PMSHithead hires big guns ...

... to fight Helena Guergis' civil suit against him and other members of the Harper Regime©™.

In December, lawyers for Guergis filed a lawsuit in an Ottawa court against Harper, the Conservative party, and several other people for $1.3 million over her 2010 ejection from the Tory caucus over allegations of improper conduct.

The allegations in the statement of claim — none of which have been proven in a court — came after a lengthy period during which Guergis publicly complained she had been mistreated by her former boss and political colleagues.

Now, as the plaintiff in a civil lawsuit, she is seeking compensation for damage she alleges those actions inflicted on her public reputation.

Specifically, with regards to Harper's actions, her 31-page statement of claim seeks damages from the prime minister for his alleged "conspiracy, defamation, misfeasance in public office, intentional infliction of mental suffering, and negligence." [...]

In the lawsuit, Guergis alleges those being sued conspired to present various allegations about her behaviour — including fraudulent activity, extortion, association with prostitutes, and cocaine use (including "snorting" the drug off a prostitute's breast).

All the allegations are false and defamatory and have "resulted in damage to the plaintiff's reputation," as well as her "political career, health, and well-being," says her statement of claim.

Guergis was in Harper's cabinet as minister of state for the status of women. That ended suddenly in April 2010 when Harper announced that his office had become aware of "serious allegations'' regarding her conduct which he was forwarding to the RCMP and to the ethics commissioner.

Harper did not publicly identify the nature of the allegations, and Guergis says she was not told by the prime minister.

Guergis was booted from cabinet and the Tory caucus, and the party later removed her as its candidate in the southern Ontario riding of Simcoe-Grey.

In the statement of claim, lawyers for Guergis allege the allegations about her behaviour were put forward as a method to remove her from the Tory fold.

Above, Stevie Grudgiepants and Guergis, in Happier Days.

Here at DJ! we have produced much criticism about Guergis and her role in the roiling incompetence of the ReformaTory Cabinet. But we've also noted that the CPC old boys' club is quick to withdraw privileges, entitlements and protection from its honourary female members when it's CONvenient.

We want Guergis to have her day in court - thus the manner in which PMSHithead conducted his vendetta against her is entered in the public record, and stands as one more element of this repulsive man's political legacy.

Update: Stevie's former head bully-boy has retaliated in court.

Stephen Taylor is *Indignant*

The director of the National Citizens Coalition wants Harper to cut up the "taxpayer credit card" that has been loaned to Bev Oda because she has demonstrated little respect for ... hold on!

What exactly has Oda done that Cashmere Tony, Christian Paradis (here and here), Peter MacKay (here and here) and Bruce Carson have ^NOT in their own way done, so much more spectacularly and worth a helluva lot more of taxpayers' money than a $16 glass of orange juice at the Savoy Hotel?

Oh. Wait. Bev Oda is a female cabinet minister. I'd forgotten that PMSHithead and his band of CON bullies established quite a different standard of accountability and transparence for them. Ask Helena Guergis.

Note: I would link to Taylor's tweet but it appears that he has blocked me, after one or perhaps one hundred too many snarky bon mots lobbed in his direction.

This is the best I can do. For folks without a magnifying glass, just click on the screen cap below to see a larger version.

With a grand merci to my co-blogger fh, an expert in the use of the Capture app. for Macbooks.

De-placing the product.

Product placement has a long and venal venerable history.

There is also an opposite movement, one in which a corporation, an organization or a political party attempts to distance itself from an individual or from an event because of concerns that such association will damage their *brand* or image.

Boycotting products is a strategy used by a number of groups across the ideological spectrum to exploit this vulnerability.

This appears to be an unusual step, given the clash of *values* in conflict.

A clothing company is offering money to Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and his fellow “Jersey Shore” cast members — so they’ll stop wearing the brand on the show.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. says in a news release posted Tuesday that it’s concerned that having Sorrentino seen in its clothing could cause “significant damage” to the company’s image.

Abercrombie says a connection to The Situation goes against the “aspirational nature” of its brand and may be “distressing” to customers. The Ohio-based retailer says it has offered a “substantial payment” to Sorrentino and producers of the MTV show so he’ll wear something else.

"Aspirational nature"? Mmm. Perhaps "aspiration" is what a Republican wanna-be political operative is expressing, by deploying this unusual - though not surprising - tactic.

Politicians have long used popular songs and the artists who produced them to enhance their image - until they get a nasty cease-and-desist letter from their lawyers.

