This Week’s News
My theme this week concerns the various threats to democracy, as I see them. While there are likely others, war for example, these are the ones I saw as most evident in recent news:
Corruption
Former NIAID director Anthony Fauci testified before a House subcommittee earlier this week and as expected what you take away from it likely depends on which side of the political aisle you stand. Fauci has been accused of making up the 6 foot social distance guidelines, of pressuring scientists to oppose the COVID lab leak theory, and of lying about funding gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of virology. The fact that I refuse to let this story die (and that I’ve filed it under corruption) tells you where I stand. I can forgive the authorities for the steps taken in the first 6 months (or so) of the pandemic as so much was unknown, and it appeared worse than it really was. After that though, it was clear who was in danger and who wasn’t, and a more directed approach (ex. protect the elderly and ill) was the logical approach. Instead the unnecessary lockdown and “free” money has damaged the world economy by causing high inflation and supply chain issues and has hurt the education of millions of children. It is unlikely that Fauci or any of the architects of the lockdowns will ever face any real justice but I would settle for the record being set straight in the history books.
Your chance of getting hit by lightning is 6.5 per 100k meaning if you were under the age of 20 you were more likely to be hit by lightning than to die of COVID and yet we shut down the schools.
And the overreaction wasn’t bad enough, there’s this report from the Netherlands raising concerns about just what has caused the 3 million excess deaths seen in the West since 2020.
Foreign Interference
Earlier this week, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP), a committee consisting of MPs and senators from different parties, “released a heavily redacted document alleging some parliamentarians have actively helped foreign governments like China and India meddle in Canadian politics.” Wednesday, during question period, Pierre Poilievre, the Leader of the Official Opposition called on the government to release the list of “members of this House who have knowingly worked for foreign hostile governments” because “Canadians have a right to know” but was told by Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc that “it would be inappropriate to release the names of MPs under suspicion.” Some leeway must be allowed given that this is an (hopefully) an active investigation, however patience should be limited. The Liberals do not appear to be in any rush given that it has been approximately six years since they were informed of the danger as stated in the report.
“The government was aware in 2018 that the reforms implemented under the Plan to Protect Democracy were insufficient to address foreign interference in democratic processes and institutions. It has yet to implement an effective response to foreign interference in democratic processes and institutions. This is despite a significant body of intelligence reporting, the completion of foundational policy work, public consultations and having been called to do so by this Committee.”
Lawfare
There’s no doubt Trump’s call to “Lock her up,” his recent felony conviction and his pending election interference and Classified Documents cases call into question the impartiality of the Justice Department but these are only the tip of the iceberg. There is an increased tendency for politicians and officials to turn to the courts when voting doesn’t go their way including recent attempts by officials in Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona to decline certifying election results. It is not impossible that Trump would prosecute his opponents should he win I November. While there is no excuse for such behavior, what exactly did Democrats thing would happen when they started us down this road? Banana republic here we come.
Propaganda and Lies
Politicians have always had a difficult relationship with the truth, but it now often feels like there’s no relationship at all. When Special Council Ben Hur interviewed President Biden as part of his investigation into Biden’s own classified documents “missteps,” he mentioned that Biden had memory issues. Earlier this week the Department of Justice claimed that releasing recordings of these interviews “would risk the spread of misinformation” via “deep fake” technologies. The next day, White House spokesman Andrew Bates called a report by the Wall Street Journal stating the President had memory issues “false claims.” So, which is it? If the tapes don’t show memory issues what’s the harm in releasing them? If he does have memory issues stop calling them “fake claims.”
We saw some movement in betting/investing “values” this week, possibly in response to last week’s felony conviction of Trump. Trump still leads but Biden has gained 3 cents on him.
Trump – 51 cents (+1)
Biden - 48 cents (+4)
What does it mean? Your guess is as good as mine but we’ll keep tracking it anyway.
I did notice two things that I found more interesting (see image below):
People are still betting that Gavin Newsome, the Governor of California, has a chance to win the presidency despite the fact that he isn’t running. In fact, his chances are rated only slightly worse than RFK Jr. who will is running. Why? My guess is that some are placing long shot bets that there will be an “actuarial event” before the election which will require Biden to be replaced. This is the same reason people are still betting on Nikki Haley and likely why she remained in the fight for the Republican ticket long after it became clear Trump was going to win.
Newsome is higher than Kamala Harris who is the current VP. Why? Because most people think she’s unelectable and that the Democratic Party would replace her if Biden had to step aside/became unavailable.
The gap between the candidates in the aggregated polls remains 1.2% in Trumps favor with both candidates dropping 0.1%. In a battle of broadly disliked candidates it, at times, feels like the loser will be the one who hits rock bottom first. Inspiring!
Note: for those who value a complete picture, RFK Jr. is down 0.4%.
And now for the projected Electoral College results…yep, you guessed it, no change.
What I’m Reading
As we’re lies and propaganda are one of the dangers to democracy, let us look at what propaganda is doing to Canada today. Terry Glavin over at “The Real Story” takes a look at the propaganda driving the mass graves hysteria and the pro-Hamas propaganda driving the normalization of antisemitism and argues that “if ‘narrative’ is all that matters, then at the end of the day the ‘narrative’ that will prevail will be the ‘narrative’ with the loudest voice, the deepest pockets, the shiniest boots and the sharpest knives.” A troubling though.
Non-Political Item of the Week
As I was headed into the Skytrain station the other day I happened to see the ad for the new Star Wars series, The Acolyte. Is the ad great? Yes. Are jedis cool? Yes. Did it excite me? Not in the least. All I could think was “great, more Disney crap.” This thought made me a little sad. Had you told the 13-year-old version of myself that someday there would be a half dozen or so Star Wars related shows with new characters and jedi fights he would have been thrilled but today, I probably won’t even bother to give it a chance. Some of that has to do with maturity. Specifically, I’ve grown up but, with the possible exception of Andor, these shows still have plots only a 13-year-old would appreciate (yes, this includes the critically acclaimed series The Mandalorian. I’m sorry, but it’s barely a notch above crap). Over at “The Honest Broker,”
has another theory of what’s happening.My Podcast Recommendation(s) of the Week
Whatever happened to Vice Media? Fifteen years ago, while other outlets were shrinking, Vice was growing at such a rate that at one point it was valued at $6 billion. Last year it filed for bankruptcy. In this podcast Bari Weiss interviews Michael Moynihan, who spent a decade at Vice and the two contrast the media narrative, that Vice “simply made a series of business mistakes and the economic model of the business crumbled” against Michael’s experience that, yes that was part of it, but it was more that Vice began “apologizing for the gonzo journalism that fueled the business to begin with,” and ultimately caved “to an identity politics–obsessed staff of twentysomethings.” Woke culture triumphed over what the customer valued and in the end Vice “bled its backbone and its ethos. And the thing that replaced it? Well, no one wanted to consume it.”
Honestly with Bari Weiss - How ‘Vice’ Went from a $6 Billion Media Empire to Bankruptcy
You seem to have nailed down most of the issues plaguing our nation. You listed a very comprehensive list with appropriate examples of each one.
The only nit I have to pick comes in the very first line..."...various threats to democracy...".
Our outlook on the list and examples are aligned almost perfectly, but they have very little to do with democracy directly. The list, each item and it's protagonist, are working to destroy our Republic form of government. If the Democrats and their heard of minions are crying about "threats to democracy", we need to point out the individual states are the bastions of democracy and government at the federal level is a republican form of government.
Let us not let the Democrats change the language.
Thanks and keep up the good work.