Thursday, February 25, 2010

Jane Thornthwaite`s decision to drink

Let`s talk consequences of Drinking and Driving, a few personal stories and some stubborn facts.
First off, the lack of leadership displayed by Gordon Campbell on the Drunken driving Jane Thornthwaite committed is incompetent, a lack of any integrity, a complete slap in the face to every victim of the carnage inflicted by drunk drivers, I of course expected as much from a man who has broken law after law with impunity, Gordon Campbell is not a premier,he`s an excuse maker, an obfuscator, Gordon Campbell has never once in his entire career made a tough decision, I have seen better decision making by children, if this is the best you can do Gordon Campbell it`s time for you to resign, you are a complete moral failure.
The Jane Thornthwaite drinking and driving affair, I heard her apology, she`s sorry she got caught, in the era of information and knowledge on drunk driving her actions were unacceptable, when Jane Thornthwaite decided to drink that night she made a conscious decision to drink and drive, from the time of her very first drink that night she chose to break the law, Jane Thornthwaite should have decided then at that very moment that she would be taking a taxi, but she didn`t, statistics bear out that drinking drivers drive drunk 135 times before they`re caught, and it is obvious that Jane Thornthwaite has drunk and drove on many many occasions, is that a libelous statement, no it`s not, by her own admission Jane Thornthwaite claimed the ability to know what her blood alcohol level was at, that my friends is not a person who is truly sorry for anything but being caught!
You see, if a person never drank in their entire life,a non-drinker for some reason consumed and made a mistake could claim they never realized their blood alcohol limit could get so high,but that`s not the case, Jane Thornthwaite is a drinker,hundreds if not thousands of people can testify to that,in fact two days before the drunk driving affair Jane Thornthwaite while out celebrating tweeted about how great BC wine is, again, another admission to consuming alcohol, the conscious decision to drink knowing full well where her car was parked, at that moment she knew full well that she would be drinking and driving and breaking the law.
The one drink rule, I`m no lawyer but I am familiar with law, it is an offence to have even one drink and get behind the wheel of an automobile, if you get pulled over or drive through a road block and are asked if you have been drinking, if you answer yes,even if you only had one drink of wine, the police have no choice but to issue a 24 hour driving suspension, even if you blow a clean breath test on the portable device,the green pass light can come on but it matters not,you had one drink and a 24 hour mandatory suspension from driving must be issued, Jane Thornthwaite knew that, her decision to drive drunk was a conscious decision,not a mistake but a deliberate act, for her to say that she thought her blood alcohol reading would be lower is disgusting, for what Jane Thornthwaite is saying is this ....
"I Jane Thornthwaite drink and drive but have no fear because I usually stop drinking just short of the legal limit."
For Gordon Campbell to wash his hands of the event and not discipline Jane,no consequences,nothing,she can retain her $100K dollar a year job, what Gordon Campbell is saying ......... "Que sera sera,whatever will be will be,the future not ours to see, Que sera sera"
Imagine me expecting Gordon Campbell to set a precedence,a precedence on morals or ethics by forcing Jane Thorthwaite to step down, boy was I dreaming!
When I was 14 years old, summer in Garden Bay, my older sister had a friend named Janice and boy was she pretty, well here it was this summer evening, my sister had her friend staying over night and visiting us, my sister and Janice being older and allowed out late, well anyway they came home and Janice when my sister wasn`t around approached me gave me a big hug and a deep kiss and remarked on how cute I was, I was flabbergasted and boy was that kiss good,I wanted more of them, well my sister saw the second kiss and Janice and I were both embarrassed, the night ended, the next morning Dad and I were up at 5:00 AM to go fishing, we had a Salmon charter to do, well friends I can tell you that fishing wasn`t on my mind, no way, that next morning I was a love struck teenager with a Girl on my mind, never the less Dad and I went fishing and I couldn`t wait to back home, kisses and hugs were occupying my mind, 3:00 pm we return to the dock, we go home, my sister and Janice weren`t home, they had gone to Ruby Lake to go swimming that day.
The phone rang shortly after we got home,my Mom answered the phone, her face went pale, there`s been an accident, few details at this time but what we ultimately learned was this, my sister and Janice were swimming in Ruby Lake and a water ski boat with a Drunken Driver raced his boat into the swimming area and mowed Janice down,she was sliced by the prop,her face,her arms,legs,body were shredded by the propeller,a float plane landed in an emergency call and airlifted her to Vancouver,she was still alive but.....
I was in shock,my sister was in shock, my first love,my first kiss,my first crush and the very next day she`s almost dead and mangled, I went to Vancouver General hospital to visit as soon as the hospital staff would okay it, she had deep wounds when I saw her and I knew dozens of surgeries would be required,Janice didn`t want to live, I was still a love struck teenager and I didn`t see the scars, I brought her hot home-made lunches and dinners everyday for three weeks, fresh wild salmon dinner,roasts beef,pasta, home-made pies, a love struck teenager taking a bus from Burnaby to Vancouver General hospital everyday with steaming hot food in tupperware and tin foil.
The tears are pouring from my eyes as I write this story, sorry, give me a minute to recompose, ok,where was I....Janice had a lot of problems,many surgeries and I couldn`t sustain the effort,ultimately I got but one more kiss from Janice, my first love and I were not to be, but I learned a hard lesson early in life about consequences of drinking and driving, the other story I told you in the below post, that episode with the drunk man in the Park struck a real cord in me too....I had a in-law member of our family who was regularly driving drunk, he was drinking on his lunch break,coffee break, he had gotten away so many times driving drunk but just before the park episode he had several accidents, including being broad-sided when he drove right into traffic at a stop,or should I say he WAS supposed to stop,he didn`t, he wasn`t injured but he was on his way to pick-up his young daughter, my sisters daughter, I warned him never again, he ignored me and I was forced to call the authorities on him,to this day my relationship with my sister and her husband is vacant, I miss my sister but I couldn`t be around it or condone his actions.
Like I say, all through my life major set-backs and events have unraveled my plans, anyway, drinking driving is personal to me,personal to the thousands of dead grieving family members whom had their lives ripped apart by drunk drivers.
So when I say I am disappointed with the lack of leadership or morals and ethics displayed by Gordon Campbell is an under statement, Jane Thornthwaite probably needs to join AA or ALANON or some other self-help group, Jane won`t step down from public duty,..Gordon Campbell won`t step up to the plate and discipline anyone, the drinking and driving from public officials will continue,nothing will change, no example will be set.....All we can expect from leadership from Gordon Campbell is..
"Que sera sera,whatever will be will be, the future not ours to see,que sera sera"!
The Straight Goods
Cheers-Eyes Full of Tears

