Election Funnies and Follies #6

So this happened:

Le système de santé public et universel du Canada est l’une de nos plus grandes forces. L’an dernier, en pleine pandémie, Erin O’Toole s’est fait demander s’il envisagerait la privatisation du système de santé. Il a répondu oui sans hésiter! pic.twitter.com/dcCwfaguLr

— Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland) August 22, 2021

And Conservatives across Canada went batshit. 

Liberals smelled a rat - or at least, something a little odd:

It it me, or did twitter just start giving a shit about edited clips just because of Chrystia Freeland?

We all know that @Jack's virtue is like. He let trump and his merry band of nazis roam free for years.

— Arthur Atkinson 🇨🇦 🏳️‍🌈 (@ArthurAtkinson0) August 23, 2021

Then @gill_godwin sniffed out some relationships - between the public relations professional who was originally outraged that Freeland had chopped up her O'Toole "interview" where he made the truncated remarks about Canadian healthcare, and her friendship with Twitter's public policy manager who used to be a parliamentary assistant to Harper. So maybe this helps to explain why Twitter was ON IT!!!

Ms. Harrison has an acquaintance in Conservative circles.
This would be Michelle Austin who is currently Head of Public Policy for Twitter in Canada.
This connection can't be ignored if we are to have a fair election. pic.twitter.com/9Mgca4UTrp

— G Godwin (@gill_godwin) August 24, 2021

So this begs the question, if the complainer has an acquaintance who is Head of Twitter Policy in Canada, was there an inside track to flagging @cafreeland for a tweet ?
I think Canada deserves answers on this. ASAP#cdnpoli #cdnmedia

— G Godwin (@gill_godwin) August 24, 2021

Dean makes an interesting point about the larger issues here:

If there was a misstatement in Chrystia Freeland’s tweet it’s this:

The tweet claimed O’Toole wanted to privatize the system, when what he said was he would allow privatization within the system, which is different, but eventually the same. #cdnpoli

— Dean from Winnipeg (@Dean_Winnipeg) August 24, 2021

Trudeau has Freeland's back:

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says if Erin O'Toole is elected, he would introduce a two-tier healthcare system. Joyce Napier has more. https://t.co/nM1cWxO2Rf pic.twitter.com/FYFzh5Ht6l

— CTV News (@CTVNews) August 23, 2021

In other news:

This. pic.twitter.com/WBsxNg9UDp

— Antifa Larry M. Retzlaff (@Greyseeker) August 22, 2021

Here's Ed The Sock's latest:

Did the #Liberals roll the dice and come up snake eyes? This #Election2021 'win a majority' may be a gamble they lose. My prediction at this point: Liberals with reduced seat minority, #NDP up a couple seats, #CPC steady where they were before.

— Ed the Sock (@EdtheSock) August 23, 2021

Sounds good to me:

Kicking out military members who refuse to get the COVID19 vaccine would probably also eliminate the vast majority of the Proud Boys, white supremacists, and Neo-Nazis who have infested the military. So, a win-win!

— Sgt Joker (@TheSGTJoker) August 23, 2021

EDITORIAL NOTE: something went badly with my blog formatting, apparently due to one of the tweets I had inserted here yesterday. So tonight I had to delete it, sorry about that.

Election Funnies and Follies #5

I am absolutely terrified that Canada will again turn down a national day care program like they did when Layton torpedoed the Martin government. 

Even my own relatives were saying today that "Oh, but O'Toole has a day care plan too!" when he very much does NOT -- just a tax credit for people who don't actually need it. 

Its the Canadian working poor who need $10-a-day daycare, so they can take home more from their lower-income jobs, while their kids get better day care from the child care spaces a national program will create.

Honestly childcare should be the main issue this campaign. A coast to coast to coast program that would save families thousands of dollars and would primarily benefit women. This would be a program as iconic as universal healthcare. A no brainer.#cdnpoli #Elxn44

— grayfogboundstraits 🇨🇦👻 🎃 (@grayfogboundst1) August 22, 2021

For 50 years+ the women’s movement has pushed for a strong, affordable, reliable child care system. The pandemic boosted public desire (need?) & political will.

