FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Jul 27

Republicans Facing Several Major Serious Issues Within Party Before Mid-Terms

by bcurry

Well, I just learned from a Washington Post report that former President Trump’s actions are now being investigated by Justice Department prosecutors as part of an inquiry into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.  Recent testimony before the January 6th House committee also appears to suggest that there is enough evidence to conclude that the former president and some of his allies might have conspired to commit fraud and obstruction by misleading Americans about the outcome of the 2020 election and attempting to overturn the result.  The Republican Party establishment must be greatly disturbed by what is coming out of the committee’s public hearings, although many Republicans in Congress are still boohooing the hearings as a Democrat plot to malign Trump’s reputation.

However, Trump is not helping his case by his recent speeches where he continues to claim that the election was stolen.  What’s worst is the fact that a recent poll of Republican voters taken by the New York Times/Siena College showed that 49 percent said they would back Trump if he ran for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.  This compared with just 6 percent who said they would vote for former Vice-President Mike Pence and 25 percent who supported Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida.  The Trump vs. Pence public squabbles has caused many Republicans’ to have frustrations and reservations about a possible 2024 Trump campaign, suggesting that it could cause large numbers of Republican voters to defect from the party in a general election.  Donald Trump and his rowdy supporters won’t just go away!

In addition, it has been reported that online fundraising has slowed across much of the Republican Party in recent months, an unusual pullback of small donors that has set off a mad rush among Republican political operatives to understand why — and reverse the sudden decline before it damages the party’s chances this fall.  Exacerbating the fundraising problems for Republicans is that Trump continues to be the party’s dominant fundraiser.  Indeed, pro-Trump super PACs had amassed more than $100 million by last summer.  Yet virtually none of the tens of millions of dollars he raised has gone toward defeating Democrats.  The money has instead funded his political team and retribution agenda against Republicans who have crossed him.  Of course, money alone does not win political races, but any lack of funds can hamper party campaigns.

Then there has been the recent decision by the primarily conservative Supreme Court in overturning Roe v. Wade that has set off an array of attacks by women’s groups over the withdrawal of abortion services and the banning of abortion practices in Republican governed states.  Take this issue into consideration and the potential attack by Republicans on LGBTQ+ issues, including same sex marriages, there is a growing movement against what are being depicted as extremist right-wing policies.  The Democrats may be able to use the far right Republican platforms in their mid-term campaign to galvanize their rank and file and to secure the support of frustrated interest groups.  Much will depend on how Congressional Republicans handle certain initiatives in the coming months, including that which would protect the legitimacy of same sex marriages.

At the state level, there is little doubt that in those governed by Republicans there are still enough conservative votes to win the day and maintain their power.  However, at the federal level, the Republicans definitely appear to be in trouble, especially if Donald Trump is capable of riling up his base.  It will be interesting to see if the Republicans can resolve their evident split within the party before the mid-terms and most certainly in time for the next presidential election.  To the distress of the Republican establishment, Donald Trump and his allies are continuing to schedule events and are raising money for initiatives intended to make the former president a central player in the midterm elections, and possibly to set the stage for another run for the White House. 

One would love to be a fly on the wall at behind-the-scene discussions among leading Republican strategists.  I’m certain that they have a lot of serious issues to talk about!

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Jul 21

Incredible Scenes of Democratic Representatives in Congress Being Arrested During Protests

by bcurry

Earlier this past week during an abortion rights protest over the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, at least 17 Democratic lawmakers were among the 35 people arrested by the Capitol Police for blocking traffic outside the courthouse.  The arrest of lawmakers in this manner is something almost unheard of in Canada.  Canadian legislators tend to be somewhat docile when outside the House of Commons in Ottawa.  The most that Members of Parliament (MP) will do is to attend peaceful protests on the front lawn of Parliament’s centre block, sometimes to speak in support of some cause or another.  I can’t remember the last time that an MP was arrested as part of any protest in Ottawa.  However, back in March 2018, two federal politicians, including Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and New Democratic Party (NDP) MP Kennedy Stewart, were arrested at a protest against Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain federally approved pipeline expansion in Burnaby, British Columbia.