19 comments:

Kim said...

CBC has a poll today, asking, "should public offials be required to step down?" I voted. I think it was 72% voted Yes.

Kim said...

sorry officials.

Evil Eye said...

The law? The law is an ass! In BC, there is no law for politicians; in BC there is no honour among politicians; in BC there is no law.

Gordon Campbell has set the precedent for politicians not resigning after a criminal act, therefore Jane Thornthwaite will not resign.

If me or thee has been caught DUI, of course much more will happen, but Jane Thornthwaite is special, she is a Liberal MLA and Liberal MLA's are above the law.

"I haven't committed a crime. What I did was fail to comply with the law." Ms. Thornthwaite's motto.

Anonymous said...

The first funeral that I ever attended was for my Aunt, Uncle, and my two nieces. It was an impaired driver that sent them careening into the next world.
I am not a fan of impaired drivers, or their feeble "explanations". Never have been.
I can't imagine why............

Cheers
Gary L.

Leah said...

I don't care WHO you are,there is no reason to drink and drive. Ever. There is NO excuse either.

Until police, judges, lawyers, and politicians are not allowed to hide behind their elitism...nothing will seriously change. I don't accept their "one law for me, another for you" thinking. That people are still dying as a result of drinking drivers is unimaginable! That drinking drivers keep pulling that roulette trigger until someone gets killed is beyond the pale. That judges keep slapping them on the wrist, and letting them go one more time, is disgusting. It says more about who they are, and how they think, than they know.

How to start changing the mindset that sees drinking and driving as a "non-issue" and stop the repeat offenders...

