Life Without Borders

The Fabric of My Life Today

Feelings and emotions swirling around in my head have written this entry over a dozen times, but it was the phone call from Nick this morning that bored a hole in my skull causing this anxiety to spill out on the screens we have before us.  The disappointment and pain in his voice was masked by his professionalism and strength, but after 13 years with this man I have developed the hearing ability of a bat when it comes to his emotions.

The subject of that phone call is not for me to share or expand on and I will leave that to the decision of my husband on which to share or not, but it has become part of the threads of discontent that have woven themselves into my fabric.  This is a scarf I didn't want or even ask for, but unfortunately it's one wrapped tightly around my neck. 

Since immigrating to Canada in September of 2006, I have lightheartedly shared what I believe is the prevailing response of most Canadians when they discover we moved here from the US:  "you moved here?! Why?" with a bold, stronger emphasis on the "here" and a tone of disbelief questioning on the "why."  The underlying current of self-deprecation by Canadians is as clear to me as is tall as the CN Tower, but yet is ignored or honestly invisible to those same Canadians as is the accent "ooo" in out and about. 

The responses to our disclosing that we immigrated here without jobs and of our own, voluntary choice leaves a trail of comments including such phrases as "you're joking, right?" or "what were you thinking?" or even worse "why in the world would you do that?!"  We expected those from Americans, but were flabbergasted when they came from our new neighbours and colleagues.

The reactions Nick and I received when we proudly displayed the Maple Leaf flag on our home surprised us. "(Pointing to the Canadian flag) What is that?" and "we don't do THAT here" were, and still are, the norm.  One of my most memorable moments was while sitting in meeting with my colleagues at the network, halfway through it one of them turned to me and said, "wait a minute, you're an American, aren't you?"  I responded in my standard, pact response "well, I'm a Canadian now, but yes, I immigrated from the US" and she said "you don't have the accent anymore!" which triggered a chorus of agreement and a discussion about this so-called accent I apparently had when I started the job and it's evaporation six-months into it.

When Nick and I made the conscience, and quite frankly expensive, decision to come here we did so embracing the premise that we needed and wanted to immerse ourselves into a culture and country that supports our core beliefs and desires.  Today the Canadian spelling of colour, neighbour and theatre don't look misspelled to us despite what our spell-checker tells us.  We order lunch meat from the deli in grams, travel 70 kilometers to Hamilton and know we can wear shorts when the temperature hits the mid-teens.  We understand that the Prime Minister runs our country, not a President, yet it's head of state is the Queen Elizabeth represented by our Governor General. 

The old guys on our money used to be Prime Ministers, The Queen gets her place on the green one and yes, those really are hockey players on the $5.  We realize that when we have a pocket full of change, there's a good chance we could buy our lunch from a restaurant and not just a vending machine.  We also know that even if we did buy something from that vending machine, it's going to be healthier and if the meal was served to us, the waiter wouldn't need his entire forearm to carry the plate.  I've been called loonie too many times to count, but today I spend them and feel like I hit a jackpot when the coin I grab from my pocket has a gold centre surrounded by silver.   

We have an incredible sense of peace knowing that if we ever needed medical attention for anything from a hang nail to heart replacement we'd get it never once worrying that we'd lose our house or savings or even worse have to walk away from treatment if we couldn't pay.  We don't have to turn to a friend or Google when we'd hear "Timbits and a double-double," "pick up a two-four" or "what's your postal code."  It's taken some time for it to sink in, but we've accepted the fact that we no longer have the First Amendment right to speak our minds or take The Fifth should be ever be questioned for a crime, but you can be rest assured we will defend to the death the The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms even if it doesn't have catchy headlined paragraphs.  We can walk the entire length of Queen Street from Yonge to Jones never once worried that we'd be injured, murdered or mugged with a gun, but yet smart enough to know that it could still happen albeit at the tip of a knife rather than the barrel of a gun.

So, you must be asking yourself after reading these last several paragraphs what exactly is this thread of discontent?  It's taken me an entire day to write this entry.  As it is, I'm laying in bed watching the clock tick closer to midnight knowing that these first words were typed at just after nine in the morning.  I don't know if I'm finding this next part difficult to write or more honestly worried at the reaction it’s most likely to elicit.  Just as with all of my blog entries, this is an outpouring of my own feelings, emotions and observations - not shared in anger or disgust, but rather honestly, openness and a need for understanding.

I feel Nick and I are being subjected to a deep and stinging pattern of discrimination.  There, I said it.  And I feel like I want to vomit and run and hide.

As a white male, of mixed Irish, English and who-knows-what heritage, born into a large middle-class American family with both blue-collar and blue-blooded roots I will never claim to be a victim of racial discrimination.  Although there was that one day as a 17-year-old when my friend and I traveled deep into the inner core of Los Angeles' Watts neighbourhood and felt the piercing stare of every black man and woman in his Uncle Sonny's diner.  I joke today that I don't think they even had salt on the tables, just peppershakers.

As a homosexual, I can expand on the discrimination directed at me, but that is something I believe doesn't need explaining to those of you who know me or have taken the time to read this far.  I can't say for certain, but I'm sure there have been other acts of discrimination levied against me either as a Catholic, a Baptist or even agnostic.  Probably because of my chromosomes, my political beliefs or even hair colour.  But, the discrimination I’m sharing with you now is based on the fact that I was born in the United States or as so many people inaccurately say:  “America.”

I have never been ashamed to be from the US because I never had a choice in that matter.  I have, and continue to be, ashamed and disappointed with my birth country for reasons to many to espouse on here.  Prior to immigrating to Canada, Nick and I visited the UK, France, Greece and Mexico masquerading as Canucks.  Within a year we plan to travel honorably as passport-carrying Canadians.

As I began my search for a chance to begin rebuilding a career here in Canada I heard the whisper-delivered advice over and over “Canadian-ize your CV” which meant make sure it used the proper spelling and verbiage I was told to emphasis as best I could that I never plan to leave this country and that it truly is my permanent home.  All advice I heeded willingly and without hesitation.

When I first began looking for a job I couldn’t even get hired by Starbucks as a barista.  I haven’t applied there this time around honestly because I’m almost certain the response will be the same: you’re way over qualified.  My first career job required three interviews at three different levels from a Director to the Executive Vice-President, each one of them echoing the chorus “you are over-qualified for this position.”  I’m thankful they overlooked that fact and hired me nevertheless.

Today’s disappointing news from Nick was coupled with yet another automated email appearing in my inbox that “…although your application is of great interest to us, we are unable to consider it for the above posting as this position is no longer available.”  I’m also still stinging from missing out on an opportunity with another company despite several interviews and a glimmer of hope, someone else was hired instead of me.

I had a hunch that for that last job, the interview was just a formality and that someone was most likely already earmarked for the position most likely from within.  Being asked only three questions should have tipped me off as well as the last one that continues to reverberate in my mind: “why Canada?”

As with nearly every instance of discrimination, it’s the subtle and hidden forms that are the worse.  I’ve often found myself in the middle of civil rights debates wondering if they really do help equal the playing field or just drive bias and discrimination even deeper making it nearly impossible to find.

