The Fairy Tale Factory

 

As children, we very much enjoyed fairy tales. Stories filled with wolves and innocent damsels, children led astray by heartless witches, princes and plotters, giants and giant-slayers, all combined to fill us with both fear and ultimately hope, as good prevailed over evil and the world was once more set aright.

It occurs to me that the summer of 2021 sees us in the midst of a fairy tale, only this one is entitled the federal election of 2021.

The identities of the heroes and villains depend largely upon where you are on the political spectrum. If a Liberal and swayed by manipulated media, you will see Erin O'Toole as the big bad wolf huffing and puffing at the house built by public healthcare, to name but one of his 'targets'. And while that wolf promises a tax credit for child-care, the Liberals are signing deals to bring about $10-a-day daycare, within five years. Writ large: Justin as middle-class hero.

If you are a Conservative, Mr. Trudeau and his gang are wanton spendthrifts heedlessly saddling Canadians and their descendants with unsustainable debt that ultimately spells ruin for old age security and health care, to name but two. The hero of this narrative? Erin O'Toole, who promises to balance the budget over a 10-year period and not raise taxes. Indeed, all the pressing problems of today, ranging from the opioid crisis to the cost of housing, will be met with swift and decisive action.

If you veer to the left, Jagmeet Singh is your man as he battles the neoliberal forces within our midst. One of his promises entails ending all subsidies for fossil fuels. Other goodies include universal prescription drug coverage, dental care and up to $5000 for families to cover their rent. Clearly he is the hero of the tale if exploitative and extractive capitalism, inadequate or unaffordable housing and runaway climate change rattle and rankle you.

We all know that fairy tales are unreal, and those who treat campaign promises as anything other than thinly-disguised fiction are either being naïve or have their ideological blinders firmly in place. One needs to take but a quick look at one aspect of the campaign to see the fictions being perpetuated.

Taxation. We have gone through an extremely difficult time this past year-and-a-half that has required extraordinary expenditures. Few would argue that they were unnecessary. The deficit has grown tremendously, but that isn't a part of the parties' narratives, for the most part.

Mr. Trudeau promises to hike taxes on the big banks and insurance companies, raising by three percentage points (from 15% to 18%) on all bank and insurance earnings over $1 billion to "support middle-class Canadians in their goal of home ownership." He has also announced something called the Canada Recovery dividend which, combined with the other measure, is supposed to generate $2.5 billion per year for the next four years. In my view, this timid measure is mere camouflage of neoliberal truths.

The Conservatives, on the other hand, are offering tax breaks and tax credits:

To help ailing retailers, a government led by O'Toole would implement a "GST holiday" — a month-long break on federal sales tax — sometime this fall. All purchases at a retail store would be tax-free for a month.

The Conservative government would scrap the $30-billion Liberal child care program...and instead convert the existing child care expense deduction into a refundable tax credit to cover up to 75 per cent of the cost of child care for lower income families.

Nary a word from either party of a sustained, realistic approach to taxation that would address either new program spending or the bourgeoning debt, but O'Toole has promised balanced budgets within 10 years. The roadmap, however, is non-existent.

Jagmeet Singh's NDP is the only party that seems more forthright about taxation, at least acknowledging the need for more revenue through a number of measures, including a wealth tax of 1% for those worth more than $10 million, raising the marginal tax rate for those making over $210,000, and restoring corporate tax rates to $18 from the 15% it had been reduced to by the Harper government.

Some, of course, might argue that he is playing to his base, but that base is rather large, given that 90% favour a wealth tax. But even here, the tax is a timid, given that a 3% rate would raise much, much more.

To give an order of magnitude of the amount that could be raised, the Parliamentary Budget Office published a report in July, estimating that a one-time wealth tax of three per cent on net wealth of more than $10 million and five per cent on net wealth over $20 million, could raise between $44 billion and $61 billion.

Kim Campbell once famously said that an election is no time to discuss serious issues. Judging by the willing suspension of disbelief  embraced by so many, she may indeed have been right.

Boy, Are These People Ever Dim

My disdain grows deeper daily.

"I'm Done"

                                          

Like many of us, Peter McMartin has had enough. He's had enough with the anti-vaxxers, the anti-maskers, those who place their faith in what they read on the internet rather than science, those who, ultimately, don't give a damn about anyone but themselves. 

