Today's News: The elephant in the room

Tonight's Jan 6 Committee hearing made lots of news tonight. But as Brian Stelter reported in his Reliable Sources newsletter tonight, perhaps the most important comment came from Michigan Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger's closing remarks at the Jan 6 Committee hearing: 

The forces Donald Trump ignited that day have not gone away. The militant, intolerant ideologies. The militias. The alienation and the disaffection. The weird fantasies and disinformation. They're all still out there, ready to go. That's the elephant in the room....

Oaths matter. Character matters. Truth matters 

SAVE THIS VIDEO - WORDS FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS! @AdamKinzinger just nailed it! 🔥 🔥 🔥#Jan6thHearings #Jan6thCommitteeHearings #Jan6th

pic.twitter.com/pIxb0JYf9J

— ✨ The right time is .. NOW! ✨ (@JoeSteelerFan) July 22, 2022

Serious stuff. 

But there was also a little comic relief tonight too, provided by Josh Hawley - he's the doorknob senator who, from afar, raised his fist in solidarity with the mob. but then went running like a rabbit when the mob broke into the Capitol. The whole hearing room laughed:

Immediate reaction to the vid: pic.twitter.com/XAv4jc2tjr

— Dan Przygoda (@dprzygoda) July 22, 2022

And Twitter posted soundtracks:

Josh Hawley running away to a variety of soundtracks.

Pt. 9: Stayin’ Alive pic.twitter.com/YRf1fFMEJb

— Mallory Nees (@The_Mal_Gallery) July 22, 2022

Josh Hawley looked very athletic running away, didn’t he? #Jan6thHearings

— Al Franken (@alfranken) July 22, 2022

Some great stuff

 

I had never seen this before, its absolutely hilarious. 

Here's another great Twitter story:

Frank Slade was helping his Aunt Ethel run her gas station in Goldsboro, North Carolina, when there was a knock on the door.

Two men told him he had a choice between joining the U.S. Army for the Korean War orTrum returning to Canada.

What did he do? pic.twitter.com/8lAStYsa2R

— Canadian Forces in 🇺🇸 (@CAFinUS) July 20, 2022

Moving on, one of the bizarre things I noticed about the Trump administration is that things were ALWAYS worse than they first appeared to be. No matter how bad something looked when first reported or exposed - from the Muslim Ban to the Helsinki meeting to the child separation policy to Jan 6 insurrection etc etc - it always turned out to be even more senseless, cruel, abusive, greedy or criminal than it first looked. 

And Trump is still doing this, from beyond the grave, so to speak - it is now clear that misplaced loyalty and. I assume, the promotion of too many incompetents, has compromised the US Secret Service.

Here's the end of a long thread from Rick Wilson plus links that is worth reading - he also talks about Trump's ability to inspire the worst in everyone near him. 

It was Wilson who in 2016 coined the hashtag #ETTD - Everything Trump Touches Dies:

12/ I'll wrap this by noting that oversight by the Executive and Legislative in this matter is more than a little urgent.

Trump's shitbird superpower has always been to call out the worst versions of the people working for him.

The Service is gambling its reputation on HIM?

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) July 20, 2022

And what a grievance-hoarder Trump is:

Trump's claims that the 2020 election was rigged are best understood in the context of his repeated claims that the Emmy's were rigged as an explanation for his failure to win one for The Apprentice.

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) July 20, 2022

I read the news today, oh boy

Today's news:

In the past few days our entire MSM has been preoccupied with:

1. The Prime Minister’s hair (not a typo)
2. A nonsense “Canada is communist” statement made by an American far right radio provocateur
3. A fully manufactured notion that there’s going to be an election this fall

— Scribulatora (@Scribulatora) July 19, 2022

Meanwhile, there are terrible wildfires and heat emergencies across Europe and in the Canadian Rockies, Hockey Canada is destroying itself, the increasing cost of renting is going to cause economic stress for millions of people, and monkeypox cases are rising exponentially. 

But hey, let's keep talking about news that isn't actually happening - its a lot less stressful. 

