Teflon Doug

He's loved of the distracted multitude,

Who like not in their judgment, but their eyes

- Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 3

It is deeply disappointing to discover that Ontario Premier Doug Ford is continuing to show ongoing strength in the polls. Indeed, those polls suggest the above quote from Hamlet is an appropriate explanation of public sentiment toward the retail salesman often called "Teflon Doug."

What explains the popularity of a man mired in scandal thanks to his intimate relationship with big developers? Robert Benzie offers this:

In new polling for the Star, Abacus Data found voters are so far willing to forgive — if not quite forget — transgressions that would have derailed the electoral careers of others.

...the Tories are confident about the two-term premier’s skills on the stump and his ability to connect with Ontarians in their everyday lives.

Pollster David Colletto says:

He’s polarizing in the sense that if you don’t like him, you don’t like him. And there’s a lot of Ontarians who don’t like Doug Ford,” said Coletto.

“But he has enough who do and they think he’s just a friendly, nice guy who isn’t perfect, but admits mistakes when he makes them and tries to fix them,” the pollster said.

“He’s forgiven because he asks for forgiveness.”

Revealingly, when asked how to describe Ford, 44 per cent of respondents felt he was “friendly,” while 20 per cent said he was “mean.”

Similarly, 39 per cent said he “gets things done” while 38 per cent insisted he “fails to deliver”; 38 per cent said he is “normal” while 28 per cent said he’s “weird”; and 37 per cent said he “admits mistakes and corrects them” while 38 per cent said he “refuses to admit mistakes.”

“That’s a winner — during the last campaign that became his new brand: the guy who gets things done,” said Coletto, hearkening to the Tories’ successful 2022 re-election slogan, Get It Done.

Apparently, Ford's mastery of retail politics makes him a winner:

“It’s service above self. He’s very easy to talk to,” said Borecky, a retired program analyst.

To Coletto, “that is at the core of Doug Ford’s brand,” the perception of a folksy populist that has developed since he came to office in 2018.

“He is the guy who will call you back. You run into him in the airport or on the street, he’s going to shake your hand, he wants to meet you — he’s that ultimate retail politician,” he said.

Unfortunately, from my perspective, there is also a darker reason for Ford's ongoing popularity: people's general ignorance of what is going on around them. Matt Gurney writes: 

The average voter and citizen doesn’t spend much time paying attention to the news. They might be able to name Olivia Chow as the mayor of Toronto, but there’s a good chance they don’t know who their local councillor is. They almost certainly know that Justin Trudeau is the prime minister, but it’s not a given that they know he’s a Liberal.

A Maru poll from last year pegged the number of Canadians who were hyper-engaged in the news at 16 per cent, and that felt about right to me.

The catastrophes in our long-term care homes during the pandemic may not have registered with them because they were busy managing the pandemic’s effects on their own lives. The Greenbelt scandal is probably something they’ve heard mentioned but haven’t looked into deeply. The closing of the Science Centre, if it registered at all, was probably forgotten in days. And so on.

So there you go. Unscrupulous politicians (is that a redundancy?) count on a superficial citizenry, one that is easily manipulated by smiling faces, catchy phrases and inflammatory rhetoric.

Truly, they are an autocrat's dream. 

 

 

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

In what I think was an underreported story, Russian has announced the following:

Russia will make changes to its doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons in response to what it regards as western escalation in the war in Ukraine, state media quoted deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Sunday.

The existing nuclear doctrine, set out in a decree by President Vladimir Putin in 2020, says Russia may use nuclear weapons in the event of a nuclear attack by an enemy or a conventional attack that threatens the existence of the state. Some hawks among Russia’s military analysts have urged Putin to lower the threshold for nuclear use in order to “sober up” Russia’s enemies in the west. Ryabkov’s comments on Sunday were the clearest statement yet that changes would indeed be made. “The work is at an advanced stage, and there is a clear intent to make corrections,” state news agency Tass cited Ryabkov as saying. The decision was “connected with the escalation course of our western adversaries” in connection with the Ukraine conflict.

