fraud – mackaycartoons

Wednesday December 16, 2020

December 23, 2020 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday December 16, 2020

More Senate Republicans warily accept Trump’s loss after Electoral College vote.

Support for President Trump’s attempt to overturn his election loss began to collapse in the Senate on Monday after the Electoral College certified President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory, with many of the chamber’s top Republicans saying the time had come to recognize results that have been evident for weeks.

November 24, 2020

While they insisted that Mr. Trump could still challenge the results in court should he wish, the senators said the certification should be considered the effective conclusion of an election that has fiercely divided the country. And after weeks of silence as Mr. Trump and others in their party sought to overturn the results in increasingly extreme ways, they urged their colleagues to move on.

“I understand there are people who feel strongly about the outcome of this election, but in the end, at some point, you have to face the music,” Senator John Thune of South Dakota, Republicans’ No. 2, told reporters in the Capitol. “And I think once the Electoral College settles the issue today, it’s time for everybody to move on.”

Even Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who initially fanned Mr. Trump’s claims of fraud in key battleground states, said he now saw only “a very, very narrow path for the president” and had spoken with Mr. Biden and some of his likely cabinet nominees.

November 10, 2020

“I don’t see how it gets there from here, given what the Supreme Court did,” he added, referring to the justices’ decision on Friday to reject a long-shot suit by Texas seeking to overturn the results in a handful of states Mr. Biden won.

The comments amounted to a notable and swift sea change in a body that for weeks has essentially refused to acknowledge the inevitable, although the shift was far from unanimous.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, stayed conspicuously silent on Monday, declining to acknowledge Mr. Biden’s victory. He dedicated his only public remarks to stimulus negotiations and ignored a question about the Electoral College proceeding shouted by a reporter in the Capitol.

October 23, 2020

It was unclear on Monday if those who relented were a harbinger of a larger shift by elected Republicans to accept Mr. Trump’s defeat, or a sign of a growing rift within the party between those willing to accept reality and those — a loyal core in the Senate and the vast majority in the House — who appear ready to follow him wherever he leads.

Mr. McConnell’s allies said that he would honor the election outcome come January, but did not want to pick a fight with Mr. Trump now, for fear of damaging Republicans’ chances in a pair of January Senate runoff elections in Georgia that will decide control of the chamber.

He is also concerned, they said, that doing so could jeopardize a string of year-end legislative priorities that will require the president’s signature, including a catchall spending measure and the stimulus package to address the continuing toll of the pandemic. (New York Times)

Saturday December 12, 2020

December 19, 2020 by Graeme MacKay

December 12, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday December 12, 2020

Trump largely mum on toll of coronavirus as he continues to fight election results

U.S. President Donald Trump has been highlighting lots of really big numbers this week: New highs for the stock market. The 100-plus House members backing a lawsuit challenging his election loss. The nearly 75 million people who voted for him.

November 24, 2020

All the while, he’s looked past other staggering and more consequential figures: The record numbers of coronavirus deaths, hospitalizations and new cases among the citizens of the nation he leads.

On Friday, Trump’s team blasted out a text with this strong, high-minded presidential message: “We will not bend. We will not break. We will never give in. We will never give up.”

But it was not a rallying cry to help shore up Americans sagging under the toll of a pandemic that on Wednesday alone killed more Americans than on D-Day or 9-11. It was part of a fundraising pitch tied to Senate races in Georgia and to Trump’s unsupported claims that Democrats are trying to “steal” the presidential election he lost.

November 6, 2020

Of Trump’s tweets over the past week, 82 per cent have been focused on the election and just 7 per cent on the virus — almost all of those related to forthcoming vaccines — according to Factba.se, a data analytics company. Nearly a third of the president’s tweets on the election were flagged by Twitter for misinformation.

As he talks and tweets at length about the election he is futilely trying to subvert, the president is leaving Americans without a central figure to help them deal with their grief over loved-ones’ deaths and the day-to-day danger of the pandemic that still rages. His strategy is to focus totally on the shiny object coming soon — the prospect of a vaccine.

Friday night, the the Food and Drug Administration gave the final go-ahead to a vaccine from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, launching emergency vaccinations in a bid to end the pandemic. But Trump’s three-minute internet address hailing the vaccine made no mention of the toll the virus has taken.

July 28, 2020

Calvin Jillson, a presidential historian at Southern Methodist University, said Trump has proven himself unable or unwilling to muster the “normal and natural, falling-off-a-log simple presidential approach” that is called for in any moment of national grief or crisis.

“He simply doesn’t seem to have the emotional depth, the emotional reserves to feel what’s happening in the country and to respond to it in the way that any other president — even those who’ve been fairly emotionally crippled — would do,” Jillson said.

November 21, 2020

Trump did convene a summit this week to highlight his administration’s successful efforts to help hasten the development of coronavirus vaccines and prepare for their speedy distribution. And he spent part of Friday pressing federal authorities to authorize use of the first-up vaccine candidate from Pfizer.

At his summit, the president put heavy emphasis on the faster-than-expected development of the vaccines, calling it “an incredible success,” “a monumental national achievement,” “really amazing” and “somewhat of a miracle.” He’s also claimed credit, though Pfizer developed its vaccine outside the administration’s “Operation Warp Speed.”

In a passing nod to the pandemic’s toll, Trump promised the coming vaccines would “quickly and dramatically reduce deaths and hospitalizations,” adding that “we want to get back to normal.” But it will be months before most Americans have access to a vaccine.

Asked what message he had for Americans suffering great hardship as the holidays approach and the virus only gets worse, Trump’s answer had an almost clinical tone.