On the other hand, in Washington, such incidences among House Representatives appear to have happened in other cases.  Indeed, it was reported that Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., was arrested last month outside the Supreme Court for protesting.  In July 2021, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, was arrested at the Hart Senate Office Building for protesting in favor of voting rights legislation.

Protests are protected by the First Amendment of the American Constitution, but like in Canada, there is still the need for protesters to abide by laws.  In the most recent incident, the U.S. Capitol Police tweeted about the situation: “Demonstrators are starting to block First Street, NE. It is against the law to block traffic, so officers are going to give our standard three warnings before they start making arrests.”  In light of the minor violation, those arrested were later released at the scene, with police telling the ABC News they were likely to face a $US50 ($72.48 Canadian) fine.  Among those arrested was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, who became the youngest woman elected to the House of Representatives, and has rocketed to political notoriety.  The arrests of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and the other Democrats resulted in coverage by a large number of news media outlets and extensively by social media sources.  There is little doubt that this type of media coverage involving lawmakers gives a protest a good deal of press, good and bad.

Former charismatic Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who was PM from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984, once exclaimed to the house speaker that opposition MPs were nobodies once they were “50 yards from Parliament Hill”.  Of course, that was before social media and daily digital news.  Most recently, several opposition Conservative MPs, including leadership contender Pierre Poilievre, met with the illegal Trucker Convoy which had occupied the streets in front of Parliament for over three weeks in February of this year.  The New York Times wrote that the Conservatives, the only other party to form a government in Canada, were readying for a fight and saw the truckers and their followers not as outcasts but as political currency that can bring in votes — and money.  With his photo-op, Poilievre was depicted as the protesters’ political champion at the time, although as the illegal occupation continued Conservative support was condemned by many Canadians, and most certainly by those living in Ottawa at the time.  No other party MPs met with the protesters, viewing the occupation as being unlawful, eventually being removed by the police and leading to the arrests of dozens of protesters.  The social and economic impact of the occupation ultimately led to the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act to facilitate the removal of occupying vehicles from streets within the Parliamentary precinct in Ottawa.

In general, Canadian legislators tend to avoid participation in protests, many of which occur in the capital on a daily basis.  Even members of the left-wing NDP are normally careful not to participate in protests outside of the legislature, particularly those involving extremists.  The one big difference in Canada is the more apolitical system used for appointing federal justices, including those appointed to the Supreme Court.  With the highly politicized recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court — comprised of four conservative-leaning justices who were appointed during the Trump administration — it is not surprising that protests have erupted outside the Supreme Court.  What’s surprising is the participation by members of Congress in such protests and their subsequent arrests by Capitol Police!  This is something that is unheard of in Canada — perhaps somewhat regrettably in certain cases.  However, time will tell for our “nobodies”.

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Jul 18

Potential for Insurgency Grows Everyday in U.S. and Canada

by bcurry

Two recent events in the U.S. and in Canada have clearly illustrated the growth of insurgent groups: the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol and the three week occupation by a Trucker Convoy in Ottawa, Canada, in February of this year.  In both cases, various groups, including radical right extremists, proclaimed openly their intention to overthrow the current governments and forcibly replace them with another regime of some sort.  What these two events clearly illustrated is that these groups have become well organized, funded and are led openly by radicalized leaders.  What is even more clearly evident is that the insurgents are still operating despite many of their leaders and members having been arrested and imprisoned following the above two events.

What is common between the American and Canadian movements is that they are continuing to recruit, especially among ex-military and police veterans.  Several veterans played a significant role in Canada, attempting to garner support and credibility among the public for their causes.  In addition, these individuals bring training and military/law enforcement experience to the movements, as well as contributing intelligence for a movement.  The next inevitable stage is one that leads to the formulation of an armed quasi-militia capable of carrying out a few isolated attacks.  Weapons and explosives were seized in the Capitol attack and at the unlawful Coutts, Alberta, border blockade, with subsequent charges being laid in each case.  Four persons arrested with weapons in Alberta were tied to Canada’s Diagolon far-right extremist militia group, well known to the authorities.  In January 2021, a 22-year-old Canadian man crossed the border into Detroit where the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s “tactical terrorism response team” found an assault rifle and two other guns, plus extremist white-supremacy material on his cellphone.  Connections among American and Canadian white-supremacy groups have been well documented, a number of whom are hoping to promote race and civil wars.

