Amerika Defines Itself

It may seem redundant to place the adjective ugly in front of Americans. After all, their regular deportment, both domestically and internationally, makes such a designation obvious. However, being the 'greatest' nation in the world also makes it hard for them to perceive any national or personal shortcomings, so it falls on the rest of the world to school them.

And that's exactly what Rory McIlroy did after the Ryder Cup, the golf tournament that saw Europe defeat the U.S. in the midst of despicable crowd behaviour.

An emotional Rory McIlroy opened up on the abuse he received during the Ryder Cup after Europe secured a famous win in New York. The 15-13 success for the visitors at Bethpage Black came against the backdrop of awful spectator behaviour, largely towards European players and their families. McIlroy confirmed his wife, Erica, was hit by a beer that was thrown during Saturday afternoon’s play [my emphasis]. 

“I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf,” said McIlroy. “I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week. Golf has the ability to unite people. Golf teaches you very good life lessons. It teaches you etiquette. It teaches you how to play by the rules. It teaches you how to respect people.

Clearly, such lessons are lost on MAGATS far and wide, but McIlroy had reason to be mightily vexed, given the assault on his wife, Erica McIlroy:

Shane Lowry, McIlroy’s close friend, added: “I was out there for two days with Erica McIlroy and the amount of abuse that she received was astonishing. The way she was out there supporting her husband and supporting her team was unbelievable.”

That such savage behaviour took place is but another confirmation of an ugly American national character emboldened by Trump, according to Bryan Armen Graham.

What crept in on Saturday was different: insults aimed at players’ wives, homophobic slurs, cheap shots at McIlroy’s nationality dripping with tiresome stereotypes....

The change, Graham suggests, coincided with Trump's arrival at the Ryder Cup, compounded by the strength shown by Europe's team, always deemed an inferior entity in TrumpWorld.

Add the optics of Donald Trump’s fly-in on Friday – fist bumps, photo-ops, galleries dotted with Maga hats and a certain politics of humiliation playing to its base – and the swagger slid easily into license.

Given the guest of honor’s [i.e., Trump] well-known aversion to losing gracefully, it was hardly a shock that the worst behavior broke out just as America’s chances were slipping away. But the tournament’s response to the ugly crowd conduct on Saturday was woeful. Extra security and a phalanx of New York state troopers materialized around McIlroy’s match at the turn. A couple of spectators were ejected near the main grandstands. The PGA of America said it bolstered policing and pushed more frequent spectator etiquette messages on the big screens. Fine, as far as it goes. But once a thousand people have decided a backswing is their cue, you can’t manage it with a graphic and a frown. Enforcement has to be swift, visible and consequential or it becomes permission by another name.

The rowdy, disrespectful fans at the Ryder Cup disgraced both themselves and their country. 

I'm sure they saw it as exactly the opposite, certain that they were reaffirming American pride and honour.

Such a deluded, benighted people.

Perilous Populism

We live in a time replete with constant reminders that having and maintaining a healthy democracy requires hard work, work predicated on knowledge, analysis and citizen involvement. Unfortunately, it is also a time when so many are living precarious lives, struggling to make ends meet; asking for more intelligent engagement is a very tall order indeed. Hence, the rise of populist politicians, those who count on a disconnected, disengaged and disaffected cadre of voters to put them and maintain them in power.

We see the most obvious manifestations in the U.S. under the fascist Trump, who is systematically stripping away protections from people even as they cheer him on. However, we can look much closer to home to see populism's pernicious perils. Both Canada and Ontario offer prime examples.

In a well-considered column, Althia Raj points out the hypocritical rage-farming (a mainstay of populism) here at home.

[W]e do have politicians seeking to sow seeds of division by presenting selective versions of the facts. The offences are not as egregious, but their purpose is similar: to get voters riled up, and to spread Trump-style grievance politics. 

Conservative House Leader Andrew Sheer went down that path on X, framing his legitimate criticism of government policy in provocative terms:

Scheer lambasts the Liberals for passing legislation (C-5, although he doesn’t name the bill) that allows Prime Minister Mark Carney to selectively apply laws — giving “himself the same power that dictators the world over” have, he says. 