The above should not come as any real suprsie, given the proxy war currently being fought in the Ukraine between the U.S. and Russia. Nonetheless, it is a sobering start to the post-Labour-Day week, isn't it?

In other news,  a war of another kind looks increasingly likely after the next U.S. election. Peter Stone reports that Trump and his cabal are busy laying the groundwork for civil war.

Donald Trump and election denialist allies at Turning Point USA, True the Vote and other Maga stalwarts are spreading conspiracy theories about election fraud in order to lay the groundwork for charging the election was rigged if Trump loses, warn election experts and some veteran Republicans.

 John Giles, the Republican mayor of Mesa Arizona who spoke at the Democratic national convention in August in support of Vice-President Kamala Harris’s campaign for the presidency, said that former president Trump and his allies “will throw everything at the wall and see what sticks”, if Trump loses.

He added: “They’ll claim everything went wrong if they lose. I’d be surprised if Trump doesn’t try to foment insurrection if he loses the election.”

The endgame is in sight: 

“A lot of false claims are masquerading as efforts to change policy to improve election integrity when in actuality they’re just designed to sow distrust in our system if Trump loses,” said David Becker who leads the Center for Election Innovation and Research. “This is all designed to manufacture claims that if Trump loses, the election was stolen and to sow discord, chaos and potential violence.”

Voter suppression also is part of the plan:

Although they lack the resources of Kirk’s well funded operations, Texas based True the Vote has long played a role in pushing election conspiracies about voting fraud at drop boxes and other bogus charges, and the group is once more working to sow doubt in Wisconsin.

Catherine Engelbrecht, who founded True the Vote in 2009, in an interview on 30 July with Christian nationalist and self-styled prophet Lance Wallnau, said her group was partnering with a few sheriffs in Wisconsin to monitor drop boxes for voting fraud using camera equipment that the group plans to provide.

Given the general low level of awareness and intelligence that exists in the U.S., expect anything but a smooth transition should Kamala Harris and her party succeed in November.   

 

 

More On The Arlington Debacle

In my previous entry, I posted a clip that the Trump campaign is now using of Don's visit to Arlington, disgracing the memory of the dead and egregiously flouting the prohibition against pictures and videos being taken there.

In this segment, we see The Cowardly One deny any responsibility for. what took place:

Republicans against Trump

Wow. This is a new low, even for Trump. 

“It Was a Setup,” “Could have been the parents” Trump tries to blame Gold Star families for the Arlington incident.

Like the 'good soldier' he is,  J D Vance issued this stout defence of Trump while denigrating Kamal Harris:

Ah, but the feckless Vance was no match for this former Marine and widow whose husband died for his country:

🇺🇸USMC Veteran and Gold Star Widow Katherine Wyatt has a question for 

@JDVance

 about Trump's Arlington stunt: 

"Instead of trying to appeal to the moral consciousness of Donald Trump because I don't believe he has any...Where is your integrity, Marine?

My good friend Dom, an astute observer and critical thinker to whom I sent the above clip, had this to say about Vance:

Vance is a pull-toy of Peter Thiel. He is beholden to him as Peter funded his company, and also advised Trump to select him as VP. He is whoever Peter tells him to be. Both men are his play toys devoid of any self respect. Vance is the perfect match for Donnie: the King of self loathing and insecurity. 

The Silicon Broligarchs, are no longer hiding their alt right views. Musk, Thiel, Anderson, Altman, Zuckerberg, et. al, believe they own the future and believe they also own America. They have made it clear who they want in office whose mandate will be to remove and punish anyone in their way.

God save America.

To all of this, I have nothing to add, but you might be interested in an article from The Guardian in which writer Kevin Carroll offers his evaluation of Trump. Hint: it is not flattering.

UPDATED:Exploiting The Dead

You have likely heard about the debacle at Arlington National Cemetery where Don Trump and his team took pictures and video of him laying a wreath honouring the war dead. Steve Benen writes:

As the week got underway, Donald Trump probably thought going to Arlington National Cemetery would be a good idea. The former president, despite his awful record related to respecting U.S. troops and veterans, appeared eager on Monday to exploit the third anniversary of a terrorist attack in Afghanistan that killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 150 Afghans.

