Today's News: What a week!

Beginning with a wonderful palate cleanser:

Nazem Kadri brings the Stanley Cup to the London Muslim Mosque.

This is believed to be the first time in history that the Cup has entered a mosque. @HkyNightPunjabi @NHL @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/wRIZAm8hvv

— Amrit Gill (@AmritG) August 27, 2022

A short stop at today's Globe and Mail:

"Bell, what is your plan?...What will you do not just for Lisa but for us all." I joined many others in signing this open letter in @globeandmail to Bell Canada about @BellMediaPR's "business decision" to fire Lisa LaFlamme in prime of her career. Have a read & RT if you support. pic.twitter.com/RlrW0JoBAr

— Catherine McKenna (@cathmckenna) August 27, 2022

At this point, Bell Media will have to offer LaFlamme the National News vice-presidency before this controversy will be quelled. And I would be fine with that.

   

Moving to today's news, first here is a great cartoon illustrating the trolls Canada is dealing with these days:

Which one of these characters would be that guy from Grande Prairie who cursed at Chrystia Freeland yesterday as she was getting into an elevator? 

The portion of the video after he had been kicked out of the hotel shows he was just so very pleased with himself, so absolutely delighted to "own the libs".  Everyone is pointing and laughing at him now, but we're also acknowledging that this kind of behaviour is unhinged and possibly dangerous:

This appears to have been in Grand Prairie, where Freeland had events scheduled today. Comments on TikTok are overwhelmingly supportive of this guy. (The OP’s feed is full of expected anti-mandate and conspiracy posts.)

— Glen McGregor (@glen_mcgregor) August 27, 2022

The Director’s Cut is worse of course. Rage Farmers have taken over the Conservative Party, and they’re about to put their man in charge. https://t.co/ycQ17OPCiQ

— Gerald Butts (@gmbutts) August 27, 2022

Canadian politicians from all parties are also speaking out against this - even Conservatives, albeit with a little nudging:

Are there any vertebrate conservatives remaining in Canada? Any of you going to stand up to this madness?

— Gerald Butts (@gmbutts) August 27, 2022

To @PierrePoilievre: Polite suggestion for your next video. Instead of talking to genuine wood or an imaginary PM, how about talking to the biggest asshole in Canada 🇨🇦 the guy in Grande Prairie who confronted @cafreeland How about giving him a piece of Jenni Byrne’s mind?

— Charles Adler (@charlesadler) August 27, 2022

Deputy Prime Minister @cafreeland is a proud Albertan and a dedicated public servant. I have seen her commitment to our province and our country firsthand. The harassment and intimidation she has faced is completely unacceptable, and is in no way representative of Albertans.

— Amarjeet Sohi (@AmarjeetSohiYEG) August 27, 2022

There can be no liberty without order. Political leaders of all stripes must denounce this type of unacceptable conduct. 2/2

— Erin O'Toole (@erinotoole) August 27, 2022

This is gross intimidation. People are angry. I get it. But this is dangerous behaviour. It cannot be normalized. Every political leader must speak out and condemn this. #cdnpoli https://t.co/azcuUE4vst

— Jean Charest (@JeanCharest_) August 27, 2022

The verbal harassment and threats directed at Minister @cafreeland during her visit to Alberta yesterday were reprehensible.

If you disagree with a politician, by all means exercise your right to protest. But screaming threatening language & physical intimidation cross the line.

— Jason Kenney 🇺🇦 (@jkenney) August 27, 2022

My friend Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance @cafreeland didn’t deserve this. No one in public office does. This needs to stop. Canada is better than this.

— Doug Ford (@fordnation) August 27, 2022

Pierre Poilievre’s deafening silence on the Freeland event is probably the most honest thing he’s done.

— Dean from Winnipeg (@Dean_Winnipeg) August 27, 2022

The diminishing cohort of principled conservatives are struggling with core values and path to power. Not sanguine about how this turns out

— Frank Graves (@VoiceOfFranky) August 28, 2022

Canadians were shocked and angry, and thousands tweeted support for Freeland:

Chrystia Freeland is an absolutely brilliant woman with an astonishing list of accomplishments during her stellar career. Yet, some inbred, uneducated hillbilly thinks he has a right to stalk, harass, & call her misogynistic names because he has a dick. That's misogyny in action. pic.twitter.com/HmVc0n1yGr

— Janet Wagner (@janetwagner21) August 27, 2022

Note. It’s pretty hard to intimidate a woman who defied the Russian secret police, who stood up to Putin and Trump, and who can run circles around most bullies, in high heels, no less. She greets him in an open friendly way, then strides coolly into that elevator when he goes off

— Paula Simons (@Paulatics) August 27, 2022

Dear DPM @cafreeland, you showed absolute grace and class while you were verbally attacked by a #WhiteSupremacist who @PierrePoilievre panders too. As a First Nations woman, born in #Alberta you are more than welcomed anywhere in my peoples country. Much love and respect.🪶🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/edYkjik6fm

— Blackfoot/Lakota FN’s 🪶🇨🇦🧡🇺🇸💙🇺🇦💛 (@ThoughtsNations) August 27, 2022

Not sure who needs to hear this but Ricky from the Trailer Park Boys was presented as a caricature, not a role model.

