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Today in Right News -- March 12th *********************
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Today March 12th in history
===========================
MPPs clear the way to suspend legislature as Ontario reports 17 new COVID-19
cases
March 12, 2020, Rob Ferguson, Toronto Star
https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2020/03/12/ontario-sets-up-locations-for-covid-19-assessment-centres-and-postpones-public-health-cuts.html
MPPs have given Premier Doug Ford's government the authority to suspend
the Ontario Legislature over COVID-19 concerns as the province named
six viral assessment centres, paused public health cuts and officials
recommended gatherings of more than 1,000 people be scrapped.
The developments came as coronavirus cases in Ontario surged by 17 in
just 24 hours - including a baby boy - for a total of 59, five of which
have recovered and been cleared. Seven of the new cases were people who
had returned from the neighbouring United States.
"The risk for travelling Ontarians is not low," chief medical officer
of health Dr. David Williams warned on the eve of the annual March
break, which usually sees thousands of people head south and abroad.
Tags: 2019, 2021, Andrea Horwath, Brampton, Christine Elliott, Coronavirus,
Critic, David Rider, David Williams, Doug Ford, DougWiki, General Hospital,
Hospital, Joe Cressy, Mike Schreiner, Mississauga, Ontario, Ontario New
Democratic Party, Ottawa, Paul Calandra, Politics, Queen's Park, Rod
Phillips, Scarborough, Toronto, York Region
===========================
Ontario NDP grill environment ministry officials over Ford's climate plan
March 12, 2020, Alastair Sharp, National Observer
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/03/12/news/ontario-ndp-grill-environment-ministry-officials-over-fords-climate-plan
Ontario's opposition NDP took advantage of a rare opportunity to
challenge the top bureaucrats behind the Doug Ford government's
threadbare climate plan on Wednesday.
But the civil servants - much like the political masters they serve -
ducked and weaved through over two hours of proceedings and pointed
mostly to policy actions that have yet to take effect when asked to
document Ford's climate achievements.
The Ontario legislature's Standing Committee on Public Accounts had
been convened to consider the provincial auditor general's damning
indictment of the Progressive Conservatives accounting of its emission
reduction plans.
Tags: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022, Alex Wood, Bonnie Lysyk, Cap and
trade, Climate change, Critic, DougWiki, Enbridge, Ford government, GO
Transit, Ian Arthur, Independent, Jeff Yurek, Ontario, Ontario Carbon Trust,
Ontario Energy Board, Ontario New Democratic Party, Ottawa, Peter Tabuns,
Pickering, Progressive Conservative, Queen's Park, Rod Phillips
===========================
Peter MacKay's leadership rivals try to turn his troubles with social
conservatives to their advantage
March 12, 2020, Catherine Cullen, CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/social-conservative-vote-otoole-mackay-1.5493779
The two leading contenders for the Conservative leadership both swear
they see social conservatives as an important part of their party's
base. But while Erin O'Toole is explicitly courting their votes, Peter
MacKay seems to have ticked off at least some of them.
"He basically said, 'Come on in and donate and give me your votes but
then shut up,'" said Jack Fonseca, director of political operations for
the anti-abortion group Campaign Life Coalition.
"That's a total turnoff. It does make us angry, of course."
Tags: Abortion, Alberta, Andrew Scheer, Calgary, Campaign Life Coalition,
Canada, Conservative Party of Canada, DougWiki, Erin O'Toole, Jack Fonseca,
Jason Kenney, Leslyn Lewis, LGBTQ, Marilyn Gladu, Nova Scotia, Peter MacKay,
Politics, Progressive Conservative, Rick Peterson, RightNow, Rudy Husny,
Stephen Harper
===========================
Senators demand records on dark money ties to court appointments
March 12, 2020, Ephrat Livni, Quartz
https://qz.com/1816542/senators-demand-records-on-dark-money-ties-to-court-appointments/
Last week, five Democratic senators sent disturbing missives to three
Trump administration officials about secret forces transforming the US
courts and about one very powerful American lawyer in particular,
Leonard Leo.
You may know Leo's name if you're steeped in the dramas of politics and
law or were paying attention to the Supreme Court nominations of Neil
Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, which he helped orchestrate. He is
co-chair of the conservative and libertarian legal advocacy group known
as the Federalist Society, an organization recently described in the
New York Times as "a juggernaut for propelling the courts to the right."
And it is Leo's involvement in the judge-and-justice-picking process
that prompted the senators' letters.
Tags: 1982, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, Abortion, Bill Barr, Dale Cabaniss, Dark
money, Dark Right, Don McGahn, Federalist Society, Justice Brett Kavanaugh,
Justice John Roberts, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Samuel Alito, Kirsten
Gillibrand, Leonard Leo, Mazie Hirono, Mitch McConnell, National Rifle
Association, New York, New York Times, Pat Cipollone, Republican, Richard
Blumenthal, Richard Durbin, Second Amendment, Sheldon Whitehouse, Sherrod
Brown, US Department of Justice, Wall Street Journal, White House (Trump)
===========================
Sophie Gr?goire Trudeau tests positive for coronavirus
March 12, 2020, Kathleen Harris, CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/covid19-premiers-coronavirus-1.5495001
The prime minister's wife, Sophie Gr?goire Trudeau, has tested positive
for the novel coronavirus and will remain in isolation, his office said
Thursday.
"She is feeling well, is taking all the recommended precautions and her
symptoms remain mild," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "is in good health with no symptoms," the
PMO said, adding that he will follow the advice of doctors and stay in
isolation for 14 days. He will not be tested because he has no symptoms.
Tags: 1987, Andrew Scheer, Bill Morneau, Blaine Higgs, Boris Johnson,
Calgary, Canada, CBC, Coronavirus, Donald Trump, Doug Ford, DougWiki, House
of Commons, Indigenous, Italy, Jagmeet Singh, Justin Trudeau, Manitoba, New
Brunswick, Ontario, Ontario New Democratic Party, Ottawa, Patty Hajdu,
Politics, Public Health Agency of Canada, Sandy Silver, Saskatchewan, Sophie
Gr?goire Trudeau, Steven Mnuchin, Twitter, World Health Organization, Yukon
===========================
Tory leadership candidate Jim Karahalios accused of anti-Muslim 'bigotry'
over letter
March 12, 2020, Brian Platt, National Post
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/perceived-anti-muslim-comment-lands-tory-leadership-candidate-jim-karahalios-in-bigotry-row
OTTAWA - A mass-distributed letter by Conservative leadership candidate
Jim Karahalios has sparked outrage in the party over using perceived
anti-Muslim rhetoric to attack an Erin O'Toole campaign official, with
O'Toole calling it "bigotry" that will lead to "electoral obliteration
for our Party."