This is an HISTORIC moment for child care. We have the power to vote on it in #Elxn44 @pamelauppal @ChildCareON @o_n_n https://t.co/49jQYPenal

— Sarah Boesveld (@sarahboesveld) August 21, 2021

I do wish the Liberals could do a better job telling Canadians why they are seeking a majority government now. Parliamentary reporter Dale Smith explains the "toxic spring" we had this year:

Dale Smith follows Parliament every day, so we don't have to. This column is a reminder of the toxic 2021 spring - O'Toole's disqualifying performance, the disfunction created by CPC and NDP, & how poorly they served Canadians.https://t.co/EeEvBT0ogb

— Cathie from Canada 🇨🇦 😷🏳️‍🌈 (@CathieCanada) August 22, 2021

And I'm glad to see Trudeau strike back:

With a kid under 12 who can’t get vaccinated, I’m infuriated by this. You should be too. https://t.co/vbcX9Co1JK

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) August 22, 2021

And then I see something like this, and it makes me feel better too:

Somehow I don't think this will make it into Macleans magazine.

— Clay Connor (@clayconnor) August 23, 2021

And in other news:

Jack was a friend of mine. Whoever thought this was clever, isn't. Milking Jack's memory for a soulless photo op, isn't just wrong. It's gross. https://t.co/oX25lVRn8C

— Charles Adler (@charlesadler) August 22, 2021

#BREAKING:

Stephen Harper discusses the chances of Erin O’Toole actually living up to any of his campaign promises. #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/tVpeXElPEy

— Dean from Winnipeg (@Dean_Winnipeg) August 23, 2021

Election Funnies and Follies #4

At Issue: How did the first week go for the parties? @RosieBarton @ChantalHbert @acoyne @althiaraj @elamin88 #Elxn44 #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/NrgLusOY35

— CBC News: The National (@CBCTheNational) August 20, 2021

As you said they peaked too early and those soft NDP votes will move back to the Liberals. They were initially mad about the early election call because they don’t pay attention so they moved to the NDP. There’s already been a slow shift back. I’m watching 30 ridings closely.

— Greg Johansen 🇨🇦🏳️‍🌈🇵🇸🎾 (@johangreg) August 21, 2021

In politics - it is important not to peak too soon

I'd rather Trudeau have a bad first week, than a bad last week - #momentum #cdnpoli #elxn44 https://t.co/Y43o0d14mY

— G.T. Lem (@gtlem) August 20, 2021

The Cons want to privatize medicare, they don't believe climate change is real, they are anti-choice, most favour conversion therapy. But Robyn Urback can't find any wedge issues? And she calls herself a journalist? @globeandmail https://t.co/4xo9acyf4z

— 🇨🇦 Simon 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🌈🏂 (@montrealsimon) August 20, 2021

This is tonight's edition of campaign anxiety relief. Maybe it's not all that relaxing, but the music is awesome... https://t.co/pqM3AaFGL2

— Diane Marie (@DianeMariePosts) August 21, 2021

I think that tracking the O'Toole Reversals will keep us busy

“They will have to refer, because the rights to access those services exist across the country,” he told reporters at a campaign stop in Winnipeg.https://t.co/gsU6RiFaPv

— Globalnews.ca (@globalnews) August 21, 2021

There has been no hint of a capital gains tax on primary residences. None. This is akin to push polling, whereby an erroneous idea is parked in the mind of the voter. And that's exactly what Erin O'Toole is up to. #cdnpoli https://t.co/iZR8G26OWw

— Diane Marie (@DianeMariePosts) August 20, 2021

I found out today that the Cons want to pass this stupid anti-Indigenous picketing legislation. 

They are  disingenuously attempting to criminalize only those awful, disruptive, controversial protests, the ones that endanger "critical infrastructure", not those nice polite protests that are actually OK. 

But of course any road anywhere in the country can be described as "critical" to someone, along with rail lines, pipelines, docks, etc.  

Its strikes me as such an overreach that the Supreme Court will eventually strike it down as against the Charter. But in the meantime, Indigenous and First Nations groups, and settler allies across the country will be getting arrested, and maybe also will be hurt, as protests are broken up because of this new law:

Blockades are essential protest tools to wake people up.
Otoole threatens sovereignty right here in this clip.

In fact, by making this statement, people will die if he becomes elected.

Idle. No. More.

Oil & railroads mean nothing.

pic.twitter.com/ZrULevHawc

— kris meloche (@krismeloche) August 20, 2021

Other issues:

The CPC platform calls for billions in new spending, a bunch of tax credits/deductions, and no specifics on cuts to balance the budget. And this jabroni is telling us we should worry about government borrowing.

— Emmett Macfarlane (@EmmMacfarlane) August 19, 2021

My weekend @LooniePolitics column: If parties want to talk about inflation, they need to talk about monetary policy #cdnpoli https://t.co/3OajC3YvDI

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) August 21, 2021

Maybe it was the same day the Cons decided only vetted questions could be asked at a Town Hall.