If you will indulge me, I shall reproduce much of his denunciation below:

I’m done with those whose fear of vaccinations arises from studies that were long ago peer-disproved and retracted.

I’m done with those whose ignorance of science is so profound and intractable that, rather than heeding the advice of scientists, doctors and virologists, they put their trust in celebrities, politicians and quacks …

I’m done with those who are so mentally lazy that they refuse to trust in anything beyond hearsay, urban legend, apocrypha, conservative wing-nut provocateurs and the whole digital witch-doctor network of chat rooms, Facebook forums and the first hit that pops up on their Google searches that are designed to reaffirm their ignorance rather than challenge it.

I’m done with those who believe we all have our version of reality, because no, we don’t all have our own version of reality. Singular undeniable realities exist. The earth is round. COVID-19 has killed millions. There are no microchips in vaccines. Vaccines are not designed by governments, Bill Gates or the Illuminati …

I’m done with those whose fear of vaccinations is so rigid and unthinking that, as an unintended consequence of their ignorance, they would drag us back into the Third World by helping to resuscitate polio and whooping cough and mumps and measles …

I’m done with any person, government or business that would coddle anti-vaxxers, or who, like desperate parents trying to entice a spoiled child to eat his vegetables, would offer them tax breaks, lottery tickets or beer as rewards for getting vaccinated.

I’m done with anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers who, while literally weaponizing themselves by refusing to get vaccinated and putting other lives in danger as surely as if they were carrying a loaded gun, see themselves as brave freedom fighters protecting their constitutional freedoms, not because they believe in equality, but because they believe exactly the opposite, that their rights are preeminent over all others.

I’m done with those who complain about wearing masks, as if having to wear a piece of fabric designed to stop the inhalation of a deadly virus was akin to torture. 

I’m done with those who, after a visit to the intensive care unit and death’s door, experience their moment of revelation that, yes, they are so sorry that they didn’t get vaccinated because — with the usual egocentricity and selfishness that characterizes anti-vaxxer sentiment — they could have died rather than, you know, the untold number of people their stupidity put at risk.

Other than those with legitimate health concerns or compromised immune systems, I’m done with trying to understand, accommodate or politely tolerate anti-vaxxers, or those who are just too stupid, tuned out or unconcerned with the health and safety of others to get vaccinated.

My late father-in-law had a succinct way of dismissing things that to him were patently absurd. I leave you with his words:

"I don't have time for such foolishness." 

In that, he is far from alone.

For People Who Aren't Sheeple...

 

… they seem strangely attracted to unconventional 'cures' for Covid, including an animal dewormer called ivermectin.

UPDATED: On Mandatory Vaccines

Now that the City of Toronto has mandated vaccinations for all 37,000 of its employees, with limited exemptions, and the Toronto Transit Commission following suit, now seems to be a good time to explore what those exemptions might be.

The city will possibly allow religious exemptions. The only problem with that is, as far as I have been able to ascertain, no legitimate, established religions forbid vaccinations. Not Dutch Reformed. Not Jehovahs's Witnesses. Not Islam. Not Judiasm. End of story.

Unfortunately, so-called medical exemptions are a different story, judging by the American experience. Jeva Lange writes:

Medical exemptions have increasingly become the à la mode way for anti-vaxxers to deflect judgment and excuse themselves from mandatory vaccination requirements — even when doctors say there is almost never a well-founded reason to not get the safe and effective shot.

Art Krieg, an expert in immune disorders, was recently asked by Bloomberg if he could think of any health conditions that would disqualify someone from the COVID-19 shot: "Absolutely not," was his answer. "[T]here is no health condition where you should not get the vaccine." William "Andy" Nish, an allergy and immunology specialist, concurred: "[T]he risk of getting COVID-19 is so much higher and so much worse than the risks of getting the vaccine that it's just not even debatable," he told The American Journal of Managed Care. "It's just something that people need to do." 

One notable exception would be people who had a severe allergic reaction to the first shot — which, of course, would require them to have gotten the initial shot to have discovered. Yet cases of anaphylaxis seem to only occur in about 5 in every million people vaccinated (and those who did have allergic reactions, meanwhile, responded positively to the use of an antihistamine, Bloomberg notes).

Unfortunately, medical fact never gets in the way of  medical enablers.

