One Woman. One Blog.

Dion Charms the Crowd in Peterborough

Stéphane Dion thoroughly charmed the crowd in Peterborough this morning. He was warm, personable, and funny in his wonderfully low-key way. He talked about the link between environmental change and human health and did a fabulous job of fielding questions from the crowd on a wide variety of issues: social justice, economic sustainability, the environment, and more specifically the link between poverty and health (both in Canada and abroad), immigration, NAFTA and environmental rights, bio-fuel and other alternative energy sources), job creation in an environmentally sound economy, nuclear energy, rehabilitation of the tar stands, water as a basic human right, and much more.

His passion for making a difference for Canadians came through in everything he said.

I had the last question of the day. I thanked him for standing fast in the face of personal attacks that were unprecedented outside an election period and told him that I thought he was a real class act. (Clearly the majority of the people in the room agreed with what I had to say because there was thunderous applause in response to this statement.) I then asked him what ordinary citizens could do to help spread the word about what he has to offer Canadians, given that his message is all-too-often obscured by the mainstream media.

He didn't say anything negative about the mainstream media (what did I just finish saying about what a class act this gentleman is?), but he commented briefly about what keeps him going. He said (and I'm paraphrasing): "When you're driven by your convictions, you keep going." He then talked about how committed he was to making a difference for Canadians: how he wanted to become Canada's next Prime Minister so he could work for a world in which Canada was a leader in the area of environmental change, social justice, and economic sustainability.

This is a man who is speaking from the heart and who has the intelligence and the determination to be a brilliant Prime Minister. It's no wonder Stephen Harper (also not a stupid man) has been running scared and resorting to bully-style attacks since practically the day Dion became leader of the Liberal Party. After all, you don't invest massive energy and resources trying to take down an unworthy opponent. You save your energy for someone who has the potential to take you down.

Dion was introduced by Federal Liberal candidate Betsy McGregor (Peterborough Riding) and thanked by former MP Peter Adams (also Peterborough Riding).

Win Big With the CPC's Dunk Dion Contest

Today is the final day to score points with Stephen Harper and possibly win some cool prizes over at his site. All you have to do is enter his fall video contest.

And here's your SPECIAL INSIDER'S GUIDE to scoring major CPC bling.

SUPER SECRET TIP! Read the blogs of the featured activists to get a sense of the CPC style before you submit your own video entry.

The first blog entry slams Dion in the first sentence and compares Harper to God in the headline ("In Harper We Trust").

The second blog entry mentions Dion in the headline and in the first sentence.

The third blog entry doesn't slam Dion until almost the end of the post.

Our advice? Slam dunk Dion right at the outset because the competition will be fierce for these fabulous prizes: a Nintendo Wii with 2 Games; an iPod video; and an iPod Nano.

Remember to read the contest criteria carefully when you're preparing your contest entry. We've given you some subtle hints about what the judges will be looking for.

If you need more help, read the contest rules carefully. They also contain lots of SUPER SECRET CLUES!

"We are looking for student activist [sic] to create an original video to be featured on the CPC Energy website and to compete for awesome prizes. Your short video can be about anything - a policy, your favorite or not-so-favorite politician or even a rant about the tired old left. Funny or serious, anything goes! Be creative! Be original!"

SPECIAL INSIDER CAUTION! Think negative energy, like the kind of energy that's defined the CPC ever since Dion became Liberal Party leader.

If you want to walk away with the Wii, don't focus on what Harper has to offer, focus on what Dion doesn't have to offer.

GET IT? We hope so because any entries featuring positive energy may be spotlighted on a forthcoming website -- Not an entry.ca, modelled after Not a Leader.ca, where they will be mocked along with the person who submitted them.

Now good luck and have fun (or else).

Unpaid Teen Workers at Mexican Wal-Mart: NEWSWEEK

This Newsweek story about teenagers in Mexico working for nothing but the possibility of tips (reprinted at CommonDreams.org) made me question, once again, why these things are allowed to go on.

Joseph Contreras writes, in part:

"Wal-Mart is Mexico’s largest private-sector employer in the nation today, with nearly 150,000 local residents on its payroll. An additional 19,000 youngsters between the ages of 14 and 16 work after school in hundreds of Wal-Mart stores, mostly as grocery baggers, throughout Mexico-and none of them receives a red cent in wages or fringe benefits. The company doesn’t try to conceal this practice: its 62 Superama supermarkets display blue signs with white letters that tell shoppers: OUR VOLUNTEER PACKERS COLLECT NO SALARY, ONLY THE GRATUITY THAT YOU GIVE THEM. SUPERAMA THANKS YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING."

While some would argue that without that gratuity, these teens and their families would be even worse off, couldn't the case be made that without the volunteer packers, Wal-Mart would be forced to pay its 19,000 "volunteer" laborers? And as Mexico's largest private-sector employer -- an employer that made $280 million in net profits in the second quarter of 2007 -- shouldn't Wal-Mart show some leadership or be mandated to do the right thing?