— Bill Brady (@sharemyopinion) August 20, 2021

A dude rammed a truck full of guns into Trudeau's house a year ago and people on the internet are really going "lol, why's he wearing a kevlar vest?"

— Carl Boucher (@CarlBoucherKnee) August 21, 2021

Here is today's funniest news report from the election trail - apparently now it is newsworthy when a random voter just smiles and nods at a party leader?

#Canada#cdnpoli#Election2021

SPECIAL BULLETIN: CBC's @HannahThibedeau reports man in audience nods his approval of #ErinOToole speech. Hold on, we have an update. Turns out the man was actually falling asleep. (Your blue slip is showing, Hannah.)

— Oooh, Canada ! (@CanadaOooh) August 21, 2021

And here's an idea:

We should hold the federal leaders debates on Zoom, not for safety even, just so the leaders can be muted when it's not their turn to talk. #cdnpoli

— Paul Fairie (@paulisci) August 14, 2021

Election Funnies and Follies #3

#cdnpoli #cdnmedia pic.twitter.com/n1H8iG3E8w

— Game Over (@vansopinion8ted) August 19, 2021

Here's one thing I'm a little worried about - Canadian news media is mainly Conservative in their editorial stance, and while I do believe their reporters and editors are even-handed, its easy to find fault with the way that news stories get "framed" when reporters are deciding what and how to cover.

Retweet if you agree! #cdnpoli #canadianpoli pic.twitter.com/ukzTuohYjp

— Canadian Politics (@canadianpoli) August 19, 2021

Conservatives: “We voted against every single pandemic support that got you through the last 18 months, but please choose us to bring you pandemic relief.”#cdnpoli

— Dean from Winnipeg (@Dean_Winnipeg) August 18, 2021

The first week of a campaign is almost never a good predictor of the outcome of an election .

— Frank Graves (@VoiceOfFranky) August 19, 2021

With the 4th Wave

Situation In Afghanistan

Wildfires in B.C.

No one is paying attention to this election - and won't be until after Labour Day#cdnpoli #elxn44

— G.T. Lem (@gtlem) August 19, 2021

Today, O'Toole was promising that the CPC would not be taxing home sales. He made it sound as though some other politicians might be suggesting this. But actually, nobody pays taxes on home profits now, and nobody is suggesting they should. 

The media covering his press conference did not point this out and ask him about what he was trying to imply.

Erin O'Toole's big economic promise today was not to tax something that's already not taxed, and not enough people on the campaign beat pointed out this ridiculous thing, IMO. #Elxn44

— Asif Hossain (@asifintoronto) August 19, 2021

2% is the midrange of the Bank's inflation targeting range. Here's a short piece from the Bank's website explaining this. https://t.co/BnU2wH4vSF

— Diane Marie (@DianeMariePosts) August 19, 2021

We also saw some deceptive advertising for the CPC's "holiday GST" promise, illustrated by a grocery store photo obviously implying this promise would save people on groceries. But actually, nobody pays GST on groceries now and nobody is suggesting they should.

Again, the media just talked about the promise but did not point out its limited usefulness. 

If there was one thing this pandemic convinced us to deal with, it is how we treat people who need long term care. That's why I am very glad to see the Liberals stepping up with some policy ideas:

"We all agree that as a country we need to do better by our seniors," says @JustinTrudeau in Victoria as he unveils Liberal plan to improve long-term care by providing $9 billion in support to provinces and territories.#Cdnpoli#ForwardForEveryonepic.twitter.com/6bu4jNwEMH

— Jaro Giesbrecht🇨🇦 (@JaroGiesbrecht) August 19, 2021

NEW: The Liberals are proposing a sweeping $9B investment over 5 years into long-term care - including a guaranteed $25/hr minimum wage for personal support workers - saying they’ll work with provinces and territories to improve the LTC system. #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/KUynCWbQEg

— Laura Stone (@l_stone) August 19, 2021

One of the big topics today was the CPC position on abortion. 

O'Toole swore that he himself is "pro-choice". Yeah, well, so what? - Canadians need to know whether he will allow his pro-live MPs or his Cabinet to bring forward federal legislation permitting provinces to regulate access to abortion. And that is a question O'Toole wasn't asked.

"I'm pro-choice," says leader of anti-pro-choice party.

