Showing posts with label editorial cartoons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label editorial cartoons. Show all posts

Monday, February 12, 2024

Monday, January 1, 2024

2024 Begins - But Where Will It End?

And Patrick Corrigan offers this apt and incisive cartoon to help us usher in the new year.



While the threats to democracy are world-wide, three former Trump staffers warn the danger is particularly acute in the U.S. if their former boss returns to the White House. You can read all about it here.

Sunday, December 31, 2023

That Was The Year That Was

As we move with both hope and trepidation into 2024, here are a few reflections, through a Canadian lens, on what happened this year, as recalled by my favourite editorial cartoonist, Theo Moudakis:





Happy New Year, everyone.


Friday, December 1, 2023

Is It Brinkmanship?

 

H/t Moudakis

One has to wonder, given the lack of any real movement on a national pharmacare program, whether Justin Trudeau is gambling on Jagmeet Singh's NDP being more afraid of an early election than are the Liberals. Given that the polls show an almost inexplicable lead by PP's Conservatives, that is quite the roll of the dice.

For whatever reason, the NDP has never, with one real exception, captured the hearts and minds of 'ordinary Canadians'. Perhaps they consider themselves temporarily embarrassed millionaires, or fear that wild-eyed socialists will run amok in their home and native land.

However, one thing that is certain, at least in my mind, is that the Liberals, especially under their current leadership, have never met a corporate entity they didn't like. To bring in a true pharmacare program would 'disenfranchise' health insurance companies and reduce big pharma's profits by bulk purchases of drugs at significantly lower prices. Despite their rhetoric, this is not something Justin and the gang want.

All of which is to say that the rich and their money enjoy special government protection. Consider, for example, Linda McQuaig's latest column about wealth taxes and what they could achieve for an increasingly impoverished citizenry:

Understandably, people feel enraged when they can’t afford food and shelter for themselves and their children -- especially when they’re working full-time, often at several jobs. They know they’re getting the short end of the stick.

But unless they read Statistics Canada releases, they’re probably unaware just how long the other end of the stick has suddenly become.

Of course, it’s conventional wisdom that the rich always get richer.

This has not always been the case, McQuaig points out that we used to have a progressive taxation system that redistributed wealth quite effectively, but that ended in the 1980s, and now the wealthy are profiting more than they ever have.

Just-released Statistics Canada data show that, in 2021, the top 1 per cent of Canadians saw their incomes grow by fully 20 per cent. Farther up, the incomes of the top .01 per cent grew by a stunning 30 per cent -- to an average yearly income of $12.5 million. This prompted Statistics Canada, not known for rabble-rousing, to note that (in inflation-adjusted dollars) this is “much higher” than at any point in the past 40 years.

Meanwhile, that same year, the bottom half of Canadians (some 14 million working people) saw their incomes actually drop.

McQuaig's solution, which will please many and appal some, is a wealth tax. 

A wealth tax would apply exclusively to those with net assets of more than $10 million – just 87,000 families. Under one model, they’d pay 1 percent a year on assets above $10 million, 2% above $50 million and 3% above $100 million. Yet, the tax could raise an estimated $32 billion – about 60 times more than the Liberal income tax charges.

Despite almost no public debate about it, a wealth tax has the support of close to 90 per cent of Canadians.

But the current crop of politicos, both Liberal and Conservative, and their enablers, will likely continue to protect the interests of the few, since

the wealthy have managed to keep it off the agenda. Their phalanx of lawyers, accountants and economists are quick to dismiss all attempts to raise taxes on the rich. And a wealth tax, given the way it can be so effectively targeted, is considered particularly odious.

Jesus is reported to have said that the poor will always be with us. Given the sad caliber of our political overlords, I see no reason to dispute that assertion. 

 

 

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Two Seasonal Reminders

I guess we never really outgrow Halloween, especially when the auguries spell something scary for Doug Ford.

And editorial cartoonists are certainly trying to put the fear of God into the premier:


H/t Theo Moudakis

Sunday, October 29, 2023

A Sunday Thought

With the NDP imploding under the weight of idealists and ideologues, and with some calling for the resignation of Marit Stiles, the following editorial cartoon seems to hit its target:



The only possible victor emerging from this debacle, in my view, will be the Ontario Liberals, especially if they choose Bonnie Crombie (who Doug Ford fears) as their next leader. While one female leader sinks, another will likely rise.









Monday, September 11, 2023

Yet Another Post About Corruption

 

H/t Patrick Corrigan

I'm fairly certain that readers who have stuck with me during my protracted postings on the Doug Ford corruption scandal are growing a bit weary of my apparent monomania. I don't blame you. Even I get tired of writing about a situation that seems to have no resolution, given how intractable Doug and his Slugs are proving on the Greenbelt theft. 

