OOOOOOOOOO. We're baaaaad.
Or rather, nas-tay.
The Winnipeg Free Press, also known as The-Newspaper-That-Dares-Not-Print-Our-Name, didn't do it again Sunday.
When The Black Rod sparked a national firestorm of commentary in 2008 by reporting on former CBC radio host Lesley Hughes' flirtation with 911 conspiracy buffs, FP reporter Bruce Owen, sent scrambling to match us, attributed our scoop to "a local blogger", while FP columnist Dan Lett said it came from "a Manitoba blog."
We don't know if it's a promotion or not to be alluded to Sunday as "nasty bloggers". (The Blogosphere is so confusing.) It sounds sexy though.
It was in a story headlined 'Gender May Sink Judy: Expert', where University of Winnipeg poli-sci prof Shannon Sampert was quoted arguing that Judy Wasylycia-Leis had a built-in excuse for losing the mayoral election (if she does)---she's a woman and society has got it in for women in politics
"Judy has had a phenomenal career. She isn't a political neophyte. And yet, nasty bloggers are saying she hasn't had a real job when I think being a politician is a job," she told the annual Prairie Political Science Association on Saturday.
Uh, that's us, the "nasty bloggers (who) are saying she hasn't had a real job." We've been reporting that from Day One.
http://blackrod.blogspot.com/2010/05/judy-wasylycia-leis-and-vision-thing.html
http://blackrod.blogspot.com/2010/01/free-press-junk-journalism-touts-poll.html
Sampert, a typical man-bashing seventies-style feminist, actually thinks politician qualifies as a real job.
Let's see....
A politician doesn't have to do anything, say anything or have any skills. He can have the most reprehensible beliefs (hello, 911 Truthers) and still be elected.
A politician can lie (Glen Murray promised not to sell Winnipeg Hydro), cheat (the NDP's 1999 tax-rebate scheme), and bribe (JustJudy promises seniors they won't have to pay property taxes) his way to office.
A politican isn't "hired". He or she acquires a paycheque by winning a lottery we call an election. If his opponent quits, dies or gets the boot from a political party (hello Lesley Hughes), then he gets to "win" by virtue of being on the ballot.
In office, a politician has to do only one thing---take an oath--- and, presto, he/she's paid.
A politician doesn't have to represent his constituency, despite our form of government, (representative democracy). He can vote the exact opposite of what he campaigned on. He doesn't even have to vote on anything. He can't be called into the boss's office or fired.
A politician, once elected, is not accountable to the people in his riding. He has to run for reelection in four years if he wants to keep the job. But we didn't win Friday's Super Seven draw and we have to wait an entire week before we can try again, so what's the difference.
JustJudy, as she wants to be called, has never in her adult life collected a paycheque that didn't come from her political party, the NDP, or some affiliate. Her entire "career" consists of being an NDP puppet, doing the bidding of the party regardless of the best interests of her constituents. She's been told what to do, what to say, when to vote and when not to vote.
Her skills are obeying the party line. And that qualifies her to be mayor?
Sorry, Shannon sweetie, we don't think so.
And who's that hottie standing next to you in the picture in the newspaper? (Shannon's PhD thesis supervisor, Linda Trimble, a University of Alberta political science professor and fellow hardcore feminist...ed.)
For newcomers, check out our first exposure to Shannon Sampert, in 2006 when she started attacking Mayor Sam Katz.