Leveraging Laureen

Last night when the story of Laureen Harper first, hosting/sponsoring a cat video fundraising thingy -- in kitty ears to boot -- then dismissing a question from a young woman on missing and murdered indigenous women at that event hit the news, I was enraged but couldn't put my finger on exactly why.

Watch.



Then I read this:

Somebody needs to tell Laureen Harper that missing and murdered indigenous women isn't a cause... It's a national shame. #mmiw #cdnpoli

— Allison Fenske (@AllisonFenske) April 18, 2014

Yes.

True, I don't like cats. The time, attention, and money spent on them -- and pets in general -- makes me want to hurl. Laureen Harper is repeatedly referred to as a "cat foster-mom" though it's not clear that she herself does.

So, there's that on one side. People who go gooey over animals and whistle past a homeless person with a cap out on the sidewalk.

And on the other, the immense, ongoing national shame of at least 824 murdered and missing indigenous women in Canada. This government not only repeatedly and routinely dismisses any calls for action or inquiry, its treatment of indigenous peoples -- here and everywhere it or its minions have interaction with them -- is simply disgusting.

Laureen's callousness is not surprising then, but breathtaking nonetheless.

“We’re raising money for animals tonight. If you’d like to donate to animals, we’d love to take your money,” she said to lots of clapping, before suggesting dealing with the issue a different night: “tonight we’re here for homeless cats.”

So, now we come to Laureen Harper. I frankly don't give a rat's ass if she's living with her husband or the hunkiest RCMP officer -- of any gender -- in the land. I don't give a flying fuck what she wears, what she eats, what she says.

Because in Canada, mercifully, she is a complete nonentity, no matter what some sycophants would like.

Some commentators have tried to style prime ministers' wives as "First Lady of Canada", similar to the style of First Lady used in republics, but this is not a recognized title. Use of the term is based on the pervasive influence of American media and not a defined public role or title for the prime minister's spouse. In any case, both the spouse of the Canadian monarch and that of the Governor General of Canada take precedence over a prime minister's spouse, rendering the notion untenable.

We just do not *do* First Ladies in Canada (check the wiki link for some interesting people who have wrestled with the role).

Plus, there's that oh-so-Canajan thing of leaving families of politicians alone. "They weren't elected," the manners police sniff. "It just isn't done to attack them."

Unless, of course, the family members chose to become part of the political pageant. Like this.

The federal Conservatives have plotted a road map to a 2015 election campaign that counts on a massive donor- and voter-targeting effort, a communications onslaught, and a bid to “leverage” the popularity of Laureen Harper, the prime minister’s wife, according to documents obtained by the Star.

The simple fact is that Stephen Harper is perceived to be at the very least, a cold, controlling micro-manager, and at worst -- by a scarily increasing number of Canadians -- an outright psychopath.

In short, he has a teensy problem with that whole "human" shtick.

Enter Laureen, who it is hoped/prayed can if not "humanize" him, at least "demonsterfy" him.

It's been tried repeatedly, to little success, whether in an awkward kiss or in sketchy panda embrace.

But hope springs eternal in the CON sausage factory. They're at it again -- now with homeless cats.

Pro tip: If you're going to try to "leverage" someone with as little natural charm as Laureen, get her some fucking media/public speaking training. Try to get her to understand in advance that all "good causes" are not equivalent, and in particular that 800+ missing and murdered women are not a "good cause" just like spaying stray cats.

(Hm. Maybe the issues are analogous in such twisted brains.)

To sum up: Laureen is NOT First Lady. She IS fair game. She DID put herself in a totally frivolous situation. She DID fuck up. In CAT ears. (Imagine the withering look an aide would get with: "Hey, Mrs. Obama, we want you to wear these really cute cat ears.")

But maybe the whole exercise was not for naught. On the YouTube page with the Shit Harper Did video, there was this comment from someone named Paul Gillett.

Before reading about this in the news today, I wasn't aware of the problem of murder in the Indigenous community. Though I don't fully agree with this activists' tactics, I have to say, good job. I also think it is troubling that the conservatives would use the Prime Minister's wife to manipulate Canadians.

I end with this tweet. This was tongue-in-cheek from a friend, but I got many other similar ones -- not so cheeky -- last night.

@fernhilldammit “Shut up about #MMIW, we’re talking about homeless cats” - Laureen Harper’s legacy @Collyw0bbles

— Johnny B (@MayorJeebus) April 18, 2014

ADDED: Share your pet pic. From here.

Honorary doc from catholic college for Mahg-wet.

Is it a consolation prize - like Miss Con-geniality or something along those lines? Because poor Mahg-wet may not be getting the Order of Canada any time soon, no matter how much she whines.

As fern hill pointed out here, the GG-in-waiting is not at all popular with The Fetus©™ fetishists. In fact, there was likely some shrieeeking from that camp when his nomination was confirmed by Stevie. After all, David Johnston chaired the panel whose proposals were shredded by the zygote zealots. The feelings may be reciprocal; they may not his favourite folks either.

Recently, Mahg-wet vociferously championed the interests of donor-conceived offspring and proclaimed the harm they suffered was equivalent to the trauma experienced by aboriginal, "home" and native children who were separated from their biological/'natural' families by government interventions.

