F*ck the Debate!: Part Umpty-One

A small sample of reactions to Rod Bruinooge's idiotic gambit to re-open the so-called debate on abortion.

From the Winnipeg Sun: 'bad idea'.

From the The Star:

To reopen this debate would demonstrate an all-time low in the Harper government's misogynist agenda. They have already set back women's rights by 30 years.

And from the Winnipeg Free Press:

According to a Winnipeg Free Press online poll, as of late Monday afternoon 78 per cent of respondents said the federal government should not reopen the abortion debate, while 21 per cent believed it should. More than 2,600 people took part in the non-scientific poll.

And a selection of emails sent to the Free Press, including this one:

I don't think this qualifies as an issue that MPs get to decide for Canadians. This should have been made clear at election time. I wouldn't have voted for Rod had he mentioned his stand on the issue. This will help me in future elections. I will question the candidate more thoroughly and I will advocate for making MPs accountable on these types of ideological issues. Very disappointed. Rod is out of touch!

Bad idea, all-time low, out of touch. Yup.

h/t for the last link to Beijing York in the comments at UOP

What a Tripp!

From the LA Times Blogs:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol Palin and her boyfriend Levi Johnston are proud new parents of a baby boy, according to People.

His name is Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, says Colleen Jones, Bristol’s grandmother’s sister.

. . .

Just mentioning: This week, Levi mother, Sherry Johnston, was charged with six felony counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance, described by an Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman as being "Oxycontin."

Her arraignment is set for Jan. 6.

Let the funny remarks begin.

A: Slow News Week

From the Ottawa Citizen:

Harper stiff-arms Tory talk of reopening abortion debate

In the face of dissension within the party, Stephen Harper's Conservative government is reiterating its commitment to not reopen the debate on abortion.

"Throughout his political career, the prime minister has been clear on this issue," said Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for the prime minister. "We will not introduce or support legislation on abortion."

The issue resurfaced Monday when Rod Bruinooge, a Conservative MP for Winnipeg South, published an opinion piece in the National Post arguing why he has "no choice but to advocate for the unborn and seek to have their value restored."

Bruinooge was recently elected chairman of the Parliamentary Pro-Life Caucus, a multi-party caucus that predates the Harper government by many years. Bruinooge could not be reached for comment.

Conservative officials were quick to denounce any suggestion that the government will reopen the debate on abortion, but the issue is likely not closed.

So. I guess we have our answer: Slow news week.

Won't someone please think of the kidneys?

I think it is essential for a society to value its kidneys. The importance we give our organs pre-removal affects the importance we place on them post-removal.

In Canada in 2008, our kidneys have no economic status while in the bodies of its carriers. We are completely alone in the world in this regard as most countries have MASSIVE regulations around the management of kidneys.

Most Canadians would agree that you should not be able to remove your kidney and sell it on eBay to the highest bidder. Although it's your body and your kidney, this would not only be a poor bioethical choice, but it is in fact illegal under our laws. As well, it is a nasty procedure; most doctors will not remove a kidney unless forced by medical considerations so those who attempt to remove one or two kidneys from their own bodies are messing around with natural law.

Most Canadians would also agree that a mature kidney, should not be eligible for an elective removal. However, regardless of the fact that this would be an extremely poor bioethical choice, it is in fact legal. As such, Canada should have far greater protections for human kidneys than we do for kids.

By assigning no commercial worth to our unremoved kidneys, we set the stage for a society that continues to lose out on a lucrative source of income. The study of the economics in our country has been clearly addressed by Stephen Harper, and the numbers are stark. Is there a correlation between our nation's deficit and our legal and economic devaluation of kidneys? Of course there is.

Obviously, the greater number of unremoved kidneys, there are the greater the population loses in profitability. And more subtly, by valuing a kid more than an unremoved kidney, we are educating our citizens to believe that there is little importance in enhancing the growth of the next generation of Canadians.

This mindset is not sustainable, nor is it psychologically healthy. Can it be changed in the short term? And will Canada be open to revisiting our views on the advantage of the commerce in organs, specifically kidneys?

I have no choice but to advocate for the kidneys and seek to have their value restored in my Canada. Our collective future depends on it.

The original opinion piece by Rod Bruinooge appeared here. Kidneys as an allegory for pregnancy was first addressed in God wants you to carry your kidney stones to term.

Ottawa Secrets

Slow news week? Trial balloon? Here we go again with the shrieeeek about Canada's lack of abortion laws.

And some bozos MPs have formed a 'secretive' caucus led by embarrassingly logic-impaired Rod Bruinooge to fix this sorry state of affairs.

What I'm wondering this morning is what other 'secretive' caucuses those idiots have up there in Ottawa. One to revive slavery? To reimpose racist immigration laws? Rescind sexual assault laws? Recriminalize homosexuality?

As JJ says: let's out them all.

Shocking News?!?!?

Not so much. From LuLu at Canadian Cynic, we learn about a secretive Con caucus dedicated to re-opening the abortion debate.

"I think the debate is ongoing," Bruinooge says. "We need to have a starting point of debating whether or not abortion should be legal right up until the moment of birth."Bruinooge wouldn't say how many MPs are formally part of the pro-life caucus, but said there are supporters from every party. It's up to individual members to "present their personal philosophy on this issue," he says.

Bruinooge was in the spotlight last July because of his association with the MASSIVE poll.

I wanted to entitle this blog post “Catholic priests molest little girls” ...

... when unrepentant old hippie did her blogpost about the batshit craziness of Blob Blogging Wingnut. I felt that I should blog about priests who sexually abuse female children.

Pope Benny Ratzo recently pontificated upon the harm done to children. It was not an apology for the centuries of tacit complicity between the clerics who abuse children and those who don't. It was not an admission the Catholic Church and its refusal to be accountable for the actions of abusive priests, its hypocrisy that denies and evades responsibility, and its arrogance are morally bankrupt.

While the focus remains fixed on priests (men) who abuse boys, it is likely that more girls than boys have been subjected to sexual exploitation by members of the RCC clergy.

Why would a church committed to purging from its ranks potentially predatory clerics focus its scrutiny on prospective priests with homosexual tendencies? That would imply two things we know not to be true: that the crisis in the church was triggered by sexual orientation, not by sexual misconduct and its coverup, and that the victims of rapists in Roman collars were all male.

Why would a church that claims to be intent on healing and reconciliation effectively erase the traumatic experiences of so many women and girls? Kathleen M. Dwyer thinks she knows why. ''In order to be successful in blaming gays, the hierarchy knows that the sexual abuse of girls must be swept into invisibility and be internalized in the culture as a rare exception," said Dwyer, herself victimized by a priest.

