Freedom's Just Another Word...

 ... for demagoguery, at least if you are Pierre Poilievre. The leading contender for the helm of the Conservative Party of Canada is, of course, making a concerted effort at preaching the virtues of freedom while conspicuously eschewing its yoked counterpart, responsibility. And as he exalts the individual and their pursuit of this 'vision', he is giving the middle finger to any notion of the collective good.

Rick Salutin scrutinizes these notions, writing that even right-wing 'institutes' like the Cato and Frasier give Canada high rankings on their Freedom Index, landing at #8 our of 165,

a mere .36 of a point behind Switzerland, which is surely a statistical tie.

So by Poilievre’s own right-wing standards, Canada’s already ahead of almost everyone — including the U.K. and U.S., ranked 14 and 15. So what’ll he devote his effort to as PM — housing? Climate? Health? No: making us even freester (since we’re already freest). How gloriously pointless.

 It essentially comes down to freedom for me (“personal freedom” à la the indexes) or freedom through commonality, as in ... FDR’s New Deal.

And it is clear that Mr. Poilievre is championing the former while disdaining the latter, as reflected in his embrace of the truckers' convoy that paralyzed Ottawa for three long weeks.

The freedom demanded there was almost all “personal”: snarling traffic, blaring horns till residents felt deranged. And an ultimatum to end COVID mandates — which BTW never forced anyone to get vaxxed, but did prohibit participation in public situations to protect others’ freedom not to get sick.

During the civil rights years in the U.S., there was an anthem called “Oh Freedom!” When the singer sang, Over me, others echoed, Over me — because we were fighting for freedom over us all. 

I feel as if Pierre Poilievre responds, Over you, to calls for freedom, especially from those he favours. He’s a personal freedom kind of guy who doesn’t view freedom as a necessarily shared activity. Nor does he have the excuse of being endearingly nuts. It’s just the way he thinks.

As in the United States, the ideological lines are clearly drawn. And because we still live in a country in which we can engage in that collective, democratic activity known as voting, it falls to all of us to determine what vision ultimately prevails.

 

  

 

 

Sounds Reasonable, But...

... it is said that even the devil can quote scripture. In more down-to-earth terms, the Governor of Kentucky does in a much more polished form what ardent gun-rights advocates often say with spittle. My own analysis follows the video. 

Typically, this man does the same thing all defenders of unrestricted weaponry do. While no one could disagree with his articulate analysis of some of society's ills, the governor presents a bifurcated, black-and-white approach to the problem of gun violence, saying, in essence, that because gun violence has so many societal roots, it is pointless to put restrictions on gun access and ownership, never once allowing for the fact that restrictions would cut down on the number of shootings (356 mass shootings this year in the U.S, as of July 18th), no matter what the root causes of the violence are.

Fact: guns kill people. People denied gun access may still kill if given the opportunity, but hardly in the numbers and with the same frequency currently plaguing America.

Scenes From Newfoundland

While I am not one to foist vacation photos on others, I thought I would break that rule to share a few highlights of our recent trip to Newfoundland to see our son and daughter-in-law. Our second visit to the province reinforced the notion, as my wife expressed it, that life seems to be conducted on a more human scale than here at home. And given the bleak, perilous future the world faces, I have a feeling that our most eastern province will fare better than other jurisdictions.

One of the highlights of our visit was a whale-watching tour, in which we were very fortunate to see humpback whales. I wonder how much longer they will be with us, given how quickly we are destroying their environment and their food supply.

The following video was shot by my son:

Another highlight was meeting this young man, who was filming a scene for his series close to where we were staying and graciously allowed me to take his picture.

As I said, life seems to be on a more human scale in Newfoundland.

Not to suggest, however, that citizens are insular and shy away from the larger world:

                                                                                            

And last but not least, the craft brewing industry is alive and well in Newfoundland. 

And the winner is Come from Away, produced at YellowbellyBrewery and restaurant, our favourite eatery on Water Street.

Always Look On The Bright Side Of Death

One likely doesn't have to read about it to realize that GB News is 'right-leaning.'

Ben Phillips

@benphillips76

A clip from Don’t Look Up, and then a real TV interview that just happened.

 

According to BBC News, it is the first channel set up with an explicit political orientation in the United Kingdom.^[86] The channel is described as right-leaning,^{[3][4][5][6][7]} having been forecast to be so by the Financial Times,^[87] and by The Guardian and City A.M. to be similar to Fox News.^[84][13] In The New York Times, Neil was quoted as saying "In terms of formatting and style, I think MSNBC and Fox are the two templates we're following".^[88] He also told the Evening Standard that Fox News was "an easy, inaccurate shorthand for what we are trying to do. In terms of format we are like Fox but we won't be like Fox in that they come from a hard right disinformation fake news conspiracy agenda. I have worked too long and hard to build up a journalistic reputation to consider going down that route."^[89] BBC media editor Amol Rajan said that "it is not the first channel to be set up in Britain with a strong worldview ... But GB News is the first to be set up with an explicit political leaning".^[21] Rajan also stated that "the validity of [the Fox News] comparison is limited".^[21] GB News has not explicitly indicated a political allegiance, and UK news broadcasters are required by Ofcom to maintain "due impartiality".^[90][22]

In a March 2021 episode of BBC Radio 4's The Media Show, Neil stated that his nightly news programme would contain segments such as "Wokewatch" and "Mediawatch".^[91][92] The channel's breakfast show, The Great British Breakfast, initially had three co-anchors, in a similar style to Fox News' Fox & Friends,^[33] but the format changed to two co-anchors from the second week of broadcasting. Free Speech Nation, a current affairs show hosted by Andrew Doyle, airs once a week.^[30]

 

To State The Obvious

 ... in a way only Theo Moudakis can.

A Bit Of A Holiday

We are currently on a trip to Newfoundland, where our son and daughter-in-law moved in the fall, after living and working in Alberta for several years. It is our first trip since Covid, and the first time we have seen them in about two-and-a-half years. I probably won't be posting much, except perhaps for a few pictures. 

From our Airbnb, I took the trail up to St. John's Signal Hill yesterday, and it was a more arduous than I had anticipated, but I made it to the top. Guess I didn't do too badly for an old guy, eh? 

Here is a picture of me and Chief, an eight-year-old Newfoundland dog who is kind of a fixture on Signal Hill. I met him three years ago when we were attending our son's wedding in St. John's, and he appears to be still going strong but apparently is battling illness.

Below is a picture of some houses nestled alongside St. John's Harbour, where I began my ascent to Signal Hill.

That's all for now, folks.

It's A Great Time To Be Bad People

A friend of mine sent me this, and it is spot-on and self-explanatory.