How can any of us move forward, with the stench of corruption still so pungent? The Toronto Star has a few suggestions:

Two investigations have condemned the process to select Greenbelt lands for new housing. The controversy has led to the resignations of a senior political aide, Ryan Amato, and Steve Clark, who had been municipal affairs and housing minister. A government chastened by such findings — and which put any any priority on doing the right thing — would have immediately reversed decisions revealed to be corrupted and politically driven.

And yet, as last week ended, not only was Ford moving ahead with development on 7,400 acres of Greenbelt lands but astonishingly, he suggested that more of this protected band of greenspace could be carved out for new housing following a review.

Let’s recall the many problems with how those lands were picked — lack of consultation, lack of regard to the environmental impacts, overwhelming negative feedback swept aside, gerrymandering of the selection criteria, and most appalling of all, the overriding influence of developers on what lands were chosen.

Despite damning reports from both tha auditor general and the integrity commissioner, the Ford band of robbers plays on, which raises questions that demand answers:n

.... why [are] Ford and his Progressive Conservatives ... so beholden [to] developers, so eager to bend to their wishes, that they’re willing to cast aside good governance and public opinion?

It more than defies explanation. It demands further investigation.

First, we need a police investigation. Ford has said he is “confident” there was no criminality. This from the politician who told the auditor general he was “unaware” of the many other problems on the file. The RCMP — handed the file by the Ontario Provincial Police — has said it will conduct a “full assessment” before determining whether to launch an investigation. Given the public interest, we need the Mounties to investigate and be transparent about what they find.

Secondly, we need a public inquiry. We have been well-served by the investigations to date by Lysyk and Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake. Yet both had to stick to their respective mandates. In Wake’s case, he was restricted to reviewing whether Clark contravened the Member’s Integrity Act. (He found that Clark did violate the act for his failure to oversee the process to select Greenbelt lands for development.)

While the chances of a public inquiry are nil, in my view, we have to hope that the RCMP does not quail at the prospect of criminally investigating a sitting government. Past performance leaves doubts as to their fitness for the task, but it must be done.

It is our only hope to lance the boil that is festering in Ontario

Thursday, August 31, 2023

UPDATED: Spinning, Spinning, Spinning

 Regrettably, I don't have too much time these days to post, and today is another busy day, so I shall leave you with the following editorial cartoon from Greg Perry, and links to some stories that are damning indictments of the Doug Ford cabal. 

Oh, and one more thing: Premier Ford is going to be making another attempt at damage control with another news conference this morning. I assume it will not have its intended effect.





Why is Ford protecting Clark?
can be accessed here.

Doug Ford stands by Clark can be accessed here.

And soon, the spinning begins:


UPDATE: It was a pathetic performance, to be followed shortly by a news conference with Minister Steve Clark.


Thursday, August 24, 2023

Pictures, Not Words

While a flurry of columns, articles and editorials continue to rail against the Doug Ford cabal theft of Greenbelt lands, I thought that a couple of editorial cartoons might be sufficient for today, images that effectively encapsulate the corruption and resulting pungent odour we in Ontario are contending with:






Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Signs Of The Times

I've been really busy this week and haven't had time to post. The following reflects just a few of the things I haven't written about, as seen through the eyes of Moudakis:





Tuesday, December 27, 2022

The Soul Of Wit

As Hamlet character Polonius famously (and ironically) said, Brevity is the soul of wit. And I can think of few wittier than editorial cartoonists, whose illustrations, when they hit the mark, are succinctly brilliant.

My favourite is Theo Moudakis, whose work appears regularly in the Toronto Star. Today's edition sees some highlights of 2022 from the master. Here are three of them:




Undoubtedly, there will be more than enough political antics and betrayals to power Moudakis and his cadre of fellow pundits through 2023.

Friday, December 23, 2022

People Will Remember

 

H/t Moudakis

A cynic and pessimist by nature, I rarely attribute any lasting, long-term results arising from protests. In the case of the Greenbelt Corruption and Destruction, however, I have to admit to being guardedly optimistic.

People are not quickly forgetting this desecration of environmental stewardship, democracy, and ethical, principled government.


‘Dougtator?’