My heart aches when my head begins wondering if I’m being overlooked for jobs because I’m not a natural-borne Canadian.  I get angry when I envision hiring managers quickly scanning my resume and slipping it quickly, but quietly into the reject stack feeling justified saying “he doesn’t have enough <i>Canadian</i> experience.”  I begin questioning my abilities and skills when a job posting appears for a company, position and duties exactly matching the one I just left and I’m not even considered for an interview.

I “tweeted” and Facebook-status-ed my frustration earlier today with two posts:

Note to Canadians: we willingly & openly became one of you to embrace & respect this country, not threaten or change it. Please let us in”

and

”this pains me to write, but I can't hide that anti-American discrimination is hurting us deeper than any other bias/hate we've ever had :-(“

I want to be wrong.  Please tell me this is all just in my head and that I’m jumping to conclusions based on distorted facts or observations.  Explain to me how despite incredible talent, glowing recommendations and deep experience I can’t seem to get a chance to interview.  If you’re a Canadian, tell me it’s not discrimination because of where I was born or the selfish and irresponsible attitudes and leadership of that country.  I left that country because I was tired of having to fight for my rights and defend my beliefs.

I stand tall and proud as a decent and loving friend to many, as a man who is attracted to and married another man and as a social liberal and fiscal conservative wanting fair, equal and just treatment for all.  Please don’t make me start fighting these battles again – that’s not why we came here, we came to lend a hand making what you’ve created and developed even stronger, if only we could have the chance.

It's June Already?

How ironic that we became stuck on 20-January 2009.  Inauguration Day for a new President of the United States.  On a blog that began after the (rigged) election of the previous man to hold that position. 

There comes a time in your life when things become just so overwhelming that one-by-one, elements of that life begin to shut down in an effort to conserve energy or sanity when all else seems to be whizzing out of control.  I'd have to say I'm almost certain that this is what happened to Nick and me these last six months.  When I share our experiences, therapists and shrinks form a line, business card in hand saying that it's only a matter of time before you crack.  Crack we have, but thankfully our foundation has developed 13 years of thickness which means a crack may form, but it quickly flecks away stopped by the iron rebars of experience, understanding and respect.

The the thaw and freeze moments creating the crack started in November when our dear friend decided he didn't want to wait for his next life, so he ventured there prematurely from the balcony of his 15th floor home.  The holidays in December are usually filled with Santas and stress for most, but it seemed like a month-worth of non-stop gifts from life - each package beautifully wrapped in paper and ribbons, but containing nothing on our wish lists, but rather challenges, heartache and confusion.  As if the last month of the year wasn't bad enough, Winter decided to one-up life's month of gift giving with its own marathon of misery.

February begins the series of Hallmark holidays, obligating millions to prove their love through through the words of a stranger spread out on paper and emphasized with chocolates and over-priced flowers.  But, it wouldn't be Valentine's Day Nick and I would celebrate this year, it would be reflecting on the life of a woman who had given me life and breathed the same into my husband just by calling him her other son.  The sun has come out tomorrow, Mom.  Sometimes it's blocked by clouds, but yes, it's always there.

Just a few weeks after we laid her to rest another end came into my life.  The laughs were silenced at Comedy and Lost in Space isn't just an old television series for me anymore as my employment with my first full-time company in Canada came to an end, but at least I can admit that yes, you can buy my silence although those closest to me will doubt that anything can silence The Mason.

I've often described for others the most painful moments in my life.  The first being that 26th day of May in 1986 when on his second shot on the second hole of a golf course in Estes Park my father's last words became: "I think we're in trouble."  Those five words ripping through my mother as Dad collapsed from a heart attack, his soul escaping from him body moments before he hit the ground, yet blasting through my heart 120Km away on it's way to its next destination.  The pain of that experience equals the one I would feel a few years later as I sat on the cold cement floor of a kennel as my first best friend pain and suffering would end by the stick of a needle.  I said at that moment, I couldn't bare another one like it.

I lied.

The 8th of March is now included on that regretful page of dates indelibly marked in my brain.  26-March, 11-Sept, 20-April, 13-Feb....  The only canine crazy that could match the loony tunes and loyalty of The Mason was shockingly felled by a tumor or stroke.  Our Doof Dog is still with us, but now in a cedar box wrapped tightly with his tagless-collar.  Tagless only because one is on my keychain and the other on Nick's.

Living up to its reputation, March was indeed a lion, but instead of bring April showers, what continued to fall this year was tears.  A Craigs List murder flooded the headlines of papers and triggered reunions of friends and collegues not scene for what seems like eternity.  A man whose talent and vision I envied as a colleagued transformed into a close, but distant friendship, became the very subject of what would be fodder for the career he led.  George Weber, the radio DJ, journalist, documentarian, storeyteller, smartass and host was pierced over 50-times - ironically, a physical representation of what could be a perfect description of his talents: sharp, deep and cutting.

The rest of this absence seems like a blur...except one date in May.  The third was a first, yet also a 6th.  When all's said and done, in reality it's one:  the one-year moment since Nick's and my new home and country honoured us with the right of survivorship, benefits and living as one just some of those one-thousand-plus rewards for publically announcing a loving bond started 13 years previously on the computer screens declaring "America On Line." 

So, as this 22nd day of June is just getting underway and a week of celebrations begin, I remember that moment when a timid and paniced man stepped out from behind a tree in Denver's Cheesman Park and marched in his very first parade called Pride.  Back then, I held my head high and marched down America's longest street, past bars and bums, cameras and cat callers to the steps of the state Capitol proud of who I am and not letting anyone or anything get in my way.  That happened 17 years ago this week and lately, blame it on time, fear or fatigue, my head has been slumped, my resolve dampened - the direct opposite of The Mason of '92. 

I'm better than that - my friends and family deserve better.  I'm growing wiery and teary of comparisons of The Old Mason to the New Mason. I deserve to be happy amidst the mayhem, but I can't do this alone.  I just want The Mason. 

It's time.  It's needed.  It's back. 

My Entourage is waiting.

Noon | 20-January, 2009

For those of you that haven't or couldn't make the jump like Nick and myself and the thousands of others here have done, here's a perfect card I'd like to send you today!

Good Luck!

Regardless of your political persuasion and ideology it is pretty amazing that a man with the name of Barack Hussein Obama, is about to become the 44th President of the United States of America.  The idea that an African-American Man can (and has) won the Presidency is truly something to reflect and marvel at.  Regardless of his party label it is something significant to realize that within a generation the United States has been able to move this much on the issue of race relations.

The United States has always struggled with its racist history and if Mr. Obama can simply touch that third rail and provide some amount of healing to our collective culture it will be amazing. I've spent most of the day listening and watching CNN and seeing clips from the civil rights movement some 46 years ago (not that long ago for some of my friends) and hearing about MLK's dream.  I think about the generation that was in power back then and the hatred and vitriol that they normalized and sanctified, and wonder about the survivor's today.  Are they sitting in their nursing home rooms, being forced to watch the news and seeing all of the inaugural coverage of a black man about to become President and realizing perhaps that they were wrong to dehumanize and discriminate against their neighbours and fellow Americans?