… that hasn't stopped vaccine skeptics from seeking medical exemption letters — or sham doctors from writing them. "[A]n Oklahoma clinic said on Facebook that if an employer mandates vaccines, they can write a doctor's note exempting you from it if you qualify," reports Oklahoma's 4 News, going on to quote Dr. Dale Bratzler, the University of Oklahoma's Chief COVID-19 officer, who frets about such "exemption vouchers ... that are not based on any science." 

Could such medical chicanery happen in Canada? Of that I have no doubt. In fact, it wouldn't even require an ethically-challenged medical practitioner to issue such an exemption. What if a person went to her or his doctor claiming that needles set off panic attacks owing to a traumatic experience? Would that not qualify for a medical exemption? 

No one, of course, can compel people to submit to the needle. But their unwillingness to protect themselves and society at large from this deadly pandemic surely demands sanctions, right up to and including job dismissal if alternatives to working alongside of others cannot be found.

An abrogation of human rights? I don't think so, especially given their apparent disdain for the health and well-being of those around them.

UPDATE: There is an excellent article by an infectious disease physician in the L.A Times who has witnessed with a growing weariness far too many unvaccinated people die. Here are her concluding words:

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has mutated countless times during this pandemic, adapting to survive. Stacked up against a human race that has resisted change every step of the way — including wearing masks, social distancing, quarantining and now refusing lifesaving vaccines — it is easy to see who will win this war if human behavior fails to change quickly.

The most effective thing you can do to protect yourself, your loved ones and the world is to GET VACCINATED.

And it will work.

 

 

UPDATED: Meanwhile, In Ontario, In Search Of A Useful Idiot

The PC government of Doug Ford has an interesting fund-raising scam scheme. It consists of sending an 'invoice' to people:

Some Ontario residents have received mail correspondence asking them to donate to the PC’s election campaign, however, the letters have been designed to appear as invoices.

Kingston resident Greg Gies received one such letter, instructing him that he owed $800 to the party.

“Just above the address box window, in red letters, it says ‘Important Invoice Enclosed,’ right under the Ontario PC identification on the upper left-hand side,” Gies told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.

The envelope included the fake invoice, alongside a letter written by Ontario Fund chair Tony Miele, stating that the PCs are readying their "war chest" to continue the good work and the good fight and claiming that's why invoices have been sent out.

“[The body of the letter] mentions the word ‘invoice’ three times,” Gies said.

Gies said that, while he used to donate to the PCs, he hasn’t in nearly a decade, but assumes that his past donations are why he received the fake invoice.

“My first reaction was that it looked a lot like Trump's fundraising letters that we see going around on social media,” he said. 

CTV's Colin D'Mello spoke to a woman who received this shameful mailing:

So far, no one in the Tory braintrust has addressed this scandal, but no doubt, after they put on their collective thinking caps, they will blame it on a 'rogue employee' or volunteer, despite the fact that it has the imprimatur of  Tony Miele, Ontario Fund chair.

But then, their ilk always finds some "useful idiot" to blame, don't they?

UPDATE: I'm glad that's all cleared up. A 'third-party service provider' did it. From Sean O'Shea:

EXCLUSIVE Hallway interview with Chair of the Ontario PC Fund, Tony Miele. We staked out for 2.5 hours. Who approved the fake invoice marketing scheme? What misunderstanding? Who is losing their job? Here’s the raw interview.

 

Separated At Birth?

There are more things that unite us than divide us. That is, if you are a raging Christian fundamentalist and the Taliban:

An Escape From The Kennel

Hopefully, they will be returned to their enclosures post-haste:

The Liberal campaign is confronted by some protestors at a campaign stop in Coburg. They are yelling about freedom and vaccines as Trudeau speaks. There is swearing in this video.

More here as Trudeau’s bus leaves. One woman repeatedly yells about vaccines killing children. Many of the protestors were live streaming the event.

H/t David Cochrane

The Frenzy For 'Freedumb'

 

I suspect the majority feel the same as this letter-writer:

I am disappointed with my fellow Canadians who choose not to get vaccinated, for various personal reasons each have expressed.

These individuals could be relatives, friends, neighbours, young and old and come from all walks of life, but even after conversations and education on the matter, they continue to hold strong against vaccination.

I have lost a brother to COVID-19 who was living in a nursing home in Toronto. Both my father in Toronto and father-in-law in Calgary, who were living in personal homes, died from COVID contracted from in-home health-care providers.

