Stewart and Colbert WIN!

In dueling rallies, numbers count. And the numbers are now in.

The numbers are in on Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, and it appears that a whopping 215,000 people attended the gathering Saturday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The crowd estimate was supplied by AirPhotosLive.com, who was commissioned by CBS News. The company, which based the estimate on aerial pictures taken over the rally, said there is a margin of error of 10 percent.

The last time a group rallied on the national mall was this summer when Fox News commentator Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally drew an estimated 87,000 attendees, according to AirPhotosLive.com.

Kinda irrefutable since the same outfit surveyed each rally. (Dandy picture of the Beck rally at the link. Maybe they'll put up one of the Sanity rally alongside at some point.)

In addition, Comedy Central says that 4 million people watched online.

But still people tell porky pies.

The National Park Service is estimating that the crowds numbered “well over 200,000″. 

Forbye the fact that the blogger is correct in the number, a commenter immediately calls him or her out on the source.

Um… the National Park Service doesn’t do official estimates. It hasn’t done that for the past decade ever since the organizers of the Million Man March successfully sued them. Where did you get that obviously incorrect story from?

Last word to Faux News with a fairly anodyne report under this headline:

Stewart's Rally for 'Sanity' Draws Insane Crowd

It has garnered more than 1600 comments, most idiotic, but some sane.

And in bonus good news, the rally raised a whack of dough for some good and apolitical causes.

Rally to Restore Sanity: Jon Stewart's Closing Speech

Rally to Restore Sanity

I saw only the last 15 or so minutes of it and missed this piece of genius.

Let's make it go viral.





I'll put up other bits as I find them. What I saw was quite wonderful.


ADDED: Funny signs from the Huffington Post.

Who's Nuttier?

Here in Canada our rightwingnutz go insane over people dressed like this:



While in the US, a judge just ruled that people can VOTE dressed like this:

Still Stringing the Fetus Fetishists Along

LifeShite is reporting that The Stringing Fetus Fetishists Along Bill will get its first hour of debate next Monday.

Bill C-510 is bathetically styled 'Roxanne's Law' after a woman who was NOT -- contrary to the lying liars' claim -- murdered because she refused to have an abortion.

On Monday, Rod Bruinooge and his merry band of misogynists will no doubt spout a bunch of bullshit about the MASSIVE numbers of women coerced into abortion.

Alas, to no avail. Stevie Spiteful has already nixed the deal.

There will be another hour of debate in December then a vote.

Then we'll be done with this round of Kicking Abortion's Ass.

Until the next one.

Canadian Blog Award Winners

The winners of the Canadian Blog Awards have been revealed.

In the spanky new and belatedly added Feminism Category:

1st – News of the Restless

2nd – Broadsides

3rd – Dammit Janet

That was fun, wasn't it?

We look forward to next year when feminism will be included from the beginning.

And it will be.

Meanwhile, isn't it time for the Second Annual Bionic Liberal Blog Awards?

Pot. Kettle.

This cracked me up.

Yesterday we posted about a viral video clip of people walking on water that that a local news team mistook for being true. Today we’ve got another story to go in the “always check your sources” file. The Sensacionalista, a Brazilian satirical news site (think a low-scale Onion written in Portuguese), posted a story last week about an American woman who claimed she was impregnated by a 3D porn film. The quirky joke was soon being reported all over the internet as fact. And, this time, it wasn’t just some local affiliate news program that got duped; the popular tech site Gizmodo took the bait as well!

Go read the whole hilarious thing.

Mediaite is sure right about this:

The funniest part of the whole incident is the tone that most of these news articles took in reporting the story. Nearly every one insulted the “husband” for being stupid enough to believe such a ridiculous tale.

Now what is it they say about the pot calling the kettle black?

Reminder: The Assassination of Dr Tiller

Tonight, 9 p.m. EDT.

The Oxford Comma

From Jeff Weintraub, the one-too-few comma problem.

The documentary was filmed over three years. Among those interviewed were his two ex-wives, Kris Kristofferson and Robert Duvall.

As opposed to the one-too-many comma problem.

Like Mr Weintraub, I don't understand why the final serial comma has fallen out of favour.

It is also known as the 'Oxford comma'.

The Oxford Style Manual, 2002, Chapter 5, section 5.3 Comma

For a century it has been part of OUP style to retain or impose this last serial (or series) comma consistently, [...] but it is commonly used by many other publishers both here and abroad, and forms a routine part of style in US and Canadian English. [...] Given that the final comma is sometimes necessary to prevent ambiguity, it is logical to impose it uniformly, so as to obviate the need to pause and gauge each enumeration on the likelihood of its being misunderstood – especially since that likelihood is often more obvious to the reader than the writer. (pp. 121–122)

Promote disambiguation!

A Match Made in . . .

. . . FetusFetishist Heaven?


From Amanda Hess:

Randall Terry—he of the chain yourself to the sink of an abortion clinic, declare bankruptcy to avoid making legal payments to the National Organization for Women, run for Congress under the "Right to Life Party," hire a Bill Clinton impersonator to discredit your opponents, compare the University of Notre Dame to Judas, list your "three black foster children" on your resume, disown one for converting to Islam, disown another for becoming pregnant, disown the third for being gay, respond to George Tiller's murder by calling Tiller a murderer style of politics—is now officially campaign manager for D.C. congressional candidate Missy Smith.