Karahalios's letter, which was sent out both in hard copy and
electronically, comes with the subject line: "Say NO to Shariah Law.
STOP Erin O'Toole." It targets O'Toole's campaign chair Walied Soliman,
a Toronto corporate lawyer who is Muslim.
As his evidence, Karahalios pointed to a 13-year-old newspaper article
where Soliman answered questions from investors about Islamic financial
products. (The article noted such products have three criteria: no
explicit interest; transactions can't be in areas such as gambling,
pork or pornography; and can't be deemed too high risk.)
Tags: 2018, Alberta, Canada, Carbon tax, Conservative Party of Canada, Cory
Hann, Derek Sloan, Doug Ford, DougWiki, Erin O'Toole, Facebook, Jason Kenney,
Jim Karahalios, Leslyn Lewis, Marilyn Gladu, Muslim, Ontario, Patrick Brown,
Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Rick Peterson, Rudy Husny, Toronto,
Twitter, Urban Alliance on Race Relations, Walied Soliman
===========================
Andrew Scheer's party has a shaky record with Canada's judiciary
March 12, 2019, Randy Boswell, Ottawa Citizen.com
https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/boswell-andrew-scheers-party-has-a-shaky-record-with-canadas-judiciary
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, on high horse, has proclaimed that
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has "lost the moral authority to govern"
and allowed "his partisan political motivations to overrule his duty to
uphold the rule of law." Scheer has further condemned the "frankly
illegal pressure" faced by former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould
in the SNC-Lavalin affair.
It's an overreach, to be sure. But let's grant Scheer a little latitude
for his inflated rhetoric. As opposition leader, he has a duty to focus
public attention squarely on the misdeeds of the government of the day.
Mission accomplished.
Tags: 2013, 2014, Andrew Scheer, Canada, Carleton University, Charter of
Rights and Freedoms, DougWiki, House of Commons, Jody Wilson-Raybould, Justin
Trudeau, Mission, Ottawa, Postmedia, Quebec, Quicky, Stephen Harper
===========================
Big League Hypocrites: Exposing right wing media; Plus we interview Trish
Zornio: Krassencast Ep. 8
March 12, 2019, KrassenCast, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN-TbaLu-Fc
Now available on iTunes, Soundcloud and other Podcast providers.
Please support us on Patreon, and get additional access to our podcasts
at http://patreon.com/krassencast.
In this episode, we expose the right wing media; particularly a website
called Big League Politics, for their ridiculous hypocrisies in
attacking Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and KrassenCast, as well as their
conspiracy theorist blogger, who will do anything to sell a book.
Additionally, we interview Democrat Trish Zornio who is challenging
Republican Senator Cory Gardner for his U.S. Senate seat in Colorado in
2020.
Tags: 2020, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Alt-Right, Big League Politics,
Colorado, Patreon, Republican
===========================
Families protest changes to Ontario's autism program at Queen's Park
March 12, 2019, Canadian Press, CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/autism-protest-queens-park-1.5046429
Hundreds of parents, therapists and union members gathered outside
Queen's Park on Thursday to protest the provincial government's changes
to Ontario's autism program.
Families of children with autism say the plan unveiled last month by
Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod will leave kids without access to
the level of treatment they need.
MacLeod has faced severe criticism over the revamped program, which
aims to clear a wait list of 23,000 children by providing direct
funding to all kids diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. Families
will get up to $20,000 per year for treatment for children under six
and $5,000 a year for children six to 18, but intensive therapy can
cost up to $80,000 a year.
Tags: Andrea Horwath, Autism, CBC, Critic, DougWiki, Dundas, Ford government,
Lisa MacLeod, Ontario, Ontario New Democratic Party, Queen's Park, Toronto,
Toronto District School Board
===========================
Suspended MPP Randy Hillier hits back at Doug Ford government in letter,
cites 'childish grievances'
March 12, 2019, Travis Dhanraj, Global News
https://globalnews.ca/news/5048818/randy-hillier-suspension-letter/
In the letter obtained by Global News, Hillier wrote: "The truth behind
my removal, however, is not due to banter in the House but
long-standing tensions between me and Doug Ford's most senior advisers
(Dean French and Chris Froggatt) over what is expected of MPPs in the
PC caucus."
Hillier also alleged that this is not the first incident in which he
has encountered attempted coercion and pressure by "backroom party
operatives to co-opt my role as an MPP." He said when he challenged the
suspension, "backroom operatives" gave him a "laundry list of
questionable and childish grievances."
"I don't stand and clap for ministers enough in the House, I wasn't
actively retweeting or sharing Facebook posts about the government's
activities, and that I was 'putting my constituents and local
stakeholders ahead of Party business,'" Hillier said he was told.
Tags: Brian Patterson, Chris Froggatt, Dean French, Doug Ford, DougWiki,
Facebook, Ford government, Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston, Mark MacDonald, Monique
Taylor, Ontario, Ontario Autism Program, Progressive Conservative, Randy
Hillier, Simon Jefferies
===========================
Two 'Star' Proud Boys Hit With Felony Assault Charges for Portland Attack
March 12, 2019, Will Sommer, Daily Beast
https://www.thedailybeast.com/two-star-proud-boys-donovon-flippo-and-tusitala-tiny-toese-hit-with-felony-assault-charges-for-portland-attack
Two prominent members of the far-right Proud Boys men's group have been
charged with felony assault over a 2018 attack on a critic in Portland,
prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Police have already arrested one of the Proud Boys, Donovon Flippo. The
other Proud Boy wanted in the case, Tusitala "Tiny" Toese, posted
recently on Facebook that he's in American Samoa, although he said he
will return to Portland to face his legal charges.
The arrests mark another blow to the Proud Boys, a pro-Trump men's
group created by conservative provocateur Gavin McInnes that requires
its members to abide by various rules and initiation requirements,
including a restriction on masturbating. Other members of the group
were arrested last year after an attack in New York, and McInnes
himself quit the group shortly after that.
Tags: 2018, Alt-Right, Antifa, Assault, Donald Trump, Donovon Flippo,
Facebook, Gavin McInnes, New York, Patriot Prayer, Police, Portland, Proud
Boys, Samoa, Tusitala Toese, Willamette Week
===========================
Doug Ford, chaos candidate
March 12, 2018, Jen Gerson, Macleans
https://www.macleans.ca/politics/doug-ford-chaos-candidate/
A fun philosophical nugget to consider when pondering the universe and
everything in it is this: Anything that does not violate the laws of
nature is possible.
