Yet Another Example Of Why Most Everybody Sucks

I've stated before that I usually don't write about U.S. politics, due to my lack of knowledge about differences between Canadian/U.S. legal and electoral systems. However, here's something I think I have a grasp well enough on to make some snide remarks. Here goes:

Hey, has anyone here heard of Herman Cain?

Yup, I'm talking about THAT Herman Cain. Republican presidential candidate and full-time rapist Herman Cain. Misogynist extraordinaire Herman Cain. First ever "Second Black President" Herman Cain. You know the dude. He's been in the news a bit lately. Seems over the years ol' Herman raped a woman or twelve. Oh, excuse me, sexually assaulted. That's what they're calling it, right? No, oh sorry, sexually harassed. 'Cuz... he didn't... or the rules are... or something. Anyways, there's a big thirteen year extramarital affair hanging over his head now, too. Hoo-wee! Herman, he sure loves the ladeez, amirite? However, one would think hope that due to all these fairly blatant crimes he's committed against women, his approval rating would be falling faster than R.I.M. shares (zing!). But, you'd be wrong. Because Herman Cain is claiming a "groundswell" of support in the face of these many, many accusations against his character. Yes, a groundswell. Whatever the fuck that is. This guy gropes women left, right and center and has been cheating on his wife with a steady mistress for thirteen years and people still fucking love him! What the fucking fuck?

It's so damn depressing sometimes, because if Herman Cain had been a female candidate (especially a democrat, you better believe it) people would be hanging him (her?) out to dry. To be fair, I suppose his approval rating has actually dropped some since all these stories started breaking, but not nearly enough. And he continues his campaign! He believes that he's done nothing wrong! He still thinks he can be president! What the hell? I heard he even tried to head off this affair business by saying something along the lines of "I won't say who, but someone is going to come forward and say something nasty about me. So don't believe it." What are we here, five? "Mom, Dad, you might hear some things about me and your broken lamp in the next little while. Now, I'm not gonna say who from, but I'm here to tell you, whatever you hear, don't believe it." Uh-huh. Nothing inspires trust like asking for blind faith in the face of overwhelming contrary evidence. Well, it works for Jesus, I guess.

The thing that really sucks, though, is that people still support Herman Cain. People (mostly dudes, duh) are so quick to accuse the victims of Cains' attacks (and that's what they were, attacks, make no mistake) of grubbing for the camera, looking for their fifteen minutes, trying to get rich quick, all while ignoring the fact that no woman has ever gotten rich or famous (infamous, maybe, to dudely dudes) in this way. Herman Cain is a misogynist, therefore he has the support of all other misogynists. There's a code, a bro code amongst woman-haters. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if some dudes started to like Cain because of all the accusations. And that's just so fucking scary I can barely deal with it. The more you hate women, the more dudes like you. What the fuck kind of society is this? How can anyone look you in the eye and tell you that it's not an oppressive, misogynist fucking patriarchal empire while looking at the smug-ass grin on Herman Cains' oh-so-guilty-but-getting-away-with-it face? Cain says these allegations are just a smear campaign cooked up by his competitors to attack his character, reputation and name, but he doesn't "believe that America is going to let that happen."

Unfortunately, I think I agree with him on that.

Let's Vote, Ontario.

Just a friendly Nimbostratus reminder to my Ontario readers that today be voting day, by gum. So, get out there and vote, preferably not Conservative or Libertarian. I mean, let's all remember what this election is really about:

That's right, keeping this jackass out of office.

So, do your 'civic duty' and get behind the lesser of several evils! Small steps, friends! And if anyone tells you anything that begins with the words "We can't afford another four years of..." do yourself a favor and kick them in the junk.

Hopefully good news tomorrow!

Oh Trost, You Remarkable Dipshit...

Just a quick addendum to yesterdays' post. IPPF speaks out about Brad Trosts' ill-informed rants concerning why they should get no government monies. All the info is here, but the gist of it is that if they get money for family planning and contraception, then they will most likely have to perform less abortions. How's that sit with you, Brad?

Well, I dunno... I'm still a fucking dipshit.

Great then.

Whoa Whoa Whoa!!! What The Fuck?

Okay, I've been slacking. I admit it. But life's been busy, and sometimes there's just too much stuff to write about. I mean, there's the whole retro-sexism television movement, the fact that someone out there is planning to make a movie out of the Colonel Williams case, horridly sexist advertising that's only getting worse, Tim Hudak's exploding toilet of a campaign (and personality), and the list goes on. I found myself.... temporarily overwhelmed. I'm sure some of you can relate. But once in a while something comes along that snaps you starkly back to clarity, with a white-hot supernova of rage boiling and twisting in that space below your ribcage and above your stomach. What could that thing be?

