Thursday, April 16, 2015

Revenge Of A Duff

"Huffy Duffy sat on a wall
Huffy Duffy had a great fall
All the PM's lawyers and all the PM's men
Couldn't stop Huffy Duffy from blabbing again."

The main city courthouse is here on Elgin Street, sharing the property where one also finds the Heritage Building and City Hall buildings. Criminal and civil cases are heard in this modern nine story building, and this is the first time I've featured it by itself- it has appeared periodically in other posts at a distance, particularly from the other side. 

In Canada, television cameras are not permitted in courtrooms, so we'll never see the sort of farce that one gets in a so called trial of the century with grandstanding lawyers and a washed up football player accused of double murder infesting the airwaves. Though I imagine the story of the Brothers Ford of Toronto may yet one day involve Rob Ford in an SUV freeway chase with his brother Doug at the wheel, the former mayor smoking crack and screaming at a 911 dispatcher over the phone to tell the police to leave him alone.


Anyway, I digress. There is a trial going on here at present, the trial of a suspended senator, one Mike Duffy, appointed by the Dark Lord to the Senate. He fudged some expenses (particularly some travel expenses and the whole matter of where his primary residence is) and accepted a bribe to cover his expenses. From the former chief of staff of the aforementioned Dark Lord (otherwise known as the Prime Minister). Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister, who happens to be the most paranoid control freak micro manager to ever occupy that office, claims he had no idea this happened. Yeah, right. 

The press media cameras are posted outside the entrance on Laurier Avenue each day. Reporters are inside attending the trial. Anytime anyone related to the trial comes out, the circus of cameramen follow them down the street asking questions. Such is the case below, as I was downtown the other day, photographing a round of this. First Baptist Church and the Lord Elgin Hotel, there on the corner of Elgin and Laurier, bear witness to this circus unfolding regularly through the day.


These two wait for the rest of the circus to come back. Senator Duffy (Puff Duffy to his home boys) may be a pompous blowhard and something of a villain in all this, but there's the feeling that he's been thrown under the bus by the PM, and he might be out for some payback. If by chance the Duff ends up bringing out enough political ammunition to bring down the Prime Minister... well, for once in his life, he'll have done the country a service.

And even if it's not quite enough to destroy the Dark Lord, the trial is still throwing a lot of mud on the control freak (hi, Stevie, am I on your Enemy List yet?). And that's a very good thing.




35 comments:

  1. It will be interesting to see how this turns out...

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  2. The important thing is that justice prevails.

    Tomás.

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  3. The building looks a bit like an austere bunker :) but I suppose it's fitting. Love your Humpty Dumpty rhyme!

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  4. There is a lot going on there in Ottawa and politics I see.

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  5. i wish that happened in the states. i think it is usually the judge who decides. a lot of more famous or maybe the better word is in the news cases are not allowed to have the news folks in the court rooms, i kind of think it is better for all people, wonder why it is not the norm. keep things normal or more quiet. reminds me of one case not in VA. i think it was GA that the judge is a real weirdo ... i would prefer not to see that. would rather hear it just on the new not see his silliness. love the city shot. city thing or whatnot. very cool. ( :

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  6. Aha! You have some of the same political craziness we experience here. But you could have at least kept Mr. Cruz behind your borders! That building is very impressive ... a huge WWII bunker! Serious bizness going on there!

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  7. How crazy it all is. They say the person to satch is whazzisname who wrote the cheque. My brain is failing, but you know who I mean. Sleazy dealings...

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  8. You should have set this one to music...from Star Wars!

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  9. puff duffy, hahaha ..that is funny! you could use this for the may theme day!

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  10. The story and the building are fantastic, but obviously they are both real, and quite common around here too!

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  11. @Cloudia: thanks!

    @Halcyon: it might take awhile. They're talking about the trial going into June.

    @Tomas: I certainly hope so.

    @Ciel: from this side it does have a bunker sort of feel to it.

    @Marianne: there is no shortage of politics here.

    @Beth: I think taking cameras out of the courtroom is best.

    @Lowell: we don't want Teddy Cruz!

    @Jennifer: yes, Nigel Wright. One wonders why he wasn't charged with offering a bribe (pressure from the PM's office, no doubt)...

    @Norma: The Imperial Theme fits the Dark Lord rather nicely.

    @Tanya: I could have! I wonder what the Duff would think of being called Puff Duffy.

    @VP: we have a federal election coming up in the fall. If this trial blows up enough in the Prime Minister's face, it could finish him off.

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  12. Oh good heavens, I thought that kind of scandal only happened here! It does happen here all too frequently.

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  13. I can hear that Star War theme playing. Darth Vader is making an entrance.

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  14. you always make me laugh with your venomous political rants. :)

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  15. Ah me. Can't get away from those stupid, criminal politicians.

    I must say, your courthouse looks rather like a prison!

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  16. Another hilarious political rant. LOL! :)

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  17. @Linda: this one's a juicy one.

    @Birdman: Darth Harper qualifies for the theme.

    @Tex: I like ranting!

    @Cheryl: it does, at that.

    @Linda: thanks!

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  18. Ah, well. As long as there are politicians there will be corruption.

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  19. Your points are well taken and describe the conditions very well. I'm afraid all these thugs will get off with little harm. We'll never get to the bottom of this one with all the fiction being spouted.

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  20. I don't know enough about this case to give an opinion. But in general it's the same false game politicians play everywhere, I think.

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  21. I had a feeling this was where you would be going today!

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  22. I hope that at least what's going on behind closed doors results in justice, circus or not outside.

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  23. The things I miss blogging from a small town on a small island are events like this, something a little newsworthy. On the plus side, I don't. Politicians the world over appear to have common denominators. The shot of the media circus sums it all up perfectly.

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  24. Political intrigue everywhere it seems.

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  25. @Revrunner: and the thing I didn't add- Duffy was once a reporter. He'd have torn a politician to shreds back in the day over something like this.

    @Red: I suppose in the end this might come down to a slap on the wrist.

    @Jan: there's an expression: politicians and babies should be changed often, for the same reason.

    @RedPat: I figured since I was in the area anyway, why not photograph the festivities?

    @Kay: at least dignity is maintained in court here.

    @Jane: it does seem a bit silly to be chasing people who are probably just going to get some lunch.

    @Denise: indeed!

    @Geoff: Churchill had it right: democracy's the worst form of government, except when you count all the other kinds.

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  26. we will never ever know what really went on.......

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  27. Grand building. What? You mean Canada has wacky reporters just like the U. S.? What happened to the staid English type?

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  28. I agree with Mari and her comment about the reporters. One reason why I don't have television in my home.

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  29. I believe the original Humpty Dumpty poem was also political satire.

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  30. Poor politicians, they are always caught by surprise, they never knew what was going on, their consciences are always clean... I can't stand them any longer!!! Former IMF director and vice-president of the Spanish government was arrested in Spain yesterday. Former Portuguese PM is behind bars. And many many more should join them. I hope they all pay all they have done to the people.

    Great building by the way!

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  31. It certainly will be interesting where this trial takes us. Already the trial will go longer than predicted. It's amazing how no one did anything wrong and how no one knew about either. ;))

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  32. Trials have become prime time entertainment, it seems.

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  33. @Gill: unfortunately not. I still think Duff's an incompetent blowhard.

    @Mari: actually most of our reporters are pros. On occasion we get a pundit who's a pompous ass.

    @Randy: I avoid watching television news.

    @Linda: that wouldn't surprise me.

    @Jose: I'm long since glad that Harper has gone out of power.

    @EG: it was quite a circus, this one.

    @Jack: this one was.

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