— john d beggs (@dbeggs13) August 19, 2021

Note to reporters: it really doesn't matter if O'Toole himself is pro-life or pro-choice. He has already said he will let his MPs decide how they want to vote on matters of women's and minority rights. We saw how "the majority" of his MPs voted against banning conversion therapy. pic.twitter.com/Zc707kglE0

— Adam Bolt 🇨🇦 (@AdamBolt13) August 19, 2021

"Conscience rights" is an anti-abortion position, full stop. That's Erin O'Toole giving a nod to anti-abortion groups that bragged after the last election they got 45 MPs elected (all Conservative) to push this type of legislation. Consider the abortion issue reopened. #Elxn44 https://t.co/QINHb9T2hx

— Asif Hossain (@asifintoronto) August 19, 2021

pic.twitter.com/31Xcmk3ncs

— G Godwin (@gill_godwin) August 20, 2021

That is false, Stephen. In 2007 CPC MP Ken Epp introduced The Unborn Victims of Crime Act, which stalled. Rob Nicholson tried to pass a similar bill. Both were trojan horse bills to enshrine fetal rights, and slippery slope bills to restrict choice. #ProChoiceBecause #cdnpoli https://t.co/4ygU9H9q2z

— Maeri Kler (@dontevenblink) August 19, 2021

I think women are going to have to win this election. If we allow the old conservative guys and their mini me successors to run over us again and mess with childcare and abortion what was the point of my whole life, exactly? I’m nearly 60 and this is getting OLD. #cdnpoli

— Scribulatora (@Scribulatora) August 17, 2021

The situation in Afghanistan getting covered, with election twists:

pic.twitter.com/IYp1Ql4dbJ

— Louie G 🇩🇪🇲🇽🇺🇲 (@LouGarza86) August 17, 2021

Heard erin otoole on 640 am say "if i was PM i would never abandon our interpreters"

Dude, you were part of the govt which abandoned them in 2014.

— jack mcgraw (@redmcgraw1) August 17, 2021

Maybe it's because I have spent most of nearly the last six years engrossed in immigration and refugee issues, but CPC platform commitment to do away w/ government-sponsored refugees is a huge walkback from helping the most vulnerable and hasn't gotten enough attention.

— Jeff Jedras 💉💉 (@jeffjedras) August 18, 2021

Miscellaneous other stuff:

CERB was less than minimum wage on full-time hours.

The only way people were taking CERB instead of going back to work was if they were getting crap hours at crap wages.

And that’s not a CERB problem.

— Kim Siever (@kim_siever) August 19, 2021

September 20th ballot question being clarified with each hour. Who do you want running the Government of Canada? People who support science or People who pander to science deniers. https://t.co/oOhAC1jHh0

— Charles Adler (@charlesadler) August 18, 2021

Something to keep in mind, too:

The NDP have 99 candidates running across Canada https://t.co/syw43I6DFO There’s what, 338 seats? So NDP are missing candidates in 239 ridings.
NDP currently have 24 seats. Even if they won all 99, it wouldn’t get Singh as PM

— Tracey Kent 🐕 🏳️‍🌈 (@TraceyKent) August 18, 2021

Voting NDP opens the door for O'Toole to rip up the childcare agreements the Liberals signed with the provinces. Vote splitting always favours Conservatives. Singh isn't offering anything you aren't more likely to achieve through voting Liberal. Don't piss in the wind. #cdnpoli

— Unbranded (@Unbranded63) August 18, 2021

And - this is hilarious:

Was scrolling through PPC candidates today and came across Vahid Seyfaie, their Missauga-Lakeshore candidate, who photoshopped his face onto a picture of Prince William for a campaign photo. VERY serious party here, folks... #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/9eeteN0Q6N

— Friendly Local Left-Conservative (@AndrewFiggy) August 18, 2021

His suits were in storage… and he wants to abolish the crown so… he used a pic of a royal???
🤪 pic.twitter.com/11unW8lJTA

— 🇨🇦 B *k2tog, p4* (@Asta_de_B) August 19, 2021

And finally:

As I tiptoe through the world to protect immunocompromised intimates, my compassion for the willfully unvaxed and their too-late realizations dwindles closer and closer to zero.

