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Thursday July 11, 2019

July 18, 2019 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday July 11, 2019

Maxime Bernier poses with Northern Guard, one flashing apparent ‘white power’ sign

People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier is being asked about a photo he recently posed for in which he is seen smiling with members of the Northern Guard, a reportedly “anti-Muslim” organization that allegedly has ties to neo-Nazism.

August 24, 2018

One of the group’s members can be seen flashing what appears to be an “OK” hand sign in the photo — a symbol that has been associated with “white power.”

The photo, first reported by Press Progress, was posted to Facebook by Kyle Puchalski, a Calgary man who identifies himself on his page as the Northern Guard’s provincial president for Alberta.

“Great day gents,” he captioned the photo, which was tagged as having been taken in Calgary.

Bernier said he hadn’t seen the photo yet when Global News asked him about it in Edmonton on Tuesday.

When asked how he responds to criticism for having posed with Northern Guard members, Bernier said he doesn’t look at the background of every person who takes a photo with him.

“I’m a politician at a public event. People who want to come with us and have a photo with me, I’ll have a photo with them,” he said.

Bernier went on to say that people who don’t share the PPC’s values are not welcome in the party.

August 17, 2018

“People who are racist and anti-Semitic, they’re not welcome in our party,” he said.

The Northern Guard is described as an anti-Muslim far-right group with ties to neo-Nazism by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network.

The group, which has existed since the fall of 2017, is an offshoot of the Soldiers of Odin, according to the network.

The Soldiers of Odin are an organization that has triggered concerns about “anti-immigration vigilantism” within the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

The Northern Guard came under scrutiny earlier this year as the Canadian Anti-Hate Network started tracking its activities in Halifax.

A chapter opened in the city earlier this year; its vice-president George Fagen said the group’s mandate is to put Canadian values and issues first.

The group had distributed pizza to people they felt needed food in downtown Halifax. (Global News)

Letter to the Editor, Hamilton Spectator, Friday July 11, 2019

Max Bernier is a patriot

RE: Cartoon (July 11)

Yesterday’s editorial cartoon, which portrays Max Bernier as the fellow traveller of Nazis and Klansmen, is scandalous.

Although your cartoonists have had much sport at the expense of all political leaders, they have never stooped to this level.

This cartoon is unworthy of the rags put out by the lunatic left in Toronto. Max Bernier is a patriot, probably the only one among the whole sorry lot. Shame on you.

Leonard Allen, Hamilton

Friday August 18 2017

August 17, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday August 18 2017

Donald Trump is burning every bridge he can, 1 tweet at a time

November 9, 2016

Before 9:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, the President of the United States had already:

Attacked not one but two sitting senators of his own party.
Savaged the “fake” news media.
Tripled down on his comments regarding the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Echoed the rhetoric of the far right by insisting that our “culture” was being destroyed by the cult of political correctness.

Donald Trump did all of these things via Twitter — starting at 6:19 a.m. ET with a tweet alleging that “publicity seeking” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) had purposely contorted his comments after the violent white supremacist protests over the weekend and ending at 9:21 a.m. ET with a slippery slope argument that liberals were responsible for the “beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks” by calling for the removal of statues honoring Confederates.

July 28, 2017

So, for three hours — at least — the most powerful person in the world was glued to social media, gleefully settling scores.

This is not a new reality for Trump. Since he became a candidate, he has used Twitter as a combination of a focus group and a blowtorch.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump would regularly try out new attack lines — “Lyin’ Ted,” “Little Marco” — on Twitter to see if his fans responded to them. If they did, those attacks were quickly inserted into his stump speech or his debate answers.

He would also use Twitter to fight back against his critics, to lambast the media and to, generally speaking, provoke. (Never forget: Trump is, at root, a provocateur more than he is a politician.)

November 9, 2016

Despite his promises to be “so presidential you will be so bored” if elected, Trump hasn’t changed one iota. That’s most obvious in his Twitter habits. While he went through patches — a few days, maybe a week — early in his presidency when he would lay off Twitter entirely or only tweet his speeches or other more generic political pap, Trump has always returned to his Twitter addiction with a vengeance.

