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Ontario: A Canadian In America Laments Tim Hudak’s Anti-Gay Election Ads

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In Ontario, the race for Premier — the leader of that Canadian province — has been marred by something very rare: negative campaign ads, and anti-gay marginalization by Tim Hudak. Today’s election will tell who won and who lost, but in the end, all Ontarians lose when politics becomes this ugly. A Canadian in America, Michael Talon, explains.

While Canada has long served as an example of progress socially, both to the U.S. and the world, there has been a slow, creeping yet powerful force that is moving within the borders of the “friendly and nice” country. Conservatism as a whole is not a concept that we as Canadians view in the same right-wing rhetoric based stupidity that we often see exemplified here in the U.S. (Michele Bachmann, the Mormon Church,the Tea Party.)

Canada’s Conservative Party — born through the amalgamation of the Progressive Conservatives and the Reform Party — is one that is fiscally and governmentally conservative. Platforms have long held to reform and a move to a more right of centre model that would allow continued and maintained structure of a country solidly building on a foundation set out in 1864 when we branched off from the British Empire and began to govern ourselves.

Proudly, Canadians boast that we never supported slavery and in fact maintained a free end destination for the Underground Railway, universal healthcare, community-built free clinics and hospitals, employment and housing anti-discrimination, equality and standards that have paved the way for lesbian and gay rights bills and marriage stemming from a Constitution ratified in 1982 that was to keep the federal government out of the bedrooms of the nation.

Overall, as a country that receives more immigrants from varying backgrounds, including strict to extreme Christian, Muslim and other faiths and cultures, progress continues to be made. In fact, former Prime Minister Jean Chretien was proud of the work that we as a people did in support of each other to include protections for all in each step of our evolution. Allowing for same-sex marriage, for example, while at the same time protecting the sanctity of the pulpit and not forcing denominations to perform these marriages as their faith would see fit.

Both sides peacefully and equally co-existing. A shining, at least to the best of any imperfect entities ability, beacon of hope to all that we could be equal and yet maintain the differences that enhance and enrich our world culture.

In the early 1990’s, the election that would see the greatest of losses for the Progressive Conservatives under the leadership of the first woman Prime Minister, Kim Campbell, sweeping in a victorious Jean Chretien and the Liberal Party, there was a shift that many allowed to go unnoticed in the grander scheme. Campbell employed an attack ad, reminiscent of a U.S. election, where they played on the crooked way Chretien spoke, due to Bell’s Palsy. This was the first of many influences divisive messaging would begin to creep into Canadian politics, and by proxy the public’s way of reacting to situations.

As many readers know, MP Tim Hudak of the Ontario PC Party, recently sent out attack ads that painted Liberal Premier McGuinty as keeping parents in the dark about the true education being given to school children. With emphasis clearly on LGBT issues and the anti-discrimination measures put in place for all minorities and socially accepted, vetted groups, Hudak and the PC Party have once again shown the right-wing agenda that is growing. Attack ads of this sort were unheard of in most political races in Canada. Policy and administration are often prime targets, however there is a standard that has long served our country well, you do not attack minorities and you do not bring religion into the mix. Those are personal beliefs and protected welcomed unique attributes that we cherish. Those days seem to be fleeting into the memories of true Canadians, to be
replaced by religiously slanted and immoral rhetoric.

Being born and raised in Ontario, as well as having lived under the McGuinty administration in my province, I would like to disclose at this juncture that I am not supportive nor do I feel McGuinty is doing/has done a very good job with leading the province. However, the attack ads led by the PC Party are inexcusably linked to attacking the LGBT community and the very fabric of a nation that is fiercely proud of all its groups, minorities, cultures and celebrated differences. We accept the right-wing, left-wing and everything in between. Vote to keep your freedoms and vote to allow those freedoms to be extended to others, for you never know when you will be the group in the hot seat.

It is sad to see this change happening and I can only hope that there will be a shift back to the proper and true course of Canada. I have personally extended the invitation to the PC Party in Ontario and in particular to MP Hudak to interview with me and The New Civil Rights Movement concerning the ad and the beliefs of Mr Hudak as well as the Party and the direction they believe the province should be moving.

The completely intolerant and homophobic rhetoric is enough! This is one Canadian who will not stand by and let everything we have built be torn down by easily influenced and semi-reasoning, self-promoting politicians and religiously influenced. U.S. LGBT citizens have seen what happens when complacency and a fear of “rocking the boat” instead hoping for a civil discourse that would valiantly change people’s hearts and minds. While thundering proclamations on behalf of some “loving and all knowing” god fuel bigots and the ignorant, gain sway. We have said that it is enough.

Across Ontario, parents and education boards, trustees and teachers have forced many of the politicians to take more than a step back from this attack ad, they are back pedaling faster than a Bible belt fundamentalist minister caught in the local department store men’s room giving a helping hand. I applaud the fact that there is still a progressive zeal within Canadians to not let those who would tarnish and sully the good work of past generations and woefully negate that progress.

