April Reign

Speak your mind even if your voice shakes

bill c-484

Canada’s n00b Government

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n00b
1) A person who is new to a game <–this would actually be a newb
2) A person who, regardless of experience, lacks the skill or competence to be competitive in a certain game
3) Someone who tends to whine or complain when being beaten at a game – often done by accusing more skilled opponents of hacking
4) One who may talk trash, claiming to be elite at a game, only to be beaten down by a better player, or will turn down any games when challenged by better players.
5) Overall, a real jerk.

If the current election ads for Harper are any indication, either an election has already been called in his mind, or he is jealous of the 3 year media-whore fest that the American election process has become.

One of the things supposedly off the table in this election bid is the contentious fetal personhood bill, aka Bill-C484. Harper has said he is not interested in reopening the abortion debate.

And once elected, faster than Chris Angel can pick your pocket, Harper announced all women to be already fully equal and therefore no longer in need of advocacy or women’s issues no longer in need of study and universal childcare to be satisfied with a cheque resulting in taxing lower income Canadians.

So when Harper says he has no interest in reopening the abortion debate what he means is that if elected to a majority government he will reward his fundamentalist friends with the passage of anti abortion laws. There will be no need for debate as such a bill would pass easily through a Reform government majority. And Presto Change-o no reopening of debate. Promise kept.

Make no mistake. Like a certain ring bearer Harper sees the brass ring of the PM’s office as belonging rightfully to him.

harperg.gif

For every Liberal scandal of which Harper & Co. have railed on about they have equaled and surpassed themselves. Yet they continue to presume moral superiority in a way that only those lacking it can.

This will not be an election fought under traditional Canadian terms. This will be fought with all the dirty tricks of the Bush Republicans. Cheney, Rove, the Swiftboaters. This will be a war fought by Christians who do not follow the teachings of Christ. By Conservatives who don’t believe in conservation. A class war fought from the top down. A battle to wrest the rights that the majority of Canadians believe in from them while they allow apathy and disillusionment with the system to lull them in a false sense of security that things will always be pretty much the same.

This will be an historic election. It will be the election that decides if Canada survives.

Yes there are Roses but watch out for Pricks

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As anyone who has ever been in an abusive relationship knows, it isn’t always bad. Sometimes there are roses. Nevertheless, they are still being delivered by a prick. This situation is no different.

Harper & Co. have abandoned their support of Bill C484. Their new angle is to bring in a bill “to replace Bill C-484, the Unborn Victims of Crime Act, so that it closes the debate about fetal rights and focuses instead on penalizing criminals who harm pregnant women.” Great idea wonder how they came up with it?

With all the rumours of war election, it is hard to see this as anything but an abusive government suddenly recognizing that women have the vote and that vote is unlikely to go their way after forcing themselves into Canadian womens’ private parts.

So while I raise a glass in salute to all the women out there who made their voices heard, I’m not letting my guard down around this government.

The Bad Girl Report

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Abortion News & Views from across Cyberspace.

Todays report starts with this post by Amanda Marcotte explaining why pandering to the mushy middle is not the way to defend rights;

Every time a pro-choicer tries to appeal to the “mushy middle” with these tactics, they reaffirm the idea that there are Good Girls who have lots of children and not lots of sex, and Bad Girls who are just Good Girls who’ve lost their way. It might win votes–no one could accuse Barack Obama at this point of having a poor political compass–but it ultimately comes at the cost of undercutting abortion rights. Because if abortion is always wrong, always the bad choice, always a regretful action–that is, if there are so many broken Bad Girls out there–then it becomes impossible to really defend women’s rights. .

Source

Definitely a column some of our politicians could do with reading.

Next we move on to the CMA who came out in opposition to Bill C-484 yesterday and it’s potential to make criminals out of doctors.

By a wide margin, the Canadian Medical Association voted yesterday to oppose Bill C-484, “and any legislation that would result in compromising access for women to the medical services required to terminate a pregnancy.”

Source

in his ever so special way of using non-judgmental or inflammatory language, Ken Epps responded;

“Bill C-484, if it were to become law, would in fact not affect the law on abortion nor would it criminalize pregnant women for any harm they may cause to their own fetuses/unborn children.“

Hey Ken now I’m totally convinced it isn’t about abortion. (Not)

And we end the report with this Knicker Knotted (K)gnashing of teeth from our friends at ALL

MEDIA BLACKOUT OF PRO-LIFE MASS ARREST, FIRST AMENDMENT VIOLATIONS

Washington, DC (20 August 2008) On Aug. 1, 18 pro-lifers were falsely, brutally arrested on bogus charges by Maryland state police officers. Most were scared, crying teenage kids. They weren’t told the charges for which they were being arrested and they weren’t read their Miranda Rights. The girls were humiliatingly searched, and all were locked up. Most weren’t allowed to see their lawyers and were denied their phone calls.

This is one of the largest mass arrests of pro-lifers since the days of the clinic rescue movement which ended in the early 1990s. It’s a clear violation of First and Fourth Amendment rights.

It’s being ignored in a massive media blackout.

“This type of harassment has been used against peaceful protestors in the past and never have these tyrannical methods been acceptable,” said Jen Catelli, director of media relations at American Life League. “The pro-life community needs to stand up and demand media attention for these heinous abuses.”

Defend Life’s Maryland Face the Truth Tour had one final stop to make in Hagerstown, Maryland. They peacefully set up their signs along a stretch of highway and began to pray. State police officers soon showed up and demanded they take down their signs. The pro-lifers complied and moved to a different area.

State police followed and began making arrests.

“They violated all our rights,” said Jack Ames, president and founder of Defend Life. Ames spent the night locked in a cell with the other pro-lifers. Ames and his fellow pro-lifers spent the night praying and singing the Lord’s Prayer, the Ave Maria and Tantum Ergo. The next morning officials released the pro-lifers. Charges have since been dropped.