The first problem is that such video incursions are forbidden in the military cemetery. The second problem is the fact that this cowardly, bone-spurred military refusenik has incorporated the video into his campaign, as you can see in the video below.

Jules Morgan 🧸

@glamelegance

There it is, his disgusting campaign video and the real reason he went to Arlington Cemetery. Like and repost the video so that everyone will see the truth.

Americans are said to revere their military. I can't help but wonder how the true patriots feel about this transparent and disgusting ploy by Trump to elevate himself at the expense of the dead.

UPDATE: This voice from the heartland sets the record straight about Trump:

But Only If You Agree With Me

Free speech is great. It is a principle that most people claim to support, but sometimes that support is contingent upon the subject under consideration. In a shameful episode yesterday, it became apparent how fragile the concept can be as McMaster University showed its true and cowardly colours.

The union representing academic workers at McMaster University says three students who are also connected to the labour group have been banned from campus activities after they participated in a pro-Palestinian protest earlier this year. 

The students are elected leaders with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3906. CUPE 3906 said on social media late last week they each received a notice from the Hamilton university that they have been declared "persona non grata."

Personal non grata is a term I have not heard in a long time. Often a diplomatic sanction, it means that a person, often a representative of another country, has said or done something that has offended the host constituency.

In diplomacy, a persona non grata (PNG) (Latin: "person not welcome", plural: personae non gratae) is a foreign diplomat who is asked by the host country to be recalled to their home country. If the person is not recalled as requested, the host state may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the diplomatic mission (including the removal of diplomatic immunity). A host country may declare persona non grata status for any member of a diplomatic staff at any time without any explanation.

According to McMaster's Student Code of Rights and Responsibilities, that designation is given to someone who is "denied the privilege" of entering specific parts of the university. 

"If PNG individuals are found or seen in the area they are denied, then they will be subject to a charge by Security Services under the Trespass to Property Act," the policy states. 

Demonstrating on behalf of a people experiencing genocidal attacks by Israel has therefore become a crime at McMaster.

CUPE 3906 said the status effectively bans the students from participating in campus activities, ranging from extra curriculars to any protests, but they can attend classes. At least one of the students confirmed to CBC Hamilton by email he had received the notice from McMaster. 

In its online post, CUPE 3906 said the school is hoping to "use police violence to silence resistance to its complicity in the ongoing genocide in Palestine."

According to McMaster spokesperson Michelle donavan, who refused to speak about specifics, such a sanction can be applied if the code of conduct has been violated.

The code lists activities which constitute a violation, including engaging in threatening behaviours or communications, failing to comply with safety regulations, failing to cooperate with university officials, trespassing and causing disturbances.

"A PNG notice is given if there are concerns, based on the evidence of the case, that an individual poses a potential risk to campus or members of the campus community," she wrote. 

The offending behaviour apparently was the encampment set up at the university, one of several across North America, to protest the killing of over 40,000 Palestinians by the state of Israel. 

The protest grew within a week to have over 100 people and close to 70 tents, with daily activities and speakers. It ended in May after two-and-a-half weeks.

At the time, organizers said they'd come to an agreement with McMaster which included commitments around transparency about its investments and human rights considerations in international agreements that the university is involved in. 

One of the students who says he received the notice is Mason Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick is the union's vice president. He said the other two include the co-chair of a tenant solidarity working group and the chair of a working group on funding for graduate students.

Fitzpatrick told CBC Hamilton he was involved in the encampment as a camper and a union representative. He and others with CUPE 3906 were planning to speak out about the decision Tuesday afternoon at a rally just off campus.

"We will not be intimidated. We will not back down. This move by the university only serves to clarify the need for workers to stand against imperialism," CUPE 3906 said on Instagram.

"We will use all means available to us to fight for the right to protest and look forward to seeing our members back on campus."

A sad day for people's Charter Rights, and a big black eye for McMaster University. 