His tweets have produced many of the defining moments of his presidency — none of which are good. His March tweet that President Barack Obama had wire-tapped Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign sparked weeks of questions — zero of which he could answer. His repeated attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell helped to turn Republicans in the Senate against him. His personal attack on MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski was roundly denounced by politicians — and humans — of all stripes. (Source: CNN)

November 10, 2016

Meanwhile, for about two hours on Monday August 21, weather permitting, the entire US should see the moon slide in front of the sun. The last solar eclipse to slice across the entire continent happened 99 years ago; unlike that event, this eclipse will occur in an era of record internet usage — one in which 95% of American adults own a mobile phone. (Source: Business Insider)

Letter to the Editor (Hamilton Spectator – August 24)

Most now can’t even stand Trump’s voice

RE: MacKay editorial cartoon Aug. 18

I loved Graeme MacKay’s succinct and very timely cartoon Friday of Trump as a dark cloud, the eclipse, over the U.S., dividing the country in two with his overly-long trademark red tie. Unfortunately it also lumped more progressive “blue states”, e.g. California, in with the south, but the point was well made. It should also be made clear that many people, perhaps now even a majority of southerners who once liked and believed in him, can no longer can support or even stand listening to the voice of their insecure, paranoid and narcissistic, therefore very dangerous, “leader”.

In case you missed Anderson Cooper’s CNN interview with Tony Schwartz, ghostwriter of Trump’s “Art of the Deal”, he predicts Trump will resign before he is impeached, naturally blaming everyone else along the way for his dramatic failure. Hopefully this happens very soon and in time to relinquish his power to pardon his cronies and even family members for their crimes committed by association with this very sick man. SAD!

John Royds, Carlisle

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Tuesday August 15, 2017

August 14, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday August 15, 2017

Under pressure, Trump condemns neo-Nazis, supremacists and KKK: ‘Racism is evil’

President Donald Trump denounced the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis by name Monday and announced that the Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into the killing of a counterprotester at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend as he sought to tamp down mounting criticism of his initial response to the violence.

June 9, 2016

“Anyone who acted criminally in this weekend’s racist violence, you will be held accountable,” Trump said in brief remarks to reporters in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, where he returned after a week of vacation in Bedminster, N.J. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms the egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence. It has no place in America.”

Trump added: “Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to all that we hold dear as a nation.”

The statement came two days after he failed to specifically condemn the white supremacist rally after a woman was killed and as many as 19 wounded by a driver who reportedly espoused racist and pro-Nazi sentiments and had taken part in the “Unite the Right” march in Charlottesville.

On Saturday, Trump condemned “the egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides,” sparking sharp criticism from Democrats, civil rights proponents and some Republicans for failing to single out and condemn the white supremacists who sparked the violence.

On Monday, Kenneth C. Frazier, CEO of Merck, said in a tweet that he was resigning from Trump’s American Manufacturing Council, saying he was doing so “as a matter of personal conscience” and that “America’s leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal.”

Trump had been under increasing pressure to call out the groups by name after his previous remarks bemoaning violence on “many sides” prompted criticism from fellow Republicans as well as Democrats. (Source: National Post)

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Thursday June 9, 2016

June 8, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday June 9, 2016

Paul Ryan stresses party unity in GOP meeting

House Speaker Paul Ryan reiterated his support Wednesday for Donald Trump at a closed door meeting with House Republicans and asked his colleagues to unite behind the presumptive Republican nominee, according to several members who attended the session.

Ryan’s backing of Trump comes a day after he blasted the businessman’s remarks about a federal judge as a “textbook definition of a racist comment.”

June 4, 2016

Trumps comments have sparked a fury on Capitol Hill where many Republicans worry that Trump’s racially tinged criticism of Judge Gonzalo Curiel could ultimately hurt down-ballot GOP candidates competing in congressional races this year.

Though Ryan didn’t back away from his endorsement, he said he would continue to speak out when he believed the billionaire businessman makes inappropriate statements.

Ryan spokesman said the speaker did not “urge” the party to fall in line behind Trump but stressed the importance of unity.

Ryan “just reaffirmed his disagreement with the comment, respecting that the people have elected Donald Trump as our Republican nominee and what we’re going to do is we’re going to use our position in a positive way to help America out,” said Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y.

Trump tried to quell some of the outrage on Tuesday, releasing a statement saying his past remarks had been misconstrued, and Trump avoided the topic all together during a speech he gave later that evening.

Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative group in Congress, said Trump needs to “quit spending time bashing judges.” He will vote for Trump, he said, but, “I don’t endorse people that bash judges — based on his ethnic heritage.” (Source: CNN)