This maxim applies to politics, too. The laws of political "nature" in
a stable, prosperous, Westminster-based democracy are not so radical.
But, right now, we are testing what can happen within our comparatively
well-ordered little universe.
All politics now bends toward chaos. Rather than select the most
predictable and reliable leader, voters have instead opted for results
that would have existed within the extreme bounds of possibility only a
few years ago.
Tags: 2014, Abortion, Alberta, Brexit, Canada, Carbon tax, Caroline Mulroney,
Christine Elliott, Donald Trump, Doug Ford, DougWiki, Globe and Mail, Jordan
Peterson, Justin Trudeau, Kathleen Wynne, Ontario, Ontario New Democratic
Party, Patrick Brown, Progressive Conservative, Rachel Notley, Rob Ford,
Tanya Granic Allen, Toronto, Twitter, Westminster, White House
===========================
White supremacist Richard Spencer is surprised his college tour was a total
bust
March 12, 2018, Luke Barnes, ThinkProgress
https://thinkprogress.org/richard-spencer-college-tour-failure-535ddd203727/
It's been a tough week for Richard Spencer, a.k.a. the dapper Nazi.
Barely three dozen people attended his latest talk at Michigan State
University - despite Spencer claiming that 150 tickets had been sold.
Outside, white nationalists clashed with counter-protesters; police
arrested 25 people, including Greg Conte, who works for Spencer's
National Policy Institute (NPI) think tank.
The day after the rally, Spencer's friend Kyle Bristow, a lawyer who
had called his organization, the Foundation for the Marketplace of
Ideas, the "sword and shield" of the far-right movement, announced that
he would no longer be working with white supremacists.
Tags: Africa, Alt-Right, Andrew Anglin, Donald Trump, Foundation for the
Marketplace of Ideas, Greg Conte, Kyle Bristow, Martin Luther King, Matthew
Heimbach, Michigan, Michigan State University, Mike Cernovich, National
Policy Institute, Neo-Nazi, Newsweek, Quicky, Richard Spencer, Southern
Poverty Law Center, Texas, University of Florida, White supremacist
===========================
Why So Many Ontario Voters Are Scared of Doug Ford Becoming Premier
March 12, 2018, Manisha Krishnan, Vice News
https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/wj4v8m/why-so-many-ontario-voters-are-scared-of-doug-ford-becoming-premier
Weeks of batshit craziness amongst Ontario's Progressive
Conservatives-which started with sexual misconduct allegations against
former leader Patrick Brown-have fittingly ended with Doug Ford being
elected as Brown's replacement.
As head of the province's official opposition, Ford is now in the
running to become Ontario's new premier. Considering the Liberals have
been in power for 15 years, and have undoubtedly become a source of
resentment for many Ontarians, Ford probably has a pretty decent shot
at taking down Premier Kathleen Wynne in the June election.
Ford, a former Toronto city councillor and failed mayoral candidate, is
well-known for being the mouthpiece of his brother Rob, who served as
Canada's most infamous mayor. Rob Ford was endlessly embroiled in
scandals, whether it was his substance abuse problems, his affiliation
with criminals, or his alleged bullying of players on the high school
football team he once coached.
Tags: 2014, 2015, Abortion, Canada, CBC, Chris Young, Christine Elliott, Doug
Ford, DougWiki, Etobicoke, Ford Fest, Griffin Centre, Homophobia, Kathleen
Wynne, Minimum wage, Ontario, Patrick Brown, Pride Parade, Progressive
Conservative, Rob Ford, Toronto, Toronto Star, Twitter
===========================
A detailed timeline of Stephen Harper's weird, racially divided vision of
Canada
March 12, 2015, PressProgress
https://pressprogress.ca/a_detailed_timeline_of_stephen_harper_s_weird_racially_divided_vision_of_canada/
What kind of leader wants this?
Before Stephen Harper became an international laughingstock and trended
on Twitter and BuzzFeed for telling women he knows best how they should
dress, there was the divisive - and weird - campaign with racial
overtones that came before it.
How weird? Scroll down our 2015 timeline:
Tags: 2011, 2014, Bill C-51, British Columbia, BuzzFeed, Canada, Charlie
Hebdo, Chris Alexander, Conservative Party of Canada, DougWiki, Edmonton,
Edmonton Journal, Facebook, First Nations, Glen McGregor, Globe and Mail,
Holocaust, House of Commons, Iraq, Jason Kenney, Muslim, Ottawa, Ottawa
Citizen, Paris, Stephen Harper, Steven Blaney, Sun TV, Syria, Tabatha
Southey, Twitter, Winnipeg, YouTube
===========================
'Barbaric cultural practices' bill debate limited by Conservatives
March 12, 2015, Laura Payton, CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/barbaric-cultural-practices-bill-debate-limited-by-conservatives-1.2992181
The government has limited debate on proposed legislation to make child
marriages and forced marriages illegal.
The Conservatives moved a time-allocation motion Thursday morningto cut
off debate on the proposed "Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural
Practices Act" afterthree days of debate at its current stage.The bill
was first debated on Feb. 17.
MPs were debating the bill when the motion passed, leaving Monday,
March 23, as the final day of debate at second reading. The House will
vote on the bill that evening before it is expected to go to a
committee for further study.
Tags: 2010, 2013, Barbaric Cultural Practices, Canada, Cult, DougWiki, Jason
Kenney, Legal, Ontario, Quebec
===========================
Will Stephen Harper regret remark on niqabs?
March 12, 2015, CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/will-stephen-harper-regret-remark-on-niqabs-1.2991721
"It was a choice for me I wear the hijab, the head covering, it was a
choice and one that I feel is empowering and one that I feel proud of,"
said Nadia Kidwai, who is active in the Winnipeg Muslim community.
?"When I was at Oxford University, a lot of my friends wore the face
veil [niqab] and these were Oxford graduates who were thinking,
intellectual, smart women who went on to work."
She thinks Harper's comments stem from ignorance, adding she doesn't
know how many women he personally knows with a niqab. It's a
misconception and the assumption that these women don't have minds, she
said.
Tags: 2011, Canada, Canadian Press, CBC, Conservative Party of Canada,
DougWiki, House of Commons, Manitoba, Muslim, Ontario New Democratic Party,
Oxford University, Stephen Harper, Winnipeg
===========================
Vivian Kubrick posts remarkable photos from the sets of her father's movies
March 12, 2014, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2014/03/12/vivian-kubrick-posts-remarkable-photos-from-the-sets-of-her-fathers-movies/
What's going on with Vivian Kubrick?