''I can only assume that women victims simply aren't newsworthy, regardless of what we have to say," concluded a dispirited Ann Hagan Webb, a psychologist who heads the New England chapter of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Fifty percent of the organization's members are women. ''The Vatican's decision to ban gay men from the priesthood is an insult to survivors of either gender. The vast number of girls and women abused by priests underscores the obvious, that banning gay priests will not solve the problem of sexual abuse in the church."

Thousands of women who have been sexually abused by priests in their childhood have remained invisible and silent, some by choice, some shamed by RCC doctrine that implies that as little girls, their 'female allure' made priests commit these sins and thus, are the cause of their own abuse.

That's quite the racket you have there, Benny Ratzo.

Girls and Women: Part 3

Further to our ongoing disgust with the cynical use of
Afghan women and girls to justify 'our' involvement there, there's this report of the CIA and boner pills.

Of course, in the West, there was the inevitable tee-heeing, or 'dick snark', as matttbastard terms it.

For me, though, here's the breath-taker (from the original WaPo piece; emphasis mine):

Afghan tribal leaders often had four wives -- the maximum number allowed by the Koran -- and aging village patriarchs were easily sold on the utility of a pill that could "put them back in an authoritative position," the official said.

Yeah. That's what 'we' are doing in Afghanistan. Not building schools, not restoring human rights to women. We're putting old men back in power. Over women and children.

Just so we have that straight. . .

Give or take another half-dozen.

The Duggar family was in the news again recently for .... c'mon, just take a wild guess.

Yep. Ma Duggar baked another bun and popped it out of her oven. Number 18.

The Duggar family is not new to the news. In fact, one suspects that Pa 'n Ma came to the realization a few years and babies ago that they could expand this novelty act into the big times. They have their own reality show on a cable network.

The Duggars' unbridled breeding bonanza is not viewed as the Gawdgiven miracle that Jim Bob invariably spins during his numerous TV appearances. Here's one trenchant rant.

Michelle Duggar has every right to do what she wants with her body—Roe V. Wade goes both ways—but I also have the right to think it’s gross. As a friend of mine just said, “It’s a vagina, not a clown car!” It’s also selfish. By all means, if you can afford to have 18 children and provide a good life for them, blah, blah, blah, God’s will, GREAT—but couldn’t a fraction of those 18 be the children in orphanages also brought into this world thanks to God’s will?

Let’s face it. Michelle Duggar isn’t gonna put a cork in it. They’re going to have a 19th and 20th child probably by the time Obama finishes his first term. But the media needs to stop giving these people such positive attention. Watching Jim and Michelle Duggar hawk their TV show and book on “The Today Show” this morning was disturbing because it’s evidence of a vicious cycle—they need to pimp themselves out in order to afford 18 kids, but they would have nothing to pimp if Michelle started taking birth control and gave God the finger. Meanwhile, who’s thinking about all the kids out there who need homes, with these rabid procreators stealing the spotlight?

eh. Rabid procreators. Good point though. Why not adopt all those abandoned babies. Or would schlock TV not pay as well or perhaps, not bother to provide coverage for this choice? I suspect that the media attention is based on fascination with the marathonian capacity of Michelle Duggar's reproductive system. Jim Bob would likely auction his wife's uterus to one of those travelling exhibitions about the human body except for the fact that there's still more money to be made from plowing that field.

From Sadly, No! ....

we hear that Five Feet of selF-InFlated Flatulence has withdrawn her name from the Gay Patriot's "Grande Conservative Blogress Diva 2009" web Poll where she held something like 75% of the votes before she pulled out of the race.

It wasn't because she's a raging homophobe and that she was afraid of catching cooties or an alternate sexual orientation from being associated with the contest. Actually, she gave no excuse. But we suspect the reason that FFFtt! withdrew is that ultimately, there was no cash prize.

9 to 5 and beyond

My work history:

- cashier, grocery store

- teacher

- daycare co-op mom

- volunteer, SOS grossesse phone line*

- a variety of jobs in non-profit community organizations as la francophone de service

- assistant to the assistant to the Communications Director

- program administrator, first in a governmental agency, then in an educational institution

- assistant to the Communications Director

- program administrator, charitable organization

* I have given hundreds of hours of volunteer time to other community groups and causes over the years. This is the one that helped me develop a coherent pro choice perspective, as the mother of an infant daughter.

Is there anyone left to tag? How about brebis noire at the black ewe, the regina mom and montreal simon?

My Work Life

JJ tagged me with the exercise of listing all the jobs I've done.

These are the highlights (ha):

• messenger (boyfriend + motorcycle + postal strike = $$$$)
• waitress in a 'family' restaurant (no, there are NO photos of me in that idiotic getup)
• waitress in a 'cocktail' bar (that getup consisted of hot pants and white go-go boots, no shit, and there are NO photos of me in that either)
• dental assistant (white nurse's getup and no)
• various menial office jobs
• bartender in a working-class bar in Arizona (some other time I'll tell the story of the New Year's Eve working alone I poured $60 worth of nickel-a-glass beer and had eight customers' handguns under the bar and found out at midnight that I didn't have all of them)
• dental assistant again
• donut (that's how it is spled) store manager in Florida (some other time I'll do my 'I loathe detest abhor and hate Florida' rant)
• apprentice (well, it was really the bf who was apprentice; I was along for the ride) to sculptor on a farm where we greatly amused the neighbours as we learned country ways
• swimming pool manager (little boys + paper towels + shower room drains = one screaming harpy)
• invoice typist at publishing house (part-time while back at uni having had the blinding satori that I didn't want to continue this career of stooopid jobs)
• apprentice editor at same publishing house (promoted to this when boss noted Ancient Greek textbook under my arm and boss [who had come down from Oxford in Classics] recognized my innate humanity and potential]
• freelance writer (wrote bullshit for dough; absolute worst and never to be repeated were research grant applications)
• freelance editor

I've left many other menial jobs out. In fact, between most of those I could have put 'waitress yetafuckinggain')

Now, for the share-the-pain part: I tag my co-bloggers, deBeauxOs and anne cameron, plus Beijing York,
Chrystal Ocean, and matttbastard.

Islamist Fathers4Justice

Thanks to The Mound of Sound, we learn about:

An eight-year old Saudi Arabian girl who was married off by her father to a 58-year-old man [...] in August after the marriage contract was signed by her father and the groom. ... The case appears to fit a pattern of divorced fathers using their children to take revenge against their ex-wives. Mothers usually only have custody while the children are young.

The disgruntled members of fathers4justice must be gnashing their teeth in envy.

Freep This Poll!

Via Canadian Cynic. Go read Sadly No, or go directly here. You'll know what to do when you get there. :big grin: (She's winning at the moment.)

UPDATE: Damn, we're good. She's winning by a country mile: 743 votes or 53%.

