Those Star Letter-Writers

They never disappoint. They can spot a shyster a mile away.

It’s sad that Doug Ford’s solution to the high cost of gas is to reduce the gas tax. A much better solution would be to incent people to not buy the largest, heaviest and most powerful SUV they can afford. When I switched from a turbo Volvo wagon to a Toyota hybrid, my gas bills dropped by 60 per cent. But what else could we expect from someone who bought his brother a Cadillac Escalade. It doesn’t get any less environmentally friendly than that.

Michael Yaffe, Toronto

Doug Ford’s policy on gasoline shows that he doesn’t care about the environment. Reducing the price of gasoline will only make air pollution worse, as people who are buying more gas-guzzling SUVs and pickup trucks will consume more fuel.

Rene Ebacher, Toronto

PC Leader Doug Ford claims to be upset with the excessive compensation being paid to board members and executives at Hydro One. However, he also vows to cut the corporate tax rate by 8.7 per cent. Who does he think will benefit from this corporate windfall? No doubt already highly paid corporate executives will receive a big slice of it. And who does he think will have to pay more to make up for the loss of tax revenue? No doubt many of the taxpayers he pretends to be looking out for. What a hypocrite.

Peter Bird, Toronto

... Contrary to Ms. Horwath’s posturing, the NDP and Liberals could, and should, find many points of agreement on a plan to govern if the opportunity presents itself. It is only being fair to the majority of Ontario voters to have confidence that such an outcome is indeed possible and would be chosen when and if the election results permit it.

Back in 1985, the Liberals and NDP agreed to a legislative accord when the Tories had the most seats but not a majority. Ontario was well served by this arrangement and it may well be needed again. The very notion and real possibility of a Doug Ford government should be sufficient reason for any progressive person to not pre-emptively and arbitrarily rule out this option.

Simon Rosenblum, Toronto

Setting The Record Straight

Robert Reich is one of America's true heroes. He seems indefatigable in his efforts to educate the American public as a counter to the lies and distortions of Donald Trump. Given the prodigious challenges involved in bringing people toward the light, I have no idea where he gets either his resolve or his energy.

The following is but one example of his work:

Trump's vile attacks against immigrants are as dumb as they are racist and xenophobic. The truth is new immigrants strengthen our communities, contribute to the economy and pay billions in taxes. We must not allow Trump's bigotry to go unchallenged. pic.twitter.com/0LzN8UIjXR

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) May 17, 2018

See Doug. See Doug Run.

Bullies, con artists and cowards all have something in common: they live in fear that they will be exposed for what they are - weak, manipulative people who try to mask their massive inadequacies through bluster, empty rhetoric and false bravado. That Doug Ford, leader of the Ontario PCs, seems to epitomize these traits is becoming increasingly evident to those who care to open their eyes rather than respond like the Pavlovian dogs his kind prefer.

How else to explain the muzzle that has apparently been placed on so many PC candidates in the run up to June 7?

More than 20 PC candidates have skipped debates since the beginning of the provincial election campaign, a trend that recalls similar absenteeism among federal Conservative candidates under Stephen Harper. Candidates from other Ontario parties, meanwhile, have been far more likely to show up.

Consider these few examples of candidate muzzling/cowardice:

Meredith Cartwright, the Toronto Centre candidate who hired actors to pose as Ford supporters at a leadership debate, was a no-show at an all-candidates’ meeting in Corktown on Tuesday that was attended by the Liberal, NDP and Green party candidates ... She has not spoken publicly since the crowd-for-hire controversy erupted.

PC candidates skipped four separate debates held this week in Scarborough, including Gary Ellis in Scarborough Southwest, who claimed a long-standing prior commitment; Sarah Mallo in East York; Christine Hogarth in Etobicoke-Lakeshore and Vijay Thanigasalam in Scarborough Rouge-Park, who cancelled the day of the event, according to an organizer.

Four out of five PC candidates did not participate in public debates held by the Brampton Board of Trade on May 11, and three of them cancelled on the same day.

What does party central have to say about these no-shows?

Ford spokesperson Melissa Lantsman declined to confirm or deny.

“We work with candidates to ensure they are effective in their voter outreach, be it phone calls, door knocking or debates,” she said.

If you would like a fuller sense that the PCs are fearful and in hiding, check out PressPrgress, which details 23 MIA PC candidates.

This kind of shielding of candidates from the voters is nothing new, of course. Along with limited access to the leader, it is the same cowardly tactic employed under Stephen Harper, whose contempt for the press was legendary.

It is a contempt that does not sit well with the tenets of democracy:

This is not how our parliamentary democracy is supposed to work, says Duff Conacher, director of Democracy Watch. “Any campaign that tries to control access and control the message is a campaign that is hurting the voters’ right to choose the person they really want to represent them,” he said.

Doug Ford wants you. He is, after all, for the people. Of course he is, as long as they are kept ignorant about anything that might challenge his overblown rhetoric and his increasingly tattered credibility.

Setting The Record Straight

In theory, this primer should cut through climate-change denialism. In practice, of course, it will do no such thing. Conspiracy theories, junk science and muddled thinking, after all, are so much easier to spout.

Your Neo-liberal Government At Work

Included in the Trudeau sellout is the following:

- Prepared to indemnify the project from any financial loss;

-Is willing to offer this financial security to any company who wants to build the pipeline, should Kinder Morgan back out;

-and, the financial backing must be fair, and beneficial to Canadians.

"If Kinder Morgan isn’t interested in building the project we think plenty of investors would be interested in taking on this project, especially knowing that the federal government believes it is in the best interest of Canadians and is willing to provide indemnity to make sure that it gets done," Morneau said, noting that he is “confident” an agreement will be made.

If you aren't outraged yet, I suggest you check your vital signs.

In Case You Were Wondering

Can Anyone Imagine Such A Speech In Our House Of Commons?

There must be an independent investigation of the Gaza massacre, and those responsible must be held to account. My Commons statement today: pic.twitter.com/ig7c3bXg0j

— Emily Thornberry (@EmilyThornberry) May 15, 2018

In a similar vein, this seems an appropriate description of the atrocity:

GENEVA (Reuters) - Israel’s use of force against protesters at the Gaza border fence is akin to “an eye for an eyelash” and may amount to a war crime, Michael Lynk, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This blatant excessive use of force by Israel – an eye for an eyelash – must end, and there must be true accountability for those in military and political command who have ordered or allowed this force to be once again employed at the Gaza fence,” said Lynk, an independent expert who reports to the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Trudeau and the gang can whistle all they want past the graveyard that Gaza is quickly becoming, but his cowardly lack of leadership is being duly noted.