FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

May 22

Why People Have Become So Reliant On News And Opinion Via Twitter?

by bcurry

Let’s face it, many of the 140-character “tweets” by individuals seem inane. Why would Twitter users want to read short messages about what someone ate for breakfast or lunch?  It’s a reasonable question.  However, people like President Trump seem to understand that social media has become the nervous system of the American news business and political thinking. With one or two tweets, Trump can dominate cable TV, the web, newspapers and talk radio for an entire day.

The attention span of the average American and Canadian is about a few minutes before they need to skip to the next social media excerpt. The need for brief releases proved very successful during Trump’s campaign when he cultivated a Twitter fan base.  His core of supporters continue now  to hang on to his every tweet as if it were gospel.  In turn, the main stream media is forced to pay attention to President Trump’s tweets which have now become part and parcel of our daily news.  However, his continued use of Twitter has proven to be much more than a mere annoyance to Trump’s advisors and staff, since they must regularly respond to each nonsensical tweet by clarifying what the President actually meant to say in the tweets.

Now, we have Twitter co-founder Evan Williams apologizing for the fact that Twitter may have helped Trump become President. You see, Twitter tends to penalize nuance and moderation, while rewarding hot takes and bombast.  Twitter was intended as a research tool to allow individuals, governments and business share information and opinions about products and services through social media.  However, like any new technology, the Internet and Twitter can also be abused by anyone to put out “fake news” or spew hate and falsehoods instantaneously anywhere in the world.

Evan Williams is correct in suggesting that Twitter can create more problems than solutions, but he may be giving social media too much credit. I would suggest that the fact that over fifty percent of Americans and Canadians get their news from social media, their blind acceptance of such news and opinions without further investigation is the real problem.  One 2012 study further revealed that 51 percent of people age 25 to 34 use social networking at the office – more so than any other age group. Doesn’t look good for future generations!

I personally gather my information for my blogs from reputable news sources which are normally peer reviewed for their facts and accuracies. Without journalistic integrity, who is really to blame if individuals simply accept opinions or arguments put forward in tweets and social media as valid and truthful?  Like anything else, it’s buyer beware.  For all you know, one might be providing you with a bill of goods, biased and filled with falsehoods.  I also keep my blogging to four or five short paragraphs in recognition of our brief on-line attention spans.  Given Trump’s limited attention span, Twitter certainly appears to have been made for him.

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May 15

Increased Lack of Ethical Conduct Among North American Corporate Leaders

by bcurry

During the past couple of years, I have been closely following the scandal rocking Volkswagen over its falsifying of pollution emission data for its diesel vehicles. In January of this year, six men were formally charged by the U.S. Department of Justice, accused of defrauding the United States and Volkswagen customers there, of violating the Clean Air Act and of committing wire fraud.  More charges could be in the offing.  European authorities are also considering the prosecution of VW executives with respect to the cover up and organized deception carried out over several years. The VW scandal is just the latest in a growing list of scandals going back to Hollinger, WorldCom, Lehman Brothers and of course Enron at the turn of the century — to name only a few.

When it comes to unethical conduct by corporate leaders, the VW case is only the tip of the ice berg. A recent study by Price Waterhouse Cooper indicated that there has been an increase in Chief Executive Officers (CEO) in the U.S. and Canada leaving their position due to scandal or improper conduct.  Improper conduct by a CEO or other employees is defined as including fraud, bribery, insider trading, environmental disasters and sexual indiscretions. Not only is this a North American concern, as the above study looked at ethical lapses by CEOs of the world’s 2,500 largest companies. They found that the issue is indeed global in extent. Furthermore, bigger companies were found to be more likely to force out a CEO over an ethical lapse.

What does this say about the ethics of leaders in the business world? How best can ethics and professionalism be taught in business schools and within companies? There is obviously a concern given that courses on corporate ethics are now being given in some of our top universities and colleges, something unheard of a decade or two ago.  Indeed, such teachings are even more important given the expanded definition of what comprises unethical or improper conduct.  It’s simply not good enough for companies to have written codes of ethics in place, they also have to be enforced from top to bottom in organizations.  Boards of directors and independent bodies have to be more accountable for ensuring that business is being carried out in a proper and ethical manner.

If the work of the private and public sectors is carried out in an unethical manner, we all suffer as clients and citizens. Indeed, it is incumbent upon our national leaders to lead by example.  They must represent the best of our societal values and act as role models for current and future generations of leaders.  Otherwise, we’re all in serious trouble.  We expect and deserve ethical conduct by our Presidents and Prime Ministers, State Governors and Provincial Premiers and other high level public officials.  They need to set the proper tone for ethical public and corporate leadership in our two countries.