Truer Words Were Never Spoken . . .

by Margaret Wente in a (presumably) ha-ha letter to the Prime Minister:

So can't you find a Senate seat for me, too? If Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin can be senators, then surely there is room for me. Like them, I am a lifelong hack. . . Seriously, you can't deny that I have what it takes to be a first-class senator. I am accustomed to being underworked and overpaid, and I am able to emit hot air on any subject on demand. Ask Duff. I've been on his show lots of times. He'll tell you I have glib and superficial opinions about everything, especially things I know nothing about.

Finally, MW on a subject she does know something about -- herself.

(Go read the comments at the Glob. Readers are having some fun.)

Fan the flame of desire ... only for carnivores. Pity.

Every once in a while a product comes along that elicits WTF?!?!? as the first response.

Then upon second thought it makes sense, in the way Casablanca was immortalized by dialogue such as "... it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."

Only in this crazy world, Burger King, the ...

mass purveyor of grilled meat is offering, for a limited time, something even better than their usual piles of beef patties [to] men ... the chance to smell like their favourite meat snack with the launch of Flame ...

The company describes Flame as "the scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat".

Flame is not for vegetarians. Sorry. You guys will have to mob Le Commensal to demand the creation of a cologne with a distinctive aroma - roasted garlic hummus no doubt.

One does wonder how PETA will react to this outrage.

Me, I worry about whichever demographic that happens to be the focus of BK's marketing. Will this will lead to more gender confusion, the bane of Blob Blogging Wingnut's existence?

Who will wear the Flame in the family? Women, to keep the romance in their marriage fresh tasty and ... errr, subliminal? Men, to signal that they are the hunters who bring home the bacon, cheese and delicious seasoning?

It sure gives a new meaning to the expression "hunka-hunka burning love", doesn't it?

So. What was your second clue?

This guy, who nominated C4C to the best feminist blog category because he's got the hots for Sarah Palin, invited me by email to share my thoughts on feminism, which I did because I'm polite.

I helpfully provided a link to Feminism 101, to which he responded:

heh, I’ve already been referred there

Head. Desk.

(He is so revved by the attention of the evul feminazis that he joined this moribund joint.)

Caroline Kennedy vs Sarah Palin?

With all the recent chatter in the U.S. about Caroline Kennedy's interest in Hilary Clinton's senate seat, it was inevitable that some attention-mongering rightwing pundit would say something about the vapid Sarah Palin.

Chris Kelly skewers Brent Bozell III in ways too numerous to include in this blog, but the most delicious, in my opinion, is this:

"Is Caroline Kennedy really better suited for high office than Sarah Palin? Let's see.

One of them has a law degree from Columbia and has co-written two critically acclaimed books about the Bill of Rights, one specifically about the Fourth Amendment. The other has a journalism degree from college in general and had this conversation with Katie Couric:

Couric: Do you think there's an inherent right to privacy in the Constitution?
Palin: I do. Yeah, I do.
Couric: (That's) the cornerstone of Roe v. Wade.
Palin: I do. And I believe that individual states can best handle what the people within the different constituencies in the 50 states would like to see their will ushered in an issue like that."

In other words, Caroline Kennedy is to Sarah Palin what Michaëlle Jean is to Blob Blogging Wingnut.

The Shortest Day

My sweetie emailed me this morning:

Is today the shortest day of the year? - Yes, methinks. Shortest day, you say? Well let’s make the least of it.

Happy solstice!

Feminism: ur still doin it rong

The Beaver Flap* continues.

In response to a poll at A Creative Revolution speculating on the identity of the 'secret expert' who deemed Choice for Childcare feminist and Unrepentant Old Hippie not feminist, Northern BC Dipper wrote a juvenileha-ha post.

In the comments there I asked for the expert's reasons for allowing CforC in. The following is a direct quote from the expert:

I felt the reason’s that Choice for Childcare was initially considered a feminist blog was because it pertained the issue of both choice for women, and for dealing with daycare (an issue that affects both single and married women). Unlike Small Dead Animals or some of the other conservative ‘feminist’ blogs, the arguments were based on economic principals under the assumption that these would benefit women, not something like religious reasons (that Suzanne provided for her arguments about abortion) or the simple fact that she was a woman. In fact, some of the ones eliminated were women, but appeared to me to be anti-feminist (a contradiction for the category they appeared in). One was a stripper, the others argued for free speech - which may have been a compelling argument for having them included in the feminist category if it was so heavily in favour of hate speech. Many didn’t seem to display an understanding of feminist logic. Choice for Childcare was using economic arguments for her position. In many of the classes I’ve attended, both in economic and women’s studies, this was the single most advancing portion of the feminist movement other than historical arguments themselves.

Oy. Where to start?

General literacy? Logic? Weird emphasis on the economic aspect of feminism?

General cluelessness?

(The nominations threads seem to have disappeared at CBA. I don't know who the 'stripper' was -- [anybody know?] -- but being a stripper does not automatically disqualify one from feminism. At least not for actual feminists.)

Hell, go read Sarah at Choice for Childcare herself on her nomination. Remember this is the woman who said (quote taken from Antonia):

They say unbelievably stupid things such as – and I quote – "I believe in equality for everyone, not just women. Also, I believe in equal rights, not one group getting more than others."

My head hurts. I'm going with 'general cluelessness'. On all their parts. The 'expert' and the dough-heads at CBA who accepted this inanity as an argument in favour of CforC's inclusion in the feminist category.

*h/t Antonia

SORRY: I missed this link provided to the stripper. I had a quick buzz through it and while it doesn't seem anti-feminist, it would take more time than I've got right now to say more than that.

UPDATE: Go read balbulican.

Zygote Zealots Distort Results of Study.

It should no longer surprise me whenever I read a headline that distorts information from a typical fetus fetishist perspective. Here's the most recent example.

"Drug abuse common among women who have abortion"

Yet information about the study provided in the news item does NOT make that claim.

Kaeleen Dingle from the University of Queensland's School of Population Health examined 280 women aged between 18 and 23 who have experienced pregnancy, and found a link between losing a baby and mental health issues.

The data was taken from a long-running study that has followed a group of Brisbane mothers for 21 years, checking in at various intervals to examine the outcome of their pregnancies. As part of her PhD research, Ms Dingle interviewed the original mothers' daughters who had fallen pregnant themselves in their late teens and early 20s. She found the group was three times' more likely to abuse heavy substances, including heroin and speed.

"The young women who reported having an abortion and those who had suffered a miscarriage had equal increased risk of illicit drug use and alcohol problems," Ms Dingle said.

A quick google search for the name Kaeleen Dingle indicates that the habitual disseminators of lying bullshit and zygote zealotry such as Free Republic have already started to distort the information available, even though science and reality-based news sources are reporting the data correctly.