I don’t understand why anyone is surprised by the Ontario Conservative government. It was long evident that Premier Doug Ford has no use for democracy, consultation or voters once they have cast their ballot. He stuffed his cabinet with toadies and sycophants, and now has a free hand to show his true colours. “The people” are viewed as a cost centre and a liability — not owners and stakeholders in this province. “The people” are expected to let their betters, (millionaire developers) take care of business. “The people” don’t need green space — they just need to shut up and go to work. Like any employee they should do as told and not express an opinion in the “dougtators” presence. Oh and no unions need apply!

Wayne Stansfield, Hamilton

The Greenbelt was a controversial topic when it was first introduced, mainly because farmers were never compensated for the loss in their land value, and it has become a matter of considerably more controversy today, as Bob Hepburn has pointed out so well his article, “Keeping developers from cashing in on the Greenbelt” (Dec. 2). It is hard to understand why developers/speculators would continue to buy up property in the Greenbelt when it was not possible for development to occur there. What or who did they know? It is also hard to understand how the entire Conservative government could ignore the input from so many experts, including city planners and experienced environmentalists.. It is time for all of us to become more involved. Try HandsofftheGreenbelt.ca.

Jim Warren, Hamilton. 

Hearteningly, young people are also becoming active in opposing this mess that they will eventually inherit. Western University graduate student Brendon Samuels writes:

On a blustery Friday afternoon in December, a group of students, faculty, staff, elected officials and community members gathered at Western University for a student-led demonstration about Bill 23, the “More Homes Built Faster Act.”

... students recognize that Bill 23 has little to do with building affordable housing, and instead focuses on removing essential processes for land use planning. Bill 23 limits the role of conservation authorities, municipal governments, and the public in reviewing and approving new developments that may impact habitat, biodiversity, farmland and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

While not all of the proposals by SOGS (Society of Graduate Students at Western) are likely to bear fruit, such as their call for a general strike to protest the bill, three of their demands seem eminently achievable. 

... students called on Doug Ford’s government to disclose its secret mandate letters immediately, per its legal obligation. The Auditor General of Ontario’s 2022 value-for-money report warns that the province is failing to provide transparency that it owes to its constituents. How much taxpayer money has been spent by this government fighting legal battles to withhold the mandate letters?

... students call on the Ontario government to answer questions directly and provide evidence-based justification for its decisions and policies related to the housing and climate crises. It is unacceptable that we continue to tolerate blatant lies, deflections and marketing gimmicks from the majority government in response to questions from the opposition in the Legislature.

 Finally, students urge everyone to continue sharing what you are concerned about in Bill 23 and other changes imposed by this government. We must continue to apply pressure and prepare for our next opportunity to vote for real leadership in 3.5 years. We need more effective public education and organizing, with messages designed to reach disillusioned voters and young people especially. Readers, please consider this an open call for spicy Ontario memes.

The environment's well-being, made especially urgent by our climate crisis, should be a matter of real concern to everyone. The fact that people are writing letters and contacting their representatives is all to the good. That young people, with a great deal of present and future skin in the game, are taking up the cause suggests this is a vital issue that, contrary to government bluster and lies, will not go away anytime soon.

 

 

Monday, October 17, 2022

Meanwhile, In The Land Of The Looney

Danielle Smith cultivates her tribe.

H/t de Adder


However, those inoculated against her lunacy beg to differ.


Anti-vaxxers are wilfully ignorant and uncaring about their responsibilities in society. To my mind, for Danielle Smith to say they are being discriminated against is akin to saying that incarcerating crooks is discrimination against the criminal class. Before discounting this comment, consider the thousands of people that failed, through no fault of their own, to get timely medical care because hospitals were unnecessarily challenged by unvaccinated, COVID-19 patients!

As of February 2022, over 900,000 people had died of COVID in the U.S. If the Canadian program had been in place, with 91 deaths per 100,000 people, the U.S. would have seen 600,000 fewer people die. This was because of Donald Trump rhetoric, like that of Smith.

These are irresponsible statements from a main-stream politician. Is Smith really this ignorant or dismissive of medical science? Or is this an attempt to garner votes?

Tom McElroy, Professor Emeritus, York University


The unvaccinated are the most discriminated against group Danielle Smith has ever seen? How does someone with so little lived experience ever get elected? A quick search for “Amnesty International” will show that unvaccinated are among the world’s most privileged and pampered victims ever.

Paul Collier, Toronto

As with Covid-19, one wonders when this pandemic of demagoguery, ignorance and manipulation will end.



Sunday, September 11, 2022

The Latest From Moudakis

Although my medium, for better or worse, is words (sometimes too many, I know), I have long admired the brilliant succinctness of  some editorial cartoonists; while there are several whose work I savour, preeminent in the pantheon is Theo Moudakis.

This illustrates why: