Monday, December 31, 2007

Goodbye 2007, Here's to a Great 2008!


To all, please party responsibly tonight. For me, like 40% of Canadians, I intend to cuddle up next to my partner, order in some Chinese food and enjoy a couple of DVDs and maybe a little spice later on...lol. A quieter New Year's Eve for us has been long in coming.

By this time next year, I look forward to watching the new Democratic President-elect, whomever that will be, preparing to meet with our new Prime Minister Stephane Dion to discuss how to better coordinate efforts to fight climate change and other issues of international significance.

Am I naive about Dion? Don't think so. Dion continues to be the most underestimated politician alive in Canada today. And I get the feeling he likes it that way.

All the best for the New Year!

Friday, December 28, 2007

Top Ten Movies I Saw in 2007

I admit I'm no film critic, although I've been an avid film fan my whole life. I simply don't have time to see all of the flicks I want to see in a year. Thus I provide this list now only in the interest of being timely (with New Year's Eve around the corner.) I doubt anyone would be interested in my Top Ten Films list in February after I've seen all the 2007 films I want to see.

2007 TOP TEN FILMS THUS FAR:

Zodiac (Director David Fincher is a genius, one of the best directors working today, this film was gripping from start to finish. It wasn't about finding the Zodiac killer, it was about the hunt itself and our collective fascination with evil, with great performances and great 1970s art direction. Superb in all ways.)

Into The Wild (Wow, Emile Hirsch emerges as a great young actor in this beautifully shot tale by writer-director Sean Penn about the youthful rush to escape from the frustrations of modern life. The lead character learns the truth sadly too late that, "Happiness is only real when shared...")

Atonement (Simple, focused adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel, with great performances by James McAvoy and Keira Knightley, very moving and exquisitely produced.)

Away From Her (one of the most beautiful cinematic portraits of love I've ever seen, Canadian Sarah Polley confirms her brilliance and Julie Christie is mesmerizing.)

Hairspray (absolute fun, entertaining from start to finish, I loved John Travolta in this, I don't care what others say. Plus the best, queer-friendly PG-rated eye candy I've seen this year. Zac Efron is one hot babe!)

Amazing Grace (Wonderful history lesson about William Wilberforce, who led the charge to end the British slave trade in the early 1800s, this film reminds how establishment forces will always fight for the status quo, no matter how evil, all in the name of the almighty dollar and why it's so important to continue the fight for justice despite seemingly insurmountable barriers.)

The Wind That Shakes the Barley (gripping, great tale about Irish liberation from British rule and the splintering of the Irish Republican movement in the 1920s, told with unflinching intimacy and very thick Irish accents.)

Manufactured Landscapes (beautiful, terrible Chinese workplace images I'll never forget. 'Made In China' will never seem the same again.)

A Mighty Heart (superbly directed by Michael Winterbottom, I've never seen Angelina Jolie give a better performance, her screams after learning of her husband's death haunt me still.)

Control (beautifully shot in black & white, we learn of the origins of the British 70s band Joy Division, forerunners of New Order, and particularly the troubled life of lead singer Ian Curtis, played by the beautiful Sam Riley.)


If only to provide some insight into how successful certain movie PR/hype campaigns have been, here is my list of 2007 films I have yet to see, but which I am very excited about viewing as soon as possible:

- No Country for Old Men
- Juno
- Charlie Wilson's War
- There Will Be Blood
- Michael Clayton
- Sicko
- No End In Sight
- 3:10 To Yuma
- Gone Baby Gone
- Before The Devil Knows You're Dead
- I'm Not There


Obviously, I haven't yet seen many of the year's reported best films. So you can take my Top Ten list with a grain of salt.

The most disappointing films I saw this year:
- Danny Boyle's Sunshine (cool premise, but stupidly executed, explored no new territory and collapsed into an uninteresting hide & seek horror movie by its end.)
- Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Cate Blanchett will likely never doubt her instincts again after reluctantly agreeing to re-visit Queen Elizabeth in this unaccomplished letdown of a sequel to 1998's Elizabeth.)

Monday, December 24, 2007

Nollaig Shona Daoibh


True to my (partly) Irish heritage, this phrase in the headline is pronounced 'NO-Lihg HO-nuh JEEV' and it literally means "You have a Happy Christmas." It's meant to address two or more persons with best wishes. "Nollaig Shona Duit" (NO-Lihg HO-nuh ghwich) is the phrase to be used when addressing one person.

Seasons Greetings to All! And to All a Good Night!

Friday, December 21, 2007

Toronto's NOW Magazine Hacked!

I wanted to provide a link to a great article by NOW Magazine editor Alice Klein this week, but earlier this morning the publication's website was victimized by a hacker or hackers. When you logged on, you found a dark screen with only the words, "Umm... Sorry, but you've been hacked. Fuck you media. .g0d wuz here."

But things seem to be fixed now. Klein's article is the best thing I've read in NOW (outside of the Movie section) in years. Normally NOW takes the kind of pro-NDP-no-matter-what stance that she criticizes in her piece, but perhaps her article signals a new era in fair, progressive news coverage for the rag. In it, Klein calls on NDP Leader Jack Layton to put aside his old-fashioned, overly partisan schtick and work with Green Party leader Elizabeth May and Liberal Leader Stephane Dion (as they have already done) to help ensure Stephen Harper's Tories don't win again. Sage advice.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

New Star on the Hollywood Screenwriting Scene: Ex-Stripper Diablo Cody writes for EW

Unlike most people, I tend to notice when some obscure screenwriter suddenly makes it big with a breakout movie hit and gets some press for it. Screenwriters rarely garner much attention in our celebrity-obsessed culture. Writers, by their very nature, are shy, unassuming people who shun attention ;-). I'm in my element when I'm alone at my computer with a glass of wine, not surrounded by schmoozing media types at some god-awful industry party. This puts me at a distinct disadvantage when compared to other media types who seem to feed off of such social interactions. But I figure when it comes to other scribes, I must be somewhat typical. There's no such thing as an extroverted writer.

I have a couple of feature scripts in pre-production with a Toronto production company. I get paid for the first script when it goes into production, the second when it's sold for distribution. Oh the joys of being a non-union writer.

One short film script I penned was filmed last year by ClearLight Films, a new Ireland-based production company that set up temporary shop in Toronto last year to build some Canadian partnerships. They're back in Dublin now, but we're trying to get our creation Coughing Fit into various festivals and there's talk of more collaboration.

The break-out scribe this holiday season is no doubt ex-stripper Diablo Cody (pictured), who penned the new comedy Juno. I have yet to see Juno, but the previews look quite charming. Cody's been nominated for a Golden Globe, and most foresee an Oscar nomination early in the new year. She's also been given a column at Entertainment Weekly. She's clearly mega-talented.

I mention Cody (not her real name) because she too is a blogger. Apparently, some film producer was a regular reader of her Pussy Ranch site and got in touch with her to see if she'd become a screenwriter. Wow!

If there are other film producers out there looking for up-and-coming screenwriters with loads of talent who will work for little or no pay (to start), drop me a line. You'll make my day.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Gay film director helps Pope with makeover?

Isn't Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli gay? Apparently so. It makes this Pope Benedict makeover story all the more interesting.

Check out this similar post for more background on Zeffirelli's filmography, which includes Callas Forever, Tea With Mussolini and of course the 1968 version of Romeo & Juliet which featured the very hot Leonard Whiting as young Romeo in the buff (pictured).

Thursday, December 13, 2007

A few Canucks & Scottish cutie James McAvoy snag Golden Globe nods

Enough of the Mulroney-Schreiber affair. I'll let other bloggers wax on at length about that ongoing circus.

I prefer lighter discussion this close to the holidays, like today's nominations for the Golden Globe Awards, the forebearer to the Academy Awards early next year. Yes, movie awards' season is back to keep our hearts warm this terrible winter.

A handful of Canadians are amongst the Globe nominees this year:

- Ellen Page for her comedic turn in Juno.
- Ryan Gosling for his comedic lead performance in Lars and the Real Girl.
- David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises earned a Best Dramatic Feature nomination, as did his star Viggo Mortensen in Best Dramatic Actor.
- International icon Julie Christie earned a well-deserved Best Dramatic Actress nod for her role in Sarah Polley's directorial debut Away from Her.