Apparently, the abortion debate has been reopened.

The one promise Harper seemed like he was going to keep that didn't totally fuck women over would be keeping the abortion debate closed. Now, I realize that there wasn't all that much to debate about for the politicians anyways, seeing as he sneakily defunded the Canadian arm of Planned Parenthood, making safe, legal abortions much more difficult to access in this country, but come ON. What the fucking fuck? Oh, wait, let me clarify something before we go on. Canada still funds Planned Parenthood, but only in countries where abortion is illegal. Wait for it, let it sink in. I know, if that isn't the most fucked of all fucked up shit, I don't know what is.

Ironically enough, this decision made about abortion by Supreme Overlord Herr Harper is causing a rift in the Conservative cabinet, which is what reopened the debate. The voice of the extra-anti-abortion movement within the Conservative ranks is MP Brad Trost, a real, honest to goodness, piece of shit. In 2009 Mr. Trosts' activities included, but were not limited to: criticizing his own governments' funding of Toronto Pride Week and the launching of the petition to defund IPPF. During the 2011 federal election campaign, Trost made news when he spoke at a Saskatchewan Pro-life Association convention and noted to the audience that the government had not renewed funding to Planned Parenthood over the previous year and urged continued support for their defunding.

So, to recap, within the Conservative caucus is an ultra-anti-abortion group that will even go over their leaders' head to keep choice out of the hands of women, going so far as to disregard Harpers' direct orders that the Canadian abortion debate remain closed. Trost and his pro-life buddies are miffed that Harper is shooting any money towards IPPF , even in countries where they're not providing abortions (y'know... kinda like this one) which is why they've taken it upon themselves to reopen the debate. Quoth Trost:

"So in reinvigorating the debate as they have by funding IPPF, you'll see more politicians like myself will be discussing the matter. In a respectful way, but it will be discussed."

Respectfully, of course. Because the Conservatives have a long and gloried history when it comes to dealing respectfully with womens' issues. With the debate reopen in todays' climate of ultra-misogyny and backlash towards feminism and female progress, things don't bode well for women and their reproductive rights. I sincerely hope Harper puts Trost in his place and keeps the abortion issue closed. That's if Harper isn't behind this whole thing to begin with. But, at the end of the day, with Planned Parenthood in Canada still defunded and a pro-life leaning government, what good would it do? We need the Conservatives out of office. Immediately. Or things will just keep getting worse by the day.

Planned Parenthood is being defunded all over the United States, as well. There is a worldwide war on abortion being waged. The war on abortion IS the war on women. What people don't seem to realize is that the war on women is the war on humanity and ultimately, humankind. Now, I am of the opinion that most people are shitty, but I still like to believe that humanity has some potential. But when I look around and see all that's going on in the world, in this country, in my backyard, my beliefs are shaken to their already crumbling foundations. When a fully cognizant. living, breathing woman is deprived of her rights so that they can be given to the embryo she (willingly or not) carries, I know something is wrong. A shocking statement to some: Women are human beings, equal to and ofttimes surpassing men, not mere walking incubators. To deny safe, legal and affordable abortion to women is to deny this statements' validity. The war on women and abortion must not be allowed to take another foothold. Now is the time to organize, mobilize and protest. These rights were hard fought for and hard won. We can't let them be taken without a fight.

I Know, I Know... I'm Back, Again...

Alright, well I'm back again, after yet another impromptu hiatus. Sorry about the laziness in posting, I was on something of a vacation. Let's get right to it.

Everybody who's anybody knows that Stephen Harper hates the ladies. Especially the Aboriginal ones. Hence all the cuts to womens' groups and such, especially ones that investigate Aboriginal women who've disappeared. The CBC is reiterating that point, just in case anyone forgot.

The gist of it is such: The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry was appointed by the provincial government last year to inquire into the conduct of police investigations of women reported missing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside between January 23, 1997 and February 5, 2002. But, the Commission has been essentially neutered, as it cannot inquire into ongoing investigations of missing or murdered women. I know, right? This same Commission is asking the government for the funding they need so that many First Nations groups can be represented and testify at the trial of Robert Pickton. Our governments' reply? No dice.