— Benjamin Dreyer (@BCDreyer) August 18, 2021

pic.twitter.com/A3IfWZVC5e

— Luke Fevin (@According2Luke) August 19, 2021

#INDIGENOUS #TAIRP @Flailmorpho_ pic.twitter.com/kDSLVAHvOO

— Indigenous (@AmericanIndian8) August 19, 2021

Election Funnies and Follies #2

First up, the Nova Scotia election results:

One thing I know for sure - the Male Grievance Brigade in the media are busy writing their columns for tomorrow

Saying the Nova Scotia election is a precursor to Justin Trudeau political obituary next month

Count on it #cdnpoli

— G.T. Lem (@gtlem) August 18, 2021

David Akin summed it up pretty well. pic.twitter.com/dPeXkIrmb1

— Kall (@Kallindril) August 18, 2021

More commentary on the stupid Conservative campaign promises:

I’m actually surprised at how many things on their plan are just recycled ideas from other failed campaigns, they’ve added gimmicks, that’s all. I’m waiting for their next move, 2021 version of “PMJT’s secret plan to tax houses”.

— PrairieGal (@PrairieGal6) August 18, 2021

So, if I spend $100 on Christmas presents, I get 5 bucks?

Wow, that’ll really help me make ends meet, Erin! Just the “break” my family needs. https://t.co/Zr8mWdiCIE

— Kim Siever (@kim_siever) August 17, 2021

Forgive me as I’m only a small business owner & hold an Econ degree but wouldn’t there be far, far more economic stimulation by holding the GST holiday in a month where high retail spending isn’t already guaranteed to occur?

+ the avg holiday $ is 1337.

You saved me $66.85 🙄

— Shawna Gawreluck (@ShawnaGofABPoli) August 17, 2021

My latest- For Erin O’Toole, a fight over child care is the wrong one to pick with Justin Trudeau | The Star https://t.co/CahV2STsX1

— chantal hébert (@ChantalHbert) August 17, 2021

Please enjoy my #ErinOToole cartoon for Wednesday's @TorontoStar #Elxn44 #elexn44 pic.twitter.com/yR6B6iRdVS

— Theo Moudakis (@TheoMoudakis) August 17, 2021

"Do you suffer from elective dysfunction? Having trouble getting it up in the polls?" pic.twitter.com/ZFxnxxcpc8

— The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton) August 16, 2021

And in other news

AMERICAN Military Veteran goes on CNN to praise the Justin Trudeau Government for getting his Afghan Interpreter out of Afghanistan & safety into Canada

This military Vet will be traveling to Toronto to visit his Afghan Interpreter this week

He says: "Thank You Canada" pic.twitter.com/REOlcfpNtb

— Bill Rice🍎 (@2muchfun4me) August 17, 2021

The NDP approaches all policy as if the government has a magic wand. "We want this done now!" Never mind the planning, implementation, working with unions/members. What will the cost be? What about non-compliance? Without planning it is destined to be chaos. #cdnpoli #Elxn44 pic.twitter.com/0nC3yMBk27

— Neil Before Zod™ (@WaytowichNeil) August 17, 2021

Yesterday it was a humiliating error. Today it's proof of an incapacity to fucking learn. https://t.co/dE0ULTrtTm

— Emmett Macfarlane (@EmmMacfarlane) August 17, 2021

Doug Ford already know who is going to win this election.
And it ain't gonna be O'Toole! https://t.co/7PhfCn5VP2

— Cathie from Canada 🇨🇦 😷🏳️‍🌈 (@CathieCanada) August 17, 2021

I’ve decided the only correct answer to “you love the liberals so much that you can’t see how bad this government is” is “you hate the liberals so much that you can’t see how good this government is”.

— Scribulatora (@Scribulatora) August 17, 2021

And for anyone who thinks the Trudeau government hasn't been working on providing water to reserves:

Miigwich. A’ho! #INDIGENOUS #NeverVoteConservative #IStandWithTrudeau #Elxn44 👇🏽👊🏽🪶 https://t.co/bqpM6uZpn0

— Sharna Sugarman 🪶🧡💔 (@SugarmanSharna) August 18, 2021

Election Funnies and Follies #1

Every day or two for the next month, I'm going to try to do a "funnies and follies round-up" of the election news and tweets that I find most interesting or hilarious or annoying or whatever. 

It won't be comprehensive, but sometimes it might be funny! 

We’ve had your back, and now it’s time to hear your voice. You need to choose how we finish the fight against COVID-19 and build back better. That’s what #elxn44 is about.

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) August 15, 2021

First of all, I keep reading the media saying they just don't understand why Trudeau is calling the election. Its perfectly obvious to me: he wants a majority so he can pass the legislation the Liberals want to pass, for the benefit of Canadians, without the opposition parties continuing to try to gum up the works, slow-walk everything, raise pointless objections, and search for ways to undermine Trudeau's leadership. I'm sick and tired of it; its way past time for Trudeau to ask Canada for a new mandate.