Counteracting The Void

Yesterday I posted a mini-rant on people's general lack of awareness of the world around them. Today, I post two videos that put to shame those who willfully live their lives in bubbles of ignorance.

Here is 12-year old Knowa De Baraso. The first clip shows him vigourously challenging the falsehoods that Mr. Pillow guy, Mike Lindell, tries to spew:

The second is De Baraso showing his mettle in an interview with Sky News.

The bubble people should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves, no matter how they justify their ignorance.

Living In A Void

Maybe I am in a bit of a mood today, but I can't help but be disdainful of those who live in a news void. Even if you don't subscribe to a newspaper, there are plenty of sources that can keep you reasonably well-informed, be it Google News, the CBC website, The Guardian, etc., etc. And I have no patience with the excuse that people are too busy making ends meet to know what is going on around them. To live in ignorance is to live in a void, one that can be unscrupulously manipulated by others.

What prompts my criticism today is the rail lockout that has affected commuter lines, most notably seen in the cancellation of the Go train on the Milton line. Apparently, many were caught unaware.

Some commuters arrived Thursday morning at GO Transit stations along the Milton line, which cuts through Mississauga to Toronto's Union Station, only to learn service had been suspended.

"This is completely unacceptable, and we should have been informed earlier, said Om Sangekar, speaking outside the Cooksville GO station. "I'll definitely be late for work."

The larger point here, of course, is that if people cannot even keep themselves informed about events that have an immediate and local impact, what hope is there for them when it comes to issues that affect all of us? 

The spread of misinformation, whether through AI or fake news, is facilitated when one has no context by which to evaluate it. In our country, little PP exploits the void relentlessly and sometimes skillfully. To accept his version of 'reality,' we are a highly taxed and failing nation that has been led to the brink by Justin Trudeau and his merry band of men and women. Only PP can save us from falling over the edge, because he will surely "bring it home."

To a much worse degree, the same is happening in the United States. To hear Trump and his minions tell it, only he can save America from the abyss that awaits it should they choose the "radical Marxist" Kamala Harris.

Again, if you live in a void, defining the country in stark and absolutist terms has much appeal, especially since it saves you from the hard work that real, critical thinking entails. But in my view, you are a citizen in name only, since you choose to excuse yourself from any real participation in the duties that real citizenship requires.

That's the end of my little screed. Regular programming will resume soon.

 

A Piercing Sound

I am almost deafened by the dogwhistle here, as a tired and deflated Trump blows as hard as he can.

You can provide your own translation of "suburban housewives" here, I am sure, to uncover the real message to the red meat Maga crowd.

Rather Effective

 ...don't you think?

More Genocide

While most of the mainstream media focus on the genocidal actions of Israel in Gaza, there is another taking place in the West Bank, euphemistically labelled '"settler violence." To call the actions by Israeli citizens and the IDF anything other genocidal is to do a grave disservice to truth.

The West Bank, under military occupation since 1967, has seen the spread of Israeli settlements over the years, in contravention of international law. Despite that, violence there has increased since the Hamas attack on Israel, yet has only drawn a mild rebuke from the U.S., calling it 'unacceptable.' In other words, carte blanche continues. And it seems this violence is happening with either the encouragement or the passive consent of the IDF.  

The latest violence resulted in one death and much property destruction.

Here is a brief video showing some of the horror:

  

So what is to be done? Is there the chance of a new direction, a new hope for a cessation of the widespread violence against the Palestinians, both in the West Bank and Gaza?? Peter Beinart has some thoughts on the matter, in terms of the tightrope Kamala Harris is currently walking.

When it comes to Israel, Ms. Harris should simply say that she’ll enforce the law.

The law in question has been on the books for more than a decade. It prohibits the United States from assisting any unit of a foreign security force that commits “gross violations” of human rights. Aid can be reinstated if the foreign country adequately punishes the perpetrators. Passed by Congress in 1997, it bears the name of former Senator Patrick Leahy — and it has been applied hundreds of times — including reportedly against U.S. allies like Colombia and Mexico.