Overall, the British historical drama Atonement starring Scottish hottie James McAvoy (pictured) led the competition garnering seven nods, including Best Dramatic Actor for McAvoy.

The funniest nomination: John Travolta for his turn as Edna Turnblad in the wonderfully gay Hairspray, also up for Best Comedy/Musical. Travolta was great in one of the best films of the year.

For a full list of the nominations, click here. Stay tuned for my Golden Globe predictions closer to the day.

Monday, December 10, 2007

I Second That: Why I Don't Link To Bourque Newswatch Anymore

Fed up with Bourque.org, I criticized his site earlier this year for many of the same reasons listed today by James Bowie. I missed the Bourque link back in August that Bowie says is his main objection to that news aggregator site, but wow!

I agree with James: if you want a quality online news link site, you can't do better in Canada than National Newswatch.com.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Jodie Foster reveals her lesbian lover


Yay for Jodie Foster! I've long admired her talent. I'm not one of those commentators who believes all queer celebrities are obliged to "come out of the closet". But when one does, even after years of speculation, they should be congratulated.

Foster referred to her partner Cydney Bernard during a speech after receiving an award by the Hollywood Reporter at a Power 100 breakfast earlier this week. Jodie thanked, "my beautiful Cydney who sticks with me through all the rotten and the bliss."

Cydney is also co-mother to their son. With the salaries she commands, plus two Oscars, Ms. Foster could obviously take the risk involved with this acknowledgement.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Alberta panel denounces ex-pastor's anti-gay comments

This is excellent news. This case came about after a former evangelical Alberta pastor, Stephen Boissoin, published a venomous letter in the Red Deer Advocate in 2002 which attacked, "Homosexual rights activists and those that defend them...as immoral as the pedophiles, drug dealers and pimps that plague our communities."

The letter urged readers to, "take whatever steps are necessary to reverse the wickedness" of the "homosexual machine." Two weeks later, a gay youth was assaulted in Red Deer. Darren Lund, a local high school teacher at the time, filed the complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission, which led to yesterday's ruling.

Boissoin tried to defend himself by claiming he was merely aiming to inspire a "spirited" community debate with his hateful letter. But the panel rightly dismissed that argument.

Deliberate or not, Boissoin's words had the effect of completely dehumanizing a group of his fellow citizens and inspiring any and all attacks against them. Violent homophobes for generations have used similar words to justify many forms of violence against their victims.

True to form, Boissoin's Christian colleagues are being anything but Christian in their reaction, complaining again their religious freedoms are more important than the rights of homosexuals to live safe in a community where violence against them isn't promoted by abusive community leaders.

"If you really can't speak out your religious viewpoints, that is tyrannical," says Jim Blake, the national chairman of what is now Concerned Christians Canada.

As far as I'm concerned, people of any religion (or non-religious affiliation) have every right to express dislike or disdain for any group of people or any type of behaviour, without that expression being judged as "hate material" or "hate speech."

But clearly this is a case where the pastor went completely overboard with his published rhetoric. He wasn't merely expressing a religious viewpoint. His call for readers to take action and use "whatever steps are necessary to reverse the wickedness" of the "homosexual machine" clearly can be interpreted to include promoting violent action against LGBT citizens. Justice has been served in this case.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Congrats to Australia's Labor Party, hurray for one less climate change denier on the world stage...

It's always a wonderful thing to see a progressive party sweep aside a neo-conservative government, especially in a place like Australia which has many similarities with Canada.

Check out ABC's website coverage of Kevin Rudd's big win here.

This result is sweeter because defeated neo-con John Howard was not only a close colleague of our own Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but this means one less climate change denier on the world stage, and less support for George Bush's Iraq fiasco. All in all, a great day for progressive-minded people in the Commonwealth.

Speaking of which, now Stephen Harper is truly officially isolated as the lone voice obstructing action on this issue amongst Commonwealth countries.

Apparently, our national government - elected solely because voters were tired of the scandal-plagued Liberals - is fighting like mad to stop a proposed statement by Commonwealth countries that would bind Canada to cutting greenhouse gas emissions substantially. Harper's problem: the wording of the statement targets developed countries, not developing countries.

"We are not blocking a binding target," the Prime Minister's spokeswoman, Sandra Buckler, has said. "We are, however, looking for a declaration that is as strong as the APEC declaration [which was agreed to by China and the United States] in terms of the importance of comprehensiveness — that all countries, notably major emitters, must contribute to reducing [greenhouse-gas] emissions. We would not support a binding target only for some emitters, especially if that excludes major emitters."

Of course, the APEC declaration Buckler refers to only sets aspirational — voluntary — emissions reductions targets for major emitters. Voluntary reductions of course means no substantial action to fight the climate change crisis we are facing. The issue here isn't getting China and the USA to agree, the issue here for Harper is stopping any binding targets, either in the developed or developing world. 

Friday, November 23, 2007

Friday Funny: '300' Parody from 'Robot Chicken'

Check out this absolutely hilarious spoof of the feature film "300" by the geniuses who make the popular cult series "Robot Chicken."

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Away from Her: One of the most brilliant cinematic portraits of love I've ever seen


I realize I'm several months behind on this (as this film debuted last year at the Toronto International Film Festival), but I finally had a chance to view Sarah Polley's quiet masterpiece, 'Away from Her' over the weekend and wanted to write about it.

If you haven't had a chance to see this film (and judging from its respectable, yet small box office in limited release earlier this year, you haven't), you should definitely consider seeing one of the best films of the year.

I'll admit, the subject matter about an older couple (Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent, pictured) struggling to deal with the onset of Alzheimer's disease might deter some viewers looking for a quick or dumb Blockbuster fix. Yet you'd be missing a quiet gem and one of the best Canadian films in years. I don't recall seeing a more beautiful portrait of selfless love in a movie (from any nation) than this.

Based on a short story by Alice Munro, the film follows the sudden degeneration of Julie Christie's character Fiona and her husband Grant's struggles to assist her. She makes it difficult for him (and the film hints this may or may not be due to the disease). Her condition becomes so bad she decides to check in to a nearby seniors' care facility. While there, her memories of her marriage seem to fade entirely and she develops an affection for another man, leaving Pinsent's Grant in a funk. Grant then figures out a beautiful way to possibly bring his wife, growing increasingly depressed and remote, some possible happiness.

Most people will see this movie to check out Julie Christie's exquisite performance. She is mesmerizing for every second of her time on screen. The rest of the cast circle around this screen icon and give perfect performances, especially Pinsent. There has been talk of late that Christie will win another Oscar nod for this performance, which would be a delight. I also hope that Pinsent will be acknowledged by the Academy, either in the Lead Actor or Supporting Actor categories. Polley, as writer and director, may also be acknowledged by the Hollywood elites. How wonderful that would be and ironic for an artist who has shunned the Hollywood lifestyle for years. I'm sure this film will dominate the upcoming Canadian Genie Awards, with Pinsent and Christie in their respective leading Acting categories, and Polley in both the writing and directing categories.

The ending brought me to quiet tears. It's been a while since a film made me cry, I tend to be a hard emotional nut to crack. So when it happens, I must take note. I intend to buy this movie.

Polley's achievement here is absolutely astonishing. At such a young age (28), Polley has written and directed a quiet masterpiece about the tragedies that can occur at the end of relationships and the undying and complicated power of love. I won't forget this film.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Congrats to Michael Gravelle!


Congratulations must go out to Michael Gravelle, MPP for Thunder Bay Superior North (and my former boss) on his appointment today as Minister of Northern Development & Mines in the McGuinty cabinet. Michael is an exceptional human being and he so deserves this. I'm thrilled for him.

All in all, pretty solid picks today by McGuinty, in my humble opinion. Congrats to all and good luck!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

More on J.K. Rowling's outing of Dumbledore


Author J.K. Rowling (pictured) is reportedly stunned by the enormous reaction she has received since 'outing' her 'Harry Potter' character Albus Dumbledore as gay.

Some have praised her move as a step forward for gay recognition (myself included), while others have criticized Rowling for not making Dumbledore's sexuality clearer in the books. Many have cynically argued Rowling's revelation is merely a publicity stunt designed to garner new attention and lay the groundwork for some kind of upcoming 'Harry Potter' encyclopedia.

