Not wanting to bad mouth the Daily Bread Food Bank because I've volunteered and worked with them in the past and they do amazing work, but Daily Bread definitely knows which side of the toast is buttered. Being essentially a Liberal run organization (the last two executive directors were Liberal MP Gerrard Kennedy and Kennedy campaign booster Gail Nyberg), it is often out of step with other anti-poverty groups and often the first to lend some credibility to the Ontario Liberals' disingenuous attempts to deal with housing and poverty.
Note the political mileage that Gerrard Kennedy has extracted from sitting as ED of the Daily Bread Food Bank. Sitting on a board usually means very little, but for Kennedy it has enabled him to masquerade as an anti-poverty activist and extricate votes from "progressive" swing voters.
Still, hat's off to Daily Bread which despite being hijacked by Liberals keeps equality and justice alive. Pretty much my feelings about democracy. Despite neoliberals (Conservatives & Liberals) best efforts to either pervert or mitigate it, a democracy of the people will prevail.
Update:
"Michael" is such a compassionate man of the people; not an elitist bone in his body (unless you're Ukranian but that's a story for another day). For a more kindhearted advocate of the poor and downtrodden, perhaps only..... Gerrard Kennedy.
Update:
"Michael" is such a compassionate man of the people; not an elitist bone in his body (unless you're Ukranian but that's a story for another day). For a more kindhearted advocate of the poor and downtrodden, perhaps only..... Gerrard Kennedy.
As well, for all you social conservatives don't fail to notice that Michael & Zsuzsanna are well suited to your nukelar (cf. Dubya) family values discourse. One "Hail Mary directed at "progressives"; one "Our Father" aimed at social conservatives (I mean, Ward, June, and Wally Cleaver- don't think "the Beav" can vote yet).
No counterspin needed, the recent spin attempts unwind themselves.
4 comments:
Being essentially a Liberal run organization (the last two executive directors were Liberal MP Gerrard Kennedy and Kennedy campaign booster Gail Nyberg), it is often out of step with other anti-poverty groups
I'm curious: how is it "often out of step with other anti-poverty groups?"
Very simply whenever the McGuinty Liberals roll out some affordable housing or anti-poverty initiative one can count on Sue Cox or Gail Nyberg cheerleading the Liberal plan. Most people believe they are hearing an unbiased or unmotivated response to Liberal policy from people associated with The Daily Bread Food Bank, when in fact, it is a deeply partisan voice. See a previous post:
http://actsofcitizenship.blogspot.com/2008/09/toronto-star-should-be-ashamed.html
Most activists that I know recognize McGuinty's response to the need for affordable housing and the fight against poverty for what it is: much like his nod to democratic renewal, it is nothing but lipservice.
Have you ever been in charge of anything?
I'd be curious to find out, as well, if you've ever addressed your complaints about the Daily Bread Food Bank directly, being an "activist" and all.
Ti-Guy,
First, regarding your little jab at my using the word activist. Be heartened, I would include you amongst activists: thinking, engaged citizens rather than passive parrots of party line.
Regarding Daily Bread, I haven't ever approached the administration because gratefully the "activism" is not reducible to rich spoon fed guilt-ridden undereducated golden boys in suits sitting as executive director. Yes I'm referring to Gerard Kennedy around whom this blog will increasingly revolve. The activism comes from the effort of the thousands that donate their time, talent, and treasure. Daily Bread does great work! It could do better if it divested itself of its indebtedness to Liberal Party.
Worse still, and what I really object to, is the likes of Gerrard Kennedy extracting some much political capital while doing so little- kind of like Ignatieff pretending to roll up his sleeves and care about the poor when he mostly cares about the photo op and the image it might help shape. I'll be perfectly honest, politically speaking, little upsets me more than when those most disadvantaged are duped by the politically powerful (i.e. when the working poor, when new Canadians, when the poverty stricken, the marginalized, and in my riding, when "progressive" women, who abandoned Peggy Nash, vote Liberal thinking they are voting in their best interest, but are instead simply being manipulated by power).
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