For a start; make them help clean up accident sites where drinking is thought, or known to be the cause. Perhaps cleaning the remains off whatever surfaces will jar them awake.
Make them tell the family of the deceased what happened...that their family member died at the hands of a drunk driver. Make sure they're there long enough to witness the personal devastation of their secondary victims.
Make them attend the autopsy of every person killed by a drunk driver.

In short, take the damn kid gloves off. Stop treating them like they have a dreaded disease...and treat them like the addicts they are. Addicts who may have killed someone through their own selfish wants, or actually did kill someone.

That includes you Mr. Campbell, and you too Mrs. Thornwaite. To my way of thinking, there is no difference between either of you...and a junkie in DTES. They just admit their problems, and ask for help. It's called integrity.

Crankypants said...

I caught the second part of Christy Clark's segment on this issue this afternoon, and was absolutely flabbergasted to hear her say that this woman should not have to resign.

It was only a month or so ago that she was ranting and raving about the fact that Monty Robinson was not being charged with impaired driving stemming from his killing of a motorcyclist in Delta not too long ago.

I also thought it was disingenuous for her to state that Mrs. Thornthwaite was not found guilty of any offense so far. Hell, this woman has publicly admitted her guilt and I doubt even Johnny Cochrane could get her off by fighting a charge of impaired driving. One thing Christy stated is that Mrs. Thornthwaite has yet to be charged, and that has me a bit worried. Will the AG interfere on Mrs. Thornthwaite's behalf, such as a downgraded charge(plea bargain)to make sure that this woman avoids the embarrasment of having a criminal record? Remember that anyone that has a criminal record could easily be denied entry to the USA and face other possible restrictions.

I still have doubts that we will ever see a trial in the Basi-Virk affair, and the same may occur regarding Mrs. Thornthwaite. Our justice system seems to have too many ways of of being coerced by our politicians.

jaydee said...

A fews years back Wally's shady bro Harry, who is now a Royal LePage realtor (used to work in bars) and his broker bud Don Estrada,(allegedly!) pulled off a shady land deal. Harry got a woman's elderly parents to invest in a large house and property in Abbotsford. Harry then rented it out and personally collected $3,930 cash rent each month and personally deposited it to their daughter's bank account. Very good service! Long story short the deal went bad and the daughter looked into it (she sounds somewhat shady too but...)the parents ended up losing all their life savings. Wally made out he didn't know anything about it, then he did, then he didn't, and he never!! told Campbell about it! The house had been completely gutted and a huge grow op was alive and well. Anyway the long and short nothing was ever done about it. So....do I believe Kash Heed will 'interfere' on Thornthwaite's behalf too?? Uh, ya! Kash Heed IMO is not AG material, having quitting the West Van Police Dept. right before he was going to be charged for interfering in a pedofile case. You probably remember that one. By quitting they couldn't charge him. And that's when Campbell was delighted to hire him for our new AG. Campbell seems to like to surround himself with shady AG's, wonder why! I remember the Harry case because I had known him years back. He was a loud mouth shady wanna be even then...If you want to read more details of the Harry Oppal deal google Harry Oppal criminal charge. Joey Thompson also wrote it up. Shadys surround themselves with shadys.
Such a disgusting crew the B.C. Liberals are.

To Cranky...
Jean

boots said...

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/771880--cabinet-minister-throws-airport-tantrum?bn=1


Hello Gary This article is a bit off subject,but : Stephen Harper reacts with the same arrogant attitude as Campbell.
And Junior cabinet minister Helena Guergis has issued a bogus apology much like Mrs. Thornthwaite.

seems to be the norm across the political board

Quote from the article
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said of her apology: "That's the end of the matter as far as we are concerned."

Grant G said...

I hate to judge people by names but Thornthwaite says it all,hoitey toitey,I don`t think Hash Heed will interfere,I do believe she will pay the minimum/minimum of consequences,as for Wally Oppal and Kash Heed..

Kash Heed`s hands are dirty,the shit was going to fly in West Vancouver,he fled to the safety of the BC Liberals,Heed is a marshmallow.