Personally, I doubt Rowling is after greater book sales. Potter readers had long speculated about Dumbledore, noting he had a mysterious, troubled past. Now I'm sure many fans will re-read the seven books looking for additional signs of Dumbledore's orientation (as if they needed another excuse to do so). Rowling has defended herself by pointing to a quote in the final book in which the character Dumbledore describes the intense feelings he used to hold for rival wizard Gellert Grindelwald, "You cannot imagine how his ideas caught me, Harry, inflamed me..."

In a funny way, this public outing of Dumbledore is similar to how most young people discover the queer tendencies of many of their own high school teachers. I remember many teachers in my high school who seemed to be a little different, but of course nothing was ever admitted. Even today, many queer teachers keep their private lives secret from their students. The truth tends to come out afterwards. Potter fans, having grown up knowing and loving Dumbledore, are now discovering the truth about him in a very similar way.

I don't doubt Rowling's motives. She has said recently, "It has certainly never been news to me that a brave and brilliant man could love other men. He is my character. He is what he is and I have the right to say what I say about him." Good on her.

Monday, October 22, 2007

J.K. Rowling Outs Dumbledore


I'm sure many have now heard the interesting comments by 'Harry Potter' author J.K. Rowling over the weekend that her character, Dumbledore, in the Potter series has always been gay. This is a stunning development and one with many cool implications.

I will admit, I haven't read all of the Harry Potter books. My partner is much more of a devoted fan, and I'm sure this revelation will please him. I have seen and loved all of the movies in which the character Dumbledore has been played by actors Richard Harris (who passed away in 2002) and Michael Gambon (pictured).

It's obvious why Rowling would have had difficulty revealing that Dumbledore was gay earlier. The 'Harry Potter' books were originally marketed for children. Most of those fans have grown up with the series, the first book published in 1997. The seventh and final book, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' was released this summer with much fanfare. I'm sure most devoted readers will now have little difficulty accepting that their beloved Dumbledore was actually queer the whole time.

There has always been something magical about how Rowling used a children's book series to explore some very non-Christian ideas. I've always suspected that Rowling might have been partially motivated to write this series in order to help dispel the negative connotations so-called 'witchcraft' has had in mainstream Western culture for centuries. She has also stated one of her main goals was to encourage her young readers to "question authority" and think for themselves.

We have long seen many Christian extremists attack the 'Harry Potter' series. This revelation that the headmaster at Hogwarts has always been gay will give them more reason to hate it. And more reason for me and many others to love it (I was raised Catholic, by the way, although today I like to call myself religiously 'open-minded.')

It will be interesting to see how the remaining two films yet to be produced from the Harry Potter books will treat this revelation. Personally, I don't care if the movies make explicitly clear that Dumbledore is in fact gay, as the author now says. I'd be happy with a funny wink or some other slightly feminine gesture that makes subtle reference to it without giving it away completely.

Suddenly, Daniel Radcliffe's recent nude appearance on a London stage in the play 'Equus', to be soon repeated on Broadway, takes on a whole new significance.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Looks like we're stuck with First-Past-The-Post for the foreseeable future

What a thumping MMP took yesterday in Ontario!

It seems obvious to me this was a very clear repudiation of any form of proportional representation for Ontario for the foreseeable future. Only once Ontario becomes less conservative, less cautious and more willing to experiment with new voting systems, can proportional voting, in whatever form, be considered again.

Voters are smart. The old saying 'The voters are always right' still applies. We can't simply reject this vote against MMP as the result of widespread public ignorance of the question. In the end, I think voters knew very well what they were voting for and what they were voting against.

It surely seemed from my discussions with hundreds of ordinary Ontarians on this issue that discontent with the current system was palpable. Most people know they don't like First-Past-The-Post.

However, Ontarians aren't willing to make a giant leap toward something like MMP unless they're convinced it will be better. They clearly weren't convinced of that.

In many ways, the referendum result was much like the election result with voters opting for the devil they know rather than the devil they don't.

The future for electoral reform remains unclear. I do think MMP would have worked very well were it to have been adopted. But clearly Ontario voters are not interested in moving to a proportional system at this time.

So what are the alternatives after this? Preferential balloting? Run-off voting?

I'm not convinced either of those two options would be much better than our current system frankly. They would still shut out smaller parties and force voters to choose between the two biggest parties in their ridings. At least under our current system, the Green Party could conceivably elect a strong local candidate with a strong local machine. See Bruce-Grey-Owen-Sound last night for a historic result for the Greens in Ontario. Clearly the Greens are on their way up under our current system.

I said two days ago that for First-Past-The-Post to be safe in Ontario, it would need at least 60% voter support. It won 63% support. Right or wrong, I think we're stuck with the current system for the foreseeable future. I doubt any political leader would entertain revisiting this issue again for a long time.

Congrats to the winners! And also congrats to Dalton McGuinty and his team for a job well-done on the election campaign trail.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

For First-Past-The-Post to be "safe", it'll need more than 60% support...

Much has been said during the Ontario referendum campaign of the 60% approval threshold imposed by the Ontario government on the new Mixed Member Proportional system.

Supporters of voting reform have decried this threshold as an unfair impediment to change. If voters are choosing between two systems, why does one system win with only 40% plus support?

Others have said that any change to our voting system requires greater public consensus than simply 50% plus one. The onus is on reformers to win 60% plus support in order for this change to go ahead.

I tend to accept the 60% threshold. Right or wrong, it's the rule that's been adopted in this referendum race. Such a vote in favour of change would be truly historic. In fact, according to the referendum law passed by the McGuinty government, if MMP wins 60% plus tomorrow, the government must implement it.

The supporters of the status quo have focussed almost exclusively in this campaign on attacking alleged shortcomings of the new system. They've spent almost no time explaining why our existing First-Past-The-Post system is better.

The reason for this is simple: First-Past-The-Post is antiquated and no longer produces governments that reflect the wishes of voters. Most anti-MMP folks in this referendum have openly admitted the existing system is flawed and some kind of change is necessary.

Since we've imposed a 60% threshold for approval for the new system, I think we should turn this rule on its head, at least symbolically.

Considering the lack of information out there for voters to make a decision, the fact that the new system is competitive in recent polling, and might even win over 50% support, shows a great deal of discontent with the existing system.

If First-Past-The-Post barely wins, like with a 52% support level over 48% for change, this will hardly be a ringing endorsement of our current system.

I think supporters of electoral reform should apply the same standard for approval to the existing system. First-Past-The-Post must win over 60% support from voters tomorrow in order to be considered "safe" for the next while. Anything less will show a strong desire for change in Ontario and will ensure this issue does not go away.

Monday, October 8, 2007

New voting system ensures second place party will never win the election again...

I posted this information on the other blog I've been working on the last three months. But it bears repeating. How anyone can support a system as broken as First-Past-The-Post is beyond me. Sometimes lust for power knows no bounds:

Another disturbing aspect of our existing system is its tendency to distort voters' wishes so badly that sometimes the second place party among voters actually wins the election.

This has happened in six out of 10 provinces in recent times: Ontario, Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, Quebec, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

The new Mixed Member Proportional system will fix this and ensure seat totals match the popular vote. Under the new system, the party that elects the most MPPs will be asked to form a government.

The people choose the government, not the system!

Sunday, September 30, 2007

I've cancelled my subscription to the Toronto Star because of its biased referendum coverage

This is a copy of a letter to the editor I sent this morning to the Toronto Star. Enough is enough.

Dear Editor,

re: Electoral reform a backward step

I've been disgusted by the Toronto Star's unfair, biased coverage of the Citizens' Assembly referendum for weeks.

You've misinformed your readers by frequently referring to new province-wide MPPs under the new system as "appointed" or "selected."

In fact, all MPPs under the new system will be elected directly by voters. Voters will have two ballots, one for their local representative like now and one vote that will count right across the province and directly elect 39 new province-wide MPPs. Those 39 new province-wide MPPs will be accountable to voters, giving voters much more representation at Queen's Park than they have now. Those new MPPs will ensure that party representation in the legislature matches the party vote overall.

The Star's analysis around the need to reform our antiquated system has been willfully ignorant. Other jurisdictions with MMP have governments that are very stable and effective. Fringe parties almost never hold the balance of power.