— Barney Panofsky's Best Intentions (@mynamesnotgordy) August 27, 2022

The Sound of Silence "Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again"
Today that silence comes from every right wing Conservative who has not flatly condemned the verbal assault and threat to Chrystia Freeland in her home province of Alberta.

— Mike Morris (@1MikeMorris) August 27, 2022

I was part of every single round of 2017-19 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇲🇽 negotiations & had many of my own meetings with the White House.

$16B in new auto investment in CANADA since the signing speaks for itself. It’s more than the previous 20 yrs combined.

No kidding Jared didn’t like @cafreeland. https://t.co/PtGOkmGZcP

— Flavio Volpe (@FlavioVolpe1) August 26, 2022

Class:

pic.twitter.com/peGNcXFysk

— Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland) August 27, 2022

Today's News: CTV News is losing its soul

The very definition of a professional news organization is one that reports news without fear or favour. 

Over the years, news organizations have fired reporters, editors, anchors, editors, publishers, for good reasons and bad, pleasing or angering their audiences. But when a news organization also lets its own corporate actions compromise its objective news judgements, and then starts slanting its news stories to justify or cover up its own unethical behaviour, it has lost its soul. 

That began to happen to CTV News today. 

For the last two weeks, CTV and Bell Media has been embarrassed by the burgeoning corporate Going Grey movement, because corporations across Canada have been reflecting Canadian anger with CTV's unwarranted firing of Lisa LaFlamme. 

Today CTV News finally "covered" this story, but in a threatening way - they picked up a Canadian Press story which had found a "retail analyst" and a marketing professor to provide contrarian "takes" about how companies endorsing Going Grey really needed to watch their steps.  Then Bell Media outlets and CTV stations across the country dutifully "tweeted" the story out, one after the other.

The thuggery couldn't have been clearer - "nice little brand you got here. Be too bad if something were to happen to it"

Tell me this doesn't read like CTV is doubling down on its sexism/ageism/misogyny w/ what amounts to veiled threats against corporations, etc. who side w/ Lisa LaFlamme... https://t.co/kRKlGKJE8s #cdnpoli

— somecanuckchick 🍁 (@somecanuckchick) August 26, 2022

Maybe brands like @BellMediaPR should be wary of supporting sexism, misogyny & ageism. Just sayin.

— Covid's Not Done With Us Yet 💉😷🐝 (@Jennymd1) August 26, 2022

So let me get this straight. A media outlet owned by Bell media puts out a piece essentially say that other brands should be wary of taking a position on what Bell has done. Congrats @CP24 your corporate overlords will be very pleased.

— CFLFan@sevendeucemgw (@fan_cfl) August 26, 2022

@tara_deschamps just gotta wonder how you were pressured into writing this article. In my opinion, it is absolutely mind-blowing 🤯 that any @CTVNews female employee would agree to write such bullshit. @BellMediaPR #FireMichaelMelling https://t.co/HVpLZDk2q2

— D♠️R (@Dale_Roth22) August 26, 2022

New headline: In wake of firing LaFlamme, the public should be wary of Bell Media trying to censor brands that speak out against its discriminatory practices #LisaLaFlamme #KeepTheGrey #LetsTalkAboutBell https://t.co/BAAXGhtxxf

— Priya Sam (@PriyaSam) August 26, 2022

This is beyond hilarious. It’s the op-ed version of three kids - stacked up in a raincoat - pretending to be a grownup to buy beer. https://t.co/o3qmpeB8vW

— Bob Mackowycz (@BobMackowycz) August 26, 2022

.⁦@CTV⁩ you really need to read the room. #Wendys #Dove 💪🏻 https://t.co/ZAyW9ZfvpL

— Jill Davis (@Jdavis_Halton) August 26, 2022

Today's News: This you?

Its sorta hysterical, really. 

So yesterday Biden announced $10,000 student-loan forgiveness policies, which are a great thing that will help millions of people. 

And predictably, some Republicans went nuts about how irresponsible Biden was to just wipe out indebtedness with the stroke of a pen. 

