So what did David Johnston actually say?

We're watching history being rewritten in real time. 

The discredited election interference allegations are now supposedly "credible" and the Johnston report that proved they were exaggerations or lies is now "controversial"

Its an attempt to smear Trudeau and the Liberals -- and it just infuriates me that Canadians are now being told to believe that our last two elections were tainted or questionable, and that the Liberals needed help from the Chinese to win. 

Canada wanted minority Liberal governments in 2019 and in 2021 and that's exactly what we got.

The smear started with Polievere's Friday night tweet:

Shame on Poilievre and the CPC Party, this is so off base. His disgusting behaviour & partisan attacks led to threats & abusive behaviour towards an admirable & impeccable man whose only mission was to protect Canada’s interests. This is not a win for our democracy. It’s a fail. pic.twitter.com/PEdJEOFBMD

— Cheryl in Nova Scotia 🍁🇨🇦🦞 (@mini_bubbly) June 10, 2023

And this weekend we saw media starting to pick up the "credible allegations" that China helped elect the Liberals:

He still doesn't get it. In the face of credible allegations China interfered on the Libs' behalf, the onus is entirely on the govt to clear the air. It should be *consulting* with the opp'n — and yes, the opp'n is obliged to respond to good faith offers in good faith — but...

— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦 (@acoyne) June 11, 2023

With power comes responsibility for the public trust. It was the govt’s responsibility to clear the air re the Globe/Global reports, to answer the questions they raised and to open itself to scrutiny by a process with bipartisan support. It has consistently done the opposite.

— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦 (@acoyne) June 11, 2023

From me:
The Liberal government’s handling of foreign interference will go down as one of its most discreditable legacies - The Globe and Mail https://t.co/JwsYzw7yxR

— John Ibbitson (@JohnIbbitson) June 12, 2023

Finally, here's Fife calling the Johnston report "controversial":

Please tell us what part of the rapporteur's report was "controversial"?

The process sounded very close to what the Rt Hon David Johnston had in mind - hearings and an investigation before a final report was issued.

— Elke Babiuk (@ElkeBabiuk) June 12, 2023

David Johnston spent the last three months looking into exactly these allegations of foreign interference, and he produced a 60-page report which found, well, nothing - NOTHING! 

A nothing-burger. Zip-patootie. Smoke without fire. All hat, no cattle.

Be Careful What You Wish For

So Canada's foreign interference rapporteur David Johnston has left the building:

Shorter David Johnston: https://t.co/1Kl7H9fed8

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) June 9, 2023

Dale Smith has an excellent column Exit David Johnston about the resignation, and what might happen next:

None of this solves the underlying problem that a public inquiry is not magic. 

Everyone demanding one seems to think it can be wrapped up in the space of a few months, and that can be broad enough in scope to fully understand how deep Chinese infiltration goes into our country, while also providing concrete recommendations for protecting the next election. That’s not going to happen in a few months—that kind of scoping takes years, and is not going to get to the fundamental issue here, which is that this is ultimately a process story about the machinery of government, dealing with classified information, and that a public inquiry can’t hear most of it. 

That is, if they can find someone to head it who meets everyone’s satisfaction and who is willing to put themselves through the character assassination that will follow.

Once again -- as it was with SNC Lavelin, JWR, WE -- the ultimate goal was always to find something that would force Trudeau to resign in disgrace. So now the parliamentarians who spent the last six months trashing Johnston are perishing the thought that they ever intended to tarnish HIS reputation:

Cue the “he’s a good man” lines from chorus of assholes who maligned David Johnson the last few months as a partisan “ski buddy”.

When you eat your own, people notice.

— Flavio Volpe (@FlavioVolpe1) June 9, 2023

Agreed. Let’s not forget the hatchet jobs they engaged to rid their own party of members who didn’t align with the Convoy Party. Like the member from Quebec, Fast, O’Toole, Brown, Charest…the list is long.

— CMM (@Carmie3xVax) June 10, 2023

"The Godfather, if it was re-enacted by a five-year-old"

How it started:

He didn’t do it, but if he did do it, it isn’t a crime, and if it is a crime, it isn’t that bad, and if it is that bad, everyone does it, and if everyone doesn’t do it, what about Hunter’s laptop?