For a paper that purports to support the little guy, the disenfranchised and the weak, your opposition to a voting system that would ensure all Ontarians have a voice in the legislature and that voters' wishes at election time aren't distorted by an archaic system is truly disappointing.

As such, I have cancelled my subscription to your paper. I will no longer give money to a newspaper that's willing to misinform readers on crucial public issues.

Sincerely,
Matt Guerin

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Modernized voting system has deck stacked against it

Capital Xtra, serving Ottawa's LGBT community, published this article by reporter Laura Mueller this week on the referendum debate.

Here's an excerpt:

"Despite the doom and gloom perspective extolled by critics of MMP, history has shown that minority governments have been good for queer rights — a Liberal-NDP coalition added sexual orientation to the Ontario Human Rights Code in 1986. And let's not forget that minority governments at the federal level gave us universal health care, old-age pensions, and unemployment insurance among other popular legislation.

"Nathan Hauch, longtime political activist, says that minority governments limit the ability of social conservatives to scale back gay rights.

"The politics of divide and conquer, which can have very negative ramifications for [queer] voters, will be far less attractive for political elites" in minority governments, says Hauch."

Monday, September 24, 2007

Tequila

A hilarious spoof produced in the same vein as American drug commercials. Thankfully, such commercials are banned in Canada. I found Tequila very helpful getting over Outremont last week (just kidding ;-))

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Rick Anderson: CBC Newsworld

The Chair of the Vote For MMP campaign in Ontario, Rick Anderson, appeared last week on CBC's Politics. Anderson speaks eloquently about the referendum campaign and why Ontario voters should choose the Citizens' Assembly's recommendation for change on October 10th.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Filipino prisoners exercise/dance/re-enact Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video

One of the strangest, most interesting things I've ever seen on Youtube. There are other videos of these prisoners doing other routines, including "I Will Follow Him," from Sister Act.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

The Chaser's War on Everything - Terrorist security response


I'm really beginning to wish we had this Australian show available on regular cable in Canada. These guys are funny. Here is a segment which examines how security responds to an American tourist recording a video as opposed to someone dressed "slightly differently". They pulled off a similar stunt today in Sydney at the summit of leaders from Pacific Rim countries with a motorcade using Canadian flags (we're flattered) and someone dressed up as Osama bin Laden. I'll post a video of that when it becomes available.

Friday, August 31, 2007

First Gay Couple Legally Married in Iowa

The march toward equality for LGBT citizens continues in the United States.

This is a huge victory for equality in that country. Congrats to the couple who was married today as a result.

I hope and pray this good decision holds up under the inevitable appeal to Iowa's Supreme Court.

**********UPDATE*******************

About 20 gay couples had applied for marriage licenses by 11 a.m. today when the Polk County Recorder announced that she had been instructed to stop accepting the applications. Recorder Julie Haggerty said the instruction came from the county attorney's office after Polk County Judge Robert Hanson, the same judge who threw out the ban, verbally issued a stay of his ruling at the county's request pending appeal. Equality under the law can be truly fleeting, can't it?

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Miss Teen South Carolina explains flubbed answer to geography question

After being stumped by a Miss Teen USA pageant question on live television Friday night, Lauren Caitlin Upton's strangely hilarious response has been drawing a lot of attention on YouTube. I posted a link to it yesterday.

The 18-year-old got a chance to redeem herself this morning on NBC's "Today" when she was again asked why one-fifth of Americans can't locate the United States on a map.

"I would love to re-answer that question," Upton said.

"Well personally, my friends and I, we know exactly where the United States is on our map. I don't know anyone else who doesn't. And if the statistics are correct, I believe there should be more emphasis on geography."

Click here to read the whole Yahoo News story.

Monday, August 27, 2007

MONDAY CHUCKLE: Miss Teen USA 2007 clip - South Carolina contestant answers a question

This was too precious not to post. I'm sure South Carolinians can be proud of her for other reasons.

Dan Leger on Truro Pride: Discrimination illegal, even for pastors, politicians

Halifax Chronicle-Herald columnist Dan Leger weighed in today with this excellent opinion piece, "Discrimination illegal, even for pastors, politicians" on the ongoing controversy surrounding the Town of Truro's refusal to fly a Pride flag.

I hadn't heard that Truro mayor Bill Mills had further stoked the hateful fires by comparing gays and lesbians to pedophiles. I agree with Mr. Leger that "that’s the kind of odious comparison that veers pretty close to hate speech."

Saturday, August 25, 2007

More on Truro Pride

The folks with Truro Pride in Nova Scotia have filed a human rights complaint over the Town of Truro's refusal to fly the rainbow flag.

Charles Thompson, with Truro Pride, said the discrimination complaint centres on the fact the town council has agreed to fly flags for other community organizations and groups.

Earlier this month, Truro mayor Bill Mills refused to fly the gay pride flag at city hall for this month's local celebrations, saying doing so would promote a lifestyle that conflicts with his religious views - and most of the town's council backed him.

"There are writings in the book of Romans chapter one, to name a few - basically I have to go with that conviction, and I know it's not a popular one," Mayor Mills told the press.

Congratulations to the members of Truro Pride for standing up for their rights.

I wrote about this issue earlier this month. Public officials who have used their religion to discriminate against LGBT citizens in the past have found they were in the wrong.

On the issue of homosexuality, religious extremists have been in the wrong for centuries. The tenets in mainstream religions against homosexuality are some of the worst examples of abuses of religious power in history (along with the mistreatment of women and many other groups who have suffered under the abuses of religious authority.)

Canada is a secular country where the division between church and state is clear and important. History has taught us of the dangers of mixing religion with politics.

First and foremost, religion is a personal matter. Everyone is free to have their own private, personal beliefs. We are a pluralistic society.

Faith should be private. It should inform individuals on how best to live their own lives and how to treat those around them (hopefully with respect and dignity).

But when faith inspires the believer to impose discrimination and suffering on other people who don't share that faith, as is being done in this instance, that's when religion has gone too far.

Religious freedom is not about using one's position of civic power to impose one's moral beliefs on the entire community. Religious freedom is about allowing every person to believe what they believe. Religious freedom means no one religion is superior to any other faith or belief system.

For too long, so-called religious people have used their faith to deny the basic humanity of LGBT individuals.

There are some people who believe public officials have no obligation to respect the rights of all the citizens they serve, just those who hold similar religious beliefs.

This is nonsense. Public officials must represent all people. I hope this human rights complaint is successful.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Stop SPP Protest - Union Leader stops provocateurs?

Kudos to Dave Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, for ordering three masked men back from a line of riot police in Montebello, Que. on Monday.

About 1,200 protesters were in the small town near Ottawa as Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon at a two-day summit to discuss issues under the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America pact.

This is the video that was posted on Youtube on Tuesday, which includes Coles confronting the mysterious masked men.

As you can see, three burly men covering their faces push through protesters toward a line of riot police. One of the men has a rock in his hand. As they move forward, Coles and other union leaders dressed in suits order the men to put the rock down and leave, accuse them of being police agent provocateurs, and try unsuccessfully to unmask them. In the end, the masked men squeeze behind the police line, where they are handcuffed.

"The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union believes that the security force at Montebello were ordered to infiltrate our peaceful assembly and to provoke incidents," Coles told reporters on Wednesday.

Photographs of the masked mens' and police officers' boots taken during the handcuffing, in which they appear to have identical tread patterns on their soles.

He also questioned why other activists have been unable to identify the three men whose images have been broadcast worldwide and demanded to know who the masked men were.

"Do they have any connection to the Quebec police force or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or are they part of some other security force that was at Montebello?" Coles asked, adding that he wants to know how the Prime Minister's Office was involved in security during the protests.

He suggested that the government might want to provoke violence in order to justify its security budget for the summit and discredit protesters.

"They want to defuse our questions...by trying to make it look like some radical group trying to create a confrontation," he said.

The RCMP has refused to comment, while Quebec's provincial force has flatly denied that its officers were involved in the incident. It said it is not releasing any names as no charges were laid.

If true, why do I get the feeling that Harper and Bush would approve of this type of police action?

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

The Handsome Grooms



Wow! A very nice wedding photo of newlyweds Scott Brison (right) and Maxime St. Pierre has emerged online.

They both look radiant, as guest Frank McKenna commented on the weekend. They make a very cute couple. Congrats again to them both.

