, 01.07.2021 08:46 AM

“The shining city on the hill.”

…what a load of crap. They’re something far, far less. They’re barely a democracy, now.

So, the next time an American tells you they have the greatest democracy in the world show them this.

This is who they are, now.

38 Comments

  1. JH says:

    I wonder does the US media ever think about what it is doing?
    Their nation is divided nearly equally between Right and Left. Some responsibility for that can be laid at their door.
    Canadian Media is many cases is on the same track. It’s not about journalism, it’s about #Clickbait and losing audience, thus resorting to the Gotcha! Trust is gone here as well.
    There will be a reckoning some day. That is if any of them survive.

    • Steve T says:

      I’m not clear on what you are saying. Are you suggesting the media should actively support one side (right or left), so we don’t have duality of thought?

      I hope you are actually saying that the media needs to be as neutral as possible. Which means Fox News (and to a lesser extent CNN) should basically be scrapped. And here in Canada, that means the CBC – especially since it is taxpayer funded.

      • david says:

        If they reinstated the Fairness Doctrine that the republicans tore up it would go a long way to contrasting Fox and the rest of their ilk with the truth.

        • The Doctor says:

          Very true. Getting rid of the fairness doctrine went along way to destroying the public square and any idea of a shared reality. That, combined with the fact that people can create their own hermetically sealed reality silos on the internet.

    • Pedant says:

      I bet you have no problem with the CBC being a taxpayer-funded body that yet alternates between marginalizing and denigrating the third of Canadians that consider themselves conservative-leaning, catering to a small fringe group of entitled, privileged downtown Toronto leftists against the interests of the largely middle class and taxpaying conservative base in Canada.

      Has Rosemary Barton taken her first giggling selfie with the PM of 2021 yet?

      • Pedant,

        Yes, but there have been rare exceptions: now, how can I put this delicately? You know, when certain employees are suddenly quickly vacated by the powers that be in the news division and summarily reassigned, I would say that’s a tiny baby step in the right direction. (Smiling.)

      • david says:

        sung to Tom Jones “What’s new pussycat.”

        but but whatabout
        whatawhatawhata bout
        but but whatabout
        whatawhatawhata bout
        cbc trudeau and all the rest

        give it a rest already.

  2. Pipes says:

    Their only redemption is to immediately Amendment 25 his ass out da door.

    If they don’t, in my view, they are so weakened by the Charles Manson of Politics, they are now cowards and they may never recover.

    I am not a student of politics and I suppose possess a simpleton’s point of view, but I would have brought in the tanks yesterday. What a sad, embarrassing and humiliating day it was and still is. They have gone from hero to zero in only 4 years.

  3. JH,

    IMHO, the problem lies primarily with individual mindsets: you know, not putting the welfare of the nation first, above all other considerations, political or otherwise. Those like Lincoln who stuck to their high selves insured the survival of their Republic. Look to so much of American history where legislators were actually proud and patriotic to be part of some form of a Grand Coalition on the important policy considerations of the day. Their first reflex was to reach across the aisle and compromise for the greater good. It’s almost forgotten these days that compromise is never a dirty word until you come to the point where you are actually abandoning your most sacred principles. Otherwise, I’m all for it. In American terms, I would be just another Van Jones.

  4. In the Canadian context, it has always struck me as remarkably strange that our MPs do not find it to be second nature to routinely attend each other’s Christmas and other holiday parties. Ditto for the fact that they do not go out to a restaurant after a committee session and break bread with each other, even after the most acrimonious, partisan debate in committee. Hopefully one day, we’ll see parliamentarians who reflect much more of their higher angel selves than they do at present.

    • Phil in London says:

      Warren you would know better but I think Ronald You are missing something they do it all the time. We regularly have MPs from all parties in London and they are often flying home together at holidays for example and get along well. My issue is they think it is some sort of team sport where they jokingly score points.

      • Phil,

        But what about on home turf? I hope what you describe happens in similar quantities at Ground Zero. LOL. My impression has always been that the Ottawa bubble is far more of partisan central than anything else.

        • Reminds me of those thoroughly reliable psychos on the front benches who go regularly bananas or bonkers in QP. Some of them belong in asylums. Makes me absolutely cringe every time I hear one of those jackasses/bozos letting loose at the top of their lungs. You don’t have to think for too long to come up with a handful of ever present and predictable names…

    • Miles Lunn says:

      Problem is more base in parties tend to be quite rabid and rather than a sign of strength, compromise or working with others seen as sign of weakness. Liberal lite is often labeled to Tories who aren’t pure enough for base while Liberals call people conservative wannabes who are seen as insufficiently progressive. In US they have RINOs and you saw with Sanders (not Biden) supporters going after Democrats insufficiently progressive. Its fine to have ideals and nothing wrong with as a debate or starting point bringing up something radical. But also deal with reality there are many voices and its about getting best for country not your wish.

      • The Doctor says:

        Very true. Show me somebody who insists on administering partisan loyalty tests, and I’ll show you a flaming asshole.

  5. The Doctor says:

    Meanwhile, over at Breitbart today, the Trump supporters are making the following two assertions:

    1. The people who stormed the Capitol yesterday are glorious, America-loving patriots.

    2. The storming of the Capitol yesterday was a false flag incident carried out by evil ATIFA provocateurs posing as Trump supporters.

    Square that circle if you will.

    • Doc,

      Though neither of us are licensed physicians, I imagine we would both decry the lack of sufficient high-quality mental health resources across the United States?