Noticeable: The constant use of 'Team' by the Federal Liberals
Also Noticeable: No mention of 'Team' by Singh NDP or O'Toole CPC. The entire focus is just on them.
The past 17 months have demonstrated how essential teamwork is within the Government in power. #ForwardForEveryone

— Mike Morris (@1MikeMorris) August 16, 2021

The entire strategy of the NDP and CPC with vaccines was to cheerlead failure and gaslight Canadians. From claiming that vaccines were too expensive, celebrating delays, misinformation, and saying they would have done better without an alternative plan. #elxn44 #cdnpoli #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/ke9YdwNlmv

— Neil Before Zod™ (@WaytowichNeil) August 15, 2021

Monday the media laughed at the Willy Wonka video and thought this election would revolve around Trudeau's vaccine mandate - and how O'Toole is disappointing people by refusing to require vaccinations -- but yesterday it started revolving around Trudeau's day care plan - and how O'Toole is disappointing people by telling Canadian parents to forget it, ain't gonna happen when he is PM. 

This is the first big mistake of #elxn44. It will stick and it will hurt. https://t.co/6XA1czvyey

— Gerald Butts (@gmbutts) August 16, 2021

Some clarity for Ontario voters on Day 2:

Vote Liberal, Ontario will eventually have $10/day childcare (Doug Ford could lose as early as next June).

Vote Conservative, Ontario will not have $10/day childcare, neither Erin O'Toole nor Doug Ford will allow it.#elxn44 #onpoli

— Asif Hossain (@asifintoronto) August 16, 2021

Basically, O'Toole is rapidly proving himself to be Not Ready For Prime Time. 

And the Conservative shilly-shallying didn't help the NDP either:

Voting NDP will get the Childcare program CANCELLED

Just like in 2006#cdnpoli #IStandWithTrudeau #Election2021

— G.T. Lem (@gtlem) August 16, 2021

I wonder what O'Toole will decide to do tomorrow that will disappoint Canadians? 

I can't tell if the CPC campaign is really as big a farce as it seems to my eyes, or if I'm too biased against them and it's actually not as horrible as that.

I can't even watch coverage of it without choking from laughing too hard. pic.twitter.com/dC3YRp0njF

— Mike Gibbs🏳️‍🌈 (@Mikeggibbs) August 16, 2021

And his "t-shirt man" booklet is going to turn out to be a treasure-trove of media stories -- it already started tonight with the sprinkling of miscellaneous tax credits and dinner coupons:

I swear they are coming up with these ideas after several whiskeys with them written on a cocktail napkin.

— Alyssa Berry (@Aly_B_YYC) August 17, 2021

And now Dale Smith has found another one too - O'Toole criticizing Trudeau for the same health transfer policy that Harper had:

This is one of the most egregious examples of revisionist history by the Conservatives I’ve seen in ages.
The unmitiated gall!

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) August 17, 2021

I can hardly wait for what we're going to be talking about tomorrow.

Biden had no other choice

Excellent updates from Josh Marshall about Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal:

  The more I see the more I’m convinced this was the right decision – both what I see on the ground in Afghanistan and perhaps even more the reaction here in the United States. 

 It is crystal clear that the Afghan national army and really the Afghan state was an illusion. It could not survive first contact with a post-US military reality. As is so often the case in life – with bad investments, bad relationships – what we were doing there was staying to delay our reckoning with the consequences of the reality of the situation. ... 

 The perpetual effort to stand up an Afghan government that could exist on its own did not work. That doesn’t mean the decision to topple the Taliban government in 2001 was a mistake. But that was twenty years ago. We are living in a dramatically different world today. 

We have been in a perpetual occupation in pursuit of no clear national security interest of the United States. At a certain point you have to realize that and act accordingly. 

 Someone had to make the decision that Bush, Obama and Trump did not and apparently could not. Biden did. 

   As a matter of strategy, and as one of keeping faith with Afghans who depended on us, this withdrawal is suboptimal. Biden is fully responsible for it. 

 But from his point of view it probably looks like the best option available — the others being, respectively, no withdrawal at all and a protracted, semi-public tug-of-war with senior military officers deeply invested in putting off unpleasant decisions about an Afghan project that has defined so many military careers. Biden looks determined not to let the military leadership do to him what it did to Obama a decade ago. 

