We live in time when the Harper government seems to be doing everything in its power to persuade Canadians that democracy is meaningless and that we, the citizens, have no power. In my view, the increasing invocation of closure on debate, sending more and more Parliamentary committees to meet behind closed doors, and egregiously and contemptuously ignoring all questions from the Opposition by responding with partisan ripostes, the Harperites are following an agenda to disenchant and disengage normal Canadians, leaving the field almost totally to their reactionary supporters.
Rick Salutin, in his latest video on The Star website, reminds us that there is much more to democracy than simply trudging to the polls every few years. It is something that has to be cultivated and practiced all the time. The video is well-worth viewing.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Another Installment of, How Stupid Can They Get?
Update: After reading this post, be sure to check the comments section for an interesting observation from Christian.
From the morally and cognitively impaired Florida Family Association comes the following news, news that consumers may wish to bear in mind at this most holy time of the year. I have taken the liberty of highlighting certain well-known brands::
Home Depot will not advertise again on All-American Muslim.
Home Depot sent the following email to Florida Family Association supporters stating that they would NOT advertise again during TLC's propagandizing All-American Muslim show.
We checked into this and although one of our commercials did appear during one of these episodes, we are not a sponsor of this show and we do not have any advertising scheduled to run on future episodes. Thank you very much for contacting us.
..............................................................
Degrassi loses several more advertisers. Florida Family Association sent out email alerts in October and November 2011.
Fifty five (55) companies stop advertising during Degrassi.
Supporter’s emails in response to Florida Family Association email campaigns and emails from the Florida Family Association office appear to have influenced the following Fifty Five (55) companies to stop advertising during DeGrassi since the monitoring first started in July 2010: 3C Incorporated (Careonetoday.com); Adidas; American Legacy Foundation; Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida; Bridgestone Firestone North America Tire; Burlington Coat Factory; Burt's Bees Acne; Cadbury Adams (Sour Patch Kids, Stride); Church and Dwight (Clean Shower, Nair, Orange Glo); Coca Cola (Coke, Fanta, Sprite); Colgate Palmolive; Conagra (Chef Boyardee); Corinthian Colleges; Dell; Eastman Kodak; Gamefly; General Mills (Fiber One, Multi Grain Cherios, Yoplait), General Motors (Chevy); Hewlett Packard; Horizon Group USA (Mon Bijou); Idea Village (Depilsilk); InCharge Debt Solutions; Inverness Medical Innovations (Clearblue pregnancy test); Jarden Corp (Mr. Coffee); JC Penney; K12; Kellogg (Frosted Flakes, Pops Cereal); Kingsisle Entertainment (Wizard101); Kraft Foods; McAfee Security; MeadWestvaco Corp. (fivestargiveaway.com, fivestarmusicinsider.com); Mylan (Myallergysurvey.com); Nationwide; Nestle; Novartis (Excedrin); Packit; Payless Shoes; Pepsico (Pepsi); Perfetti Van Melle USA (Airheads); Pure Digital (Flip Video); Research In Motion (Blackberry); Sarah Dessen; SAS Group (Dream Lash); Sears; State Farm; Stiefel Laboratory (Max Clarity); Sun Products (Snuggie); Sunny Delight (Sunny D); Sylvan Learning Center; T-Mobile USA; Target, THQ (uDraw); Travelocity; Valve Corporation (Portal 2); William M Wrigley (Cobalt) and Zeno.
Florida Family Association places a priority on monitoring shows such as Degrassi which target children with homosexual propaganda and explicitly immoral content.
Copyright 2010-2011
From the morally and cognitively impaired Florida Family Association comes the following news, news that consumers may wish to bear in mind at this most holy time of the year. I have taken the liberty of highlighting certain well-known brands::
Home Depot will not advertise again on All-American Muslim.
Home Depot sent the following email to Florida Family Association supporters stating that they would NOT advertise again during TLC's propagandizing All-American Muslim show.
We checked into this and although one of our commercials did appear during one of these episodes, we are not a sponsor of this show and we do not have any advertising scheduled to run on future episodes. Thank you very much for contacting us.
..............................................................
Degrassi loses several more advertisers. Florida Family Association sent out email alerts in October and November 2011.
Fifty five (55) companies stop advertising during Degrassi.
