FREAK(S) OF THE WEEK: The Conservative Party of Canada

This week, there was so much freakiness attached to one issue that the FredBlog had no choice but to shine its freaklight on not just one person, but the entire Conservative Party of Canada for getting a little too excited about a photo of drag queens.

By now, you know the story – if not, see the posting from July 8 below. As you will see, there are just way too many freaks involved to point to just one. So this week’s freaks include:

·      Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He’s the one who disciplined Tourism Minister Diane Ablonczy for granting less than $400,000 of government money to Pride Toronto. Ablonczy was doing nothing more than her job; in fact, she deserves credit for doing her job without regard to partisanship or ideology. Shame on Harper for kowtowing to Canada’s radical anti-gay right and punishing her.

·      Saskatchewan MP Brad Trost. He’s the one whose head spun around regarding Albonczy getting her picture taken with drag queens. As he told the far right-wing website LifeSiteNews.com, “The pro-life and the pro-family community should know and understand that the tourism funding money that went to the gay pride parade in Toronto was not government policy, was not supported by – I think it’s safe to say by a large majority – of the MPs.” Actually, Brad, it IS government policy to support tourist events like Pride, even if it makes you and your minions uncomfortable.

·      M.B. Callaghan of Toronto. There was much public reaction to the Pride funding fiasco, and most of the letters to the editor in the Toronto Star slammed the Conservatives for their crass political pandering. Still, too many people’s sentiments matched Callaghan’s, whose nonsensical letter stated, “It makes perfect sense to discipline Diane Ablonczy for authorizing federal money for a Gay Pride Parade. Surely, if gays had to pay for it themselves, they’d give it up. But if they parade it, it could look like fun to schoolchildren. Imagine – streets full of children behind a gay piper. How could Toronto go Conservative after that?”

·      Divers/Cité executive director Suzanne Girard. Amazingly, the head of the organization behind Montreal’s largest LGBT festival actually DEFENDED the Conservatives on this front. As the Canadian Press reported it, Girard simply “blamed right-wing fringe elements for unfairly trying to embarrass the Conservatives and cause problems for events like hers” (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090708/national/tories_gay_festivals). That may be, but if Harper is willing to give in to these “fringe elements,” then Harper’s actions are indefensible.

·      Minister of Transport John Baird. Some Conservatives have had the fortitude and common sense to criticize Harper for punishing Ablonczy. But closet-case Baird is not one of them. Even former MP Monte Solberg – who is himself on the far right – wrote on his blog: “The truth is that, for better or worse, the Conservative government has provided grants for this kind of thing in the past. … [Ablonczy] deserves better than to be ratted out by a colleague on an issue that is a complete loser for the party.” As the Toronto Star editorialized, “Shame on other senior Conservatives for not adding their voices to [Solberg’s].” So, shame on John Baird, who has no problem being out in Toronto’s Gay Village – the site of the now-controversial Pride parade – but yet stays silent while on Parliament Hill.

FREAKINESS = SARAH PALIN

What would the week be without some form of freakiness from our favorite soon-to-be-former-Alaska-governor, Sarah Palin.

To begin with, she made fashion news for her press conference in hip waders. (Did the Republican Party pay for THOSE too?)

She also continued to explain how quitting her job doesn’t make her a quitter. Because, y’know, in her world, “quitting” means “leading.”

But the best Palin freakiness was her attempt to be all, like, intellectual and such as. You see, she’s been tweeting a lot lately – guess she has more time to devote to Twitter since giving up her day job. One day last week, she gave specific advice to children:

·      “So AK Kids: take time to take your parents fishing: ‘You learn more about a person in an hour than in a year of conversation’ – Plato”

Wow, how impressive, right? She’s quoting Plato. One problem though – Plato never said this!

In fact, it’s credited to author Richard Lindgard in an etiquette guide from 1670! That’s a helluva lot later than Plato’s time. (Or maybe to Palin, everything before Ronald Reagan is just one big blur.)

Worse yet, the actual quote does not reference fishing, but GAMBLING! “If you would read a man’s disposition, see his game,” the quote reads. “You will then learn more of him in one hour, than in seven years conversation.”

So Sarah, better to quit the literary quoting and just stick to your day job. Oh wait, too late.

FREAK OF THE WEEK: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

This week, the FredBlog shines its freaklight on Sarah Palin, who earns the distinction of becoming the first person ever to be named Freak of the Week twice! Are congratulations in order? You betcha!

Making Palin’s achievement even more impressive is just how much freakiness she was up against.

There was Canadian Transport Minister John Baird, who was forced to apologize after telling the city of Toronto to “f--k off.”

There was Canadian Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt, who was forced to apologize after saying that people potentially dying of cancer is a “sexy” political issue.

