FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Jun 28

June Was a Bad Month for the Catholic Church in North America

by bcurry

Here in Canada, the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves containing Indigenous children’s remains on former Indian residential school grounds raised the anger of many Canadians, and in particular those of the Catholic faith.  Many of the residential schools were run by the Catholic Church.  Indigenous leaders in Canada have been pressing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to secure an apology, on Canadian soil, from Pope Francis himself for the role the Catholic Church played in operating residential schools. Those demands — which Trudeau repeated again Friday, June 25th — have so far gone unheeded.  However, a number of Church leaders in Canada have taken upon themselves to apologize for the Churches role in running the schools and for the associated unmarked graves.

In the U.S., as only the second Catholic president, an issue was raised by some of the country’s Catholic bishops with respect to President Joe Biden.  A question was asked as to whether the Catholic Church should not allow the president to receive Holy Communion because of his political support for abortion rights.  The president, who attends church regularly, rightly replied that this is a personal and private matter.  As one observer noted, denying Communion to Biden or other public figures as a means of correcting their errors would be claiming the right to overrule their conscience.   Subsequently, several American Catholic bishops suggested that any such ban on the president was not in the cards.  They are likely mistaken, however, if they think a Communion crackdown will bring him or other so-called wayward Catholics back in line.  Furthermore, declaring abortion the “pre-eminent” issue for Catholics has created another crisis of authority for the bishops — remember the handling of recent cases of alleged abuses by American priests.

In both instances, the results have been criticism and outrage from many Catholics and non-Catholics of the Churches position on these matters.  In the American situation, it is clearly a matter of the separation of state and church which form an important part of a democracy.  One’s religious beliefs should not form part of the government’s policy making process which is designed to defend the interests of all its citizens, regardless of faith.  In the Canadian context, the inability of the Catholic leadership to recognize the role of the church in the tragic operation of residential schools and the horrific impact on Indigenous peoples needs to be addressed.

The number of followers of the Catholic Church in both countries is on the decline, particularly among younger people.   Reportedly, between 2000 and 2017 the number of its churches in the U.S. declined by nearly 11 percent, and by 2019 the number of Catholics decreased by 2 million people.  During the last decade, Catholics have been steadily shrinking as a share of the U.S. population. Situations like the above two examples do not help the Churches image and have led once again to parishioners having to assess their continued participation within the Church.  Perhaps it’s time for the Catholic Church to enter the twenty-first century and to hone up to its role in and openly admit its past mistakes, instead of trying to cover them up or simply ignore them.

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Jun 26

Tragic Use of Residential Schools for Indigenous Populations in North America is Part of Our History

by bcurry

History has shown us that once colonies have led to the creation of nation states, such as Canada and the United States, the next step has been to introduce policies aimed at “assimilating” native populations into the cultures of the ruling masses.  If peoples refused to assimilate, they were often separated and segregated from the rest of society, or sometimes even killed.  Part of assimilation often included the introduction of Christianity via the use of missionaries and the use of the church in running residential schools, as was the case in Canada and in French colonial times.

After a law was enacted in the early 1800’s in the U.S., residential boarding schools were established across the nation and used to house relocated Indigenous children, suppressing American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian cultures.  Records from 1819 to 1969 were kept by the Department of the Interior, which had oversight of the facilities.  Hundreds of thousands Native American children were forcibly taken from their communities to be culturally assimilated in the schools, suppressing the use of their native languages and customs.  Hundreds of children died while in custody, such that the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition was partly formed to help find the graves of the ‘missing children’.  The federal Department of the Interior is consulting with tribes on how to protect burial sites and use other information it had gathered.

Around 1883 in Canada, Indigenous children in many parts of the country were forced to attend residential schools in a forced assimilation program.  Most of these schools were operated by churches.  All of them banned the use of Indigenous languages and cultural practices, often through violence.  Disease, as well as sexual, physical and emotional abuse, were widespread. An estimated 150,000 children passed through the schools between their opening and their closing in 1996.  A National Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up as part of the federal government’s apology and settlement over the schools, concluded that at least 4,100 students died while attending them.  Recently, using ground-penetrating radar, mass graves containing the remains of what are believed to be mainly Indigenous children have been found in unmarked graves on the site of a former residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.  Governments have now introduced funding and initiatives to retrieve residential school records, some of which are in the hands of churches, in order to identify the children buried in these unmarked graves.  However, as part of the reconciliation effort, Indigenous leaders believe that the government still has a long way to go.