Missy Smith's campaign seems to consist solely of running VERY graphic anti-abortion pr0n ads on local Washington, DC, telly stations, as they must do during elections.

Here's her biography from her equally graphic website:

As a post abortive woman she is a member of Silent No More and state leader of Operation Outcry. She started the Gabriel Project and Project Rachael [sic???]* in Washington D.C. at her parish church of Annunciation. Did a film called "How Can I Breathe ?" which ran on satelite [sic] television station EWTN for 2 1/2 years. Spoke at churches and schools. Gave interviews in newspapers and magazines on the trafficking of baby body parts. Does sidewalk counseling in front of the killing centers and gives sidewalk counseling training sessions. Is on the board of Lifeguard which is a front line organization committed to being the last line of resistence [sic] before a woman has her baby killed. Co-founded St. Anne's Helpers for Life to finance and support women in crisis pregnancies long term. Started a chastity program called "Chastity Programs International" when she realized that the foundation of the pro life movement was the return to the virtues of chastity and purity. Has lobbied congress and demonstrated against Obama, Biden and the USCCB against the support of legalized child killing. Has a radio show on National Pro Life Radio called "Chastity the New Sexual Revolution" for over two years that interviews the pro life heroes across the nation.

She's running on the Rethuglican ticket even though the party has NOT endorsed her. And she has not got funding from the rabidly anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List.

Yabbut, she's got nutbar Randall Terry, so it's all good.

* Not the best speller is she? Or maybe it's her campaign manager? Anyhoo, thre are several Project Rachels about, but no Project Rachael that I could find.

Encore, Catholic Persecution Complex

The monomaniacal Blob Blogging Wingnut rhetorically (and disingenuously) asks: "What is this all about?" in regard to the brutal attack suffered by Bishop David Monroe.

One wonders why someone so intimately familiar with mental disorders pretends not to understand that this assault is not a manifestation of what SHE claims to be a world-wide and MASSIVE persecution of Catholics.

But then, what would be the point of HER blogging?

Thundering Silence

Incredible. After years of um, what to call it? How about thundering misogyny acrimony?

After years of thundering acrimony over whether a category for feminist bloggers should be included in the Canadian Blog Awards, this year there is one and there has been not a peep about it in the blogosphere.

Well, except for three feminist bloggers, JJ, ck, and Bina. And here, of course.

No whining. No recriminations. No acknowledgement even.

Neither lefties nor righties have commented.

Have they not noticed? Don't care? Can't work up the grace to mention it?

I'm wondering if this has anything to do with our success -- finally -- this year.

Don't forget that you can vote in each category every 24 hours. But you have to go to a special page for the Feminist Category.

Any excuse for a party

The fetus fetishists are celebrating the fact that Rod Bruinooge's idiotic private member's bill, C-510, on 'coerced' abortion has NOT been deemed non-votable.

Despite the fact that it is toast. I'll spare you the creepy (is there any other kind?) photo of Soudas accompanying the article and quote:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will vote against a private member’s bill promoted by one of his own MPs that would add new Criminal Code penalties for those who coerce women to have an abortion.

A senior government official also says that while the prime minister will not “whip” or demand Conservative MPs vote as he votes, it will be “very strongly recommended” that Conservatives vote to defeat the bill.

Meanwhile, Mr. Harper’s communications director, Dimitri Soudas, says that recommendation is consistent with Harper’s position since 2002 on any bill dealing with abortion: He and his government will neither introduce nor support any such legislation.

“The government’s not going to initiate or support legislation on abortion,” Mr. Soudas said.

And despite the fact that the criteria for votable and non-votable items are pretty darn basic. (Scroll down at the link for details.)

Victimology from Feminist and Military Points of View

We at DAMMIT JANET! haven't (yet) commented on the Russell Williams flustercluck case. For now, go read AntoniaZ on the police mishandling of events and the need for an inquest and Dave at The Galloping Beaver on the revolting politicking Stevie Spiteful has squeezed out of it.

BONUS: More from Antonia.

Technology FAIL!

I mentioned the other day that I was using a borrowed computer -- sweetie's -- because my rig was in the hospital.

Got the diagnosis yesterday: logic board (mother board in PC-speak) meltdown. Some data saved, but new rig needed.

Arrrrggggghhhh.

I've been a Mac user since 1985 and the hospital is attached to the Mac store I've been patronizing since it opened in 1985. And it's around the corner from me. So I whipped out the credit card, bit the proverbial bullet, and bought the lowest-end IMac. Paid to have it delivered, but when they figured out how close I was, they decided to have a nice young man walk me home with my new rig on a two-wheel dolly.

'Wait til you see the stairs', I said to him. He saw the stairs. I added: 'There might be a few bucks for you at the top.' That was cool with him.

So I unpacked everything. Realized there were very few cables. Seems I have a wireless keyboard and a wireless mouse. Cool with me. No cats here.

Turned it around to start plugging stuff like printer in. Looked at ports. Something not right.

Some readers may remember that I am still on dial-up here. Mainly because I'm a cheapskate, but also because all I do here is work, email, surf, and blog. I can go to sweetie's for videos and whatnot.

Guess what. No port for phone plug.

