his gang of stooges are/have committed TREASON against BC and Canada!
#1
Sold/given away OUR Publicly owned Corporations to a foreign country the USA, thus making OUR/My BC and Canada weaker!
#2
Taken over/compromised OUR justice system, SCBC as the biggest scandal in the history of BC possibly Canada!
Is there any way to check out how Campbell/Pinocchio got elected the third time as I've often wondered "do we have that many brain dead in BC?"

Anonymous said...

"I believe that gordo and his gang of stooges are/have committed TREASON against BC and Canada!"

Sure. File a court case. This has been heard so many times it is laughable.


"#1
Sold/given away OUR Publicly owned Corporations to a foreign country the USA, thus making OUR/My BC and Canada weaker!"

Can you name them?



"#2
Taken over/compromised OUR justice system, SCBC as the biggest scandal in the history of BC possibly Canada!"

They haven't taken over our justice system. Did the NDP when they were in power? No.

"Is there any way to check out how Campbell/Pinocchio got elected the third time as I've often wondered "do we have that many brain dead in BC?"

Obviously we do. The NDP could have easily won that election in 2009, but people were too lazy to see the opportunity.

So we should blame the NDP for coming out with boring statements that didn't have much to interest the voter.

and also blame those who stayed home and didn't vote. There was a much reduced voter turnout in 2009
compared to previous elections.

Digitally squealing isn't going to fix anything. Joining the NDP may help.

Anonymous said...

Boy, that photo is eerie!!! as in the most scary expression in those eyes of Gordon Campbell. Well I guess we are getting ready for spooky, nasty Hallowe'en jokes being played on people. Wait a minute...that's been happening in this province for years.

Anonymous said...

That image must have been photoshopped. Gordo looks like a crazed circus clown (and just as creepy)

Bill Tieleman said...

Not photoshopped one bit! You can see it for yourself at:

the Premier's Media Gallery

I merely cropped the photo slightly.

Ron said...

Our Maximum Leader - El gordoccio looks creepy because he is creepy.

Anonymous said...

http://www.publiceyeonline.com/archives/005316.html#more

Cariboo North New Democrats call for leadership race
October 6, 2010
Provincial New Democrats in Cariboo North want to force a leadership race at the party's upcoming 2011 biennial convention, Public Eye has exclusively learned. The constituency association executive in that riding, which is represented by MLA Bob Simpson, has passed a motion that states the party is "wilting under Carole James's leadership: membership is at an historic low, PACs are being cancelled, the general membership is not donating to the party." As a result, the motion continues, "It's time for renewal and a 2011 Leadership Convention is the best means to achieve this and position ourselves to win and form government in 2013." The executive has scheduled a meeting for November 5 so the association's general membership can discuss the motion. According to a letter signed by constituency president Keith Sandve, Mr. Simpson has "graciously offered" to host this meeting at his home. Today, the MLA wrote an op-ed criticizing Ms. James. Public Eye has been unable at publication time to reach Mr. Simpson for comment. The following is a complete copy of the aforementioned documents.

Anonymous said...

http://www.publiceyeonline.com/archives/005315.html

New Democrat MLA criticizes party leader
October 6, 2010


Provincial New Democrat MLA Bob Simpson has penned an editorial criticizing his own leader's speech to the Union of British Columbia Municipalities annual general meeting. In an op-ed published on the Website Welcome to Williams Lake, Mr. Simpson writes that, like Premier Gordon Campbell, Carole James "had little concrete to offer the delegates other than a commitment to be more consultative than the current government and a promise to explore the possibility of revenue sharing with local governments. This is a timely concept which has the potential to address the resource needs of local governments, but the lack of specifics was a disappointment to delegates." Public Eye has been unable at publication time to reach Mr. Simpson for comment.

Marysue5252 said...

Poetry? That was poetry maybe of the barroom bathroom kind. Methinks the Peem is back on the bottle...if, indeed, he'd ever left it.

Sue said...

That was poetry? Maybe the kind on men's rooms walls...Methinks the Preem is back on the bottle, if, indeed, he ever left it.

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:38...Bob Simpson is going to have lots of time to plan the meeting - he's just been turfed from the NDemocraticP caucus by Carole James for speaking his mind, and now sits as an Independent. What's that about "Democratic" in the NDP? Seems pretty non-existent to me...the more I watch her, and hear what she has to say...the more she strikes me as a female version of Gordon Campbell!

Anonymous said...

What's "New" in New Democratic Party? Not much.

and for Marysue..

"Methinks the Peem is back on the bottle...if, indeed, he'd ever "
left it."

So care to provide clear and decisive evidence of that fact? Campbell has become a major liability, but I doubt he is back on the bottle.

But having siad that I wonder what some of the contributors here have been getting into.

Anonymous said...

Seems there's another Poet Laureate in town.


POETIC JUSTICE:


The B.C. Liberal government has got a secret.
Premier Gordon Campbell thinks B.C. voters are suckers.
It's hard to underestimate the contempt and disdain B.C. Liberal MLAs have for the voters of this province.
It's almost unbelievable.

But Hansen is denying he was involved in HST negotiations.
Nothing wrong with that.
Because it's true!
The NDP created its own problems, to be sure, by playing with a politically loaded gun without the safety on.
But they are a distinct minority that will not speak out.
Not any more.
But Simpson's expulsion must be put into a larger context.
How does that happen in the NDP caucus?
Exactly - how indeed?
The answer is simple - because we don't care what the public think.
And their financial supporters in big business are even trying to block democracy itself.
You know, the sort of things the NDP is expected to do.
Nice try but the NDP is widely missing the target.
The BC Liberals are unabashedly giving business what it wants in a way the NDP could never do.
No sign of acknowledging that from business to date, but it did cost the NDP hundreds of thousands of dollars in dues.
Unbelievable.

The results?
It's a mystery right now.
Honestly, I have no idea.
But it's got to be better than pretending you're the Invisible Woman in an election!
James clearly disagrees.
What James has failed to deliver is a clear understanding that in British Columbia politics, lines are drawn and sides are chosen -- like it or not.
As for the BC NDP - it has for now become a house divided.
The NDP has desperately tried to have it both ways.
And they are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees to spare their unpopular political party the embarrassment of publicly supporting the hated HST.
Unbelievable in my view.

Instead the NDP again tries to win over its most intransigent enemies, and the results will be entirely predictable.
It's obvious they won't -- unless forced to by public pressure -- because it will only make them even less convincing in their already tattered HST tale.
That's totally unacceptable and a violation of the Recall and Initiative Act, which gives no such powers to James to delay sending the petition.
Let's be clear. The initiative process cannot, unfortunately, force the government to kill the HST. If so, that would be outrageous.

Recall is a significant challenge, however, requiring 40 per cent of registered voters in the 2009 election to sign a recall petition in just 60 days.
Will it work?
In 60 days?
Highly possible.
There's only one problem -- it is an absolute lie, an urban myth, a complete hoax.
Has everyone in power gone crazy?
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.
Isn't it time for a different strategy?
I'm just back from Victoria where a crowd of more than 250 people welcomed Bill Vander Zalm and the Fight HST team.
But he is in a massive conflict of interest that anyone could see in a moment.
Sorry suckers.
Unbelievable. What's your view?


Thanks Bill T for the above words of wisdom you have written on your blog in recent times.

Anonymous said...

How long have we had "NEW" in the NDP? 40 yrs or more??

Now I question the democratic party--since you muzzled Bob Simpson what happened to "Freedom of speech??

Come on Carole,face the fact that you have lost 2 elections to a drunk!

BTW, keep your eye on Moe,and don't turn your back on him... Bill