Monday, August 20, 2007

NY recognizes Canadian same-sex marriages

Greats news out of New York state last week with this court ruling.

If the ruling holds up on appeal, it will mean for all practical purposes, same-sex marriage is legal in the state of New York because people can easily cross the border to get married, say observers.

Flirting with a Westboro Church man

I thought I'd post a couple of great Youtube videos today concerning the religious extremists who attend protests carrying signs that read 'God Hates Fags'. Check out this great Australian broadcast segment.

Westboro Baptist Church Extremists Getting Hated On

Congrats to this dude with the video camera. Very amusing and appropriate. I entirely agree it's really sad these extremists bring their kids to these hateful protests. Truly sad.

Friday, August 17, 2007

First teenage same-sex kiss on daytime American TV


Gay male fans of daytime TV finally got a piece of the action today. History was made on 'As The World Turns' today as the characters Luke and Noah (played by Van Hansis and Brad Silbermann) got a chance to finally kiss. I missed it, but this 'Entertainment Tonight' preview story shows us plenty. Congrats to the show, the actors and to CBS.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Why are Pro-FPTP supporters misleading Ontario voters about MMP?

As some of you may have noticed, the debate over Ontario's historic referendum on fixing its antiquated voting system (First-Past-The-Post versus Mixed Member Proportional) has started in earnest in the blogosphere.

I'm a big supporter of electoral reform, have been for years. FPTP has always disturbed me by the way it distorts the wishes of voters at election time.

Under FPTP, one party that wins, say, 40% of the vote can typically walk away with a majority government for four or five years. Even more disturbing, First-Past-The-Post has a history of handing the second place party a victory. This happened with the PQ in Quebec in 1998, the NDP in British Columbia in 1996 and the Liberals in New Brunswick in 2006.

It's difficult to listen to pro-First-Past-The-Post supporters argue about the importance of democratic representation when they themselves are supporting the current system which frequently distorts voters' wishes at election time.

Furthermore, it seems pro-FPTP supporters are now engaging in a campaign of misinformation about Mixed Member Proportional (no doubt to confuse voters into keeping the status quo.) This in unfortunate.

The NoMMP.ca website uses the following statement: "Who exactly do these list MPPs represent? MMP has no real answer. They sort of do not represent anyone, which means that there is less accountability and weaker democracy in Ontario."

Under the Citizens' Assembly proposal, so-called list MPPs (I prefer calling them province-wide candidates) will be elected province-wide. They will serve the entire province, not just one constituency. In addition to having local representation in one of the 90 constituencies under MMP, voters will also have 39 additional province-wide representatives to whom anyone in Ontario can turn for assistance. This is more representation, not less.

Check out this letter to the editor by MMP opponent Edelgard Mahant in the Cambridge Times.

In it, she writes: "The number of constituencies will be reduced to 90. This means that for people living in medium and small towns, such as Cambridge, their local MPP is likely to be far away and will not have time for their problems. And the 39 list MPPs in this model will mostly come from large urban areas, severely hurting rural areas."

Mahant has no problem stating as fact that province-wide candidates will mostly come from large urban areas. This is an absolute falsehood. She has no idea where most list candidates will come from. The MMP proposal leaves it up to parties to decide how to pick their province-wide candidates, creating a healthy competition between them to create the best list. But Mahant doesn't mind painting a false picture designed to mislead voters about MMP.

Liberal blogger Scott's DiaTribes had a great post on this issue when the NoMMP.ca campaign was launched.

In it, Scott wrote: "I am sorry to see that “No MMP” is resorting already to fear and smear. They are certainly within their rights to charge or to say they fear something COULD happen under MMP. but for them to come out and assertively say it WOULD happen, as they’ve done here with their opening press release, is a falsehood. I certainly hope this opening appalling statement isn't indicative of a pattern, and that they will at least try to be more honest in their arguments from here on in."

I couldn't agree more, Scott. Unfortunately, based on what we've seen thus far from the pro-FPTP folks, I'm not optimistic.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Speaking of SSM: Another openly gay Liberal set to wed


Another openly gay, high-profile Liberal is about to tie the knot.

Nova Scotia Liberal MP Scott Brison is set to wed his partner Maxime St. Pierre this weekend at a private ceremony at Mr. Brison’s Hants County home.

Former PM Paul Martin reportedly will be there, as will Lib­eral Leader Stephane Dion, NHL Hall of Fame goaltender and ex-cabinet minister Ken Dryden and former New Brun­swick premier Frank McKen­na.

However, these details aren't confirmed by the grooms themselves. Mr. Brison’s staff won’t re­veal any details of the event and has sworn guests to secrecy. Mr. Brison’s office has de­clined comment on the wed­ding.

There's nothing wrong with a little privacy. If anything, it counters the assertion from some anti-gay folks that we homosexuals simply love flaunting our lifestyle inappropriately.

Brison has always had a very sensible approach to being "out of the closet." He's never made a big deal out of it, describing himself not as a gay politician, but as a "politician who happens to be gay."

He once told The Canadian Press that he would rather his marriage plans we­ren’t newsworthy at all. “I’m looking forward to the day when the idea of a gay or lesbian poli­tician getting married is not a story at all," he said.

But for now, it's cause for more celebration. When any two people can commit themselves to the important institution of marriage, it's a great day indeed. Congrats to both Scott and Maxime! All the best!

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Why is Margaret Somerville so obsessed with attacking same-sex marriage?

Renowned McGill ethics professor and same-sex marriage opponent Margaret Somerville once again got an opportunity today to publish on the subject of same-sex marriage with her Globe & Mail column, "If same-sex marriage, why not polygamy?" Here's the link.

Now allow me the opportunity to respond to Somerville's flawed logic.

Somerville correctly states that both same-sex marriage and polygamy deviate significantly from the traditional, one-man-one-woman definition of marriage.

But they deviate in different ways. Same-sex marriage differs from traditional marriage based on the gender of the individuals involved.

Polygamy differs from traditional marriage based on the numbers of the individuals involved.

So yes, same-sex marriage and polygamy are different from traditional marriage, but different for very different reasons. Follow me?

But using Somerville's flawed reasoning, this means both same-sex marriage and polygamy are hopelessly wrong and must not be allowed (albeit, Somerville has used different reasons to reach these conclusions.)

This is phony reasoning. Our society has the right to change the definition of marriage to accommodate same sex couples and, in doing so, end the gender-specific requirements of the traditional definition.

This does not necessitate that we do away with the numerical requirements of the institution as well - namely allowing more than two people.

This may be the case in Somerville's mind, but in reality this is not true. It's sophistry.

It's like saying "All life is sacred, therefore all killing is wrong." But killing is an inevitable aspect of war, and most agree that sometimes war is necessary, therefore killing in war can be justified, unlike say killing for sadistic pleasure. But using Somerville's reasoning technique, both killing in war and killing for pleasure deviate from the original maxim that "All life is sacred". Both are equally wrong. We'd therefore have to conclude that killing in war is unacceptable. Any deviation from the original maxim cannot be tolerated regardless of the unique circumstances and reasons for the deviation.

In the past, Somerville has warned that same-sex marriage jeopardizes children's rights to be raised by and to know their biological parents. I've never been able to understand exactly how a same-sex couple's ability to marry somehow caused other children never to know their parents.

To understand where Somerville is coming from, it helps to understand that much of her work has been anchored in Catholic natural law tradition.

On this issue, she has always struck me as someone who established her conclusion first (same sex marriage is wrong based on my religious beliefs) and then went about creating arguments that backed up that conclusion.

Using the "children" argument, as she does, has a special amount of sentimentality as it tugs at the heartstrings of most parents. "Your children are threatened by homosexuals," is Somerville's basic message. Where have we heard that one before?

By disallowing same-sex marriage in law, the country was discriminating based on sexual orientation, which was banned under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

By disallowing polygamy, no one is facing discrimination, as far as I can tell. The ban applies to everyone.

There are some, including Somerville, who argue that the ban on polygamy could be a violation of the Charter's freedom of religion provisions. The only way to find out for sure is for individuals in polygamous marriages to take their cases to court and fight for their rights, just as gays and lesbians were forced to do.

After assessing the other crucial issues at stake, like the inherent oppression of women in polygamous marriages, intergenerational abuse, brainwashing, etc., would the Supreme Court rule that laws banning polygamy are a violation of freedom of religion and therefore must be struck down? We can only speculate. Based on previous Supreme Court rulings, I find it hard to believe they would rule in such a way. But of course that is an argument for another day.