I called nice young computer doctor -- we had bonded over my tragedy -- and confessed explained. There must be some kinda adapter, I said. He didn't know but would look and call me back.

Called back to say he had the device in his hand BUT it cost $80!!!!

Simple extortion. I won't bite.

All right.

Not quite kicking and screaming, I'm being dragged into the 21st century. Called my ISP and ordered high speed.

But that won't happen for 5 to 8 business days, they said.

So I called neighbour and begged to use her wireless connection at least to register new Mac. She said OK. (There's going to be a few bucks in that, too.)

I lost all old documents, old emails, email addresses. This is going to take a while to recover from.

But I did register, wrote this blogpost, and voted in the Feminist Category at the CBA. Remember that you can vote every 24 hours. I'm spreading my votes around the many excellent choices.

And that's the news from this corner of DJ!

Feminist Blogggers WIN!

For the first time ever, there is a Feminist Category in the Canadian Blog Awards!

This year's organizer, Jonathan Kleiman, starts out with a bit of an understatement:

In the past, there has been some disagreement about whether there should be a special category for Feminist blogs.

Boy howdy.

Just like that, feminist bloggers are through to the second and final round.

You can find links to the blogs here. And, of course, discover new and fun blogs.

Vote here. And vote for the other categories here.

You can vote once every 24 hours.

Vote and promote our WIN.

Aside to the boyos: See how easy that was?

The Boyos Will Let Us Play! UPDATED AGAIN

In the comments to my snark about the ongoing lack of a Feminism category in the Canadian Blog Awards, this year's organizer offered to put Feminism right into round two, if someone would provide him with a list of Canadian feminist bloggers.

I sent him to last year's F-Word Awards but those are just the winners, not all the nominees which would constitute a pretty good list of Canadian feminazis.

So, anybody got a list of nominees from last year? (I've emailed pale to ask.)

Failing that, we could make the list here.

I'll start:
A Creative Revolution, who, by hosting the F-Word Awards, put themselves out of the running for awards.

Unrepentent Old Hippie, who was deemed insufficiently feminist by last year's Special Expert.

Sister Sage.

Sabina at News of the Restless.

I'm on a borrowed computer and might get kicked off it, so that's all for now.

Please continue.

And many thanks to Jonathan Kleiman, obviously a peach of a fellow and our kind of guy.

UPDATE: Time being of the essence, I combined the finalists from the last F-Word Awards -- thanks, pale -- with the nominations here and sent it to Jonathan. There were 26 blogs altogether. THEN I read the rulz. Maximum 12 nominations. Uh-oh. Emailed him back and apologized. I don't know what will happen next, but I'll let you know when I do.

We feminazis are pains in the butt, aren't we. :D

MORE UPPITY-DATE: That Jonathan is fast! Here we go -- Feminist Blog Awards.

Who Knew? Canadian Blog Awards Are On Now

I totally missed it, but via Wise Law Blog I just found out that not only is the annual clusterfuck known as the Canadian Blog Awards on right now, it's in the second-round voting stage.

Drat! I was so looking forward to it -- especially the announcement of the categories. We at DAMMIT JANET always have so much fun with that.

So, here are the categories this year:

Best Overall

Best Blog Post

Chronic Illness

Collaborative/Multi-Author Blogs

Art, Crafts, Cooking and Other Creative Activities

Culture and Literature

Family

Food and Drink

French Language (Francais)

GBLT

Health

Humour

Law Blogs

Music

New Blogs

Personal

Political

Popular Culture

Professional Life

Religion and Philosophy

Science and Technology

Sports

Notice anything?

Yup. Yet again the progress of the Canadian Blog Awards towards anything remotely relevant has been retarded.

And I've gotta ask -- where was this publicized? I'm a pretty dedicated blog-reader and I haven't run across anything about it until today.

Making progress against fake pregnancy clinics

If you look hard, there are signs of sanity in the Excited States over abortion.

First up, Florida.

Since 2004, fake pregnancy clinics, aka 'crisis pregnancy centres', have been receiving state funding -- to the tune of $8 million so far.

The Florida Independent has taken an interest.

Last month, it reported on the lies these outfits tell.

Crisis Pregnancy Centers, funded by the state of Florida, are distributing brochures that suggest abortion causes mental illness, including depression, addiction and suicide. In the best case, the information handed out is biased; in the worst case, sources say, it is wrong.

Oh, and look whose work they're citing -- our pal David Reardon of the we-will-change-our-name-to-anything-a-really-big-donor-wants, Elliot Institute.

This brochure cites several authors — including, again, Reardon, an important source of information distributed by pregnancy centers.

“This situation reminds me of the religious-based abstinence-only sex education in public schools,” says Rob Boston, senior policy analyst for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “As a general rule, government should not be in the business of furthering religion.”

“Nobody disputes their right to exist, but if state money is involved we think they should be up front about their goals,” Boston adds.

Florida Pregnancy Care Network Executive Director Susan Grimsley would not answer questions about the brochures, directing all queries regarding the state crisis pregnancy program to the Department of Health.

Rob Hayes, the DOH of communications office, has indicated answers will be forthcoming, but after more than a week, The Florida Independent has not received any further response.

