The Power To Shock

I readily admit that most days, almost nothing fazes me, having come to the same conclusion as George Carlin that we are going away. Looking at all of the existential threats we face, it is clear they have one thing in common: a deeply flawed humanity with no prospect of remediation. 

Despite that,  I am not so disengaged from the world that I look upon events with Buddha-like serenity. The stupidity of people, the rise of the ignorant right and their passionate intensity, still has the power to offend me. And sometimes I even have the capacity to feel shocked.

Which was how I felt while reading Edward Keenan's column on the consequences of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade. The part that shocked me I will get to in a moment, but first, a little bit about his article, which discusses the fallout of the abortion decision: a growing distrust in government and its institutions as evidenced by the ongoing demonstrations of those vehemently opposed to the that decision:

The overwhelmingly pro-choice crowd chanted “Abortion is health care!” and many demonstrators carried signs reading things like “Her body, her choice” and “Keep your laws out of my uterus.” But among them were a prominent number of signs with a less issue-specific sentiment: “F— SCOTUS,” for example, and “Abort the Court.”

These sentiments that didn’t just object to a decision but crudely questioned the legitimacy of the court itself were in line with a growing strain of opinion in the U.S. in which trust and support for the court are at all-time lows, and its decisions are seen more widely as based not in law, but in naked political partisanship.

The polls show that 59% of Americans are opposed to the decision, but confidence in the Court itself has dropped to an all-time low of 25%. And when institutions that play a vital role in people's lives take such a hit, you can be sure of trouble ahead:

“Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts?” Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in December when the court was hearing oral arguments in the abortion case it ruled on this month. 

It is hard to see the Court in any other way. The increasingly emboldened pack of politically-appointed hacks is clearly just getting started.

On Monday, the court threw out the long-standing “Lemon test” of church-state separation in a case involving school prayer; a week ago, it similarly ruled a state might be compelled to fund religious private schools; in a New York gun control case last week, the court ruled the 110-year-old requirements for permits to carry handguns did not align with history enough to be an allowable restriction of the right to bear arms.

Clarence Thomas, the longest-serving hack, has suggested much more is in store; the part I have italicized and bolded is the part that shocked me:

...in his own concurring opinion in the abortion case, Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly said the court should revisit the cases that protected access to birth control, legalized same-sex intimacy, and allowed for same-sex marriages.

Many may not remember the sodomy laws that once held sway in the United States and still exist in some jurisdictions, making homosexual activity between consenting adults illegal and punishable by prison terms. Indeed, there are still many countries that prescribe the death penalty for such activity. That these kinds of retrograde laws may return to the U.S. would have been unthinkable not too long ago.

Life today has become increasingly bleak, the aura of the dystopian nightmare undeniably pervasive. An outsize part of that nightmare is the fact that America is unquestionably being remade into a theocracy, of the same ilk and infamy as those who rule Iran and Afghanistan. It seems very unlikely that its democracy can survive. 

There are elements in the U.S. that want to bring back 'the good old days." Go back far enough and those days included the burning of witches at the stake and putting people in stocks, both of which I have little doubt still hold strong appeal for some of our southern neigbours. A significant portion, in fact, the majority, on the other hand, finds returning to a 'simpler time' both horrifying and abhorrent. 

How to reconcile the two polarities? Without the institutions of government to mediate and moderate and be the voice of the people, there is no resolution other than civil war, something many argue has already begun, its bloody conclusion somewhere off in a future that will be anything but rosy.

 

Pick Your Friends Wisely

Clearly, Pierre Poilievre is making a calculated decision here in who and what he associates himself with.

H/t Theo Moudakis

Too Good Not To Share

 

H/t Mary McCasey Kearney

Truly, He Is A Man Of The People

I have a friend, subversive in his own way, who joined the Conservative Party for $15. He is entitled to thus vote in the September leadership election. I'm think he bought the membership in support of Pierre Poilievre, a man we both agree is not fit for such a position; it is sobering to be reminded, according to his rhetoric, that he is running to become "your next prime minister."

While Pierre no longer extols Bitcoin as a bulwark against inflation and government control, he is currently casting himself as a real 'man of the people,' something the following video amply illustrates. Note how easily and pseudo-empathetically his moves amongst them.

