How Many People Really Care?

Tony Burman writes that worldwide, democracy is dying:

In October, a Stockholm-based international institute updated its report on “The Global State of Democracy” — a study of the performance of 158 countries since 1975. It reported an “alarming” decline in the past year in the health of democracy worldwide, warning that “democracy’s global rise has come to a halt.”

According to the study, “the number of countries experiencing democratic decline is now greater than the number experiencing democratic gains,” the first time that’s happened since 1980.

Some of the key features of democratic societies are being unraveled by the state:

... its basic tenets — including guarantees of free and fair elections, the rights of minorities, freedom of the press and the rule of law — came under attack around the world.”

One of the worst offenders is Hungary, as The New York Times reports:

In many ways, Hungary has foreshadowed the democratic backsliding now evident in different corners of the world. Since winning power in 2010, Mr. Orban has steadily eroded institutional checks and balances, especially the independent media. His government now oversees state-owned news outlets, while his allies control most of the country’s private media sources, creating a virtual echo chamber for Mr. Orban’s far right, anti-immigrant views.

The results have been devastating for democracy. A leading news website called Origo, once one of the Orban government's most incisive critics, is now one of its biggest boosters:

“Let’s look at the affairs of Laszlo Botka!” a headline blared this month in a salacious take on the only mayor of a major Hungarian city not aligned with Mr. Orban’s party, Fidesz. “Serious scandals, mysteries surround the socialist mayor of Szeged.”

Taken for granted, democracy has always been fragile. The need to nurture and protect its traditions has never been greater. Unfortunately today, both internationally and domestically, far too many are content to ignore the depredations of government as long as their own backyard is tended to. People ignore their responsibilities as citizens. Voter turnout is poor. The free press in North America struggles for relevance and revenue as more and more seek their news for free from Twitter and Facebook feeds, both notoriously susceptible to manipulation and fake news.

All the signs of impending democratic disaster are there, but ultimately, the question becomes, "How many people really care?"

This Is What Ontario Has To Contend With

Ontario would appreciate the sympathy of saner provinces:


H/t Mackay

A Sendup That Cuts To The Bone

Marie at A Puff of Absurdity recently posted on the dysfunction, debasement and corrosiveness that social media has wrought in human relationships. The following seems like an apt complement to her post:

A Powerful Voice Is Stilled

It was Henry David Thoreau who said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation."

Harry Leslie Smith was not part of that mass of men. Harry, who I wrote about several times on this blog, has died at the age of 95.

Smith, who escaped early British poverty and later moved to Canada, found his voice late in life, a voice that many heeded and were inspired by.

He was 91 when his bestselling memoir-cum-polemic in defence of the welfare state, Harry’s Last Stand (2014), was published, winning him a mass following in Britain’s ascendant left and beyond.

Harry became a regular commentator in newspapers, a fixture at speaking events in both Britain and Canada, and a prominent champion of the British Labour party. In the build-up to the 2015 general election, he recorded a party political broadcast for Labour on the NHS, and during the campaign he toured constituencies to drum up support for the party.

To get a sense of the horrors he faced as a youngster, you need only watch the following:



After the war, Harry and his wife moved to Canada and started their family, and for the last 20 years he divided his time between Canada and Britain. To appreciate his impact in Canada, you need only click on the link at the start of this post. No fan of the neoliberalism and austerity favoured by people like Stephen Harper, he was not quiet in his opposition, an opposition borne of his poverty-stricken early days. And it was in this opposition that he reached entire new generations of people on both sides of the Atlantic:

Harry became one of the biggest social media stars in British politics. Within several years, he had sent more than 80,000 tweets and accrued over quarter of a million followers. His widely shared tweets were on a variety of topics: fighting austerity and privatisation, opposing western military interventions, and challenging racism and fascism. He was increasingly preoccupied with rising xenophobia, as demonstrated by the increasing popularity of Nigel Farage and Donald Trump, and saw disturbing parallels with the rise of interwar fascism.

Harry Leslie Smith's was a powerful voice that has been stilled. May he have a well-earned rest, and may his words continue to inspire people to look beyond the cheap rhetoric so many politicians favour and fight for the justice everyone deserves.

Alberta Dishonours Itself

As much as I may strive to be a critical thinker, sometimes things happen that tempt me to succumb to certain stereotypes. Take, for example, the notion that many Albertans are rednecks. As you will see in the following, some are certainly sending that message to the rest of Canada. They should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

Kim Jong Un Comes To Canada

Well, at least his spirit has. Kim, you may recall, despite the increasingly smiling face he presents to the world, is not a man to be crossed. Just ask those who are the first to stop clapping at one of his military cult rallies. Or ssk his uncle what happened when he fell out of his nephew's favour. (Spoiler Alert - you can't ask them. They are no longer with us.)

Kim's success as a dictator derives from fear, a fear that is cultivated and sustained by a massive surveillance apparatus. And here in Ontario, or Fordlandia, as I like to call it, it would appear that the Doug Ford government has learned some quick lessons from the North Korean dictator's playbook:

The Progressive Conservatives fear some disgruntled MPPs are set to cross the floor to join the Liberals, the Star has learned.

That’s a key reason why Premier Doug Ford is increasing the threshold for official party status in the legislature from eight MPPs to 12, a senior source says. A single defection would give the seven-member Liberal caucus official status.

Based on careful surveillance, Ford's fears seem to be well-founded.

“There are at least two we’re concerned about,” a senior Conservative insider said, speaking like others from the Liberals and PCs on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal machinations.

“We’ve been watching this closely,” the PC source said, declining to reveal which MPPs are suspected of plotting to defect except to say that two are from the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

“No less than seven members want to get out,” a third senior Conservative operative told the Star on Friday.

The fears are based on careful Kim-inspired practices:

Ford’s office closely monitors Tory members. Sources say they track who applauds in the legislature and watch for MPPs who do not quickly leap to their feet for ovations after the premier or ministers respond to opposition inquiries during question period.

“They keep tabs on everything,” said a fourth Tory .... Two party aides noted that speaking out in caucus meetings is also discouraged because they don’t want anyone to undermine team unity.

Another source of fear, as I noted the other day, is PC MPP Amanda Simard, who has grown increasingly vocal about her disenchantment over the reduction of French services in Ontario, touted as an austerity measure:
While the rookie MPP received permission from Ford’s office to publicly dissent on Facebook to help quell outrage among voters, she has not been seen at Queen’s Park since Wednesday.

On Friday a second Tory close to Ford said “we have not heard back from her.”

In my previous post, I suggested Simard will be facing a demotion as a lesson to others about speaking out. Surely it is the path that mentor Kim would follow, except were it in his hands, there would be no opportunity for rehabilitation.

Doug Ford - for the people, or at least those who give him unqualified, unconditional support.

The Idiot-in-Chief Tweets

But, as usual, he spouts arrant nonsense, designed to be cheered by the equally abjectly ignorant:

Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS - Whatever happened to Global Warming?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2018