Since his haircut, Trudeau is going out and about more -- thus providing even more opportunities for Canadian media to focus on trivialities:

Trudeau, one of the only Western leaders to mandate masks on trains, spotted maskless on train https://t.co/tH6PTLgUeP

— National Post (@nationalpost) July 19, 2022

at the end of the day folks

If him not wearing a mask on this train upsets you so much - then don't vote for Justin Trudeau in the next election

My suspicion is the majority of those outraged on this thread have never and will never vote for JT

— G.T. Lem (@gtlem) July 20, 2022

This thread about Trudeau-bashing, however, is much more serious:

Long 🧵 on threats posted on Twitter with impunity against the @CanadianPM.
After watching the Jan. 6 proceedings yesterday regarding Trump’s Twitter incitements to violence, one reflected on analogous incitements in 🇨🇦Canada by like-minded people…

— David Hamer🇨🇦🇺🇦🇨🇦 (@DavidHamer_1951) July 13, 2022

And on a side note, how outstanding is Chef Andres and his World Central Kitchen? They are everywhere when they are needed:

As wildfires burn through an intense heatwave across Spain, firefighters are working around the clock to put out the flames. To support first responders in Zamora, WCK is on the ground serving sandwiches, coffee, sweets, fruit, gazpacho & cold water. #ChefsForSpain pic.twitter.com/CsT6U09Q1T

— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) July 20, 2022

Today's News: Updates from all over

Uvalde Massacre update: 

The Uvalde preliminary report is out and it is damning.

pic.twitter.com/1pIjB5hVwX

— mrs.LHS 🇺🇦🍀🌻☮️ (@ABPC84) July 18, 2022

We’ve gutted education financing to fund police departments just so nearly 400 Uvalde cops in full military gear could stand around while 19 children and 2 teachers were killed and Texas police chiefs are still blaming the school for not having a better fence and locked doors. pic.twitter.com/JjhG1rm8jI

— Andrew Wortman 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇸 (@AmoneyResists) July 17, 2022

They're talking about the Interim Report 2022 on the Uvalde massacre in May. 

In spite of all the talk in the report about school fences and unlocked doors, Lawrence O'Donnell at MSNBC pinpoints the key sentences, on page 73: 

There was no legal impediment to the attacker buying two AR-15-style rifles, 60 magazines, and over 2,000 rounds of ammunition when he turned 18. The ATF was not required to notify the local sheriff of the multiple purchases. 

As O'Donnell noted in his commentary, it was fear of this armament that prevented almost 400 police from trying to stop the mayhem sooner.

Nothing says ban assault rifles like 5 school officers, 8 federal DEA officers, 13 U.S. Marshals, 16 sheriff’s deputies, 25 Uvalde officers, 69 officers of nearby law enforcement, 91 state police officers plus 149 U.S. Border Patrol agents being scared of 1 shooter with an AR-15.

— Andrea Junker (@Strandjunker) July 18, 2022

We also had news about this self-serving BS.

A document prepared by Uvalde officials and labeled “narrative” was obtained by @nytimes after a FOIA request. It lays out a desired telling of events after the mass shooting that praised officers for rushing toward gunfire and saving hundreds of children.https://t.co/2BVWeFe9sm

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) July 17, 2022

And now even more stuff is coming out:

Days after Texas Public Safety Director Steve McCraw criticized the way law enforcement handled the Robb Elementary shooting, officials sought a more positive portrayal of the police response, according to a memo obtained by ABC News. @ABCMireya reports. https://t.co/6cN1DC7Ycp pic.twitter.com/X7khJdnuhx

— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) July 19, 2022

On a side note, this just may result in more realistic views of police:

In private, many police officers are told “No matter what, the goal is to get yourself home.” Anything that’s a threat to that is either to be eliminated or avoided. It also elevates what they might see as a threat, hence why the first move for many is to shoot. /3

— Marcelius Braxton (@Marcelius_B) July 18, 2022

Years ago, I read of a sociologist who studied police. He wrote a paper saying that police mostly stopped cars full of young men & figured out something to charge them with.
The sociologist was shocked when his police buddies got mad about this observation.

— Cathie from Canada 🇨🇦 😷🏳️‍🌈 (@CathieCanada) July 19, 2022

The people of Uvalde are strong, and getting stronger:

The saddest display of books in a public library is in Uvalde, Texas. pic.twitter.com/C7aRaImsMs

— nancypjohnson (@nancypjohnson) July 18, 2022

The Uvalde community really finding their voices tonight.Speaking out tonight at the school board meeting. Demanding the school board clean house.Demanding Pete Arredondo be fired by noon tomorrow. They say they are prepared to keep their kids out of school until changes are made

— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) July 18, 2022

The failure in Uvalde took many forms. We still need a lot more answers. But let’s be clear. It began with a culture that accepts gun violence as just a part of modern life.