Scheer compares the Liberal government to regimes in Russia, Venezuela and Equatorial Guinea, and raises concerns that selective application of laws will allow “powerful politicians (to) pick and choose which projects get approved, who gets the permit, and by extension, who makes the money. 

His hypocrisy is to be found in the fact that he and his party voted in favour of the bill.

He personally voted for it. This law that, he says, is so bad that it “expose(s) Canada’s political system to the possibility of corruption on a massive scale,” and “completely changes the nature of how our economy works,” is only law because Conservatives wanted this legislation to pass.

With the bill opposed by the other parties, the Conservatives could have played a constructive role ,

demand[ing] changes, amendments, more study. They had the power to dictate to the Liberals what they wanted to see in this bill. Instead, they fast-tracked its approval. 

This context is not part of Scheer’s video. Why not? Why is he trying to mislead the public about his own party’s sense of alarm over this law? 

Here in Ontario, the same populism is at work with Premier Doug Ford, still riding very high in the polls since the most recent election. With an almost childish provincial electorate, he is able to get away with egregiously bad legislation, the most recent his vow to end speed cameras designed to slow traffic in safety zones such as schools. In high populist dudgeon, he denounces the cameras (which, by the way, he allowed through legislation) as nothing more than cash grabs that go back into "general city coffers."

Both are absolute lies; all the cities I am aware of use the money for additional traffic and pedestrian safety measures, hardly the cash grab he denounces. As well, all of the statistics I have read show that they do work, evidenced by the declining number of speeding tickets issued on an annual basis. As well, this populist might want to reckon with the fact that this vow to end the cameras has resulted in strong backlash throughout the province. Both police agencies across the province and average citizens are expressing their outrage over a move that will surely result in more injuries and deaths of the innocent.

But truth never matters to people of such ilk until they reach a critical mass. As long as the polls show voters walking blinding, listening to provocative lies, nothing will change; indeed, they will likely get much, much worse.

Snowflakes In Amerika

The term snowflake has traditionally been used by the right to denigrate progressives; it is a pejorative suggesting that the left is too easily offended by things the right represents. However, during the tenure of Herr Trump's second presidency, it seems to be a more apt description of the right.

We now know how easily offended they have become; for example, anything less than a full-throated endorsement of the late Charlie Kirk sends them into paroxysms of indignation and rage. Indeed, that inability to tolerate any criticism or alternative view led to the removal of Jimmy Kimmel (now reinstated), threats of retaliation, firing of professors, etc. And, of course, Trump's thin skin is legendary, prompting him to go after those he feels have wronged him, i.e. criticized him in any manner.

The entire regime sings from the same hymn book. One of the more recent examples is to be found in the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, clutching his pearls over what he feels is an insufficient deference to and adulation of his benighted country by Canadians.

“I’m disappointed that I came to Canada, a Canada (where) it is very, very difficult to find Canadians who are passionate about the American-Canadian relationship,” said Hoekstra during a luncheon with the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.

While we undoubtedly grieve over Hoekstra's hurt feelings, we are not about to embrace him and his values.

 "When you kick the dog, you can't blame it for snarling back," said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association and member of the prime minister's Canada-U.S. relations council.

"It's gaslighting 101," Volpe added. "You probably should get someone to tell him a little bit more about how to properly do Canada-U.S. diplomacy, but I'm not sure he'd listen." 

In an interview on Rosemary Barton Live that airs Sunday morning, Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer said any time a foreign country slaps tariffs or raises the idea of annexation, "of course Canadians are going to react negatively to that."

One would think that would be obvious to everyone, but perhaps the American hubris and arrogance is so great they cannot conceive of anyone thinking ill of them.

Perhaps, too, the delicate Mr. Hoekstra should be shielded from this fact: Canadians are continuing to shun travel to the U.S.

That big reduction amounted to a 32.4 per cent drop in the number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States in July. About 2.6 million trips meeting that criteria were made, Statistics Canada said. 

