No Compromise MacKay

Press Progress published this photo today.

Yes, indeed, friends of Peace, Order, and Good Government, that is Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General pandering his foul ass off.


It apparently comes from a tweet by Ericka Clarke, who identifies herself as "NFA Field Officer."

Peter Mackay (Attorney General of Canada) rocked a #nocompromise shirt with me today! #nfa #cdnpoli #change #politics pic.twitter.com/lGEhHbzBDJ
— Ericka Clarke (@ericka_clarke) August 23, 2014

That would be the National Firearms Association.

As Clarke points out, the corrupted Canadian maple leaf symbol is captioned "No Compromise."

Let's have a closer look at it from NFA's swag page. These are pins on offer.

(Isn't that sweet? They offer a girly-pink version.)

Now, I don't know anything about guns, but that doesn't look like a varmint-scaring or freezer-filling type weapon to me.

Moreover, the phrase itself is lifted from the org's bigger and scarier USian cousin, the mega-lobby National Rifle Association.

Sadly, cosmic synchronicity strikes.

The top news story today is about a 9-year-old killing her instructor with an Uzi at a place called "Bullets and Burgers." (You can't make this shit up.)

Also, from the Cosmic Whup-Ass Department, there's another story on the latest CONservative fearmongering fundraising flyer, touting "traditional family values."

Under a section entitled "I stand with the Conservative Party on the following issues," the members are asked to check off those that apply. "Respecting traditional family values," is one of the options, along with "safe and sensible firearms policies" and "tough-on-crime approach."

If only the CON Brain [sic] Trust could have seen into the future, I'm sure another option would have been "respecting the rights of young children to play with heavy assault weapons while their parents had a burger and a brew".

As I asked on Twitter: Has any other Attorney General of a supposedly civilized nation ever panderingly posed with butchered national logo on his chest with a bunch of gunnnutz?

I'm pretty sure no other Canadian Attorney General has.

But then no other Canadian Attorney General has posed with a police department and a tank before either.

That's New Glascow, Nova Scotia, population in 2011 a tad over 9,000.

So, fellow and sister Canadians, is Canada unrecognizable yet?

UPDATE: Huffington Post: MacKay was duped into posing in offensive NFA t-shirt.

While that's really not hard to believe, Stephen Lautens opines:

If he's that big a dupe, let's hope MacKay's next clothing encounter is with someone from Victoria's Secret http://t.co/n85LhCpgB8 #cdnpoli
— Stephen Lautens (@stephenlautens) August 27, 2014

Added: Duped is the absolutely most correct word for Petey.

MacKay has quite the history of blaming others for his boo-boos, doesn't he?



UPDATED: Challenged to make photoshop good on his Victoria's Secret idea, Stephen pops this out instead. (Some are very relieved.)

MORE UPDATE: CBC.


EVEN MORE: Lautens is on a roll. Check out #MacKayTees on Twitter. Fun!


UPDATE (August 28/14) About that "duped" angle.

Dammit, double dammit. Ericka Clarke insulted me on twitter four times, telling me that the other guy in the photo whom I'd called the other doofus is a vet who'd "sacrificed life and limb". She told me to "keep it classy." Just now I was trying to embed one of those tweets here and discovered that SHE'D DELETED THEM ALL AND LIKE AN IDIOT I DIDN'T TAKE SCREEN SHOTS.


Arggggghhh.

The cowardice of these people knows no bounds.

MEA CULPA: I was wrong.

@fernhilldammit That would be the injured veteran you so lovingly called a 'doofus'. He sacrificed life and limb for your rights. Continue.

— Ericka Clarke (@ericka_clarke) August 28, 2014

She didn't delete.

UPDATE: From harebell in the comments. This is priceless. The doofus is a liar and Ericka is a shameless schemer.

"I really have to think Kurtis for playing the crippled veteran, MacKay didn't question that" ... pic.twitter.com/QNI6trz5Jc #shameful #cdnpoli

— PatRiotchick (@PatOndabak) August 28, 2014

LAST (I promise) UPDATE: The Star ran a story on #MacKayTees with lots of Stephen Lautens's photoshopped creations but failed to credit him despite his name running up the side and the fact that the Lautens family has a long and current relationship with the paper. At his own blog, Stephen has collected the whole set for our enjoyment. Thanks, Stephen.

Just Plain Spite

Here is Katimavik's reaction to Stevie Spiteful's axe (bold added).

It is with extreme disappointment that we learned today that the Government has decided to end its funding commitment to Katimavik. 

Today’s announcement comes as a surprise, since we are entering the third year of a funding agreement whose terms end March 31st, 2013. The decision is even more surprising considering that the recently made public Canadian Heritage summative evaluation of our programs makes very clear how Katimavik’s programs are not only relevant, important and valuable, but also how the organization attains its targets and the programs tie in with government-wide priorities and the department’s strategic objectives.

For the past 35 years, Katimavik has helped shape a civically responsible Canada by harnessing the power of our young volunteers to help those in need in communities across Canada. In that time, over 30 000 Canadian youth have made a difference in communities from coast-to-coast-to-coast. They participated in our program gaining valuable work, life and leadership skills all the while fostering community development and civic engagement. Their parents had peace of mind knowing that their sons and daughters were participating in a structured, time-tested program, while they navigated the transition from emerging adulthood to adulthood.

In the coming days, our Board of Directors and management staff will be convened to plan the next steps.  

We appreciate the ongoing support of the thousands of Canadians and community organizations that have been touched by our programs. At a time when civic-engagement and voter turnout are at an all-time low, when youth unemployment rates are double the national average, this is clearly the worst time to cut Katimavik. Our mission to promote and instil long-term social responsibility and civic involvement and provide job skills to our young people is now needed more than ever; as is the tangible help to our not-for-profit work partners in communities all across Canada so they can deliver essential services to those that need them the most.

There is still time to reverse the government’s decision. In the weeks and days to come, we hope we can count on Katimavik’s many supporters to speak with their elected officials about their experiences and articulate the value and benefits of a strong Katimavik for Canada.

My best friend's youngest brother was something of a screw-up as a teen. Not a bad kid, just aimless and drifting. My friend did some research and convinced bro to try Katimavik. Bro loved it and came back a different kid.

MT “@althiaraj: A Tory told me they view #Katimavik as a Liberal recruiting ground.” Because it produces smart & caring people #cdnpoli

— Stephen Lautens (@stephenlautens) March 30, 2012

 

But we can't have that, can we?