Perhaps it's time for ordinary and decent Canadian citizens to sue the Conservatives for attaching their party logo to Canada. It is distressing to the majority of Canadians that our country is held in contempt and derision in the US, in Europe, in Africa and now in South America because of actions taken by Stevie Spiteful, Cashmere Tony, Jason Kenney and other Con jobs.

Or we can follow Michaela Keyserlingk's example and use the Contempt Party logo in the context of all their shameful, corrupt and authoritarian actions.

Will new Con MP be an Eve of destruction

for the Contempt Party and hopefully, its leader's downfall?

She's photogenic, she's hard-working, she's smart and outspoken. She doesn't seem to be a fundamentalist religious zealot. Meet Eve Adams. From here:

The daughter of parents who fled communist Hungary, she recalls her early days. “My dad was a really hard-working man. He worked on a farm in Welland, then worked in the mines in Sudbury. He then worked in gas stations and restaurants before he saved up enough money to buy his own gas station.” [...]

That early life — on the move to wherever there was work, watching her mom pump gas while looking after her inside the store in places like Minnow Lake, Simcoe and Stoney Creek — burned into Adams a strong work ethic, she says. Eventually, she handled some of the gas pumping herself.

That work ethic is obvious to anyone who’s watched her prepare for a council meeting. [...] Though one of the less combative councillors, Adams, 37, often stood up to powerful Mayor Hazel McCallion, particularly when it came to the judicial inquiry looking into alleged use of undue influence.

Will she let Contempt leader muzzle her, as he has done to others?

I'm betting that when she gets a close look at influence-peddling scams rampant in the PMOpolitburo Adams will have second thoughts. And the unrelenting, odious Con gynophobia will make her cross the floor like Belinda Stronach did. If so, expect Stevie to use dirty tricks destroy her, like he did with Helena Guergis. But I don't see Adams crying on camera and talking to journalists in a little-girl-punished-by-Daddy whisper.

She's a fighter and she will push back.

How to Win the Women's Vote. . .

^NOT



Frankly, I don't have much sympathy for any woman who'd get into bed with join the Contempt Party, but some pundits are saying that this is going to lose the female vote for them BIGTIME.

Good.

I'd rather it was stuff like this that loses them votes.

When asked Friday whether he owed Ms. Guergis an apology – after allegations of drug abuse, wild partying and attempts to secure illegal contracts all proved unfounded – Conservative Leader Stephen Harper was unrepentant.

“There were, as you know well, a range of political problems around this individual,” he told reporters in Thornhill, outside Toronto. “They have been discussed by members of caucus. There is simply no desire to see the return of this individual to caucus...the decision is now in the hands of the riding.”

'This individual'. Won't even use her name.

Pretty stunning arrogance, even for him.

On Twitter, Foghorn Baird explained:

WE HAVE CLEAR INTEGRITY STANDARDS! MEN GET UP TO 6 CRIMINAL CHARGES! GIRLS ARE OUT AFTER FIRST ALLEGATION! #cdnpoli #elxn41

h/t for shortened video to Operation Maple

Sour Grapes from the Contempt Party. (updated)

Alison at Creekside summarizes the sad little tale of arrogance and incompetence thus:

You really have to wonder what was going through the head of Michael Sona, communications director for Guelph Conservative candidate Marty Burke, when he barged into the special advance ballot arranged by Elections Canada for students at Guelph University, "making a huge scene stating that this polling station was illegal and tried to grab for the ballot box."

Imagine you're Sona, MASSIVELY hung over from the Cyclops Phi Kappa keg party last night. You get a panic phone call from some underling at the riding campaign HQ, nattering on and on about some stupid elections poll or drop-off on your campus. You're told that you have to check it out and take an assigned scrutineer along.

Your foggy brain dimly remembers some shit that some CPC guy blathered on about Elections Canada and some dumb rules about polls and voting, and a signed form the candidate's representative is supposed to show, but hey, who cares about all that stupid bureaucratic shit, right?

So you show up with your posse and these clerks won't let you sit there, giving the losers and geeks who show up your best imitation of Dear Leader' baleful glare. Because you don't have that stupid piece of paper!

So you pull a John Baird and you start bellowing and grabbing at shit, and some Elections flunky says to another "Call the cops now" so you back off and tell those losers that you'll let the Important People know about this.

And since you've been well trained in the traditions of the Conservative Party, you'll make sure someone else takes the blame.