These movements are allowed to grow until you have more open insurgency, when you start to have a series of consistent attacks, and it becomes impossible to ignore.  What is clearly evident is that potential insurgencies tend to be much more decentralized, often fought by multiple groups.  There is not one overall governing group within both countries.  Leadership can most often extend to more local community levels, making recruitment a lot easier and training and planning a lot more difficult for authorities to monitor.  Cases of violent activity are deemed to be isolated cases by local authorities and even ignored, often by law enforcement.  However, when one adds up such events involving threatening protests, one cannot help but conclude that they represent a much larger campaign, organized and funded by extremists.

There will be those who will claim that alluding to insurgency movements is no more than another form of fearmongering.  However, such arguments cannot explain away that certain groups believe that democracies are backsliding.  There’s a clear sense that they firmly believe that governments are not that legitimate.  These are angry people who are unhappy with governments and open to being exploited by insurgent groups.  Unfortunately, some more ‘populist’ politicians, ala Donald Trump, have taken advantage of the situation for political gain.  Some observers claim that this is what is happening inside the Republican Party in the U.S. and among certain leadership hopefuls within the national Conservative Party and in the Peoples Party in Canada.  Unfortunately, appearing publicly alongside or among members of extremist groups can only give more legitimacy to such movements in the eyes of the public at large.

One thing is for certain, democratically elected governments can no longer give a blind eye to the growth of insurgency movements in either country.  Recent events have shown that such movements are openly promoting deliberate and organized attacks on our democratic institutions.  If citizens and their elected officials don’t recognize the potential danger to our democracy, than they are playing a very dangerous game.  We can no longer ignore the growth of these movements, both locally and nationally.  To do so, is to invite even more future violent and unlawful attacks.

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Jun 25

Far More Political And Societal Division Among Americans Than Among Canadians

by bcurry

In July in both the U.S. and Canada, people will be respectively celebrating the birth of their countries.  However, these past few years have demonstrated a concerning growth in divisive politics, much more so in the U.S. than in Canada.  Most recently, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade allowing states to ban abortion.  This is despite the fact that polls have shown that only one in ten Americans want an absolute ban on abortion.  In Canada, the right to abortion is supported by all major political parties and the vast majority of Canadians.  When it comes to restrictions on accessibility to guns, the majority of Americans support increasing restrictions to gun ownership, while the gun lobby holds sway in Congress and many states.  Supported by the majority in Canada, there are restrictions on guns, especially handguns and military-style weapons — a number of the latter are outright banned.  Although numerous American organizations and groups have lobbied to eliminate the death penalty in half of the states where it exists, Canada did away with the death penalty decades ago.  It is now believed that the recent Supreme Court’s decision could also lead to a reconsideration of Americans’ right to same sex marriage, something which has been legalized in Canada for sometime now.

A new poll of Canadians by the U.K.’s well known pollster Lord Michael Ashcroft showed that Canada, rather than the polarized society on display in America, is described as a nation that is proud and hopeful.  He concluded that most Canadians are a lot more confident, empathetic, proud and trusting of their own democracy and national identity, frequently seeking a middle ground on controversial issues.  Fully seven in ten Canadians think Canada is one of the best places to live and multiculturalism is a healthy and important element of Canadian society and thus encourages immigration to the country.  Yes, there are some small vocal dissident groups who surface from time to time in Canada, but nowhere near the numbers of American right-wing and social conservative groups who even emerged to contest the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.  Thankfully, there is no equivalent to Donald Trump in Canada.