— Dan Rather (@DanRather) July 18, 2022

Weekend: Music, and Animal Crackers

 

Hey, Gangnam Style was 10 years old as of Friday! 

And Psy is still going stong - he has now released 9 albums and is on tour again this summer.

Eine kleine Banjo musik

A little summer banjo. Here’s a little ditty written by Alison Brown and me. Foggy Morning Breaking. pic.twitter.com/HpLeY5hrJI

— Steve Martin (@SteveMartinToGo) July 15, 2022

The BC Agriculture Minister Lana Popham heard the Langley Ukulele Ensemble playing outside the BC legislature and she invited them in to play Somewhere Over The Rainbow on her office balcony and Halleluja inside the dome. Beautiful stuff:

3/3 After that…with happy tears in my eyes, I said how about playing inside the legislature!!!! They said yes! And it was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard in that building. ♥️♥️♥️♥️#bcpoli #Hallelujah #yyj #langleyukuleleensemble #langley pic.twitter.com/fpmuTIlZtq

— Lana Popham (@lanapopham) July 17, 2022

If I saved an elephant’s life by giving it elephant sized CPR you couldn’t tell me a thing for the rest of my life. I would answer to nobody. https://t.co/lCI0V34qpP

— kang (@jaycaspiankang) July 16, 2022

Dan Piraro, https://t.co/go6xvp2tHl pic.twitter.com/puBwuqgpbT

— Editorial & Political Cartoons (@EandPCartoons) July 18, 2022

Send this guy to the attic to talk to the raccoon about how he wants to be elected Prime Minister of Canada. That should scare the shit out of this Canadian raccoon and he will run like hell. Small cleanup necessary afterward. pic.twitter.com/iAaWW0r1eD

— Denis Viens du Lac 🇨🇦 🇺🇦 (@nelsonstreetlad) July 17, 2022

Today's News: The Tale of the Ten-Year-Old

The Tale of the Ten-year Old has now become a shameful part of American history for Republicans and for American media. 

Every conservative thought experiment about the pregnant 10 year old rape victim is more disturbing than the one before it. Maybe you guys should just admit that there’s no world in which a child should have a child?

— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) July 16, 2022

This is exactly why abortion should be only a medical procedure, as it is in Canada, not a morals test. And now this sad and ugly story is being followed by bombastic boasting and strutting around from red state AGs about how they're going to pass this law and that law and some other law, all of them against women. 

And then they try to avoid taking actual responsibility for what they are going. 

Very disgusting.

I know this person is already a main character today but “it’s liberals’ fault for warning women gop governments will prosecute them even though gop governments literally wrote the laws that way and openly brag about it” is an indescribably deranged take pic.twitter.com/SasBBddiTp

— kilgore trout, death to putiner (@KT_So_It_Goes) July 17, 2022

On her substack, Jessica Valenti writes:

It was a glimpse into what we can expect in a post-Roe America: Real life suffering shrugged off as rumor or political fodder, and the picking apart of any experience that might make abortion bans look bad. ...

It’s clear that traditional journalism—and male reporters, in particular—are not ready for the complicated stories that will come out of states where abortion is illegal. Consider The Washington Post’s fact-checking columnist Glenn Kessler, who defended his piece by calling the abortion provider an “activist on one side of the debate.” Why would a police officer’s account, or a state official’s, be more reliable than a doctor’s? Are we to believe that in a state where abortion is criminalized, law enforcement and government officials are objective?

The American system is not set up to believe women or girls—in fact, it’s designed to do just the opposite. Our experiences, especially those having to do with our bodies or sexual assault, are disbelieved, maligned, or relentlessly picked apart for ‘biases’. In a misogynist country, all women are suspect.

So we know what will happen now: Whenever a child is raped, a woman dies, or someone is arrested for a miscarriage, conservatives will deny any of it is happening. They will try to gaslight us into submission. If that doesn’t work, they’ll go on the attack; those who dare to shine a light on the horrors of abortion bans will be targeted. (Right now, for example, conservative media is focusing on the provider who gave the 10 year-old an abortion, posting her picture on Fox News and calling for her license to be revoked.)