Meanwhile over at Sycophant Central, Stephen Taylor hopes to create a diversion.

As well, there should be an explanation later today as to why the Contempt Party is running a disinformation campaign against the independent candidate in Simcoe-Grey, implying she is Charlie Sheen's twin sister.

Update from Elections Canada release:

While the initiative at the University of Guelph was not pre-authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer, the Canada Elections Act provides that electors may apply for and vote by special ballot. A special ballot coordinator, appointed by the local returning officer, oversaw the activities at the University of Guelph. All information at our disposal indicates that the votes were cast in a manner that respects the Canada Elections Act and are valid.

When did Peter MacKay start morphing into

a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling retriever?

It seems fitting, does it not? After all, he calls women who escape his control "bitches". And, he is known to cause distractions in order to draw his target out of the safety zone.

Funny how those Contempt Party guys are chivalrous and gallant towards the ladies until a woman does something that challenges their authority. Or that threatens their carefully crafted image of propriety. Then the gloves come off.

My apologies in advance to Nova Scotia Duck Tolling retrievers. You are all better sentient beings than this Contempt Party candidate.

Peter MacKay's picture from here.

Happy Days / Oh les beaux jours.

Considered Beckett's most cheerful piece, Happy Days features a woman buried up to her waist in a mound of sand. Winnie's husband, Willie, appears only occasionally from his tunnel behind the mound. Winnie's opening words, 'Another heavenly day', set the tone for a long monologue which lasts until she can no longer busy herself with the contents of her enormous handbag. She follows the routine of the day – praying, brushing her teeth, reminiscing about the past and endlessly trying to recall 'unforgettable lines' that she has once read. By the end of the second act she is buried up to her neck, but she carries on chattering cheerfully.

I saw the play performed at the National Arts Centre; it's an apt metaphor for the current tribulations of Helena Guergis, and perhaps for any woman stuck in the unpleasant place where hyper-partisan politics may put her.


Beckett confided to a woman who played the character of Winnie what was going through his mind as he sat down to write the play:

“Well I thought that the most dreadful thing that could happen to anybody, would be not to be allowed to sleep so that just as you’re dropping off there’s be a ‘Dong’ and you’d have to keep awake; you’re sinking into the ground alive and it’s full of ants; and the sun is shining endlessly day and night and there is not a tree … there’s no shade, nothing, and that bell wakes you up all the time and all you’ve got is a little parcel of things to see you through life.” He was talking about a woman’s life, let’s face it. Then he said: “And I thought who would cope with that and go down singing, only a woman.”

In the play only a single egg-carrying ant [...] finds its way into the text but it is a source of amusement for both Winnie and Willie when its appearance causes Willie to utter the word “Formication”

From here. Samuel Beckett finished this work in May 1961, after Maureen Cusack suggested he might write something happy after Krapp.

Shrieeek!!! Where are the feminists???

Yesterday DAMMIT JANET! predicted that the Blogging Tories and other assorted Attack Parrots, acolytes and sycophants would chant, bleat and repeat, repeat, repeat the Speaking Points faxed to them by the ReformaTory spin doctors.

Today Canadian Cynic confirms that this is indeed the case in his blogpost Dear incredibly stupid Canadian conservatives.

The winning comment, indeed the observation that nails everything you ever wanted to know about Stevie Spiteful and his ReformaTory bullies' intrinsic approach to women in politics, belongs to sooey:

"I'm sure Feminists are to blame. After all, if there wasn't a Minister of State for the Status of Women, this never would have happened."

Guergis Falls on Stiletto.

In ancient Rome, disgraced military leaders fell on their swords.

In the Harper government, ministers who have brought public embarassment to Stevie Spiteful get to pick the weapon of their choice.

It's not clear whether Helena chose a Manolo Blahnik or a Christian Louboutin to end her political career.

Watch for Blogging Tories and other assorted Attack Parrots, acolytes and sycophants to start chanting the new Speaking Points faxed by the PMO:

"Meanies! Look what you make her do!"

Shelly Glover for Lady Portfolio!

Helena Guergis has resigned.

We here at DAMMIT JANET! are sorry to see her go. She was just too much fun.

After looking over the wealth of intelligence and expertise available among ReformaTory women MPs, we've decided to recommend 'hard-nosed' Shelly Glover for the Lady Portfolio.

I mean, look at that hair.

And beyond the hair, she's got ideas! And experience!