“Our findings suggest that this increased risk of psychiatric problems in some women after an abortion may be associated with pregnancy loss rather than caused by the experience of having an induced abortion,” she said. ...

Ms Dingle said the study had implications for caregivers, who may need to give more counselling and support to women who have lost a pregnancy. “Also, health professionals involved in the care of young women with mental health problems need to take good pregnancy histories, as young women can have complex pregnancy histories involving births, miscarriages and abortions,” she said.

Ms Dingle's PhD project is examining common mental health outcomes of young people who enter adulthood earlier than their peers through circumstances such as early parenting, early live-in parenting and early independent living.

Note also the context of her research, which will be conspicuously absent from the right wingnutter's and abortion criminalizers' shrieeekkk blogging as they distort the information to suit their propaganda needs.

Dedicated to Blob Blogging Wingnut.

Inspired by the immortal words of balbulican expressed here :

"[you ... are] all responding as though SUZANNE was actually trying to express an idea. She's not. 'Natural Law' is one of several rhetorical reflexes she excretes under stress, as a squid does ink or a fleeing baboon does feces. It serves the same purpose - a meaningless, time-wasting distraction deployed under duress."

and, just because this is many people's favourite late December religious festival of pagan/judeo/christian origins, I dedicate this performance by Aretha Franklin of Carole King's timeless song (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman to Blob Blogging Wingnut.

Perhaps SHE can imagine HERSELF crooning it to Pope Benedict.

And the insults just keep coming

Gimme a freepin' freakin' break.

Canadian Blog Awards hits another one out of the park. Not only did they screw the pooch on the feminist category, they've just poked us wimmins in the collective eye again by naming ProWomanProLife Best New Blog.

Yeah, 'new' as in astroturfed newly minted right around the time Ken Epp decided fetuses needed rights. See PWPL's category on C-484. Lotta support there for it.

And it got 596 votes? The second-place winner got 161. Total votes: 1009. I smell freeping. . .

Feminism: ur doing it rong

Dammit Janet and Jeeze Louise. What the hell is so difficult about feminism?

There are two stupid snits going on right now in the Canadian blogosphere both demonstrating that, as Barbie would say, 'feminism is hard!'

Snit One: the annual clusterf*ck over a feminist category at the Canadian Blog Awards. First, the nominations were freeped. Then, an 'outside expert' with cred in 'Women's Studies' was called on to cull them, during which Noted Feminist Blogger and Vicious Abortion Crusader, JJ at Unrepentant Old Hippie, got booted.

Luckily -- and it must have been sheer luck -- the winner, Shameless, is not only a good read but is also actually Feminist.

If your head hasn't met your desk in a while, go read the discussion here in which we feminazis are being given a lesson in 'inclusive' feminism that apparently should include people who say 'I am not a feminist'.

Snit Two: SUZY ALLCAPS gave the world a dazzling display of her pre-xmas Xian charity in a five-part rant about evul feminazism that JJ, the Insufficiently Feminazi, blogged about here, which in turn inspired our deBeauxOs to respond.

One of ALLCAPS's biggest boogeywomen is Status of Women Canada, or as SHE dubs it, SOW, complete with a logo sporting a lipsticked pig. Again, the Sadly Lacking in Feminist Cred, JJ, took HER on here.

Then, Canadian Cynic got into it. There's a link to the idiocy going on in HER comments here.

All I can say is: Oy.

BONUS (USian) SNIT: Go read matttbastard on a Merkin so-called progressive who demonstrates a narsty streak of bitchiness.

First, kill all the economists ....*

At Canadian Cynic, there's an exercise in compare and contrast. Stevie Harper, during the fall election campaign, did and said pretty much just about anything to get a much lusted-after majority. But now ...?

Remember the advice Stevie offered after his little performance at the Canadian Club in Toronto on October 8th, during an interview with Peter Mansbridge?

Economists may now occupy the most hated professionals niche that once belonged to lawyers. Double whammy if you're an economist AND a politician known for betraying your promises and lying through your teeth.

Update: Accidental Deliberations goes further in demonstrating how for Stevie, it's never about his own professional or personal accountability but, but, but about the Librulz.:

* with apologies to William Shakespeare.

Attractive Victims

I have never (knock wood) been a crime victim. It occurs to me though that my 'sell-by' date as a victim is probably past. In fact, I'm probably way closer to the middle-aged, incoherent, probably-having-a-nervous-breadown end of the scale than to the female, blonde, teenaged shopper end.

Gary Mason in today's Globe has a thought experiment of his own:

Just imagine if Joe Canadian were tasered in, oh, I don't know, let's say the Bangkok airport.

And Joe Canadian died.

Imagine that the Thai police took nine months to complete their investigation, an investigation that included a trip to Canada to look into Joe's past.

And in the end, they decided not to prosecute the police officers involved.

Their report says Joe died because he drank too much and suffered from a flying phobia, which combined to weaken his system and made him vulnerable when he was blasted with 50,000 volts of electricity.

Imagine how Canadians would react to a report like that.

Yeah. Imagine that.

It looks like there's no "fun" in fundamentalists.

It’s a rare moment when a RepubliCon wannabe pundit hits the right funny note. As observed at Canadian Cynic, this is not one of those moments. Why are Con sycophants tone-deaf, when it comes to playing in the scale of wit and humour? They persist in banging out flat, discordant notes in the misguided belief that they are amusing. Besides the glaring spelling mistakes, errors in fact, and mis-use of the word ‘satiate’ (unless the meaning intended is "to supply with anything to excess, so as to disgust or weary"), is there anything remotely interesting in the Blogging Tories' head cheerleader

Stephen Taylor's plodding piece?

Sandra Buckler as a Senator? Wouldn’t that force her to leave her job in the lucrative lobbyist industry?

As for Québec, surely there must be one or two decrepit Union Nationale relics to be found, not yet 75, who could keep the Senate seats warm for future RepubliCon appointments.

Yup, it sure looks like there's no "fun" in fundamentalists. But then, was there ever?

After snark: Bill Shatner is one of the senatorial candidates suggested by Stephen "Stevie" Taylor. Will he share his crowning glory secrets with Mike Duffy?

A Soulmate for ALLCAPS

ALLCAPS has a soulmate in anti-feminism, Yaakov Schlusser, chairman of Israel's Men's Rights Party.