Basically what this all boils down to is misogyny and racism against First Nations women by our own government. Stephan Harper doesn't want to help Aboriginal women. Stephen Harper doesn't care what happened to the tens of hundreds of Aboriginal women that've gone missing along the Highway of Tears. Stephen Harper doesn't give two flying fucks if any or all of the First Nations groups can air their grievances and present their testimonies at the Pickton trial. Why? Because Stephen Harper likes white, heterosexual Christians with lots of oil money and he doesn't like much else. Well, I mean, he likes kissing up to the United States, especially when he can use their days of mourning to establish police state-like laws up here.  I hate that guy.

Aboriginal/First Nations people get the short end of the stick in Canada on the best of days. This seeming indifference to the genocide of Aboriginal women by our own government (and I mean the government is both indifferent to their plight and partially responsible for it) is appalling. I urge everyone to learn about and get involved with groups protesting, begging for better treatment of First Nations people, especially First Nations women. I think (I mean, as far as I know so far) that the Aboriginal Womens Action Network is a good place to start. I'll see if I can't provide a link later. Sorry to cut this short, but I'm back (again) and lest we forget, Stephen Harper is a knob (again).

P.S. Always and Forever, Fuck You, Sun Media News Network. Especially Ezra Levant, Kathy Shaidle and Michael Coren. Woot.

Sass. Nimbostratus Style.

Hey, sorry about the absences again. There was a lot of heavy real-world type stuff going on. But, I'm back And so, hopefully are you. So, let's get right down to it, in a lighthearted welcome back post.


PM Harper 'surprise guest' at Toronto Mayor Ford's BBQ

I know, right? Big surprise that Herr Harper pals around with weapons-level grade douchefuck Rob Ford. Mayor Rob, who hates the gays, women drivers and libraries, is just the kind of right-wing fucktard that Stephen Harper would hang out with on the weekends, sipping Coronas, discussing the latest episode of Michael Coren (another huge white supremacist, christian, sexist doucher) fondly, while watching the sun go down and the illegal immigrant slaves work.

People HATE Rob Ford. He's polarizing. Unless you picket abortion clinics, you're probably on the side of those who dislike him. I know I am. So's Margaret Atwood. And if that fact doesn't faze you, nothing will. (Point of fact, Margaret is mostly battling with Robs' brother Doug Ford, a Toronto City Councillor. Wheeeee, nepotism!)

It's just douchebag white dudes supporting other douchebag white dudes, all for the benefit of, you guessed it, more douchebag white dudes. This is nothing new. It's just so blatant now, that it turns the ol' stomach worse than ever. What else can I even say about our shitty Conservative government that I haven't said before? *sigh* Perhaps my assistant can add something to the proceedings? Sagat?

SUPER TIGER FUCKING UPPERCUT!!!!

Thanks, handsome. Anyways, the point is that things can't get better in a vacuum. If we want Rob Ford outta Toronto, we've gotta get Herr Harper out of Parliament. The next election is a ways off, of course, but it's time to get organized. Protests, rallies, telling everyone and anyone who'll listen what the Conservative agenda really is (make life good for white, Christian men only) and doing our best to put a stop to it. I don't want to see what'll happen if the Conservatives are left to run amok for too long. If this keeps up, Rob Ford might be our next Prime Minister, instead of an embarrassing memory for Toronto. My condolences to everyone living in the city right now.

P.S. Sun Media Network sucks. Just in case you forgot.

Like A Bicycle On A Treadmill, Watch Hudak Backpeddle

Hey all! I guess up until now I haven't really talked at all about my pal and yours, Tim Hudak. Yup, a friend to all out there, regardless of race, color, creed, gender, etc.... Tim Hudak loves you, especially now that it's nearing election time. See, Timmy's a true blue 'Tory. And since his overlord obtained his majority government, well Timmy's been just dying to suit up and run Ontario the way he thinks it should be run. And you'd be forgiven if you thought that running Ontario Timmy-style would make abortions a thing of the past, seeing as in 1995, Hudak had ties to the Campaign Life Coalition and in 2009 Timmy said he was pro-life and had signed petitions which called for the defunding of abortions. Yes, that's right, Timmy Hudak is what you'd call, and I hope my pronunciation is right, a real fucking piece of shit.

But, what's this? Timmy says it ain't so! He says he's NOT pro-life! I mean, he "may have" signed a petition or two like that, but he didn't mean it, right? It was just a lark! Come on, I mean, who hasn't just up and singed a petition or two that could totally fuck over 52% of the population? Timmy states that he plans to follow his overlord, the right dishonorable Herr Harper in not re-opening the abortion debates. And hey, Harper's trustworthy, right? I mean, what with the House of Commons, Senate and Supreme Court stacked 'Tory blue, he probably wouldn't even have to re-open the debate anyways. They could probably just sneak a bill right through congress, and nobody would be the wiser. Even if they were, most Ontarians can't seem to muster up the gusto to debate things that go beyond harming women. Remember all the HST protest in British Columbia? Remember the overwhelming noise of chirping crickets back over in Ontario?