      Of course in 45’s case, even treatment by The Almighty himself wouldn’t even have a faint hope of restoring his mental equilibrium. Way too far gone, I’m afraid.

    • david says:

      You need to understand who Trump and his crime family and half the Republican congress really work for, and it becomes clear.
      Follow the Rubles and Oh, who do you think is financing OAN and Newsmax where Agolf Twitler will soon park his fat Orange Ass.
      My captcha is UT45. I sure hope so :_)

  6. JH says:

    I’m saying media contributed to the US mess due to their partisanship. We see much the same here in Canada via those journos and outlets with personal & political agendas. There is already a divide in this country, not as much as in the US, but it’s growing. I don’t see many in politics or the media trying to heal it. Rather it’s used to further personal ambitions IMHOP.

  7. Remember how Truman said that the buck stops here? Absolutely and undeniably. So Trump gets to wear these riots right into the history books. Meanwhile, Pelosi is making a HUGE tactical mistake in calling for his removal — you want that to emerge by virtual osmosis regardless of party line. For her to front this will prevent the development of a wide-ranging political consensus across the aisle. I thought she was far more strategic than that but apparently not…

    Meanwhile, back to Truman: have always been a huge Pelosi fan but she should not be Speaker this time. House Democratic losses have to stop on someone’s desk and IMHO, Pelosi should wear it as Speaker. The buck stops on her desk, not on Schumer’s or anyone else’s in the leadership. But I digress.

  8. Miles Lunn says:

    Oldest democracy perhaps, but greatest would be in world, right now that goes to Norway, US is 25th https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index so still fairly high but they were in top 20 before Trump so have slid. That being said their tradition is liberal democracy so those saying that I think are right in their inspirations but wrong in current reality.

  9. david says:

    On Twitter Canadians were mocking Americans for mob rule and the pathetic police response.
    What Harper did in June of 2010 during the G20 was far worse. I don’t ever recall an American leader unleashing 15.000 cops on a city to go beat it up, preemptively arrest people and then put 1200 in cages overnight and never be held accountable, so I have no fucks to give to all those sanctimonious Canadian assholes who commented in that thread.

    They came to Toronto. 15.000 strong
    bound and determined to lay a beating down
    the marchers were polite ALMOST to a fault
    so who gave permission for the cops to assault

    he was hiding in the wings
    pulling all the strings
    that bully from Hogtown
    our wannabe king.

    fuck Harper and fuck the Republicans who staged this assault on the Capitol.

    I will never forget the hatred on the faces of those cops when I was downtown that day just because I was from Trawna.

    • Pedant says:

      What Harper did was ensure proper security for the foreign leaders and delegations in attendance. You expected him to do nothing and allow communist thugs to threaten the lives of foreign dignitaries?

      • david says:

        What an idiot. Harper hates Toronto. This was his chance to put on a show at our expense and he wasted 1.2 Billion of our tax and some of it still hasn’t been accounted for.
        Riddle me this. How did gazebos keep us more secure and what did they have to do with foreign leaders who had already left town.
        He could have staged in a hundred different places for 1/10 th money but then he wouldn’t get to jerk off to his authoritarian tendencies and watch cops beat up them Toronto people who can’t stand him with his rube cops from bumfuck, helicopters and even snipers on the roof over looking the marchers.
        google it
        maybe you should have been there that day cause I bet you’d sing a different tune if you were rousted and caged like so many others were including a lot of women for your heroes to ogle in toilets without doors.
        I’ll stop now cause looky loos like you really piss me off.

        • Pedant says:

          It’s funny how your rambling reponse doesn’t even address the issue. Should Harper have allowed communist agitators to threaten the lives of foreign dignitaries? I guess “gazebo” your only talking point? Considering that Justin Trudeau tried to put in place a kickback scheme to his disgusting family through a shady “charity” to the tune of $1 billion, you’ll forgive me if I take a dim view of leftists complaining about small wasteful expenditures in the Harper years.

          So what if downtown Toronto hated Harper? He has a right to hold a summit there if he and his government chooses. Alberta hates Trudeau but he has no problem stealing that province’s money and firehosing it into Quebec. That is Trudeau’s right as PM to do that.

          Anarchists had threatened to firebomb buildings in Toronto in 2010 as they had previously done in Ottawa. The Harper government had a duty to protect foreign dignitaries. You can argue that this or that police constable stepped over the line here and there, but at the end of the day when communists threaten violence, the government must respond forcefully.

      • Ronald O'Dowd says:

        Pedant,

        It’s not about Harper. It’s about police command and control and the decisions taken and they went way overboard as related to some non-incidents and no one was held accountable for that, period. That’s the point of the knock on Harper.

  10. Gilbert says:

    It makes no sense to compare Stephen Harper to Donald Trump. The circumstances were very different. If Stephen Harper had decided to use insufficient security, we all know the results could have been disastrous.

    On the topic of the media, I wish they were more neutral. I also wish our politicians cooperated more with one another. This is certainly true for President Trump. He needs to put the interests of the USA above his own.

  11. Pat Martelle says:

    Proud Boys was started by Scottish-Canadian Gavin McInnes i.e. the violent attack on White House was a Canadian operation.

    McInnes gained exposure via Rebel News, founder Ezra Levant. Jews are playing a dangerous Machiavellian game utilising far-right and neo-Nazi groups (irony!) in their war against Arabs and/or Muslims.

    McInnes is married to an American Indian i.e. this phenomenon is best described as nativism. An atavistic war against modernity.

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