The Florida Independent stayed on the story. The Florida fake clinics are run by two groups, the nonprofit Florida Pregnancy Care Network and the for-profit Uzzell Group.

What the heck is the Uzzell Group? the Independent wondered. And looked into it.

The Florida Pregnancy Care Network manages 55 of these state-funded pregnancy clinics, but according to Department of Health information, another 17 are handled by The Uzzell Group, a Tallahassee-based marketing and advertising firm. Why is a marketing company managing pregnancy clinics? The firm wouldn’t answer our questions.

The Florida Independent spoke with Erica Uzzell, identified as the person in charge of The Uzzell Group’s clinics, how the company manages those pregnancy centers. She said, “Any questions about the program will be answered by the Department of Health communication office.” We were also told to visit the Uzzell website to learn more about the company. The site is currently being remodeled: There is no information there aside from a phone and fax number and an email address.

The story goes on to document all kinds of interesting ties between the Uzzells and the state of Florida. The couple seems to be, shall we say, very well connected politically. (The Uzzell website is still under construction.)

Staying with the story, last week the paper reported that the Department of Health has no fucking clue what is being done with taxpayer money.

Department of Health records obtained by The Florida Independent show that oversight of Florida’s state-funded crisis pregnancy clinic chain mainly rests in the hands of the two organizations contracted by the state to run those clinics — the nonprofit Florida Pregnancy Care Network and the for-profit Uzzell Group.

That means the Department of Health has little direct insight into how public money is being spent at 79 crisis pregnancy centers around the state, and if those dollars are being used to disseminate disputed science on abortion or to promote religious content.

Fishy, yes? But then, running fake clinics is an excellent racket, especially when the racketeers are feeding at the public trough.

Stay on it, Independent. I'll be following the story.

Next up, New York City.

Following the excellent lead taken by Baltimore and Austin, Texas, New York is going to force the fake clinics to tell the truth.

The City Council plans to unveil legislation Tuesday that would establish strict disclosure requirements for crisis-pregnancy centers, some of which, abortion-rights advocates charge, deceive women into believing they're full-serve reproductive health facilities by masking their antiabortion agenda.

The legislation, backed by Speaker Christine Quinn, would require the centers to disclose to clients that they do not provide abortion services or contraceptive devices, or make referrals to organizations that do. Centers that don't have licensed medical providers onsite would also have to disclose that information.

Great. Also on Tuesday NARAL Pro-Choice New York will release a year-in-the-making report on what they call the 'lies, manipulations and privacy violations' of these centres.

We've heard it all before, of course, but as progressive places investigate the lying liars and then act to restrict the damage they do, more people will hear about this form of fetus fetishizing racketeering.

Yo! Torontonians!

I'm getting bloody sick of all the election talk about Toronto being broken and dysfunctional.

Toronto is a great place and One Toronto has the facts.




Back here I said I was going the 'anyone but Rob Ford' route.

I've changed my mind. I'm voting for Joe Pantalone.

Simply, he's much the best choice out of a poor lot.

Besides, having thought about it, I can't vote for Smitherman. He has disgusted me since the adult diaper episode.

So, Torontonians, vote for Smitherman if you think he can beat Ford, but do get your butts out to vote. Election day is October 25, a week from this Monday.

This 'broken, dysfunctional' city has a dandy web page telling you everything you need to know. Just input your address and presto! your polling place, including advance polling place, pops up. Also all the info you need about ID and whatnot.

If you are going to be too busy or out of town, the last advance polling dates are today (Saturday) and Sunday.

And non-Torontonians, please encourage your Toronto friends and relations to get their butts out too.

You'll never guess. . .

. . . who's profiting from the abortion industry (as fetus fetishists like to style abortion providers).

Whackadoodle Rupublican teabagger, New York gubernatorial candidate, and staunch fetus fetishist Carl Paladino.

Turns out he is landlord to an abortuary Planned Parenthood clinic.

And that's not the end of his galloping hypocrisy.

Last week he got into hot water for his views on the gay agenda.

"I just think my children and your children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family, and I don't want them to be brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option. It isn't," said Paladino.

The remarks came right after Paladino said it was time to stop pandering to "pornographers and perverts."

Paladino, whose nephew is gay, outlined his views on gay issues at two separate events with religious leaders, saying he would veto any legislation that granted gays the right to marry.

"I oppose the homosexual agenda, whether they call it marriage, civil union or domestic partnership," said the Republican candidate.

And now we find that he's an enabler of said agenda. He was landlord to gay bars.

Go read more about this charming character, including his years-long history of sending racist and pornographic emails to his pals.

He allegedly sent:
- A video, send round ahead of president Barack Obama's signing in, entitled 'Obama Inauguration Rehearsal' showing an African tribesman dancing, and is apparently popular among white supremacists
- An e-mail with the subject line 'Proof the Irish discovered Africa' containing a video of monkeys that appear to be doing a Riverdance-style jig
- A bestiality video involving a horse and a woman

.
In other words -- he's a pervert and pornographer-enabler too.

Unless the good people of New York state have completely mislaid their collective wits, meet new Governor Andrew Cuomo, a real friend of gays and pro-choice too.

More on the Australian 'self-abortion' case

The bizarre Australian 'self-abortion case may be over, but its impact may be long lasting.

Queensland Council of Civil Liberties president Michael Cope said the jury had correctly represented society.