Why are Canada and the U.S. doing business with Mexico, if this is how it treats its labor force. Why aren't the Canadian and American branches of this multinational company being called to task in a major way.

Maybe we should all march to our local Wal-Mart stores during back-to-school season and ask if they pay teenagers, or if they expect our sons and daughters to volunteer for the privilege of working for Wal-Mart. And if Wal-Mart Canada and Wal-Mart US wouldn't consider asking our kids to work for free, why should they pay other people's children that way -- children whose families are desperately poor?

It is unbelievable that these questions even have to be asked.

How did our ideas about what will be tolerated -- let alone what is right or wrong in our society -- get so far off track?

Will any political party ever stand up to the mega-corporations? Or has the power shifted so much in favour of those mega-corporations that talk is futile?

Sources: CommonDreams.org, Newsweek

A Concert in Support of Willie P. Bennett

My friend Jeannine Taylor over @ QuidNovis.com is one of the sponsors for this concert, so I wanted to do my bit by spreading the word about this special event. Besides, as a self-employed author, I'm all-too-aware of how financially perilous it can be to pursue a career as a self-employed anything, let alone a self-employed creative type. Sometimes you have to rely on the kindness of friends and relatives to weather the lean times in your business, whether that is at startup or during the financial hiccups that can occur during times of illness or family strife. (This is why organizations like The Writers' Union of Canada have been lobbying the Federal Government for years to allow income tax year back-averaging for creators. But I'll leave that subject for another day.) For now, find out about the concert for Willie and enjoy some great music while supporting a great cause.

Presenting....The Ironic Collection

"Question authority.
TODAY'S LESSON. GROUP THINK.
Campus life circa 2006."

Designer wallpaper for the free-thinking Conservative Party of Canada member.

Or something like that.

Note the hip fonts and the timeless youth rebel yell.

Scott's Call to Action

Scott Tribe is ready to pull the plug on the Harper government -- and, frankly, who can blame him for having had his fill of the most branded government in Canadian history -- the people who brought you such memorable phrases as Canada's New Government, Getting Things Done (a term that productivity guru David Allen came up with, made famous, and has trademarked in the U.S. market), among others.

"It is a disgusting display to watch as Canada’s 'tarnished and definitely no longer new' government desperately flails away (though I admit to some amusement and hope people see the irony as minister after minister got up yesterday and demanded apologies from the opposition parties)," he writes.

Reading Scott's passionate call to action got me thinking and typing as well. (Confession: I kind of took over his comments section of his blog in much the same way as certain Members of Parliament take over the floor in the House of Commons and have to be forced to sit down and shut up. Sorry, Scott.) Anyway, here's what I had to say, just in case you didn't make it over to read Scott's diabtribe du jour.

What has shocked me since I really started paying attention to the actions of the Harper government (about six months ago) are

the way it refuses to answer legitimate questions that are posed in a direct and civilized manner (usually by answering a totally unrelated question or by attacking the record of the previous government);
how it treats other members of the House of Commons and members of the media with such disrespect -- like it is above any standard of accountability;

how little of substance it has achieved during its time in office -- and how little legitimate concern or interest it has shown for some of the most pressing issues of our time: aboriginal issues, children's issues, healthcare, youth issues, social justice in all its forms, and the environment;

how it doesn't seem to care about anything else but achieving the all-might majority (which has to make you wonder what it intends to do with that majority if it gets it);

how it is willing to do u-turns on the facts -- and what it allegedly stands for on a daily -- if not an hourly -- basis. How can Canadians have confidence in a government that doesn't appear to stand for anything but principles of self-interest and getting re-elected?

The Conservative Party spin-doctoring has been impressive, which means there is a greater need for media literacy and political literacy education at the grassroots levels -- teaching people how changing the subject when you don't want to answer a particular question, providing a partial truth, and other tried-and-true message management tools have allowed the Harper government to misuse the privilege of power and waste Parliament's time -- time that could otherwise have been used accomplishing something of substance.

Related:
The Guardian -- Quiz: Could You Be the King of Spin?

The Center for Media and Democracy

Politics and the Press Bibliography

Extra! Extra! Newspapers Aren't Down for the Count Quite Yet -- But Your Favourite Journalist May Be Headed Online

David Olive has a great piece on the opportunities for newspapers, both on and offline, in Saturday's Toronto Star.

In the portion of his article where he discusses large-scale layoffs at many of North America's largest newspaper franchises, he notes that journalists and newspaper owners are both taking careful note of what the future holds for them -- and mapping out their next steps accordingly. For many owners, that means devaluing "content providers," acquiring content on the cheap, and slashing editorial jobs; for many journalists, it means making an exodus to the Web, "robbing newsrooms of some of their brightest, most energetic and Web-savvy talent."