BTW, it is four-minute long; for the constitutionally delicate, one-minute of his propaganda should suffice to get his 'message.'

This is unbelievable.

People are lining up for a passport at 3AM. They wait 7 hours, or longer. Some are just turned away and told to come back tomorrow.

What’s taking so long?

This is the waiting nation.

We are asked to wait for everything, as sleepy bureaucrats and government gatekeepers stand in the way of you getting the basic services to which you are entitled.

Sound familiar?

Watch and share my new video:

BTW, his propaganda is clearly reaching some. If you want to read the adoring comments he has elicited from true believers, click here.

A Trip Back In Time

That must be what it feels like to visit the United States these days, with the Supreme Court okaying the open-carry of guns and overturning Roe v. Wade.

The Real Faces Of 'Freedom'

I probably spend more time on Twitter than is healthy, but given that I follow a number of people who are either political writers or activists, that time is not entirely wasted. Two that I regularly check in on are TizzyEnt, an American filmmaker and justice-seeker, and Caryma Sa'd, a Toronto lawyer and satirist, much-hated by the Freedumb crowd for merely showing, via her videos, their inanity and unhinged natures. 

Last week, while riding her scooter in Toronto, Sa'd was assaulted and her scooter stolen. The following video tells the story and identifies one of the suspects, Emanuel Tamburrini.

The Time Is Out Of Joint

 

I spend a fair bit of time in this blog discussing my aversion to the United States. Widely populated by benighted souls, it is a country I now shun and have no intention of ever again visiting.

However, my smug convictions about the superiority of Canadians relative to our American counterparts has been shaken, for reasons that will quickly become apparent.

Martin Regg Cohn offers this disheartening news:

One in three adults in Canada believe Microsoft founder Bill Gates is either monitoring people with vax chips, or they think it’s possible, or they’re just not sure — but can’t rule it out. That leaves just 66 per cent of Canadians who reject that particular conspiracy theory outright.

According to new public opinion research by Abacus Data, it’s not just the Gates microchip, but a host of hoaxes and top secret cabals that are on the minds of Canadians — and causing them to lose their minds. A few more to blow your mind:

• Elections, recessions and wars are controlled by small groups secretly working against us: 44 per cent agree;

• COVID vaccines have killed many people, but there’s a coverup: 44 per cent say it’s definitely/probably/possibly true, or they’re still unsure;

• COVID was caused by the rollout of 5G wireless technology: 26 per cent can’t rule it out.

While it would be comforting to lay the blame for these results on the way the Abacus poll was framed, a quick check reveals that respondents were simply presented with statements with which they could agree or disagree which, I believe, as polling techniques go, seems fairly innocuous. (I stand to be corrected here by those who know more about such things,)

But it has long been a quintessentially Canadian conceit that we are a more judicious and less suspicious nation, not so easily manipulated and corrupted. Not quite.

“As pollsters we often get asked, ‘Is Canada different, is Canada immune, are we somehow exceptional to our neighbours to the south?’” Abacus CEO David Coletto said in an interview.

“We felt the answer is No,” which is why his polling firm tested out these questions with a representative sample of 1,500 Canadian adults. “We’re still human beings and still susceptible to the same information at a time when we’re feeling anxious … I think we’ve come to this place.”

While I think we are all aware, thanks to the stridency of the anti-vaxxers and the Freedom Convoy occupation in Ottawa, that we have people who subscribe to destabilizing fictions, we have sometimes chosen to ignore other signs, one of which Regg Cohn reminds us:

When a trickle of “irregular” migrants started crossing our border from Vermont and upstate New York, the clamour to batten down the hatches kept rising; when a couple of boatloads of ethnic Tamil refugee claimants from Sri Lanka arrived off the coast of B.C. in 2010, a Toronto mayoral candidate named Rob Ford complained publicly that Canada didn’t need more migrants.

...an Angus Reid poll later showed a remarkable 55 per cent of Ontarians wanted those Tamil passengers deported even if found to be legitimate refugees (as most were). 

If any comfort is to be found in the Abacus poll, it comes from the fact that the support for fringe ideas

is higher among supporters of the People’s Party, those who self-identify on the right of the spectrum, those who have not received any COVID-19 shots, and those who think media and official government accounts of events can’t be trusted. Those who feel Pierre Poilievre is the Conservative leadership candidate closest to their values and ideas are more likely to believe these theories when compared to those who feel more aligned with Jean Charest.