"[It was a] sensible decision by the jury," he said.

"It's always difficult to know what motivates a jury but I'm sure part of it was the common feeling that [Ms Leach and Mr Brennan] had been put through more than enough.

"One of the great things about juries is the history is that they have been prepared to deliver verdicts contrary to the law and this is what they have done in this case."

Canadian readers will immediately see the similarity to the trials of Dr Henry Morgentaler.

On June 1, 1970, Morgentaler was arrested in Montreal for performing illegal abortions. In 1972 he ran in the Federal Election in the riding of Saint-Denis as an independent, finishing fourth with 1,509 votes. Later in 1973 he claimed to have performed 5,000 illegal abortions. He was acquitted by a jury in the court case, but the acquittal was overturned by five judges on the Quebec Court of Appeal in 1974. He went to prison, appealed, and was again acquitted. In total, he served 10 months, suffering a heart attack while in solitary confinement. Morgentaler first went to the Supreme Court of Canada in an attempt to overturn the country's abortion law in Morgentaler v. The Queen but was unsuccessful.

In 1982, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was enacted as part of the Canadian Constitution. Morgentaler was charged again in 1983 in Ontario for procuring illegal miscarriages. He was acquitted by a jury, but the verdict was reversed by the Court of Appeal for Ontario. The case was then sent to the Supreme Court of Canada. He was acquitted once again, and the Canadian Supreme Court declared the law he was convicted under to be in violation of the Charter and thus unconstitutional in the case of R. v. Morgentaler 1988 (1 S.C.R. 30). This ruling by Justice Brian Dickson essentially ended all statutory restrictions on abortion in Canada.

The over-reaching cops and prosecution in Oz may well come to regret the Pandora's box they've opened.

'Empathetic and Kind'

How to explain this?

The federal Conservatives have extended their lead over the Liberals, with a near seven-point advantage over their rivals, a new EKOS poll suggests.

According to the latest results from EKOS, released exclusively to CBC News, 34.4 per cent of respondents said they would vote for the Tories if an election were held today — up from 33.1 per cent two weeks ago.

The Liberals received 27.8 per cent support, down from 29.9 per cent.

The New Democrats received 15.8 per cent support, up more than two percentage points from two weeks ago, according to EKOS.

Meanwhile, support for the Green Party remained roughly the same at 10.4 per cent while support for the Bloc Québécois dropped slightly to 9.3 per cent, the new poll suggests.

George Monbiot offers some insights.

So here we are, forming an orderly queue at the slaughterhouse gate. The punishment of the poor for the errors of the rich, the abandonment of universalism, the dismantling of the shelter the state provides: apart from a few small protests, none of this has yet brought us out fighting.

The acceptance of policies which counteract our interests is the pervasive mystery of the 21st Century. In the United States, blue-collar workers angrily demand that they be left without healthcare, and insist that millionaires should pay less tax. In the UK we appear ready to abandon the social progress for which our ancestors risked their lives with barely a mutter of protest. What has happened to us?

Citing a report from Common Cause, written by WWF's Tom Crompton, Monbiot explores the values shift we seem to be undergoing.

It involves intrinsic and extrinsic values.

Our social identity is shaped by values which psychologists classify as either extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic values concern status and self-advancement. People with a strong set of extrinsic values fixate on how others see them. They cherish financial success, image and fame. Intrinsic values concern relationships with friends, family and community, and self-acceptance. Those who have a strong set of intrinsic values are not dependent on praise or rewards from other people. They have beliefs which transcend their self-interest.

The media, advertisers, and right-wing pols understand these values and are very good at exploiting them. And they seem to be successful at effecting a shift in values.

Progressives seem to be completely hopeless at it. Monbiot says we've tried to adapt to the shift instead of confronting it. He proposes a remedy:

So we must lead this shift ourselves. People with strong intrinsic values must cease to be embarrassed by them. We should argue for the policies we want not on the grounds of expediency but on the grounds that they are empathetic and kind; and against others on the grounds that they are selfish and cruel. In asserting our values we become the change we want to see.

Bizarre 'Self-Abortion' Case Is Over

Remember the bizarre case of two young Australians charged with self-abortion back in April 2009?

They faced prison time, because abortion is illegal in Queensland unless women jump through various stooopid hoops. This pair found a way around the hoops and were charged under Queensland's 1900 -- yes, 1900 -- abortion law.

Yesterday, they were acquitted of all charges. The jury took less than an hour to decide the case was totally idiotic. (More background at the top link, but basically the partner, Sergie Brennan, procured abortion drugs, Tegan Leach took them, they worked as intended, and that was it.)

Until the cops got involved. As I wondered at the time, how the hell did this private matter come to the attention of the authorities? It appears the cops interviewed them on an 'unrelated matter' -- which turned out to be a murder case. They noticed the blister pack that had contained the pills.

As John Birmingham points out in today's Sydney Morning Herald:

The thing is, those cops didn't have to do anything with that blister pack. Cops ignore stuff like that every day. Experienced, humane police officers know that not every law needs to be enforced in every instance, because they understand the consequences of putting someone into the system can be far worse than letting them off with a warning.



I guess Tegan and Sergie didn't get that someone like that.