President Obama is not going to be as liberal as I would like him to be; in all honesty he is to the right of Prime Minister Harper on some issues.  He won't openly embrace the socialist ideals of European nations, or party platforms like the NDP's and in reality he will govern from the Centre with an occasional dip left AND right to pacifiy everyone, but  it's not his ideology that matters...sometimes simply being in the moment matters.  For a young African-American child in an inner-city slum they will look up and see their leader look like him, much like little girls saw Hillary during the primaries.  That simple act of him being there will change an entire generation of children's hopes and aspirations and allow them to believe in something being possible that was never possible before; and in 40 years they may be running for President and the concept of a black, asian, female, latino/a, or even a gay person as President will no longer be impossible or improbable. Perhaps that, more then even the way he governs will be the best gift President Obama can provide.

So good luck Mr. President, I wish you clarity and guidance, peace and prosperity, an open-mind and an open-heart, and the courage to take the road less travelled and make real change.

~Nikolas

War Disgusts Me

It hits me hard this morning, the news of the war between the Palestinians and

Israel

; as I do my morning surf of websites I always start with the BBC and work my way local.  From the comfort of my North American office, with a picturesque snow scene out my window I start to read.  This morning their front page article was about the effect this war is having on Palestinian children.  The psychological trauma caused by enduring the endless bombing, seeing parents and siblings die, and the truly horrific story of one child who, when his home was plunged into darkness by a bomb tried to feel his way out only to land on the open, wet flesh of his dead sister – he couldn’t eat meat for three years after that.

 

Story after story of people being displaced and their lives shattered and then I come across this picture [WARNING: GRAPHIC!] of a Palestinian man grieving over the bodies of his three tiny children.  Three little kids dead, trying to grow up in a war zone.

 

Save me the rhetoric that Israel is protecting itself from Hamas, save me the long standing arguments that Israel has no right to exist, save me the millennia of hatred and despair on both sides.  Right now all I can think of is those three little kids in the photo who will never grow up, never get the chance to experience life and never have a chance to see the things most of us take for granted.

 

War disgusts me.

[Nikolas]

No Change, Just More of the Same

Our dear friends (Tom and Emilio) made a posting on their blog Canadian Hope recently reacting to President-elect Obama's choice for an invocation speaker at his upcoming inauguration. I feel badly because what started as a regular, short comment erupted into an overwhelming tsunami of emotions that I feel compelled to share with you here.

When I first heard about the news of Mr. Obama's choice for inauguration invocation, Instinctively I began my defence of the President-elect saying I understand how he needs to reach out to a broad spectrum, but I quickly caught myself and the disappointment and anger began rising again.

Make a mental image of this man (Rick Warren) standing on the very same platform, at the very same microphone and is one of the very first to shake the hand of the 44th President of the United States of America.

If that's not enough to cause bile and acid to churn within your stomach, put that man in the outfit of a Nazi concentration camp guard, the Ku Klux Klan, a Taliban terrorist or any of the other representatives of a group of people that call for the in humane and discriminatory treatment of another group of humans.

I for one shudder at both thoughts and in my heart thought President-elect Obama would do the right thing. Unfortunately, he and thousands of politicians before him, prove that they are not leaders, but rather glorified followers and the Hope I yearned for in the years and days leading up to 4-November has been extinguished.

For those of you reading this right now and mentally running to Mr. Obama's defense saying "it's not that big a deal" or "give him a break" or "you can't compare being gay to the plight of Jews and blacks" I ask you to stop that knee-jerk reaction triggered by hope, political correctness and a promise of something better. Is what you're thinking acceptable if you found yourself the subject of any form of discrimination, less than humane treatment or worse: subject to violence or hatred of any kind?  Ask yourself:

Are there levels of hate?

Is a little violence okay in your eyes?

Maybe we should keep everyone who doesn't identify as heterosexual Christians grouped as one and treat them all unequally as compared to the others.

In one target/form/method of discrimination worse than another or is it an absolute?

How sad that my friends and I need to utter the words "the lesser of two evils" when talking about using one of the most powerful acts we can perform: voting in the country of our birth.

I've said it until I'm blue in the face and now I'm shouting it from as high a mountain I can find based in a country that I am confident respects me and remembers that we are all one, together on this planet. The teams may change. One wins, the other loses.  And then another one is played.

 Until the money and accumulation of wealth-focused game called US politics changes, the United States of America will continue to slide into the abyss of greed and corruption.

Now ask us if we plan to move back or regret turning our backs and moving North to Canada.

If you don't know the answer to that by now, it's time YOU stopped playing the game.

[Mason]

Happy New Year!

It seems we can start off the New Year celebrating Life Without Borders being in the news.  Well not really the website being in the news, but Mason and I being in the news.  Take a look!

Canadian Emigration and Alternative for Gay U.S. Couples Seeking Marriage

A Happy and Blessed 2009 to all of you!

The Lascelles Principles

Check, and mate...

To the Editor of The Times

Sir,—It is surely indisputable (and common sense) that a Prime Minister may ask—not demand—that his Sovereign will grant him a dissolution of Parliament; and that the Sovereign, if he so chooses, may refuse to grant this request. The problem of such a choice is entirely personal to the Sovereign, though he is, of course, free to seek informal advice from anybody whom he thinks fit to consult.

In so far as this matter can be publicly discussed, it can be properly assumed that no wise Sovereign—that is, one who has at heart the true interest of the country, the constitution, and the Monarchy—would deny a dissolution to his Prime Minister unless he were satisfied that: (1) the existing Parliament was still vital, viable, and capable of doing its job; (2) a General Election would be detrimental to the national economy; (3) he could rely on finding another Prime Minister who could carry on his Government, for a reasonable period, with a working majority in the House of Commons. When Sir Patrick Duncan refused a dissolution to his Prime Minister in South Africa in 1939, all these conditions were satisfied: when Lord Byng did the same in Canada in 1926, they appeared to be, but in the event the third proved illusory.

I am, &c.,

SENEX.

April 29.

—"Dissolution of Parliament: Factors in Crown's Choice", The Times, 2 May 1950, page 5

Politics Redux

Just when I thought I was done with politics, sigh.

Well, I have to say Canadian politics are certainly not dull; I was ready to settle down for probably two years of Conservative rule and hoping that the NDP and Liberals would squeak and speak up if Harper got too "Reformish."  I was not happy that he had swaggered back into Parliament, but was willing to put up with it with the small comfort that he still had a "minority."

But, when Harper came out swinging last week using his minions to introduce his core Reform beliefs I was angry.  Not only was he ignoring the fact that only 38% of Canadians supported him, but he was acting like a bully and kicking a kid in the stomach when he was already down.  While some people believe that government is a full contact sport, I long for the days of civil discourse and disagreement; he had no intention of doing either.  So he pushed it and pushed it hard thinking that a downtrodden and bruised Liberal party would just take another licking and like it, but you can only batter a person so long until they roar back and hit you with everything they got, and this time he brought two new friends with him.

Today I watched history as Mr. Dion, Mr. Layton and Mr. Duceppe sat at a table and agreed to an accord to govern collectively until June 30 2010, possibly 2011 if the Bloc agrees to an extension.  Certainly longer then Mr. Harper would have had.  That's what you get in a Parliamentary system folks, you don't elect the person, you elect the party, and while who you have at the head of the ship may swing your vote it's all about the seats, and Mr. Harper just doesn't have them.

In essence, if Mr. Dion was as weak and ineffectual as he was portrayed then Mr. Harper should have had a landslide majority, but he didn't because people were scared of his right wing ideology and now he's paying dearly for it. I've seen peopel lash out angrily at this saying that it's not democratic, it's night right, when in reality it is the most "Canadian" way of doing things.  Too long have Canadians been mesmerised by the flashy politics south of the border with their Air Force Ones and Shiny new Presidents; they forgot that in Canada it's all about Peace, Order and Good Government...of which none Mr. Harper had accomplished.

