Sunday, November 12, 2006

Republican Runs In London Byelection


Dianne Haskett claimed she moved to Washington for her daughters sake. In reality she went to hone her skills as a neo-con Republican.

Of course Washington has more private schools than London Ontario does, so she was able to kill two birds with one stone. In this case she not only sent her daughter to a Christian private school but got on the board as a Trustee.

Haskett's role as a trustee of Trinity Christian School in Fairfax, Va. -- in subuurban Washington, where the former London mayor has been living -- and her past assertion she can't separate her religious beliefs from her politics. Children at Trinity, the alert from the Walker camp, noted, are taught creationism, while Darwin's theory of evolution is debunked.

She was also a trustee at the Trinity Christian School in Fairfax, Virginia, where the upper-level reading list prescribes that students read Charles Darwin's The Origin of the Species -- the blueprint for the theory of evolution. The book is "essential reading in order to better understand the mindset of those who profess no faith in Christ and creation."


Now she is running for MP in the London By-election. She has two American elections under her belt as a rightwing republican policy wonk. Of course being well versed in Republican talking points may be why the Conservatives have shut her up during this election.

Her communications director is currently employed by the Federal Government which begs the question what the hell is he doing working at taxpayers expense in a partisan election campaign?

Ryan Sparrow, who has worked in media relations for Stephen Harper and federal Environment Minister Rona Ambrose;Sparrow has been limiting media access to Haskett, suggesting media requests don't match her availability.


Of course this not the first time this bigoted right winger has used the Silence Is Golden tactic.

Byelection candidate has sport with Tory rival

The Liberal candidate in a federal byelection has launched a backhanded appeal on behalf of his Conservative counterpart, who he says is being "unfairly muzzled."

Dianne Haskett, 51, is an accomplished politician who served London as mayor for six years before moving to Washington in 2000, where she did volunteer work for Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole. She is also an evangelical Christian who attracted a human rights complaint in the mid-1990s when, as mayor, she refused to sanction a gay pride parade in London.

A request by The Canadian Press for an interview with Haskett, as part of a riding profile, was rebuffed earlier this week after her campaign sought the request in writing. Haskett, a former two-term London mayor, has not granted an interview to national media since entering the race late last month

And the Tories are hoping for a win so they can have another vote against Same Sex Marriage. And she of course will support the current attack by the Harpocrites on the Judiciary in Canada.

And what about the Tories concern about Canadians with Dual Citizenship? I guess that only applies to Lebanese Canadians not American/Canadians like Haskett. Mind you they did pay to airlift her out of Washington to parachute her into the London By-election.

Contradictions abound within the Haskett mindset, she is a Monarchist who supports Republicans. Mind you that is no less a contradiction than this description of her politics;
Ms. Haskett is a right-leaning liberal and religious evangelical -- a member of the largest United Church in Canada, Metropolitan of London. She considered running federally for the Liberals and, at one point, cautiously investigated becoming a part of whatever was to come out of the United Alternative. The UA of course was the move to merge the Reform Party with the Conservatives. Liberal, Reformer, Republican, Tory, opportunist.

Dianne Haskett - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

After Haskett's second, three-year term as mayor expired in December of 2000, she, her husband and daughter moved to Fairfax, Virginia, working with two D.C. area law firms in planning and implementing strategic business development and providing assistance in their immigration and estate planning work. Haskett completed her second Master's Law Degree in the Spring of 2005 from The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C.. She also passed the Washington D.C. Bar exam and was sworn in as an attorney and member of the DC Bar in December, 2005.

Haskett has also been involved in a number of other projects in the Washington, D.C. area, including speechwriting, research and marketing and acting in an advisory capacity in Senate and Congressional campaigns. She worked as a communications adviser and researcher for Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole.[3] She is a member of the Board of Trustees for the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy in Washington, D.C. and of Trinity Christian School of Fairfax, Virginia.


Tory byelection candidate tied to U.S. faith-based diplomacy group

The Conservative candidate running in next month's Ontario byelection spent part of the last six years on the board of a group that promotes the "reconciliation principles of Jesus" as a means of resolving international political crises and advocates the U.S. government create the post of "religion attache" to help defuse sectarian conflict around the world.

Dianne Haskett, the former mayor of London, Ont., was a board member of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, a Washington-based, inter-faith organization that seeks to "live (Jesus') example by linking religious reconciliation with official and unofficial diplomacy in addressing ethnic conflict, tribal warfare," according to a website describing the group.

It has urged the U.S. State Department to "elevate the consideration of religious factors in foreign policy" by attaching American religious leaders to embassies in the Arab world, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The group believes conflicts are increasingly rooted in religious differences, and need a religious approach.

"Religion's importance will only continue to increase in response to the growing threat to traditional values posed by economic globalization and ... the revolutionary pace of technology change," wrote Douglas Johnston, the group's founder. "To underestimate these realities in the formulation of U.S. foreign policy is to tempt the gods, so to speak."


Richard Hudler v. City of London & Mayor Dianne Haskett

Board Decision - October 7, 1997

Key Words: Services; Sexual Orientation; Direct & Indirect Discrimination; Discretion

The complainant brought a complaint, on behalf of himself and the Homophile Association of London Ontario (HALO), against the Mayor of London, after she refused to grant a municipal proclamation of . Pride Weekend. in July, 1995. The complaint alleged discrimination with respect to services because of sexual orientation. The complaint also alleged discrimination by the City of London when City Council failed to grant the proclamation in the face of the Mayor's refusal.

The Board of Inquiry found that the Mayor and City Council discriminated against the complainant and HALO. The Board concluded that the Mayor did not issue the proclamation because the request came from a group whose membership identified themselves as gay and lesbian. The Board also found that the Mayor's policy, which refused to grant proclamation based on . sexuality. , had a differential impact on the gay and lesbian community. The Board refused to employ s. 2(b) freedom of expression Charter principles to insulate the Mayor's actions from scrutiny, and dilute the purposes of the Code. The Board awarded the complainant $10,000 in damages, holding the Mayor and the City jointly and severally liable. In addition, the Board ordered that the City proclaim any future requests for Pride Day/Weekend, and make a commitment to investigate ways of fostering improved relations with the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual communities of London.



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1 comment:

  1. They excuse it by saying he is a 'vounteer'. Which again begs the question did he take a leave of absence, I think not since he has been quoted in the press speaking for Rona Ambrose. And it shows that Haskett is not just a Parachute candidate but a hand picked candidate by the PMO.

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