patriotism

Thursday April 23, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 23, 2020

How Trump allies have organized and promoted anti-lockdown protests

Republican politicians and individuals affiliated with President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign are organizing or promoting anti-lockdown protests across key electoral battleground states, despite the White House’s own cautious guidance on relaxing restrictions, interviews with two dozen people involved show.

April 18 2020

In Michigan, the organizers of last week’s rally against Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order aimed at combating the coronavirus pandemic are involved in the Republican president’s re-election effort, a Reuters review of their profiles and interviews with them show. 

In other swing states, such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina, Republican lawmakers, party leaders and Trump allies encouraged their social media followers to join the protests, often organized by conservative activists and pro-gun- rights groups, and attended the events themselves. 

Their actions contradict the Trump administration’s recommendations for a slow and phased reopening, as well as warnings from its own medical experts that opening the economy too fast risks a resurgence of the novel coronavirus that has infected almost 810,000 people in the United States and killed over 45,000 – the world’s highest number of cases and deaths. 

A bipartisan majority of Americans – 88% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans – also want to continue to shelter in place despite the impact on the economy, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday. 

Regardless, many Trump supporters saw his criticism of Democratic governors for going too far with economic restrictions, and his recent tweets calling for those states to be “liberated,” as endorsing their cause, protest organizers and Republican officials said. 

They said there had been no communication with the Trump administration or his election campaign over the protests. 

The Trump campaign declined to answer whether it had been involved with the protests, referring instead to Trump’s daily coronavirus briefings in which he has expressed sympathy for the protesters, saying he understands their frustration.

Several of the main organizers of the Lansing, Michigan, protest that police estimated drew about 4,000 people have ties to the Trump campaign, and are deeply involved in state Republican politics. (Reuters) 

 

Saturday June 29, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday June 29, 2019

Time to remind the G20 there’s more to Canada’s economy than trade with China

China’s latest trade attack — this time on exports of Canadian meat — is a fresh warning of the current volatility in global commerce.

As the world’s largest trading nations gather at the G20 summit in Japan this week, there have been stern warnings that a failure to resolve the tariff dispute between the United States and China will have a dire effect on the entire global economy.

But despite repeated warnings of trade Armageddon, the North American economy has shown itself to be surprisingly resilient and the latest economic indicators tell us that Canada is actually doing quite well.

And as painful as it is for Canadian producers that have benefited from the Chinese market, the dark cloud of politically motivated trade action may have a silver lining.

For one thing, it tells Canadian exporters that China, willing to cast aside a long, close trading relationship in favour of  short-term political bullying, may not be a reliable trade partner.

For another, it is a reminder that, for Canada, exports to China are by no means the only game in town.

Certainly in the run-up to the G20 meeting in Osaka that officially begins Friday, spillover from the U.S.-China trade battle has been seen as a key subject of discussion. Whether there is any hope of a resolution is widely disputed.

“We were about 90 per cent of the way there and I think there’s a path to complete this,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin this week, insisting he is optimistic talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will lead to progress.

But there have been many other signals from the U.S. administration that there are large issues outstanding. Trump has warned of a “plan B” — including more tariffs — if China does not back down.

So far Xi has been equally intransigent, unwilling to give up key elements of his country’s long-term technology plan, the Made in China 2025 strategy, in exchange for short-term trade peace.

Between those two poles, Canada has been caught in the middle. U.S. hostility toward China, including its demand that Canada arrest Chinese Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, has led directly to the Canada-China dispute. (CBC) 

 

Thursday June 14, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator  –  Thursday June 14, 2018

Will America Lose Canada?

The worst thing you could say about previous American presidents and their sleepy approach to Canada was that they took their polite northern neighbors for granted.

June 30, 2000

But as President Trump jetted away from the wreckage of the Group of 7 summit meeting in Quebec this weekend, he plunged American-Canadian relations into a dive so steep it provoked nosebleeds on both sides of the border.

He called the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, dishonest and weak. His advisers accused the Canadians of stabbing Mr. Trump in the back as he winged his way to a meeting with his new best friend, Kim Jong-un of North Korea. And one aide said a “special place in hell” was reserved for Mr. Trudeau, who had the temerity to say to Mr. Trump what the president likes to say to everyone else: Don’t push me around.

It’s not every day you see an American president trade a two-century relationship with a reliable neighbor for what could amount to a one-night stand with a ruthless dictator in Singapore. Mr. Trump may well think bullying Canada is cost-free. After all, three-quarters of its exports go to the United States, which makes retaliation risky for Canada. But having limited options does not mean having none. Reversals like these come with a price, although how and when the United States will pay depends on many factors. (Continued: New York Times) 

 

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Wednesday July 26, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday July 26, 2017

Rising loonie: The Winners

Buoyed by strong sentiment about the state of the Canadian economy, and getting the benefit of general weakness in the U.S. greenback, the Canadian dollar is now flying in territory it hasn’t seen in two years.

A recent interest rate increase by the Bank of Canada, and the expectation of more to come, has the loonie up about 10 per cent over the past six weeks.  The Canadian dollar rose above 80 cents US on Monday before closing at 79.97 cents US.

January 14, 2016

“The obvious winner would be the average Canadian, just in terms of their travel plans or in terms of what they buy from the U.S.,” said Doug Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal.

The recent loftiness of the loonie makes it cheaper for Canadians to travel when they buy vacations priced in U.S. dollars.

For example, a one-week cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., priced at $878 US would have cost $1,203 Cdn when the loonie was trading at 73 cents US. With the loonie at 80 cents, that same cruise would cost $1,097 Cdn — meaning a consumer would save $106.

Similar to consumers, Canadian businesses that buy goods or services in U.S. dollars would wind up paying less for those items after factoring in the effects of our fluctuating currency.

For example, professional sports teams often pay player contracts in U.S. dollars.  A stronger loonie means the revenue earned in Canadian dollar goes further when it comes to paying players in greenbacks. (Source: CBC News) 

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Thursday July 6, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday July 6, 2017

‘Odious’ or overdue: Reports of Omar Khadr settlement draw sharply different reactions

A case that has divided Canadians for nearly 15 years continued to do so Tuesday as news leaked that Ottawa would apologize to Omar Khadr and offer a settlement of more than $10 million for the abuse he endured while in U.S. custody in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.

The vitriol was most intense among fringe commentators on the far right and left, but the issue quickly drew political reactions from across the spectrum, with former members of the Harper administration taking to Twitter and other social media to weigh in.

“Odious,” wrote former Conservative defence minister Jason Kenney, now leader of Alberta’s Progressive Conservative party, on Twitter. “Confessed terrorist who assembled & planted the same kind of IED (improvised explosive device) that killed 97 Canadians to be given $10-million.”

Others praised the government apology as long overdue. “Finally we have seen the light!” wrote Shelly Whitman, executive director of the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative.

While Khadr’s case has always elicited a vigorous debate, news of the settlement triggered extreme commentary Tuesday, including calls on social media for Khadr’s murder and the deaths of the journalists reporting the story, or of advocates who support a government apology. (Continued: Toronto Star)