The current infringement on the rights of American women with the overturning of Roe vs. Wade will further increase the division among Americans across the country.  This will become a highly contentious issue in the upcoming November elections, with pro-life and pro-choice candidates slugging it out on the hastings.  When a draft copy of the decision was leaked in May, even Donald Trump began telling friends and advisers that it would anger suburban women, a group who helped tilt the 2020 race to President Joe Biden.  He felt that would lead to a backlash against Republicans in the November midterm elections.  However, as per the New York Times, with the decision Trump put out a statement taking a victory lap, including applauding himself for sticking by his choice of nominees.  On top of which, the court’s decision is unfortunately expected to disproportionately affect minority women who already face limited access to health care.  In addition, for those women who can afford to come to Canada, Canadian abortion services are currently examining the potential impact in welcoming these Americans.

With respect to another grouping, our indigenous people of North America, both the U.S. and Canada in the past had used residential schools in an attempt to assimilate indigenous populations by eliminating their culture and languages.  However, unlike in the U.S., Canadians began a national reconciliation process reflecting honestly on the darkest parts of history and attempting to move forward to correct past abuses.  Canadians of all backgrounds have come forward to fully support the truth and reconciliation initiatives at all levels of society.  The same issue has barely been recognized in the States.

All in all, one cannot but conclude that there is far more political and societal division among Americans than among Canadians.  The next decade could prove to be one of the most explosive in American history, with the current polarization of American society almost as great as that preceding the American Civil War between the North and South over the abolition of slavery.  Only time will tell.  Not a great time to be living in the States!

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May 9

The Internet Was a Blessing Until It Became a Curse

by bcurry

A judge just threw out Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Twitter that challenged his ban from the social media platform.  U.S. District Judge James Donato rejected Trump’s claim that Twitter violated his right to freedom of speech guaranteed under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  He simply declared that Twitter is a private company, and ‘the First Amendment applies only to governmental abridgements of speech, and not to alleged abridgements by private companies.’  When Trump’s account (with over 88 million followers) was suspended by Twitter, he went on to set up his own platform Truth Social which apparently has not done very well.  Now, the question arises over whether Twitter’s takeover by Tesla CEO Elon Musk will offer Trump a possible return to the social media platform.

Marshall McLuhan, a well-known Canadian philosopher whose work was among the cornerstones of the study of media theory in the late sixties, coined the expression “the medium is the message” and the term “global village”.  He is credited with predicting the World Wide Web (WWW) almost 30 years before it was invented.  Little did he know, having passed away in late 1980, of the incredible eventual impact on our daily lives of the Internet.  The Internet is this generation’s equivalent to the telegraph, the telephone and the fax machines that allowed us to communication instantaneously and broadly across the globe.  However, as a marvellous communication tool, the Internet has also proven to be more susceptible to the spreading of misinformation and disinformation than any other means in modern times.

When one talks of ‘misinformation’, one is normally referring to suspect, invalid and often poorly researched information passed on by persons to other persons via social media for example.  Often such information is transmitted without real malice, but simply and inadvertently by persons accepting the information as being valid or such that supports preconceived views, referred to a ‘confirmation bias’.  ‘Disinformation’ on the other hand is where someone is deliberately providing false information in support of their causes, goals or conspiracy theories, similar to what we would view as propaganda.  Unfortunately, we are seeing a lot more disinformation being conveyed via the Internet then ever before.  States or organizations that want to control the flow of information for their own purposes are notorious for facilitating the spread of disinformation, especially as a form of mind control within their borders.  One needs to go no further for examples than Russia, North Korea and Iran.

Unfortunately, during the Covid-19 pandemic, certain groups within the U.S. and Canada began disinformation campaigns against the public health measures introduced by many governments to deal with the tragic consequences of Covid on our lives.  The information was used to justify anti-vax, anti-mask, anti-lockdown and other public health mandates, regardless of their evident effectiveness in controlling the spread of Covid and reducing the number of associated deaths and hospitalizations.  These campaigns of course led to numerous protests in both countries easily and quickly arranged via social media, often tying up scarce government resources.  In addition, groups have used the Internet to spread ridiculous conspiracy theories, the most notable being that which promoted the belief that the results of the 2020 Presidential election were affected by corrupt voter fraud.  This culminated in a mob of Trump supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, after Trump repeatedly said that he would never concede the legitimate election.