The Liberals are out of the running this provincial election. Ontario, by and large a red province for a long time, now stands poised at a crossroads. We can be either blue or orange now, and I'm sure you can all guess which is the better hue to choose. We can't let the Conservatives gain any more ground than they already have, or the rights of women in this country will continue to fall by the wayside. Don't let this jerk into office.

I'm such a bum-breath! Don't vote for me!

You Had Me Fooled, Anthony

Well, it's official. United States Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner has admitted to sending lewd photos and text messages to any number of young women. Women who are too young for him. College age women. While he's married. His wife is an aide for Hillary "Kick-Ass" Clinton, by the way. 

I'm saddened by the admission, but not terribly surprised. It's just that I had expected better of congressman Weiner. He had always struck me as an ally, a staunch defender of the rights of women, LGBT people and other minorities. He seemed to be something of a pro-feminist congressman, a rarity to be sure. I had in the past hoped that someone the like of him would emerge in our own government. His witty, brash and unapologetic style of debate, coupled with a seemingly unending belief in human fucking rights made him a favorite of mine, one of the few U.S. congresspeople I knew on sight, by name. He was a defender of abortion, of womens' right to choose. He rallied against obscene 'art' placed on view in public places. Every cause he took up seemed to resonate within me as a cause that I was behind here, in my own hometown.

But, this revelation has cast doubt on all of it. How can Weiner be an ally after this? He has painted himself an adulterer, perhaps a closet porn addict as these things never happen in a vacuum. He's also painted himself a hypocrite, which may be the most damaging thing of all, as it takes weight away from all the arguments over important issues he's ever waged. How can one claim to be a champion of womens' rights if one doesn't even respect ones' wife? Or the boundaries pertaining to those young women he was communicating with that should not have been crossed? How can anything he said be trusted now?

Anthony Weiner now appears to me at least to be if any kind of feminist, a fun-fem. Had this story not broken, we may have well seen him marching in a Slutwalk in his town. I don't know if he was ever a feminist, if he ever really believed in what he was fighting for or if the platform he took and the issues he chose to stand for were just footholds he used to facilitate these illicit and perverse relationships with young women. Yeah, I'm saying it. Maybe he was just one of those dudes who says he's a feminist and gives a shit about womens' issues to get laid. Maybe. I don't know. But I DO know that he's let a lot of people down. I do know that a lot of people looked to him for hope and change, and now they've received more of the same disappointment that they get from others.

I feel sorry for his wife. I feel sorry for the young women he was corresponding with, as their privacy will be taken from them by the United States media in their pursuit of the story. I feel sorry for all those who championed and put their trust in Anthony Weiner for a better tomorrow.

Well, there's still Hillary, right?

Taking A Page Out Of The Commons (Get It?) A.K.A. REVOLUTION!

Oh geez, oh Maude, how pissed was I that I couldn't be home yesterday to be the first to blog about this? Viva la revolution! Now this is what I'm talking about! The amount of planning and bravery of this protest is, as far as I know, on an unprecedented scale in Canada. Right there in the House of Commons! Sneaking a "Stop Harper" sign onto the floor! Disrupting the throne speech! Having a news release already prepared for distribution upon your almost certain impending removal from the House! Like WOW, man! This kid is a hero. You wanna see cool? Well, this is cool. Check this out if you haven't already seen it and couldn't be bothered to click on the link I so thoughtfully provided for you.

REVOLUTION!!!

That takes guts. This (former) parliamentary page, Brigette DePape, is calling for a 'Canadian Spring', a series of movements of civil disobedience by the Canadian populace to rise up against our government and demand the changes we so obviously need. This kid realizes that Herr Harper's agenda is bad fucking news, and has the chutzpa to DO something about it. Well, I'm all for this. I hope she gets the wealth of support she deserves. The youth of this country do need to stand up and be heard. The Conservatives only got their majority due to the backwater ridings containing few voters that are die-hard bible-thumping conservatives out in the middle of the boonies. This government is NOT the one chosen by and large by Canadians. There are more small Conservative ridings with less people in them than can be countered by large left wing ridings that have triple the populace! The system is broken, and it takes brave individuals like DePape to get the ball rolling to fix it.