The government should mandate vaccinations for all Canadians, and if they do not have the political willpower to do this, then at least target the health-care sector who, by profession, are there to save lives and not endangering the sick and vulnerable.

If individuals choose not to get vaccinated, they should have to purchase a health insurance policy to cover costs if they get sick with COVID.

Why should fellow Canadians have to not only deal with the selfishness of individuals who choose not to be vaccinated, but have to pay for their misguided decisions as they fill up our hospitals and stress out are dedicated health care professionals?

Gordon Honkawa, Scarborough

Then there is this, from an Ontario resident:

COVID-19 is a fighter but unfortunately, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is not. Every time this virus lands a heavy blow, Ford hides in his corner, cowering. 

He consistently refuses to listen to the epidemiologists, medical experts, experts of any kind. He does, however, listen to his far-right base, the one that bleats incoherently about personal liberty.  

The fact is, people’s rights will be impacted. The question is who’s [sic]? Will it be the vast majority who made the choice to protect themselves, and their community, by following the science? Or will it be those who ignore the facts to make personal choice based solely on their own needs? 

John Snider, Tottenham, Ont.

I guess the above describes what happens in a society led by political cowards, those who rule by fear of offending their traditional bases of support. I guess they haven't gotten the memo that when it comes to Covid-19, the tide has definitely turned.

Dear Mr. Trudeau

Thank you for reading my letter. 

Let me begin by saying that I had hoped to maintain a congratulatory tone throughout this missive. After all, you have done a very good job keeping us relatively safe during the extraordinary times we have undergone these past 17 months.

You delivered on the vaccine.

You delivered with CERB

You initiated badly-needed supports for businesses devastated by the pandemic.

You set a national example during our time of confinement.

You followed the Covid rules, isolating when required.

You showed your willingness to forsake tonsorial splendour.

You talked to us daily about the disease.

You wore a mask.

Essentially, you were a positive role model when the times demanded one.

You really had our backs.

But now, sadly, I must turn to the darker side of your soul, the political part demonstrating the grave dichotomy between your public persona and your deeper self. 

What will so many people infer from your calling an unnecessary election during a fourth wave? Surely many will see it as a reckless, even ruthless, willingness to place your political hopes (a majority government) over the health and safety of your fellow citizens.  

Consider this. A fourth wave of Covid is convulsing the nation. People, even the vaccinated, are contracting the Delta variant, said to be as contagious as chicken pox and deadlier than the original virus.

Your chief medical health officer, Teresa Tam, continues to advise extreme caution.

In Canada's most populous province, Ontario, growth of the virus is alarming, and has now reached a reproduction rate of 1.62, meaning, of course, that every 100 Covid cases causes an average of 162 infections.

Of course, you know all of this. And yet you are calling an election that will require millions of Canadians to congregate dangerously at polling stations, which brings me to another disturbing point about your recklessness. Presumably, the bulk of polling stations will be in their traditional locales, many of which are schools. Have you not considered the health risks you are inflicting on children trying to get back to a reasonable approximation of traditional learning?

There is more that I could say, but allow me to close by reiterating my disappointment in the path the media tell us you have chosen. It is a path that will serve only to deepen cynicism in an electorate that expects much better of you.

Corporate Philanthropy: The Art Of Misdirection

 

I have just read a fascinating book by Anand Giridharadas entitled Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World. His thesis: that big-name, wealthy and corporate philanthropists, aided and abetted by world 'thought leaders,' do much good in the world, but the solutions they promote are also benefitting them while at the same time protecting the status quo, i.e. the systems that are in fact responsible for inequality, poverty, lack of opportunity, etc. Hence, increased taxation and regulation are off the table.

Examples abound of what this means in practical terms: charter schools instead of ensuring proper funding for all schools through decent levels of taxation;  developing companies and apps like Uber or Lyft that promote precarity and are strongly anti-union, all while touting 'greater consumer choice' and worker 'flexibility' but taking no responsibility for their employees, whom they term 'independent contractors' and hence not subject to minimum wage laws, labour legislation, etc.

These movers and shakers have a simple mantra: do good by doing well. In other words, my success is the world's success, a win-win situation. 

Except that it isn't. In pursuing this very narrow filter for philanthropy, it is doing two things:  misdirecting people away from the underlying causes of the problem, as previously stated, and  undermining democracy by promoting the idea that business, not government, is the answer to the world's problems - a neoliberal's dream!