None of this is new, but it is about to get a lot more awful.

:

it took three weeks from overturning roe to arguing that actually it’s okay for a 5th grader to be pregnant

— Marisa Kabas (@MarisaKabas) July 17, 2022

The fact that a 10-year-old girl has been raped makes every inch of your eyes water eternally. But the fact that we have an entire party in this country forcing her to take that baby to term… That is some Isis shit right there!

— Ron Perlman (@perlmutations) July 16, 2022

If you’re shocked to learn that there are men in power who believe that little kids can consent to sex I’d like to remind you that we are a country that sent toddlers to immigration hearings on their own.

— Dr. Elizabeth Sacha Baroness Cohen (@alixabeth) July 15, 2022

I mean, this whole notion of preventing interstate travel for abortions idea is complete lunacy. How about Amtrak? Or airports? Before the train or plane leaves a red state....what? A bunch of state troopers get on board and yell "PAPERS, PLEASE," and then look for baby bumps?

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) July 16, 2022

Today's News: Shot / chaser

The shot: From six years ago  

The chaser: From Friday 

Obviously the news agenda for at LEAST the next 72 hours is CANCELLED while we decide what we think about Justin Trudeau's new Caesar haircut. pic.twitter.com/WXf1J6ICXs

— Mike Gibbs🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 (@Mikeggibbs) July 16, 2022

The shot:  So this happened -- the hospital in Kamsack SK is closing its acute care beds, so on Thursday about 200 Kamsack people gathered at the hospital grounds to meet Sask Party rural health minister Everett Hindley, local Sask Party MLA Terry Dennis and a smirking staff aide. The protestors heard the usual bafflegab about how any minute now Sask Health is going to be hiring lots more people, don't worry, move along move along, you can all just use the hospital 40 KM away at Canora instead.

The crowd was not impressed - Brady Lang at CTV reported:

 Dennis and Hindley addressed the rally first just after 10 a.m., for about 10 minutes prior to a tour of the Kamsack Hospital, which just saw its facility lose its remaining five acute care beds, along with shrinking emergency hours from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. 

“We’re trying to do as much as we can,” Hindley told the concerned citizens.

“Sometimes, we’ve got to think outside the box, because rural health care isn’t the same it was 20 years ago,” said Dennis.

Following the 10 minutes, Hindley’s aid can be seen working to move Dennis and Hindley into the facility, with a smirk on his face.

Those who weren’t smirking, the entirety of the crowd of 200, then booed the Minister and the local MLA.

Yes, it was the CTV reporter himself who used the term "smirking" to describe the demeanor of the staff aide.

Today's News: Whose side are these guys on?

The US story of the day is the news that the Trump's White House Secret Service deleted its text messages from Jan 5 and 6 2021. 

Accidentally! 

Yeah, sure...

I would like to see some indication that the Secret Service & FBI are actually on the side of American democracy.
Clearly, Mike Pence had his doubts.
As do we all.

— Steve Shearer (@PiquedPensioner) July 14, 2022

People are remembering that Pence refused to get in a car with these guys. And remember when Biden's dog got in trouble for biting one of the White House agents?

Major Biden knew something was off with one of the Secret Service agents. This is one of the reasons why I love dogs.

— Hunter Cullen 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇬🇧🇨🇦🇦🇺🇳🇿 (@HunterJCullen) July 15, 2022

JUSTICE FOR MAJOR BIDEN #SecretService pic.twitter.com/cccQEagzU5

— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) July 14, 2022

I'm just sittin' here watching the wheels go round and round

 

 So I saw this tweet tonight:

What line from a song really stuck with you?

— Eric Alper 🎧 (@ThatEricAlper) July 14, 2022

And of course I immediately got lost in all the wonderful lyrics people posted in reply -- basically, I was just watching the wheels go round and round, in John Lennon's great lyric. 

