What's really funny is that the person who coined "trickle down" meant it as mockery. Do you know who that is? "Fifty Years of Tax Cuts for Rich Didn’t Trickle Down, Study Says" bloomberg.com/news/articles/…#capitalism
..Will Rogers coined "trickle-down." Yes, that's right, the humourist Will Rogers. He was criticizing Hoover's stimulus package in the 30s Depression because (like so much Covid stimulus) it was going to powerful entities that didn't need it: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trickle-d…
..Meanwhile, another expression for a capitalist article of faith - "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" - also started off as a joke. It's a 19th C expression to describe the impossibility of pulling yourself up alone. Yet some take it at face value. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootstrap…
..My friend Dan's reaction to this: "That's great, just like Monopoly the game. Maybe free market capitalism has always just been a joke that some white dudes didn't get"
What did I say about Mark Jaccard & Blake Shaffer (son of #SiteC lobbyist Marv Shaffer)? The fact their names are back in the news (& federal Enviro Min. @JonathanWNV keeps dropping Jaccard's name) means BC & Canada are pushing #SiteC... #bcpoli#cdnpolicbc.ca/news/canada/ca…
@JonathanWNV Mark Jaccard's main argument for #SiteC back in 2017 was that #SiteC would be "dispatchable" power (available anytime) unlike wind/solar. He managed to get himself into every media outlet to repeat this. BC DOESN'T BEGIN TO NEED ANY MORE DISPATCHABLE POWER. He knows this #bcpoli
@JonathanWNV ..Worse, the feds are really showing their hand here by throwing money at UNESCO site Wood Buffalo National Park, which the UN has warned will be impacted (desiccated) by #SiteC. The Park needs water, not money, Minister Wilkinson. Why are you pushing #SiteC on it & BC? #cdnpoli
Given that the Milburn report could potentially be announced tomorrow, it feels like a good time to refocus on #SiteC. We know all the many arguments against this dam, but the thing is, all but one of them are moot.
The site's geology makes the dam unsafe, period. #bcpoli 1/x
..Yes, other arguments against #SiteC are good:
* violation of Indigenous & treaty rights
* more than double the cost of greener alternatives
* vast loss of agricultural land in midst of food insecurity
* extreme environmental damage
* high hydro rates will slow decarbonization..
..And
* what we now know of the massive GHG climate impact of dams.
But the problem with making any & all of these arguments against #SiteC - & each of them should have disqualified this dam - is that using them almost implies the dam is even safely completable. It's not.
BREAKING: A former CEO of BC Hydro CEO & a veteran dam engineer say the BC government has failed in its oversight role. "Why #SiteC Construction Should Stop Today" by Marc Eliesen & Ken Farquharson #bcpolithetyee.ca/Analysis/2020/…
.."Unfortunately, this important government responsibility [dam safety] has rarely been mentioned as #SiteC has careened from one set of problems to another." - former BC Hydro CEO Marc Eliesen #bcpoli
Quick #SiteC update: 1. It is widely reported that @jjhorgan has the Milburn #SiteC report but hasn't told the public. Release the unredacted report now; it's ours. 2. The current #bcpoli Leg session ends Thursday. It would be classic Horgan to make a statement late Friday..
3. There have been a number of signs that the BC govt, various #SiteC boosters like Marc Jaccard, and Fed Minister of Environment @JonathanWNV are gearing up to produce reasons to pass #SiteC (ignoring its geotechnical instability)... #bcpoli
4. A study recently out of Alberta (odd timing) looks at #SiteC economics & concludes it's only worthwhile to go ahead if it feeds electricity to Alberta under certain conditions (which can't be met). It ignores the fact that greener, cheaper alternatives to #SiteC exist..
There's something really illogical about the school = mental health link. If going to school with other children is necessary for mental health, why is home schooling legal, for instance? Friend: "The obvious answer is it depends on the kid, but then the argument collapses."
Friend: "Some parents are literally thinking 'Brianna and Brendan and Madison and Kai are going to fall behind'... Behind all the other kids falling behind at the same time."
Then you get denial that kids, who tend to be asymptomatic with Covid, can be serious transmitters because parents are pushed into wishfully believing the best because there’s no plan B for childcare, whether personally or socially. But ICYMI: spiegel.de/international/…
Sources are passing on a lot of concerning information about #COVID19BC management at #SiteC and in Fort St John. This much smoke usually means fire. I'm just going to pass it along in the hope that we can finally get some official response... 1/x
..1. Word is that workers who put themselves into "self-isolation" at #SiteC are NOT automatically tested. (This is a Q many have asked over the past 9 months - What is self isolation & are all workers tested?) I asked sources why. Same answer every time: "No test = no outbreak."
2. Frontline cleaning and other staff are moving freely between shifts at #SiteC, various Fort St John-area schools, and Peace Villa (which is the LTC attached to the FSJ Hospital, which has had #covid19BC cases). There have been cases & exposures at all 3 places.