The animus toward the U.S. is widespread and deeply felt by Canadians. Consider these two letters from The Star:

Canadians are passionate, just not about the tire fire south of the border

U.S. ambassador to Canada disappointed by ‘anti-American’ rhetoric, ‘elbows up,’ Sept. 18

Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, is disappointed we are not passionate about the American-Canadian relationship.

Is he not paying attention?

I believe Canadians are passionate about peace, order and good governance. And good governance means good for all citizens, not just those who agree with you. The majority of us still aspire to a more just, equitable and inclusive society. “Elbows up” is not just about tariffs. It’s also about values. We are not passionate about our relationship with Russia or China. Those countries and the U.S. can govern themselves however they see fit. That is their prerogative. But we don’t have to agree or like it.

I am passionate about our relationship with the U.S. and am very concerned. I am sure many other Canadians are as well. I am concerned their democracy is in trouble.

It disappoints me ambassador Hoekstra doesn’t seem to understand that.

Stan Spicker, Midland, Ont.

Ambassador not thrilled with Canada’s ‘elbows up’ attitude. Too bad

U.S. ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra doesn’t like the idea the Canadian elbow is in the eye of their economic interest . Tough!

Canada is not your 51st state and freedom of speech and ‘elbows up’ is a Canadian democratic right.

The U.S. ambassador may believe the unjust tariffs imposed on Canada are a goodwill gesture, and the fascist state of mind of the United States is something to which Canadians should acquiesce. But Canadians would be wise to remind him he is a guest here in this country and we don’t appreciate being lectured to by a foreign government who turns a blind eye to the genocide that is taking place in Gaza.

We as Canadians want a good relationship with our neighbour from the south, but we are well-educated adults and we are quite capable of conducting our affairs without joining United States or accepting their propaganda.

Elbows up is a slogan of importance and Mr. Ambassador should feel lucky it’s not the middle finger. 

Cran Campbell, Langley, B.C.

The sun is rapidly setting on the American empire, leaving its citizens in a darkness that seems to be both impenetrable and irreversible.

UPDATED: State Control: Limiting The Range Of Thought in Amerika

“Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thought-crime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every concept that can ever be needed will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten. . . . 

― George Orwell - Nineteen Eight-Four

Orwell wrote his seminal novel as a warning,  presenting a world of rigid control over thought, word and deed. With a little updating, it would seem to fit precisely the world of  fascist orthodoxy Donald Trump (or those behind him) is trying to impose on his Amerika - a domain without critical thought.

One needn't recount all the ways in which the suppression of thought, views and voices is being effected. There are, of course, his constant attacks on the universities, initially over so-called DEI initiatives and anti-semitism. Then came the demands for further, massive government control over them. Then there is the increasing militarization of America's cities, with the National Guard and ICE instilling fear in the populace; it is becoming common for masked officials to grab people off the street, out of their cars, ripped from their homes. Impeding any of this becomes a crime. Indeed, another literary icon anticipated such in one of his best-known works:

Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning. 

Franz Kafka - The Trial

Beyond the obvious strongarm tactics, most recently we have witnessed very overt attempts to censor contrary opinions, especially ones that expose Trump for the duplicitous, hypocritical dictator he is. See, for example the lawsuits against the Wall Street Journal over its coverage of his sordid relationship with the late pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein. The New York Times has been targeted for its endorsement of Kamala Harris and its critical coverage of his mad machinations.

Unfortunately, corporate compliance has been extensive, with CBS, ABC, And Disney falling into line either through payoffs on meritless lawsuits or the termination of employees, as per Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmell. NPR and PBS are being defunded, and broadcast licences are being threatened. Even the 'progressive' MSNBC has bent the knee. But that is only the beginning. 

The murder of Charlie Kirk is offering up new opportunities for repression, all for the 'crime' of people practising their free speech rights.

Over thirty people across the country have been fired, put on leave, investigated or faced calls to resign because of social media posts criticizing Charlie Kirk or expressing schadenfreude about the conservative influencer's assassination earlier this week, according to an analysis by NPR.