Supporter’s emails in response to Florida Family Association email campaigns and emails from the Florida Family Association office appear to have influenced the following Fifty Five (55) companies to stop advertising during DeGrassi since the monitoring first started in July 2010: 3C Incorporated (Careonetoday.com); Adidas; American Legacy Foundation; Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida; Bridgestone Firestone North America Tire; Burlington Coat Factory; Burt's Bees Acne; Cadbury Adams (Sour Patch Kids, Stride); Church and Dwight (Clean Shower, Nair, Orange Glo); Coca Cola (Coke, Fanta, Sprite); Colgate Palmolive; Conagra (Chef Boyardee); Corinthian Colleges; Dell; Eastman Kodak; Gamefly; General Mills (Fiber One, Multi Grain Cherios, Yoplait), General Motors (Chevy); Hewlett Packard; Horizon Group USA (Mon Bijou); Idea Village (Depilsilk); InCharge Debt Solutions; Inverness Medical Innovations (Clearblue pregnancy test); Jarden Corp (Mr. Coffee); JC Penney; K12; Kellogg (Frosted Flakes, Pops Cereal); Kingsisle Entertainment (Wizard101); Kraft Foods; McAfee Security; MeadWestvaco Corp. (fivestargiveaway.com, fivestarmusicinsider.com); Mylan (Myallergysurvey.com); Nationwide; Nestle; Novartis (Excedrin); Packit; Payless Shoes; Pepsico (Pepsi); Perfetti Van Melle USA (Airheads); Pure Digital (Flip Video); Research In Motion (Blackberry); Sarah Dessen; SAS Group (Dream Lash); Sears; State Farm; Stiefel Laboratory (Max Clarity); Sun Products (Snuggie); Sunny Delight (Sunny D); Sylvan Learning Center; T-Mobile USA; Target, THQ (uDraw); Travelocity; Valve Corporation (Portal 2); William M Wrigley (Cobalt) and Zeno.
Florida Family Association places a priority on monitoring shows such as Degrassi which target children with homosexual propaganda and explicitly immoral content.
Copyright 2010-2011
My Letter to David Caton and His Florida Family Association
I just tried to send the following letter to the Florida Family Association's David Caton. After hitting the submit button, the notification was that my message could not be sent, probably because their server is being overwhelmed with messages. I shall try again later, but for now, here is my note to the benighted David:
Dear David,
I would like to congratulate you for amply demonstrating something that we in the 'Great White North' have known for a very long time: that many Americans, especially those who subscribe to and support groups such as yours, are shockingly backward, racist and clearly just not very intelligent.
I would also like to thank you for helping me to know the companies I should avoid when spending my consumer dollars. At the top of my list is Lowe's, which proved its utter lack of integrity by giving in to pressure from people who clearly lack even the most basic of cognitive and reasoning skills.
Finally, I would like to thank you for providing endless opportunities for people like me to mock people like you, both in our blogs and in our conversations with our friends.
Keep up your exciting work. I look forward to your next buffoonish campaign with great anticipation.
Sincerely,
Lorne Warwick
P.S. I will be sending a copy of this letter to all of the feckless companies who have allowed themselves to be intimidated by the likes of you.
Dear David,
I would like to congratulate you for amply demonstrating something that we in the 'Great White North' have known for a very long time: that many Americans, especially those who subscribe to and support groups such as yours, are shockingly backward, racist and clearly just not very intelligent.
I would also like to thank you for helping me to know the companies I should avoid when spending my consumer dollars. At the top of my list is Lowe's, which proved its utter lack of integrity by giving in to pressure from people who clearly lack even the most basic of cognitive and reasoning skills.
Finally, I would like to thank you for providing endless opportunities for people like me to mock people like you, both in our blogs and in our conversations with our friends.
Keep up your exciting work. I look forward to your next buffoonish campaign with great anticipation.
Sincerely,
Lorne Warwick
P.S. I will be sending a copy of this letter to all of the feckless companies who have allowed themselves to be intimidated by the likes of you.
More on American Doofuses
Last night, in high dudgeon, I wrote a somewhat intemperately-worded piece on American 'intelligence,' (prompted by Lowe's dropping its sponsorship of a TLC show, All American Muslim, due to pressure from a backward reactionary group - is there any other kind?) breaking my rule about making sweeping generalizations; I should amend that now by saying that I know that not all Americans are benighted, just a seemingly overwhelming number of them.