We must do a better job of educating future generations about the potential pitfalls of relying on one or two sources for information, particularly those who rely on non-verifiable and suspect origins.  We need to be much more suspect when assessing the accuracy and validity of our Internet sources, be they found in social media or on websites.  I might suggest strongly that we include mainstream news media and websites provided by objective professional organizations as an integral and regular part of one’s information sources.  Perhaps this is easier said than done.  After all, access to information via social media in particular is quick and dirty.  Regrettably, this is what the purveyors of disinformation and misinformation are counting on.

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Feb 27

Invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin Puts American Right-Wing Supporters in Tough Spot

by bcurry

The current military invasion by Russian troops has placed many of Vladimir Putin’s American admirers, including Donald Trump, in an awkward situation.  In the past, Trump and other Republicans praised Vladimir Putin as a strong and savvy leader.  This was in spite of the fact that Putin runs a Russian oligarchy made up of billionaires, with Putin’s personal fortune and that of his oligarch friends estimated to be in the billions.  Russia’s ultra-rich are among the biggest owners of private jets, fancy mansions and superyachts, some of which are found in the U.S.  Although the U.S. and other Western countries have imposed severe sanctions on Russia and members of Putin’s administration, the challenge is their fortunes and assets could be held through shell companies, complicating the ownership chain.  While imposing sanctions on Russian’s ultra-rich is important, getting at the money itself is complex.  So far, even as the U.S., the U.K. and other Western countries have ramped up sanctions on more than 100 Russian individuals and entities, these assets of the country’s elite — which can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars each — have avoided any direct hit.

As in Europe, many ultra-right American groups looked up to Putin as a some sort of model leader for the ‘populism’ movement.  Fox News host Tucker Carlson urged Americans to ask themselves what they had against Putin, echoing the Kremlin as he denigrated Ukraine as not a democracy but a puppet of the West and the United States.  Former President Donald Trump defended his praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, causing a number of top Republicans to distance themselves from his position.  What makes matters worst is that Putin’s regime has already imprisoned thousands of Russian protesters against the invasion.  So much for populism!  If the Russian military aggression continues longer than expected, there will be even greater unrest back in Russia, particularly as Russian military and Ukrainian civilian casualties rise.  Most observers believe that an inability of the Russian military to overthrown the current Ukrainian government in under two weeks will cause further enormous stress on Putin’s rule.

The negative toll on Russia’s economy as a result of Western sanctions and other economic penalties has already resulted in a massive slump in Russian stocks, considered to be the third-worst in the history of stock markets.  The Russian ruble has taken a major hit which will increase the costs of imported goods in Russia and contribute to the already post-pandemic economic downturn.  Any resulting reduction in the export of Russian oil and gas will have an impact on American and European energy markets, again contributing to the current hyperinflation world-wide.  Moreover, the war in Ukraine threatens the world’s economic recovery.

For many of his long-time admirers — from those in the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, and Brazil — it is something of an awkward spot.  The longer Putin’s aggression continues, the more populist movements around the world will be forced to be on the defensive over their past and present support for Vladimir Putin.  With every day, it is clearly becoming ever more uncomfortable to try to defend Putin’s actions, despite what Donald Trump might say.

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Nov 27

Tale of a Young American Vigilante Becoming an American Hero

by bcurry

As a young 17 year old American teenager, I can become an American hero by pursuing a vigilante course of action.  First, I will need to travel thousands of miles from my home to another city to defend others’ property from protesters creating disorder in the city’s streets.  After all, local officials would have declared a state of emergency amid mass protests and street unrest over the shooting of some black man.  These same officials will need my help, so I then illegally choose to pick up an AR-style semiautomatic rifle from a friend on the way.  With my rifle, I will begin to patrol the city’s streets in order to help protect property from the unrest on the streets.  The local police will appear to welcome my help.  However, I would then notice multiple people converging upon me because of my actions.  I will react justifiably by shooting several people in self-defence.  Unfazed, I then will walk away to the police with my hands up at times.  All of this, of course, will be caught on video.  However, I will not be immediately arrested by the local police at that moment, but will instead turn myself in to police back in my hometown shortly after.  Naturally, I will end up going to jail and being charged with reckless homicide, intentional homicide and recklessly endangering safety.