But it doesn't end with the cops. A case like this was always going to be political. And now, after the relief of the verdict and the eruption of righteous anger set to follow, it will be even more politicised. Of course, the criminal justice system isn't supposed to be political, but we live in the real world. At any number of points before this reached court somebody, somewhere in the system, had the authority to pull the case. The state decides not to proceed with criminal cases for any number of reasons every day of the year.

Perhaps that's what Anna Bligh [Premier of Queensland] and her faux progressive and enlightened government were hoping would happen. That somebody, somewhere in the system, would just make this go away. That they wouldn't actually have to act on those brave and difficult feminist principles they've doubtlessly been yammering on about since the first formation of their political consciousness - and which we heard so much about when this proud, proud feminist was elected Premier.

Anna Bligh is an interesting, if unpopular, figure in Aussie politics. Raised Catholic, she considered becoming a nun. Now, though, she's a 'proud, proud feminist'.

She has an odd way of showing it. Just a couple of days ago, she blocked a private member's bill by one her Labour colleagues aimed at finally decriminalizing abortion in the state.

Ms Bligh told the MP that there wasn't enough support for such a bill.

Odd, that. The Australian Reproductive Health Alliance cites a survey of attitudes from 2003 that showed 81.2% of Australians, regardless of gender or religion, agree that "women should have the right to choose an abortion".'

Seems abortion politics in Australia are as nutty as anywhere else.

But at least the insane ordeal is over for Tegan and Sergie.

Everything Old is New Again.

Yo! Stevie! You're not one tenth the man that George Diefenbaker was. So stop with the inane and tacky posturing already.


For a little nostalgia hit, check this out. Though imitation may be the most sincere form of flattery - it has to be done well to work.

If Iggy Lost Canada the UN Security Council Seat. . . .

Doesn't that mean Iggy has more clout with international leaders than Stevie Peevie?

Surely even die-hard Cons can't help but giggle when the ever-classy Soudas flaps his gums and comes out with this:

Mr. Harper's office wasted little time assigning blame for the disappointment, placing it at the feet of Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.

“I would say a big deciding factor was the fact that Canada's bid did not have unity because we had Mr. Ignatieff questioning and opposing Canada's bid,” Dimitri Soudas, Harper's communications director, told The Canadian Press.

“That was a factor that played ultimately against Canada because people outside of Canada were saying, ‘Well, Germany and Portugal have a united front, their opposition and their governments seem to be fully, 100 per cent behind this bid.’

“Canada did not have that required advantage. We had an Opposition Leader that opposed Canada and clearly was not in it for Canada on this one.”

'Big deciding factor'. Yeah, right. Like any of the delegates even know who the Canadian Opposition leader is, let alone what he said.

Quick, what's the name of the opposition leader in Germany? Portugal?

Stevie Spiteful hates Canada and now, because of him, so do a lot of other countries.


Bonus: here's Lawrence Loose Cannon singing the same idiotic little ditty.

More bonus: CP quotes more from Soudas:

As for suggestions that the Harper government's unabashed support for Israel may have cost Canada support from Arab countries, Soudas said:

"Throughout the duration of this bid, we did not barter our principled foreign policy, be it on Iran, be it on North Korea, be it on any topic . . . Canadians have values such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law and those values were not bartered or jeopardized at any time."

WTF? And Germany's and/or Portugal's values were bartered?????????

Soudas said Ignatieff's accusation that the Harper government has ignored the United Nations is "false."

"It's a long-standing policy that outside of our borders, we all present a united front and in this case Mr. Ignatieff chose to oppose Canada. . . Once again it shows that Mr. Ignatieff, quite frankly, does not view these issues through the prism of what's best for Canada. He views them through the prism of what's best for him."

Bwahahahahaha. Pot. Kettle.

LOLFetus

From Gawker:

The abortion debate has devolved to the zygote version of a LOLCat. A lady got an ultrasound, and her unborn child looked like it was smiling. Thus, "a baby can experience feelings such as happiness" earlier than previously thought.

(I'm not putting a copy of the thing here. You can view it at the Gawker link or at the UK rag, Daily Mail, where it originally appeared.)

Professor Stuart Campbell, who took the picture at his London clinic with 3-D and 4-D scanning equipment, said it did not necessarily show the unborn child had feelings - but it was certainly displaying human behaviour.

Well, FFS, what other species' behaviour should it be displaying? That fetus fetishists' vehemently made argument -- abortion is wrong because a fetus is human -- infuriates me. We pro-choicers never contend that a fetus is non-human. Of course it's human. What it is is a non-person.

Let's hear some more from the good professor:

'This is a joyful expression of the humanity of the foetus. I have seen a foetus making a crying face at around 18 or 19 weeks, but not a nice smile.

'This is the earliest on record - it is just a delight.'

Oh, gag me.

Go have a look at the thing. It is not a delight. It's creepy and weird-looking and -- as one commenter at Gawker pointed out -- it appears to be making a peace-sign. Are fetuses capable of complex moral reasoning as well?

This would be merely weird and creepy, but it happened in the UK, where in 2008 there was a heated debate in Parliament about lowering the abortion limit of 24 weeks' gestation to 22 or even fewer. (The motion lost and the limit is still 24 weeks.)

This will surely rev up the Brit chapter of Fetus Fetishists International.