However, there is a problem:

....it has never been applied to Israel, the country that over the past eight decades has received more U.S. aid, by far, than any other. That’s not because the Israel Defense Forces don’t commit serious abuses. “There are literally dozens of Israeli security force units that have committed gross violations of human rights” and should thus be ineligible for U.S. aid, a former State Department official, Charles Blaha, told ProPublica in May.

Lastly, there is strategic value for Israel if its violence can be curbed: 

Those who believe killing Palestinian civilians makes Israel safer should remember that Hamas often recruits fighters from the families of the bereaved. As Ami Ayalon, a former head of Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, wrote in 2020, “If we continue to dish out humiliation and despair, the popularity of Hamas will grow.”

One thing is certain. The status quo cannot continue. Too many lives are being brutalized and lost, and the only hope lies in a new direction from a new American government that is prepared to sanction and discipline the Jewish state.

 

Not For A Few Dollars More

Sunday sees the start of the annual conference of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). Comprised of 444 municipalities, the conference offers the opportunity to discuss and make recommendations on a wide ranges of issues affecting cities and regions throughout the province.

Without doubt, high on their list will be the high costs of dealing with the massive opioid and homelessness crises Ontario  is experiencing, costs that are being increasingly borne by property tax payers thanks to the downloading that started under Mike Harris and continues to this day. It is an unsustainable model, one that the Doug Ford government is loathe to acknowledge.

Cities and towns across Ontario saw at least 1,400 homeless encampments in their communities last year, according to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), which is asking the province for guidance on how to handle them, as well as more help to house and support people.

"While municipalities did not create the homelessness crisis, they are being forced to manage it without the resources or tools to sufficiently respond," the association wrote.

And the problem is only growing. 

The big city mayors have launched a public campaign to put pressure on higher levels of government to provide increased and consistent funding to municipalities for supportive housing, harm reduction programs, crisis centres and mental health supports.

"Both levels of government have answered the call with some funding for programs over the last year. But it's not consistent or enough, it's piecemeal. Taking on the homelessness crisis takes a whole-of-government approach that spans multiple ministries and multiple levels of government," Meed Ward said.

Peter Bethlenthalvy, Ontario's finance minister, has offered some relief to Toronto and Ottawa, but seems reluctant to do much more than spend the $28 million he has allotted to fight the problems. Big city mayors say that is not nearly enough, given that there is an estimated 240,000 homeless people.

To put pressure on the government, the big-city mayors have launched a Solve the Crisis campaign, which I encourage you to visit and offer your perspective to your federal, provincial and municipal representatives.

The crisis being faced by Ontarians will not be solved by a few dollars more. Nothing less than a total re-uploading of social housing, infrastructure costs, etc. downloaded to municipalizes by Mike Harris will do.

And here's a final thought: for people like Marit Stiles and Bonnie Crombie, who talk a good opposition game, where is your policy on all of this?

Editorial Cartoon Of The Day

If you are one of the many who realize that whatever it may be, Doug Ford's government is not "for the people," you will likely enjoy this cartoon.

And here's the second best of the day, which follows Ford's lame and rather cruel attempt at humour the other day. Attending the opening of  a large vet clinic near Toronto, he insensitively suggested, "by the looks of it we know where we can send the overflow patients now for MRIs and CAT scans and everything else."

But perhaps that is what Ontario has become in its healthcare. Like animals, we can expect only scraps from the table of our master while he cultivates and services his masters.

Blatant Racism

I don't have anything especially interesting to about write today, so I thought I would put up this video that exemplifies the unapologetic racism of Don Trump and his adherents. 

This is not a dog whistle. It is a loud, piercing, desperate scream of fear that he will lose the presidential race to Kamala Harris

The Erosion Of Local Democracy

The dog days of summer often offer opportunities for unscrupulous governments to slip something by the people. With the focus more on partying than politics, unpopular measures can be enacted with minimal consequences, at least that was likely the thought of Doug Ford and his cronies here in Ontario.

After his retreat from the Greenbelt incursions he had promised to his developer friends, the premier has to find ways to atone for his betrayal. One part of his penance is to remove impediments to their schemes.