April 23, 2020

“Yeah, well, CDC puts out their guidelines, and they’re very important guidelines,” he said, “but I think this: I think that the vaccine was our goal.”

To focus otherwise would undercut Trump’s goal of minimizing the national pain of the virus’ toll and his claims that the danger will soon vanish.

Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, on Friday answered that approach with a promise for greater presidential leadership. Of the virus, he said: “We can wish this away, but we need to face it.”

Jeff Shesol, a presidential historian and former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton, said Trump’s failure to express empathy was a “personal pathology manifesting itself as political strategy.” (Global News)

Wednesday May 4, 2016

May 3, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday May 4, 2016

Citizenships of about a dozen people at risk after auditor general report

Immigration officials are looking at revoking the Canadian citizenship of about a dozen people after the auditor general found the government isn’t doing enough to root out fraud in the citizenship system.

Michael Ferguson’s report uncovered instances of people with serious criminal records and others using potentially phoney addresses among those who managed to secure Canadian citizenship thanks to holes throughout not just the Immigration Department but the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency as well.

The cases flagged represent just a fraction of the nearly half a million people who’ve become Canadian citizens in the last two years, but that doesn’t mean improvements aren’t necessary, Immigration Minister John McCallum said Tuesday.

“The vast majority of the cases are clear but we are not happy if even one case is fraudulently obtained and that is why we are vigorously implementing the recommendations of the auditor general,” McCallum said.

Recommendations related to improving information sharing between departments will be implemented by the end of the year, McCallum said. Another suggestion — that officers be given more power to seize fraudulent documents — is currently in a bill being debated in the House of Commons.

Among the cases caught by Michael Ferguson’s team: four people who were granted citizenship despite having criminal records that would render them ineligible, and two who were approved despite having committed crimes after passing a criminal-background check.

The audit also revealed it took seven years for officials to cotton on to the fact a single address had been used by at least 50 different applicants during overlapping time periods. Of the 50, seven became Canadian citizens.

A review of 49 cases where an individual’s address had been flagged as problematic concluded that in 18 instances, citizenship officials didn’t follow up to see if the applicant actually met residency requirements.

The issues Ferguson included everything from officers seeming to ignore existing information about applicants, data entry errors that meant problems were missed, a failure on the part of security agencies to share information with the Immigration Department and officers not following their own procedures, like checking an applicant’s paperwork against a database of known fake documents.(Source: Toronto Star)

Friday April 29, 2016

April 28, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday April 29, 2016

Naturopath who treated boy who died of meningitis should be held accountable, physicians say

The naturopath who treated Ezekiel Stephan, an Alberta boy who died of bacterial meningitis in 2012, “did not meet the standard of care” and should be held accountable for her actions, according to a critical letter sent to the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta by nearly four dozen physicians across Canada.

The situation raises broader questions about the growing trend toward the regulation of naturopaths in Canada and whether the colleges are doing proper oversight, said Michelle Cohen, a family physician in Brighton, Ont., who wrote the letter.

The college has opened an investigation based on the letter and did not respond to an interview request.

David and Collet Stephan were found guilty in a Lethbridge court on Tuesday of failing to provide the necessaries of life for their son Ezekiel, who was 19 months old.

The Stephans went to a naturopath, Tracey Tannis, because they suspected that the boy had meningitis. The naturopath testified that she did not physically examine Ezekiel and that she had advised the Stephans to take him to a hospital. But she gave Ms. Stephan an echinacea treatment for the child. Others testified that Dr. Tannis discussed Ezekiel’s case with his mother.

Naturopaths are governed by a self-regulatory college in Alberta, in a manner similar to doctors and nurses. Dr. Tannis is still listed as a member in good standing of the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta and there are no notes attached to her registration to suggest that there have been any concerns about her actions.

The physicians’ letter criticizes the naturopath for recommending a treatment for a sick child without having examined him and for failing to provide vital information about the grave risks of meningitis and the urgent need for a lumbar puncture and treatment to prevent death or permanent brain damage.

“Albertans should expect that any regulated health-care professional meeting the standard of care for treating children would have basic knowledge about meningitis,” the letter says. “Albertans should also expect that any regulated health professional using the designation ‘Dr.’ would not recommend a treatment for a child without first physically examining them to arrive at a diagnosis.”

Dr. Tannis did not respond to an interview request on Wednesday. (Source: Globe & Mail)

Thursday, February 27, 2013

February 27, 2013 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday, February 27, 2013

House calls being made as part of EI audit

The federal government has begun visiting employment insurance recipients at home as part of an “examination” being conducted while the program undergoes an overhaul.

The majority of individuals selected for a random audit are receiving invitations, in person, to appear at their customary EI interviews as part of the project, which wraps up next month.

Some recipients are already on edge, given the changes to the program that have seasonal workers fearing their benefits might be cancelled. The union representing federal employees, meanwhile, says it’s concerned for the safety of its workers.

The federal government has confirmed the house calls, but says that Service Canada also attempts to contact people by mail and telephone.

“An examination to ensure the integrity of the employment insurance program is currently underway,” Human Resources Development Canada told The Canadian Press in an email.

Federal employees have been making the unannounced visits since January, and have been hand-delivering requests for people to appear at the regular EI interview.

About 50 federal employees have been assigned to the project.

The sample of 1,200 EI recipients has been randomly selected from across the country, according to the government.

“Every year, unfortunately, in our employment insurance system, hundreds of millions of dollars are identified or are lost through false or fraudulent or inappropriate claims,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said at an event Thursday in Saskatoon. (Source: CBC News)