Uncle Sam

Thursday September 28, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 28, 2017

Bombardier hit with 219% duty on sale of jets to Delta Air Lines

OTTAWA—Bombardier’s hopes for breaking into the U.S. commercial aviation market took a massive blow on Tuesday, as the U.S. Department of Commerce proposed a hefty 219 per cent duty on its CSeries jets.

April 4, 2017

The department ruled in a preliminary decision that Bombardier benefited from improper government subsidies, which gave the Montreal-based company an unfair advantage when selling south of the border.

The investigation was sparked by a complaint from U.S. aerospace giant Boeing, after Bombardier secured a deal for up to 125 of its CS100s with Delta Air Lines in April 2016.

The list price for the planes is around $6 billion, but the actual amount of money involved in the deal has not been made public and Boeing alleges Bombardier offered them for much less.

October 13, 2016

The financial penalties aren’t officially due until Bombardier delivers the first CS100 to Delta, which is expected in the spring. They could also still be dropped or refunded.

The key will be whether the U.S. International Trade Commissions finds that Bombardier-Delta deal actually hurt Boeing’s business, a decision that’s not expected until the spring. (Source: Toronto Star) 

 

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Saturday February 25, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday February 25, 2017

Why Donald Trump won’t be watching the Oscars

Notorious prime-time TV and celebrity gossip fan President Trump will not be watching the 2017 Oscars, his press secretary Sean Spicer has indicated.

“Hollywood is known for being rather far to the left in its opinions,” Spicer said during a press conference. “I have to be honest with you. I think the president will be hosting the Governors Ball that night.

“Mrs Trump looks forward to putting on a phenomenal event, and the first lady has put a lot of time into this event that’s going to occur welcoming our governors to the capital.

“I feel like that is where the president and first lady are going to be focused on Sunday night and so we will go from there.”

We can’t rule out him sneaking a peak at the ceremony then, and I like to imagine him sneaking away from glad-handing at the D.C. event to watch a little of the ABC transmission – Melania catching him and being like “Damnit Donald, I spent hours on this party!”

In recent years Trump has described the Oscars as “bullshit” and “terrible” and famously was highly critical of Meryl Streep and her speech at this year’s Golden Globes.

Trump’s presidency is likely to hang heavy over this year’s ceremony and host Jimmy Kimmel knows it. (Source: Independent) 

 

Wednesday November 9, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday November 9, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay – Wednesday November 9, 2016

Donald Trump wins, America elects an unthinkable president

President Donald Trump. Believe it.

Trump pulled off the unthinkable once again on Tuesday, this time with colossal global consequences. The Republican businessman and former reality television star was elected president of the United States, completing an astonishing rise from political laughingstock to leader of the free world.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay - Wednesday November 9, 2016

Trump’s victory, perhaps the most staggering election outcome in the modern history of major countries, was a repudiation of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who was favoured in polls throughout the campaign but was widely considered dishonest and inauthentic. And it was the biggest triumph yet for the populist nationalism that has shaken countries from Britain to Venezuela.

Trump’s win may produce a period of international political, military and economic upheaval. Even before the race was called, the Dow futures market fell by 750 points, a sharper descent than immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks. Canada’s immigration website crashed.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Justin Trudeau's fight with the forces of Brexit and Donald Trump Tuesday June 28 2016 Six months ago, Justin Trudeau went to Davos, Switzerland to pitch the World Economic Forum on a vision of shared prosperity, proper leadership and embracing diversity. A day later, David Cameron appeared on stage and tried to explain why he was preparing to plunge Britain into a referendum over its membership in the European Union. "Now, some people ask me, 'Well, why are you holding a referendum?'" he acknowledged, after explaining that his aim was for Britain to remain within a "reformed" EU. "I think it's absolutely essential to have full and proper democratic support for what Britain's place should be in Europe and that's why we're holding the referendum.Ó Oopsie. If Cameron is invited back to Davos next year, it will be as a former prime minister. He will no doubt be asked to reflect on how and why his deeply divided country decided to remove itself from the European experiment in common cause, possibly precipitating the breakup of the United Kingdom in the process. There is possibly a lesson here in how one should be careful and cautious when conducting national debates about foundational matters (like, say, electoral reform). But there are, as well, hints that what happened in Britain on Thursday night was driven by economic exclusion, political alienation and fears about immigration. Precisely the sorts of things Trudeau has seemed eager to be seen as standing against. "Simply put, everybody needs to benefit from growth in order to sustain growth," he said in Switzerland. "I believe in positive, ambitious leadership," Trudeau explained. "We need to trust citizens. "We need societies that recognize diversity as a source of strength," he added. "Not a source of weakness.Ó His is the government of the "middle class" and "real change" and 25,000 Syrian refugees. Back in January, Trudeau's appeal to div

June 28 2016

Clinton and President Barack Obama had called for a comprehensive rejection of Trumpism — his disparagement of women and minority groups, his disdain for democratic norms, his rage. Instead, a majority of white voters, and enough others, rejected their message of inclusion and incremental improvement in favour of Trump’s promise of radical transformation.