You can see the full breakdown of that support here. 

While it is true that only a minority of Canadians hold beliefs or leanings that run counter to the goal of living in a rational and ordered society, the size of that minority is disturbing, and its implications a cause for concern, especially if the fracturing spreads. 

As Abraham Lincoln famously said, borrowing from the Bible, "A house divided from itself cannot stand."

Let's hope it never gets to that in Canada.

P.S. If you have the time and inclination, check out M.P. Charlie Angus's take on all of this.

  

 

Hell No, I Won't Go!

In the days of my youth, the above was an anthem of resistance, shouted in defiance of the American draft sending young men to fight and to die in Vietnam. As a Canadian, I watched from the sidelines but nonetheless admired them for their conviction and willingness to go to jail for their beliefs.

Unfortunately, applied in a different context, that declaration is a badge of dishonour.

Those who have read some of my recent blog entries will know that I feel nothing but contempt for the majority of citizens in Ontario who refused to go to the polls in our recent election, one that saw a minority responsible for a second Doug Ford majority government. And while many insist that our first-past-the post system is responsible for such a victory, I lay the blame entirely upon those who could not rouse themselves from their couch torpor to exercise a foundational element of democracy.

And I see I am not alone in this sentiment. Martin Regg Cohn warns us not to fall into the trap that has ensnared the Americans by claiming that our results are illegitimate.

The emerging narrative is that the Tories somehow won a tainted election, diminished by a dreadful electoral turnout. It goes something like this:

Doug Ford’s Tories won 83 seats? True, but it’s not a true majority, the critics counter.

They imply that Progressive Conservative victory came thanks to a record low turnout — 43.5 per cent of Ontario’s 10.7 million eligible voters cast ballots in this election. As if this low percentage is the top-line number that matters most.

As if people staying at home — in their armchairs — exercise a veto from a distance that somehow invalidates, disenfranchises or delegitimizes those of us who bothered to cast ballots in a free and fair election. As if abstention trumps participation.

Rewriting recent history to favour one's ideological leanings doesn't work, according to Regg Cohn.

The unspoken implication is that not voting must be counted as a vote of non-confidence in the winning party, losing parties, or the electoral system. That is a remarkably presumptuous attempt to read the minds of all eligible voters.

Do we dare assume that people who are entirely apathetic have a hidden preference, as opposed to simply being uninterested? Do we have grounds to presume that a significant proportion of non-voters would vote if only we changed the electoral system by bringing in proportional representation, as its advocates claim?

A 2007 Ontario referendum put paid to the notion that PR is the panacea; it was rejected, a result that many of its supporters refuse to accept ... on the grounds that there was a low turnout.

One can clearly see the problem here. 

Ultimately, in my view and in my personal philosophy, it is time for people to grow up and accept the bitter truth of their own apathy instead of the sweet lie that they abstained from voting out of some kind of principled position. In other words, they need to take a good look in the mirror and see what it really reflects.

 

This Deserves To Be Viewed

It's less than three minutes, but is filled with truth one seldom hears on Fox.

Fox News is, to put it mildly, not known for indulging progressive politics – but the rightwing news channel gave it a go on Monday, when Bernie Sanders appeared in a debate on the network’s sister channel, Fox Nation.

Sanders, the Vermont senator, democratic socialist and two-time presidential candidate, took on Lindsey Graham, his Republican Senate colleague from South Carolina.

Sanders gave an unfettered breakdown of Medicare for all, or a national public healthcare system, a living wage, and increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

For Fox viewers it was a rare opportunity to hear a different perspective on policies which are regularly demonized by rightwingers Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, Fox News’ two most watched hosts.

For Sanders, it was a chance to reach a new audience, and he wasted no time before diving into a signature issue – universal healthcare. 

 

 

 

The CORE Of The Problem

 

As I continue to reflect upon the sad outcome of the recent Ontario provincial election, I find that the bulk of my disdain, my odium, my repugnance, is aimed not at the minority of voters who gave Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives another majority. Rather, it is toward the majority who, through inertia, ignorance or overly delicate sensibilities (I didn't like any of the candidates!) elected to forgo one of their key responsibilities of citizenship - getting out to the polls.