In November, we reported that she'd showed up at an Alex Jones rally in
Dallas and appeared to be a big fan of the conspiracy-obsessed radio
host. Why was that surprising? It was if you knew the backstory: Vivian
is the daughter of Stanley Kubrick, and the great filmmaker appeared to
be grooming Vivian to follow in his footsteps before his death in 1999:
At only 17, Vivian made a documentary, Making 'The Shining', then seven
years later composed the score for her father's 1987 film, Full Metal
Jacket. Then, sometime around 1995 we believe, Vivian became involved
in Scientology. A year later, Kubrick began shooting his final film,
Eyes Wide Shut.
"Stanley asked Vivian to compose the score, but at the last moment she
said she wouldn't," Kubrick's widow Christiane told the Guardian in
2009. "They had a huge fight. He was very unhappy. He wrote her a
40-page letter trying to win her back. He begged her endlessly to come
home from California. I'm glad he didn't live to see what happened."
Tags: 1969, 1979, 1980, 1986, 1987, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2009,
2010, Alex Jones, California, CCHR, Celebrity Centre, Christian, Daily Beast,
Dallas, England, Hollywood, Marty Rathbun, Nicole Kidman, Quicky, Stanley
Kubrick, Tom Cruise, Twitter, Vivian Kubrick
===========================
Pierre Poutine: Will Mystery Robocaller be unmasked Monday?
March 12, 2012, Paula Simons, Edmonton Journal
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/pierre-poutine-will-mystery-robocaller-be-unmasked-monday
Who is the real Pierre Poutine? Who placed the robocall in Guelph that
directed non-Conservative voters to the wrong polling station in the
May federal election?
According to the latest news breaking out of Ottawa, we will all find
out that answer Monday. My Postmedia colleagues Stephen Maher and Glen
McGregor, who have owned this story of the last few weeks, are
reporting tonight that the culprit intends to step forward tomorrow.
If so, no one will be happier, I suspect, that Matt Meier. The young
Edmonton IT whiz owns the media company, RackNine, who software was
used to place the mean-spirited fake calls.
Tags: Alberta, DougWiki, Edmonton, Elections Canada, Federal election, Glen
McGregor, Guelph, Matt Meier, New Democratic Party, Ottawa, Pierre Poutine,
Postmedia, RackNine, Robocall, Stephen Maher
===========================
The robocall rules
March 12, 2012, Aaron Wherry, Macleans
https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/the-robocall-rules/
Liberal MP Frank Valeriote acknowledges his campaign sent out a
robocall during the last election that didn't identify the Liberal
party as the source. Reports differ as to whether or not that
constitutes a violation of the Elections Act (Mr. Valeriote claims
Elections Canada told him it wasn't). Glen McGregor and Stephen Maher
have a timeline of events in Guelph.
Meanwhile, Richard Ciano-a principal at Campaign Research, the firm
linked to controversial calls in Irwin Cotler's riding-frets that the
innocent robocall is being unfairly maligned by the current scandal.
Setting aside Mr. Ciano's theory that this is an NDP-Liberal plot to
keep the Conservatives from campaigning-the NDP have shown themselves
to be rather enthusiastic robocallers-there is something to be said for
differentiating between robocalls and what is alleged to have occurred
during the last election. However bothersome, the automated call is a
perfectly legitimate form of political campaigning, like a candidate
knocking on your door or a party running television advertisements. In
the case of Guelph and several other ridings, what is alleged is that
voters were misled about the location of their polling stations for the
purposes of obstructing their ability to vote. And that, if done
consciously and purposefully, could rise to the level of election fraud.
That phone calls might have been used to carry out fraud is ultimately
secondary.
Put another way, Adscam wasn't about an inherent failing in the
advertising industry, it was about corruption. The robocall scandal
isn't about robocalls. It's about an allegation that the public's right
to vote was interfered with.
Tags: Campaign Research, DougWiki, Elections Canada, Frank Valeriote, Glen
McGregor, Guelph, Irwin Cotler, New Democratic Party, Richard Ciano,
Robocall, Stephen Maher
===========================
Meet the Attack Dogs
March 12, 2004, Jake Bernstein, Texas Observer
https://www.texasobserver.org/1590-meet-the-attack-dogs-the-virginia-based-americans-for-job-security-loves-to-get-involved-in-texas-politics/
That's when Americans for Job Security (AJS) appeared on the scene.
Launched in 1997 with a million-dollar contribution from the American
Insurance Association, the Virginia-based AJS claims to have 500
members. It's impossible to know if that's the truth since the group
refuses to release a membership list or divulge how much special
interest money is funneled through the organization. It does admit that
it uses corporate money. It's unclear if one person or many finance any
given AJS campaign. You can't find out without a subpoena. AJS is a
501(c)(6) organization and is allowed in most state elections to run
so-called third-party "issue advocacy" ads, purportedly to educate
voters. In the radio, television, or direct mail advertisements it
sponsors, AJS doesn't have to reveal anything about itself other than
its name. Since its founding, it's estimated the group has spent about
$26 million on political races all over the nation, including $8.5
million in 2002 and $7.5 million in 2000.
The way AJS President Mike Dubke explains it, the organization is just
an assemblage of public interest-minded champions of free enterprise
educating voters on the records of politicians who want to gouge
taxpayers. As a third-party group, AJS cannot legally coordinate with
candidate campaigns nor can it explicitly call for the election or
defeat of a candidate. That might be seen as a campaign contribution.
Instead, AJS just scours the known universe of elections in the United
States, from the lowliest state board of education race to U.S. Senate
campaigns, looking to make a difference. And as it combed through all
the ongoing political races in the country late last year, it just
happened to come across a special election in East Texas.
"Basically the thrust of our organization is to advocate pro-market,
pro-paycheck issues across the country," says Dubke. "In Texas, our
piece concerning Tommy Merritt was right up our alley, talking about an
individual who wants to raise taxes on goods and services and basically
take more money out of the pockets of the average citizen."
Tags: 1992, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, ABC, Alaska, Americans for Job
Security, Bahamas, Chicago Tribune, China, Chinese, Dallas Morning News,
David Carney, Environmental, Forbes, George W. Bush, Grover Norquist, Houston
Chronicle, Iowa, Lawsuit, Mike Dubke, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Quicky,
Republican, Rick Perry, San Antonio, San Antonio Express-News, Steve Forbes,
Tax, Texas, Virginia, White House
===========================
DougWiki: https://umbraxenu.no-ip.biz/mediawiki/index.php/DougWiki_Page
RightCite archive: https://umbraxenu.no-ip.biz/rightcite.html
Portable DougWiki download: http://tiny.cc/xdb37y
===========================
MPPs clear the way to suspend legislature as Ontario reports 17 new COVID-19
cases
March 12, 2020, Rob Ferguson, Toronto Star
https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2020/03/12/ontario-sets-up-locations-for-covid-19-assessment-centres-and-postpones-public-health-cuts.html
MPPs have given Premier Doug Ford's government the authority to suspend
the Ontario Legislature over COVID-19 concerns as the province named
six viral assessment centres, paused public health cuts and officials
recommended gatherings of more than 1,000 people be scrapped.