Here was my contribution to the thread:

Late last night I heard the screen door slam.
A big yellow taxi took away my old man.
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til its gone.
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. (Joni)

— Cathie from Canada 🇨🇦 😷🏳️‍🌈 (@CathieCanada) July 14, 2022

And here is Joni's song:

 

Moving on:

Here are some of the serious comments  - first, about Canadian healthcare:

I know the trend of the day is 'let's make it Trudeau's fault' but living through Covid the Premiers may have overplayed their hand here....far too many losses in LTC alone in every province to play 'victim of the' feds here

— Univrsle (@univrsle) July 13, 2022

Next, comments on the Ukraine war:

Very useful thread on HIMARS systems in Ukraine. https://t.co/1uaXos8u3z

— Samuel Bendett (@SamBendett) July 13, 2022

Instead of becoming resigned to a never-ending war, the West should be focusing on how to shorten the conflict by enabling Ukraine to win. A long war, after all, probably favors Russia. https://t.co/Unx1rWnHAV

— Max Boot 🇺🇦 (@MaxBoot) July 11, 2022

Finally, Uvalde becomes even more tragic:

"They edited out the sound of children screaming." One short sentence that breaks your heart. #Uvalde

— Yolanda Pierce, PhD (@YNPierce) July 13, 2022

Today's News: Ain't we havin' some fun now!

The Jan 6 committee held another hearing today - they're taking aim right at Trump now, putting the "fun" in "fundamentally nuts":

As bad as we thought it was…it was much, much worse.

— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) July 12, 2022

This:

(Although to be fair reporters had books to write and there were sources that one did not want to rub the wrong way, so I guess understandable, right??) https://t.co/ZoHEageifV

— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) July 12, 2022

Cheney rightly ripping the argument from Trump defenders that Trump was misled by Team Crazy. Says no "rational or sane" person in Trump's position, given everything he was told, would have believed he won, and that "willful blindness" isn't a defense.

That's exactly right.

— George Conway🌻 (@gtconway3d) July 12, 2022

People should remember Trump effectively QUIT the presidency following the November election. He didn’t do Jack shit. He pouted and played golf. While the GOP plotted January 6th.

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) July 12, 2022

This is one of the most powerful moments of the entire Jan 6th hearings.
Tears are flowing.

There's still hope for us. #January6thHearings https://t.co/jVvKDaixfd

— Tara Setmayer 🌻 (@TaraSetmayer) July 12, 2022

But this is still infuriating, too:

The first part of today’s hearing was infuriating to me. Again, attys who thought Trump’s plan was “nuts,”thought it was illegal, warned others not to go to the Capitol, then saw what happened on 1/6 & none revealed what they knew at Trump’s impeachment trial on 2/13. pic.twitter.com/GgLnuQO5nt

— Sherrilyn Ifill (@SIfill_) July 12, 2022

"How is all of this only coming out now?" It's THE question for all who could have made a difference. At any step along the way.

— Dan Rather (@DanRather) July 12, 2022

Today's News: Finally!

Well, finally. 

Somebody in the White House seems to have taken charge of the abortion issue -- maybe Harris, maybe Becerra, maybe Biden himself -- and this is actually getting DONE!

Biden to Dobbs critics: “Keep protesting. Keep making your point. It’s critically important. We can do a lot of things to accommodate the rights of women. In the meantime, fundamentally, the only way to change this is to have a national law that reinstates Roe v Wade.” (WH pool)

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) July 10, 2022

Under the law, no matter where you live, women have the right to emergency care — including abortion care. In no uncertain terms, HHS will enforce this. pic.twitter.com/anf9KdySYP

— Secretary Xavier Becerra (@SecBecerra) July 11, 2022

BREAKING: President Biden just announced that Medicare facilities will be required to perform abortions that save the mother’s life *regardless of state law*

This decision will save lives. So grateful for @POTUS's leadership.

— Ariel Kelley (@ArielKelley) July 11, 2022

Biden administration says hospitals must provide abortions in emergencies: The Biden administration on Monday said federal law allows women access to abortion in emergency situations, even in states that recently banned the procedure. via NBCNews https://t.co/IlBEPM6P2Q

— Jeffrey Levin 🇺🇦 (@jilevin) July 12, 2022

And so what if somebody sues - OF COURSE somebody will sue, and it will go all the way to SCOTUS because that's the chaos that the Court should have realized it would instigate when it made its awful decision. 

Then the less-rabid justices could narrow the Dobbs decision, if Roberts can persuade Kavanaugh or Gorsuch to go along with him. 

Other impacts:

My story today: How the GOP crackdown on abortion could upend red/blue state competition for jobs & businesses

Harder now for CEOs to treat red-state social policy as a sideshow

“I’ve spoken to C.E.O.s who are rethinking those states,” says @SecRaimondohttps://t.co/SaNi8Epe04

— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) July 11, 2022

The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe is beginning to effect college enrollement in red states, as more and more female students are rethinking their applications in states that block their right to abortion.