Somerville has been on a mission for years arguing against equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians. She's travelled hundreds of miles to appear before numerous parliamentary committees, written countless papers and columns (and is still writing them), given speeches. All to argue that the rights of same-sex couples to equal marriage somehow violate a child's ability to know his or her parents.

Why is Somerville so obsessed with attacking same-sex marriage? Are there no other ethical issues that need attention? I guess only Somerville knows for sure.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Stuck in the Dark Ages in Truro, N.S.


Just when you thought we were alive, well and living in 2007, we get an awful reminder from out east that queer folk remain quite unwelcome or unappreciated in some parts of Canada.

The story this week about Truro, Nova Scotia mayor Bill Mills (pictured) is truly disturbing. Truro is a town of about 45,000 north of Halifax.

Mills refused to fly the gay pride flag at city hall for this week's celebrations, saying doing so would promote a lifestyle that conflicts with his religious views - and most of the town's council backed him.

"There are writings in the book of Romans chapter one, to name a few - basically I have to go with that conviction, and I know it's not a popular one," Mayor Mills told the press.

Wow, to hear a public official make such a statement in 2007 in Canada! Your religious views allow you to discriminate against other human beings?

The mayor insisted, as a Christian, he has a right to his opinions, and he stands behind his decision.

"The mayor of Truro has embarrassed a lot of Christians by interpreting the bible in a very unfavourable way," said Rev. David Fletcher, an Anglican priest. "If we want to shout bible passages back and forth, my bible bullet would come from Galatians in Chapter 3, where St. Paul says that in Christ, there is no more exclusion."

This whole thing reminds me of Toronto in the 1980s when former mayor Art Eggleton refused to proclaim Gay Pride Day in Canada's largest city. Toronto's Gay Pride, which now brings millions into the city in tourism dollars every year, wasn't officially sanctioned by the city until Eggleton left office in 1991.

The same thing happened in London, Ontario in the 1990s where former mayor Dianne Haskett seemed to have difficulty leaving her religion out of her politics. Many Londoners believed her religious views against homosexuality influenced her decision to refuse to recognize Gay Pride in her city.

Richard Hudler, president of the Homophile Association of London, Ontario (HALO), filed an official complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission in 1995 against Haskett and London City Council. In 1997, the Commission ruled that the City of London and Mayor Haskett had discriminated against HALO in the provision of a municipal service. Both the City of London and Haskett were fined $5,000.

Can a city or town refuse to proclaim a service (such as officially recognizing Gay Pride Day) because of the religious beliefs of council members?

Well, legal precedent clearly indicates a loud 'No'. This is Canada where public servants are supposed to respect the rights of all, not just those who share their religious views. We are a pluralistic society where respect for diversity is supposed to be paramount, or so I thought. I also thought most people, even the religious, recognized the importance of the division of church and state.

Apparently not in Truro, Nova Scotia. How shameful, indeed.

It's great to see that this ill-advised refusal by council has inspired a huge backlash in the community.

I'm sure this isn't the last we've heard of this story.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Hearty congrats to George Smitherman and Christopher Peloso


I just wanted to send out a hearty congratulations to both George Smitherman and Christopher Peloso on their wedding yesterday.

George is my MPP and I'm proud of his successes as our riding's representative at Queen's Park and as Minister of Health in the McGuinty government since 2003. We look very much forward to many more years of excellent representation, George.

All the best to you both!

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

U.S. gay website names five hot Canucks


Okay, enough of the serious stuff. Today I came across this nice article by John Kennedy in the Ottawa Citizen entitled, "Gay website names five hot Canucks".

The website in question is of course the popular AfterElton.com. They came up with a top 100 hotties list that gay men everywhere can enjoy.

It's hilarious there was little congruence between AfterElton's list and People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive. George Clooney came in at No. 92, Brad Pitt was ranked No. 12 (okay, well-deserved) and Matthew McConaughey made it to the No. 38 spot. Tom Cruise not only didn't make the list -- he didn't earn a single vote.

It seems straight women and gay men continue to differ somewhat over what constitutes male beauty. Only Brad Pitt ranks highly with both groups.

At the top of the AfterElton hot list is American heartthrob Jake Gyllenhaal (pictured). I couldn't agree more. I've been in love/lust with Jake for years, long before Brokeback Mountain came out.

But the five Canucks on the list are quite deserving, in my opinion: Vancouver's Ryan Reynolds, 30, placed No. 6 on the list; London, Ont. native Ryan Gosling, 26, came in at No. 24; Keanu Reeves, 42, who was born in Beirut, but raised in Toronto, made the list at No. 62; Transamerica star Kevin Zegers, 22, ranked No. 70, followed by Montreal-born diver Alexandre Despatie, 22, at No. 73.

Congratulations, gentlemen!

Monday, July 16, 2007

We need more integration, not segregation in Public Education

I'm a product of the Roman Catholic Separate School System. Both of my parents worked as teachers in that same system (although neither of them actually taught me, although my father did supply teach in a few of my high school classes.)

I spent my high school years in the closet. They were horrible years, as you can likely imagine. However, I can't honestly say that my high school experience was any worse than most students.

I would describe most of my Catholic teachers as very progressive. Not once do I recall any teachers standing in front of class to proclaim that 'homosexuality was a sin.' In fact, I recall the opposite. One family studies teacher once specifically encouraged a class to respect gays and lesbians. Homophobia was no worse in my school than any public school, from what I have gathered.

Another phys-ed teacher in my Catholic high school once warned students that women have the right to choose whether or not to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Incidentally that phys-ed teacher was one of the few teachers in our school who wasn't actually Roman Catholic.

Obviously, Catholic education was far more enlightened, at least at my high school, then you might imagine.

Most of my teachers adhered to the principle that they are there to enlighten and educate, not indoctrinate. In fact, the only times I remember being told what to believe were on visits from the Bishop or during one of the more unpopular school masses. And even then few students listened. Theology classes in high school became places to question one's faith.

Roman Catholic immersion was much stronger, at least in my memory, in the primary grades where First Confession and First Communion were integrated into the class curriculum. Even Confirmation in Grade Eight was emphasized. But in high school, there was little evidence that our Catholic schools were in fact much different from public system schools, except for maybe the uniforms.

In fact, my high school had a reputation of being a drug haven, although I confess I never experimented with narcotics until university. In high school, I had known some Protestants who went to other schools, but I rarely associated with them.

Once I left the Catholic system and enrolled in secular University of Guelph, it was then that I understood what I had been denied in the Catholic system.

I remember sitting at a library computer in first year when the young man next to me started chatting with the girl next to him. The subject of religion came up and he mentioned that he was "Jewish." That was the first time I had actually found myself this close to someone Jewish - age 19.

I'm sure this might sound absolutely astonishing to people who went through the public education system. Sure I was taught by both my parents and all my Catholic teachers that anti-Semitism was wrong. But that lesson had always remained theoretical. I had never known anyone who was actually Jewish. The same goes for anyone Muslim. I have since made many Jewish and Muslim friends, I'm proud to say.

The true diversity of Ontario had been denied to me. Instead, I came to look at my primary and secondary education as quite sheltered.

I have since made up for this, of course, in my adult life. But I've always felt that there was something inherently wrong with this type of segregrationist approach to teaching young people.

The constitutional right held by Catholics to their own "Separate School System" is a throwback to a bygone era. It reflects an approach to education that is inherently flawed.

Sure it is unfair to provide public funding to Catholic schools, and not to other religious schools.

But the solution is clear: end funding for Catholic schools, not make the problem even worse by further institutionalizing segregation. Ontario needs to follow in the foot steps of other provinces and publically fund one education system for all.

Parents who choose to shelter their children and hide them from the world in segregationist systems can do so, but not on my buck.

Until the province does the right thing and integrates our public education systems, we have to live with the status quo of two public education systems in Ontario, one for Catholics and one for everybody else.

Faith is a personal matter best left to the home and to places of worship. Not the classroom.

With his plan to further segregate public education in Ontario, John Tory is very, very wrong. This is probably the best reason to keep John Tory in opposition, in my humble opinion. Dalton McGuinty's policy on this issue is to be commended. While he may not agree with me (at the moment) that we need to have one public system for all, at least Dalton is not willing to make the problem even worse.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Happy Pride Weekend to Everybody!