And, also predictably, Twitter then started checking on whether any of those Republicans had also borrowed money and been forgiven for the loans. 

And, shore nuff, many had. They had  taken hundreds of thousands in Covid salary protection loans which were then also forgiven totally, including the interest. 

So "Republican" can now also be spelled h-y-p-o-c-r-i-t-e.

The last 24 hours of this app has just been people posting stuff like, "Let me get this straight: the urinal cleaners of my community owe hipsters $10,000 now?" and then a reply that says, "This you?" and it's a PPP loan receipt for their podcast Reassessing Franco.

— Michael Arria (@michaelarria) August 25, 2022

The 10k is nice. But the repayment caps are huge game changers. 5% of income, 20 years of payments max.

Way to go Joe.

— Trevor Burns (@BurnsieMN) August 24, 2022

The internet's dunking on student loan debt complainers with PPP loan receipts
Beware of the 'this you?' https://t.co/DxhiSFHNvy

— Biff Rendar (@biffrendar) August 25, 2022

If you need a laugh, check out a bunch of conservative a-holes getting "this you?"'d in the 🧵below: https://t.co/38C33x4dZW

— Wesker’s Wifey (Shanny) (@weskers_wifey) August 25, 2022

Even the White House got into the act:

They do and it's glorious:https://t.co/LHuJ8pH1dB

— John Amussen 💛🐝 (@JRA81) August 25, 2022

Dark Brandon has the password to the White House Twitter account https://t.co/oscEuZwJZi

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) August 25, 2022

The White House fully embracing Dark Brandon and letting their social media go wild is exactly what I am here for

— Santiago Mayer (@santiagomayer_) August 25, 2022

The White House Twitter account has gone goblin mode pic.twitter.com/Th3YI5Zs3m

— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) August 25, 2022

The White House is throwing lightning bolts all over Twitter like it’s freakin’ ZEUS, I love it

— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) August 25, 2022

Wow. The White House just called out Marjorie Taylor Greene for having $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven. Biden tolerated MAGA for as long as any man could — but now he’s fed up with their lies and blatant hypocrisy. Thank you, White House, for putting Marjorie Greene in her place.

— Dash Dobrofsky (@DashDobrofsky) August 25, 2022

iconic @megancoyne23 purr 💅🏾(h/t @mattbc) https://t.co/RJZX0SKhGf

— maybe: diane (@dianelyssa) August 26, 2022

Actually its "freezing rain", but "this you?" must be a close second by now!

— Cathie from Canada 🇨🇦 😷🏳️‍🌈 (@CathieCanada) August 25, 2022

if you have a problem with the student loan cancellation because you already paid off your loans, just pretend its a tax cut for the rich that you also never got but mysteriously didn't complain about.

— Katelyn Burns (@transscribe) August 24, 2022

Preemptively posting this. pic.twitter.com/3xSCANnBGg

— Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) August 24, 2022

Today's News: Lisa Forever

#Lisa #LaFlamme Handling brings flack pic.twitter.com/3xOQtPC3Qd

— Mike Allen Cartoons (@MikeAll30808974) August 19, 2022

Interesting to continue to watch the uproar over CTV News firing of Lisa LaFlamme -- today, more revelations: First, Bell Media is stressed out because everyone has been so mean to them and nobody UNDERSTANDS how DIFFICULT it is to run a media company these days....

A statement from Bell Media. pic.twitter.com/4I1LapDYpj

— Bell Media PR (@BellMediaPR) August 19, 2022

Amazingly, this statement didn't increase anyone's sympathy for Bell Media:

You fired her because one of your spoiled little boys has a hissy fit over her hair colour and her assertiveness. Obviously, you fired the wrong person.

— Larry Hubich (@LHubich) August 19, 2022

I like this version better:
Thanks to @jennyleeshee for her great rewrite! pic.twitter.com/qYbpkaMqKG

— Paul Atkinson 🇨🇦 🧥 (@Paulysworld) August 19, 2022

One thing BellMedia doesn't seem to understand is just how delighted the rest of Canadian media always are whenever a big media company stumbles and steps in it. The stories will just go on and on:

Anne Murray, Karen Kain and others react to CTV’s controversial decision to part with news anchor Lisa LaFlamme https://t.co/OQSyamwqwB

— The Globe and Mail (@globeandmail) August 19, 2022

More revelations from Canadaland:

"We have to keep doing what we're doing," Bell Media executives told staff at a meeting about Lisa LaFlamme's exit. https://t.co/DtWomnodVD

— CANADALAND (@CANADALAND) August 19, 2022