That government should get out of the way of business is, of course, nothing new, and is frequently found in the policies of the Trudeau government, from the leveraging of Infrastructure Bank funds to pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into foreign pharmaceuticals (think Sanofi and BioNtech) to set up shop in Canada.

But I digress.

One of the best illustrations of the corporate world's 'charitable' practices can be found in this excerpt from a book entitled Take the Money and Run, an indictment of the unholy relationship that exists between food banks and Walmart Canada:

For decades critics have identified Walmart Canada’s employment practices — characterized by inadequate wages with few benefits — as contributing to household food insecurity (HFI). Walmart Canada also opposes unionization drives which would result in higher wages and benefits through the collective bargaining process. In a remarkable example of image management, Walmart Canada now brands itself as an important ally in reducing HFI by entering a partnership with the major food bank association in Canada, Food Banks Canada (FBC).

Mastering the magician's art of misdirection, corporations like Walmart burnish their images and derive practical benefits such as the avoidance of costly disposal fees while the underlying causes of food insecurity go unaddressed:

Walmart Canada’s contribution to food banks, when placed against its history of anti-union activities and its effects upon their own workers and other workers’ well-being, is trivial. Its anti-union activities have a far greater impact upon HFI, and not for the good. Additionally, Walmart Canada and other similar corporations — through partnerships with CSOs such as FBC — go from villains to saviours, making dealing with the causes of HFI such as low wages and inadequate social assistance benefits more difficult. Such partnerships make it unlikely that HFI organizations such as Food Banks Canada will call for reducing HFI by raising minimum wages, promoting unionization and increasing corporate taxes on profitable corporations such as Walmart Canada to help restore the Canadian social safety net. In fact, the chair of the FBC’s board of directors of FBC is a vice-president of Walmart Canada.

The authors suggest that Food Banks Canada should make a better use of their resources:

Instead of embracing Walmart Canada as a partner, FBC and its affiliated food banks should highlight how unjust and unfair employment creates HFI and call for major reform of the employment market as a means of reducing HFI in Canada. They should also resist the role that corporate lobbying plays in maintaining low wages and poverty-inducing social assistance levels. Embracing corporations and polishing their images is not a solution to HFI in Canada.

Most of us, both as individuals and corporate entities, like to feel good about our philanthropic practices. But I leave the final word to Hamlet about the dangers of ignoring or minimizing the underlying causes of, in this case, the socio-economic diseases we seek to cure:

Lay not that flattering unction to your soul

….

It will but but skin and film the ulcerous place

Whiles rank corruption, mining all within,

Infects unseen.

that flattering unction to your soul
That not your trespass but my madness speaks.
It will but skin and film the ulcerous place,
Whiles rank corruption, mining all within,
Infects unseen.

A Ball And Chain Forged By Fools

I hope to be back with something new tomorrow. In the meantime, this speaks volumes:

Straighten Up And Fly Right

 I somehow doubt it is possible anymore to "fly the friendly skies" south of us.

An Olympic Performance

 And the gold medal winner in the back flip category is: Andrea Horwath.

H/t Theo Moudakis

This Puts Things Into Perspective

 

Oh, I Love This

 I hope you do too.

Would You Buy A Pillow From This Man?

 I wouldn't.

And you needn't watch this entire video to get renewed confirmation that American stupidity is rampant.

Does This Look Familiar?

 

Not only does the Great Grifter have a new scheme to fleece his followers, but he is doing it in a way that will appeal to their basest, most racist instincts.

While other designs are also being considered, the above clearly will have great appeal to the greatest number of people who want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, only this grift  will offer Trump fealty cards for this reason:

"The card you select will be carried by Patriots all around the Country. They will be a sign of your dedicated support to our movement to SAVE AMERICA, and I'm putting my full trust in you," one email from Trump's Save America PAC said.

"We're about to launch our Official Trump Cards, which will be reserved for President Trump's STRONGEST supporters," the PAC said in a followup email, according to Business Insider.

 It's unclear what the cards will cost or what they will be used for aside from showing the user's devotion to Trump.

Oh, I can think of a couple of things to do with this card, but since I try to practise a certain level of decorum on this blog, I will leave it to the imagination of readers as to its best use. 

 

Sometimes They Get It Right

People who read this blog more than occasionally will be aware that I am not a big fan of Americans. Their widespread ignorance, their collective solipsism, their endless bruiting about being "the greatest nation on earth" are off-putting, to put it mildly.