This troubling history deserves more attention to raise our awareness and to educate others about the atrocities that Indigenous people experienced, especially through the teaching in our schools of the history of North American Indigenous peoples and their past and present treatment by Canadian and American administrations.  History is history and cannot be changed or erased.  Moreover, societies must learn from their history so that they can better understand their society today and work together to heal and move forward.  This upcoming Canada Day and Independence Day, both Canadians and Americans should take time to inform themselves about this tragic period of history and reflect on its dreadful impact on our Indigenous peoples.  We owe it to these children, their families and the survivors of residential schools.

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Jun 21

Cities Will Definitely Not Be the Same After the Pandemic Is Over

by bcurry

A recent New York Times headline read: “New York Faces Lasting Economic Toll Even as Pandemic Passes.”  This should come as no big surprise given the nature of New York city’s industrial make-up, a good deal of which depends on foreign and domestic tourism.  Indeed, the article notes that the city had an 11.8 percent decline in jobs from February 2020 to April 2021, almost three times the loss on the national level.  Boarded-up storefronts and for-lease signs dot many of its neighborhoods.  Many of the businesses that depend on office and other workers who work in the core have yet to experience any substantive turnaround, especially in the retail, hospitality and performing arts sectors.  Of concern to the services sector is that several large corporations like Google and Facebook, as major commercial tenants, will not require the same amount of office space with a good percent of their staff continuing to work remotely full time or two or three days a week.  With fewer people commuting daily to downtown businesses, there will also be a substantive need to examine current public transportation policies.

While the example of New York is certainly considered to be an extreme situation, there is little doubt that all urban centers in North America will have to adjust economically and socially in the near future.  The impact of the pandemic will leave a substantial mark on every aspect of urban life for sometime to come.  The most evident immediate impact can be seen in the housing market.  Working remotely from home is only one of several factors influencing the rising costs of housing, especially single detached homes.  The average sale price for a home in Canada for example has surged 38 percent to $688,208 over the past year amid a pandemic-driven housing boom, according to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association.  Technology has allowed more people to work from ‘rurban’ communities than ever before, eliminating much of the need to commute to and from urban workplaces.  Employers are having to adjust their working arrangements to accommodate employees, who in many cases have essential skills in short supply.

Even Ottawa, where I live, is experiencing many of the economic and social consequences of the pandemic, despite being primarily a government town and having less of an economic impact that most cities.  However, as in the case of New York, Ottawa has seen dozens of small businesses, which before the pandemic employed about much of the city’s work force, haven’t survived.  Tourism, a major part of the National Capital Region, is way down, affecting hotels, tour operations, restaurants and bars.  The closure of the American border over the past year to non-essential traffic and major restrictions on international air travel has had a major impact on tourism.  Sports and entertainment venues, including Ottawa’s large festival industry, have been non-existent since the beginning of the pandemic.  Like many urban communities, the city is counting on the vaccination of seventy or more percent of its population to eventually encourage locals to return to recreational and indoor activities across the region.  However, much like projections for New York, most observers predict that it’s going to be a long, slow recovery.  Indeed, one can further predict that the eventual outcome will be quite different from pre-pandemic conditions in North American cities.

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Jun 16

Confirmed COVID Cases in U.S. and Canada Mean that the Pandemic is NOT OVER

by bcurry

The headlines today read: “U.S. Nears 600,000 Virus Deaths Despite Progress From Vaccines.”  As several states, including California and New York state, are in the process of reopening, experts are warning the Americans still have a ways to go to get COVID-19 fully under control.  Data shows that about 362 people across the U.S. are still dying from the coronavirus each day.  What’s worrisome is that about half of coronavirus deaths at the end of May were made up of people ages 50 to 74, compared with a third of the total deaths in December.  Many of those hospitalized are younger than in the past, some of whom had not been vaccinated.  Vaccine hesitancy is still a lingering problem.  Nevertheless, about 44 percent of the U.S. population — about 145 million people — is fully vaccinated.  Fortunately, widely available vaccines have played the central role in slowing the death rate.  However, vaccines without continuing precautions such as masking and physical distancing may not be sufficient enough to finally control coronavirus outbreaks.  Only time will tell.  I’m not hopeful.

As of June 15, 2021, the U.S. had had a total of over 33 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, a relatively high number when compared to global numbers.  As of June 16, 2021, there have been 176,156,662 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world, including 3,815,486 deaths, reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).  On June 15th, there were about 11,180 confirmed daily cases in U.S.   Compare that to 7,600 cases in U.K., 1390 in Italy, 407 in France, 650 in Germany, 1175 in Mexico and 806 cases in Canada.

Everyone recognizes that so-called COVID fatigue is a real thing and that certain sectors of the economy have suffered more during the pandemic, especially in light of necessary lockdown measures.  One can feel the tension in the air and people’s desire to return to some form of normalcy.  Yet new more deadly variants continue to emerge, including the so-called Delta variant which is now being transmitted in North America.  One has to remember that the sole objective of a virus is to replicate.  The more unvaccinated and vulnerable persons available to infect, the virus will continue to mutate.  Most experts believe the sooner that we get more people, including children, fully vaccinated, the better are our chances to limit the further spread of variants.  This is a simple scientific fact that people have to come to recognize.  Forget nonsensical conspiracy theories and abundant misinformation about being vaccinated. 

