Harvey Oberfeld may be the éminence grise of the western Canadian blog world. Or, perhaps I should rephrase that to the more respectable ‘world of online journalism.’  He says he writes now for fun and that may be. For the rest of us, his writing has more value.

Respected as a professional journalist for asking hard questions, Harvey still operates that way. Even better, he provides analyses of issues without  contamination of partisan orthodoxy. For example, Harvey knows the real issue over HST implementation. It is the one that Liberals wish to ignore.

Read Democratic Integrity Tops H-S-T Itself and examine reader comments. Together, they expose the issue that will mark Gordon Campbell’s legacy. He tried to tie his reputation to the Olympics, appearing at every photo op wearing every costume on which he could lay his hands. In the end, though, he is tainted by the odor of corruption and plain, old fashioned lack of believability.

These are excerpts but go to Harvey’s Keeping it Real . . .

I will sign the anti-H-S-T referendum petition.

That doesn’t mean I think the H-S-T is a bad way of regulating our tax structure or bettering our economy: it does mean I see protection and preservation of the integrity of our democratic system as a much higher priority.

Right from the start, I have always said I was willing to weigh/listen to advice from the economists and experts (even those from the government) on the H-S-T issue. I’m sure no expert myself.

But then came the election .. or I should say the post election.

The government’s “turnaround” on the issue … telling many people/groups it had no plans to introduce the H-S-T before the vote, but then doing just that a few weeks after the vote. That really bothered me … as it did most of you, I’m sure.

And then came the latest reports that Victoria was talking to Ottawa about bringing in the H-S-T ONLY THREE DAYS after the election.

It’s clear … the FIX was in.

Liars! Deceitful elected representatives! With an arrogance that absolutely reveals disrespect for even those who voted for them!

. . . To find out where you can sign the petition, go to the website: http://fighthst.com and look for the scheduled signing locations for your riding.

Let’s send the politicians a lesson they will NEVER forget.

Harv Oberfeld