The developments came as coronavirus cases in Ontario surged by 17 in
just 24 hours - including a baby boy - for a total of 59, five of which
have recovered and been cleared. Seven of the new cases were people who
had returned from the neighbouring United States.
"The risk for travelling Ontarians is not low," chief medical officer
of health Dr. David Williams warned on the eve of the annual March
break, which usually sees thousands of people head south and abroad.
Tags: 2019, 2021, Andrea Horwath, Brampton, Christine Elliott, Coronavirus,
Critic, David Rider, David Williams, Doug Ford, DougWiki, General Hospital,
Hospital, Joe Cressy, Mike Schreiner, Mississauga, Ontario, Ontario New
Democratic Party, Ottawa, Paul Calandra, Politics, Queen's Park, Rod
Phillips, Scarborough, Toronto, York Region
===========================
Ontario NDP grill environment ministry officials over Ford's climate plan
March 12, 2020, Alastair Sharp, National Observer
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/03/12/news/ontario-ndp-grill-environment-ministry-officials-over-fords-climate-plan
Ontario's opposition NDP took advantage of a rare opportunity to
challenge the top bureaucrats behind the Doug Ford government's
threadbare climate plan on Wednesday.
But the civil servants - much like the political masters they serve -
ducked and weaved through over two hours of proceedings and pointed
mostly to policy actions that have yet to take effect when asked to
document Ford's climate achievements.
The Ontario legislature's Standing Committee on Public Accounts had
been convened to consider the provincial auditor general's damning
indictment of the Progressive Conservatives accounting of its emission
reduction plans.
Tags: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022, Alex Wood, Bonnie Lysyk, Cap and
trade, Climate change, Critic, DougWiki, Enbridge, Ford government, GO
Transit, Ian Arthur, Independent, Jeff Yurek, Ontario, Ontario Carbon Trust,
Ontario Energy Board, Ontario New Democratic Party, Ottawa, Peter Tabuns,
Pickering, Progressive Conservative, Queen's Park, Rod Phillips
===========================
Peter MacKay's leadership rivals try to turn his troubles with social
conservatives to their advantage
March 12, 2020, Catherine Cullen, CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/social-conservative-vote-otoole-mackay-1.5493779
The two leading contenders for the Conservative leadership both swear
they see social conservatives as an important part of their party's
base. But while Erin O'Toole is explicitly courting their votes, Peter
MacKay seems to have ticked off at least some of them.
"He basically said, 'Come on in and donate and give me your votes but
then shut up,'" said Jack Fonseca, director of political operations for
the anti-abortion group Campaign Life Coalition.
"That's a total turnoff. It does make us angry, of course."
Tags: Abortion, Alberta, Andrew Scheer, Calgary, Campaign Life Coalition,
Canada, Conservative Party of Canada, DougWiki, Erin O'Toole, Jack Fonseca,
Jason Kenney, Leslyn Lewis, LGBTQ, Marilyn Gladu, Nova Scotia, Peter MacKay,
Politics, Progressive Conservative, Rick Peterson, RightNow, Rudy Husny,
Stephen Harper
===========================
Senators demand records on dark money ties to court appointments
March 12, 2020, Ephrat Livni, Quartz
https://qz.com/1816542/senators-demand-records-on-dark-money-ties-to-court-appointments/
Last week, five Democratic senators sent disturbing missives to three
Trump administration officials about secret forces transforming the US
courts and about one very powerful American lawyer in particular,
Leonard Leo.
You may know Leo's name if you're steeped in the dramas of politics and
law or were paying attention to the Supreme Court nominations of Neil
Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, which he helped orchestrate. He is
co-chair of the conservative and libertarian legal advocacy group known
as the Federalist Society, an organization recently described in the
New York Times as "a juggernaut for propelling the courts to the right."
And it is Leo's involvement in the judge-and-justice-picking process
that prompted the senators' letters.
Tags: 1982, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, Abortion, Bill Barr, Dale Cabaniss, Dark
money, Dark Right, Don McGahn, Federalist Society, Justice Brett Kavanaugh,
Justice John Roberts, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Samuel Alito, Kirsten
Gillibrand, Leonard Leo, Mazie Hirono, Mitch McConnell, National Rifle
Association, New York, New York Times, Pat Cipollone, Republican, Richard
Blumenthal, Richard Durbin, Second Amendment, Sheldon Whitehouse, Sherrod
Brown, US Department of Justice, Wall Street Journal, White House (Trump)
===========================
Sophie Gr?goire Trudeau tests positive for coronavirus
March 12, 2020, Kathleen Harris, CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/covid19-premiers-coronavirus-1.5495001
The prime minister's wife, Sophie Gr?goire Trudeau, has tested positive
for the novel coronavirus and will remain in isolation, his office said
Thursday.
"She is feeling well, is taking all the recommended precautions and her
symptoms remain mild," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "is in good health with no symptoms," the
PMO said, adding that he will follow the advice of doctors and stay in
isolation for 14 days. He will not be tested because he has no symptoms.
Tags: 1987, Andrew Scheer, Bill Morneau, Blaine Higgs, Boris Johnson,
Calgary, Canada, CBC, Coronavirus, Donald Trump, Doug Ford, DougWiki, House
of Commons, Indigenous, Italy, Jagmeet Singh, Justin Trudeau, Manitoba, New
Brunswick, Ontario, Ontario New Democratic Party, Ottawa, Patty Hajdu,
Politics, Public Health Agency of Canada, Sandy Silver, Saskatchewan, Sophie
Gr?goire Trudeau, Steven Mnuchin, Twitter, World Health Organization, Yukon
===========================
Tory leadership candidate Jim Karahalios accused of anti-Muslim 'bigotry'
over letter
March 12, 2020, Brian Platt, National Post
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/perceived-anti-muslim-comment-lands-tory-leadership-candidate-jim-karahalios-in-bigotry-row
OTTAWA - A mass-distributed letter by Conservative leadership candidate
Jim Karahalios has sparked outrage in the party over using perceived
anti-Muslim rhetoric to attack an Erin O'Toole campaign official, with
O'Toole calling it "bigotry" that will lead to "electoral obliteration
for our Party."
