The Canadoper Café 2024 is now open!

Well, then, you need a good publicist. That’s not me, by the way. After a stint in a PR firm some 30 years ago, I learned that I couldn’t publicize a damn thing.

But your music is worth listening to. I’m going to put a bug in the ear of an old friend who is still on the air. Don’t get your hopes up–he broadcasts once a week, and only on Internet–but it’s something. I know that the regular listeners would like “In the Well of Friendship.” I sure do!

If you’d like to know how to tune into his show, let me know. We can get you involved in the chat that we have every week during his show–yes, most of us are ex-radio, and the knowledge about pop/rock music that is there is something else. Some of us even play and sing music (ahem). You’d be a valuable contributor.

Yeah, if you don’t mind, I’d be delighted! I have a publicist and a digital marketing team, but I also appreciate anything anyone chooses to do that might help!

Okay, Le Ministre, I’ve dropped my friend an e-mail message pointing him to your webpage and singles/videos.

Not sure if board rules allow me to share where and when you can listen in here, so check your PMs.

A Toronto parody artist is again in hot water over his t-shirts. First, it was his ‘Metrostinx’ shirts, expressing how many of us feel about the corporation ruining, sorry, running transit projects throughout the city.

Now, Loblaw’s is upset at his ‘Roblaw’$’ shirts, with the slogan ‘Live life hungry’. Full article here at BlogTO - Loblaws tries to take down Toronto-made parody merch that calls out its high prices

…and it was quite a week for me! I’ve been called a ‘pedophile’, a ‘groomer’, and told by several people on the internet that I ‘should be put in jail’. All this because of my vocal opposition to the anti-Trans legislation passed or proposed by New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and now supported by Pierre Poilièvre.

One of the things that set the Conservatives off was this cartoon by Graeme MacKay, of the Hamilton Spectator - Friday February 9, 2024 – mackaycartoons The comments section on Facebook was nasty!!

Just as with climate change, and pandemic restrictions, these are not people who are swayed by fact-based arguments.

The next election is going to be brutal!

The polite, Canadian response to this is “go fuck yourself”. I have no time for people like this.

Many years ago, back in the Morgenthaler days, I was driving with my dad past Old City Hall and the Forced Birthers were out in force. They had blocked Bay St. and he had some choice words for them. It definitely reinforced my belief in abortion rights as a teenager.

Yeah, call me crazy, but I like a little more substance in my political discourse.

It’s actually something I prefer about discussing issues on the SDMB - it can still get pretty heated, but it doesn’t descend into direct personal attacks. Is it because of the mods, or because of the posters? Either way, it’s far better than other social media sites!

I think it’s some of both, we’ve self-selected for people that want to have an intellectual discussion and mods that support it.

The problem with the protestors is that they are either sincere believers or trolls, and nothing you say will change their position.

Well, some of them are assholes.

Good for you. I was not like that as a teen, I believed in a more stern God. Then as I aged and my thinking and faith evolved I changed. I still believe that life begins at conception, but I also really believe in free will. And a person can’t be forced by law into giving up rights over their own body. I grieve for a life that is lost but I will not legislate to prevent the choice the mother makes. And if a pregnancy is harming a woman, or they know, like that case in Texas, the baby will not survive, it’s for the health and life of both mother and child to let her, and her alone, make the choice.

I believe the best abortion is the one that never needs to happen. Start with education and easy access to contraception, support families so that abortion isn’t a forced economic decision, and for all other cases make it freely available. I’m just hoping that the Danielle Smith’s of Canada don’t make a mess of things as they are.

Well, you got on the air! My friend played “Follow the Silence” on his show just now. Beautiful song; well done!

Many thanks for your help - I really appreciate it!

Meanwhile, CSIS has issued a warning about the likelihood of anti-Trans or anti-LGTBQ2S+ violence. CSIS warns that the 'anti-gender movement' poses a threat of 'extreme violence' | CBC News

I’m hoping this will lead to a reduction in the anti-Trans, anti-LGTBQ2S+ rhetoric and policy coming out of our right wing politicians, but I doubt it. Even a statement repudiating violence, from Danielle Smith, Pierre Poilièvre, Scott Moe, Blaine Higgs, or any of the mouth breathers from the Freedom Convoy would be welcome, but I can’t see it happening… :frowning:

CSIS could get some tips from the Curling Canada on how to keep secrets.

https://winnipegsun.com/sports/curling/why-curling-fans-are-up-in-arms-about-lack-of-transparency-surrounding-briane-harris-ineligibility-at-scotties

How come government never names bills things like “Smoke and Mirrors”, “Hold My Beer” or “Trust Us, Chumps”? Still, this might be the start of something… or not? (See Globe article, “This time, the NDP is Super Serious”).

Speaking of trust…

On a different note…I am beyond frustrated that no one has dubbed Pierre Poilievre, Peter Pepper.
(In French pepper is poivre!)

If this was America they would have by now, just saying. They’d be writing rhymes already!

It’s a decent pun, but Poilièvre is not related to the word ‘poivre’ - Poil is ‘hair’, and ‘lièvre’ is ‘hare’, so you could call him ‘Harehair’, though I prefer ‘Bunnyfur’ if you’re going to go that route.

His Parliamentary nickname is ‘Skippy’ - I haven’t heard how he feels about that one, but I also haven’t heard of him demanding people stop calling him that.

On some of the LGTBQ2S+ pages that I frequent, he is sometimes referred to as ‘Little PP’. I, myself, call him a lot of things that would get me a reprimand from The Mods.

When he came out in favour of some major anti-Trans legislation yesterday, there was much despair, but it has already galvanized organizations like PFLAG into letter writing campaigns. I’ve started donating - I think PFLAG and EGALE are going to need to lawyer up in the next few months!

It’s going to be a very ugly election!

That’s true enough, but a few, catchy yet amusing, “Peter Pepper picked a peck of ???rhymes…would really lighten mood, don’t you think?