The fact of the matter is that there is now little chance that Americans and Canadians will ever achieve so-called “herd immunity”.  Simply put, any herd-immunity threshold is looking unlikely because of factors such as vaccine hesitancy, the challenge of the unevenness of vaccine roll-outs, the emergence of new variants and the delayed arrival of vaccinations for children.  COVID will be with us in one form or another for some time, just like seasonal flue strains.  It may very well be that in order to have immunity, many of us, especially the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, will have no choice but to have COVID-type vaccines in the future.  Remember that we are fortunately living in North America with all our health care and pharmaceutical capabilities, unlike what one finds in Third World countries.  Failing to deal quickly with this health issue in the global context will have grave consequences for all of us.  After all, no one wants to be just another statistic!

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Jun 8

Why the Shortage of Labour Will Be a Likely Issue in the Short-term for Certain Sectors

by bcurry

I was surprised somewhat to read that more than 4 million Americans are going to be cut off from federal provided jobless benefits in the next few weeks.  Apparently, 25 states, all led by Republicans, decided to halt some or all emergency benefits months ahead of schedule.  It appears that some business owners and managers have argued that the assistance income, which enabled people to pay rent and buy groceries when much of the economy was shut down, is now dissuading them from applying for jobs.  Many of the businesses affected are in the service and hospitality sectors.  However, the current reluctance or unavailability of workers to return to work can easily be explained by a number of evident factors.

Firstly, since March of 2020, lockdowns imposed by states and cities greatly affected restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. which are comprised often of low-paying employment.  During the past year, many former employees chose to look for other employment, especially attracted by higher wages and benefits offered by bigger employers, like Amazon and Wal-Mart, who continued to rake in the money as a result of on-line purchases and increased customer needs during the lockdowns.  Entry-level workers in service, hospitality and recreational sectors typically earned about $10 to $12 an hour.  These days, as noted by many small-business owners, anyone paying that rate risks losing workers to employers like Amazon where starting pay is $15 an hour.  On top of which, inflationary trends are on the increase.

Secondly, in the short-term with the quick opening of many businesses, it can be expected that employers will face a sudden increased demand for experienced workers.  This will probably force some businesses to offer higher wages in order to attract workers, which some have shown a reluctance to do so because of economic uncertainties.  Higher wages however have already benefited students who are looking for summer employment, especially in the recreational and tourism sectors.

Thirdly, the pandemic is anything but over.  In the U.S., an average of 15,000 new cases and more than 400 related deaths are being reported daily across the country.  Barely 40 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated.  Among those Americans receiving assistance, there are those who have underlying health conditions or have members of their families who are vulnerable to COVID-19.  Needless-to-say, these workers are reluctant to return to work under the current circumstances, especially where masks and physical distancing aren’t required at work.

Finally, women have been especially affected by the lost of employment in these sectors during the past year.  The biggest issue for those with families is the lack of affordable and safe child and elder care.  This was a pre-pandemic and will remain a major post-pandemic problem.

It’s unfortunate that Republicans have chosen to push their argument that pandemic jobless relief is hindering the U.S. recovery.  The crazy thing is that the balk of income and unemployment assistance is being paid for by the Feds.  Let’s face reality, there will be normal delays associated with reopening a mammoth economy.  It’s simply too soon to pressure individuals facing several obvious hurdles to obtain work at this time.  In their hurry to remove health-related restrictions and in the face of potential new variants, states and cities are risking the possibility of incurring a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations — this time primarily among younger people who appear hesitant to get vaccinated.  Will there be a consequent need for future lockdowns?  Let’s hope not!  Only time will tell.  In the meantime, these unfortunate people continue to need our help.

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Jun 6

Believe it or not, Donald Trump is still around!

by bcurry

Based on findings by Facebook’s Oversight Board, Facebook said it will suspend former U.S. president Donald Trump’s accounts — including Instagram — for two years.  The finding is that he stoked violence ahead of the deadly Jan. 6th insurrection.  On Facebook, Trump’s suspension has meant that his account is essentially in “Facebook jail,” which is a term that users use to describe when the social network bans people from posting or accessing their accounts.  Others can still read and comment on Trump’s past posts, but he and other account handlers are unable to post new material.  In a press release, Trump called Facebook’s decision “an insult.” “They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing, and ultimately, we will win. Our Country can’t take this abuse anymore!”  The two-year ban brings Trump back just in time for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, although too late to be of any real import.  In its decision last month, the board agreed with Facebook that two of Trump’s Jan. 6th posts “severely violated” the content standards of both Facebook and Instagram.