Despite having flunked out of the past three elections, the Men's Rights in the Family Party has decided to offer itself up to the Israeli voter once again this year due to fears that "the feminists are destroying the country."
. . .
"Seeing as we live in an extremist feminist state, the entire system is unjust, including the courts, welfare services, the police, and the government," he told Ynet. "The feminists are destroying every good part of this country. A country that doesn't respect its men has no right to exist."
. . .
Schlusser claims that last year his party received 4,200 votes, a far cry from the previous year's 1,250 and enough to plant them in 20th place.
. . .
Despite his views, he claims he is not a chauvinist. "The claims that I am a chauvinist are demagoguery. I love women and support relationships, my mother was a woman and I have a daughter," he said. "I'm not against women but nature has rules: The man should be on top, there should not be equality.

(I was a tad leery of this story, so I checked. There is a Wiki entry on it and it has a rather minimal website, unfortunately for me, all in Hebrew. There are also several other news stories on it.)

Israel has proportional representation. I checked to see what the election threshold is there. It's 2%. (By contrast, it's 5% in Germany and New Zealand, 10% in Turkey.) So if only 2% of Israelis vote for this yutz guy, the Men's Rights Party could have a seat in the Knesset!

No wonder the nutbar fringe parties here are keen on proportional representation.

A Real Compliant and Malleable Doll™

Via feministing and The Globe and Mail, a news item about a female robot.

Mr. Trung's next goal for Project Aiko is to get her walking. But that would cost thousands of dollars. Until an investor comes calling, he plans to keep working on what he calls his biggest achievement to date.

"She can work 24 hours, no break, no pay and she won't ask for a raise," he says. "That's okay for a home budget."

There is no doubt in my mind that the business vultures are circling the Brampton, Ontario inventor of this robot at this very moment, offering him lucrative incentives to sell them his product so they can further develop her, repackage her and market her as the ultimate sexually abusable sex toy. For more information about this industry, check out Real Doll™ and BoyToy™.

And once the buyers of this robot get bored with inflicting various violent acts upon her and not obtaining the thrill that terror-filled eyes, screams and blood can procure them, they will move on to live human victims. And keep the robot to clean up after their mess, of course.

The Ugly Face of Anti-Feminism

No, I don't mean the desiccated Phyllis Schlafly, even though she does play the role of the designated anti-feminism poster-hag quite efficiently.

What I'm thinking about is Blob Blogging Wingnut's screed in 5 parts. By the way, that's a link to unrepentant old hippie's post about HER 'oover'.

HER ongoing attacks on feminism have become so predictably, tediously and pathetically stupid that it’s no longer a challenge or even fun to spoof HER. It would be like laughing at someone with Tourette’s syndrome. SHE can’t stop HERSELF, it is - along with HER zygote zealotry - an obsessive compulsive disorder.

Nonetheless, it's irritating to know malevolent fallacies and odious fabrications like HERS are floating in the blog-o-sphere.

Recently, I spent four days with a colleague who volunteers a bit of her time with an organization that I work for. She invited and welcomed me into her family (and her guest room) while I was working in her city.

My colleague is a stay-at-home mom with 2 daughters, one in first grade, the other a toddler. She’s a feminist who is happy to acknowledge that she's reaping the benefits of the activism my generation (and those who followed) did that allows her to be at home with her daughters. She feels that her commitment is recognized as valued and validated work because it is a choice, and NOT an obligation. There is joy, goodness, dedication and love that radiates from every activity she does for and with her daughters. There is no time in her busy days or nights for the type of bile that Blob Blogging Wingnut regularly regurgitates.

It's interesting that I've never felt or sensed the quality of nurturing, generosity and altruism in Blob Blogging Wingnut’s writing that my colleague expresses in her dedication to her family and community. At BBW's place, it’s always about HER, HER petty grievances, HER stifled creativity, HER disinformation and lies, HER screeds and HER shrieeekkking.

My stay-at-home-mom colleague chose what appears to be conventional family circumstances on the surface. Yet she had a multiplicity of career options that she discarded for the path that she has chosen while her children are young. And I suspect that when her daughters have grown into autonomous, self-reliant and competent young women, several dynamic possibilities will open to her as she is a skilled, accomplished and talented communicator.

Somehow I can't help but sense that in the case of BBW, it's MASSIVE sour grapes; SHE is bitter and resentful that HER belief in the supremacy of biology and the ideological tenets of the Roman Catholic Church does not make HER happier than the feminists SHE constantly reviles.

Reproductive Rights and the Obama Transition

I was going to write something snarky about fetus fetishists being given their marching orders when I saw this headline, 'Pro-Abortion Groups Issue 55-Page Marching Orders for Barack Obama Admin', at Life Shite.

But the story is much more interesting, encompassing government transparency, agenda-setting, and public policy debate.

A pro-choice coalition submitted a reproductive rights wish-list to the Obama transition team. Apparently, they weren't expecting it to be made public, but it has been at Obama's transition website.

You can download the document and comment on it here.

The LifeShite piece had a link to it, obviously expecting the flying monkeys to get busy frothing and shrieeeking there in the comments. Thus, 'marching orders' in its own title was a tad, um, you know, the usual for the lying liars.

There are now over 125 comments, and mirabile dictu, not many of them are from frothers.

And there is an interesting piece about the release of the wish-list and the benefits (or not) of public consultation like this at RH Reality Check.

Government transparency. Public consultation. Wow. We need to get ourselves some of that up here.

UPDATE: That link to the Reproductive Rights page at change.gov now seems to be to an older version. And trying the link at RH Reality Check gives an error message. Hmmmm. I'll check back later.

UPDATE 2: I think the link is correct now.

Vatican: 'Morning-After Pill Does NOT Cause Abortions'

The Vatican has just released a big honking document on all sorts of panty-sniffing life and death matters.

Amid all the usual 'thou shalt nots', there's this stunning admission:

As a result, the Vatican said it opposed the morning-after pill, even if it doesn‘t cause an abortion, because an abortion was "intended."

Using terms like 'interception' and 'contragestion', the Vatican document does NOT call the morning-after pill an abortifacient.

You can read the whole thing at LifeShite, which is kinda ironic since nearly every reference to the morning-after pill there is prefaced by the phrase 'abortion-causing'.

Sheesh. When the Vatican won't toe the line on your lying lies propaganda, what's a fetus fetishist to do?

Hello, my dears. It is I, BLANCHE, coming to you this fine evening from the far side of the nation, where, right now, the western sky is streaked with shades of peach and apricot and the mountains look blue-black against a light pewtering sky. Street lights have come on..yes, we have streetlights...no sidewalks, mind you, but streetlights...

It is with no sense of shame at all I admit that for much of my loooooooong life I have enjoyed the cheesiest, sleasiest, silliest of "horror" flicks. Hey, they're better than what passes for "comedy". I have munched popcorn through several versions of the blob (Steve McQueen's was best!), and have seen various zombie incarnations. None quite as chilling as the one which is parading it's pallid self in front of the TV cameras in Ottawa these past couple'a days.