So now it comes down to the Governor-General a woman who was appointed nearly 4 years ago who i'm sure never envisoned her role in this pivitol moment in history, but how appropriate that it is Michalle Jean; a woman who epitomises the new face of a changing Canada.  So knowing Mr. Harper he'll have a tantrum and cry and try to bully Her Excellency just like he bullied that last Parliament, but hopefully now he is quaking in his boots and realizing how much he fucked up and will just blissfully go away and let a more moderate Tory take over if he ever hopes to see the Conservatives form a majority one day...

As for the Bloc, people complain that a seperatist party bent on breaking up Canada is part of the agreement and how it's wrong and evil, yet Mr. Harper was willing to do it in 2004....please.  While I disagree with the Bloc on the Nation of Quebec, the truth is they will never have enough seats in Parliament to do any damage, and  they lean to the left like the NDP and Liberals do, and in all reality they are the elected representatives of the Canadians living in Quebec.  Even though you don't like them, you still have to respect who they've chosen to represent them.  perhaps if the Conservatives and Liberals had done their job right there wouldn't be that many of them....

Sadly though, this is how I see Canadian politics existing from now on...too many people feeling polarised because of Mr. Harper's Bush Lite approach.  So no one will be happy with a majority and minorities will continue to exist, unless you pass true electoral reform.  I welcome the Coalition Government and ask it to do it's job and truly represent the majority of Canadians.

And by 2010, I hope I can vote!

Lest We Forget

At 11:11 please take a moment of silence to remember those who fought for us, defended us, and provided for us. Lest we forget...

Thank you Mr. Olbermann

A Final, Final Note

Something happened in the last week that has not sat well with me; on this blog I have seen an exchange of comments between various individuals that has left me feeling disappointed and concerned, but mostly ashamed that our blog was host to this slugfest.

First let me start off with an apology to anyone who is reading; not an apology for my ideas and rants, but for any hurt pr pain it might have caused.  Int he days after the 2008 election many individuals in the GLBT community felt despondent and morose over the amendments passed in Florida, Arizona, California and Arkansas; it seems fair to say that the one in California put everyone over the top and into a frenzy all the while trying to be happy that our nation had come to a point to embrace and elect a man of mixed racial decent.

I was one of those individuals and maybe my empathy metre was  low, or maybe I was tried of more election coverage after 21 months of having it shoved down my throat and I took some things personally. Comments made to me/us from the left and the right, strangers and friends - it was all too much too quick.

We've been contacted by television reporters, Comedy Shows, and newspapers fr our reaction as a gay couple who left the United States, partially because of Bush and partially because of the abundance of discrimination; that added fuel to the fire to be put on the spot and asked now that the Messiah (I kid) has been elected would be returning home in droves?

My short answer was, No.  WMTC landed before we did and for the life of me I can never see L-Girl and RedSock going back to the US.  Matt and John also landed before us and I can't see them doing that either. As far as the long list of GLBT folks who landed after we did (Tom & Emilio, Adam & Eric, The Vancouver Boys I and Vancouver Boys II, Two Moms, & WCR) I cannot imagine that their fight and patience for moving would result in them making a U-turn, and for all those in queue, Canada still remains their best, last hope.  As for Mason and I, let me make it clear.

I have no desire to move back to the United States of America, now more then ever.

Some of the hurtful things said in the comments I mentioned earlier included comparing the GLBT struggle for civil rights to that of slavery for African-Americans, the Holocaust for the Jews and the right for Suffrage amongst women in the United States.

Look, I will NEVER understand what it was like for African-Americans these past 40 years and beyond to deal with racism and discrimination, and I will NEVER understand what is was like for Jews in the last 50 years and beyond in trying to simply survive and not be exterminated, and I will NEVER understand what it was like for women 88 years ago and beyond to be treated like property and disenfranchised.  In fact, for all three groups this still happens today; African-Americans are still prosecuted for the colour of their skin, Jews are still trying to be eradicated off the planet by some and women still earn .70 cents tot he dollar; and these same groups will never know what it is like to be GLBT.

It's hard though when you're reminded once again that you are not valued by society; some of us have gone through abandonment by our own families, living on the street, addicted to drugs, intense periods of self-loathing and internalized homophobia because of the reaction we have gotten from those around us who think our idea of love is perverse and unnatural.

We wake up on some mornings and wonder if we will be fired from our jobs (yes, that can still happen in half the states) just because of who we are, worry about being refused visitation in hospitals to see our dying partners because we are of the same sex, aching to remember if we packed the power-of-attorney on our vacation "just in case" something happens and hope the state we are in will "recognize" us. We make sure not to hold hands in public or show any sign of affection to our partner (even a hug) in some parts of the United States because that might mean losing your life.

We are reminded that we are ill and diseased because the Red Cross refuses to allow healthy gay men to donate blood because it's easier even though they test all the blood, we're picketed and protested at our funerals by hate-filled preachers who reminds us that even in the after-life we will never find peace, when we go to rent a hotel room in another city the front-desk clerk still has an odd look on his face when he sees two men requesting a King-sized bed.

You look on TV, in the magazines, on the radio and you see stereotypical portrayals of gay men and lesbians, or very limited ones; we are reminded every day we are not part of the dominant culture, but the dominant culture loves our money, our creativity, and our abilities and our votes as long as we make sure we don't mention that we like to share our beds with a member of the same-sex.

Finally when we find someone who is speaking to us, and asking for our help we delve into the campaign that states "Change is coming" and to have "hope"; we believe the words that come from President-Elect Obama's mouth and feel as though we might have a place at the table...finally. We donate, we vote, we volunteer and then we are shown the door.  I remember that same excitement with Bill Clinton when I was 18 and voted for my first President. We Marched on Washington with vigour and happiness thinking that ENDA would be passed, that Hate-Crimes legislation would finally happen, and that the ban of gays in the military would be lifted.

However, again, and again we get diminished policies passed, and toothless regulations enacted and then for the last 8 years they try to shove us back in the closet and threaten to make a constitutional amendment to bar us from ever having any rights that the nice straight couple down the street enjoys. So please, forgive us, when in the middle of celebrations for President-Elect Obama we falter for a moment because we got sucker-punched in the gut. We know they can't stand up for our rights and not be elected by the independents and conservatives, but it still hurts.

Where is our Johnson, where is our MLK, where is the leader that will finally one day stand up and welcome us into the American family with open arms and no pre-conditions; I'm hoping (truly) that it is Barack Obama.

People talk accusingly that Mason and I left the fight, when in reality we didn't; we can fight from up here, but forgive me that after 18 years of fighting for my rights I'm tired of no results, of no movement and I would simply like to live my life and enjoy it before I die with my husband in a place that accepts us wholly.

This fight is not going to be won by the GLBT community; much like African-Americans needed the dominant white culture to come down and march in the streets of Selma, Montgomery and Washington DC, much like the Jews needed other Christians, Germans and Americans to shuttle them to safety and recognize Israel, much like women needed men to push through the right to vote we need straight people to help us.  This fight won't be over until the dominant culture accepts us and decides to make our fight for civil rights their fight for civil rights.

