Before COVID-19 struck, every cruise ship that lumbered into Victoria Harbour paid to Victoria’s Greater Victoria Harbour Authority – directly – a hefty fee – that’s where the Authority got  70% of its revenues. COVID shut down cruise-ships and the Authority is insolvent  and desperately attempting  to persuade the U.S. Government to force U.S.-based cruise ships to dock at Victoria after COVID is over. The Authority is  whistling in the wind says Paul Servos, a former manager and CEO of the Authority … https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/op-ed/comment-our-new-reality-is-fewer-cruise-ship-visits-that-s-not-necessarily-a-bad-thing-1.24362991 in an op/ed that, amazingly, the Victoria Times Colonist published earlier this month. The Times Colonist later published a raft of letters to the editor against the cruise-ship industry and not one letter supporting it.

Servos painted a realistic picture of the Authority’s love affair with the cruise-ship industry. He pointed out that the industry – as far as Victoria is concerned is  built upon a house of cards that’s bound to collapse.

Servos didn’t say whether or not the ships ever contributed much — if anything — to Victoria’s economy.

The cruise ship industry has always claimed they brought tremendous benefits to Victoria, but their boosters and Victoria’s movers and shakers have never bothered to question their claims. The Authority’s mini-empire did get paid from every cruise ship that docked in Victoria and the Authority spent the fees like a drunken sailor.

Now it’s time to face the fact that tourism is Victoria’s life blood and it’s time to do something for it. Tourists come here to savour Victoria’s harbour and heritage buildings (not to gape at the ugly skyscrapers city planners insist on foisting on us). If the planners and their buddies, real estate developers and speculators, have their way they’ll turn Victoria into a two-bit copy of Chicago. It’s time to stop lobbying the U.S. government and starting to clean up Victoria and her heritage.

What we need is not s committee of movers and shakers bowing and scraping to planners, developer/speculators and cruise-ship companies but a first-class leader who can step out of the box and inspire and rebuild historical heritage and inspire Victorians – the way Mayor Peter Pollen did in the 70s and 80s.

Dear Reader:
I’ll not be publishing the Eye-Opener for the next while (as long as it takes to go back to Calgary, go on a tremendous bender with all my old pals – head back to Victoria – dry out at the Glenshiel Hotel where I’ve stayed since 1905 –  rejig the Eye-opener – it’ll run on Facebook and WordPress from now on. And you’ll be able to put your words up in our Letters to the Editor).
I’ve been getting an average of 100 hits a day – not enough to keep me in the way in which I’m accustomed. But The Eye-Opener will return.
I was born in 1860 – I’m no spring chicken but – on my return – I hope to get “circulation” up to 30,000 – what it used to be in the good old days.

Bob Edwards … Editor, The Eye-Opener

Oak Bay Retiree – Lord Strathcona – He built the CPR – a Kapitalist’s Kapiitalist – one-time MP

The other day the Old Timer from Pincher Creek asked me how I’d clean up election debates.

He asked the right guy. I was a member of the Canadian House of Commons and fought many an election battle – and often ignored the Marquis of Queensbury Rules.

Americans don’t force their presidential candidates to debate. Presidential candidates never did debate until the Kennedy/Nixon debates of 1960. Before 1960 an American law made all Presidential  Debates illegal unless each and every candidate for president could attend – in 2020 1,222 candidates are running for president. The U.S. got rid of that law in 1960.

Most presidential candidates attend debates only because the U.S. public demands it. Most candidates try to avoid presidential debates because one slip of a candidates or his memory can lose he or she the election. Examples:

Nixon’s Five o’clock shadow

Here’s how Ronald Regan knocked out Fritz Mondale in 1984. Nixon’s five o’clock shadow lost him the 1960 election.

Mulroney k.o.’s Turner

Here’s Brian Mulroney knocking out Prime Minister John Turner in 1984.

U.S. laws should force candidates to debate – under Robert’s Rules of Order and additions of Roberts and The Chief Justice of the United States should chair the debates. Candidates would stop interrupting, failing to stick to the point, lying.

Canadians should force Canadian party leaders and provincial leaders to appear in election debates before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the top court of each province.

And judges should chair our parliament and the provincial legislatures for the same reasons they should chair election debates. 