It had to be Icky , didn't it? When you've chosen a deliberate downward slide, then who else but Icky? Lord knows Chretien had his moments and his non moments, but then we had the frozen faced wotzisname, the guy with his own navy, the guy who so loved Canada he registered all his boats elsewhere. I thought they'd scraped the bottom of the barrel for him but no, down down down to Dion, poor little guy, just could not quite manage to believe a word he managed to say. And I did, I truly did think that was as low as they could go. I expected Bob Ray, or Rae, or however they spell it. Rae I think. I thought they'd get him, he might be a turncoat but at least he is sellable. Well, a bit, anyway. But no, firmly fixated on the downward slope they've gone for Icky. He stands there and before he says word one I'm in hysterics because I remember "The Night Of The Living Dead" and the zombie who lurched toward the camera growling "bring more brains". Well, yeah.

I gotta tellz ya, it's been a couple of weeks. My grrrrrrrrrrls have moved back to Tahsis and the glee has not even slowed, let alone stopped. In Tahsis they are within minutes of the municipal Rec Centre (those of us past a certain age refer to it as the Wreck Centre). These grrrrrrrls have barely dried out in time to join the K-3 class each day. Tomorrow is "dinner and a movie" and for minimal fee they get raw veggies with an assortment of dips, pizza (or hot dogs or...), a bag of popcorn and a drink, then get to sit together to watch a video provided free of charge by the people who operate the gas station (and video rental).

What do they care that the Liebrals chose Icky. They'll care even less when the newly elected mayor and council spring for a big screen on which to watch the latest Shrek. Penguins are big, too. And mice who cook wonderful meals.

Icky doesn't look as if he could cook a meal. He doesn't look as if he has eaten in weeks. How can a man with hair so black have skin so pale? Do they hang him upside down in the closet, like a bat? Or do they store him, head down, in the umbrella stand?

I have this suspicion Icky will do more to destroy the coalition than the other gob, the ever widening King stevie.

Down down down, just like in the old Alka Seltzer commercial. Or was it Bromo Seltzer. Down down down the stomach through, down down down it's good for you... but it isnt' good for any of us and relief isn't just a swallow away. We've got Icky. Or we've got Steve.

Talk about a choice between being fried and being boiled!! Wish the little firebrand who said that originally was still around.

Ah well. We shall pass this way but once so let us leave a wide swath in our wake. Or at least slice off a few heads. Never too many zombies and other assorted undead.

The Shrieeeek Watch! (Part 2 in an endless series)

Today's Shrieeeeek Watch turned this up.

The Catholic News Agency has knotted knickers over this:

Obama 'proud' to have homosexual band march in inaugural parade

Oooooh. 'Proud'?!?! Obama is 'proud'?!?! Isn't that what those homosecksuals call themselves?!?!

The Lesbian and Gay Band Association says:

We are extremely pleased to announce that the Lesbian and Gay Band Association will be included as a marching contingent in the Inaugural Parade. This is the first time that an LGBT group will be represented in a Presidential Inaugural Parade, truly our chance to make history.

This should be fun to watch. Watch this space for upcoming YouTube.

Well at least she complained first

So says Eddy at Freak Dominion with a link to Today's (well so far; it's about 10:30 a.m. EST) Moment of Harpo-cracy.

Deb Grey will be awarded the Order of Canada on December 12.

"The Order of Canada is a great honour, since its inception in 1967," she attested. "It has traditionally been an honour that has united the country by celebrating the achievements of people in all regions, under many categories. Unfortunately, Morgentaler has been more of a divider than a unifier in Canada.”

Grey expressed her gratitude that her own mother had not aborted her, and pointed out the irony that Morgentaler was appointed to the Order on her birthday. "He was appointed on my birthday - July 1,” she said. “I am very grateful my mother did not meet up with him. She gave me life - the most precious gift of all.”

Grey concluded that despite her disappointment with the Morgentaler appointment, "I will accept and celebrate my appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada, even though I disagree with his appointment. I suspect he may disagree with mine!"

Rats. I just checked Wikipedia for Dr. Morgentaler's birthdate. Yup. It was too much to hope for. His birthday is March 19.

The 12 Gays of Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like your late December religious festival of pagan∕judeo∕christian origins, especially if your festivities includes Village People-like prancers and flouncers performing a divinely exuberant choreography inspired by Riverdance and A Chorus Line. 

Lessons about Feminism from a Virulent Feminist Hater

Via small dead brains, we find out that self-righteous rightwing political zealots never spare the hyperbole when they deign to shrieeekkk about sexism.

Never mind that this one gets downright hissy when it's pointed out to him the faux outrage he claims in the name of women's rights, regarding a 'sexual assault' he compares to the gang rape depicted in "The Accused" is actually a disgraceful, dumb and drunken gesture directed at a cardboard figure.

For which an apology has been issued.

It is so instructive how right-wing ideologues such as Andrew Breitbart trivialize the real, harmful and life-threatening violence that is done to girls and women when they use their deliberately wrong-headed understanding of feminism as a weapon to batter their political opponents.

The pic of Breitbart was found at LoneStarBear.

The Shrieeeeek Watch!

I got this idea from JJ, who today directs her readers to Slap Upside the Head.

Slap reports on one of Canada's shriieeeekiest outfits thus:

David Quist, the executive director of the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada lobby group, has said that Ottawa should reject a UN declaration opposing the criminalization of homosexuality.

I have two additions to today's Shrieeeek Watch.

First, from the gang who took over 400 years to take Galileo off their shit-list, lightning speed from the Catlicks, who are only six months en retard on this.

A Roman Catholic group is returning Orders of Canada bestowed on two priests to protest a decision to award the honour to Dr. Henry Morgentaler.

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate says it is returning the honours given to Father Anthony Sylla of Edmonton in 1971 and to Father Michael Smith of Toronto in 1979.

How many returned Orders is that now? Even including those from the post-dead?

Second, from The Department of Tenuous Connections That Only Rabid Fetus Fetishists Can Make, LifeShite has this shrieeek:

An attorney who won an award for representing Terri Schiavo’s husband Michael in his efforts to kill his disabled wife is now an advisor to the transition team of incoming president Barack Obama.

Thomas Perrelli, who raised over $500,000 for the pro-abortion presidential candidate and is the managing partner of a Washington law firm, Jenner & Block LLP, is helping advise Obama on putting together a Justice Department team.

Oh no! A lawyer! With former clients! One of whom was married to a vegetable! Advising the most abortion-lovingest president evah!