When gays and lesbians took one day this year to celebrate their lives in Moscow (after that city's bigoted mayor tried to stop them), they got attacked by neo-Nazis and other bigots and Moscow police did almost nothing to help. In fact, they let the neo-Nazis go and instead arrested many of the gay marchers.

Pride marchers in Jerusalem got stabbed by a Jewish Orthodox nut in 2005. This year, Jerusalem police had to arrest another extremist religious nutbar who was carrying a small bomb near Jerusalem's Pride parade.

If we needed any more proof of the evils of extremist religion, we got it. Any religion that inspires you to take this kind of violent action against your fellow men and women can only be described as toxic.

One must never buckle under and give in to these kinds of hateful threats. I congratulate those who are brave enough to show their pride despite such evil bigotry present in their own city and country.

We have it so lucky here in Canada. Our beautiful reputation of support and openness is now paying off tourism-wise at a time when we really need it.

I will be out celebrating this weekend with my partner. If you're in the Toronto area and have never attended a Pride parade, I suggest you consider coming downtown on Sunday afternoon to Bloor and Yonge - you will have loads of fun, I promise.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Friday, June 8, 2007

Isaiah Washington fired from 'Grey's Anatomy'

I'm not a regular watcher of the ABC drama 'Grey's Anatomy.' But I got acquainted with the show last fall when the controversy involving actor Isaiah Washington blew up into the open.

Washington got into a physical altercation on the set with show star Patrick Dempsey in which Washington apparently uttered the words, "I'm not your little faggot like T.R."

'T.R.' was of course Washington's co-star on the show, T.R. Knight.

T.R. Knight, an affable and attractive actor, who seems like a very nice guy as far as I can tell, felt compelled to come out of the closet publicly as a result of the incident. "I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me," Knight said at the time.

Washington faced no reprimand for the altercation. Months later, backstage at the Golden Globes, he uttered the homophobic slur again in response to a question on the incident. In front of his co-stars including Knight and the international media, Washington waltzed up to the microphone in response to a question on the backstage fight and said he never called T.R. a 'faggot.'

To deny he used the slur, he used the slur.

A huge public backlash ensued. Calls for Washington to be fired from the show got very loud. Washington went into major damage control mode. He apologized profusely. He even went to some kind of rehab program.

I don't know about you, but I've never heard of any kind of anti-homophobia re-hab program. Washington's frantic response was impressive, but unconvincing.

If a co-worker of mine had gotten into a violent confrontation in my workplace and uttered "I'm not your little faggot like Matt," I can attest that the workplace would have been sufficiently poisoned so that continuing to work professionally would be greatly challenged.

Washington's actions no doubt poisoned the workplace environment for T.R. as well as the rest of his castmates. He simply had to go.

Today, ABC made it official. Isaiah Washington won't be returning to the show next season.

His statement sent out today through his publicist seems to confirm the man's strangely irrational mindset (which got him into this mess in the first place) is still anything but cured.

"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore," is all Washington has to say with regard to his departure from the show.

He's not going to take it anymore? What does that mean? I don't know about you, but this statement conjures up images of Washington returning to the Grey's set in the near future with a machine gun. I certainly hope not, of course.

Sunday, June 3, 2007

'When Tolerance Becomes Dangerous'

An excellent article appears in the Toronto Star today by Farzana Hassan, president of the Muslim Canadian Congress, entitled, 'When Tolerance Becomes Dangerous.'

In it, Hassan makes a simple but often forgotten point: in our rush to accommodate various conflicting minorities, we frequently abuse, "the principle on which pluralism is based – one that acknowledges diversity, but after an agreement has been reached on what is civil, just and compassionate."

Over the last few months we've seen increasing conflict over the acceptance of cultural practices at odds with mainstream Canadian culture, especially in Quebec.

I've been conflicted myself on this very issue. As a homosexual, I'm a minority and will always be vulnerable to the impulses of the majority, rational or irrational. I used to buy into the philosophy of cultural relativism, where no one can assume that the culture in which they live is superior to any other. This was the basis of queer liberation in my mind: sure most people are heterosexual, but I'm not. The standards by which you judge yourself as heterosexuals cannot be applied to me as my experience and my sub-culture is fundamentally different.

But I've moved away from this kind of thinking in recent years. By this argument, I cannot criticize other cultures or religions that would oppress, even kill, gays and lesbians in other parts of the world. I would have no moral leg to stand on when criticizing the terrible homophobia on display in Russia recently, for example.

Instead, I think I now agree with much of what Hassan and many others argue. We must respect pluralism, and to do so that means we acknowledge diversity, but only after all show respect for what is civil, just and compassionate.

I also liked one of Hassan's last points in her article: "Last but not least, as we proceed with a redefinition of cultures and societies and the place of multiculturalism in them, let us not forget to invoke the compassionate elements of religion that foster love, peace and understanding, as well as forgiveness for transgressions."

Just because organized religion can be used in the most heinous and inhumane ways, we ought not throw the baby out with the bath water.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Gay bars that discriminate; Poland and the Teletubbies; Gaynewswatch.com

There's a strange controversy brewing in Montreal over a gay bar that apparently bars women from entry. This story is similar to another from Australia in which a gay bar won the right to exclude heterosexuals from its premises. Personally I've never been comfortable with the idea of banning anyone in such ways. I don't feel uncomfortable hanging out in a gay club if women or heterosexuals are also present. I'm sure most gay men would agree with me, at least when it comes to a regular pub or club. Plus such discrimination sends out a hypocritical message: how can we demand others end discrimination against gay men when we're guilty of it ourselves?

This is a delicate issue as there are some reasonable examples of discrimination out there. Gay strip bars routinely bar women except on special women's nights. Many gyms cater exclusively to women and bar men from entry. Sexually active gay men can't donate blood to Canadian Blood Services.

Is this story such a big deal? Probably not, except that it gives anti-gay bigots extra ammunition to justify their continued calls for discrimination against gays. Their excuse will be, 'Hey gays discriminate so why shouldn't we?'

************

A hilarious story from Poland about Tinky Winky and his alleged homosexuality seems to have been resolved. Polish child rights ombudsman Ewa Sowinska mused recently the popular U.K. children's show 'The Teletubbies' promoted homosexuality. Sowinska's fears mimicked those of the late Jerry Falwell, who made similar comments in 1999. But now Sowinska admits her fears have been allayed by one of her country's leading sexologists.

"The opinion of a leading sexologist, who maintained that this series has no negative effects on a child's psychology, is perfectly credible," she said in a statement today.

All parents in Poland I'm sure will be very relieved.

************

There's a new one-stop website for queer news junkies. Chris Crain, the longtime editor of the Washington Blade and six other gay and lesbian publications, recently announced the launch of GayNewsWatch.com, which promises a compilation of news, entertainment and viewpoints of interest to lesbians and gay men, mostly from an American perspective, but also containing many other international stories. It'll certainly be worth checking out on a regular basis.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

30 Years of Star Wars; John Tory courts 'Friends of Dorothy'

Lots of talk about how Quebec Premier Jean Charest is about to fall on his tax-cutting sword in this weekend's papers. I'll leave comment about that to other folks, except to say that I think if Charest finds himself defeated in the Quebec National Assembly over his budget, it's probably best for Mario Dumont's ADQ to be asked to form a government rather than force another election so soon after the last one. Plus it would be amusing to watch Dumont struggle with his caucus of amateurs deal with governing a real province.

But my mind is instead on the movies this weekend.

It's been 30 years this weekend since I was a five-year-old boy enjoying the very first Star Wars movie. I still have clear memories of my first screening, including the gibberish scrolling upwards on the screen at the beginning of the movie. I was five so of course was not yet able to read. My dad next to me whispered in my ear, "It's a dark time in the universe, someone has stolen the plans to the Death Star, Princess Leia is racing back to her home planet..."

I still remember the light saber scene between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi and how shocked I was to see Kenobi let Vader strike him down. And how relieved I was seconds later when Luke could hear Kenobi's voice from beyond telling him to run.

I was hooked. I've been a Star Wars fanatic ever since, as I'm sure you can tell. This film changed movie-making probably forever. I aspire to such greatness in my own budding career.