Good!

— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) July 11, 2022

BREAKING: A California doctor proposes a "floating abortion clinic" in the Gulf of Mexico aboard a ship in federal waters, outside the reach of Republican-controlled state laws. RT IF YOU SUPPORT THIS IDEA!

— Occupy Democrats (@OccupyDemocrats) July 11, 2022

Texas is threatening employers with $100K fines if they assist employees in seeking out-of-state reproductive health care. I'm sure that they and the other red states will do everything possible to ensure forced births or penalize Women seeking this care.

— Hondo Resists ☮️ 💔🌻 I stand with Ukraine! 🌻 (@HondoResists) July 11, 2022

In Nova Scotia with appropriately sloganed coffee mug... pic.twitter.com/PnKmeyCY2F

— Margaret E. Atwood (@MargaretAtwood) July 11, 2022

Today's News: Ukraine update

Here is some recent news from Ukraine:

While the famine is growing around the world, harvests in occupied by Russia Kherson region are burning all the time. Reported by the media and the local residents pic.twitter.com/95UnIDaZOt

— Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) July 9, 2022

Farmers across Ukraine are increasingly feeling the financial strain of Russia’s Black Sea blockade, and the sector’s economic collapse is affecting food security across the world.

Ukraine accounted for 10 percent of global wheat exports in 2021. https://t.co/5Uu98KGoWl

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 8, 2022

Here is a significant update from Phillips O'Brien about Ukraine troop strength and the intention to take back the south.

The most important point is that the Ukrainian defence minister @oleksiireznikov isn making it very clear that the Ukrainians actually have many 100,000s of soldiers that they can deploy into the fight than the Russians. Says a million here... pic.twitter.com/nQ61jvhnDK

— Phillips P. OBrien (@PhillipsPOBrien) July 11, 2022

Now, we have the Ukr changing tone, preparing the population for the army to go on the offensive in the south (Zelensky yesterday), and saying that the army is very large and getting better equipped and trained. https://t.co/oRf28qiepN

— Phillips P. OBrien (@PhillipsPOBrien) July 11, 2022

Worth noting that Ukrainian armed forces are prominently tweeting this story. https://t.co/CmGF3GEWGh

— Phillips P. OBrien (@PhillipsPOBrien) July 11, 2022

Also, this:

Ukrainians being very open telling civilians to get out of the Kherson area. https://t.co/HYpdDXXqvz

— Phillips P. OBrien (@PhillipsPOBrien) July 9, 2022

I am amazed at this courage:

#Lithuania has expanded restrictions on the transit of goods through its territory to #Kaliningrad, Reuters reports.

As of today, cement, timber, alcohol and alcohol-based industrial chemicals are banned, a #Lithuanian customs official said. pic.twitter.com/DcS5dP5ve2

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) July 11, 2022

Weekend updates

An historic day of remembrance for Canada's WWI soldiers in the No. 2 Construction Battalion

Members of the battalion served with distinction in the First World War but faced anti-Black racism. https://t.co/qVmFcJYmdI

— CBC News (@CBCNews) July 10, 2022

This battalion of 500+ men worked mainly in the forests and lumber mills of France to provide the wood slats etc needed for trenches, construction, and so forth, and they also trained in infantry.

Today, the Government of Canada is apologizing for the treatment of No. 2 Construction Battalion: a segregated Canadian military unit, formed amid racist policies in the First World War. 🧵 #BLM pic.twitter.com/AVCg1pTXgC

— Library and Archives Canada (@LibraryArchives) July 9, 2022

We’re pleased to offer a webinar about No. 2 Construction Battalion and those who served in it. Learn to explore military service files, war diaries and other historical records. https://t.co/dzzLq7WPQe pic.twitter.com/7JuD9Sc3oi

— Library and Archives Canada (@LibraryArchives) July 8, 2022

Rejected by recruiters, they fought to fight for a Canada that treated them less than equal.

They served and returned to face the same discrimination.

