Thursday, February 25, 2010

Off the deep end...again

Seriously guys, if you don't read Geoff Meeker's blog, then I just don't know what to do with you. He's also been on a serious roll the last few days and this post has been getting some national attention. Basically it's describing how Premier Williams and his staff are, once again, blackballing the CBC because a guest on a panel mentioned that the premier is divorced.

This is not exactly earth-shattering news in the province. Hell, I was going to do a blog post on it a couple of years ago, but ran the idea past a few friends of mine in the NL blogging community. Every one of them said it was a bad idea, that things were still too raw, that there was too much malicious gossip kicking around over what was happening and it was simply best to avoid those waters.

Remembering what happened with things started going weird in Brian Tobin's marriage, I heeded their advice and steered clear of the subject. I thought then it was fair game. He's a public figure. Just about anywhere else in the world the leader of a province/state/country divorcing from his wife is a story. In Newfoundland and Labrador? Not so much.

I don't understand what the big deal is, really. My parents are divorced. Best thing that ever happened to them. They're still great friends. I believe the stats saying something like 40 per cent of all Canadian marriages end in divorce. It sucks. It happens. However, this isn't the 1920s where it was scandalous. Every single one of us has multiple family and friends whose marriages have failed.

However, the premier has to make this a big deal. The CBC has dared, years after the event happened and that it's common knowledge in the province, to speak of it. And for that they get their access cut off to the premier.

For fuck's sake.

I'm pissed that this is something like the 100th time the premier had decided that he has been so massively publicly slammed that clearly he must thermo nuke a media outlet. For that matter I'm pissed that more local media don't stand up and tell him to, cordially, pretty please with sugar on top, go fuck yourself Mr. Premier.

Craig Westcott, as he so often is, hit one point right on the nose....Christ I miss Michael Harris. He would not have let this shit stand.

And yes, I'm cursing a bit in this post. And yes, I know this upsets some people, but the premier just frustrates the hell out of me sometimes. How he handled the issue with his heart and now this. For such a smart man his ability to just go crazy over silly crap is unsurpassed.

And yes, I said I would stop banging my head against the wall. But I guess the wall just looked to alluring this evening.

Last Five
1. The escapist - Coldplay
2. Strange love - Slim Harpo
3. Lost tonight - Liz Phair
4. This land is mine - Dido
5. We can work it out - The Beatles*

9 comments:

WJM said...

Just about anywhere else in the world the leader of a province/state/country divorcing from his wife is a story. In Newfoundland and Labrador? Not so much.

At least, not now, not this Premier.

WJM said...

The CBC has dared, years after the event happened and that it's common knowledge in the province, to speak of it.

Actually, the CBC did no such thing.

A guest on a CBC program did.

Megan said...

Very odd.

Geoff Meeker said...

Thanks Craig. This post has generated thousands of hits, due to links from bourque.com (I am not responsible for that headline!), nationalnewswatch.com and a trending topic on twitter. The national media saw what was going on and, quite rightly, played up the story to demonstrate how the premier's tactics can backfire. The local media? Barely a peep. And that's unfortunate.

The Perfect Storm said...

Imagine ol' Pierre Elliot Trudeau doing as much in his day. Clearly some are cut out for the very public role of political leadership and some are not.

Poor Danny brings a degree of tomfoolery to the job not equalled by any other Premier in our Dominion as of late - and that says a lot. After all, when you can make Dalton look good in comparison you really have your work cut out for you.

Hmmm...on the other hand now that I think about it, would any of you be willing to trade, straight up - Danny for Dalton?

We could even throw in the Maple Leafs....oh...wait. How about options on a future economic boom instead? Huh...thought so - Ontario isn't going to be looking into the eyes of one of those for another 5 years.

Despite Danny's idiosyncrasies, he’s starting to look better and better...

Regards,
etc.

duende said...

"Just about anywhere else in the world the leader of a province/state/country divorcing from his wife is a story. In Newfoundland and Labrador? Not so much."

I would say that's a good thing. What, in gods name, do someone's marital status have to do with how they run a province? Its none of my business and its none of yours. Because someone is an elected official, does not mean every aspect of their life is for you to pick apart or criticize. The fact that media outlets try to make it a story means they're too lazy to find real news, and have to drop in "filler" stories like this to pass the time with no care for who it affects. Worry about what he does in office, not what he does at home.

Anonymous said...

kary - Reporting something, or merely making mention of something as a fact does not equal "picking apart or criticizing" it.

Sara Dorman said...

Kary, this would never have been 'a story' if the premier hadn't reacted to a simple comment in such a fashion. He's got no one else to blame here.

WJM said...

The local media? Barely a peep.

Has there been a peep at all?