Here she is on StatsCan's erroneous assertion that crime rates are falling.

So, again, numbers can be skewed any which way, but I do take issue with the misleading comments made by my colleagues. I worked in this system. I’ll tell you straightforward, Canadians are seeing an increase in crime. I don’t care what Stats Canada has reported because they only count reported crime. They do not count unreported crimes. And as a police officer, I’ll tell you, I worked sex crimes for four and a half years, 92% of sex crime victims do not report their crime. Because they don’t have faith in the justice system, they’re fearing retribution, they really do have a number of reasons for not reporting.

92% do not report. What a precise figure for someone who doesn't care about facty-sciencey stuff!

And she has insight! From the same link, here she is on why Liberals are soft on crime:

And the other thing is, let’s not forget, the Liberals have an interest here because, predominantly, prison inmates vote Liberal during elections. Cops vote Conservative. There is a clear interest for the prisoners to be voting for soft on crime legislation that the Liberals put forward.

Who knew that the Liberals were pandering to that huge voting block living in A-, B-, and C-Block?

Best of all, she's pro-choice! That'll make socon heads explode.

Win-win-win!

Mr Prime Minister, leftie feminazi bloggers implore you. Choose Shelly Glover. Pleeeeease.

Crank up the propaganda and fax, fax, fax!

It seems many, many people were shocked, then angry when Jaffer copped a plea and the charges – speeding, driving over the legal blood alcohol limit, and cocaine possession – were dropped.

Such law-abiding people tend to supply the media with solid information for their investigative stories.

In Stevie Spiteful's Office, the furniture has now been righted, arrangements made to repair broken glass and the temps who took shelter under theirs desks have been coaxed into staying for another day.

The PMO spin doctors gather to survey the damage, to produce speaking points to fax to their Attack Parrots and to create a bright shiny diversion.

The ReformaTories - business as usual. That hammering you hear is not another nail in the coffin of Helena Guergis' political career.

Wait, wait, wait ... Family Values©™... yes! The spin doctors pump the air. Jaffer was driving home to be with his wife. And that anti-family bulldyke OPP officer stopped him as he was rushing to his beloved's embrace.

Just another day of prevarication and fabulation in the PMO.

It's straight out of Law and Order, folks.

Canadian Cynic has the last word: Coke and hookers? Works for me!

Afterthought: Toe, one of our frequent commenters (don't forget to get your loyalty card stamped!) wondered just how valuable Jaffer's information about Gillani could possibly be, given the tenuous and opportunistic nature of their "business" relationship. Makes no difference. It gave the higher-ups a pretext. Otherwise, it would be evident the plea bargain was all about political pull - and Jaffer's knowledge of skeletons in other people's closets.

Compare and contrast: idiocy and reason.

Two support bro's alert us to the deliciousness of public displays of Con job and ReformaTory cognitive dissonance.

First, Buckdog points us towards the odiously obsequious Christie Blatchford.

Is there a double standard at work in the story of Rahim Jaffer, the former Conservative MP who this week saw two serious criminal charges dropped against him as he pleaded guilty instead to a lesser one of careless driving? Oh, you bet there is, but it's not what you've heard.

The real double standard is that Mr. Jaffer has been painted as being every bit as guilty of the charges (excessive blood alcohol while driving and possession of cocaine) as if he'd been convicted of them.

Gee, Christie - are you insinuating that one of your shining knights in uniform fabricated those charges against Jaffer?

Oh wait. The officer who stopped Helena Guergis' consort was female, which makes her a fair target, it seems.

Then, Big City Lib has us spurting coffee at our 'puter screens with his shorter version of Deborah Grey. It appears that the wannabe Honourable Member for Holt-Renfrew Helena Guergis stiffed a captive audience out of their opportunity to see her in action.

If beleaguered Conservative minister Helena Guergis was hoping for sympathy from her political sisters, former party matriarch Deborah Grey was fresh out.
Guergis, minister of state for the status of women, was a no-show Friday at a panel on women in politics at the Manning Centre's annual conference for small-c conservatives. Her office did not respond to a question about her absence. [...]

Grey did attend the panel discussion, as did moderator and junior minister Diane Ablonczy, MP Lois Brown and Andrea Mrozek of the Institute for Marriage and Family Canada. When a member of the audience asked about women in politics being treated differently, Grey responded that even so, it didn't give them licence to "throw hissy fits at airports."

Shout it, sistah!