I'm truly done with the political discussions for now, if you want to flame each other do it somewhere else, but not on my blog.

A Final Note

It’s over; thank the gods!  I’m hoping that this will be the last political post I will make for a while, because even I….the consummate political junkie have had enough and would like to get on with my life.

 

President-Elect Obama won, and for the United States of America it is a monumental footnote in the history of the country; textbooks will need to be changed, discussions on racism and culture will finally start being addressed, and more then anything the country can start to rally behind a man who got over 350 electoral votes and over 52% of the vote….a mandate that has been missing for a long time in American politics.  I don’t envy him, he has a large and monumental task facing him and I know it will take more then one term for him to deal with them and set actual change into motion that will gradually steer the ginourmous ship we call America back on a more even and “centre” course.

 

However, this Election Day passes with a twinge of anger and resentment that once again gays and lesbians were thrown under the bus by the American people.  Florida and Arizona passed constitutional amendments to their State Constitutions banning gay marriage, Arkansas flat out banned gay couples from adopting or fostering children, but by far it was California’s Proposition 8 ballot that put me in a sour mood.  Out of all the races, out of all the states, California held a special place in my heart for various reasons and it also seemed like a beacon of hope on our western shore that would not let us down; a state of 30 million people, if they agreed with the California Supreme Court it would have shifted the collective consciousness of the United States.

 

But they didn’t.

 

In the end the African-American, Latino and Older voters who put Obama over the top in California did the same with the Yes vote on 8; siding with a great man, but also denying their gay and lesbian neighbours the same rights that they have.  I’m reminded time, after time, after time, election after election that to be gay in theUnited States* is to be a second-class citizen (*except in Massachusetts andConnecticut.) 

 

I know that the argument will be that a Democratic President with a Democratic Senate and House will finally pass ENDA, true Hate-Crimes Legislation and maybe even repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” but I won’t hold my breath; Clinton didn’t do it in 8 years, and fucked it up so badly in the first 2 that he lost control of Congress. They like our money, and they like our votes but when we ask for the party to stand up for us in return we get the cold-shoulder and are told…”not just yet…America isn’t ready…hold on just a little longer.”  I woke up today to see that the country of my birth has once again rejected me; much like my parents and friends did when I first came out, and many other families did to their children, siblings and friends when they came out.

 

I have already gotten the e-mails or phone calls asking when Mason and I will move back “home” now that Democrats once again control the country and Colorado has 5 Representatives, 2 Senators, a Governor and State House/Senate that are all now held by Democrats. We’ve even been reminded in a back-handed way by someone we care for that since we didn’t stay and fight and instead decided to flee, this victory is somehow not ours to celebrate…even though we voted.

 

I am an American living in Canada, and Canada is now my home; all this election has done for me is make it crystal clear how miles apart these two countries are even though they share a common border. In 365 days Mason and I will be eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship and I plan on taking them up on that offer; not because I despise and hate the United States of America.  On the contrary I love my country for the foundation and opportunity it provided me, for the trials and tribulations that helped to mould my character, and for the undying dream that helped to produce Barack Obama.

 

I wish President-Elect Obama every success in the future; however I have a home, a life, a purpose and a husband; I’ve been treated with respect, deference, equality and a seat at the table, and they are all located here in Canada.

 

Merci Quebec

Well the election is over and Harper won more seats then most sites projected, taking them mostly in riding-rich Ontario; however he failed to reach the golden number of 155 which would give him a majority government, at the end of the night it broke down like this:

CONSERVATIVE	LIBERAL	NDP	BLOC	GREEN	OTHERS
38%	26%	18%	10%	7%	1.0%
143	76	37	50	0	2

His fuck up came in Quebec where he went on a the campaign trail and talked about cutting the arts, and sending 14-year old's to prison for life for serious crimes; that went against the very fabric of Quebecois society and they voted for the Bloc and the Liberals instead of the Tories saving us from a Harper majority (4 years of unchecked rule.)  Now I understand when people tell me that while Ontario might be the economic engine of Canada, Quebec is its soul. Time and time again it seems Quebec grabs hold of the wheel and steers the country away from the gutters of the right.

I have to admit, Canadian politics baffle me; this country and it's voters have to be some of the pickiest bunch who during an election can have outright mood swings. In 1984, the Liberals were decimated with a loss of 107 seats, and in 1993 it was the Conservatives' turn to get spanked and they lost 167 seats.  In that election, I can understand why after Mulroney's gaffes with Quebec the party peeled off and created the Bloc and started having referendums on independence - if I had to deal with a crazy right wing nutjob, I'd do that too.

So to me this is a "correction" is a continuing punishment for the Liberals in choosing an unsuitable candidate for Leader after the sponsorship scandal.  Dion needs to step down, a new leadership race has to be done, and hopefully someone with charisma and leadership can step up to lead the party back to it's natural role. 

In essence, this was a loss for Harper too; he has no mandate when 62% of the country voted against him, and he couldn't even beat a weak and ineffectual leader like Dion during a fiscal crisis; it shows that even when it's bad, people still don't trust him.  This  election was a $300 million mistake, and with the lowest turnout EVER in Canadian history (59%) it is a sad state of affairs for Canada.

The only way to fix this, and get people back interested in politics is to reform the electoral system; proportional representation at a Federal level in the House of Commons really needs to be discussed, and maybe that means a compromise and making the Senate elected in a way that the Conservatives want.

Now, on to November 4th.

VOTE!

My fellow Canadians, please don't forget to vote today!  Many of us (me included) don't have the privilege yet of being able to cast a ballot in this election; so please don't pass up your opportunity to do so.

...and please don't forget it's as simple as ABC :-)

Thankful

Today is Thanksgiving in Canada; much more inline with the season of harvest and not as flashy as the one south of the border.  We had dinner with some friends last night and then spent the day today puttering around the house.

As Mason and I enter our third Canadian Fall/Winter we have much to be thankful in these troubling times.  I'm thankful for the friends we have made here in this great city, and also for the ones that are distant and connected to us, I'm thankful for a good paying job and a nice place to live; I'm thankful for socialized medicine and gay marriage, I'm thankful for the chance to speak my mind and the ability to travel every once in a while.  I'm thankful for the divine in everything, and for the fact that we have little debt at this turbulent time; and yes, I'm thankful Harper will be stuck with a minority (again) I hope :-)

Most of all I'm thankful for my life, for the experiences I've had and for the challenges, and hardships,  rewards and graciousness I have experienced.  Without them I would not be who I am today, and for the first time in a long time I really like who I am.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you (or Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day down south)

A Day Like Any Other

Ok, Ok, a non-political post I swear :-)

I was surfing the internets yesterday and came across Canadian Hope's latest blog entry in which Tom & Emilio talk about their one year anniversary of moving to Canada.  Tom hit it bang on when he states:

"Sure Canada is not perfect, but it sure beats where I came from by leaps and bounds...We now get to be a normal couple with normal every day problems, it's a delightful gift that Canada gave us. The ability to be ordinary, to not be a political football used by right wing self righteous assholes with agendas."

That's the beauty of living here, that you can wake up in the morning and be who you are without having to worry about all the excess baggage that society throws at you.  Mason and I were talking about Tom's post when he suddenly turned to me and said:

Mason: "You know we completely forgot it this year"
Nick: "Forgot what?"
M: "Our Anniversary"
N: "No we didn't...we got married on it"
M: "No the other one"
N: "Wha- Oh!"