Karahalios's letter, which was sent out both in hard copy and
electronically, comes with the subject line: "Say NO to Shariah Law.
STOP Erin O'Toole." It targets O'Toole's campaign chair Walied Soliman,
a Toronto corporate lawyer who is Muslim.
As his evidence, Karahalios pointed to a 13-year-old newspaper article
where Soliman answered questions from investors about Islamic financial
products. (The article noted such products have three criteria: no
explicit interest; transactions can't be in areas such as gambling,
pork or pornography; and can't be deemed too high risk.)
Tags: 2018, Alberta, Canada, Carbon tax, Conservative Party of Canada, Cory
Hann, Derek Sloan, Doug Ford, DougWiki, Erin O'Toole, Facebook, Jason Kenney,
Jim Karahalios, Leslyn Lewis, Marilyn Gladu, Muslim, Ontario, Patrick Brown,
Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Rick Peterson, Rudy Husny, Toronto,
Twitter, Urban Alliance on Race Relations, Walied Soliman
===========================
Andrew Scheer's party has a shaky record with Canada's judiciary
March 12, 2019, Randy Boswell, Ottawa Citizen.com
https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/boswell-andrew-scheers-party-has-a-shaky-record-with-canadas-judiciary
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, on high horse, has proclaimed that
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has "lost the moral authority to govern"
and allowed "his partisan political motivations to overrule his duty to
uphold the rule of law." Scheer has further condemned the "frankly
illegal pressure" faced by former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould
in the SNC-Lavalin affair.
It's an overreach, to be sure. But let's grant Scheer a little latitude
for his inflated rhetoric. As opposition leader, he has a duty to focus
public attention squarely on the misdeeds of the government of the day.
Mission accomplished.
Tags: 2013, 2014, Andrew Scheer, Canada, Carleton University, Charter of
Rights and Freedoms, DougWiki, House of Commons, Jody Wilson-Raybould, Justin
Trudeau, Mission, Ottawa, Postmedia, Quebec, Quicky, Stephen Harper
===========================
Big League Hypocrites: Exposing right wing media; Plus we interview Trish
Zornio: Krassencast Ep. 8
March 12, 2019, KrassenCast, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN-TbaLu-Fc
Now available on iTunes, Soundcloud and other Podcast providers.
Please support us on Patreon, and get additional access to our podcasts
at http://patreon.com/krassencast.
In this episode, we expose the right wing media; particularly a website
called Big League Politics, for their ridiculous hypocrisies in
attacking Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and KrassenCast, as well as their
conspiracy theorist blogger, who will do anything to sell a book.
Additionally, we interview Democrat Trish Zornio who is challenging
Republican Senator Cory Gardner for his U.S. Senate seat in Colorado in
2020.
Tags: 2020, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Alt-Right, Big League Politics,
Colorado, Patreon, Republican
===========================
Families protest changes to Ontario's autism program at Queen's Park
March 12, 2019, Canadian Press, CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/autism-protest-queens-park-1.5046429
Hundreds of parents, therapists and union members gathered outside
Queen's Park on Thursday to protest the provincial government's changes
to Ontario's autism program.
Families of children with autism say the plan unveiled last month by
Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod will leave kids without access to
the level of treatment they need.
MacLeod has faced severe criticism over the revamped program, which
aims to clear a wait list of 23,000 children by providing direct
funding to all kids diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. Families
will get up to $20,000 per year for treatment for children under six
and $5,000 a year for children six to 18, but intensive therapy can
cost up to $80,000 a year.
Tags: Andrea Horwath, Autism, CBC, Critic, DougWiki, Dundas, Ford government,
Lisa MacLeod, Ontario, Ontario New Democratic Party, Queen's Park, Toronto,
Toronto District School Board
===========================
Suspended MPP Randy Hillier hits back at Doug Ford government in letter,
cites 'childish grievances'
March 12, 2019, Travis Dhanraj, Global News
https://globalnews.ca/news/5048818/randy-hillier-suspension-letter/
In the letter obtained by Global News, Hillier wrote: "The truth behind
my removal, however, is not due to banter in the House but
long-standing tensions between me and Doug Ford's most senior advisers
(Dean French and Chris Froggatt) over what is expected of MPPs in the
PC caucus."
Hillier also alleged that this is not the first incident in which he
has encountered attempted coercion and pressure by "backroom party
operatives to co-opt my role as an MPP." He said when he challenged the
suspension, "backroom operatives" gave him a "laundry list of
questionable and childish grievances."
"I don't stand and clap for ministers enough in the House, I wasn't
actively retweeting or sharing Facebook posts about the government's
activities, and that I was 'putting my constituents and local
stakeholders ahead of Party business,'" Hillier said he was told.
Tags: Brian Patterson, Chris Froggatt, Dean French, Doug Ford, DougWiki,
Facebook, Ford government, Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston, Mark MacDonald, Monique
Taylor, Ontario, Ontario Autism Program, Progressive Conservative, Randy
Hillier, Simon Jefferies
===========================
Two 'Star' Proud Boys Hit With Felony Assault Charges for Portland Attack
March 12, 2019, Will Sommer, Daily Beast
https://www.thedailybeast.com/two-star-proud-boys-donovon-flippo-and-tusitala-tiny-toese-hit-with-felony-assault-charges-for-portland-attack
Two prominent members of the far-right Proud Boys men's group have been
charged with felony assault over a 2018 attack on a critic in Portland,
prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Police have already arrested one of the Proud Boys, Donovon Flippo. The
other Proud Boy wanted in the case, Tusitala "Tiny" Toese, posted
recently on Facebook that he's in American Samoa, although he said he
will return to Portland to face his legal charges.
The arrests mark another blow to the Proud Boys, a pro-Trump men's
group created by conservative provocateur Gavin McInnes that requires
its members to abide by various rules and initiation requirements,
including a restriction on masturbating. Other members of the group
were arrested last year after an attack in New York, and McInnes
himself quit the group shortly after that.
Tags: 2018, Alt-Right, Antifa, Assault, Donald Trump, Donovon Flippo,
Facebook, Gavin McInnes, New York, Patriot Prayer, Police, Portland, Proud
Boys, Samoa, Tusitala Toese, Willamette Week
===========================
Doug Ford, chaos candidate
March 12, 2018, Jen Gerson, Macleans
https://www.macleans.ca/politics/doug-ford-chaos-candidate/
A fun philosophical nugget to consider when pondering the universe and
everything in it is this: Anything that does not violate the laws of
nature is possible.