And the true results of that dereliction of duty are just starting to emerge. Noor Javed writes:

It was supposed to be the most significant investment in Port Hope’s history.

But a land deal — two years in the making — between the municipality and the Ontario Power Generation to acquire 540 hectares of unused Crown land along Lake Ontario was abruptly terminated by the province, which said the land would instead be assessed by its newest program: the Centre of Realty Excellence (CORE).

The province’s last-minute intervention stunned local politicians and residents who said the local MPP, who is also Doug Ford’s environment minister, supported the $18.6-million deal, which would have seen underutilized lands used for employment, housing and the preservation of environmentally sensitive lands.

Given that the erstwhile deal included housing development, but also the preservation of environmentally sensitive lands, it is perhaps instructive to look at what the government's CORE website has to say: distilled to its essence, it is all about facilitating rapid development of housing through the reduction of red tape, along with stern penalties for municipalities and their taxpayers that don't get with the program:

Applicants who do not receive approval of their site plan application within the legislated timeframe would have their application fees refunded through a phased approach. Fees would be refunded at the following percentages based on the amount of time that has passed since the municipality received the complete application and fee, starting January 1, 2023:

• 50% of the fee within 60 days
• 25% of the fee within 90 days (for a total refund of 75%)
• 25% of the fee within 120 days (for a total refund of 100%)

Considering Doug Ford's well-known ties with developers, the defunct deal with Port Hope should alarm those who understand how important and increasingly urgent it is to preserve environmentally sensitive lands. Says Jennifer Jackman, who is part of a group that represents local environmental groups Willow Beach Field Naturalists and the Northumberland Land Trust:

“This area is unique naturally, it’s not one type of ecosystem … it’s a forested area with ravines running through it that connects to a wetlands. That functioning ecosystem is unusual, particularly south of the 401”.

Jackman said it’s too early to say if the environment will play a role in CORE.

“We haven’t found much about what CORE will be like — what its priorities will be. It doesn’t mention conservation or ecology as one of its priorities, it’s more about getting value for their lands. So we are a little nervous about this,” she said. 

Ms. Jackman is right to be nervous. And if things run to their predictable outcome, she will have not only the Doug Ford government to blame, but the millions of  Ontarians who could not muster the intestinal fortitude to stop a second Progressive Conservative majority by exercising their franchise.

 

 

Who Was That Masked Man?

As of yesterday, June 11, here in Ontario our newfound 'freedom' from masks is almost total, with the exception of LTC and retirement homes. Those who wish to continue requiring them must do so on their own initiative, without benefit of government authority. Thankfully, most hospitals are continuing to mandate them, sending a clear message that the dangers of COVID-19 are far from over.

Nonetheless, as fewer and fewer people choose to exercise common-sense precautions, preferring the sweet lie to the bitter truth, the mask will increasingly become a flashpoint for agitation and discomfiture. Even before yesterday, there have been some heated confrontations over those wearing masks in public. For ample illustration, check out some of Marie's posts.

I had a very mild experience yesterday when I encountered someone who clearly takes exception to safety precautions. Walking to his big white truck (why do they always seem to have trucks?), an early middle-aged fellow, having exited the Shoppers Drug Mart I was about to enter, sneered at me as I was donning my kn95 mask. The wisdom he imparted to me was as follows:

Him: It's a micro-organism, you know.

Me: What do you mean?

Him: The virus. It's a micro-organism.

Me: I think all viruses are micro-organisms. (After looking it up, I learned I was mistaken about this.)

I'm not sure what his point was, but I noticed when I was waiting in line he finally pulled out from his parking spot, perhaps waiting and hoping he could catch me with a clever come-back. (Yeah, but this is a different micro-organism!) Maybe either his inspiration or patience failed him. He left without convincing me of the error of my ways.

Well, I reflected on this very minor incident and speculated that more and increasingly heated confrontations will likely occur as fewer and fewer people wear masks. But I can't for the life of me understand why it matters or is a concern to anti-maskers if I and others continue to wear a mask. Do they not like any reminder that they are living in a fantasy thinking that COVID is over? Are they offended by the notion that any restrictions should exist? Do they yearn for total FREEDOM?

I don't have any answers, but I do know this. Contrarian and provocateur that I can be, I shall continue to wear a mask far into the future, if only to unsettle the cryto-facists amongst us.