— John Collins (@Logically_JC) June 9, 2023

How it's going: 

Here is the link for the indictment and here is an excellent article from the Lawfare blog about what it means- United States of America v. Donald J. Trump and Waltine Nauta. 

TL;DR? Here's The Business Insider summary - Trump Used Bumbling "Godfather"-Like Tactics To Hide Docs From FBI:

...The Justice Department's indictment against the former president depicts blundering, incompetent attempts to cover up clear violations of the Espionage Act, as well as obstructing justice by "suggesting that his attorney hide or destroy documents," along with other alleged crimes.

To veteran national security lawyer Kel McClanahan, it brought to mind "the Godfather — if it was reenacted by a five-year-old."

"I found it hilarious that some of his most incriminating things were recorded by his lawyers," McClanahan told Insider. "Beautiful."

..."Everything in here was designed to craft the narrative that this is a kingpin who knowingly broke the law, endangered national security, endangered nuclear weapon security, endangered other countries' national security — and his faithful butler carried this all out for him and is going to go down with him because he refused to come clean about his boss's criminal dealings," McClanahan said. "You can't write this in a plot of a procedural."

Trump could have easily avoided criminal charges by simply handing over the documents in the first place, Jon Sale, a former federal prosecutor, told Insider.

If you're wondering about what those confidential documents are, Matt Tait is investigating exactly this on his substack What Are The Classified Documents?

Wild (fires) in the Streets (of New York)

In Canada, the weather isn't news unless it happens in Toronto. 

In the United States, the weather isn't news unless it happens in New York.

Here's a roundup of tweets:
 

Canadians at least have an answer now to their perennial anguished question, "What does it take to put Canada on the front page of the New York Times?"

— David Frum (@davidfrum) June 8, 2023

pic.twitter.com/ejXAYqESy9

— Corey Clayton (@CoreyClayton) June 8, 2023

Today's News: Fighting Back

I am seeing some positive signs that people are mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore. Specifically, I mean that people are realizing that we cannot continue to politely tolerate anti-gay anti-trans bashing while we wait for conservatives to come to their senses. 

Nope, its time to fight back. 

1/ 🚨We're proud to announce that our full Guide for Pride Defenders is published and available for download!🚨

Pride defence is the act of going to any Pride event to protect the 2SLGBTQ+community from far-right activists who show up.https://t.co/FUt9ARd93G

— Canadian Anti-Hate Network (@antihateca) June 6, 2023

Click here for the Pride Defense Guide and a two-page Pride Defense Handout:

Pride defence is the act of going to any Pride event to protect the 2SLGBTQ+community from far-right activists who show up.

Pride Defenders are the brave people who show up to counter the far-right, using many different tactics. Some have used spectacle and created a party-like atmosphere with dancing and music to keep the far-right out, while others have blocked them from accessing events using their bodies.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s better to take one action than freeze up because doing everything feels impossible. With that in mind, we’ve organized this guide into three parts—Before Pride, During Pride, and After Pride—and within each section, we’ve highlighted the one or two points we would suggest prioritizing. We recognize not everyone will be able to participate in the on-the-ground action on the day of the event, so we have taken care to include points that folks can participate in from home.

While this guide specifically refers to Pride events and defences, the information can be used to prepare you for many kinds of defences or counters against the far-right.

And incredibly important read is
The Guide for Pride Defenders from @antihateca

Both the 20 page full guide and the 2 page abridged handout are available to download for freehttps://t.co/wJAxH4jTYB https://t.co/uHJ7F1bqF2 pic.twitter.com/pHDMiihSIl

— Pride Was A Riot (@trannyfagdyke) June 6, 2023

The guide is just in time, because violence and right-wing rage appear to be increasing:

This is what RWNJ rage-farming leads to. Stop supporting it.
We already saw the early stages of this at the York Region Catholic School Board meeting over flying the Pride flag right here.

— Tapestry - Trying to Make Sense of the Insanity (@Tapestry236) June 7, 2023

Laugh of the day: It's beginning to look a lot like Trump-mas!

Today I just can't stop myself from hoping to see Christmas In June this year - apparently Trump's attorneys met the Justice department this morning and now Trump is hysterical.

Trump’s lawyers presented their concerns, to which Jack Smith responded by breathing on the glass door, writing “LOL” in his breath cloud, and exiting the room.