Dr Dawg has addressed the question of whether Mahg-wet is a "religious zealot in academic drag--opposing gay marriage, euthanasia and abortion, inveighing against stem cell research and adoption, but avoiding specifically religious vocabulary" before. Yesterday he provided observations then posted an email exchange initiated by professor Amir Attaran with Somerville about her recent Op-Ed.

There's nothing much to add to that brilliant exposé except Mahg-wet's McGill bio photograph that I found through links. Goodness gracious. A picture that's worth more than 1000 words especially if they're mutton, lamb, dressed as, etc. etc.

Religious or naught... ? Before and after? Good twin / evil twin? Dr Somerville and Ms Naugahyde?

Forsaking the Symmetry of Sin?

While I correctly predicted the immediate shrieeeking over the shooting of a
supposed Michigan anti-abortion activist by a seemingly distressed and poorly medicated man, I was holding fire over this event.

Just before eight this morning a woman was going into the building for women on 1st Street in Duluth when she was met by a small group of pro-life supporters.

The protesters urged the woman not to get an abortion when the woman pulled a knife on one of the protesters.

No one was injured in the altercation.

More details here:

Duluth police arrested a 25-year-old woman this morning after she allegedly brandished a knife and threatened two anti-abortion demonstrators outside the Building for Women, 32 E. First St.

The incident occurred at 7:47 a.m., according to demonstrators who said the suspect was on her way into the building and had a verbal exchange with them before pulling a knife. The suspect reportedly held the knife to the neck of one demonstrator and told her to stop speaking. When the second demonstrator reportedly went to help the first, the suspect allegedly threatened her with the knife, as well. Neither demonstrator was injured, and the suspect reportedly went into the building.

Duluth Police arrested the suspect inside the Building for Women. Police report finding a knife in her purse. She was taken into custody and sent to the St. Louis County Jail, where she is being held pending charges of second-degree assault.

Slight digression: I wondered about 'building for women' in the first report, capitalized in the second. So, I googled (emphasis mine).

The Building for Women is a home for organizations and activities which promote the safety, dignity and empowerment of women and others in our region. Our mission is to provide safe, accessible and affordable space in which organizations and individuals, serving primarily women, can grow and thrive. Our goal is to support the women of this region by enhancing the long-term financial stability of the organizations that serve them. The Building for Women serves more than 30,000 women, children and men from northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan and from western Ontario each year. It is a local and regional model for cooperative capital efforts, shared resources and coordinated service delivery.

The Building for Women houses 23 tenants, among them:

League of Women Voters
Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault
Women's Health Center
Institute for a Sustainable Future
AFL-CIO Duluth
American Association of University Women
Aurora: A Northland Lesbian Center
Boyz II Dadz
Chiropractor
Adeline, hair salon and art gallery

According to the comments at the second news link, the building is regularly picketed, because, presumably, of the presence of a clinic offering abortion services along with the usual health services to women like birth control and cancer screening. Or, maybe, it is picketed simply because it is dedicated to women's lives and work.

So, maybe the woman was going in for rape counselling. Or to get her hair done. We don't know yet.

In any case, I waited to see what hay the fetus fetishist shrieeekosphere would try to make of this act of pro-choice violence. So far, there's just this rather bland report, largely a quote from a news source prefaced by:

As sidewalk counselors "demonstrated" outside of a Duluth abortion mill they were given a frightening reminder of the violent nature of abortion.

(I guess demonstrated is in quotation marks, because they weren't demonstrating, they were 'counselling', as in 'harassing'.)

Why isn't the forced-pregnancy gang all over this? As they were with the Michigan shootings, the flying fetus fetish fancier, a (SHRIEEEK!) pregnant anti-choice harasser attacked by a clinic worker, and the terrible crime of egging the home of Cheryl Sullenger a few years ago. (Yes, that's the convicted terrorist Cheryl Sullenger, who pals around with Scott Roeder, confessed assassin of Dr George Tiller.)

Among other heinous acts of pro-choice violence, there are also allegations of drivers aiming cars at clinic harassers, rude language directed at them, and even -- gasp! -- spitting!

One would think that an actual weapon being brandished would elicit an immediate and martrygasmic outpouring of 'See, see, see? The pro-choicers are just as violent as the lone nutbars who have absolutely no, zip, zero, nada connection with the anti-abortion gang!!1!!'

You think the fetus fetishists are giving up on what the Washington Post calls the 'symmetry of sin', or, more commonly, false equivalence?

A comparison predicated literally on duplicity, i.e. on the shifting, imprecise, or tactical (re)definition of a linking term.

Nah, me neither.

UPDATE: Ah, here they come: SUZY ALL-SHRIEEEK and LifeShite. The LifeShite link isn't working for me, so, gee, I guess we have no idea what they have to say about this. I'll check back later.

MORE UPDATE: From LifeShite. A rising tide of pro-choice violence:

A Minnesota woman faces assault charges after she allegedly pulled a knife on a pro-life advocate who encouraged her not to have an abortion. The assault follows a shooting that took place in September in Michigan that saw local pro-life advocate Jim Pouillon shot and killed as he protested abortion.

Because pulling a knife on somebody who is screaming at you not to kill your bay-bee when you may be going to a rape counselling sesssion is EXACTLY the same as a disturbed man shooting a fake abortion protester. Right?