I Did Not Know That

 

While I am perhaps understandably loathe to do the work of Doug Food's Ontario government, I feel an obligation to post about something I learned this morning. In what is undoubtedly a cost-saving measure, the premier's braintrust has decreed that it will no longer be sending out reminders to renew our now-free car licence plates. And even more confusing, there will no longer be any stickers to show that we are driving with current plates.

Even though sticker fees have been scrapped by the province, motorists can still be fined by police if they don’t renew their vehicle plates. Fines range from $60 to $1,000.

At the same time, the government has also scrapped mail-out reminders for licence plates, driver’s licences as well as health cards. But Ontarians can sign up for email, text message or robocalls when it’s time to renew.

In what is surely a testament to misplaced trust in the capacity of the average Ontarian to take care of details like renewals, Elliott Silverstein, an official with the CAA, says,

“What the government was trying to do, and what a lot of groups have been trying to underscore is that you’re still responsible to make sure your vehicle is registered and everything is up to date, because you need that for insurance … you don’t want to be driving without a valid licence, that can cause huge problems.”

Silverstein said the government is not issuing stickers, which may also cause some confusion “as people have been conditioned to equate the sticker to renewals, but now it’s actually just moving forward without a sticker ... you’re not getting something physically to show for it.”

Now, I hesitate to be a Grinch about this, but I feel compelled to ask an obvious question: How in the world would police know you are driving without a valid plate unless they stopped you for something else?

How about another question? How often do you check to make sure that your driver's licence and health card are current?

Blessedly, for those who have the capacity to think more than one chess move ahead, 

the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services says it has moved to digital reminders. Ontarians can register online with Service Ontario or by calling 1-800-267-8097.

We are told by the right-wing of a great desire for more freedom. Let us hope that people also realize that the great freedom from those annoying licence fees also entails great responsibility. 

Doug Ford is counting on it.

 

The Arboreal Record

This, from Michael de Adder:

Too Late, Too Late

 

“Come, my friends
Tis not too late to seek a newer world..."

- Alfred, Lord Tennyson

I don't post nearly as prolifically as I once did, in large part, I suspect, because I have lost the hope that things can be improved in ways that change the world from its present, ineluctable trajectory. The Tennyson quote given at the top is something I no longer believe in, for reasons I discussed recently. Rather, I think about tending my own garden, in the sense intended by Voltaire.

That does not, however, mean I have lost my taste for truth, at least my interpretation of it. I do abide by the maxim, "Better a bitter truth than a sweet lie."

It is in that spirit that I take issue with The Star's latest editorial, which sees the record-low turnout of voters for our June 2 provincial election as largely the failure of the parties opposing Ford's Progressive Conservatives to offer a compelling reason to vote for them. As one who has held his nose in countless elections, that view holds little currency with me.

Rather, the following letter from the print edition of today's Star speaks a deeper and darker truth, in my view:

Election result reveals a greedy, selfish Ontario

• Toronto Star
• 5 Jun 2022

Ford celebrates his majority win; Del Duca steps down, June 2

Dear Ontario,

You allowed the refund of your licence plate stickers to buy your vote. You voted selfishly, with only your own interests in mind.

You forgot about the thousands of seniors who died, lonely and neglected, in our longterm-care homes during the pandemic.

You forgot about the unravelling of some of the best environmental protection legislation in the country.

You forgot about the dozens of Ministerial Zoning Orders that pushed through developments against the wishes of communities.

The goodness of a society is measured by how well it takes care of those less fortunate and those who can’t speak for themselves. Our seniors, our needy, our disabled, our birds and insects and wild animals and rivers and lakes and wetlands and farmlands — they needed you to vote on their behalf.

This election revealed a greedy, selfish Ontario with a short memory, and a willingness to destroy our environment for short-term gain. How will you explain the consequences of your actions to your children and grandchildren?

Shame on you.

Karen Heisz, Toronto

Amen, Karen.

Brittlestar: People Are Stupid

No, it's not the result of yesterday's provincial election that prompted this title, although in light of it, Brittlestar's latest does seem apt. 

BTW, only 43% managed to rouse themselves from their torpor to vote yesterday.

H/t Moudakis

Now Here's A Thought

 For sane and reasonable Americans, this has gotta hurt:

H/t Mike Lukovich