 ...some GOP lawmakers and officials are signaling their readiness to punish people for their speech. Conservative activists are collecting and publicizing social media posts and profiles that they say "celebrated" his death and are calling for them to lose their jobs.

"If they have their picture on their profile, even without a name, download the picture and reverse image search it," posted right-wing influencer Joey Mannarino. "Cross-reference it with their LinkedIn profile and find their place of employment. Call the place of employment, leave Google reviews." 

So what is the endgame here? There are some obvious but superficial explanations for the current reign of repression and terror in Amerika. One is that Herr Trump is so malignantly narcissistic that he cannot brook any criticism. Such is always a hallmark of the cult of personality. However, to me it goes far beyond that and far beyond attempts of a malevolent Republican Party to stifle all opposition for mere political gain. The fascist state that America has become is bent on controlling not only what people say but also what they think.

My assertion, at first blush, may seem preposterous, and to be honest,  I initially considered that I might be overthinking things. Censorship and propaganda were easy in earlier times, when media were limited. But how, especially with the internet and social media, is it even possible to limit people's exposure to a diversity of voices and hence to the information needed to critically assess things?  The internet may be a toxic stew, but progressive voices still abound, especially on Bluesky (which I now use).

While I am not necessarily predicting success, the dark forces at work are doing their damndest. Justin Ling writes that back in 2022, Charlie Kirk was warning his followers to be wary of social media, and he and his fellow travellers concocted a plan.

They moved to alternative, conservative-friendly social media to start getting their message out. They prioritized real-world organizing. And they began plotting how they could bend the internet to their will.

Not even nine months into Trump’s return, this plan has worked even better than they could have imagined. Alternative social media is a hotbed of pro-Trump fervour, a right-wing youth movement is ascendent in America, and the big tech firms have volunteered to comply.

Given that people like Mark Zuckerberg (who, as Ling notes, "has publicly bent the knee to the Trump administration") and Elon Musk employ algorithms that favour rage (the more rage, the more clicks), it is easy to see how this might get even worse under a regime bent on suppression. As Ling notes, 

Trump exploited online grievances about censorship and deplatforming. He weaponized a steady stream of viral videos to claim that America’s cities had fallen to lawlessness. He elevated racist chatter about migrants to set the stage for mass deportations.

It doesn't end there.

On Monday, Vice President J.D. Vance occupied Kirk’s broadcast chair to memorialize his fallen friend and promise retribution. With his White House colleague Stephen Miller, he warned of a secret “pyramid” of media outlets, activists, and NGOs who had formed a dangerous underground terror network. Miller vowed “channel all of the anger that we have … to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and destroy these networks.”

This has already begun online. Pro-Trump online activists have already compiled databases of those allegedly responsible for provoking or celebrating Kirk’s death, including journalists and academics in Canada. One Trump-friendly Congressman is floating an “immediate ban for life of every post or commenter that belittled the assassination of Charlie Kirk.” 

So a potent formula has been put in place: suppression of voices, both academic and lay, the imposition of terror in the streets, the opening of snitch lines,  the policing of dissident voices on the internet, the threats of dismissal and incarceration. Will the voices of dissent diminish or dry up? I hope not. With less access to unbiased or progressive sources, will people feel increasingly wary and isolated and less inclined to assess things critically? Will they decide that speaking out and thought crime are not worth the risk? 

There are many ways this could turn out. As always, it will be the people of the United States who decide their own fate.

UPDATE: Defense Secretary Pete hegseth has ordained all information from his department must be vetted first, or the press will be locked out.

Reporters will now need express approval from the department in order to publish any information gathered at the Pentagon, and are forbidden from accessing most of the building without an escort.

And this letter from The Star effectively bookends my post:

Why Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension looks like a step along the path to American autocracy, Sept. 18

I never watch Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show on ABC. I’m also a centrist, not a liberal or conservative. Still, I’ve been disturbed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s attacks against liberals and journalists. It reminds me too much of the Nazis’ playbook, which saw the Third Reich take control of the press after Adolf Hitler’s ascension to power. To me, this situation with Kimmel is simply history repeating itself.