— Liddle’ Savage (@littledeekay) June 5, 2023

Here’s how this meeting went:

Smith: Your client is getting indicted.

*meeting adjourned* pic.twitter.com/VtLgllCdE4

— Andrew Wortman 🟧 (@AmoneyResists) June 5, 2023

Trump legal team’s meeting with DOJ ended 1 hour and 6 minutes ago. Lawyers got to an office space, debriefed their client. Seems it went very well. pic.twitter.com/8jBWMnOgzl

— Robert J. DeNault 🏳️‍🌈 (@robertjdenault) June 5, 2023

Today's random stuff: from Pride to politics to happy dogs

First up, a few tweets about Saskatoon Pride!

So I won the Best Dressed competition at the charity bingo for @SaskatoonPride. What a fun night! pic.twitter.com/DZdhmQX2MU

— Kyle Anderson (@DrKyle) June 4, 2023

June is #PrideMonth. Saskatchewan physicians recognize the importance of providing culturally competent care so that patients feel safe knowing there are medical options available to them. @SaskatoonPride @QueenCityPride @OUTSaskatoon pic.twitter.com/BAgG9d1ql4

— Sask Medical Assoc. (@SMA_docs) May 30, 2023

Today, SPS raised the Pride flag to celebrate Pride month! We honour diversity & we are open to all students. We strive to create safe, welcoming & joyful places that are caring & accepting of all. Today & every day, every student is known, valued & believed in. pic.twitter.com/Loysjzmj3d

— Saskatoon Public Schools (@StoonPubSchools) June 1, 2023

Love is love, a story is a story, and fun is just good, clean fun! Thank you to the Children’s Festival for a fabulous afternoon with this kiddo! 🌈@yxekidsfest @SaskatoonPride pic.twitter.com/dci6C9WkVL

— Britainy Zapshalla (@britrzap) June 4, 2023

Today's News: Throwing mud

I think Poilievre and the CPC brain trust have realized that they're not going to get Trudeau to resign over ancient CSIS briefings about Chinese political donations.

So now the short-pants boys in the Leader of the Opposition office have had to come up with other ridiculous smear attempts against Trudeau. 

Whether or not Poilievre ever gets one of these anti-Trudeau smears to land, he is rapidly convincing Canadians that PP himself is not fit to be a prime minister - temperamental, hysterical, judgemental.
 

He is on a terrible roll this week. First he eluded to him being a pedophile, then he said that student setting off a firework on the TTC was his fault. Now he is saying the PM is selling drugs. I can't take this man seriously.

— laura frost (@Ljafk) June 2, 2023

God Poilievre is a thug.

— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦 (@acoyne) May 31, 2023

Oh good,@PierrePoilievre has revived the repulsive smear that Trudeau was or is a pedophile and sexually preyed on students in his capacity as a teacher.

It's important to spell out exactly what is happening here, and shut these lies down. #cdnpoli https://t.co/xnNWJzNQSh

— Alheli Picazo (@a_picazo) May 31, 2023

Ted Lasso: three perfect seasons

We LOVED Ted Lasso - its the reason we subscribed to Apple+. 

Luckily my sister has been staying with us for a few days so we binge-watched all three seasons of Ted Lasso while waiting for the final episode and I realized again what a truly great show it was.

Thank you so much for all the love. RW/HW. ❤️💙💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/JlIaCbly7Q

— Hannah Waddingham.💣 (@hanwaddingham) May 31, 2023

Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudeikis & co. delivered a damn endearing finale for #TedLasso. It’s never solely been Ted’s story, but rather about this family who found comfort in each other. Considering season 3’s messy structure, I’m happy they managed to wrap-up every arc pretty nicely. pic.twitter.com/vidCA9uZ1B

— Edgar Ortega (@edgorteg) May 31, 2023

Update: "We all belong" is the message that Saskatoon Catholic Schools just don't get

Following up on my Saturday post, here's the latest news. 

I wonder if Saskatoon Catholic School administration is now beginning to understand the difficult situation they have created for their teachers and their students? 