A provincial law change that curtailed third-party groups’ ability to appeal development decisions has left environmental and ratepayer groups saying they’ve been silenced in a move that puts developer interests ahead of citizen concerns.

Ontario residents can no longer appeal development decisions at the Ontario Land Tribunal — a quasi-judicial body designed to adjudicate planning and other land disputes — after the Doug Ford government introduced legislation that removes the ability of third-parties such as ratepayer groups or environmental groups to do so.

The province says the changes to the third-party appeal rights in the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act (Bill 185), which passed in June, will “help communities get quicker planning approvals for housing projects.”

But this arrack on citizens' rights, contrary to the plan, has not gone unnoticed, as evidenced by these letters from concerned residents of this province. 

With my community, I was part of an Ontario Joint Board hearing (now known as the Ontario Land Tribunal) that successfully protected source water and endangered species from a gravel mining proposal on Mount Nemo in Burlington, Ont. We hired independent experts to make our case, and the evidence we presented was instrumental in the board’s decision to deny the quarry. As citizens, we had real stake in the outcome. Our well water, air quality and surrounding environment were at risk. Removing a community’s right to participate threatens to remove decision maker’s access to the on-the-ground knowledge and concerns of locals. Developers have the right to appeal local government decisions to the OLT. Taking away citizen’s equal rights encourages poorer planning and riskier development. The Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act (Bill 185) bolsters corporate dominance, and renders the democratic voice of the people mute.

Sarah Harmer, Burlington

Reporter Noor Javed’s excellent article about new rules barring OLT third party appeals illustrates how our democratic rights are being trampled. The anger is growing daily in this region about Premier Doug Ford’s hypocritical statements about “governing for the people” as precious farmland and natural spaces are being squandered and lost. Our community of Ball’s Bridge and Little Lakes Road in southwestern Ontario has invested years of time and thousands of dollars to try to protect a natural area well loved by the public. We have been abandoned by our local council and have now been abandoned by the provincial government.

Rebecca Garrett, Goderich, Ont.

Bill 185 denies citizens groups from speaking up to protect our precious places. Is this this fair? Is this democratic? Absolutely not. We must fight for our right to be heard!

Wendy Hoernig, Goderich, Ont.

Since the enactment of Bill 185, the right of citizen groups to influence, challenge or contest planning decisions pushed by developers has been stripped away. This egregious action continues to erode our civil society and our democratic process. This seems to be the unspoken Tory agenda. We are “Open for Business” but only for those who are developers. This is hardly “a government for the people.” The worst kind of hypocrisy is to claim citizens are holding up development through appeals when the data shows that many of the appeals recorded over the past decade are by the developers themselves. Shame on the Ontario Conservatives for the their attack on democracy. Shame on MPP Jill Dunlop for supporting this. Bill 185 must be repealed.

David Jeffery, Tiny, Ont.

A somnolent citizenry is something that governments who are "for the people" in name only count on. One hopes that those who refuse to sleep are able to get some much needed traction here.

 

The Optics Of Optimism

While I realize that the U.S. is not our country, I am nothing less than rivetted by its current politics. Obviously, whatever happens in that country has an outsized effect on the rest of the world. It is therefore so refreshing and hopeful that the Democrats seem to have found a winning combination in Kamala Harrris and Tim Walz. 

While it would be unforgivably naive to  place an unconditional bet on their unqualified virtue, they at least have the advantage of being a new combination, one that stands in sharp contrast to the mad meanderings of Don Trump and the viciousness of J.D. Vance. And the latest polling seems to suggest that there is a huge appetite both for change and optimism.

Vice President Kamala Harris leads former President Donald J. Trump in three crucial battleground states, according to new surveys by The New York Times and Siena College, the latest indication of a dramatic reversal in standing for Democrats after President Biden’s departure from the presidential race remade it.

Ms. Harris is ahead of Mr. Trump by four percentage points in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, 50 percent to 46 percent among likely voters in each state. The surveys were conducted from Aug. 5 to 9.