And it will no doubt have an impact in the gun-lovin'-abortion-hatin' Excited States, where lawmakers in Nebraska banned abortions after 20 weeks, based on faulty science that claimed fetuses can feel pain after that point. The ff'ing lawmakers ignored all kinds of sciencey-facty-neurologicky testimony to inflict yet another blow on women's rights for spurious reasons.

I can't wait to read what SUZY ALLCAPSLOCK makes of it. 'i'm in ur uterus, smiling for the camera?'

My, my, my. . .

How the twisted bastards reveal themselves.

In a whiney lament in the Notional Pest titled Anti-abortion movement continues to be stuck in neutral, author 'Father' Tim Moyle tries to offer some hope for the future.

Fetus fetishists have put great faith (hee) in ultrasounds/sonograms, thinking that when women see what looks like a lima bean in a muddy pond, they'll get all squishy and shrieeek 'That's my lima bean!' Catlick charities raise money and waste it on ultrasound machines that serve no medical purpose in fake pregnancy clinics.

All this despite the association of fetal ultrasound with autism. And despite the fact that when the Netherlands began offering ultrasounds to every woman at 20 weeks, the number of late abortions doubled.

Nonetheless, Moyle blows the ultrasound whistle again, but look at the language:

Sonograms have pierced the veil of the uterus . . .

Yeesh. That's just creepy.

But revealing, yes?

Yahoo! Ham Sandwiches All Round!

Short squib from AP:

A federal grand jury is investigating whether last year's murder of a Kansas abortion doctor was connected to a broader case involving radical anti-abortion activists, a federal law enforcement official familiar with the case said Friday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said several federal civil rights prosecutors were holding grand jury proceedings in Kansas City, looking into whether a broader case surrounded the May 2009 death of Dr. George Tiller. Tiller was among the few late-term abortion providers in the U.S. before he was fatally shot in his Wichita, Kan., church by anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder.

Back in February, we noted that a federal prosecutor was sitting in on Roeder's trial.

One of the offences he -- and hopefully the whole gang of confederates and enablers -- could be charged with is violation of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. These scumbags need to be taught that there are serious repercussions to cheerleading violence against medical practitioners. It's probably too much to hope for, but we've got our fingers crossed that the feds go after the biggest loudmouth of them all.

And we're hoping that the feds have a good prosecutor on the case.

An aphorism in criminal law states that "A good prosecutor could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich."

MORE. Yup, it seems they're looking for a conspiracy. Two of Roeder's former roommates say they've testified. One named Tim Parks said:

“Based on the questions they asked, they are looking into whether others were involved,” Parks said. “It appeared to me that they are trying to find or fabricate a conspiracy.”

The Justice Department and FBI declined to comment.

Also called to appear were members of Roeder's bible study group.

The grand jury hearing apparently focused not on Roeder’s friends in the anti-abortion movement, but on the Bible study group.
. . .

Parks said the federal investigators asked him numerous questions about Roeder’s associates.

“They said something like, ‘Scott doesn’t seem like a lone gunman. He’s not a doer, he’s a follower.’ ”

And inquiring minds would like to know -- a follower of whom?

Coerced vs 'Coerced' Abortion

Now, this is an alleged attempted coerced abortion. From Columbus, Ohio:

A Near East Side man pointed a gun at a pregnant woman and forced her to go to a clinic yesterday morning after she refused to go through with a scheduled abortion there, Columbus police say.

Dominic L. Holt-Reid, 27, of 579 Kelton Ave., was arrested and charged with kidnapping and carrying a concealed weapon.

The woman managed to pass a note to clinic staff who called the cops. Nobody was hurt.

On the other hand, this is a 'coerced' abortion. Yes, the woman was killed by her boyfriend, but not because she refused to have an abortion, as the supporters of private member's bill C-510, the glurgily named Roxanne's Law claim. That is bullshit.

But even though Rod Bruinooge's bill is toast, kicked to the curb by a spokesthingy for Stevie Peevie himself last May, this gang of fetus fetishists still exists and people were writing on the wall as recently as yesterday.

Well, we did call it the Stringing Fetus Fetishists Along Bill.

They are pretty easy to string, aren't they?

Who's the Weaseliest of Them All?

Tony (Cashmere) Clement.

Rosemary Barton has the goods.

There has been a lot of talk in recent days about Industry Minister Tony Clement suggesting that one person, one Canadian complaining about the scrapping of the mandatory long-form census is a enough to convince the government to change policy.

The minister doesn't agree that's what he said.

In fact, just yesterday the minister tried to defend his statement by saying this, "Let me interpret what I said, because the question was more of a general question."

For the record, I was the reporter asking the questions in this case and I thought it might be worthwhile to transcribe the entire exchange and let you decide what the Minister actually said and interpret it for yourself.

The transcript follows, ending with this:

Barton: "Sure, but we don't change public policy for one person do we?"

Clement: "Why not? If they're right."

Barton: "We change public policy for one person?"

Clement: "If they're right."

Seems pretty clear to me.

And for more fun, the bozo from the Beauce, as Montreal Simon styles him is in a spot of bother today too over the census.