To help support my contention, I offer you this link to a segment of the Daily Show in which Jon Steward skewers the Florida Family Association for its stance against the show. According to its spokesman, David Caton, the show's fault lies in the fact that it shows Muslims as ordinary people, not the bomb-hurling terrorists they really are.
I'm proud of myself. I was able to write this post without descending into harsh invective and sweeping generalizations despite much provocation, as you will see if you watch the clip. I think I also succeeded in writing it without showing the withering contempt I feel, both for Lowe's cowardice and David Caton's contemptuous bigotry.
To help support my contention, I offer you this link to a segment of the Daily Show in which Jon Steward skewers the Florida Family Association for its stance against the show. According to its spokesman, David Caton, the show's fault lies in the fact that it shows Muslims as ordinary people, not the bomb-hurling terrorists they really are.
I'm proud of myself. I was able to write this post without descending into harsh invective and sweeping generalizations despite much provocation, as you will see if you watch the clip. I think I also succeeded in writing it without showing the withering contempt I feel, both for Lowe's cowardice and David Caton's contemptuous bigotry.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
How Stupid are Our Neigbours to the South?
While that question may seem redundant, I offer for your consideration more proof of how benighted our American 'cousins' (in the same sense that homo sapiens and neanderthals were cousins) are. The Star's Rob Salem reports that because of pressure brought to bear by some reactionary group in the U.S. called the Florida Family Association, the national Lowe’s hardware chain has agreed to drop its sponsorship of a TLC series entitled All-American Muslim, which profiles five diversely religious Muslim families from Dearborn, Michigan.
I guess the show's 'sin' is in portraying these families as a) American, and b) human.
It's just that kind of dangerous drift towards understanding that will undermine the great American traditions of intolerance, racism, and general stupidity.
Great to see that Lowes is taking a stand to protect those traditions.
I guess the show's 'sin' is in portraying these families as a) American, and b) human.
It's just that kind of dangerous drift towards understanding that will undermine the great American traditions of intolerance, racism, and general stupidity.
Great to see that Lowes is taking a stand to protect those traditions.
Another Message From The Ministry of Truth
To all Canadian Consumers: Season's Greetings. All is still well. Shop until you drop.
We repeat, Season's Greetings. All is still well. Shop until you drop.
Your dollars help to support good-paying Canadian retail and service jobs and bring much-needed manufacturing employment to residents of developing countries, who we should be thinking of at this time of year.
And remember, pay no attention to that pesky man behind the curtain.
We repeat, Season's Greetings. All is still well. Shop until you drop.
Your dollars help to support good-paying Canadian retail and service jobs and bring much-needed manufacturing employment to residents of developing countries, who we should be thinking of at this time of year.
And remember, pay no attention to that pesky man behind the curtain.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
There's No Business Like Snow Business
When I was young, there used to be a polite term for B.S. We called it a snow job, and that seems as apt a description as any of the latest Harper government capitulation to the cancerous tentacles of unfettered capitalism running virtually unchecked throughout this country thanks to our 'leader's' diseased love of all things corporate.
As I wrote last evening, despite the fact that U.S. Steel lost its appeal against the federal government, it is essentially getting a free pass for its Hamilton operation by promising to keep the plant going until 2015 and promising capital investments of $50 million by the end of that time. Of course, for those able to think critically and not simply trust to the magnanimity of a company that already betrayed its employment promises and locked out its workers for almost a year after it was given permission to buy the former Stelco, these promises mean nothing.
The failure of the Harper government to show any integrity in attempting to put the force of law behind foreign takeover promises does mean something, however, to those affected by this sell-out.
Consider the following:
Opposition politicians and workers: outraged by a deal they say contains no specifics on employment or production in Canada and offers nothing to workers harmed by the company’s failure to keep its original promises.
Leaders of the United Steel Workers: “blindsided” by the deal, even though they have intervener status in the action to seek back wages its members would have earned under the company’s original promise to employ an average of 3,105 workers for three years after purchasing Stelco.