They granted immense power to an erratic, never-elected and habitually untruthful candidate whose behaviour and policy positions have alarmed much of the world — and who will face no organized opposition in Congress. Republicans retained control of the House of Representatives and appeared likely to keep the Senate. (Continued: Toronto Star)

Wednesday November 9, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday November 9, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 9, 2016

Even before 2016 is over, the race for 2020 is well underway

Long before the first polling places opened on Election Day 2016, the race for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination was already underway.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday November 7, 2012 'The beginning of a new era in America' Pharmacy's poll finds split between headache and anger reliefÊ President Barack Obama's re-election Ñ in a ferocious campaign dotted by charges of racial anger and minority-voter suppression Ñ hasÊprovided what many blacks say will surely deepen his legacy: irrefutable evidence that his presidency is hardly a historical fluke as he hasÊnow won two national campaigns with overwhelming white support. Obama, the nation's first black president, was already soaked in history, a figure seen in the aftermath of his 2008 victory as theÊculmination of a decades-long civil rights crusade that suffered the assassination of beloved figures who fought and marched for the rightÊto vote and freely pursue the American dream. But Obama's first term as president also saw him pelted with racially charged denunciations Ñ some from politicians Ñ that reopenedÊfestering wounds and even fears in the African American community for his safety. At times it felt as if the W.E.B. Du Bois prophecy ÑÊthe problem of the 20th century would be the color line, he famously opined Ñ had leapt right into the 21st century. "In many ways," said Lonnie G. Bunch III, founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture,Ê"Obama's reelection can be seen as resilience on the part of the African American community." But Bunch admitted that he felt, as did many blacks in the waning weeks of the campaign, that Obama Ñ despite accomplishments in theÊwar on terrorism, a strengthening economy and passage of a universal-health-care law Ñ had been mercilessly castigated. There was jubilation on the streets of Washington with Obama's re-election. Janice Brown, 30, a staffing consultant who lives in Suitland,ÊMd., stood in a corner of Busboys and Poets restaurant, excited and relieved. "It's awesome for America. Not only is he a great leader, butÊhe is in

November 7, 2012

It has been unfolding in early primary states, where potential candidates have been introducing or reintroducing themselves. It has been on display in purple battlegrounds where they are helping in down-ballot contests. And behind the scenes, would-be contenders have sought face time with party power brokers eager to size them up.

“I think it’s already happening now,” said Rep. Tom Cole (Okla.), a veteran GOP strategist. Cole identified another significant way the prospective candidates are laying a foundation: by embracing or shunning Donald Trump.

“You’ve seen some pretty dramatic reversals of people deciding they couldn’t be for Trump and they are for Trump. Now, part of that to me is about positioning for presidential contests.”

If Trump loses on Tuesday, Republicans will be forced to choose yet again from a full slate of ambitious candidates-in-waiting with wildly divergent visions for the party’s future. Even if Trump wins, he will begin his presidency far from safe against the threat of a primary challenge, since an ample cross-section of his party has already spoken out against him.

A Trump win would also likely set off a potentially chaotic scramble on the Democratic side to field a challenger in four years. Democrats have failed to build a robust bench during Obama’s presidency, in part because of the down-ballot drubbings the party has experienced in the midterms and partly because Clinton effectively froze the field as she considered her 2016 run.

No Republican has announced they are running in 2020 if Trump loses. Most have avoided even broaching the subject publicly, to avoid appearing presumptuous.

Revised: November 9, 2016 (The morning after)

But interviews with more than a dozen Republican strategists, elected officials, donors and rank-and-file voters show that the party has already started pondering its future options and a recognition that the auditions have started.

Among the names most often mentioned are several failed 2016 candidates who eventually — and awkwardly — came around to supporting Trump: Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.), Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.).

Some see Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has held firm in his opposition to Trump after losing to him, as a possibility. Republicans are also intrigued by Sen. Ben Sasse (Neb.), an early Trump critic. (Source: Washington Post)

 

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay - Wednesday November 9, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay – Wednesday November 9, 2016 (Drawn at midnight before a declared winner)