However, once in awhile, some of them make sane, logical and admirable decisions that would be churlish not to acknowledge.

One such decision has been made by Bill de Blasio, mayor of New York City.

New York City will become the first U.S. city to require proof of vaccination for a variety of activities for workers and customers — indoor dining, gyms and movie theaters — a move intended to put pressure on people to get vaccinated, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday.

The restrictions, similar to mandates issued in France and Italy last month, represent the most aggressive response to lagging vaccination rates in the United States, and they come as the number of virus cases surge across the country. Mr. de Blasio said he hoped that other cities would implement similar measures.

“This is a miraculous place literally full of wonders,” Mr. de Blasio said. “If you’re vaccinated, all that’s going to open up to you. But if you’re unvaccinated, unfortunately you will not be able to participate in many things.”

A contrast to the benighted 'leadership' on display in Florida, where even mask mandates are forbidden, de Blasio recognizes the power of both the carrot and the stick. The carrot, of course, is that the vaccinated can move about freely to patronize gyms, restaurants, bars, museums, Broadway plays, etc. and the stick is the exclusion of those obdurately opposed to vaccines from such venues.

There is evidence that de Blasio's strategy is spreading.

Vaccine mandates are accelerating across the country, as both municipalities and private businesses have adopted them. On Tuesday, Tyson Foods told its 120,000 workers in offices, slaughterhouses and poultry plants across the country that they would need to be vaccinated by Nov. 1 as a “condition of employment.” And Microsoft, which employs roughly 100,000 people in the United States, said it would require proof of vaccination for all employees, vendors and guests to gain access to its offices.

President Biden said on Tuesday that he believed other cities should follow New York City’s lead in requiring proof of vaccination for restaurants and gyms.

“You have to give proof that you’ve been vaccinated or you can’t come in,” Mr. Biden told reporters.

Sadly, such a sane approach to opening things up and instilling peace of mind in potential patrons is lacking in places like Ontario. Premier Ford has said he does not want to split society.

I guess he did not get the memo that we already are split, and the gulf is growing wider daily. Letting the tail wag the dog is never a good approach to public policy, especially when it comes to public health.

Party Of None: Many People Have Been Asking

Well, no, I just made that up, but for those of a certain faction, the following should set their hearts and minds at ease. 

Guess this hale and hardy young buck will be ready for the next election, eh?

In Loving Memory

 

"It's All Your Fault"

Start at about the 55 second-mark for an uncomfortable look in the mirror. We should all feel a shudder of recognition and realize our collective responsibility is hardly limited to the things articulated by this lady.

The Writing Is On The Wall (And In The Newspapers)

 

H/t Patrick Corrigan

The is such a wealth of good letters to the editor today that I had a hard time choosing what to reproduce. 

They have one thing in common: the need for vaccine certificates is great, Doug Ford's refusal notwithstanding.

Re Vaccine passports should be on Ford’s list, July 28; Vaccine passports can prevent lockdowns, July 27 

Emma Teitel and Matt Elliott have each provided excellent arguments for the necessity and benefits of Ontario having vaccine passports.

I couldn’t agree more.

Let me remind the freedom-doubters there are numerous rights we all readily give up because they support order and public safety.

For example, you cannot legally drive your car out of your driveway without a valid driver’s license and car insurance.

Those who freely choose not to go by these conditions simply forfeit their right to drive on our public roads.

Similarly, those who freely choose not to get vaccinated, and thus obtain a vaccine passport, simply forfeit their right to mingle with the rest of us at a restaurant patio, a movie theatre, or a Blue Jay’s game.

And they certainly forfeit their right to work in our health-care settings or in our schools.

Ivan Brown, Toronto

I disagree strongly with the Ford government’s assertion that Ontario has no need for a vaccination passport.

People refuse to take a vaccine based on conspiracy theories that are unbelievable.

Those who refuse are putting the rest of us at risk, themselves at risk, their friends and family at risk, and most of all, they are going to clog up the healthcare system even more.

If it takes a passport to move some of these people off their unfounded theories, then that’s what we need.

Carl Irwin, Flesherton, Ont.

When most of the public overwhelmingly wants a vaccine passport in place, the premier of our province won’t step up to the plate.

He doesn’t want to offend a small segment of society by implementing the only way we will ultimately beat this virus.