This maxim applies to politics, too. The laws of political "nature" in
a stable, prosperous, Westminster-based democracy are not so radical.
But, right now, we are testing what can happen within our comparatively
well-ordered little universe.
All politics now bends toward chaos. Rather than select the most
predictable and reliable leader, voters have instead opted for results
that would have existed within the extreme bounds of possibility only a
few years ago.
Tags: 2014, Abortion, Alberta, Brexit, Canada, Carbon tax, Caroline Mulroney,
Christine Elliott, Donald Trump, Doug Ford, DougWiki, Globe and Mail, Jordan
Peterson, Justin Trudeau, Kathleen Wynne, Ontario, Ontario New Democratic
Party, Patrick Brown, Progressive Conservative, Rachel Notley, Rob Ford,
Tanya Granic Allen, Toronto, Twitter, Westminster, White House
===========================
White supremacist Richard Spencer is surprised his college tour was a total
bust
March 12, 2018, Luke Barnes, ThinkProgress
https://thinkprogress.org/richard-spencer-college-tour-failure-535ddd203727/
It's been a tough week for Richard Spencer, a.k.a. the dapper Nazi.
Barely three dozen people attended his latest talk at Michigan State
University - despite Spencer claiming that 150 tickets had been sold.
Outside, white nationalists clashed with counter-protesters; police
arrested 25 people, including Greg Conte, who works for Spencer's
National Policy Institute (NPI) think tank.
The day after the rally, Spencer's friend Kyle Bristow, a lawyer who
had called his organization, the Foundation for the Marketplace of
Ideas, the "sword and shield" of the far-right movement, announced that
he would no longer be working with white supremacists.
Tags: Africa, Alt-Right, Andrew Anglin, Donald Trump, Foundation for the
Marketplace of Ideas, Greg Conte, Kyle Bristow, Martin Luther King, Matthew
Heimbach, Michigan, Michigan State University, Mike Cernovich, National
Policy Institute, Neo-Nazi, Newsweek, Quicky, Richard Spencer, Southern
Poverty Law Center, Texas, University of Florida, White supremacist
===========================
Why So Many Ontario Voters Are Scared of Doug Ford Becoming Premier
March 12, 2018, Manisha Krishnan, Vice News
https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/wj4v8m/why-so-many-ontario-voters-are-scared-of-doug-ford-becoming-premier
Weeks of batshit craziness amongst Ontario's Progressive
Conservatives-which started with sexual misconduct allegations against
former leader Patrick Brown-have fittingly ended with Doug Ford being
elected as Brown's replacement.
As head of the province's official opposition, Ford is now in the
running to become Ontario's new premier. Considering the Liberals have
been in power for 15 years, and have undoubtedly become a source of
resentment for many Ontarians, Ford probably has a pretty decent shot
at taking down Premier Kathleen Wynne in the June election.
Ford, a former Toronto city councillor and failed mayoral candidate, is
well-known for being the mouthpiece of his brother Rob, who served as
Canada's most infamous mayor. Rob Ford was endlessly embroiled in
scandals, whether it was his substance abuse problems, his affiliation
with criminals, or his alleged bullying of players on the high school
football team he once coached.
Tags: 2014, 2015, Abortion, Canada, CBC, Chris Young, Christine Elliott, Doug
Ford, DougWiki, Etobicoke, Ford Fest, Griffin Centre, Homophobia, Kathleen
Wynne, Minimum wage, Ontario, Patrick Brown, Pride Parade, Progressive
Conservative, Rob Ford, Toronto, Toronto Star, Twitter
===========================
A detailed timeline of Stephen Harper's weird, racially divided vision of
Canada
March 12, 2015, PressProgress
https://pressprogress.ca/a_detailed_timeline_of_stephen_harper_s_weird_racially_divided_vision_of_canada/
What kind of leader wants this?
Before Stephen Harper became an international laughingstock and trended
on Twitter and BuzzFeed for telling women he knows best how they should
dress, there was the divisive - and weird - campaign with racial
overtones that came before it.
How weird? Scroll down our 2015 timeline:
Tags: 2011, 2014, Bill C-51, British Columbia, BuzzFeed, Canada, Charlie
Hebdo, Chris Alexander, Conservative Party of Canada, DougWiki, Edmonton,
Edmonton Journal, Facebook, First Nations, Glen McGregor, Globe and Mail,
Holocaust, House of Commons, Iraq, Jason Kenney, Muslim, Ottawa, Ottawa
Citizen, Paris, Stephen Harper, Steven Blaney, Sun TV, Syria, Tabatha
Southey, Twitter, Winnipeg, YouTube
===========================
'Barbaric cultural practices' bill debate limited by Conservatives
March 12, 2015, Laura Payton, CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/barbaric-cultural-practices-bill-debate-limited-by-conservatives-1.2992181
The government has limited debate on proposed legislation to make child
marriages and forced marriages illegal.
The Conservatives moved a time-allocation motion Thursday morningto cut
off debate on the proposed "Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural
Practices Act" afterthree days of debate at its current stage.The bill
was first debated on Feb. 17.
MPs were debating the bill when the motion passed, leaving Monday,
March 23, as the final day of debate at second reading. The House will
vote on the bill that evening before it is expected to go to a
committee for further study.
Tags: 2010, 2013, Barbaric Cultural Practices, Canada, Cult, DougWiki, Jason
Kenney, Legal, Ontario, Quebec
===========================
Will Stephen Harper regret remark on niqabs?
March 12, 2015, CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/will-stephen-harper-regret-remark-on-niqabs-1.2991721
"It was a choice for me I wear the hijab, the head covering, it was a
choice and one that I feel is empowering and one that I feel proud of,"
said Nadia Kidwai, who is active in the Winnipeg Muslim community.
?"When I was at Oxford University, a lot of my friends wore the face
veil [niqab] and these were Oxford graduates who were thinking,
intellectual, smart women who went on to work."
She thinks Harper's comments stem from ignorance, adding she doesn't
know how many women he personally knows with a niqab. It's a
misconception and the assumption that these women don't have minds, she
said.
Tags: 2011, Canada, Canadian Press, CBC, Conservative Party of Canada,
DougWiki, House of Commons, Manitoba, Muslim, Ontario New Democratic Party,
Oxford University, Stephen Harper, Winnipeg
===========================
Vivian Kubrick posts remarkable photos from the sets of her father's movies
March 12, 2014, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker
https://tonyortega.org/2014/03/12/vivian-kubrick-posts-remarkable-photos-from-the-sets-of-her-fathers-movies/
What's going on with Vivian Kubrick?