Trump in turn gave his first public address since leaving office at the North Carolina Republican Party convention on June 5th.  Of course, he came out blasting the current Biden administration for everything from immigration policies to foreign policy.  Attacks so soon after a change in administration are somewhat uncommon and unusual among former presidents.  However, Trump is anything but normal.  Trump reserved his early remarks on President Joe Biden, which he called “the most radical left-wing administration in history”.  The fact is that his administration provided little assistance to the incoming Biden administration during the transition period, thus hindering a smooth transition.  Trump further believes that the Republicans will take back the Senate, the House, and the White House sooner than most people think.  The former president waited more than an hour to once again advance falsehoods about the 2020 election, which he described as “the crime of the century”.  Of interest, both CNN and Fox News declined to carry the speech on their channels.

The former president has also claimed that vaccines would not yet have arrived in US without him, ignoring the fact that over 400,000 Americans had died from COVID-19 during his administration, and claiming initially that the pandemic was a “hoax”.  On top of which, he unrealistically called on China to pay $10 trillion in reparations to the United States and the world for China’s handling of the virus.  Good luck on that one!

Trump has pushed Republicans to support candidates who are loyal to him in next year’s midterm elections.  In next year’s fight for control of Congress, he further vowed to be an active presence on the campaign trail for those remaining Republicans who share his values.  In any potential run for the White House in 2024, he may yet have to go up against former vice-president Mike Pence who has publicly asserted that he does not see eye to eye with Donald Trump on the horrific events of January 6th on the Hill.  Don’t forget that Pence and his family had to flee for their lives from the pro-Trump mob.

While Trump remains a dominant force within his party, he however remains deeply unpopular among key segments of the broader electorate and elements of the Republican Party.  Remember that he lost the last election by 7 million votes, primarily as a result of alienating Republican-leaning suburban voters across the country.  Trump supporters still haven’t yet come to grips with this fact. 

President Trump Is Playing The Victim Role Once Again | FROLITICKS (wordpress.com)

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Jun 3

Next to News About the Pandemic, Climate Change Remains in the Headlines

by bcurry

There is little doubt in my mind that crucial issues surrounding ‘climate change’ continue to surface.  Just look at a few of headlines over the past year from several news outlets:

  • Smoke from wildfires wiped out the United State’s pandemic-related clean air gains in 2020 (Washington Post, March 17)
  • Climate change is making big problems bigger (New York Times, May 13) 
  • How debt and climate change pose a ‘systemic risk to the global economy’ (UK Time News, April 7)
  • A 20-foot sea wall? Miami faces the hard choices of climate change (New York Times, June 2)
  • Carbon dioxide spikes to critical new record, halfway to doubling pre-industrial levels (Washington Post, April 6)
  • Swift action to cut methane emissions could slow Earth’s warming by 30 percent, study finds (Washington Post, April 27)
  • Countries must ramp up climate pledges by 80 percent to hit key Paris target, study finds (Washington Post, February 9)
  • Climate change could cut world economy by $23 Trn in 2050: Swiss Re warns (New York Times, April 22)
  • Earth is now losing 1.2 trillion tons of ice each year. And it’s going to get worse. (Washington Post, January 26)
  • Unprepared and under-insured Canada warned about escalating risk of mega-hurricanes (Bloomberg News, May 21)

These are just a sampling of the dozens of articles that I came across so far this year.  As the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reiterates whenever it can, climate change is already happening around the United States.  In many cases, that change is speeding up.  Canada is no exception.  The world will see more extreme weather events and associated disasters, including wildfires, droughts, heat waves, rising sea levels, flooding, lost of permafrost in northern hemisphere, increased insect infestations, property destruction, etc., etc.  Scientists say the world needs to prevent average global temperatures from rising more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial levels to avoid irreversible damage to the planet.  As in the case of dealing with the pandemic, we have no choice but to rely on the science when it comes to ascertaining the projected impact of climate change should we continue on our current course of action.  The evidence is irrefutable!

As with the pandemic, climate change is a global issue and must be tackled through the cooperation and commitment of all countries, including the U.S. and Canada.  Otherwise, we will continue to see more and more articles and discussions like those above with respect to the various impacts resulting from the failure to immediately and adequately deal with climate change.  As with the pandemic, there is also a human dimension behind all the statistics.

In the past year, I also blogged about ‘climate change’, as noted in the following blogs:

All of a Sudden, Climate Change is Back in the News | FROLITICKS (wordpress.com)

Although Climate Change Has Taken a Back Seat to the Pandemic, Today It’s Still a Major Issue | FROLITICKS (wordpress.com)

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