Like A Flashback

     I've been having a lot of deja vu of the 1990's these days. I actually saw Madonna's Truth or Dare "film" in the early 90's and like everyone of the time started using "NOT" at the end of every sentence I was being sarcastic about. I'd call it the most memorable catch phrase of that decade, it finally ended when everyone from 5 year olds to 85 year olds started using it, although this hasn't worked with Rap Music in our times unfortunately. Truth or Dare is a great movie, you should go rent it, NOT!
     This week in Canada, finally a scandal! Yay, they are never reported, never sexy and people hardly care about them. The Minister for International Cooperation, Bev Oda, is in a ton of hot water over writing the word NOT on a government form, as in funding for the KAIROS program is NOT approved. The scandal part of it comes because the President and Vice-President of the Government agency, CIDA,(Canadian International Development Agency) actually approved and signed the document before Bev Oda wrote NOT on it then lied about it to the House of Commons and tried to blame everyone else for it, all the while the PM is supporting her. I know, NOT sexy! But still pretty shady, shady enough for calls for her resignation and possible jail time, this is likely, NOT!
     I devoted a few hours this morning to finding out more about KAIROS, the Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiative, promoting social equality and justice in the 3rd world and Canada. Normally I don't support religious groups, but this is Catholics, Protestants and the United Church, Quakers and many more working for pretty good causes, I don't disagree with their mission, they aren't proselytizing. Started in 1973, their main concerns are Corporate Accountability, Aboriginal Rights, Women's and Human Rights, respect for the earth and justice for it's people, as well as a stated belief in Climate Change and helping the 3rd world deal with it. I didn't see anything about not supporting Israel, which is what the Conservatives are accusing them of. I do believe that the main concern of the Conservative government is defunding of groups they don't like, especially those that espouse Global Warming and Women's rights. I tried very hard this morning to find out exactly who is funded by CIDA, to no avail, if you can read government websites and understand them as well as wade through the immense amount of jargon, please do and get back to me on that, I think it would take a Masters Degree in bureaucracy! I did find a string of unrelated articles that point out who is NOT funded however: the CRWC another Christian group that has received funding since the 1960's who work on similar issues of education and human rights in the 3rd World, their defunding was also a total surprise to them. Universities, I guess they had lots of funding of various programs around the country but I saw a short statement from an Onatrio University that said all funding had been cut off and to please sign the petition they put up.UBC in Vancouver was lamenting that CIDA funding has ceased for Journalism Fellowships, mainly for students to report abroad and teach Journalism in developing countries. International Planned Parenthood,got the boot, that was a few years ago now, that no one has noticed. The CTF, Canadian Teachers Federation that has been teaching 3rd World children for decades, also a surprise to them. I didn't find a good list of who is getting funding today but did read an article about CIDA giving funding to a Bible Translating group in Africa,maybe they can pray away the Malaria?
     Bev Oda lying to Parliament and forging documents is one issue and I hope she gets canned. Helena Guergis got fired for doing nothing that could be proven so I'm not getting where Harper's moral compass is here. The other really big issue is why can't the Conservatives be honest about where they stand, which is far on the religious right? My guess is that they are scared, and rightly so, that Canadians don't like this stuff and would be wiped out in an election. I would like to use the Sarah Palin "Man up!" here and say to these cowards, instead of white washing everything be upfront about what you really believe, which is women should be subservient and never have abortions, gays should go back in the closet and the environment belongs to Corporations not the people and especially not the Aboriginals. But we'll suck up to Quebec, when convenient! Please be honest and we will decide thank you.
     I've been having some frightening flashbacks to the 90's while listening to the "New" Republican Congress in the US these days, namely their fight against women's rights. I remember the "Moral Majority" talk and especially the bombings of abortion clinics, funding threats against PBS and Public Radio, it's kinda why we liked Madonna and her boundary pushing back in 1992. Well, it's all back, the new energy of the Tea Party Express is all about the culture wars of the 90's. I'll bet you someone is going to try and call out the TV sitcom "Modern Family" as a deranged form of cultural misanthrope like they did with "Murphy Brown" and single mothers. The 90's are back! Everyone get out your C+C Music Factory tapes and start shopping at the GAP again!
     Seriously though, did you know that after the Republicans made everyone read the Constitution aloud in Congress they have done nothing but try to defund Health Care (once), take several weeks off and then introduce three bills trying to outlaw Abortion and redefine rape? The great State of South Dakota, where Mount Rushmore is, is trying to make it legal to kill an abortion provider by coining the term "Justifiable Homicide" I didn't know the Ten Commandments had caveats? Thou Shalt NOT Kill, unless you don't agree with them, maybe it's a new translation? Other States are looking closely at this case because they want to do it too. This redefining of rape is perhaps the most disturbing, in Mexico abortion is not legal except in the case of rape and then one has to prove it to really corrupt police, buena suerte hermana!In English, good luck sister! That's more like the 1890's! Anyway we recently heard Justin Bieber give his two cents about rape in his Rolling Stone interview, he said something along the line of "everything happens for a reason" and he doesn't "believe" in abortion or have a huge problem with rape because hey, it's never happened to me,  I don't really care what a rich teen idol thinks about anything, what I did care about is how Elizabeth Hasselbeck on the View this morning defended it. I know she is only a mouthpiece for the radical right and she had to defend Bieber saying some young people are geniuses. Wow, absolutley disgusting! I think it's more about the support of banning abortion and the redefinition of rape that the right are beating the drums about right now, nice try though! Hmmm no mention that Bieber said he thought American Health Care was "evil" No wonder Barbra Walters looks so tired all the time! Finally, after CBS News correspondent Lara Logan was gang raped in Tahrir Square in Cairo recently, right-wing commentator Debbie Schlussel who has appeared on Bill O'Rieley's FOX News show many times, is quoted as saying "...how fitting Lara was "liberated" as she gushed over Egypt's liberation...". I guess we've come a long way when right-wing women will blame the victim and take delight in their sexual assault, they deserved it kind of thinking. FOX viewers think that reporters should just stay home and they deserve getting assaulted, I guess they think we should all just make up the news like they do?
     Obviously I don't live in a vacuum in Canada, I am affected by events and culture in my country and the US, we are very close. So there is no way I believe a religious and right wing Prime Minister of Canada isn't watching and hob-hobnobbing with the religious right in the US, where they want to redefine rape and take away women's rights and anyone else's they disagree with. I don't really care if Bev Oda lied but I would really like to know what their philosophy is, that's where the cover-up is. It's becoming clear to me that the right-wing do not respect women and think the state should make decisions about their bodies because they are too frail and weak minded and deserve it because they dress that way? They believe it, they just don't have the balls to say it. As Madonna once musically asked "Do You Know What It Feels Like For A Girl?" It sure seems so, NOT!
  
  
http://www.thestar.com/News/Insight/article/813385--is-ottawa-leaving-women-behind
Here is an old but very good article about the dismantling of women's rights in our country.
and one more, a petition for Oda to resign:
http://petition.liberal.ca/bevodamustresign/