I get a kick out of dudes who are all distraught over this, saying crap about how this is a travesty. "This is an outrage. You should be ashamed of yourself." says one passerby, offering his dudely opinion during an interview with DePape, of which he was no part of. These are the same dudes, mind you, who are all "Freedom of speech!!!" when anyone gets close to their pornography, or their strip clubs or cracking down on Johns or saying that, you know, women should be conscious to provide consent throughout sexual activity and whatnot. And these dudes say this shit without a hint of irony. I just don't get it. Where are your fucking priorities, people? What the fuck is wrong with you? This is your country too! Do all you dudes out there hate women that much that all you care about is humiliating, raping, beating and killing them for your gratification at the expense of everything else? Are your sick porno fantasies so dear to you that you'll fight tooth and nail for them, but not for an egalitarian society where everything will be better for everyone?

Fact is, this kid is fighting for that egalitarian society, for AND in spite of dudes that would see her abused and dead. That's REAL bravery, just as much as it took to stand there and wage her protest in the House. This kid is a hero, not just for what she did, but for what she has to believe in to do it. She believes that we deserve better, that we can do better, if we all band together and demand a government that will put us as a populace ahead of their own selfish interests. That womens' rights and environmental care will take us into the future over financing weapons of war and big business. Can we afford to let her message go unheard and unregarded? Can we as a society afford NOT to wake up and start seeing our similarities instead of our differences? Can men stop killing women in the name of their sick sexual gratification so we can get some fucking work done and save this country we're in? This kid thinks so. Do YOU want to let a young activist down? I don't.

Canada's #1! Canada's #1! As Long As You're A Hetero White Dude! As Long As You're A Hetero White Dude!

Alright, let's get down to it. While reading my morning news on the CBC I came across one of those "it's so fucking great to live here!" pieces that the news so often runs, designed to promote nationalism and ignorance simultaneously. Before I start the rant, why do I fucking read news off the CBC so often? It only pisses me off, then sends me scurrying across the web to other news sites to find objective views (often with more information) on the same stories. Why do I never learn? I guess I'd have less to write about? I don't know. Fuck it.

Anyways, there's tons of reasons why Canada is a kick ass place to live, and if you can't see that, well I guess you're as dumb as a couch! And for all you couch-dumb cretins out there, someone's compiled a survey to help you out! Not that Canada's actual place on the survey is mentioned, nor where one can view the whole survey, but who cares, right? I mean, nearly four out of five Canadians are satisfied with their lives! Nearly four out of five! What the fuck does that mean? And why haven't I met any of these people? They must live in the nice houses on the other side of town. What an abstract way to define something so very complex. It's hard for me to imagine the average Canadian woman (whomever that is) saying she's "satisfied" with her life. What with being a member of an oppressed class, oftentimes within an already oppressed class, while the resources available to her AS an oppressed class are being slowly (or not so slowly) taken away.

The "average" Canadian households' income is $27,015 as of 2008! That's in US dollars, too! Whoopee! But, what nobody mentions is that as of 2010, the average Canadian household debt is $96,000. And that's in Canadian dollars. Which lately are at parity or worth more than the ol' greenback.

Nearly 72% of Canadians aged 15-64 have a paid job (rather than an unpaid one? I know lots of Canadians that have both, but that's just until housewifery and motherhood becomes paid work, any day now...). But, I know that this is skewing the truth too. Lots of those jobs are paying wages that put Canadian citizens, most often women below the poverty line. Do you know what it takes to be an office clerk/receptionist these days? I do. It takes all of the skills to be an office clerk/receptionist such as data entry, phone etiquette, etc, as well as the skills of an accountant, as well as usually a babysitter for your dudely, oblivious boss, as well as oftentimes being tri-fucking-lingual, and having super-double-secret clearance, all for minimum wage! Whoop-dee-doo! And that is for fields in which women predominate, due to the fact that men devalue them, simply because they allow women to work in them. Therefore, these jobs are undervalued in terms of pay and respect and given to women who already makes less money than men, even though wage disparity is apparently illegal. What the fuck.

And it goes on. Blah blah blah we work 40 hours less per year. That's a whole week. 87% of Canadians have a high school or equivalency diploma, which gets you nothing out in the real world. Life expectancy is 80.7 years, one whole fucking YEAR above average! The level of PM10, which can damage... your lungs.... is... what? Our air is better? By a little? Huh?