Ah, Sunday. We have some light cloud cover broken by beautiful patches of blue, and the sun is burning off the fog and sea mist which only partially obscures the bluffs across the river. Two littles are having breakfast: do not think in terms of cereal or porridge, set aside any memories of scrambled eggs and toast, the little grrrrrrrrrls decided they wanted chicken noodle soup and BLANCHE is a sucker for a hug and a lovely smile. BLANCHE decided to give them what they want. Seems to me if they don't get what they want now, when they're small, vulnerable and basically helpless, they might never know what it feels like to get what they want. And if they don't know what it feels like they might start to think NOT getting what you want is how it's supposed to be. Which could encourage them to accept whatever shite gets poured on their heads. In which case they might well grow up to accept any kind of shithouse political party and vote Con, which would, in fact, put a crack in BLANCHES' own heart, one which might never scar up but gape for all time.

So I made chicken noodle soup, and they have packed it away happily. Now they know how it feels to state your case, convince the stove nazi (me) and get what you want.

The furor seems to be dying down quite nicely. I must confess BLANCHE has been unmoved by most of it. I suspect geographically I live closer to China than I do to Ottawa. Certainly this past while I have FELT closer to almost anywhere you could name than I have felt to Ottawa. I kept getting cold shudders up my spine at the mere thought of Dion as PM. I'm sorry, but the guy is Canada's answer to Sominex and could put us all to sleep in no time flat. And with him at the helm where could the ship of state go but nowhere at all? Jack, well, hey, I'm not a fan of Smilin' Jack. He talks and has the believability of Howdie Doody. He speaks and I look for the teleprompter. And we all know there is no way in hell even the most cooperative coalition would entertain the idea of putting MY guy in the driver's seat. And yet, really , Duceppe is the only one who should have been given the chance.

BLANCHE sat out here on the very edge of everything and watched Harper's supporters froth and foment about "separatists" and it made me wonder why it is so absolutely anathema that Quebec demand the same things the Alberta-first crowd demands? Why is it treason when Quebec threatens to go it alone but it isn't treason when Westerners say the same thing.

But before I could get fraught, or even merely obsessed, I felt this entirely Canadian reaction take hold of my body. And I yawned. I did not feel the country was falling apart. I knew in my heart the Rocky Mountains would remain intact, the Great Lakes might be full of pollution but they would still be there when the noise subsided, and though the Arctic ice is shrinking, it is still there and would be regardless what transpired in front of the TV cameras.

There has been criticism of Michaëlle Jean's decision to prorogue. I think she did the right thing. She just sent them all off to their rooms to cool down. Well, if you can't play without fighting like ferrets you can each go to your room and sit there and think about things.

BLANCHE has done that with several generations. It works well. On those rare occasions when it doesn't work, BLANCHES' next move is down with the jeans and three whacks on the bare rump. There. Did you hear THAT? If you want to fight with someone, try fighting with me. Now BEHAVE PROPERLY!

That one has seldom failed.

Stevie needs his butt cheeks warmed for acting like a bully. Dion needs his butt cheeks warmed for insisting he wouldn't cooperate unless he could be boss of the sandbox. Jack needs his butt cheeks warmed for giving in to Dion and for seeming to forget there were women's issues to support and Duceppe needs his butt cheeks warmed because it wouldn't be fair to spank only three of them when there were four in the roiling mess.

Now go back to your room, sit on your spanked backsides, and ponder. There is one very inflexible rule and don't forget it: NOT IN THE HOUSE! You want to act like uncivilized jerks, take it outside.

And Michaëlle did well. Because Barak Obama is setting before the world his plans to try to do something about the economic mess. And all four of the bad little boys can take notes. My prediction is it will be Stevie who comes forward with the closest copy of Barak's plan. It gives him one of the few chances he will ever get to distance himself somewhat from Bush's butt crack, which is where his nose has been for the past several years. The others are more apt to try to adapt Barak's plan to something they've already had in mind. Stevie will just copy holus bolus.

He knows he hasn't "won". He hasn't "won" anything at all. He had to run to the Nanny and get her to save his bacon. Without her he would have been out of a job. And BLANCHE could live with that! Ohmigawsh, yes, BLANCHE would have no trouble at all with that. In fact , I could probably sit next to Mme. Dafarge and help her knit shrouds for the beheaded royals!

It's the mess that would have followed I wouldn't have liked. Because neither Jack nor Dion should sit where Stevie once sat. And until they grow up enough to put Gilles there, the seat should remain empty. Duceppe is the only one who has remained loyal to his beliefs and to his constituency. The other two were just game-playing, tap dancing in the spotlight and caving in shamelessly in the wings.

Better-Dressed Boomers

I attended the rally in support of the coalition at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto today. So did John LaForet, who has pictures and video.

(This person was at the Queen's Park event in support of the Conservatard version of fascism democracy. S/He has pictures too.)

The pro-coalition event was fun. Mary Walsh was there. Lots of people, babies in strollers, one very frail-looking woman in a scooter with an attendant. But man, were we boomers in evidence. Lots and lots and lots of grey hair.

Near the end, a band set up and Sweetie and I were good and cold, so we split.

Along with a bunch of other coalition rally attendees, we walked north on University Avenue. Coming towards us were more grey-haired people, many with mingey little Canadian flags. (We were carrying our COALITION OUI signs.) It started to dawn on us that these were probably people from the pro-fascism government rally. I don't know what my expression was conveying, but it seemed to me that the people coming towards us eyed us rather warily.

We cut out westward before we actually got to Queen's Park. So my sample of pro-fascism government rally attendees was pretty small. But I'll say this -- they were better dressed than us.

I hear that Peter Kent addressed the pro-fascism government rally. But he would, wouldn't he?

ETA: Queer Thoughts is posting a series of videos from the rally. This first one is Mary Walsh.

ETA 2: I just remembered something. At the rally, we were asked to observe a minute of silence for the women murdered in Montreal 19 years ago and the more than 600 women murdered since. So, we were silent. But the music for the skating continued. It was Janis Joplin. Tough broad.

Westminster Model 101

Could this be any clearer?

No. I didn't think so either.

Here's how it ends (emphasis mine):

Though Parliament is now prorogued, when it resumes in January, the Governor General still could not simply agree to a dissolution without first satisfying herself that no alternative government is possible without an election. Given the $300-million cost of an election held only seven weeks ago, and given the magnitude of a looming financial crisis, the Governor General would be justified -- indeed, required -- to canvass all options, including the one proposed by Dion and Layton, assuming it is still on the table. This is one of the few areas where the Governor General has real discretionary power -- not to use it would be an abdication and reduce the office to a mere cipher. It would also mean that, hereafter, minority prime ministers would be free -- as Eugene Forsey once said -- to act as though the electors have simply got their arithmetic wrong and must be put through elections over and over again until they get it right.

h/t LuLu at Canadian Cynic

Emphasis on Peace and Order. Good Government? Not So Much.

