ITEM: Governor General Adrienne Clarkson sent a nice letter to Elaine and Anne Vautour and Keven and Joe Bourassa-Varnell on the occasion of the two couple’s marriage at the Toronto Metropolitan Community Church. She was immediately attacked by Maurice Vellacott, a Canadian Alliance MP, who accused her of thwarting Parliament by congratulating the gay couples on their marriage, the legality of which is the subject of a dispute with the Ontario government.
ITEM: Alliance MPs also criticized her for meeting with band representatives from Davis Inlet and Sheshatshiu, two troubled Innu communities in Labrador which have publicly appealed to the government for direct aid to combat very severe social problems.
Now, for one thing, the Governor General is Canada’s legal head of state as the representative of the Queen, so it’s her damn job, and will remain so until such time as the office of the Governor General be abolished.
Conversely, considering that what we’re talking about is a meeting with some dignitaries and a letter to some newlyweds - things that the office of the Governor General organizes every day - we’re hardly talking the monarchical overthrow of the government.
Moreover, since when does one abandon the right to freedom of movement, freedom of association, and freedom of conscience and belief by becoming governor general?
These Alliance numbnuts are just pissed off because Adrienne Clarkson disagrees with them. Surely they have better targets than the only vaguely interesting Governor-General we’ve had in fifty years.
(I’m also not happy about the fact that the citizens of Alberta have to foot the bill for the judgment of a personal defamation suit against Stockwell Day, who while a provincial minister lambasted a lawyer for defending a pedophile in court. Although while in government he voted against the government indemnity fund that’s paying his fine, he’s shown no inclination to say no and pay the thing himself. What a jackoff.)
They just released the numbers for the defamation suit settlement. About $800,000…$60,000 to the defamed lawyer and the rest for legal bills for both parties. Fucking scumsucking leach lawyers. I actually reflected on my opinion of lawyers after reading threads here on the SDMB defending lawyers. “Gee maybe they’re right. All lawyers can’t be bad.”
I take that thought back. Lawyers are thieving filth, bill padding parasites. There is no justification for that kind of a tab for a simple defamation suit. I shit on all lawyers. Aristocracy is not dead.
ITEM: The Alliance have always been assholes. This whining of theirs should come as no surprise.
What bothers me is that Clarkson seems to be backing down. It’s not like she can be voted out of office, so why is she squirming and pretending that the letters of congratulation were automatic, and almost accidental?
Why not say “Sure, I sent them letters of congratulation for being the first Canadians to assert their rights to same-sex marriage. Whatcha gonna do about it, ya redneck bigots?”
And for all their talk about respect for religion, none of the Alliance assholes seem to care that these marriages were performed by a Christian church. Respect my religion, the rest of y’all are heathen.
I would really, really like to see that go to court. Personally, I don’t think they should be able to get legally married, but thats just my personal opinion, and I won’t force it on anyone.
I would however like to see what the courts do with it.
I figure the more the Alliance shows its colours (right wing reactionary with pockets of hate and fear at the core), the more it will marginalize itself.
Well, from today’s Globe and Mail, Canada’s Roman Catholic Bishops have also now critisized Clarkson.
Unfortunately it seems as though Clarkson’s office isn’t going to stand up to these crittisisms. Instead they have stated that the letter was “… a standard courteous form, sent in response to thousands of invitations the Governor-General receives but cannot accept”.
The Canadian Alliance is the new name for the Reform Party (not the same party as the U.S. Reform Party.) They’re the official Opposition. Please refer to
As to the OP, I think they deserve each other. I despise the Alliance and I despise Clarkson, who’s a self-absorbed jerkette who abandoned her own kids so she could have a career in TV.
But the Alliance is way, way off-base on this issue, further evidence they don’t know what the hell they’re doing. She sends a letter of congratulations and that’s somehow inappropriate politicking? Screw you, Stockwell.
Clarkson (a left oriented media maven and social activist) was chosen for her position by the government, who knew full well what they were getting (including her hubby Saul, a leading left oriented social critic and social activist). She has not stepped outside of her traditional role. The government has made neither formal nor informal indications of dissatisfaction with her.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated matter, the leader of the Alliance party has been nailed with a large libel settlement for issuing a public letter directed against a defence lawyer for representing an accused.
Aside from demonstrating political positions which are deeply offensive to me, I believe that the Alliance party is also demonstrating a tremendous ignorance of the roles held by various players in our democracy, including the role of the Governor General and the role of defence lawyers. I suggest that the Alliance operates by knee-jerk rather than by compassion, reason and rule of law. This worries me.
Upham: The Nazi, truly. Here around the Fagtorium, we’ve actually discussed whether or not people like us will end up in camps if he comes to power, and which European country we would flee to if it happened. (Hamish says France; I say Holland.)
Man, at this rate I’ll NEVER vote for the Alliance… and I live in Alberta!
I doubt there Alliance will form the government in the forseeable future. Really: The Alliance? In power? Getting more than a handful of seats in Ontario? Under Stockwell Day? Not likely.
I feel your pain. But there’s no need to add the justification “for beating up on Adrienne Clarkson.”
“The Alliance are assholes” would have done just fine.
In your honnor, I hollered a nice and loud “FUCK YOU!” this morning as I dropped off my mother at work. She teaches at the school practically accross the street from the official residence of His Holy Jackoffness Day.
Excellent! Polycarp can I use that?