This is bullshit, and you know it. Perhaps it has something to do with our lax laws on bribery? It's hard for me to read that list and think somebody's not on the take. And with Stephen Harper off to spread more lies about how good things are at home, it's up to us here in the middle of this shit not to be fooled by what the government puts out there to placate us. Remember, to all those that say "It could be worse, you could be in Libya/Syria/Congo/Detroit.", we could also be in Iceland or Sweden or elsewhere, where things are better. The fact that certain things are worse elsewhere should not stop us from trying to improve things here. Passivity doesn't foster change.

Also, in other news, it's now your own responsibility to find your missing children. I'm not saying the website in and of itself is a bad thing, but if you're going to acknowledge that the resources the police have are limited, shouldn't fixing that be a priority? Or am I off base here? No, I didn't think so. I just hate that when a child goes missing, more often than not, it seems that the family of said child has to be more active in the search then the police do to have any kind of justice, closure or hope of finding their child ever again. The system is broken. My heart goes out to any family that has ever lost a child, only to be told that "there's nothing more the police can do at this point."

Final note of the post: I've started reading Letters From A War Zone, by Andrea Dworkin. I don't know why it's taken me so long. She was a brilliant writer, and a brilliant human being. I'm sad that I am only now able to read her words and see her brilliance post-mortum. I am sadder now than ever at the fact she is no longer with us. I feel the world has lost a great ally in her. But I am glad her writing and legacy live on, and I am glad to be one of those that hopes to be worthy to carry on her words, and tell people of them. Thank you, Andrea Dworkin, for all that you did.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Harperland

Well, the cabinet shuffle didn't have many surprises in it, except that whole John Baird as foreign affairs minister move. Really? You want that putz as our representative to other countries? Are we talking about the same John Baird? The shouty, schoolyard bully who never lets anyone in the Commons get a word in edgewise, and steadfastly defends his Conservative cabinet mates, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that they're guilty of one crime or another? I'll say it here and I'll probably say it again and again:

I HATE JOHN BAIRD!

I mean, the guy just rubs me the wrong way. Every time I see him, every time I hear him speak. 

I'm John Baird! Grrrrrruffff! Ruff!

Hate that guy. In other moves, Tony Clement hits the Treasury Board. You know what they do? Mostly make cuts to civil service. Whooops! Wonder what's first on the chopping block. Most of the other cabinet big names stayed put. Peter McKay (who I don't like), Vic Toews (who I also don't like) and Jim Flaherty (three for three) all retain their positions. Rona Ambrose stays in charge of Public Works and Government Services, and when there's time she can still pretend to care about Status of Women.

But, that's not enough for Mr. Harper! If you didn't get re-elected, well then, it's off to the Senate for you! Three, count 'em, three defeated MP's just got appointed to the Senate by Harper, even though the public said through voting that we don't want them. Larry Smith, Fabian Manning and Josee Verner, all defeated, all returning to the Senate. Hmmm.... remember what I said about Harper stacking the deck in his own interests? Well, lookee here at what we have now. Things are getting worse. Good thing the world is ending on Saturday, or we might've been in a heap of trouble. Yup, the Lord is on his way, and I for one am sooooo sure he's coming. Say, do you think the Lord likes quiche? Maybe I'll bake a quiche.

Quick Links

Man, there's a whole bunch of bullshit going on these days, my head is swimming, so I thought I'd post some links, and let the discussions go from there.

Public Servant Slams Response To Harassment

Hillary Clinton Removed From Iconic Photo

Harper Could Shape Supreme Court For Decades

All super good news, amirite? I'm real overtired today, so I apologize about this half-assed post. But, man, did you read these? If you didn't, go ahead, I'll still be here when you get back. There, now you're up to speed. First off, sexual harassment in the workplace is more commonplace than anyone really wants to admit. Actually, that pretty much goes for all threats women face these days, they go on more often than anyone wants to admit. I work in an industry where misogyny and racism is rampant, and I do my darndest to try to make the work environment better for everyone with varying degrees of success. But, I always (apparently misguidedly) believed that government jobs were a bit better, due to the stricter HR codes and harassment policies. Whoops, guess not! It looks like assholes are everywhere, although I'm not as surprised as I'm pretending to be. This poor lady was groped, advanced upon and then threatened until she was too afraid to go to work. And this guy gets to just continue his rise to the top of the office. I fucking hate this world.

The decision to photoshop women out of a picture, simply due to the fact that they are women, and that might excite your target audience is just beyond fucking comprehension to me. And people want to continue to argue that monotheistic religion doesn't subjugate women. Really. Huh. Not at all? Not even a little bit? Not even the part where you erase them from history so your menz won't get all distracted and having teh bad thoughtz? No, I guess not. Sorry about that.

