Response from Carolyn Parrish, MP Canada

I received a response today from C. Parrish of the Canadian Government after we sent her our thoughts concerning her yet another verbal blast at the American government and/or its people.

Thank you for your email on Missile Defence/“Idiots” statement. We received over 7000 letters & emails and therefore cannot respond to them individually.

If your comments were positive: They were generally based on a fear of missile defence for a variety of sound and thoughtful reasons, a respect for free speech or an understanding that Canada was well down the path toward signing on to this fiasco without a thorough public debate. You obviously recognize I was not criticizing American citizens as a whole, I was in fact criticizing politicians on both sides of the border who were blindly committing to such an outrageous proposal! For your support and kind words, I sincerely thank you.

If your comments were constructively critical: I appreciate your arguments and points of view. The basic arguments presented were: a) The language used was hurting the cause b) The U.S. deserves complete support because they’re our main trade partner or c) The U.S. defends us and ensures our safety.

a) The language used was perhaps bold, but it expressed an honest frustration at the lack of attention Canadians were paying to such an important issue, allowing it to slip “under the radar” of public debate. I offer no apology for passion or moral indignation.

b) Our trade partnership with the U.S. is reciprocal and interdependent. Trade did not end when Canada refused to enter the war in Iraq. My off-the-cuff comment will have no effect on trade.

c) Based on the serious criticisms of hundreds of scientists, scholars and former U.S. military personnel, one must conclude that the missile defence system, as proposed, will not work. You can’t “shoot down a bullet with a bullet.” It will challenge our mutual enemies to develop more exotic missiles and therefore accelerate the arms race, making us an even greater target for terrorists.

If your comments were crude, vile or threatening: I offer no response. Thank goodness you were part of a very small group.

For those that naively believe that Canada would never join such an enterprise, consider the words of former Defence Minister David Pratt…

“In light of the growing threat involving the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction, we should explore extending this partnership to include co-operation in missile defence.

We should continue to explore appropriate technical, political and financial arrangements related to the potential defence of Canada and the U.S. against missile attack… Our staffs should discuss ways in which Canada could contribute to this effort.”

For more information and the truth about missile defence, please visit my website at www.carolynparrish.ca

************************************************** Right - Carolyn - til next time you can't avoid your potty mouth.

Stupid bitch.

If ONE nuclear missile is ever stopped by such a missile defense system, it would be worth it.

The notion that to be safe, a country must leave itself open to nuclear missile attack, is patently absurd.

You can't trust Tyrannical regimes like Iran, North Korea, etc. What planet does this stupid slut live on?

My apologies for any offensive language...

funny how she automatically assumes one would take precious time out of his or her day to respond to her rants about missle defense. Apparently it did not occur to her that what really upset most of us is the gall she has in referring to GWB voters as "out of step with the rest of the world". Here's my email to her -- obviously no where near as creative as Doug's response!

Dear Ms. Parrish,

Nothing gives me and many of the 59,291,175 voters who re-elected George Bush greater pleasure than being out of step with you and your whiny, liberal compatriots north of the border (and that is not meant as an insult to most Canadians who we know have more common sense). It apparently has not occurred to you that when we go to the voting booth to choose our president we put the best interests of our country and its citizens ahead of the interests of terrorist appeasers such as yourself and citizens of other countries. In fact, I'd go so far to say that many of us view a vote for GWB in the face of "70% international support for John Kerry" as a badge of honor. Why would we care after all what percentage of non-Americans support either candidate?

We are dumbfounded by your elitist, intellectual "superiority" but I wish you luck in your future political career (seems you will need it). I suggest you mind your own business next time around and stick to commenting on Canadian elections as I can't remember the last time we Americans meddled in one of your elections. And by the way, I'm sure the likes of George Soros and Michael Moore were very heartened by your comments. Perhaps you could invite them to live in your guest house for the next four years and expedite their visa applications which are sure to arrive shortly.

Yours in democracy.

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