...ASTROTURF!!!
Last night, looking at the slimmed-down list of groups named in the complaint against Justice McLachlin, I got interested in "United Families Canada". UFC got my attention because it didn't appear to have a website or anything else to prove its existence, other than some text in the banner of the "Restore Marriage Canada" website, and this, on the RMC "About Us" page:
"The Canadian affiliate of United Families International" -- is that so? Well, that's funny because "United Families Canada" isn't even listed on UFI's "Affiliates" page:
In fact, I combed the UFI site and couldn't find "United Families Canada" listed anywhere at all. The closest thing is in the UFI's "Projects" category, where "Restore Marriage Canada" is listed. And of course, as mentioned previously, "Restore Marriage Canada" claims to be a project of "United Families Canada". And around and around and around it goes, where the bullshit stops, nobody knows.
When the obfuscating crap is pared away, there are only two players here: a US group, "United Families International", and one of its projects, "Restore Marriage Canada". (Why the state of Canadian marriage would be any concern of a US group is another story.) There is one person, Jill Cahoon, who calls herself "president of United Families Canada". There's a PO box for UFC in Aetna, Alberta. On the Canada Family Action Coalition's "Defend Marriage"astroturf list contacts page, "United Families Canada" is listed with Ms. Cahoon's home phone number in Tofield, Alberta.
I've been unable to find any members of "United Families Canada" other than its president... probably because it isn't a group at all. It's one person who copy/pastes newsletters from the US group "United Families International" on the "Restore Marriage Canada" website, which itself is a project of the aforementioned UFI:
and for that she gets the honour of calling herself "El Presidente". In fact, the only proof that "United Families Canada" even exists, is that Ms. Cahoon says so...
...and, well, given the truthiness track record of Rushfeldt's 42 groups™©®, I'm afraid that's just not acceptable. Certainly not if it's to be named in something as serious as a complaint against a Supreme Court Chief Justice. What do they think this is, friggin Amateur Hour? This is serious fuckery. "United Families Canada" should therefore be struck from Rushfeldt's list of groups, and at best, replaced with the name of an individual person, Ms. Jill Cahoon.
Yo, buckets: did you say "25"? How about 24??
UPDATE: And another one's gone and another one's gone... "Take Back Canada" isn't a group or even a person fer fuck sake, it's just a website. I'm sure some douche runs it (the "Stop The HRCs" banner looks, um, familiar), but Whois didn't reveal any information. Therefore, chop chop! Off it comes! What have we got now, 23?
UPPERDATE: Goodbye, North Shore Pro-Life (or "Right to Life", with the same address and phone number it's all good), subsidiary of Pro-Life BC, provincial affiliate of Life Canada. And then there were 22... will we make it down to HALF? Stay tuned...
"The Canadian affiliate of United Families International" -- is that so? Well, that's funny because "United Families Canada" isn't even listed on UFI's "Affiliates" page:
In fact, I combed the UFI site and couldn't find "United Families Canada" listed anywhere at all. The closest thing is in the UFI's "Projects" category, where "Restore Marriage Canada" is listed. And of course, as mentioned previously, "Restore Marriage Canada" claims to be a project of "United Families Canada". And around and around and around it goes, where the bullshit stops, nobody knows.
When the obfuscating crap is pared away, there are only two players here: a US group, "United Families International", and one of its projects, "Restore Marriage Canada". (Why the state of Canadian marriage would be any concern of a US group is another story.) There is one person, Jill Cahoon, who calls herself "president of United Families Canada". There's a PO box for UFC in Aetna, Alberta. On the Canada Family Action Coalition's "Defend Marriage"
I've been unable to find any members of "United Families Canada" other than its president... probably because it isn't a group at all. It's one person who copy/pastes newsletters from the US group "United Families International" on the "Restore Marriage Canada" website, which itself is a project of the aforementioned UFI:
and for that she gets the honour of calling herself "El Presidente". In fact, the only proof that "United Families Canada" even exists, is that Ms. Cahoon says so...
...and, well, given the truthiness track record of Rushfeldt's 42 groups™©®, I'm afraid that's just not acceptable. Certainly not if it's to be named in something as serious as a complaint against a Supreme Court Chief Justice. What do they think this is, friggin Amateur Hour? This is serious fuckery. "United Families Canada" should therefore be struck from Rushfeldt's list of groups, and at best, replaced with the name of an individual person, Ms. Jill Cahoon.
Yo, buckets: did you say "25"? How about 24??
UPDATE: And another one's gone and another one's gone... "Take Back Canada" isn't a group or even a person fer fuck sake, it's just a website. I'm sure some douche runs it (the "Stop The HRCs" banner looks, um, familiar), but Whois didn't reveal any information. Therefore, chop chop! Off it comes! What have we got now, 23?
UPPERDATE: Goodbye, North Shore Pro-Life (or "Right to Life", with the same address and phone number it's all good), subsidiary of Pro-Life BC, provincial affiliate of Life Canada. And then there were 22... will we make it down to HALF? Stay tuned...
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