See U.S. Presidentail Debates – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_debates

Old Pro Lawrie McFarlane: Canadian Leaders’ Debates beat the U.S. ones

Even if Joseph Biden beats Donald Trump in the November 3 Election – there’s every indication Biden will – even then –  will Trump  give up the White House? NO! NO! NO! Taking the White House away from Trump is taking a bone away from a mad dog.

The demons of MEMEMEism and Don’t-Give-a-Damn invaded Trump’s mind many years ago. It’s impossible for Trump to give up something that belongs to him – in his sick mind – the White House belongs to him. He’ll try to keep it – by hook and by crook – he’s a psychopath – a crook. The Democrats and the U.S. Judiciary and the Republicans better have plans in place!!!

See:

Megalomania – https://exploringyourmind.com/seven-traits-of-megalomaniacs/

Scientific American: Eight Common Narcissist Lies – see https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/communication-success/201608/8-common-narcissist-lies

Famous narcissists – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:People_with_narcissistic_personality_disorder

Hitler was a narcissist -https://courses.lumenlearning.com/abnormalpsychology/chapter/narcissistic-personality-disorder-2/

The U.S.’s Most narcissistic presidents –  https://www.cheatsheet.com/culture/most-narcissistic-presidents-including-donald-trump.html/

Trump – Sociopath? – The Atlantic/2016 – https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/07/trump-and-sociopathy/491966/

Villains of History -https://www.livescience.com/13984-historys-notorious-elusive-bad-guys.html

Last July 74% of the citizens of B.C. wanted their government to force their peoples to wear masks. Fifty years ago – if “The Authorities” – social or political – told B.C. citizens that face masks could stop COVID-19 from spreading – the whole province would put them on. In those days Society banned free thinkers  on health  and slammed they and those who stunk of body odour (“B.O.”)  and halitosis into Coventry.

Donald Trump has hit upon not wearing a mask as the greatest rallying cry for evil since Hitler found the swastika. Refusing to wear a mask has spread North.

Unless Government makes it plenty uncomfortable not to wear a mask and arrests resistors and puts them in jail,  jackasses won’t wear masks. So governments must force – and force plenty hard – dimwits to wear masks..

See: https://vancouversun.com/news/covid-19-poll-shows-majority-of-b-c-residents-support-mandatory-masks-as-concern-about-the-virus-spikes-again 

AND 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52015486

Incompetent in all things

Polls report that more Americans believe that Donald (Pinocchio) Trump – because he is a “businessman” -can handle the U.S. Economy better than can Joe Biden. Many media folk believe that, therefore, U.S. Republicans will try to fight the Presidential Election Campaign on the Economy and Democrats on Trump’s mismanagement of the Coronavirus. Master politician Lyndon B. Johnson used to say that the trouble with liberals was that they had no guts. If liberals (liberals dominate the Democratic Party) can’t fight the election on the Economy issue, then Johnson should have added that neither do liberals have brains nor eyes nor ears nor noses.

On his record, Donald Trump couldn’t manage a lemon-aide stand. Trump is a spoiled little rich boy whose grandfather Frederich successfully pimped in the Yukon 120 years ago. Donald Trump’s father was a smart, tough, mean home builder who found himself in the world’s most dynamic city during World War II and afterwards. He and his partner mother knew real estate management and development. That’s all Fred knew. He certainly did not know how to pick a successor – he picked his son Donald to succeed him. Fred – himself – always ran his business well and left an estate of close to Two Billion 20020 dollars.

After Fred became senile, Donald ended up running the company and ran it into the ground. With his daddy’s money, Donald bought into all sorts of silly corporate adventures – from gambling casinos to airlines to hotels and resorts. None of them succeeded – he bankrupted them all. In two words – Donald  was no businessman.  He went through six bankruptcies. American banks stopped loaning him money. The reason Donald Trump won’t release his tax returns is almost certainly because the returns will show that he blew the whole Trump fortune. (By the way, Donald Trump does not own present day “Trump” hotels and resorts – real businessmen own them – they only pay to use the Trump name.)