Well, one good thing came out of this constitutional totally manufactured crisis -- my kitchen floor got washed. I was so antsy waiting for the GG's verdict that I had to do something.

So, like everyone else with more than one functioning neuron, I think this is a terrible precedent. And I really really really hate it that Stevie 'won'. There is no more disgusting sight than a gloating bully.

But I've chilled a bit. And now I think that this decision is soooo Canadian. I think the GG weighed how loud the shrieeeeking would have been in the various scenarios and I think she went for least shrieeeekiest.

Think about it.

Coalition? Horrible hateful divisive well-financed shrieeeking from the Right.

Immediate election? Mewling and whining and grumbling from Everywhere.

Prorogation? Huffing and puffing and head-shaking from Political Elites and Sandal-Wearing Lefties.

Really. This is how we do things in Canada.

Damp Squib

Well, the title up there says it all really.

Like, so, like, so, what was the point of that? As a business acquaintance said today, who's he talking to? What if Michaelle was watching a Friends rerun? Isn't she the only person in the country with anything to actually do about this so-called crisis?

There was no 'call to action'. You gotta have a 'call to action'. You know, 'order now', 'riot now', 'kick a sovreignist now'.

Utterly pointless.

Dion was OK. Jack *sigh* was Jack.

No. I Won't.

Like a lot of us, I've been obsessively reading the MSM and blogs on both sides of the coalition kerfuffle. And an odd thing happened today: I disagreed with a blogger I respect immensely and I agreed with a Blogging Tory I've never read before.

First, the disagreement. Impolitical wants us to write to the G-G in support of the coalition.

I'm not going to.

The Governor-General should NOT be influenced by anyone. In our funny system, the Governer-General is apart. Apart. Not political, not influenceable. She has a job to do and I expect her to do it to the best of her judgement and ability. It is an insult to the office and position to try to influence her decision. And before someone with a long memory reminds me that I encouraged people to write to the G-G on the Morgentaler decision, I point out that that was after the decision had been made.

Now the agreement. A Blogging Tory is taking crap at his (?) site for writing:

Rally For Canada is Wrong
The idea of holding mass protests to try and subvert British parliamentary tradition is wrong in principle and wrong in practice. This is the kind of thing the left and right did in France in the 1930's to delegitimize a constitutional government.

. . .

So, don't do it; don't 'Rally For Canada.' The dangers are too great, the partisan advantage too little.

We have a Parliamentary democracy in Canada, not mob rule.

It is already ugly in the media, the House, and the blogosphere. The Conservatives are trying to paint their opponents as 'traitors'.

Cameron at Peterborough Politics reports on a rally and counter-rally in Peterborough today.

The Peterborough This Week also had a short write up on their site, along with video that was quite frankly disturbing. At the 25 second mark of the "This Week" video, you actually hear the highly partisan crowd chant "traitors" and "traitors to Canada", which are obviously just so helpful to this situation. This is sure evidence that the Conservatives are trying to sow the seeds of division, and are obviously not the least bit interested in working with the other parties. It's the politics of division at it's most craven and self serving, with no obvious shame or remorse. Nothing new, but taking it up to a whole new level.

What the coalition is trying to do is entirely legitimate. I wrote to the only person I voted for -- my MP -- to tell her that I support the coalition. That is all I can do.

The die is cast and we'll have to see how it plays out.

The Conservatives are desperate lying scum and are trying to corrupt the system. I will not participate in any further corruption. I will continue to write and opine, but I will not bother the G-G or lend my presence to any kind of mob, even a 'good' one.

Bring In the West

There is, I think, one legitimate concern with the coalition. Not insurmountable, but legit.

The lack of western representation.

As others have ably pointed out, the shrieeeking over the 'seperatists' (often spelled like that just to drive me, personally, insane) is nonsensical. Ditto the shrieeeking over the 'socialists' (they can spell that one).

But it is true that the coalition needs some voices from western Canada.

So. There must be some red(dish) Tory MPs from the western provinces. (Anybody know?)

Or how about some Progressive Conservative Senators?

This handy list shows Senators alphabetically and includes the province/riding, year of appointment, and name of appointer.

There are four from the west appointed by Mulroney: Janis Johnson and Terry Stratton from Manitoba, Gerry St. Germain from BC, and David Tkachuk from Saskatchewan. (True, none from Alberta.)

The Big Brains should round up some sensible westerners and include them.

There. You're welcome.

The ignorant, the zealots and the haters will reveal themselves.

Earlier this evening, a Radio-Canada journalist was trying to interview Dimitri Soulas, the PM's media spokesman. Michel Picard, I think it was, became increasingly frustrated with Soulas' evasiveness and his overbearing rote declarations that ran roughshod over the reporter's attempts to get him to actually answer the questions asked.

The speaking points issued by Harper play over and over again in a never-ending audio loop, emerging from those who still march to his beat.

On discussion boards and blogs, such as those associated to Stephen Taylor's Blogging Tories, Harper supporters - the knuckle draggers, the religious ideologues and the lunatics have been free-styling and embellishing the party line.

Over the last four days, they have been savaging members of Parliament and the political parties who were elected by Canadians to serve them and govern their country.

Next they will direct their ignorance, their zealotry and their hate towards Governor General Michaëlle Jean. She is a woman, she is of Haïtian ancestry and she is progressive. She is also the most powerful person in Canada at the moment, invested with the legal and political potential to determine who will be governing our country in the year to come.

Pay attention to what they'll write about her, the lies they'll concoct, the venom they'll spew, the rage they'll direct towards this intelligent, powerful woman who represents the sum of all their irrational and toxic fears.

Why do I feel like lighting a cigarette?

Perhaps it's the craving one traditionally gets after the intense courtship (between 3 progressive political parties) and the frenzied sprint of multiple progblogposts have reached a satisfying climax.

ahhhh.

By the way, I don't even smoke.

Freakin' Funny Feminism

I know, I know, I shouldn't do this. But go have a look who made the final cut in the Canadian Blog Awards' Feminist category.

Then go check out Choice for Childcare. Look at her blogroll and what she herself has to say about her nomination.

I guess the word 'choice' in the blog title confused the person with the Women's Studies background, eh? Or maybe it was all the Pepto-Bismol Pink*.

In any event, it's pretty freakin' funny. LuLu in the comments at Canadian Cynic has a pithy remark.

In all the recent hullaballoo about coalitions and whatnot, our Write-In Poll: You Know You're NOT a Feminist When . . . kinda got lost in the shuffle. If you're feeling clever -- or just exasperated -- add your own brilliant snark comment.

*From Wikipedia link:

Ingesting Pepto-Bismol may cause feces, as well as the tongue, to become dark green or black for several days.