The Honourable Member for Holt Renfrew.

Oh wait .... Sorry, that's Lisa Raitt's constituency.

That is Helena Guergis depicted above (photo from this G & M blog) who, according to a delicious news item over at the Kady O'Malley blog is trying to wrangle the "I'm entitled to my entitlements, dammit!" title from Raitt.

Yes, I know. Meow, meow, meow.

On the other hand, read over what the ReformaTory propagandists have been saying about members of the opposition, in riding newsletters that were paid by your tax dollars. That should rate one rather MASSIVE WOOF!, no?

Caught between the Devil and the deep blue v.

Shall we shed a tear for Helena Guergis? Should we have empathy for her extremely awkward position, vis-à-vis a female electorate that has not warmed up to Stephen Harper and his nouveau-Cons?

First: this strident, shrieeeking, incensed tirade in R.E.A.L. women of Canada's May / June newsletter.

One would think that elected conservatives would be able to resist the feminist ideology, which is a very leftist, Marxist, anti-family movement (see “Feminism in Canada” on our web site.) With the emotional appeal of portraying women as perpetual victims, the sisterhood seems able to convert even Conservative MP's who were elected to combat the nanny state as embodied by Liberal and Socialist NDP enthusiasts. For example, on the occasion of International Women's Day, March 8, 2009, the Minister for Status of Women Helena Guergis (CPC) confirmed that “Our Government increased funding to Status of Women programs by 42%, bringing it to its highest ever level....”. In response to a question from radical feminist MP Irene Matthyssen (London-Fanshaw, NDP) Guergis stated “I think the member will be pleased to know that the number of organizations now receiving funding through Status of Women has increased 69% (Hansard, February 2, 2009, page 223). In her address to the 53rd Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, Minister Guergis stated, “I would like to commend the Secretary-General for his report and appreciate that he has recognized the multiple dimensions of the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, both in the home and outside of it.” What's the United Nations doing in the home?

It blathers venomously on and on and on in that vein.

Next: now there has to be a horse-and-pony show, arranged to placate "R.E.A.L womenists". How can the Con spinners and prevaricators hope to pull this off? Easy - by making pronouncements that somehow misrepresent the goals and the methods of the Regroupement des femmes de la région de Matane. This tactic should not be a surprise to anyone, especially to the usually savvy media. And then there were the Progressive Bloggers - some seemed unable to distinguish between the Cons' incoherent glurge and a well-designed feminist project.

Ah-ha. The other shoe dropped. It makes me wonder if the choice of projects are connected to the ridings they're in and how that plays into the Con strategy to capture women's votes.

Who will Harper try to please? The Devil (R.E.A.L. women of Canada) or the deep blue v. - a considerable demographic group of moderate (sometimes supportive of Liberals, sometimes supportive of the party previously known as the Progressive Conservatives) female electorate.

Say, wasn't there a "R.E.A.L womenist" who ran as a candidate for Harper's Cons in the last federal election? How did that work out for you, Stevie? Oops.

Those who might want to know more about the Con's attempt to co-opt and spin the Matane women's project could read the discussion at the Bread'n'Roses thread here.

How Stevie and his RepubliCons celebrate IWD.

Notice has been served to the United Nations, in the form of an intent to file a formal complaint regarding the removal of remove the right of public sector workers to file pay equity complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

"We just heard Helena Guergis speak to the UN Committee of the Status ofWomen, touting the Harper government's supposed record on women's rights. It's appalling that she would set foot on an international stage to make claims about women's equality while the government is in the midst of implementing policies that are trampling women's equality rights at home," said Patty Ducharme, PSAC's National Executive Vice President. The signatories to the "notice of communication" will work together in the coming weeks to formalize their complaint and submit it to the United Nations. "We will not sit back and watch as our government retreats from its international obligations and undermines women's equality rights," said Robyn Benson, Regional Executive Vice-President, responsible for women's issues at PSAC.

More information about how the bill introduced and passed by Stevie's RepubliCon government represents a systemic attack against women’s equality rights can be found in this document:

...several reforms proposed in this bill quite simply have no budgetary ramifications: for example, federal government spokespersons have admitted that they have not estimated the costs or savings related to the new pay equity regime for the federal public sector that is being introduced by this bill. There was no significant consultation with trade unions, women’s groups and other civil society actors before introducing these reforms. In addition, the gender-based impact of these reforms were not taken into account ...

This is how the RepubliCons merrily observe International Women's Day.