Wally Oppal,a puppet whose strings are pulled,incidentally with Oppal...

Just before the Thornthwaite episode, as you know we presently have no chief judge in BC, Gordon Campbell wants Wally Oppal to be that judge.
But,the chief judge is chosen by a 9 member panel of the judiciary,and,apparantly Oppal doesn`t qualify because he isn`t a sitting judge,rules will have to be broken to appoint Wally Oppal,

But,I wrote that last week,Wally Oppal after I wrote that made back to back appearances on CKNW...First on the John Malcolm then following day on the Christy Clark show,oh indeed friends,the brainwashing has started,the brainwashing about how great and honourable Wally Oppal is...Expect Oppal to be appointed as chief judge within a month(expect a court challenge to be filed to fight it)

One more thing,I heard through the grapevine when Gordon Campbell made an appearance at Molson Hockey house a few days ago, he got booed right out the door!

I can`t emphasize enough about road carnage from drunk drivers,until public figures lose their jobs and pensions,nothing will change.

Cheers

Cheers

Evil Eye said...

MY Gawd, Wally Awful as chief judge, might as well appoint one of the Bacon brothers as they seem to be on the same moral playing field.

jaydee said...

The Bacon Bros and other organized gangsters will be set free too and never see the inside of a court room. This was just another look-good Campbell/police expedition. Guiliani's probably costly meeting with Watts and Campbell on how he cleaned up New York, now one of the safest states, didn't seem to register. Nothing changes. Campbell IMO!loves organized crime, he doesn't get any income taxes from them but they sure help his 'economy'. Campbell clearly cares nothing about law and order, the criminal that he is.

exnihlo said...

As heavily supported by organized crime as the BC Liberals are, why would anyone think something like a DUI would stop them?

Grant G said...

ROAD CARNAGE

3 dead young people in an accident/on purpose?

They hit a lamp standard in Burnaby,3 dead, 2 ejected and 2 with minor injuries,the carnage continues,my condolences to the affected families,nice example Jane Thornthwaite,great leadership Gordoh..

Do you suppose the drunken driver in this latest accident is taking..

"Full responsibilty"?

Cheers/Bottoms up!

Leah said...

Grant, how do I send you some information I think you might find interesting?

Grant G said...

Leah...

Call me on the phone.

Anonymous said...

Drinking and driving, is a criminal offense. However, that just depends on who you are. One of the officers, involved in the death of Robert at Vancouver Air Port. He went on to offend again, this time he struck a young man on his motorcycle, and killed him too. The asinine statement he made was, he walked his children home and drank booze. He left the scene of the accident, walked away, and left the poor guy to die. I guess dead men can't talk, can they. The people of BC, do not want the RCMP's contract renewed. Some, do not want the RCMP, as an icon for Canada. However, that's okay, we don't want Campbell and Hansen either, they are considered, liars and criminals. They have no right being government officials. BC, is second from the bottom for, being the poorest province in Canada. Campbell, is known, as, the worst corrupt premier, in Canadian history. Hopefully he goes to prison and Hansen is his cell mate.

Joe said...

You people are boring. Continue your rants to make yourselves feel better but have you ever driven by a pub? Parking places are there for a reason....she was over the limit by a bit and yes she made an error but for her to lose her job over this is so ridiculous. She'll pay through a judge not through your holier than thou morals and don't cry to me either as I don't care to hear your stories. You are not the law or the judge so go away.

Anonymous said...

Well, let me see, the Liberal party of BC, supports, drunk driving. Campbell of course, blubbered sympathy, and told Jane not to resign. This was of course, was for Campbell's own neck. If Janie resigned, he would be obligate to do so himself. Soooo, does this mean, Campbell and Thornthwaite, will also, support the drunk driver, who killed a young cardiologist, and his bride to be? Just, where in the hell do we draw the line here? Now, it is fine for governing officials, to drink and drive. Therefore, this is fine for everyone, or what? Thornthwaite and Campbell were both drunk enough to catch the eye of officers. Drunk driving is a criminal offense, and the two of them, should be kicked out office, right bloody now.

mobi ritz said...

Drinking and driving always risky.
mobi ritz