“Oh,” Donald Trump will say: “Look how well my economy was doing before the Coronavirus struck.” The truth is that – in 2008 – Trump’s predecessor, Obama, and the liberals’ present candidate for the Presidency – Joe Biden – inherited a U.S. economy bankrupted by the Republican Party. Obama (and Joe Biden) brought the U.S. Economy  back and made it prosper and grow – Trump merely coasted on the Obama Economy – even though – under Trump –  it didn’t grow like Obama’s had. And Trump’s handling of the Coronavirus further proves his inveterate incompetence.

Even Trump’s sister Maryanne (she used to write Donald’s High School exams for him) declared (on tape) that Donald was a complete washout and shouldn’t be President of the United States.

If the Democratic Party hasn’t the guts and brains to show Trump up as a business incompetent, there shouldn’t be a Democratic Party. And there won’t be a Democratic Party if Trump wins the November Election.

READ about Trump’s niece Mary’s book – Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man – about her incompetent, boorish uncle BY CLICKING HERE: https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/07/mary-trump-donald-trump-and-american-psyche/614251/ (You can buy the book through the Eye Opener – see Ad at right) … AND …  READ Donald Trump’s Wikipedia biography:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump#Legal_affairs_and_bankruptcies

John Ware – Alberta Rancher from Texas

The Korrectness Kops

Ordinary Yankees are tired of snooty Political Correctness Commissars and their Korrectness Kops. “Guys” and “Gals” – words banned by the Kops – have bitten their tongues raw. The Kops will have none of “Easter eggs” – the eggs are now to be called “spring spheres”. The Kops have banned Santa’s “Ho, Ho, Ho” – it’ll offend “sex workers”. They’ve sent “fishermen” to the ocean depths. They’ve banned all history books using the terms “BC” (Before Christ) and “AD” (Anno Domini) – and they’ll burn at the stake any professor using either term – the prof can use only   ‘Before Common Era’ / ‘After Common Era’. The Kops have banned Common Sense. Many hard-working Americans far from snooty American Universities – revolted  – voted for a Nazi – Donald Trump – in 2016. They’re liable to do it again.

See  more examples of Korrectness-Kopisms at https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2011/10/07/11-cases-of-political-correctness-gone-mad/

Golden-Doodle

“Dogs never bite me,” said Marilyn Monroe. “Just humans.”

For over 100 years before Donald Tump, every U.S. President had owned a dog. A Trump fan offered Trump a golden-doodle pup. Trump –  no dog lover – for once – was honest – said he’d be “a phoney” if he owned a dog – declined. 

READ MORE BY CLICKING HERE

The Greatest Generation

Winston Churchill

“President” Trump

In 2017 “President” Trump refused to visit America’s war dead at a military cemetery in France – it was raining – he said  – the rain would ruin his hairdo  – anyway – the dead soldiers – who ordinary folks call “the Greatest Generation” – were nothing but “losers and suckers” – those losers and suckers said  Winston Churchill   – “will stand forth as  the most unselfish and unsordid act in human history”. They saved the world from the likes of Trump.

America was – in my day – “the last best hope of humanity”. Those dead soldiers proved it. I think it still is but America must rid itself of this horrible “guttersnipe” as Churchill would have called him. I pray they will. Or America will sink into what Churchill called “the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science”

Trump comes to it honestly – his grandfather was a draft-dodger – so was his father – so was he – his father hired a crooked doctor. The doctor concocted the tale that bone-spurs had invaded Trumps feet  and exempted Trump him from the military draft – from having to serve – give up his life if necessary – for his country – “the last best hope of humanity”.

The Old Timer from Pincher Creek

The soldiers stood for America the Beautiful. Trump stands for for America the Ugly. Pray folks. The Good Guys have got to win.

Bob Edwards, Editor

It’s universal and timeless. From time to time, fanatics turn up in every political party. They’re usually the hardest workers and are often mighty effective. They are attractive but fatally attractive. Someone has got to purge them and that someone has got to be strong. Franklin Delano Roosevelt wheedled Left-Wingers (the real bad ones) out of the U.S. Democratic Party  in the 1930s. In Canada, Tommy Douglas purged the Saskatchewan NDP (then called the CCF) of Communists and then led North America’s first Socialist government. Ernest Manning purged Nazis out of the Social Credit Party in Alberta after William Aberhardt died. Even Hitler and Stalin had to liquidate hotheads more hotheaded than they.

Many – including I – thought the U.S. Democratic Party was headed to factional oblivion. We were wrong.