Olive writes:

"The ground is now shifting, and will do so at an accelerating pace over the next two or three years, as the interests of journalists and proprietors begin to diverge. Having dumbed down or at least homogenized their product, newspaper owners now are desperately trying to preserve margins – and keep impatient investors at bay – by destroying their venerable franchises with rounds of layoffs. The 'content providers,' worried about job security and pensions, are examining their options. So are those few proprietors who understand that you can't shrink to survival, much less greatness."

Related:
Canadian Freelance Union: The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, the country's largest media union with 25,000 members who work in print, radio, television, film, design and new media, has decided to utilize its resources to create a strong collective voice for media freelancers and other independent communication professionals — to improve their income, benefits and working conditions. We believe that uniting everyone who works in Canada's media — employee or independent contractor — will be good for everyone. In addition, the development of an independent media sector, in which people can earn a decent living, will allow more viewpoints to be expressed, energizing our democracy.

Pat Schroeder on Ageism in Politics and Society

"Ageism's very strong against women in our society. I should bring in to you all the [notes] I get from people telling me to dye my hair, that I look like the great gray ape of the Congress. And I keep saying, in the ape community, they revere their gray apes."

- Patricia Schroeder, who served 12 terms as a Congresswoman from Colorado and retired undefeated in 1996. (She is, now the president of the Washington- and New York-based Association of American Publishers.)

Related:
Political Math 101

Political Math 101: 50-Something's Too Old for a Woman -- But Not for a Man -- in Politics

Ageism is alive and well in Peterborough County. Or at least that's what you'd be inclined to believe by reading the print edition of today's Peterborough Examiner.

Former Liberal MP Peter Adams is pitching Brendan Moher as the youth candidate in the Federal Liberal nomination race in Peterborough Riding.

"I think there should be a generational change (in the party)," Adams notes. "I look toward youth and Brendan is clearly the youngest of our candidates."

Adams notes that he is no longer supporting Diane Lloyd, the candidate he supported in the last election. ("I've discussed this with Diane and it's not easy. We were proud to work with Diane.")

There's nothing wrong with someone who has enjoyed a distinguished career in politics mentoring along someone he seems as a worthy successor. But mentoring should ideally involve teaching the political protegé how to stick to the high political ground. Publically humiliating the candidate of record (The headine read "Adams Spurns Lloyd, Backs Moher in Race") and taking potshots at political rivals on the basis of their age reeks of the kind of "old boy" backroom political smear tactics that most Canadians have grown weary of in recent months.

It's also a very odd tactic to take in a riding that boasts the second highest per capita rate of senior citizens in the country, the majority of whom are female. (And past their political "best before date," it would seem.)

Besides, pushing Moher as the representative of a new generation in the party and "the youngest of our candidates" sounds slightly ridiculous when you consider that all three candidates are in their 50s (the Examiner notes that both Lloyd and McGregor are "about 59" while Moher is "about 50"). [Hey, maybe I should file my nomination papers and call myself the extreme youth candidate. (I'm 43.)]

But apparently there's a world of difference between a man heading to Ottawa in his 50s and a woman heading to Ottawa in her 50s -- at least in the minds of some old boys -- including one old boy who was first elected to the House of Commons in Peterborough Riding at the age of 57 and who retired from that position at the age of 69. What's up with that?

------------
Postscript:

What's really sad about this whole thing is that I'm losing faith in the political system and it's ability to work at the grassroots level. I'm also very sad to see one of my long-time heroes strike out so unfairly at someone who has so much to offer Peterborough Riding; and who has just as much right to be running in this Riding as the candidate he has chosen to back. By right of birthright, by virtue of service, and on the basis of experience, education, and everything else that really matters at the end of the day, Betsy McGregor is a top-calibre candidate and individual.

I also feel outraged on behalf of Diane Lloyd -- the other candidate in this race. She deserved better than than this. (I tried to reach her by phone this afternoon to say so, but she was out, and I felt awkward leaving a message. I think I'll send her an email instead.)

Related:
the Ontario Women's Liberal Commission's Campaign College for Women Candidates
Democracy Through Partnership Between Men and Women in Politics
Inter-Parliamentary Union:Women in Politics: Women Politicians in the Media
Women Win Ageism Case Against Virgin
In the Trenches Productions

A Charter Clause Word Quilt: In Honour of International Women's Day

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




I created this word quilt this morning in honour of International Women's Day.

Our rights as Canadian women may be guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but there is still much work to be done to allow all Canadian women to benefit from the blanket coverage promised by this quilt.

Canadians need a government that has the vision to understand that equality and justice aren't open for debate; and that meeting Canada's international obligations to advance the status of women will lead to a more peaceful and prosperous future for all.

- Ann Douglas, mother, writer, Peterborough, Ontario

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
A Promise Made, A Promise Broken: Women on the Anniversary of Harper's Pledge
Court Challenges Program: Resource Library -- Cancellation of this program