And finally, my ol' pal Stephen Harper, doing what he does best. Stacking the deck in his own interests. Well, as long as the Supreme Court of Canada doesn't make decisions on anything too important. What? What's that you say? They make decisions on abortion law? On gay marriage? On prostitution law (five bucks say Johns get a free ride)? All of that stuff I've been saying that Stephen Harper hates more than getting a phone call during 100 Huntley Street? Oh, well then. That's a problem. But, not for the Conservative right, I guess.

Once again, apologies for the shodiness of this post. Better quality next time, I promise.

Oh Give Me A Break....

Hey! Hey everybody? You all remember that whole G20 thing, right? That thing that came after that G8 thing? Remember? It was a pretty big shitshow? C'mon you remember it. You know, about the whole government having secret powers thing, overstepping their boundaries, ordering the police to plant fake protesters in the crowds (anarchists indeed), arresting and beating hundreds maybe thousands of protestors, throwing them in jail, and sexually assaulting them, before saying "Whooops, you're all free to go."? Ah, jogged your memory, did I? Well, it's about to get stupider. Now there's a big ol' blame game going on. The Conservative government is blaming Dalton McGuinty for passing the 'secret police power law', saying that it fell under provincial jurisdiction. The Tories, with the support of the NDP are blaming the whole debacle on the Toronto Liberals. And while the NDP are demanding an inquiry into the whole matter, the Harpernauts are saying a public apology will suffice. Really? That's it? I mean, if you're so mad about this, why not stick those remaining Liberals to the wall? Well, for one, Dalton says it's not his fault. The orders to give police special and secret powers came from on high, from the PM himself, possibly. And therefore, no apology. He IS taking responsibility for issuing the order to the police, although he says his orders were misinterpreted. Is Dalton innocent? Oh no, no way. Do I believe that he thought this up all on his own and that the Prime Minister or his staff had no involvement whatsoever? No, not really. A secret police force with the power to arrest, detain, beat, rape and do whatever else they please to whomever they please sounds like it'd be right up Harpers' alley. I don't know if we'll ever get to the bottom of what happened in Toronto during the G20. But the victims have a right to know. The people have a right to know. We need to know who's protecting us and who's selling us out. Because if they did it once, they'll sure as shit do it again.

Has It Been Four Years Yet?

Well, Stephen Harper hasn't given me as much to work with as I thought he would after winning a majority. The pundits seem to think he'll stick close to the center for a while. I guess that's good news, and other than keeping Parliament closed for two more weeks and stacking the senate a bit more, things seem quiet on the political front. Let me be clear: I DON'T FUCKING TRUST IT. The CBC shat out this piece of nothing today, both to placate worried left-wingers like me, and to mask the real reason I believe that the Conservatives won the majority. In a word, hate. The climate of this country is shifting, ever faster towards a climate of hate. The more multicultural we become, the more racism I see. The more women advance and fight back for basic human rights, the more misogyny I see. The more Canada takes in immigrants for the sole purpose of having more taxpayers and consumers, without having the jobs for an increased population, I see more xenophobia. Gay marriage = more homophobia. This Conservative party, the one that tried to sneak so many dehumanizing bills under the table, now no longer has to. They have the Commons. They have the Senate. And I believe that the shit will positively cover the fan when Parliament reopens. I think I'm going crazy from the waiting, the anticipation of bad things to come, but they most assuredly will.

I'd like to apologize for criticizing some of the new NDP MPs in an earlier post. It seems I was jumping on a bandwagon that I really didn't want to be on. It was shitty, elitist and even sexist of me to assume anything about these people, due to the facts that I don't know them, haven't yet seen what they can bring to the table and didn't check all sources, merely jumped to a conclusion. I wholeheartedly apologize and will never make such a mistake or blanket statement again. These new MPs have enough to deal with right now, they don't need to add one more shithead blogger to the pile. Thank you to those that pointed out my mistake.

I started reading The Alphabet Versus The Goddess by Leonard Shlain yesterday. So far, it's an interesting read, but I'll save opinions for completion. If anyone's read the book and wants to put in their two cents, or has any other recommendations, by all means, let me know what's good.

