A reason a day not to vote Ontario Liberal

Day One

In the secrecy of shuttered doors at Queen's Park, one of the few places in Toronto without a surveillance camera, Premier Dalton McGuinty and his Liberal cabinet met on June 2, 2010 to amend the wartime Public Works Protection Act, passing regulation 233/10, before the beginning of the G20. 

This is the now infamous “five-metre rule”.  This led to people being held by police for breaking the law, a law they could not possibly have known they were breaking.  It created a great deal of chaos during the G20 and lead to the arrest and detention of hundreds of people. 

Ontario's independent Ombudsman Andre Marin`s report titled 'Caught in the Act', stated the passing of the regulation was unreasonable and told reporters, "For the citizens of Toronto, the days up to and including the weekend of the G8/G20 will live in infamy as a time period where martial law set in the city of Toronto, leading to the most massive compromise of civil liberties in Canadian history, and we can never let that happen again." 

The McGuinty Liberal Government knew what they were doing was wrong.  They did it anyway. 

"Go F--k Yourself" - Anti Abortion GOP Candidate

Over 500 women each and every single day are raped in the United States. That is an astounding number. Imagine for a minute what that means. Each and everyone of these women were assaulted in the most denigrating way possible. They are our sisters, daughters, nieces, mothers, friends and even grandmothers.

" Josh, this is Pat Feeks, a Navy SEAL killed last week in Afghanistan. Take a good look and then go fuck yourself."  Those are the words of the Republican Senatorial Candidate in Washington State. 

State Sen. Michael Baumgartner typed those words into an email to a reporter.  Baumgartner was upset over an interview he gave to reporter Josh Feit. It seems the GOP candidate for Senate does not want to spend time talking about his party's position on abortion and his colleague who is running in the "Show Me State", Todd Akin's talk of Legitimate Rape. 

Jack Layton's Letter released to Media

I recall being at home when they released Jack Layton's letter to Canadians. I was taken by much surprise. Then CBC began reading the full letter. I was hanging on every word. I was wanting some hope. Losing Jack Layton was almost too much.  All of my adult life has been spent moving the social democratic ideas forward.  Losing Jack Layton seemed almost too much.  It was like it almost always is, we get so close you can smell success, only to have it whisked away.

Jack's letter made his passing less ominous. He lifted me up with pride to continue. He gave us a way forward.

Here is the first reading of the letter, on CBC Newsworld,by reporter Andrew Nichols...

Baking with Jack - 22 Minutes

Jack makes Stephen Harper's Salsa and John Baird's chocolate cookies with a little NDP magic added in.  This Hour Has 22 Minutes

Rick Mercer Report - Jack Layton Compilation

Rick Mercer Report - Priceless...

Rex Murphy - Canada's Smilin Warrior Jack Layton

TVO - a retrospective of Jack Layton

The evolution of Jack Layton from Toronto City councillor to leader of Canada's New Democratic Party. A retrospective of appearances by Jack Layton on TVO.

Stephen Lewis - Inspiring Eulogy of Jack Layton

  From Rabble.ca

Never in our collective lifetime have we seen such an outpouring, so much emotional intensity, from every corner of this country. There have been occasions, historically, when we've seen respect and admiration but never so much love, never such a shocked sense of personal loss.

Jack was so alive, so much fun, so engaged in daily life with so much gusto, so unpretentious, that it was hard while he lived to focus on how incredibly important that was to us, he was to us. Until he was so suddenly gone, cruelly gone, at the pinnacle of his career.

To hear so many Canadians speak so open-heartedly of love, to see young and old take chalk in hand to write without embarrassment of hope, or hang banners from overpasses to express their grief and loss. It's astonishing.

Jack Layton's letter to a Nation - text

A year ago, Jack Layton passed away, cancer taking him. One of the last things he did was write a letter to Canadians. I have copied the text below...

August 20, 2011
Toronto, Ontario

Dear Friends,

Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.

Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.

Gay sex workers ready for the GOP team in Tampa

It seems sex workers are gearing up for the Republican convention in Tampa Florida.

Check out this report...

from Bilerico
Okay, maybe a few of you shouldn't have looked. If you are married to a republican politician or operative, pretend you didn't see this... it's better that way, trust me..

Akin should have stuck to the code - Forcible Rape

The Republicans are attacking one of their own.  Now that's exciting right?  He must be way out there for Karl Rove and Senator McConnell to call for GOP Senatorial candidate Todd Akin to pull out of the race. 

See this from potential Presidential Candidate in 2016, Chris Christie for the GOP here... 

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Monday called Rep. Todd Akin's (R-Mo.)suggestion that victims of "legitimate rape" rarely get pregnant "reprehensible."  The GOP governor, who will deliver the keynote speech at the Republican National Convention next week in Tampa, blasted the congressman's statement as "absolutely asinine" and "ridiculous," according to CBS New York. "He should be ashamed of himself to be talking about it in that way," Christie said. "It’s stunning to me that somebody who’s offering themselves for high office like that would have those kind of thoughts and use that kind of language."