While food service businesses, schools, long-term care, hospitals and scores of smaller service enterprises struggle to survive due to lax vaccine policies, the premier waffles as he refuses to do the right thing and make decisions that will save lives and jobs.

It’s time for Doug Ford to be the responsible parent and do the right thing.

Marion Bartlett, Singhampton, Ont.

Re A big tent of COVID misinformation, July 24 

The best incentive for vaccinations is a person’s job and the capacity to participate in the daily life of one’s choosing — as prescribed elsewhere, where the leaders are actually informed and not like our poorly educated premier, lack of vaccination comes with a price, literally.

No entry to restaurants, concerts, anywhere that crowds gather; no return to working without proof of full vaccination … what kind of privacy or rights come with the risk of infecting others and endangering our city, our province, the world?

Maybe the premier is blind to the reality that we all live. Perhaps his business ties blind him to the world apart from profit and cronyism. Blindness is the theme. But blindness in this case can be cured.

Joel Greenberg, Studio 180 Theatre

Let’s take a critical look at the antivaxxers and anti-lockdown adherents to examine whose civil liberty they are actually protecting.

Putting others at risk of infection and sabotaging vaccine clinics interferes with the rights of others to be protected from COVID-19.

It also jeopardizes the goal of reaching herd immunity and the possibility of going back to some degree of normalcy.

Not only are these people interfering with the civil liberties of those who want protection from the virus, they are also shooting themselves in the foot by increasing the likelihood of more lockdowns.

If the anti-vaxxers adherents are so vehemently opposed to lockdowns, has it not occurred to them that, if they were to get vaccinated, it would be a great way to help prevent the closings?

But that won’t happen as logical thinking is clearly absent among these folk.

Catherine Helwig, Toronto

The Certitude Of The Profoundly Ignorant

Throughout this pandemic, much praise has rightly been given to the tireless frontline healthcare workers who have put themselves and their families at risk trying to keep others alive. The widespread distribution of vaccines has made their jobs a bit easier, except for the fact that many people still refuse the shot based on "their own research" and other such dubious justifications. Indeed, some are adamant that they will not allow the government to tell them what to do.

Were it not for the fact that their refusals put everyone at risk of exposure to new variants against which vaccines may proof ineffective, I would say leave them alone and let nature take its course. Complicating matters, however, is another group that more directly puts vulnerable people at deadly risk: healthcare workers who shun the shot. 

In the following clip (please start at the eight-minute mark), four such people speak with great certitude about their 'reasons' for not getting the jab. Although supposedly educated people, these women seem especially benighted.

Should those ladies have access to The New York Times, I would strongly suggest they and their fellow covidiots read this article about those who wish they had gotten the shot for themselves and their loved ones.

The Upper Hand

 We certainly do live in strange times, eh?

H/t Theo Moudakis

Theatre Of The Absurd

Who will rescue me from the depths of cynicism this pandemic has ensnared me in? The simplest solution, of course, would be not to watch things like the following, but trainwrecks and covidiots exert their own strange, pernicious pull.

Barbarians At The Gate

My preoccupation of late has been with those who refuse to get vaccinated, people who blithely and recklessly pose a hazard to all of us. Not surprisingly, much of that ilk is also adamantly opposed to vaccine certificates/passports. And for some reason beyond my ability to fathom, their voices have been heard over those of sane people.

This, and a conversation I had yesterday, has led me to wonder about the documentation that will be required when Americans begin crossing into Canada on August 9.  It is a date we should look upon with some trepidation.

Yesterday I walked over to a local store to buy some milk. En route, I ran into the manager of the garage where I take my car for servicing. As we chatted about Covid and related matters, he told me something one of his customers had relayed to him. Said customer has a cousin from the U.S. planning a visit. The cousin, an avid and rabid anti-vaxxer, said he has bought fake vaccination certificates online (most likely on the Dark Web, where they are readily available) for $75 each. Said customer told his cousin that he wouldn't be letting him into his house.

So the question is, what precautions are the Canadian government and Canadian Border Services taking to detect counterfeit certificates? Sadly, the answer is not especially encouraging.

Relying on questioning and 'intelligence' to ferret out the fakes leaves too much to chance. In its zeal to welcome back Americans, the federal government seems willing to put some of the gains we have made in our Covid battle at risk. I doubt the electorate would cheer such recklessness.