And there was now-former Miss California USA, who was unapologetically told, “You’re fired,” by beauty pageant owner Donald Trump.

But the freakiest of them all was Palin, who refused to apologize for calling David Letterman a pedophile, even after the “Late Night” host apologized for a joke that he really didn’t have to apologize for.

It all started with Letterman telling a joke. (Really? Letterman tells jokes? News to Palin!)

In talking about the Palin family’s recent trip to New York, Letterman said there was “an awkward moment … during the seventh inning when her daughter was knocked up by [New York Yankees third basemen] Alex Rodriguez.”

Anyone who has been paying attention to the Palin Family farce would know that the joke was referencing daughter Bristol. It was Bristol Palin, after all, who was famously “knocked up” by her high-school hockey-playing now-ex-boyfriend Levi Johnston.

This became a legitimate story since now-18-year-old Bristol Palin seemed to be living the kind of life her mother campaigns so strongly against. It pointed to the hypocrisy of preaching abstinence-only to teens while your own teen daughter isn’t listening.

But post-joke, Sarah has been trying to argue that since it was not Bristol who attended the Yankee game with her, but her 14-year-old daughter Willow, Letterman was saying that it was Willow who got “knocked up” during the game. Therefore, Sarah Palin says, Letterman was promoting statutory rape.

What!?!?!? She can’t be serious. But oh yes, she is!

On its face, this criticism is ridiculous. Who even knew that Willow was at the game? The joke was obviously, without a doubt, about Bristol. So on that front, case closed.

But Sarah was also trying to make the case that all of her daughters should be off limits when it comes to this kind of ridicule. After all, she and her supporters said, no one would make fun of Obama daughters Sasha and Malia.

Again, is she serious?!?! Bristol Palin is not only 18, and thus an adult, but she has put herself in the public spotlight. She chose to do a round of media interviews once she was hired by the Candie’s Foundation to be a spokesperson for teen abstinence (a joke in and of itself).

So to spell this out – Bristol Palin is not a minor AND she is a public figure. Therefore, it is fair that she be a target by the likes of Letterman. Again, case closed.

Despite there being no need for Letterman to apologize, he did anyway. He even invited the Palins on his show. That should have been the end of it, right?

Oh no, not when it comes to the Palins.

Sarah not only refused to appear on Letterman’s show, but added on her Facebook page: “It would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman.”

You know, because, according to the Palins, Letterman might knock up Willow. Even if the Palins were really offended by Letterman’s initial joke, this insinuation is sick.

And if all that weren’t enough, Sarah ended the week by going on the “Today” show and telling co-host Matt Lauer that what Letterman said not only hurt her and her family but, “I would like to see him apologize to young women across the country” for contributing to a culture “that says it’s OK to talk about statutory rape.”

So when the American people didn’t buy that Letterman was disparaging Willow, she decided to make this about ALL teen girls. Classy move.

And when Lauer asked her about the comment insinuating that Letterman is a pedophile, Sarah said, “Take [the comment] however you want to take it. It was a comment that came from the heart.”

So Sarah, it’s not OK for Letterman to make a joke about your adult public-figure daughter, but it IS OK for YOU to call Letterman a pedophile because it “came from the heart”?

Well, here’s a comment that comes from my heart: You’re a freak!

F off John Baird

Allow me to be the first to say “f--k off” back to John Baird in response to his anti-Toronto tirade over the weekend.

You see, Baird – Canada’s federal transport minister – was overheard by a Toronto Star reporter at a Whistler convention of Canada’s mayors saying that Toronto “should f--k off.”

Baird doesn’t like that Toronto only submitted one application for federal infrastructure stimulus money – to help the city replace its aging fleet of streetcars. Other cities submitted multiple applications for a whole host of infrastructure projects.

Toronto Mayor David Miller says that the proposal meets federal criteria. Baird disagrees. Disagreeing is one thing, but does Baird really think he should be telling Canada’s largest city to “f--k off.”

After all, Toronto has a special place in Baird’s heart. It’s his gay home away from home. It’s the place where he can sip cocktails at hip and trendy martini bars and stroll through the gay neighborhood, before returning to his Parliament Hill closet back in Ottawa.

He’s been seen on Church Street, the gayborhood’s gay strip. People wave at him, stop to say hi, and tell him what a good job he’s doing – this, despite being part of a regressive and anti-gay-if-it-could-have-its-way Conservative government.

And now, it seems Baird – this Canadian answer to Mark Foley – has joined his fellow Conservatives in thumbing its collective nose at Toronto.

Fine, Mr. Baird, turn your back on Toronto, the city that welcomes you and accepts you, despite your political faults. Flip Toronto the bird – just don’t be surprised if Torontonians flip it back.