In November, we reported that she'd showed up at an Alex Jones rally in
Dallas and appeared to be a big fan of the conspiracy-obsessed radio
host. Why was that surprising? It was if you knew the backstory: Vivian
is the daughter of Stanley Kubrick, and the great filmmaker appeared to
be grooming Vivian to follow in his footsteps before his death in 1999:
At only 17, Vivian made a documentary, Making 'The Shining', then seven
years later composed the score for her father's 1987 film, Full Metal
Jacket. Then, sometime around 1995 we believe, Vivian became involved
in Scientology. A year later, Kubrick began shooting his final film,
Eyes Wide Shut.
"Stanley asked Vivian to compose the score, but at the last moment she
said she wouldn't," Kubrick's widow Christiane told the Guardian in
2009. "They had a huge fight. He was very unhappy. He wrote her a
40-page letter trying to win her back. He begged her endlessly to come
home from California. I'm glad he didn't live to see what happened."
Tags: 1969, 1979, 1980, 1986, 1987, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2009,
2010, Alex Jones, California, CCHR, Celebrity Centre, Christian, Daily Beast,
Dallas, England, Hollywood, Marty Rathbun, Nicole Kidman, Quicky, Stanley
Kubrick, Tom Cruise, Twitter, Vivian Kubrick
===========================
Pierre Poutine: Will Mystery Robocaller be unmasked Monday?
March 12, 2012, Paula Simons, Edmonton Journal
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/pierre-poutine-will-mystery-robocaller-be-unmasked-monday
Who is the real Pierre Poutine? Who placed the robocall in Guelph that
directed non-Conservative voters to the wrong polling station in the
May federal election?
According to the latest news breaking out of Ottawa, we will all find
out that answer Monday. My Postmedia colleagues Stephen Maher and Glen
McGregor, who have owned this story of the last few weeks, are
reporting tonight that the culprit intends to step forward tomorrow.
If so, no one will be happier, I suspect, that Matt Meier. The young
Edmonton IT whiz owns the media company, RackNine, who software was
used to place the mean-spirited fake calls.
Tags: Alberta, DougWiki, Edmonton, Elections Canada, Federal election, Glen
McGregor, Guelph, Matt Meier, New Democratic Party, Ottawa, Pierre Poutine,
Postmedia, RackNine, Robocall, Stephen Maher
===========================
The robocall rules
March 12, 2012, Aaron Wherry, Macleans
https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/the-robocall-rules/
Liberal MP Frank Valeriote acknowledges his campaign sent out a
robocall during the last election that didn't identify the Liberal
party as the source. Reports differ as to whether or not that
constitutes a violation of the Elections Act (Mr. Valeriote claims
Elections Canada told him it wasn't). Glen McGregor and Stephen Maher
have a timeline of events in Guelph.
Meanwhile, Richard Ciano-a principal at Campaign Research, the firm
linked to controversial calls in Irwin Cotler's riding-frets that the
innocent robocall is being unfairly maligned by the current scandal.
Setting aside Mr. Ciano's theory that this is an NDP-Liberal plot to
keep the Conservatives from campaigning-the NDP have shown themselves
to be rather enthusiastic robocallers-there is something to be said for
differentiating between robocalls and what is alleged to have occurred
during the last election. However bothersome, the automated call is a
perfectly legitimate form of political campaigning, like a candidate
knocking on your door or a party running television advertisements. In
the case of Guelph and several other ridings, what is alleged is that
voters were misled about the location of their polling stations for the
purposes of obstructing their ability to vote. And that, if done
consciously and purposefully, could rise to the level of election fraud.
That phone calls might have been used to carry out fraud is ultimately
secondary.
Put another way, Adscam wasn't about an inherent failing in the
advertising industry, it was about corruption. The robocall scandal
isn't about robocalls. It's about an allegation that the public's right
to vote was interfered with.
Tags: Campaign Research, DougWiki, Elections Canada, Frank Valeriote, Glen
McGregor, Guelph, Irwin Cotler, New Democratic Party, Richard Ciano,
Robocall, Stephen Maher
===========================
Meet the Attack Dogs
March 12, 2004, Jake Bernstein, Texas Observer
https://www.texasobserver.org/1590-meet-the-attack-dogs-the-virginia-based-americans-for-job-security-loves-to-get-involved-in-texas-politics/
That's when Americans for Job Security (AJS) appeared on the scene.
Launched in 1997 with a million-dollar contribution from the American
Insurance Association, the Virginia-based AJS claims to have 500
members. It's impossible to know if that's the truth since the group
refuses to release a membership list or divulge how much special
interest money is funneled through the organization. It does admit that
it uses corporate money. It's unclear if one person or many finance any
given AJS campaign. You can't find out without a subpoena. AJS is a
501(c)(6) organization and is allowed in most state elections to run
so-called third-party "issue advocacy" ads, purportedly to educate
voters. In the radio, television, or direct mail advertisements it
sponsors, AJS doesn't have to reveal anything about itself other than
its name. Since its founding, it's estimated the group has spent about
$26 million on political races all over the nation, including $8.5
million in 2002 and $7.5 million in 2000.
The way AJS President Mike Dubke explains it, the organization is just
an assemblage of public interest-minded champions of free enterprise
educating voters on the records of politicians who want to gouge
taxpayers. As a third-party group, AJS cannot legally coordinate with
candidate campaigns nor can it explicitly call for the election or
defeat of a candidate. That might be seen as a campaign contribution.
Instead, AJS just scours the known universe of elections in the United
States, from the lowliest state board of education race to U.S. Senate
campaigns, looking to make a difference. And as it combed through all
the ongoing political races in the country late last year, it just
happened to come across a special election in East Texas.
"Basically the thrust of our organization is to advocate pro-market,
pro-paycheck issues across the country," says Dubke. "In Texas, our
piece concerning Tommy Merritt was right up our alley, talking about an
individual who wants to raise taxes on goods and services and basically
take more money out of the pockets of the average citizen."
Tags: 1992, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, ABC, Alaska, Americans for Job
Security, Bahamas, Chicago Tribune, China, Chinese, Dallas Morning News,
David Carney, Environmental, Forbes, George W. Bush, Grover Norquist, Houston
Chronicle, Iowa, Lawsuit, Mike Dubke, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Quicky,
Republican, Rick Perry, San Antonio, San Antonio Express-News, Steve Forbes,
Tax, Texas, Virginia, White House
===========================
DougWiki: https://umbraxenu.no-ip.biz/mediawiki/index.php/DougWiki_Page
RightCite archive: https://umbraxenu.no-ip.biz/rightcite.html
Portable DougWiki download: http://tiny.cc/xdb37y
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