Also on the subject of films, it seems Ontario PC Leader John Tory will be attending a special screening today at Toronto's Inside Out Gay & Lesbian Film & Video Festival. I read this story in today's Toronto Star, but can't find the online equivalent for some reason. This is Tory's attempt to court the likes of people like me, the 'Friends of Dorothy.' (Although 'Friends of Dorothy' has usually only been used to describe gay men, as far as I can tell, I'm sure Tory wants both gay and lesbian votes.)

It's true this is a nice change from previous Conservative leaders like Mike Harris and current PM Stephen Harper, who wouldn't be caught dead publicly acknowledging the existence of gays and lesbians. On that front, I'm pleased that Tory is so open-minded. I do think his openness is genuine.

The problem is that Tory leads a party that is still, at best, indifferent and, at worst, hostile, to urban/queer issues, and the arts in general. Such a visit to Inside Out has huge symbolic value, but I'm not sure what this means in real terms. It's an election year so it's easy to be cynical about such gestures.

After all, the bulk of the Ontario PC caucus remains a rural rump which includes the likes of Bob Runciman and other leftovers from the Mike Harris era. Added to the Tory slate recently was none other than rural extremist Randy Hillier, running for John Tory's party in Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, who has long attacked what he calls, "multiculturalism, urbanization, and absolute cultural tolerance."

What's this "absolute cultural tolerance" Hillier is talking about? I wonder what Hillier thinks of Tory's attendance at Inside Out today. I'm sure he won't have too many nice things to say in private, that's for sure.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Why won't electoral reform work, Richard?

It's hard to return to work after a glorious and relaxing long weekend.

It's even harder to open the Toronto Star and read drivel like this.

Richard Gwyn never explains why electoral reform won't work. He also never explains why he's chosen to reject Dalton McGuinty's Liberals in this fall's provincial election in Ontario. He's not voting for the Tories or the NDP either.

If this article represents the best the anti-electoral reform naysayers can come up with, then we're in good shape for real change come this October's referendum.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Tinky Winky Breaks Silence On Jerry Falwell


Moving words this morning from Tinky Winky on the passing of his arch nemesis Jerry Falwell this week. Very well spoken, I must say.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Opponents of 'list MPPs' should get educated before attacking...

I've been a huge advocate for electoral reform for years. Seeing majority governments elected with far less than 50% of the vote has always made my blood boil.

There's something perverse about how status-quo-lovers will defend the current 'first-past-the-post' system. Most point to the alleged 'stability' the current system brings. I'm quick to remind such people that the PQ got an extra five years in power in Quebec after winning less support than the Liberals in 1998 (43% to 44%.) How did our current system produce a more 'stabile' country in that case?

MMP, or Mixed-Member-Proportional, where the make-up of legislatures actually resembles the wishes of the electorate, seems to be the best alternative to our current system. It preserves the best of our current system, allowing for local representation, while bringing in an element of proportionality.

But there has been much talk about the proposal's use of so-called list MPPs to top up party results to ensure party representation roughly matches its popular vote (provided the party wins more than 3% of the vote.) Parties that win fewer seats among the 90 ridings in Ontario than their vote would allow them will be topped up by a number of list-MPPs to ensure they are adequately represented.

This element will likely be the biggest stumbling block to getting the MMP proposal approved in this October's referendum. It is controversial, but it represents the best alternative to our unacceptable status quo, in my opinion.

We are already hearing warnings from electoral reform doubters about list MPPs.

However, most of the naysayers have displayed little understanding about how list MPPs will actually work in practice. Take for example this Chatham Daily News editorial. The newspaper frets that party leaders and cabinet ministers would seek refuge from the electorate by putting themselves on these party lists rather than run in ridings.

However, based on how list MPPs will actually be chosen, this fear is unfounded. List MPPs will almost exclusively be opposition MPPs, not government MPPs.

Under Ontario's proposal, winning parties will likely win more of the 90 ridings than their popular vote would allow them overall, as per usual. Thus the party forming the government would be allowed few, if any list MPPs to top up their legislative representation.

Instead, opposition parties would grab most if not all list MPP positions.

Perhaps this will be a built-in check and balance on list MPPs as most will simply be stuck in opposition.

Parties that look well-positioned to form a government in future elections will suddenly find their lists unattractive to prospective candidates as those list candidates will almost surely fail to get into the legislature via the list.

Instead, those ambitious folks will have to seek an actual riding in which to run if they wish to participate in the government. Ironically, parties that look certain to lose elections will have the easiest time attracting quality folks to their lists, although those list candidates will seem destined for opposition.

Thus party leaders and prospective cabinet ministers will have to run in a riding if they want to have a chance to be in the government.

This is going to be a very interesting debate and I look forward to future posts as the issues begin to heat up.

Sunday, May 6, 2007

The fate of Andre Boisclair

I've been a keen observer of Parti Quebecois leader Andre Boisclair's roller coaster leadership, mostly because Boisclair is the first openly gay leader of a major political party, at least in North America.

His fall from grace has been largely predictable. Even during the 2005 PQ leadership race, in which Boisclair gave up a promising career on Toronto's Bay Street (strange career move for a Quebec separatist) to run for his party's top job, he showed poor judgment and an inability to connect well with ordinary people.

I wrote a handful of articles about Boisclair that year for Toronto's Xtra magazine, an English-language gay and lesbian bi-weekly. It seemed at that time that Boisclair's support was largely based on the false assumption that electing such a cool/edgy/gay, cosmopolitan and youthful leader, the PQ would open itself up to a new generation of voters. (Plus Boisclair's opponents simply weren't all that great.) PQ party members ignored the controversy over Boisclair's use of cocaine while serving as a cabinet minister in the 1990s, as well as his amateurish reaction to the controversy, shutting down scrums, hiding from the media, refusing to take interviews or criticism.

It now seems clear that Boisclair was completely wrong for the job. The reasons for his failure to connect with Quebec voters were multi-faceted, mostly a combination of Boisclair's arrogance and obvious political immaturity. But his open sexuality was also a factor. His appearance in a tasteless 'Brokeback Mountain' TV parody last fall merely confirmed his poor judgment, and reinforced his gay "ickiness". In the end, he was too 'Montreal' to sell in the Quebec hinterland.

I am certain that Boisclair's homosexuality had much to do with his inability to connect with ordinary Quebecers. It seems the general public needs little reason to fail to connect with political leaders from outside the typical mold.

White, male, heterosexual, conventional leaders normally are cut much more slack than leaders who don't embody these normalities.

If Stephane Dion were gay, he would be finished as a leader (who are we kidding, if Dion were gay, he would never have been elected leader of the federal Liberal Party.)

Like numerous female leadership candidates or other leaders from outside the traditional norm, Boisclair failed because he was not perfect. Boisclair wasn't a walking disaster during the recent Quebec election campaign, but that didn't matter. References to 'family values' by both Quebec Premier Jean Charest and ADQ leader Mario Dumont in their campaigns helped reinforce the subtle point that Boisclair simply wasn't an ordinary Quebecer.

Boisclair's homosexuality simply irritated a large number of heterosexual Quebecers. Add to this Boisclair's leadership shortcomings and the PQ had a disaster in the making. They're lucky they got 28% of the vote.

Of course, most Quebecers, like most Canadians, would never admit they wouldn't vote for someone because they're gay. When confronted with open homophobia, Quebecers and other Canadians typically give a knee-jerk reaction like, "Of course I'm not homophobic."

The election of PQ MNA Sylvain Gaudreault in Jonquière is an interesting case. Gaudreault, like his leader, is openly gay. A local radio shock jock, Louis Champagne, attacked Gaudreault's homosexuality on the air during the campaign, saying factory workers in the Saguenay would never vote for a "tapette," the French slang equivalent of "fag." Champagne suffered a huge backlash for his comments, and in the end local voters proved him wrong by giving Gaudreault a local victory.

At times, voters will go out of their way to prove the bigots wrong.

But when unchallenged, or when given no particular reason to favour a gay candidate, it seems voters will gravitate more to straight leaders or candidates.

It seems that Boisclair's leadership was doomed from the very beginning. I'm sure many PQ supporters will take a collective sigh of relief when he is finally removed (or quits) and is replaced by a more "normal" leader like Gilles Duceppe.