Rumblings, Post-Election

I'm trying to remain optimistic. I keep hearing about the inexperience of the new NDP caucus, by and large in Quebec. It almost seems as though the party was slapped together at the last minute, and some representatives weren't even expected to win... but they did. Ruth Ellen Brosseau is fast becoming the bull's eye of media and public opinion scorn. A nineteen year old bartender who spent a portion of the campaign on vacation in Las Vegas, who speaks French so atrocious they won't even air the over-the-phone interview that was conducted with her, who has possibly never even been to the riding she was elected in. That doesn't look good. People are also nervous about the fact that four other MPs are currently attending or recently graduated from McGill University. I'm not in any way implying that young people are not fit for government duties. But I am worried about the Conservative majority preying on the youth and inexperience of the Loyal Opposition. It raises questions I don't even want to have to ask. That meeting Jack Layton had with Stephen Harper just before the budget was released, just before the non-confidence vote, what really took place there? I'm starting to believe some kind of deal was cut. The Liberals are out of the way now, possibly for years, and the BQ is on the verge of disappearing altogether. Did Jack Layton sell us out to become the official opposition, only to make that opposition so weak it can barely oppose at all? I shouldn't be judging the abilities of these new MPs before the even sit in the House, but I'm nervous. I've had an unshakable feeling of dread in my spine since the majority was announced. I have stated before I am scared of the direction this country is poised to take. I am scared for people who are not white, who are not male, who are not cisgendered, who are not christian. Even more so than before, I am scared. I sincerely hope that my fears can be at least somewhat placated when the dust settles and the House reopens. But I'm not confident.


P.S. As a quick aside, this was the "Funny Quote of the Day" in my Gmail inbox this morning: "Bachelors have consciences, married men have wives." Barf. Fail. Fuck you, Samuel Johnson.

Good Tidings Amidst A Conservative Shitstorm?

Trigger Warning: The comments on the article linked to in this post were pretty tame at the time of posting, but who knows what's happened since.

According to news sources, a record number of female MP's are headed to Parliament post-election. This is the first silver lining I've seen out of this whole election debacle, aside from the NDP becoming the official opposition, but I'm waiting to see how that works out. The stats are at least 76 women will be sworn in, putting representation in the house at about 25%. That's unprecedented for Canada, I believe... and ho-hum for many other places in the world. The fact that we're just reaching this kind of statistic now makes me feel once again like we're stuck in some kind of fucking time warp in this country. Like no one wants to let go of the June and Ward facade of 50's lifestyle that the Conservatives seem to want to play up so much. By the way, the Conservatives only have 17% female representation in the House of Commons even though they hold the most seats. I know, right? I'm fucking shocked, too. But, that's just status quo from a party that loves to covertly do away with funding for womens' groups, womens' shelters, Planned Parenthood and what have you.

But, getting back to it, this shouldn't be how it is in this day and age. We're doing miserably in this aspect of government in this country, so bad it looks (perhaps rightfully so) that we're not even trying. While we're not the worst in the world, we're sure as shit not the best. I dunno about you but I'm not happy about 48th place in anything. Sure, those stats are from 2009, but we all know that shit hasn't changed so drastically in two years. So, am I happy about the small increase? Yes, of course. But I hope it's only the first few drops signaling that the dam is finally about to burst, and female representation in politics is about to have a major upswing. But, once again, with a Conservative majority, I won't hold my fucking breath.

Oh Canada, I'm So Disappointed...

Well, there you have it. A Conservative majority government. I guess that's what I get for telling you all to go out and vote. And while I'm happy about the human-rights friendly NDP becoming the official opposition, the whole Harper majority thing sends chills up my spine. This man has no scruples and his sordid cabinet of characters, all of whom have their own scandals and skeletons to hide, will barely have to hide their contempt for anyone who's not white, male, christian and upper middle-class or better. Everyone who's got a conscience knows that Harper is a dictator, and now the doors are open wider than ever for him. I'm not saying he'll just do whatever he wants. I'll leave that to Greg Weston. But I am frightened. And I disagree with Mr. Weston on the point of Harper staying close to center. I don't think he has it in him. I believe he'll be emboldened by this victory and the cuts to womens' groups and programs will continue. I believe abortion will be placed back on the table, and we'll have our own war on roe here, just as is happening in the U.S. I believe that gay marriage will be re-opened and possibly reneged on. I just hope that with a strong New Democrat opposition, perhaps some of the coming tide of government-sponsored misogyny and homophobia can be abated. But, I'm not confident. I feel that dark days are ahead. I'm afraid for my partner. I'm afraid for me. I'm afraid for everyone I know. And with the Liberal and Bloc parties all but decimated, they'll be too busy rebuilding to be even the modicum of use they once were to concerned leftists such as myself. I had hoped for different. I suppose that's what I received. But I had also hoped for better. And on that, I feel cheated.

Oh, and congratulations to Elizabeth May in getting a seat in the House of Commons. I am truly glad your perseverance has paid off. I only wish that it had happened under much different circumstances.

Seriously..... what a putz.