That's an amazing attack. Yet it really was all about words.  See if Todd Akin had said Forcible Rape none of this would have come up. Earlier this year, every Republican in the House along with some 16 Blue Dog Democrats voted for a bill that would have redefined rape in federal statutes to be "forcible rape." If this bill had become law, then statutory rape, the rape of a drugged or mentally impaired woman, or any rape where the rapist did not use physical force would not be considered rape. The bill died in the Senate. When Akin said "legitimate rape" he undoubtedly meant "forcible rape" as defined by the House bill but forgot the exact terminology.

All of this is a smokescreen. A candidate for the GOP said what is the reality behind their plans to change rape laws. If the woman somehow doesn't scratch the hell out of the attackers back and claw his eyes out, its not 'forcible rape'.

Legitimate Rape has been part of the GOP anti-abortion lexicon for years. Garance Franke-Ruta at the Atlantic goes into much of the background here. These folks generally see women as asking to be raped. Sure the guy shouldn't have done it, but yeah, I understand how any red blooded American man would succumb to a woman's charms. 

The sin of Todd Akin was not that he opposed abortion for rape victims that weren't legitimate rape, but that he called it the way most the GOP see it.  They have a word for it, forcible.   The GOP are using language to hide their intent. Akin spoke the GOP truth. It makes you wonder, when a rape is not forcible.  Legitimate Rape is what they want, Forcible is what they call it. Either way its repugnant to democracy and especially to women that have been raped.

If Akin had stuck to the GOP code words, Forcible Rape, we would be sitting back and watching his lead grow over the Democratic incumbent.

Dear Jack Celebration - Toronto

On August 22, Canadians will gather across the country to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Jack Layton.

In Toronto these celebrations will be held at Nathan Phillips Square beginning at 6pm.

More on facebook here,

Dear Jack: A Celebration




UPDATE: August 16

The Performers for the Jack Layton Celebration on August 22 in Toronto at Nathan Phillips Square   include: Raffi, Jason Collett, Ron Sexsmith, Lorraine Segato, actors Wendy Crewson, Eric Peterson

"Mr. Penashue, what federal riding do you represent?"

"We've made a submission to Elections Canada, and we will be, we are working with Elections Canada to rectify any errors that were made.


cbc video

Reporter: "Mr Penashue, can you tell me what day it is?"  
Mr. Penashue: "We've made a submission to Elections Canada, and we will be, we are working with Elections Canada to rectify any errors that were made."
Reporter: "Mr. Penashue, what federal riding do you represent?" 
Mr. Penashue: "We've made a submission to Elections Canada, and we will be, we are working with Elections Canada to rectify any errors that were made."
Reporter: "Mr. Penashue, could you suggest an activity in your riding that would be of interest for a tourist?"
Mr. Penashue: "We've made a submission to Elections Canada, and we will be, we are working with Elections Canada to rectify any errors that were made."

Okay it wasn't quite like that but really, check out the video. Every question Mr. Penashue was asked resulted in the same answer. He is hiding, he is avoiding questions that he knows the answers too. 

Peter Penashue's campaign in the last federal election saw him overspend by $4,000, take out a loan for $25,000, and receive cheques with no name and donations from unnamed sources.  

Truly disgusting, truly Conservative, truly disturbing...

CBC story here: 

Penashue offers few details on campaign spending

Big Ass Power Play looks to back fire on McGuinty

Its a slow ending, but there is an end in sight for the Ontario Liberals and Dalton McGuinty.  The question is who will it be, the Ontario Progressive Conservatives or the Ontario New Democrats.  

The McGuinty team were playing big ass politics when they choose a sitting Conservative MPP to appoint as head of Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario (WSIB). The move opened up a seat in the Provincial Legislature.  If the McGuinty Liberals won the seat they would have the slimmest of possible majority-like power.  They would be tied with the opposition in seats and the speaker (also a Liberal) would then break all tie votes in favour of the Liberals.  

Polling at the time the decision was made to undertake this sneaky, albeit legal, road to a majority gave the Liberals hope.  After all the took out a very popular local MPP.  What they were not counting was a couple of other factors.  They underestimated the public's growing interest in the NDP under the the leadership of Andrea Horwath.  Horwath has consistently out polled her opponents, McGuinty and Tim Hudak. They underestimated the NDP's choice of Catherine Fife, a woman that understands the education file very well and the Liberals hand picked fight with teachers is playing into to her hands.  

The Conservatives have done well in their choice of a candidate.Tracey Weiler, a former RIM executive and Wilfrid Laurier University instructor, has done a great job of holding Tory support. 

We have all seen it coming. The Liberals are a vanishing breed. They are about to get tossed in BC next May, they are very tiny parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, losing ground in Atlantic Canada and last election lost more ground to the NDP.  

In Kitchener-Waterloo its the a three way fight. The NDP could take the seat. The Liberals will try to scare us all.  The usual line about a vote for the NDP will be a vote for Tim Hudak. It didn't work in last years provincial election and it wont work in this by-election. 

Progressives can now become real progressives with a legit chance of succeeding in Kitchener-Waterloo and in the next provincial election likely a year away at most. 

see the Toronto Star: 

Ontario Liberals supported in Vaughan, but lose ground in Kitchener-Waterloo, new polls show