Remember No. 2 Construction Battalion. pic.twitter.com/JKQqyk9R0p

— Canadian Forces in 🇺🇸 (@CAFinUS) July 9, 2022

"We cannot ever let what happened to No. 2 Construction Battalion happen again," Trudeau said. "And we cannot let the service of any member of our forces ever be overlooked and forgotten." #Cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/5TYSVO2qJ8

— Jaro Giesbrecht 🇨🇦🇸🇰 (@JaroGiesbrecht) July 9, 2022

This is the Legacy Shadow Quilt, a quilt created to perpetuate the memory of those who served with the No. 2 Construction Battalion. It will be displayed as part of the events surrounding the Canadian government’s official apology to those who served with the Battalion pic.twitter.com/YI0j2uP6BG

— Canadian War Museum (@CanWarMuseum) July 9, 2022

Thankful to join with community, descendants and LG Mirasty at the Regina Armoury hosted by the Saskatchewan African Canadian Heritage Museum and the Regina Rifles to observe the long overdue apology of the Government of Canada to No. 2 Construction Battalion. pic.twitter.com/79n11YWg6t

— Trent Wotherspoon (@WotherspoonT) July 9, 2022

Today's news: Nelson moments

 

Today seemed to be a day of "Nelson" moments. 

There was that day-long Rogers outage:

Having Rogers internet down all day meant spending the day talking with family. They seem like nice people. 🤣

— KNugent4118🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 (@knugent4118) July 8, 2022

I can't grasp the scale of how bad this is at Rogers. This is an unprecedented disaster. Been down now for over 12 hours and they still don't know why.

And they have really smart engineers working there. I know, I've worked with them.

— Catelli 2.0 🚣🚴🏕 (@Catelli2Oh) July 8, 2022

You start a simple kitchen reno. And then next thing you know you're jacking up the house and rebuilding the foundation from the footings up.

There is no "just put the wall back up and hide the mess we found"

— Catelli 2.0 🚣🚴🏕 (@Catelli2Oh) July 8, 2022

They appear to have turned their router off and back on again.

— David Cochrane (@DavidWCochrane) July 9, 2022

And that story about SCOTUS justice Brett Kavanaugh being chased out of Morton's by protestors:

The Morton's restaurant chain opened in 1978 and is therefore not "deeply rooted in the nation's history and traditions."

— Lawrence Glickman (@LarryGlickman) July 8, 2022

Yup, you have to articulate the right at the most specific level you can so that you can find that the right doesn’t exist. There is no fundamental “right to eat at Morton’s in DC on a Thursday night without leaving through the back due to protestors”

— Defend the Truth and Defeat the Lies (@fitzador) July 8, 2022

On the other hand, they could argue that the right of powerful white men to ruin other people’s lives and expect to not face even the mildest of consequences is very much “deeply rooted in the nation’s history in tradition”

— Jacob Harris (@harrisj) July 8, 2022

What did Brett Kavanaugh and his right wing Supreme Court pals think their lives would be like after they criminally assaulted 200,000,000 American women? Did they think people would just smile at them in restaurants? Also goodbye Mortons for aggressively taking Kavanaugh’s side.

— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) July 8, 2022

It doesn't matter if protesters interrupt his meal because Brett Kavanaugh believes dinner begins at reservation

— Frank Lesser (@sadmonsters) July 8, 2022

All six of the SCOTUS majority are too arrogant and stupid to understand that they will never eat an unspat-in restaurant meal for the rest of their lives.

— Randy Cauthen (@Joe_Bourgeois) July 8, 2022

And Tamara Lich is back in jail:

I'm reading angry tweets that Lich is a martyr -- but honestly, what did she think would happen after she breached her bail conditions? Her lawyers did her no favours.

I find it hilarious that Tamara Lich's lawyers awarded her some bs "freedom award" that ended up causing her to lose her freedoms. Good job JCCF! #cdnpoli #FreeDumbConvoy

— Rob Gill (@vote4robgill) July 8, 2022

We have now entered the glorious “Find Out” phase.

I bet she’s pissed her little attempted martyrdom didn’t get the goobers worked up enough to overthrow the Commie Nazi tyrant Trudeau. 😂🤣😂https://t.co/irmv1TDheI

— Jay Gamble (@DrJayDrNo) July 8, 2022

And Elon Musk wants to pull out of the Twitter deal.

You know, I always believed  that the only reason Musk wanted Twitter was because he had promised to reinstate Trump, but then it got too complicated and Musk never actually wanted to work that hard.

Elon Musk has announced he is not going to buy Twitter as he needs more time to stay at home with his families.

