CanWest reporter David Akin drags Stephen Harper out of the closet

While those of us in the progressive corner of the blogosphere were delighting in all the negative publicity heaped on the Tories for their handling of the funding of Toronto's Gay Pride week, Canwest reporter David Akin was busy publicizing all the gay and lesbian events and activities that the Harper government has provided funds for.

Its quite a list:

Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives - $175,000
Vancouver Out on Screen Film and Video Society - $32,000
Inside Out Lesbian & Gay Film Festival Inc - $20,000
Winnipeg Gay & Lesbian Film Society Inc - $4,000
Reelout Queer Film & Video Festival - $7,000
Queer City Cinema Inc, Regina, Saskatchewan $13,000

That's just a snapshot, there's lots more...just check out Mr. Akin's blog linked above.

So it seems Herr Harper isn't as homophobic as many of us thought. Our self styled Canadian president is actually very supportive of this nation's GLBT community, he just likes to keep it quiet...or in the closet as it were.

That's a wise move politically. Given that Stevie's base is largely populated by fundamentalist Christians and other groups identified as being socially conservative. Its going to be fun to watch the aftermath once this news gets a little more traction. The Christian Heritage Party probably welcomes these revelations. Disaffected Bible thumpers who can't bring themselves to vote Liberal, NDP or Green may just find a new home.

Its obvious Stephen Harper is more interested in pandering to the homosexual community than standing up for his evangelical Christian beliefs. Someone should check to see if his kids watched Teletubbies, or if Brokeback Mountain is in his DVD collection.

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Did Harper nibble on the saviour or not? Who cares!!!

Talk about overkill, the blogosphere is awash with people expressing their opinions on Stephen Harper and 'wafergate'. One bloggingtory is even suggesting it was 'a sting operation' run by the Liberal War Room to embarrass the Prime Minister. Puh-lease!!!

I'm no fan of Stephen Harper, regular readers know that. But I'm not going to pile on over something so meaningless. So the Conservative leader didn't know about, or wasn't properly briefed on, a Roman Catholic sacrament...big deal.

Here's the skinny for those who want to know. According to Roman Catholic teaching only confirmed members of the faith are to receive communion, at times referred to as "The Host". At public masses like funerals and weddings, where there is expected to be non members in attendance, an announcement is sometimes made to this effect....that only confirmed RC members are to receive communion.

Non Roman Catholics basically have two choices. They can remain seated, or they can get in line and approach the priest with arms folded across their chest, in which case the priest will bless them by making the sign of the cross. Should Harper have known this? Yeah, probably...so he goofed, it happens to all public figures.

Stephen Harper is an evangelical Christian, as such communion doesn't have the same significance for him as it does with Rome. For most protestants 'the wafer' or bread or whatever...it is symbolic of the body and blood of Christ. For Roman Catholics "The Host" is the literal body and blood of the saviour. So maybe he nibbled on the lamb, or maybe stashed it in his pocket.

If he's never eaten the little cardboard like wafer used by most RC churches he may have saved himself some embarrassment. I'm not Roman Catholic but I have gone up for Communion, (I know the rules but don't care) and the first time I nearly choked, the wafer went straight up on the roof of my mouth.

Incidentally, I use the somewhat pejorative word 'Roman' when talking about Roman Catholicism on purpose. Catholic by definition means universal, so many Christian churches can lay claim to it. My baptismal certificate from the United Church of Canada says that I was baptised into the Catholic faith, just not the Roman Catholic one.

For those sufficiently intrigued, here's the video. If you look closely you'll see a Liberal holding an umbrella in a part of the church that looks suspiciously like a grassy knoll.

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Harperites Object to Money Offered Providing Homosexuals Or Bisexuals with Equal Status (HOMOPHOBES)

Ottawa is awash with money, almost all of it borrowed...and is desperately seeking out places to throw it. An area targeted by the Harper government is that of tourism, with Stephen's Economic Action Plan zeroing in on larger scale events for its "Marquee Tourism Events Program".

On the government website is a list of some of the projects being funded, including such well known events as: The Calgary Stampede, Montreal's Just for Laughs, Stratford Ontario's Shakespeare Festival and the Vancouver International Jazz Festival. In fact there are at least 8 festivals of various types receiving federal funding. But the money granted to Toronto's Gay Pride week has apparently left Herr Harper in a decidedly unfestive mood.

The minister who signed off on it, Diane Ablonczy, has seen her purse full of government stimulus money snatched. According to a report in the National Post, just days after announcing $400,000 for the Toronto event, the minister of state for small business and tourism has had control over the file taken from her.

Brad Trost, a Saskatchewan Conservative minion of parlia... errr, I mean member of parliament, gave an interview to lifesitenews.com in which he says:

"...it should be noted that the file has been reassigned to a different Cabinet Minister since that announcement was made." He added, "The whole tourism program and funding for major tourism events is being reviewed."