Join your voice with ours, sign this petition on Change.org that is calling for Mr Hudak and the PC Party to explain its attack on the LGBT community, along with its continued bigotry against us, by doing an interview with The New Civil Rights Movement, answering questions from outraged and vigilant advocates for equality, no matter the citizenship.

 

Growing up in Northern Ontario as a Jehovah’s Witness, Michael Talon experienced firsthand the struggle for equality. Now living in the U.S. with his partner, they work with advocates for federal equality, including immigration. Working side by side, Michael and his partner Brad, head of Luna Media Group, help to deliver messages for equality to the nation.

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News

‘This Isn’t Justice’: Legal Experts Blast Cannon for Postponing Trump Case Indefinitely

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13 hours ago

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May 7, 2024

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U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon late Tuesday afternoon issued an indefinite postponement of the court date in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Donald Trump on Espionage Act charges, in the indictment commonly referred to as the classified documents case.

Claiming it would be “imprudent and inconsistent with the Court’s duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions before the Court,” along with other matters, Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, wrote: “the Court finds that the ends of justice served by this continuance…outweigh the best interest of the public and Defendants in a speedy trial.”

Politico’s Kyle Cheney reports, “It may be months before we know the new schedule.” Trial had been slated to begin May 20.

“With 13 days before her trial was supposed to kick off, Judge Cannon finally says what has been obvious to every legal journalist I know: She’s not just canceling the existing trial date; she’s also not picking a replacement,” MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin reports.

READ MORE: Johnson Demands All Trump Prosecutions Cease, Vows to Use Congress ‘In Every Possible Way’

The 37 count indictment was brought after Trump removed well over 1000 items, including hundreds of classified documents, out of the White House, retained then refused to return them, allegedly violating several statutes under the Espionage Act.

“Trump mishandled classified documents that included information about the secretive U.S. nuclear program and potential domestic vulnerabilities in the event of an attack,” according t0 the federal indictment, Reuters reported last year.

The trial now is not expected to conclude before the November presidential election this year.

“This is news but it’s hardly unexpected,” declared professor of law, former U.S. Attorney, and MSNBC contributor Joyce Vance wrote. “Judge Cannon seems desperate to avoid trying this case. This isn’t justice. defendants aren’t the only ones with speedy trial act rights, we the people have them too.”

“After the election,” professor of law and former chief White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter commented, “if Trump wins Jack Smith gets fired, the case gets dismissed, and Judge Cannon is ready for SCOTUS.”

READ MORE: Trump Threatens to Violate Gag Order and Go to Jail: ‘I’ll Do That Sacrifice Any Day’

Attorney and author Luppe B. Luppen noted, “Judge Cannon’s rationale for indefinitely postponing Trump’s classified documents trial is that a large number of pretrial motions remain unresolved—a state of affairs she has literally engineered by failing to resolve them.”

Professor of law and noted election law expert Rick Hasen asked: “Is it too cynical to believe that Judge Cannon timed the announcement of the postponement of a Trump classified documents trial to take away from the salacious sex details from Stormy Daniels’ testimony today?”

National security attorney Brad Moss served up a “silver lining to Cannon not setting a new trial date: she isn’t blocking the DC or Georgia election cases from resuming in the late summer/early fall, pending SCOTUS ruling on immunity.”

Foreign policy, national security, and political affairs analyst David Rothkopf added, “Justice delayed is justice denied. Both the defendant and the public have the right to a trial ‘without unnecessary delay.’ (Sixth Amendment.) When does Jack Smith seek a remedy for the problem Judge Cannon clearly represents? Tick freaking tock.”

READ MORE: Judge Hands Trump ‘Incarceration’ Threat as Experts Say Next Time He’ll Toss Him in Jail

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News

Trump Battled to Go to Son’s Graduation – So Why Is He Speaking at a Fundraiser That Day?

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16 hours ago

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May 7, 2024

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Last month Donald Trump falsely told reporters Justice Juan Merchan had blocked him from attending his youngest son’s high school graduation, refusing to give him the day off from his required attendance at his New York criminal court case.

Justice Merchan had actually told Trump he would take the request under advisement, but Trump quickly ran to reporters painting the judge as heartless.

On April 15 Trump said, “it looks like the judge will not let me go to the graduation of my son who’s worked very, very hard and he is a great student.”

“It looks like the judge isn’t going to allow me to escape this scam. It’s a scam trial,” Trump alleged.

The Associated Press reported, “Trump then furthered his criticism of the judge on his Truth Social platform, writing in one post both that he ‘will likely not be allowed to attend’ and that ‘the Judge, Juan Merchan, is preventing me from proudly attending my son’s Graduation.’ He wrote in another post less than two hours later that he is ‘being prohibited from attending.'”

READ MORE: Johnson Demands All Trump Prosecutions Cease, Vows to Use Congress ‘In Every Possible Way’

None of that was accurate.

Last week Judge Merchan granted Trump the day off from court to attend his son’s high school graduation.

But The Lincoln Project and others on Tuesday posted the announcement for “Minnesota’s 2024 Lincoln Reagan Dinner With Special Guest DONALD J. TRUMP” on Friday, May 17, 2024.