Alan Pellettier, Toronto

A Pariah State

With so many terrible things transpiring in today's world, it is often hard to feel any hope. Wars and injustices abound, and we are met daily with images of death, destruction and mutilation. The average person likely feels powerless to do anything about it. Indeed, often, as a temporary balm, we embrace the distractions provided by the machinations of the fascist nation we share a common border with. But distractions can take us only so far.

Other parts of the world, however, are not so easily and eagerly diverted. The good news, if we can call it that, is that internationally, thanks to the genocide they are conducting, Israel is feeling increasingly isolated.

Is it approaching a "South Africa moment", when a combination of political pressure, economic, sporting and cultural boycotts helped to force Pretoria to abandon apartheid?

Two former prime ministers, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, have already accused Netanyahu of turning Israel into an international pariah. 

Thanks to a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, the number of countries Netanyahu can travel to without the risk of being arrested has shrunk dramatically. 

At the UN, several countries, including Britain, France, Australia, Belgium and Canada, [the latter has confirmed it will do so later this month] have said they are planning to recognise Palestine as a state next week.

Increasingly, nations are finding it very hard to ignore the daily slaughter by Israel of Gazan men, women and children.

... more and more European governments are showing their displeasure in ways that go beyond mere statements.

At the start of the month, Belgium announced a series of sanctions, including a ban on imports from illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a review of procurement policies with Israeli companies and restrictions on consular assistance to Belgians living in settlements.

Other countries, including Britain and France, had already taken similar steps.

A week after Belgium's move, Spain announced its own measures, turning an existing de facto arms embargo into law, announcing a partial import ban, barring entry to Spanish territory for anyone involved in genocide or war crimes in Gaza, and prohibiting Israel-bound ships and aircraft carrying weapons from docking at Spanish ports or entering its airspace.

And additional measures ensure that Israel has or is becoming a pariah nation. 

In August, Norway's vast $2tn (1.7tn euros; £1.6tn) sovereign wealth fund announced it would start divesting from companies listed in Israel. By the middle of the month, 23 companies had been removed and finance minister Jens Stoltenberg said more could follow. 

Meanwhile, the EU, Israel's largest trading partner, plans to sanction far-right ministers and partly suspend trade elements of its association agreement with Israel.

The EU is being called upon to take stern measures as well.

... 314 former European diplomats and officials wrote to von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas calling for tougher measures, including a full suspension of the [trade] association agreement.

Drawing comparisons with the sanctions that broke the back of South Africa's apartheid in the 90s, former diplomat Ilan Baruch believes strong sanctions are the only way to curb Israel's madness. He

resigned from the diplomatic service in 2011, saying he was no longer able to defend Israel's occupation. Since retiring, he's been a vocal critic of the government and supporter of a two-state solution. 

He believes recent sanctions are necessary, saying: "That's how South Africa was pushed to its knees."

Of course, the outlier in all of this is Amerika, which continues its unflinching support of what has become a rogue nation.  A good part of that comes from its historical support for what was once a nation that fought valiantly for its survival. Today, I suspect it goes beyond that, given Herr Trump's admiration for leaders who employ strongarm tactics. 

One can only hope that in their next election, israel will deprive Netanyahu of that status so that he will finally, in much overdue fashion, face real justice.