“American Life League is committed to making sure these people get the attention they deserve,” Catelli said. “This kind of blatant disregard for pro-lifers’ rights on the part of Governor Martin O’Malley’s state police won’t be tolerated. If these pro-lifers were pro-abortion activists or PETA protesters, this would have been on the front page of every newspaper on the East Coast.”

“As more information surfaces about this mass arrest, ALL will ensure that everyone in the pro-life movement hears about these heroes,” Catelli continued.

American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or media inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.

Guess the Baltimore Sun doesn’t count as media

The no rights for women crowd has apparently settled for second best

Honesty may be the best policy, but it’s important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.
George Carlin

I’m supporting the Liberals!

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Ok well one of them at least. Brent St. Denis has an answer to Bill C-484, Bill C-543 which says; “This enactment amends paragraph 718.2(a) of the Criminal Code by adding pregnancy as an aggravating circumstance for the purpose of sentencing … evidence that the offender, in committing the offence, abused a person who he or she knew or ought to have known was pregnant.”

Brent St. Denis
Brent St. Denis

When queried about why he decided to do this, St. Denis said, “Mr. Epps’ bill traded off a dilemma — many pro-choice members of Parliament felt trapped. And, after all, it’s hard to say you are against something the way Epps set it up. This will give MPs an option. This trumps Mr. Epps’ bill and his hidden agenda.”

Something else pointed out to me by St. Denis was what is happening in the United States where fetal protection laws have been passed.

“In 37 states, fetal protection laws make it a crime to cause harm to the fetus, but it has been shown that pregnant women are more likely to be punished for other behaviours and conditions that are not criminalized for other people. Such as drug or alcohol abuse or mental illness.”

That doesn’t seem like something we would want to happen in Canada, but don’t fool yourselves — Epps bill will do just that.

{emphasis added} SOURCE

Contact your MP

and email the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights to let them know there is a sensible alternative to the bill currently before them. One which recognizes that protecting women is the best way to protect fetuses. JUST@parl.gc.ca

And if you would like to send support to St. Denis;
Parliamentary Office:
584 Confederation Building
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Phone:
Fax:
Email: (613) 996-5376
(613) 995-6661
stdenb@parl.gc.ca
Constituency Office:
121 Barber Street
Espanola ON P5E 1S4
Phone:
Fax:
Toll Free: (705) 869-0059
(705) 869-5341
1-800-463-3335

Irony is not completely dead

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Photo taken by me in August, 2006.Image via WikipediaDavid Warren soils the Ottawa Citizen before it even reaches the bird cage with this piece of hate filled tripe “It’s feminist slander that men are inherently violent”.The fallacies and utter nonsense spewed in the piece do not even warrant comment, though the fact that such a piece of drivel would get published may.

More to the point is the ironic juxtaposition of a breaking story of a woman killed, two small children being taken by children’s services and a man being lead away in handcuffs. Now I’m sure that the man is completely innocent (certainly till he has his day in court.) No doubt this evil woman died of her own hand and found a way to make it look like the man did it.

Just as a final thought. I wonder how these “oooo the evul wimmins is stealing my ballz” types are handling their female counterparts using “feminist” talking points about the dangers of being beaten or killed by partners during pregnancy in an effort to score points for Bill C-484? Maybe they just close their eyes and think of England.

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International Fetus Day

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Saturday March 8th aka International Women’s Day. How did the predominantly male parliament recognize this upcoming event? By voting, either through direct action or abstention, to allow the clock to be turned back on women’s reproductive rights.

Those who like to spin sentiment as truth say that those crazy radical feminists are on the war path against mommies again. Bullshit!

This about protecting the rights of all women. Especially those who chose to become pregnant. Feminists have studied, lobbied and fought for years for protections for women. Now this same government who so happily dismantled SWC is claiming to have women’s interests at heart? Bullshit!

The same laws that are being put forward here are being used to prosecute women in the United States of America. And other countries with similar breeding laws are also making criminals out of women. Women who’s pregnancies are not the stuff of Anne Geddes books. This is protecting women? Bullshit!

Mark Hasiuk in his rush to do a hatchet job on Joyce Arthur writes;

Sadly, for a relatively small number of pregnant women, life’s final scene ends with a violent act usually perpetrated by their closest male ally. Bill C-484 will recognize the sanctity of human life in its most innocent and vulnerable form, and further punish some of society’s most despicable offenders.

In their opposition to the bill, pro-choice activists seek to deny justice for abused women who weighed their options and chose life.

Perhaps Mr. Hasiuk should have become a butcher rather than a writer. Being a writer generally requires one research the facts. The fact is that Bill C-484 contains a provision that any lawyer worth his salt could use to get his client off. To wit;

(2) An offence that would otherwise be an offence under paragraph (1)(a) may be reduced to an offence under paragraph (1)(b) if the person who committed the offence did so in the heat of passion caused by sudden provocation within the meaning of section 232.

Combined with the fact that courts already have provision to take violence against a pregnant women more seriously, combined with the fact that Canada does not (as yet!) have consecutive sentencing. Combined with this statement “(5) It is not a defence to a charge under this section that the child is not a human being.” and statements such as these from reproductive fascists, “If passed this bill . . . would be a key step in recriminalizing abortion.” To say that this bill is about protection not about criminalizing abortion is grade A, 100%, unadulterated BULLSHIT!

To the Liberal politicians who stood in the house today and voted for this, and for those like Dion who ducked the responsibility to defeat it, I say shame! Shame on you for marking International Women’s Day by resurrecting the concept of biology as destiny.

It is hard to choose priorities–too bad you chose Harper Government™ ones.