He was right, in the hustle and bustle of life, having dinner with friends, following an election,  doing laundry, and playing with the dogs, etc, etc we forgot to acknowledge our Second Anniversary of landing in Canada on September 26th.  If anything it is a testament to Canada for how well we have integrated ourselves to our new home and new identities.

To all those couples in process, or the ones with a watchful eye on the CIC website and the Presidential election your first year will be a wash, getting yourselves oriented and familiar with Canadian culture and identity, her cities and politics, finding an apartment and a doctor.  Year Two is more about carving out your niche and integrating all the things you learned, taking your shoes off as you enter a building becomes second nature now :-)

The third year? I don't know what it will bring, but I can tell you I feel more comfortable, happier and at peace then I ever have in my life; and at the end of year three comes the prize of Canadian Citizenship which I can't wait to grab onto.

    

The ELITE Plan

This is too funny...but oh so true :-) 

Americans, scared of another Republican Administration? Well act now and consider Canada and the ELITE Plan....LOL

Strike Two

A few weeks ago I spoke about Mr. Layton’s behaviour during the debate about letting Ms. May into the debates; he and Mr. Harper were opposed to her participating and threatened to pull out if she was let in. The Canadian public responded overwhelmingly, and both Harper and Layton backtracked and agreed to have her participate; however, the damage was done. Mr. Layton came across as hypocritical; at a time when he should have stood up for Ms. May and encouraged her involvement (as is his history for fighting for democracy and the little guy) he opted for partisanship and the selfish needs of his own party. He apologized and moved forward and I appreciated the sentiment and went back to supporting the NDP.

Yesterday however, was Strike Two for Mr. Layton. In Canada you don’t “run” for Prime Minister like you run for President in the United States; the party that receives the most votes is offered the privilege of forming a government, if you get over 155 votes you get to automatically form a majority government. Mr. Layton has taken the last 30-days and pursued a one-man crusade to win 24 Sussex Drive, or at the very least, form the Official Opposition, but you see you have to win your own riding first….

Mr. Layton is my MP (Member of Parliament - in the states he would be considered my Representative) for the riding of Toronto-Danforth. To make it to Parliament you need to win your riding, and as with any riding or election there are times when you will have to debate other candidates even when you’re the incumbent.

The candidates in Toronto-Danforth (Green, Conservative & Liberal) agreed to defer to Mr. Layton’s schedule and found a time that worked best for him, which was last night at Riverdale Collegiate Institute….problem was, Mr. Layton didn’t show up.

You see, he was too busy in British Columbia trying to win votes and become Prime Minister, instead of being at the debate, answering to his constituents; he opted to send the Ontario MPP of the same riding, Mr. Tabuns to fill in for him, but the crowd wouldn’t have it voting democratically to refuse Mr. Tabuns to participate in the debate.

Somehow, Ms. May found time to debate Mr. MacKay, I can’t read French so I couldn’t check on Mr. Dion or Mr. Duceppe’s riding debates, but it seems like you and Mr. Harper have more and more in common than I wouldn’t like (i.e. not debating local candidates).

See, the thing is Jack, if you don’t address of the needs of the people who put you into office in the first place, and maintain your ethics and values of representing the people who you care so much about then you risk the chance of not being sent back there – remember that ALL politics are local.

And with that, my Jack Layton lawn sign is coming out of my front yard.

Palin around with Terrorists indeed

First there was this video on You Tube which shows Governor Palin providing an introdiction and welcome to the Alaskan Independence Party's (AIP) Convention last year.  The MSM seemed to ignore the fact that her husband was a member for years, and that she herself attended past conventions and was involved in a organization that wants to secede from the United States, and then there is this little jem of a video that explains it all much more clearly.

Over the years, Palin has actively courted the AIP; to be clear, we're not necessarily talking about friendly secession either: As the AIP's founder, Joe Vogler, told an interviewer in 1991: "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government. ... And I won't be buried under their damn flag."

From Daily Kos:

Before his strange murder in 1993, party founder Vogler preached armed insurrection against the United States of America. Vogler, who always carried a Magnum with him, was fond of saying, "When the bureaucrats come after me, I suggest they wear red coats. They make better targets. In the federal government are the biggest liars in the United States, and I hate them with a passion. They think they own. There comes a time when people will choose to die with honor rather than live with dishonor. That time may be coming here. Our goal is ultimate independence by peaceful means under a minimal government fully responsive to the people. I hope we don't have to take human life, but if they go on tramping on our property rights, look out, we're ready to die."

Vogler's greatest moment of glory was to be his 1993 appearance before the United Nations to denounce United States "tyranny" before the entire world and to demand Alaska's freedom. The Alaska secessionist had persuaded the government of Iran to sponsor his anti-American harangue.

That's right ... Iran. The Islamic dictatorship. The taker of American hostages. The rogue nation that McCain and Palin have excoriated Obama for suggesting we diplomatically engage. That Iran.