The polls, some of the first high-quality surveys in those states since Mr. Biden announced he would no longer run for re-election, come after nearly a year of surveys that showed either a tied contest or a slight lead for Mr. Trump over Mr. Biden.

While policy is an important, even vital, component of any platform, there is something else at work here as well: presentation. In her speech to UAW members, Harris clearly delineates, with a quiet passion, the stark differences between her orientation and that of the increasingly desperate and deranged Trump. I. would suggest that you start at about the 2:18 mark to get a flavour of her message.

A message of unity, hope and concern for the collective well-being of people is much needed in the fractured America that exists today. Let's hope its citizens heed that message.

Which Angel Will It Be?

I awoke from a dream this morning in which it seemed I was being registered in a concentration camp, filled with forms and regulations that had to be filled out and followed. As unpleasant as it was, the dream was mercifully short.

With the dream in mind, I began thinking about how easy it is to debase and dehumanize people. History and contemporary events readily bear that out. But what about the opposite? How difficult is it to ennoble people, raise their hopes for a better day, and, in general, appeal to the better angels of their nature?

At times it seems easy. I recall a day in 2015 where I felt inspiration and hope after the long dark night of Stephen Harper's rule. It was the day that Trudeau and his team walked to Rideau Hall to be sworn in with the promise of different and better things ahead.. But subsequent events, beginning with the Prime Minister breaking his vow on electoral reform and the reappearance of traditional Liberal arrogance, frayed those strands of hope over subsequent years.

Americans, it seems to me, are now at a similar juncture. After years of relentless denigration, debasement and violent incitements engineered by Don Trump, they now have an opportunity to embrace a new path which, one hopes, will prove less illusionary than the Trudeau one. That path is the one being laid out by Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

And judging by reports, there is a real hunger for their message.

Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, continued their swing-state tour with rallies in rural Wisconsin and Detroit, Michigan, on Wednesday, that the campaign said brought out more than 10,000 people each.

 In Eau Claire, a north-western Wisconsin city less than two hours from Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota, the rally drew attendees from both states – and 12,000 people in total, the campaign said. The Detroit rally on Wednesday night drew 15,000 supporters in another crucial swing state, the Harris campaign told reporters. Walz called it “the largest rally of the campaign” so far.

The big Detroit crowd repeatedly chanted: “We’re not going back,” Democrats’ counter to Trump’s anti-abortion politics and “make America great again” slogan.

 Attendees in Wisconsin said they were enthusiastic about seeing a Harris and Walz ticket. “I’m elated,” said Lori Schlecht, a teacher from Minnesota who said she was excited about Walz given his background in public education – Walz was a public school teacher before he was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2006. “Minnesota is blessed to have him, and I’m glad to see him at the national level. He is authentic and real – he’ll get shit done.”

When given the opportunity, I think people crave authenticity, not the faux kind peddled by Trump and his people who rely, not on inspiring people, but provoking the worst angels of their nature. And judging by letters to the editor, Canadians are feeling the same hope:

In a plot twist worthy of a political thriller, Americans have just been given a chance to save themselves by choosing to do what’s right and no longer defaulting to the lesser evil. For the first time in a long time, American democracy appears to be working. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a previous social studies teacher, as her Democratic running mate. Consider the symbolism: a woman of colour and a teacher teaming up to challenge the re-election of Donald Trump, the reigning champion of insurrectionist chaos.

Walz brings to the table an educated notion that co-operation, not competition, is humanity’s evolutionary secret. This represents the clash of real humanistic values versus the phoney, weird MAGA values of Trumpist populists. This isn’t just a choice between red and blue. It’s a choice between reality and reality TV.  Let the “first Walz” for re-establishing credibility and decency in American democracy begin.

Tony D’Andrea, Toronto 

... In Walz, Harris has found a real mensch, a man who is as easy to work with as Donald Trump is the opposite. Walz can out-folksy the populism types, and he’s the real deal when it comes to wanting to make life better for working-class and poor families. 

Ron Charach, Toronto

We all await with bated breath which version of human nature the American people will choose.