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May 6

‘Trumpcare’ Danger Is What It Takes Away From Existing Health Insurance

by bcurry

Any politician worth his or her career will tell you that the hardest thing to do in government is to take away what currently exists in law or programs that affect their constituents. Obamacare was often seen as a ‘band-aid’ solution to long-standing problems with health care coverage in the U.S., either private or public. Prior to its introduction at the time, the government estimated that the number of people in the country without health insurance was about 47 million persons.  Furthermore, if the proportions remained constant, it was estimated that there might have been nearly 16 million people with a chronic condition but no insurance to pay for medical care.  Individuals with health preconditions could either not obtain health insurance or could not afford insurance due to much higher premiums.

What the Republicans have to worry about is a real danger to their control of the House and Senate in upcoming elections because of Trumpcare. Based on the current bill, budget analysts estimate 24 million people would lose insurance over a decade, 14 million in the first year. Older Americans would face higher costs. It also gives the states more leeway to reduce coverage under Medicare and Medicaid, as well changing other health care policies. The insurers that will almost certainly feel the strain are those who provide a lot of coverage through Medicaid, which is subsidized. The Democrats have already accused the GOP of favouring the rich over the poor with proposed changes under Trumpcare. One can bet that Democrats will carry this highly emotive issue into the next federal elections. Republicans up for re-election have already faced hostile opposition from affected constituents to the point where some Senators have vowed to write their own bill.

There’s a basic premise in politics that it is always harder for a ruling party to take away provisions or funding that exist under current laws. Given that Obamacare has been around for several years, Americans who have benefited are prepared to fight to maintain their access to health care under the present system. Despite assurances by the GOP and the President, Trumpcare represents a great number of uncertainties. With the health of millions of Americans, both young and old, at stake, these uncertainties represent a real danger to the GOP control of Congress. In dismantling the Affordable Care Act, the stakes are very high, especially if done in a quick and dirty fashion.  No issue has been more contentious in modern times.  If mishandled, this critical issue could eventually lead to the downfall of the GOP, one way or another.

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May 2

President Trump, Cozying Up To ‘Dictators’ Can Be Very Hazardous

by bcurry

In 1938, British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, flew to meet Germany’s Adolf Hitler at his private mountain retreat in Berchtesgaden in an attempt to resolve the Sudetenland crisis in Czechoslovakia. If history has taught us anything, Chamberlain’s appeasement policy made war much more likely because Hitler thought he could get away with anything.  Meetings between legitimate elected leaders and ‘dictators’ are seen as legitimizing ‘dictatorial’ regimes.

Trump’s description of Russia’s Vladimir Putin as a “nice guy” two years after Russia annexed Crimea from the Ukraine baffles one’s mind. The incursion by the Russian military was seen as responsible for the defeat of Ukrainian forces. Many countries, including the U.S. and Canada, implemented economic sanctions against Russia or Russian individuals or companies.  Amnesty International expressed its belief that Russia is fuelling the conflict, noting that there had been an estimated 8000 casualties resulting from the conflict.  The Russian Federation was accused of fuelling the ongoing violence with the presence and continuing influx of foreign fighters and sophisticated weapons and ammunition.  More recently, Putin has aligned himself with Syria’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad, who has used chemical weapons on his own citizens. Maybe, not so much a “nice guy” or one to be admired!

Now one sees President Trump continuing to outreach to rogue leaders, even declaring that he would meet North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong-un and Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte. Kim’s grandfather Kim Il-sung established a Stalinist state after the Korean War.  Kim has continued to build a huge military arsenal, including a nuclear potential, while human rights are abused and North Koreans are starving from a lack of food.  Of course, we are familiar with Duterte who is accused of supporting thousands of extrajudicial killings of drug suspects in his country.

Having a face-to-face meeting between two or more businessmen is not the same thing as it is in the world of international diplomacy. You are not only the President of the world’s most powerful nation, but you are also a leader among ‘democratically elected’ national leaders.  You have alliances, both military and political, and their policies and positions must be respected.  The international community looks to you for coherent and strategic leadership, not showmanship.  Simply by meeting with the likes of Assad, Duterte and Kim can look like recognition of and support for their regimes, both internally and externally.  For the most part, this is exactly what they relish and seek out.  Such meetings will achieve very little towards resolving the real issues and dictatorial behaviour.  Only comprehensive and aggressive international actions and their economic and political consequences can help to prevent further abuses in these countries and future threats to global peace.  Indeed, beware of the Chamberlain effect!

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