AIP leaders allege that Vogler, who was murdered that year by a fellow secessionist before he could give his speech at the UN, was taken out by powerful forces in the U.S.  "The United States government would have been deeply embarrassed," by Vogler's U.N. speech, darkly suggests Clark. "And we can't have that, can we?"

~~~
So let's see....we have a woman running for Vice-President who less then 10 years ago attended an AIP convention, just this past year welcomed their convention with open arms, and whose partner was an active member of said party (the one that aligns itself with Iran) less then 3 years ago; and they want to try an connect Obama to a hippie from the 1960's when he was 8?

Who's the real threat here?

The D Word

The D Word It’s not often that I comment about economics, because honestly I’m a social worker and I deal with people; numbers never appealed to me.  However, I do know what the lack of numbers do to people, it places them in poverty, it rapes their self-esteem, it increases substance abuse and domestic violence, it fosters child abuse, it makes them homeless and creates a mentality of looking out for one’s self.  So in way, I know the human side of numbers.

Mason, and I were lucky (and still are) to have moved up here with little debt and still have a small bit of savings in the bank.  I look back on the last two years and know that would we have been moving to Canada today we would have been screwed.  We probably wouldn’t have been able to sell the house, or cashed out our 401K’s because they would have been underwater.

Today the TSX (Toronto’s version of the Dow Jones) dropped nearly 1200 points (10% of its value) at the opening bell, and continues to struggle as we speak.  The Dow did not do any better and is now below 10,000 (something that hasn’t happened since it reached 10,000 under Clinton.)  The economy is starting to show the same strains here as the rest of the world, but then I look back to the country of my birth. Economists are saying that a new word will have to be created for what is coming because it’ll be worse then a recession, but not as bad as a depression. 

They state that within 12-months they expect to see unemployment double to 12-15%, entire families on the street, and the housing market demolished; and this is after the bailout. 60% of Americans feel as though it is likely another depression is going to hit; the experts say there are three factors that identify a depression:

• 25% unemployment rate
• Widespread bank failures
• Millions of Americans homeless and unable to feed their families

I am not saying that the sky is falling, but I keep looking up to check it out ever once in a while.  I’m not an economist, but I am a social worker and I can tell you that I am seeing the increase in poverty, the lowering of self-esteem, the increases in substance abuse, violence, homelessness and child abuse; not to mention the sudden shift to looking out for oneself and not seeming to give a shit about your neighbour.

I hope I’m wrong.

What if?

L-Girl over at WMTC got me turned onto Democratic Space where I can get my visual fix on the Canadian Election, much like Electoral-Vote does it for me for the American one.  The Graphic below is from DS's website showing the current polling numbers and how it turns out in the number of seats in Parliament.

Update 10 (28 Sept)
CURRENT PROJECTION / NATIONAL

CONSERVATIVE	LIBERAL	NDP	BLOC	GREEN	OTHERS
36.7%	24.5%	19.6%	9.4%	8.9%	1.0%
140	82	35	49	0	2
155 SEATS REQUIRED FOR MAJORITY GOVERNMENT

Now, if Parliament allotted seats on proportional representation, this is what the seat distribution would look like:

IF IT WAS PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

CONSERVATIVE	LIBERAL	NDP	BLOC	GREEN	OTHERS
36.7%	24.5%	19.6%	9.4%	8.9%	1.0%
114	76	61	29	28	2

Think about that for a moment

Your Turn!

Since moving to Canada one of the things I truly enjoy is watching the CBC; while I know that some Canadians see it as stodgy and a relic of the past to me it always comes across as neat and crisp with a touch of class, especially the news.  Unlike CNN, or MSNBC, or *shudders* FOX, the CBC still has that little thing called journalistic integrity. There were times in Denver when Mason and I would stay up late past our own evening news just to be able to have the chance to watch The National and hear Peter Mansbridge's melodic tones about the country we were striving to move to. As an extra special bonus feature we'd also get the ocassional videotape from Bobby on some CBC special in the mail.

We are here now, and the days swing by like they did in Denver and we take the CBC for granted as it's always within reach of the remote.  It's still somewhat of a ritual for me, that I love to sit with my coffee, Toronto Star and watch CBC Sunday Morning, or the occasional special by good ole Peter.  Tonight is one of those occasions as Peter has been starting to interview each of the Party Leaders on a segment known as "Your Turn: Elections" in which the candidates sit in a studio and they answer ordinary Canadians' questions...no script, no prep, just honest answers from the public.  Last week was Jack Layton (which I missed) and tonight was Elizabeth May of the Green Party; I have to say she rocked!

She's articulate, intelligent, and answered her questions directly and honestly.  I know the arguments people will make against her, but tonight she spoke like a true citizen and steward of good government then any of the other 4 could.  Stephane Dion is on next week, but we will never hear from Mr. Harper.

Bush Jr. (as he will now be called) is using a Republican playbook and has told the CBC that he cannot participate in the current format and will not appear on the show.  The Prime Minister, running in a re-election campaign that he called will not appear on the most respected news program in Canada? Um, what wrong with the current format - oh, that's right...you have to actually answer people's questions and face your critic.  What a complete and utter asshole, you hear that Mr. Harper, YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE!

All I can say for those of you out there who can vote, it will be "Your Turn" on October 14th, please make sure to tell Bush Jr. how you feel.

It's The Supreme Court. Stupid!

From one of the websites I check every morning, www.electoral-vote.com:

One issue that has been totally absent from the campaign is the Supreme Court. Five of the justices are 70 or more. Justice Stevens is 88 and unlikely to want to serve 4 more years. Justice Ginsberg had cancer and was operated on for it. Justice Souter is known to want to retire and return to New Hampshire. These are three of the most liberal justices on the court. If all three retire and are replaced by Obama, the court will retain its even split between liberals and conservatives for many years to come. If all three are replaced by McCain, the conservatives will have a clear majority and surely reverse Roe v. Wade and many other decisions that conservatives think are wrong. It is amazing that the court has gotten so little attention.

                                                                                                                                                           

Justice	Appointed by	Sworn in	Age
John Paul Stevens	Ford	1975	88
Ruth Bader Ginsburg	Clinton	1993	75
Antonin Scalia	Reagan	1986	72
Anthony Kennedy	Reagan	1988	72
Stephen Breyer	Clinton	1994	70
David Souter	Bush 41	1990	69
Clarence Thomas	Bush 41	1991	60
Samuel Alito	Bush 43	2006	58
John Roberts	Bush 43	2005	53

Updates

Friday night we ended up watching the American Presidential debate with Eric & Adam from Canadian Boomdiada; it was great getting to know them and also have someone else to help me yell at the TV.  Then Mase and I spent the rest of the  weekend helping Doug and Rich move into their new place and set-up their IKEA furniture.  The new place looks great, and once Doug works his magic I know it will be their home.

~

This week coming up is going to be a busy one, being the first of the month and the end of our second quarter...joy that means tons of paperwork at work.  Tuesday night I plan on doing some phone banking for Jack Layton since I live in his riding; I figure if I can't do anything for Obama, I'll do some phone-banking for the NDP.  So far, Harper is still not within the 155 needed for a majority; to be quite honest, I think Canada is stuck with minority governments for a while to come, unless the Liberals find a charismatic enough leader, the NDP and Liberals merge or the Bloc disappears.

~

Mason and I finally got to a chance to go and spend our wedding gift cards this weekend; we got some nice new BEAR SIZED Bath towels, and some great stuff for the kitchen and dining room.  Still no luck finding some maple leaf lights for the front porch to celebrate Autumn, but we were able to find him a new clock for work with picture frames surrounding it...so he's happy.

Have a good week everyone!

Why?

**MASON ENTRY**

This song seems to pop up on my iPod when I least expect it - or should I?

HIDE AND SEEK

where are we?
what the hell is going on?
the dust has only just begun to form
crop circles in the carpet
sinking feeling

spin me round again
and rub my eyes,
this can't be happening
when busy streets amass with people
would stop to hold their heads heavy

hide and seek
trains and sewing machines
all those years
they were here first

oily marks appear on walls
where pleasure moments hung before the takeover,
the sweeping insensitivity of this still life

hide and seek
trains and sewing machines
blood and tears
they were here first

Mmmm whatcha say,
Mmm that you only meant well?
well of course you did
Mmmm whatcha say,
Mmmm that it's all for the best?
Of course it is
Mmmm whatcha say?
Mmmm that it's just what we need
you decided this
whatcha say?
Mmmm what did you say?

ransom notes keep falling out your mouth
mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut outs
speak no feeling no I don't believe you
you don't care a bit,
you don't care a bit

(hide and seek)
ransom notes keep falling out your mouth
mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut outs

Burning Times Redux

So apparently since they weren't able to get rid of us the last time they've now decided to get someone into power that might be able to finish off the job.  The Burning Times refers to the hundreds of years between 400 to 1738 when Witches were burned at the stake (or hung, pressed, shot, etc.).  This is actually where the term faggot comes from, as a faggot in olde English was a bundle of sticks made for kindling.  Gay men were identified by local villagers, tied together and lit on fire at the feet of the bound witches...I guess hate had a two for one special back then.