Surrogate Abortion

This story is going to stir up the usual suspects:

When a B.C. couple discovered that the fetus their surrogate mother was carrying was likely to be born with Down syndrome, they wanted an abortion. The surrogate, however, was determined to take the pregnancy to term, sparking a disagreement that has raised thorny questions about the increasingly common arrangements.

Under the agreement the trio signed, the surrogate’s choice would mean absolving the couple of any responsibility for raising the child, the treating doctor told a recent fertility-medicine conference.

The fetus was genetically the couple's and the surrogate did have an abortion because of her family obligations -- two children of her own.

The article contains comments from bioethicists and experts in surrogacy.

On the one hand: SHRIEEEEEK!!!1!1! Treating babies like commodities!

On the other: WTF!!!11!!11 Somebody else can decide whether a couple must raise a baby they don't want?

Back to the first hand: SHRIEEEEK!1!!!!! But it's perfectly OK to force a pregnant woman to have an abortion she doesn't want?

Other hand: Obviously, the three of them should have discussed this possibility beforehand and decided to go ahead or not based on whether they all agreed.

In any event, the Notional Pest is milking it. It is hosting a live online
discussion at 2 p.m. ET today.

UPPITY-DATE: Ewwwww. Babs Kay is on the panel and she's already got them calling the fetus an 'unborn baby'. I don't how much I can take of it. . .

Did the good guys just win one?

Seems so.

On Tuesday, after a speech in Ottawa, Quebecor chief executive officer Pierre Karl Péladeau said the company would withdraw its request to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for an exception to the rules of its licence that would have made Sun TV News available to more Canadians.

So, now they're going for an ordinary Category 2 licence, despite the fact they had previously argued that Fox News North wouldn't be financially viable without the three-year 'must offer' special licence.

Oh, and speaking of special, isn't this? Quebecor is actually going to follow the rules.

“We’ve decided to go with the policies of the CRTC,” said Quebecor spokesman Serge Sasseville. . . .
“We are in favour of deregulation, but that [three years] would have been a transition period for us ... but we are part of the free market, so we decided to renounce that special request.”

Now they're part of the free market?

Impolitical speculates on the reasons for the walk-back, but I'm going with the straightforward.

After their ReformaTory bumboy with, supposedly, the ear of the PeeEmmOooo made a complete ass of himself and had to resign, Quebecor simply didn't have the juice.

And, of course, more than 83,000 pissed off Canadians who signed the infamous Margaret-Atwood-backed Avaaz petition had zip zero nada nothing to do with it either.

Mr. Sasseville said the decision to change its request to the regulator “had nothing to do with the Avaaz petition.”

Yaaaaaah, riiiiiight.

No juice and egg on their face. Not quite the hog's trough banquet they were expecting.

Let the market decide. And I'm betting this venture is falling flat on its eggy face.

Free Speech has Nothing - Nothing! - to do with it.

Our gutless band of tighty-righties seems to think the cancelation of Ann Coulter’s stand-up gig at the University of Ottawa last March had something to do with Free Speech. It does not. It has to do with the Conservative Student Club's incompetence in organizing a bit of neo-con agitprop promoted by Ezra Levant and supported by the usual suspects.

The University of Ottawa had nothing to gain and a great deal to lose by being seen to agree with the malevolent fabrications - and hateful claims, as defined in Canada - of a provocatrice/performance/con artist marketed under the guise of a legitimate speaker for conservatism.

Ann Coulter remains available to speak (not free, though I doubt that she commands the same 6-figure fees that Sarah Palin does) and, as individuals, people (even those associated with the University of Ottawa) remain free to hear her - if you belong to the right groups. But there are no circumstances in which the University of Ottawa in an official capacity could have anything whatsoever to do with Ann Coulter or the hate speech she expresses, or the views she promotes.

Un grand merci to Jay Currie who provided the template for this post.

Lawless Government

I can't run video at my place, so I've been reading about this for a week without being able to see it.

It's excellent and I love the music.

Boy Howdy!

Read Travers and then the comments. Many of them bear eloquent witness to this:

Canada has a new Governor General and an old problem. In replacing Michaelle Jean, David Johnston, a lawyer and teacher, inherits a Prime Minister and country in desperate need of a civics lesson.

Question: Do Canadian schools teach civics? I don't think I ever got an explicit course or lesson in it. Merkins sure do. Not that it takes with most of them.

Too. Much. Red.

Check it out. It's the New©™ Globe & Mail, tarted up. The Grey Lady is now Ravishing Red.

Sadly enough for its well-read and thoughtful subscribers, the New©™ Globe & Mail has been transformed into a magloid: chock full of publireportages and infotainment.

Except for its ace card, 'Report on Business' of course. No longer a mere section, Business is now the G&M's raison d'être, the logical consequence of John Stackhouse - who once was its editor - taking control of the publication's content.

Out with Rick Salutin and Tabatha Southey. They're far too principled, rigorous and journalistic for the New©™ Globe & Mail's intended readership, the glitterati, financiers and "captains of industry" as they were called in the 19th century, aka "robber barons". Mags Wente, Irshad Manji, Rex Murphy and Christie Blatchford get the code. They've sensed blood in the water and as long as it's not their own they'll do fine.

The New©™ Globe and Mail and its editor-in-chief have their eyes on the gold ring: uniting Toronto and Calgary's moneyed elite in the universal mantra: Greed is Good!