Later in the same article Trost is quoted as saying:

"Canadian taxpayers, even non-social-conservative ones, don't want their tax dollars to go to events that are polarizing or events that are more political than touristic in nature."

Only in Stephen Harper's government is a person's sexuality considered a political issue, and a polarizing one at that.

Play the trombone in a jazz band? No problem. Like to get up on stage and tell jokes in Montreal? There's cash for that. A fan of Anne of Green Gables being performed in Charlottetown? Bully for you, grab a barrel full of hundreds and help spruce PEI's capital up for all the tourists.

Want to celebrate human sexuality in all its forms? WHOA WHOA WHOA!!! Not if it includes them thar homersexuels buddy.

Isn't Harper's Canada grand? Just grab your hymnbook and don't deviate from the music coming from the church organ. And those other organs? We'll just pretend you didn't ask, the money in the collection isn't for that.

Other Progressive Bloggers writing about this:

• four strong winds: Conservative Government Punishes Minister of State for Funding Pride Parade
• Troy's Journal: Our lovely Conservative Party
• impolitical: Governing ugly
• Liberal Arts And Minds: Think the Religious Right Has No Voice in Government?
• Bigcitylib Strikes Back: Has Diane Ablonczy Been Demoted For Being Too Gay Friendly?
• The Galloping Beaver: The Reform Party long-knives seem to be out
  
• Montreal Simon: The Bigot Burning of Diane Ablonczy

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Conservative Cabinet Ministers - Stephen Harper's Idiot Toadies

Etymology is a fun little game to play, it involves trying to discover how a modern word or phrase came into being. Take the word "SHIT" for example. One popular theory, which makes the rounds every now and again, is that its origins date back to the 17th or 18th century, when manure used for fertilizer was transported by boats.

The story goes that manure would be dried out, crated up, and then stored in a ship's hold for transport by sea. There, beneath decks and below the water line, the moist air hitting this dried up manure would result in a build up of methane gas. When an unsuspecting sailor descended below decks with a lantern...KAH-BOOOOOOM!!!!

Once the cause of these explosions was discovered crates of manure started to be labeled, SHIP HIGH IN TRANSIT, that is to say above the water line or on deck so as to avoid this gas build up. Eventually, (or so the story goes) it was shortened to SHIT, an acronym, which explains why to this day it denotes something akin to excrement.

While not true, fiction is often more entertaining than fact. You may have already received an email about this and accepted it as the gospel truth. Well its not, the origins of the word go back long before the shipping industry took hold in Europe. In fact the word SHIT can be traced all the way back to Roman times and has Latin roots. You can read more about it HERE...but I doubt many will. The false history is far more entertaining, so many will simply want to believe it.

Which brings me to the point of what I'm writing about today. Perhaps we can invent a new etymology for the word SHIT. Rather than saying it refers to the transport of dried out manure, we can say that it is an acronym assigned to Stephen Harper's Idiot Toady cabinet ministers.

After all, Canada isn't governed by a Conservative government...no, this is Stephen Harper's government. Don't believe me? Just go to the government of Canada website www.actionplan.gc.ca (set up to tell everyone what a wonderful job Stephen and his minions are doing) and check it out. On the page What Has Been Done the words, "the Harper Government" appear seven times, the word Conservative' doesn't show up even once.

This is Stephen Harper's government and all his ministers and back benchers are but mere toadies, fighting over whatever scraps fall from the imperial leader's table. And judging by the performances of these lackeys, the moniker "Stephen Harper's Idiot Toady", or SHIT for short, definitely applies: Jim Flaherty and his wonderful economic forecasts, Lisa Raitt and her sexy isotopes, Jim Prentice taking money intended for wind power and diverting it to the oil sands...and so on.

Centuries from now there may be emails, (or perhpas 'thought messages') flying around explaining the origins of the word SHIT thusly:

Back in the early years of the 21st century Canada came to be governed by an egomaniac by the name of Stephen Harper. Any elected party member who dared oppose the dictates of this hyper controlling Prime Minister and his tight cadre of advisors was doomed to the back benches or could expect to be kicked right out of caucus altogether. As such only sycophants adept at saying 'yes sir' could expect cabinet postings. The performance of these mental midgets caused the populace to label them collectively or individually as a Stephen Harper's Idiot Toady (singular) or Toadies (plural). Eventually it was shortened to the acronym SHIT(s) and could be heard in such phrases as:

• You're as dumb as shit...i.e as dumb as one of Stephen Harper's Idiot Toadies

• You know less than shit...i.e less than one of Stephen Harper's Idiot Toadies

• I don't give a shit...the point being talked about is of less value than that of a Stephen Harper Idiot Toady.

It wasn't that long ago, (less than 5 years) when Canadians were used to seeing economic forecasts being proven woefully inaccurate, but to the positive or surplus side. Now when the numbers are wrong it points to a massive deficit. Hopefully when the next election rolls around we'll be able to dig ourselves out of all this SHIT.

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