— Gene Spafford (@TheRealSpaf) July 8, 2022

BREAKING: Elon Musk has terminated his deal to buy Twitter, which is shocking because I didn’t think he knew how to pull out of anything.

— Jo 🌻 (@JoJoFromJerz) July 8, 2022

Today's News: Looking for their soul

First up, some comment about what has happened to the soul of the Conservative party in Canada:

The leadership of the CPC is still theoretically up for grabs, but the battle for its soul is over -- and the anti-vaxxers have won. #cdnpoli https://t.co/Txl0pNSu46

— Max Fawcett 🇨🇦 (@maxfawcett) July 7, 2022

Ottawa journalist Rachel Gilmore had a major article on Global News today - How close is too close to the far-right? Why some experts are worried about Canada’s MPs. 

She is writing about Conservative support for the Convoy, particularly from Poilievre, and how this can legitimize the far-right in Canada. As we see the United States careening toward a fascist white supremacy ditch, it gives me hope to see Canadian media stepping up and taking seriously the risk of white supremacy in Canadian politics.

Gilmore says: 

It’s unclear why Poilievre “felt that he needed to” meet with Topp, said Stephanie Carvin, a former CSIS analyst who now teaches at Carleton University.

“But it definitely was a choice with consequences,” she said — including, potentially, emboldening and legitimizing the more extreme views among the convoy’s supporters. 

...experts are starting to worry about the influence politicians could have in legitimizing extreme ideas.

 “They seem to be playing this culture war knowingly,” said Evan Balgord, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, in an interview with Global News. 

For Balgord, what Poilievre chose to do on June 30 “wasn’t a surprise.” 

“He was positioning himself to earn the support of the far-right in his leadership race.” 

Gilmore has been doing an extraordinary job in covering Canada's far right - for example, this tweet:

I was looking over videos I took during the Canada Day convoy protest and came across this one.

The man I spoke to very politely told me that he’s not sure Trudeau was democratically elected.

There is zero evidence to back up this claim. pic.twitter.com/N8x4lKvugg

— Rachel Gilmore (@atRachelGilmore) July 6, 2022

Finally we see a journalist used the definite description --"zero evidence" -- instead of mealy-mouthed bafflegab. 

She is hitting a nerve, too -- here's Poilievre's hysterical reaction to her article:

Poilievre's team sent this to me on Tuesday in response to my request for comment.

It read like a press release then.

I guess it *was* a press release.

Here are the questions I asked, which - instead of answering - he replied to by calling me "unprofessional."

1/5 https://t.co/ZjVsgKH5Y9

— Rachel Gilmore (@atRachelGilmore) July 7, 2022

Scrimshaw notes how incredibly stupid and thin-skinned it was for Poilievre to issue this press release:

But why this press release matters is that the Poilievre team just tipped their hands about a very important point – they can get blown off message incredibly easily. 

A TV interview with Evan Solomon got Poilievre to confirm he’d fire the Governor of the Bank Of Canada, and now an article about Convoy ties to the far right has Poilievre invoking Trudeau’s Blackface (I’ll leave it to your imagination how those two things happened). 

It’s genuinely thin-skinned bullshit, but even more than it being thin-skinned, it’s just not a good trait in a political leader to have the political equivalent of Tourette’s Syndrome, to quote the post-Sorkin West Wing. 

Swinging at every pitch in politics is a disaster, because sometimes the right move is to avoid the trap, and this pattern of behaviour from Poilievre and his team is evidence that he doesn’t have that tool in his arsenal. 

He is as addicted to the news cycle and the Twitter likes and the Facebook views that he has to pump out this shit daily, but the problem is, sometimes you don’t have to make news. Sometimes, it’s better to sit one out, and just leave an unfriendly article alone. 

How many more people do you think saw the Global article at the core of this fight after his press release? Giving oxygen to this story is an insane idea if you’re Poilievre.

Nevertheless, she persisted. Here is a follow-up story tonight:

Um, this is...massive?

James Topp's arrival in Ottawa -- which Pierre Poilievre joined him for -- appears to have been, at least in part, organized by someone affiliated with Diagolon.

Yikes.

Yikes. Yikes. Yikes. https://t.co/3X5phqRNX0

— Rachel Gilmore (@atRachelGilmore) July 7, 2022

Undoubtedly, there is additional stuff to come on this story.