 And this:

"THIS time it will be different!"

In my 70+ years watching American foreign policy, the one statement I keep hearing is "THIS time it will be different!"

— Cathie from Canada 🇨🇦 😷🏳️‍🌈 (@CathieCanada) August 15, 2021

My tweet isn't precisely true, of course, but it feels truthy all the same. 

The War on Terror began in Afghanistan 20 years ago, and it was one that I always had thought was justified by the World Trade Centre attack and the Taliban harbouring of Osama Bin Laden. 

But Bush never made it clear exactly what NATO and the Americans intended to accomplish in Afghanistan -- a lot of talk about going on patrols and building schools and negotiating with war lords, but that all went on year after year after year and nothing ever changed. 

In retrospect, of course, they should have pushed the Taliban out of power, declared victory, and left in 2005. But Bush didn't have the stones to do that over Cheney and Rumsfeld's warmongering. 

Then Obama got out of Iraq but the growth of ISIS left him without the credibility for another battle with the military over Afghanistan. 

Trump vowed to get out but of course he never did it because he didn't know how --except for sending Pompeo to make things worse by releasing thousands of Taliban prisoners. 

And so, finally, in the end, it all came down to Biden - he is determined to get America disentangled from the first and last of its Middle Eastern wars and he does what he says he will do.

So it wasn't pretty, but finally, today, it is done.

What frustrated me about the coverage of the fall of Kabul and the end of the Afghanistan War was the media compulsion to try to make it echo the ignominious American exit from Saigon in 1975 -- they wanted another "helicopter on the roof" photo so badly they could taste it.

The best they could manage is the photo above, showing a helicopter flying somewhere over Kabul yesterday.  This photo was all over social media.  

What they really wanted was something like this:

The fall of Saigon was a nightmare for the American army, the Vietnamese army, and the Vietnamese civilians. We have yet to see whether the fall of Kabul will also be a nightmare -- the videos of people on the airport tarmac are showing a shit show, but apparently the US military is now in charge at the control tower, and I still have hope that the Taliban will just let the airport operate to get people out.

Apparently other countries have now offered asylum to refugees, too.

🚨NEW, thread: Pentagon confirms to me the Department of Defense is preparing to house thousands of Afghan refugees on American military installations, immediately including Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and Fort Bliss in Texas.

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) August 16, 2021

Maybe it really WILL be different this time.

Frog Stuff

Over at Balloon Juice, John Cole is posting his "find Mr. Frog" photos, and suddenly I was reminded of this great Brothers Four version of Froggy Went A Courtin' - best line: "You ain't no frog, you're a horny toad!"

Enjoy!

 

Funny stuff again

Covid started out as a virus but mutated into an IQ test.

— 𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 (@Sundae_Gurl2) July 31, 2021

Seen on Twitter:

my god pic.twitter.com/9AoI5ZoqWz

— Molly (@Molly_Kats) August 6, 2021

I love mr bean pic.twitter.com/sTimCIgUrI

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) July 29, 2021

This girl couldn’t get a dog, so she got a fish — and had no idea that he was a genius who'd end up competing in the fish olympics! 🥇🐠👏 pic.twitter.com/L2HEBNwrpY

— The Dodo (@dodo) July 23, 2021

These robots dance better than I do!

Here's some stuff to cheer about!

Well, it doesn't look like we're going to be able to celebrate the Habs winning the Cup, so here's some stuff we CAN enjoy! 

First, some very good boys:

This good boy set the world record.

An 83 yard frisbee catch… pic.twitter.com/8v9dYJ7DPI

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) July 2, 2021

I think twitter needs this again 🏆🔈 pic.twitter.com/E1nuCy064A

— The World Of Funny (@TheWorldOfFunny) June 29, 2021

this is what true happiness looks like pic.twitter.com/Zl49GDdYEf

— Humor And Animals (@humorandanimals) June 2, 2021

And some other funny stuff:

Duck walks into a bar ... says to the bartender "Hey, I’m looking for a job."
Bartender says "You shouldn’t have a problem finding a job with a circus ... you’re a talking duck!"
The duck says "But I’m a welder!"