 

"Behold. The Festering Carcass Of American Rot"

In this blog, I am always happy to cite writers whose insights are worthy of note. My sources of those writers are many, and sometimes arise from the recommendations of others. My good friend John, also a man of deep insights (I'm truly blessed with such companions, including Steve and Dom), alerted me to Oliver Kornetzke. The writer offers a searing, withering portrait of the man the Amerikans have twice chosen to lead them to their doom:

“Behold. The festering carcass of American rot shoved into an ill-fitting suit: the sleaze of a conman, the cowardice of a draft dodger, the gluttony of a parasite, the racism of a Klansman, the sexism of a back-alley creep, the ignorance of a bar-stool drunk, and the greed of a hedge-fund ghoul - all spray-painted orange and paraded like a prize hog at a county fair. Not a president. Not even a man. Just the diseased distillation of everything this country swears it isn't but always has been - arrogance dressed up as exceptionalism, stupidity passed off as common sense, cruelty sold as toughness, greed exalted as ambition, and corruption worshipped like gospel. It is America's shadow made flesh, a rotting pumpkin idol proving that when a nation kneels before money, power, and spite, it doesn't just lose its soul - it shits out this bloated obscenity and calls it a leader.”

Kornetzke gave additional analysis of Trump and his gang of barbarians in an essay he originally wrote in April. 

What’s happening in this country isn’t just cruel—it’s methodical, strategic, and deeply familiar to anyone who’s studied or survived under regimes built on repression and rot.

 We’re watching a script play out—one that was written in the blood and bureaucracy of Putin’s Russia, refined in the dungeons of Chechnya, perfected through decades of oligarchic decay, secret police intimidation, and mafia-state theatrics. And now it’s being re-staged here in America, rebranded with flags and lapel pins and the tired language of “law and order.”

The Trump regime—this carnival of third-rate strongmen, grifters, sycophants, and sadists—isn’t innovating anything. It’s copying. It’s importing the authoritarian model wholesale. They’ve read the Putin playbook, dog-eared the best parts, and now they’re running it in real time. And the cruelty? That’s not a flaw in the system. That is the system.

Because cruelty serves a dual purpose: it distracts and it paralyzes. It shocks the conscience just long enough to make you forget about the theft happening in broad daylight. It freezes resistance by making you wonder who’s next. It’s not just about dehumanizing the target—it’s about disarming the observer. You see a 52-year-old seamstress abducted by masked agents in broad daylight, and your mind stops. That’s the point. While you’re frozen, they’re looting the vault. 

Just as the Nazis had their terror squads, so does Trump.

That’s what ICE is now—a terror squad designed not just to punish the “other,” but to frighten the rest into submission. They don’t need to knock on your door. They just need you to see what happens when they knock on hers. They want you disoriented, enraged, heartbroken, and above all—silent.

Kornetzke has not abandoned all hope, however, and predicts the Trump regime will ultimately fail.

...you can only keep people paralyzed for so long. Fear calcifies. Shock fades. And eventually, rage focuses.

 Rage, yes—but don’t retreat. Pay attention. Speak out. If something feels wrong, say it’s wrong. Refuse to play along with their language, their framing, their euphemisms. They are not “removing undocumented immigrants.” They are disappearing people. They are not “restoring law and order.” They are weaponizing the state.

Remembering our collective humanity can also be a potent antidote to tyranny: 

...there will ... be courage. And solidarity. And moments that remind us exactly why we fight.

Because we don’t do it for the flag. We don’t do it for politicians. We do it for every seamstress dragged from her car. Every family torn apart. Every dissident silenced. Every protestor jailed. We do it to honor the civil rights marchers, the freedom riders, the Stonewall rebels, the water protectors, the labor organizers—the defiant, the bold, the brave. 

Fighting the good fight has never been easy. As a teacher, I always tried to instill, through literature, the power of integrity and demonstrate that courage, resistance and truth, while they often appear to exist in only small pockets against seemingly insurmountable power, ensure that we retain our humanity.

 

 

The Truth About Charlie Kirk

Unfortunately, the lionization of the late racist Charlie Kirk is not confined to the Benighted States of Amerika. To the Conservatives of Canada, Charlie Kirk is a martyr to free speech, a man who spoke fearlessly his 'truth'. Shamefully, after the disgraceful speech by Rachel Thomas, the Liberals joined in on the ovation:

Thankfully, Pastor Howard John Wesley fearlessly spoke the truth about the deceased. He said, "how you die does not redeem how you live."

Guess who will be labelled an enemy of the state and b the recipient of death threats? Hint: it won't be the white Conservative lass.