“We didn’t know any of this was going to happen and yet we’re the ones affected by their failure to live up to their promises,” said Rolf Gerstenberger, president of Local 1005, which represents workers in Hamilton. “Where’s our redress now? Our members were unjustly laid off and they should be made whole.”
Bill Ferguson, president of Nanticoke’s Local 8782: “incomprehensible” for the government to drop the case without ensuring workers got some kind of compensation.
“We are shocked that our government has cut this secret deal, without even the decency of consulting those who are most affected,” he added. “Our communities and our working families — particularly those whose jobs have disappeared — have been abandoned by U.S. Steel, and now our own government.”
Ken Neumann, Canadian director of USW: “This is a complete abdication of the government’s responsibility to Canadian workers,” he said. “It’s just outrageous that we have no commitment to jobs now.”
Local MPs Wayne Marston and Chris Charlton, both of the NDP, said they were troubled by utter lack of detail in the settlement announcement.
“The government is dropping this lawsuit in exchange for more promises after taking the company to court for not keeping its promises in the first place,” Charlton said. “For all we know this just allows the company to fatten the calf for three years and then sell it.”
Of course, the Harper government's local cheerleader, M.P. David Sweet, a practising Christian blithely untroubled by anything his government does, even its export of death, I mean asbestos, to third-world countries, described the capitulation “as an “extraordinary” achievement that ensures steel production in Hamilton through the next three years.
“By agreeing to this (U.S. Steel) has indicated that they are here for the long term,” he said. “Agreeing to invest that kind of money sends a very positive signal that they are here for the long term.”
And of course, with the current band of renegades holding the reins of power federally, the voices and opinions of Mr. Sweet and his ilk are the only ones that matter here, aren't they?
As I wrote last evening, despite the fact that U.S. Steel lost its appeal against the federal government, it is essentially getting a free pass for its Hamilton operation by promising to keep the plant going until 2015 and promising capital investments of $50 million by the end of that time. Of course, for those able to think critically and not simply trust to the magnanimity of a company that already betrayed its employment promises and locked out its workers for almost a year after it was given permission to buy the former Stelco, these promises mean nothing.
The failure of the Harper government to show any integrity in attempting to put the force of law behind foreign takeover promises does mean something, however, to those affected by this sell-out.
Consider the following:
Opposition politicians and workers: outraged by a deal they say contains no specifics on employment or production in Canada and offers nothing to workers harmed by the company’s failure to keep its original promises.
Leaders of the United Steel Workers: “blindsided” by the deal, even though they have intervener status in the action to seek back wages its members would have earned under the company’s original promise to employ an average of 3,105 workers for three years after purchasing Stelco.
“We didn’t know any of this was going to happen and yet we’re the ones affected by their failure to live up to their promises,” said Rolf Gerstenberger, president of Local 1005, which represents workers in Hamilton. “Where’s our redress now? Our members were unjustly laid off and they should be made whole.”
Bill Ferguson, president of Nanticoke’s Local 8782: “incomprehensible” for the government to drop the case without ensuring workers got some kind of compensation.
“We are shocked that our government has cut this secret deal, without even the decency of consulting those who are most affected,” he added. “Our communities and our working families — particularly those whose jobs have disappeared — have been abandoned by U.S. Steel, and now our own government.”
Ken Neumann, Canadian director of USW: “This is a complete abdication of the government’s responsibility to Canadian workers,” he said. “It’s just outrageous that we have no commitment to jobs now.”
Local MPs Wayne Marston and Chris Charlton, both of the NDP, said they were troubled by utter lack of detail in the settlement announcement.
“The government is dropping this lawsuit in exchange for more promises after taking the company to court for not keeping its promises in the first place,” Charlton said. “For all we know this just allows the company to fatten the calf for three years and then sell it.”
Of course, the Harper government's local cheerleader, M.P. David Sweet, a practising Christian blithely untroubled by anything his government does, even its export of death, I mean asbestos, to third-world countries, described the capitulation “as an “extraordinary” achievement that ensures steel production in Hamilton through the next three years.
“By agreeing to this (U.S. Steel) has indicated that they are here for the long term,” he said. “Agreeing to invest that kind of money sends a very positive signal that they are here for the long term.”
And of course, with the current band of renegades holding the reins of power federally, the voices and opinions of Mr. Sweet and his ilk are the only ones that matter here, aren't they?
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