— soonergrunt 🇺🇸 A Capybara Appreciation Account (@soonergrunt) June 13, 2021

Mum's home! 🤣 pic.twitter.com/9TuoviVlgV

— Giles Paley-Phillips (@eliistender10) June 28, 2021

obsessed with this guy who just uploads videos of him playing classic rock riffs while his birb freestyles vocals pic.twitter.com/PRad1TY33D

— flop era orange coat guy (@rtnordy) May 26, 2021

We loved The Sopranos and particularly James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano. So we were thrilled to find out that they are doing a "pre-quel" movie with James' son Michael Gandolfini playing the teenage Tony - and he is going to have a great acting career, I think. Here's the trailer for the HBO movie coming in the fall -- I just hope we will be able to watch it in Canada:  

And Shapo got past Andy Murray today at Wimbledon so that's something else to cheer for!

Now here's the math prof we all should have had

Math professor fixes projector screen. Sound on https://t.co/gcJhzVOrTp pic.twitter.com/ulWFRIWT6l

— Channa Prakash (@AgBioWorld) June 19, 2021

This sad week

I was going to put up another funny post, but not tonight. 

This week I read the books Nomadland and Snakes in Suits so I was a little bummed out to begin with. 

 And then we got the terrible news about the Kamloops Residential School graveyard, with the certainty that there will be more graves found across Canada. 

A few years ago, when the Truth and Reconciliation Report was released, their use of the term "genocide" was disputed -- I do hope now that that type of  self-righteous and hurtful residential school denialism will not happen again.

I have a Twitter list, Indigenous Twitter, which I set up so I can more easily follow Canada's most prominent Indigenous voices and important news. Here is some of the most useful commentary from today:

People knew better back then and people know better now. Watch this 8 min. documentary on why so many First Nations, Metis and Inuit children died from preventable disease, abuse and neglect and what Dr. Bryce did to stop it:https://t.co/bX0EFMxg6O

— Cindy Blackstock (@cblackst) May 29, 2021

If you had no prior knowledge about Residential Schools until you heard about the 215 children’s remains that were uncovered recently.... you should absolutely be outraged by the level at which you were lied to; by the secrets kept from you about the true history of “Canada”.

— Chief Lady Bird 🦅 ᐅᑮᒪᑫᐧᐱᓀᐢ (@chiefladybird) May 31, 2021

"For Indigenous ppl, this is no surprise. It was genocide. Thousands of children lost their lives in a place where they should have been safe. Abused, murdered, left to die."@DaveAlexRoberts, Conor Kerr, and Jo-Ann Saddleback on #RealTalkRJ: https://t.co/MIhoWwdHwd #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/993hFFn1bc

— Ryan Jespersen (@ryanjespersen) May 28, 2021

Niagara Falls will be lit orange in honor of the 215 Indigenous children who lost their lives at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in Canada. Big thanks to @KenCosentino & @Frankenstein716 We must not hide the horrors. Read the full story -> https://t.co/MoTCpI0xC2 pic.twitter.com/LOYGf06c3m

— lastrealindians.com (@lastrealindians) May 31, 2021

Seven tweets in May

Enjoying his life to the fullest#dogs #dogsoftwitter #DogsofTwittter pic.twitter.com/HOq8cWKGyl

— dog lover (@10_Ilovedogs) April 21, 2021

There are 2 types of dogs.. 😅 pic.twitter.com/RtyNme0rHe

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden_) May 10, 2021

If you’ve already seen a meerkat chillin on the back of a turtle today just keep on scrolling...pic.twitter.com/sOoOn2aAZO

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) May 8, 2021

Today I saw the impossible pic.twitter.com/GXc8RO1eyQ

— The Feel Good Page ❤️ (@FeelGoodPage11) April 24, 2021

It's a windy tinkling spring morning in my neighbourhood; do you know how to tune wind chimes? It's easy!

1) Get a ball-peen hammer;
2) Gently tap until you hear the note clearly;
3) Keep tapping until it is a flat noiseless disk;
4) Bury it and don't ever buy wind chimes again.

— John Wear-Your-Mask-Like-a-Badge-of-Honour Roscoe (@JohnCRoscoe) April 30, 2021

pic.twitter.com/nqrbD5A0j3

— John Aquino (@DrJohnAquino) April 17, 2021

And read the whole thread for this one:

A professor of mine went to go hear Derrida speak once. The entire talk was about cows; everyone was flummoxed but listened carefully, and took notes about...cows. There was a short break, and when Derrida came back, he was like, “I’m told it is pronounced ‘chaos.’”

— Phil Gentry (@pmgentry) April 5, 2021

Does anyone still remember "Seven Days in May - which was a 1962 novel and then a film with Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster -- when the US government was threatened by a military takeover? 

 Seems sorta quaint now, doesn't it.

   

And I had not realized Rod Serling wrote the screenplay!