During the trial, my defenders will declare that I was simply exercising my right to bear arms, in defence of liberty.  The prosecution on the other hand must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that I did not act in self-defence, even though I believe that my life was being threatened at the time of the shooting.  When it comes to the 20-person jury, my lawyers will attempt to pick a mainly white jury made up of mostly women and a few men.  Given my age, women would most likely be influenced by my youthful appearance, personality and testimony.  My defence will allow me to testify on the stand which isn’t the norm, but will probably work in my favour by personally telling my story.  During my testimony, I will break down sobbing in forlorn tears which will very likely have an impact on the jury, emphasizing that I had fired upon the protesters in self-defence only after having been attacked.  After all, I’m just a scared kid, although I’m being tried as an adult.

Before the deliberations began, by reaching into a tumbler, I curiously will even get to select the 12 jurors needed for the deliberations.  In the end, I will be judged to be not guilty of all charges, although not to have been found innocent — for no one would deny that I had fatally shot protesters.  Subsequently, I will be a hero for those people supporting gun rights and the right to defend one’s self and one’s property, including several militia groups.  Following my acquittal, one gun rights group will even award me a brand new AR-15 for my actions in ‘Defence of Gun Rights’.  Next, a Republican representative in Congress will introduce a bill to award me the Congressional Gold Medal for “protecting the community”.  Two other Republican representatives will offer me internships within their offices.  Shortly after my acquittal, I will also meet with my hero, former President Donald Trump, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.  President Trump will be one of my biggest supporters.  Of course, the media will not end its coverage of my future endeavors anytime soon.  In the end, I will just want to get on with my life.  Or so I would hope?

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Sep 16

Canada Has Its Own Mini-Trump Running In Current Federal Election

by bcurry

In Canada today, there are a number of small parties running in the current federal election.  Among these is the self-described hard-right populist People’s Party of Canada (CPP) founded in 2018 by Maxime Bernier.  Bernier was once a member of Canada’s Conservative Party, but left due to differing views with the party on a number of policy issues.  Overall, he believed that the Conservative Party had strayed from some of its traditional right-wing beliefs.  In its first election in 2019, the CPP received 1.6 percent of votes, placing it well behind other small parties, such as the Greens (6.5 percent) but well ahead of others, such as the Christian Heritage Party (0.1 percent).  Currently, the CPP does not have a seat in the national parliament.  Recent polls show that the CPP could get slightly more than 6 percent of the popular vote, but again the party is not expected to win any seats, including that in the riding where Maxime Bernier himself is running.

The primary difference with the emergence of Donald Trump in the Republican Party is that Bernier decided to offer his ultra-right views by forming a new national party.  However, many of the same positions taken by Trump’s followers are reflected in the CPP’s platform.  Bernier is attempting to appeal to a portion of the Canadian electorate who are disgruntled with the current political establishment in Ottawa, be it Conservative or Liberal, and are simply angry about the current state of Canadian society and big governments.  Like Trump, Bernier is in favour of reducing immigration, preventing refugees from entering Canada illegally, promoting the construction of pipelines, denying the human contribution to climate change, pushing for a single national identity, moving away from promoting multiculturalism, eliminating foreign aid funding and repealing existing firearms laws. Fortunately, unlike Trump, Bernier has not to date raised issues about voter fraud or rigged elections.

What has really brought out the CPP supporters to the federal election are the restrictive measures taken by the federal and provincial governments to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.  Bernier has referred to COVID-19 public-health measures and vaccine policies as being “tyrannical”.  He has often told his supporters that: “People are fed up and they want to get back their freedom.”  This is a common theme, declaring that government public-health measures are an attack on one’s liberties, especially when it comes to lockdowns, mandated vaccinations and vaccine passports. 