Trump, as The New Republic notes, will be the headline speaker at the event in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which starts at 5:00 PM.

The fundraiser offers supporters the opportunity to spend $100,000, which grants them “10 VIP Dinner Seats | 10 VIP Reception Passes | 3 Photo Opportunities with President Trump.”

Or, for example, for $50,000, a supporter can get a “Chairman’s Host Table – 10 VIP Dinner Seats | 10 VIP Reception Passes | 1 Photo Opportunity with President Trump.”

KARE reports “the visit is expected to be the former president’s first trip to Minnesota of the 2024 election cycle.”

READ MORE: ‘I’m Not Talking About That Meeting’: Noem Implies She May Have Met With Kim Jong Un

Trump has strong motivation to head to Minnesota.

Over the weekend, as NBC News reports, “Top officials for former President Donald Trump’s campaign believe they can flip Democratic strongholds Minnesota and Virginia into his column in November, they told donors behind closed doors at a Republican National Committee retreat Saturday.”

Barron Trump’s graduation from Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida reportedly will be the same day, May 17. Depending on timing, It’s possible Trump could fly from Florida to Minnesota to get to the fundraiser by 5 PM.

Watch Trump’s remarks from April 15 below or at this link.

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OPINION

Johnson Demands All Trump Prosecutions Cease, Vows to Use Congress ‘In Every Possible Way’

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18 hours ago

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May 7, 2024

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In a clear attack on the executive branch, the judicial system, states’ rights, and the rule in law in America, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson vowed on Tuesday to use all the powers of Congress at his disposal to end all four current criminal prosecutions of ex-president Donald Trump.

Johnson’s remarks late Tuesday morning came at the exact same time Stormy Daniels was giving sworn testimony about her alleged sexual relationship with Trump in a Manhattan Superior Court case. The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee is on trial for 34 felonies related to falsification of business records when he allegedly paid hush money to the adult film star, then covered up those payments in what prosecutors say was election interference.

“President Trump has done nothing wrong here and he continues to be the target of endless lawfare,” Speaker Johnson told reporters Tuesday during an official House news conference (video below). “It has to stop. And you’re gonna see the United States Congress address this in every possible way that we can, because we need accountability. Ultimately, at the end of the day, it’s bigger than President Trump. It’s about the people’s faith in our system of justice. And we’re gonna get down to the bottom of it. All these cases need to be dropped, because they are a threat to our system.”

Johnson’s remarks also come as he faces an ouster threat from far-right MAGA Republican Christian nationalist Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Speaker, who repeatedly has said he speaks to Trump frequently, spent the weekend at the ex-president’s Florida resort and residence, Mar-a-Lago. He also traveled there just weeks ago as Greene’s threats were heating up. Trump and Johnson held a joint press conference on “election integrity,” an image some say was a show of strength and support from the leader of his party.

READ MORE: Trump Threatens to Violate Gag Order and Go to Jail: ‘I’ll Do That Sacrifice Any Day’

Johnson’s job is being protected by Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and the vast majority of the Democratic caucus, which have promised to protect him should Greene call up her motion to vacate.

Claiming Republicans are “trying to keep steadying hands on the wheel here and keep the legislative branch moving and operating in the best interest of the people,” Johnson also alleged, “One of the things that is also in jeopardy right now is our judicial branch. And it’s our system of government itself. And I don’t think we can say often enough here how much of that has been abused under this administration, and with local prosecutors, state prosecutors, and at the federal level, who are using lawfare. They’re using our judicial system to go after political opponents.”

The Speaker continued his targeting, declaring Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s “case should never have been brought.”

“If there’s ever been an example of lawfare, everybody can look at that and see, the trial is being orchestrated by Democrats, supporters of President Biden who are trying to make a name for themselves. I mean, they’re pretty open about that. They used it in their campaign flips. We’ve got a Democrat District Attorney, a Biden donor judge whose daughter is a Democratic political consultant and has clients that use the case in their solicitation emails to raise money.”

Justice Juan Merchan, CNN reported last month, made a $15 donation to the Biden campaign, amid a total of $35 total in 2020.

Johnson also called Justice Merchan “a well-known Democrat” who “is pursuing an indefensible gag order on President Trump,” and “trying to override President Trump’s constitutional right to defend himself against the constant smears of his political opponents.”

READ MORE: ‘I’m Not Talking About That Meeting’: Noem Implies She May Have Met With Kim Jong Un

Pointing to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Donald Trump in the Espionage Act case, often called the “classified documents” case, Johnson called it “the weaponization of our justice system.”

He called all the cases against the ex-president “a clear attempt to keep Donald Trump in the courtroom and off the campaign trail. That’s what this is. It’s an election interference. It is borderline criminal conspiracy and the American people see right through it.”

Watch a short clip of Johnson’s remarks below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Israel Aid, Ukraine Aid, Kitchenaid’: Dem Mocks GOP’s ‘Hands Off Our Appliances’ Week

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