There are various different opinions as to how many people died in this holocaust; some people say it was as few as 40,000 individuals, while other figures go as high as 9 million...all in the name of Christianity and the Catholic Church.  Well it seems that the brief respite we've had in which paganism has started to make a comeback is going to be quashed again if Ms. Palin gets back into office.

Yesiree! She's back in the news and this time she's got prayer on her side!

Ms. Palin's Church, the Wasilla Assembly of God, has praised Pastor Thomas Muthee because "He has established and pastors hundreds of churches in Kenya." According to reports "When Palin was beginning her campaign for Governor of Alaska, she had Muthee pray over her, asking God to make her Governor. On her June 8, 2008 speech at the Wasilla Assembly of God church, Palin suggested that she believes that Muthee's prayer is responsible for getting her into the Governor's seat."

Seems that Pastor Muthee got some direct communication from God telling him that he needed to cleanse the nation of Kenya of witches and started going after a local woman in town because *gasp* three car accidents happened near her home and she was a fortune teller.....she must be a witch!  After some harrassment, threats, and the killing of a pet python she was run out of town.

Yea, she seems like a sensible choice for President Vice-President.

Miss #3

In Canada instead of political districts they have ridings; in each riding the party nominates a candidate and in this election all four parties (five in Quebec) are fielding candidates, but in the country's largest city, in the heart of the gay village, at it's very centre really, the Conservative Party just lost their candidate.

It seems Mr. Chris Reid (the self-proclaimed Gay Conservative...I'd link you to his blog, but it has disappeared) who was running for the Conservative Party had to "voluntarily" withdraw his Candida because of some comments in his online blog that the media caught whiff of. Earlier yesterday, Tory spokesperson Deirdra McCracken said Mr. Reid resigned because he couldn't commit to serving four years in government, but the Liberals insisted it was due to controversial comments in his blog, which included musings on women, gays, native protesters and hate-speech laws.

The offensive quote in general had to do with the abhorrent incident this summer in which an innocent man was killed and beheaded on a greyhound bus in Manitoba; he criticized passengers on the bus this summer who "stood by and watched" as a man beheaded a fellow passenger, "and couldn't muster up any courage or self-sacrifice to intervene." He went on to state that "this is where socialism as (sic) gotten us folks, a castrated effeminate population," he wrote on August 10th, more than a week after the young man's death.

Mr. Reid also called for debate on the right to carry a concealed weapon, an end to abortion and official multiculturalism, an elected Senate, and closing the CBC because of its "far left-wing bias." He said gay advocates in his riding tolerate the promotion of "promiscuity, drug usage and prostitution;" and I'll spare you the rest of his hate about Native Canadians.  I guess it shows that gays in Canada have come a long way when they can stand on a soapbox and cry out for the reduction of their own rights.

You see Mr. Reid, the problem (really it is one) you have is something called Internalized Homophobia. Basically, you hate yourself for being gay and you want to be in a position of power to disenfranchise and drag down all those happy queer folk out there because how dare they enjoy their freedoms (like sex, family, sex, marriage, sex, love, sex, job security, sex, pension benefits, sex...) when you can't stand the thought of all those Canadian laws protecting you.

By definition Internalized Homophobia, "causes severe discomfort with or disapproval of one's own sexual orientation. Internalized homophobia is thus a form of cognitive dissonance; the individual cannot reconcile the conflicting conscious or unconscious sexual desires with values and tenets gained from society, religion or upbringing. This can include extreme repression and denial coupled with forced outward displays of heteronormative behavior for the purpose of appearing or attempting to feel 'normal' or 'accepted'."

Calling the Canadian people a "castrated effeminate population" and your fellow queer community members as tolerating "promiscuity, drug usage and prostitution" sounds more in line with the Republican party; maybe you should grab a McCain-Palin button and do some phone banking in rural Kansas...I hear they really like gay boys down there. in either case you are yet another shining example of what is wrong with the Conservative Party in Canada, and what has been achieved in the past 20 years by all those wonderful socialist thoughts Canadians drempt up....the ability to run for office and fight against all the rights protecting your very existence.

Conservatives 0, Common Sense & Decency 2

First, the Conservative Minister of Agriculture makes jokes about the Listeriosis outbreak, including hoping out loud that the victim from PEI was his Liberal rival; this after over a dozen Canadians, most recently an infant in Manitoba, died from what seems to be a lack of governmental oversight....

Then today, they are back at it when a Conservative Candidate in Quebec makes the assumption that a First Nations Protester heckling her must be drunk....because all Indians are alcoholics right?

Again, do you really want these people in charge? Is this the type of people you want representing our country?

You Really Want Him To Run the Government?

From In Their Own Words

"The establishment came down with a constitutional package which they put to a national referendum. The package included distinct society status for Quebec and some other changes, including some that would just horrify you, putting universal Medicare in our constitution, and feminist rights, and a whole bunch of other things."

- Conservative leader Stephen Harper, then vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition, in a June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing American think tank.

"For taxpayers, however, it’s a rip-off. And it has nothing to do with gender. Both men and women taxpayers will pay additional money to both men and women in the civil service. That’s why the federal government should scrap its ridiculous pay equity law."

- Stephen Harper on pay equity, NCC Overview, Fall 1998.

"Then there is the Progressive Conservative party, the PC party, which won only 20 seats. Now, the term Progressive Conservative will immediately raise suspicions in all of your minds. It should... They were in favour of gay rights officially, officially for abortion on demand. Officially -- what else can I say about them? Officially for the entrenchment of our universal, collectivized, health-care system and multicultural policies in the constitution of the country."

- Conservative leader Stephen Harper, then vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition, in a June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing American think tank.

"Withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan... Collect our own revenue from personal income tax... Resume provincial responsibility for health-care policy. If Ottawa objects to provincial policy, fight in the courts... [E]ach province should raise its own revenue for health... It is imperative to take the initiative, to build firewalls around Alberta... "

- Stephen Harper in an "Open letter to Ralph Klein," January 24th 2001.

The NDP could be described as basically a party of liberal Democrats, but it's actually worse than that, I have to say. And forgive me jesting again, but the NDP is kind of proof that the Devil lives and interferes in the affairs of men."

- Conservative leader Stephen Harper, then vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition, in a June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing American think tank.

"It was probably not an appropriate term, but we support the war effort and believe we should be supporting our troops and our allies and be there with them doing everything necessary to win."

- Stephen Harper supporting the US-lead war on Iraq, Montreal Gazette, April 2nd 2003. Harper also called then-Defence Minister John McCallum an "idiot."

"If you've read any of the official propagandas, you've come over the border and entered a bilingual country. In this particular city, Montreal, you may well get that impression. But this city is extremely atypical of this country... So it's basically an English-speaking country, just as English-speaking as, I would guess, the northern part of the United States."

- Conservative leader Stephen Harper, then vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition, in a June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing American think tank.

"It will come as no surprise to anybody to know that I support the traditional definition of marriage as a union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, as expressed in our traditional common law."

- Stephen Harper, Hansard, Address in the House of Commons on Bill C-38, February 16, 2005.

"In terms of the unemployed, of which we have over a million-and-a-half, don't feel particularly bad for many of these people. They don't feel bad about it themselves, as long as they're receiving generous social assistance and unemployment insurance."

- Conservative leader Stephen Harper, then vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition, in a June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing American think tank.

"A culture of defeat..."

- Stephen Harper, describing the Atlantic provinces, May 2001.

"[Y]our country [the USA], and particularly your conservative movement, is a light and an inspiration to people in this country and across the world."

- Conservative leader Stephen Harper, then vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition, in a June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing American think tank.

Remember that last one when you think of the last eight years...