What’s unfortunate about the participation of CPP supporters in the campaign is that their anger has gotten the better of their common sense and civility.  Supporters have been part of a number of often-violent demonstrations protesting the other parties’ leaders, especially at events being held by the current Liberal leader, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  The protesters have attempted to drown out the leaders at campaign stops and have revealed signs with vulgar and insulting slurs and graphics.  What’s regrettable is that Maxime Bernier refuses to condemn the incivility and lack of respect shown by CPP supporters against the opposing leaders, and in particular the PM.  In these difficult times, there is no doubt that there is a lot of pent-up anger among those whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively affected by the pandemic and some of the public-health measures that had to be implemented.  However, given the severity of the pandemic, Canadian support for such measures and the current growing fourth wave, it doesn’t appear that the CPP will gain very much additional support.

Unlike in the U.S. with its firmly established conservative base in several regions, there is little chance that Canada will see a similar ultra-right populist administration in power anytime soon.

Maxime Bernier himself does not like to be compared to Donald Trump for obvious reasons.  Unfortunately, his party has tended to politicize some of the more critical issues such as public-health measures aimed at preventing more COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths.  Unfortunately, the anti-vaxxers now have a political means to promote their virulent opposition to such measures.  By encouraging unfounded and unreasonable protests, Bernier does appear to have taken a page from Donald Trump’s agenda.

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Jul 30

U.S. Congressional Hearings on January 6th Capitol Breach

by bcurry

On January 6, 2021, a peaceful and patriotic crowd of citizens gathered in front of the steps of the U.S. Congress, on what is referred to as the Hill.  They lovely and respectfully greeted the law-enforcement officers from the Capitol Police on duty that day.  Suddenly, these individuals who were exercising their right to protest, broke through the police lines and entered the people’s building of American governance.  They did not mean to hurt anyone, although there were a few who mockingly shouted that they wanted to hang Vice-President Mike Pence.  In order to avoid the determined mob, both Republican and Democrat members of Congress conveniently left the Senate Chamber in order to make room for the touring crowd.  These patriots then went about their business of sightseeing through the corridors of the Capitol.  Once they had finished their tour, they left the premises, often carrying handfuls of souvenirs to show the family back home.  Meanwhile, the outgoing President of the United States of America, sat comfortably in the White House and calmly watched the unfolding events televised on American news networks for all to see.  He was particularly concerned that none of his supporters would be seriously injured by the authorities during their visitation.

Months later, one now has a House select committee investigating the storming of the Capitol, much to the chagrin of majority of Republicans who don’t see any need for any inquiry, let alone an independent commission of inquiry.  For this reason, Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to seat two Republicans who publicly opposed the establishment of the committee itself, and instead invited two more neutral Republicans, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, to join the committee.  This seems to make sense.  Let’s face it, most Republicans would like the whole January 6th armed insurrection to go away.  Remember, many of the mob have said under oath that they were there because Donald Trump sent them.

I don’t know about you, but I sat in front of my television witnessing what some have called the worst attack on Washington since the War of 1812 — between what was then Canada and the U.S.  I could not believe what I was witnessing!  No one in their right mind can deny the fact that the attack was orchestrated and well planned in advance.  To say that a few of Trump’s supporters simply got overly zealous is a pile of you know what.  The real problem and failure, indeed the tragedy, is that the actions of the mob were not foreseen by the Trump administration and the intelligence and security communities.  Congress was virtually left at the mercy of a crazy group of insurrectionists.  It is these elements of what happened on January 6th that need to be investigated and made public.  The role of Donald Trump in inciting his supporters is already well known and no longer of particular import.  What is important is to establish what went terribly wrong within the intelligence community, law enforcement and among federal agencies involved, including the Department of Defence.  Hopefully, these are the issues that the committee will examine in order to introduce changes that would ensure that something of this nature will never happen again.  Let’s face it, there’s plenty of blame to go around.  What one needs is truthful answers and expert analysis.

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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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