Rally planned in response to Greater Saskatoon Catholic School leaked email | https://t.co/WL6g5VZMGW. https://t.co/KW1XD2qLAT

— Dennis Kendel (@DennisKendel) May 30, 2023

Following the leak of a controversial email, Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools' downtown office was hit with an apparent act of vandalism Monday morning. https://t.co/RE9gOqQnyZ

— CTV Saskatoon (@ctvsaskatoon) May 29, 2023

The "vandalism" didn't seem particularly vicious, really:

The front windows were splattered with fluorescent paint and butterfly, unicorn and flower stickers, and paper hearts. The sidewalk in front of the office had a rainbow and messages like "we all belong" and "it's queer here" scrawled with chalk.

Today's News: Rainbows and Drag Queens and Saskatoon Catholic Schools

 

I'm pretty sure it was the reference to "Drag Queens Story Hour" that freaked out the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools administration this week. But they'll never admit now that they flipped out due to prejudice and ignorance. 

The documentary I posted above explains Drag Queen story hour at libraries and how much children and families enjoy and appreciate them. It also covers how some right-wingers feel hostile or threatened by drag queens and try to sexualize what is actually a performance art.

Unfortunately, I doubt anyone at the Saskatoon Catholic school administration ever watched this documentary before they started this week's controversy -- they just jumped to ignorant conclusions about drag queens, and uproar ensued. 

Some comments on the passing scene

Saw some good comments today on various things - here they are: 

 First, this is absolutely true:

🧵The thing I like about this Liberal government is that, amidst all the sound and fury signifying nothing, they keep plodding along, each foot in front of the other, doing the work, not getting distracted from, um, governmenting.
… https://t.co/Td3FAk5bXZ

— David Hamer 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇨🇦 (@DavidHamer_1951) May 26, 2023

The Trudeau government may be the Rodney Dangerfield of governments - they don't get no respect! - but they keep on keeping on. And people appreciate it, too:

National Post Headline

"After eight years, Trudeau still proving stubbornly popular"

NP Must of had to grit their teeth to print a headline like that#cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/x4xu7DRCnp

— G.T. Lem 林 家 聰 (@gtlem) May 25, 2023

The National Post writes:

Trudeau has a 40 per cent approval rating against 55 per cent who disapprove. The pollster noted in a recent analysis that this is slightly better than his predecessor Stephen Harper, who hit his own eight-year mark at an approval to disapproval rate of 36 to 58.

And it’s way better than Brian Mulroney, whose political career was on the edge of collapse after eight years; he had a near-universal disapproval rating of 83 per cent.

Trudeau is even polling better than his father. In 1976, on the eighth anniversary of Pierre Trudeau’s swearing-in, Angus Reid Institute numbers show that nearly twice as many Canadians disliked him as liked him; approval was 32 per cent against a disapproval rate of 57.

...In the winter of 2001, an incredible 54 per cent of Canadians approved of Chrétien’s job as prime minister, against 42 per cent who didn’t.

Hmmm....I wonder what was going on in the winter of 2001? Oh, yeah...Canada went to war, which is a time when people always rally round the flag. The Post grudginly reminds us:

At the time, Chrétien was overseeing the entry of Canadian troops into Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. His government had also just finished bringing Canada back from the brink of sovereign debt collapse.

So, actually, that National Post story could have read: "Trudeau is the most popular prime minister for the last half=century, except for when the country went to war". Here are the net approval figures:

Prime Minister Net Approvals After Eight Years:

Chretien ('01): +12%

J. Trudeau ('23): -15%
Harper ('14): -22%
P. Trudeau ('76): -25%
Mulroney ('92): -71%

Angus Reid / May 10, 2023 / n=1603 / Online

— Polling Canada (@CanadianPolling) May 22, 2023

Quote of the Day

Just for fun, I have now added "quote of the day" to the right sidebar now. 

And thanks to Owen Gray's Northern Reflections, the excellent blog where I first saw this plug-in.

Cue the wailing and gnashing of teeth!

So David Johnston has released his initial report to say a "public inquiry" into China China China would be neither public nor informative:

My mandate for my first report is to determine whether any further public process is required. My short answer is yes. I plan to hold a series of public hearings with Canadians (particularly from affected communities), government officials (including retired officials), knowledgeable experts, and other interested parties to discuss foreign interference, its effects on diaspora communities, and policy and governance improvements that could be made to improve the government’s response to it. I hope and believe that these public hearings will continue to shine a spotlight on the problem of foreign interference, provide public education about the threat of foreign interference, and provide a better foundation of information which I can use to make policy and governance recommendations for improvement. I also hope these hearings will accelerate government policy development to address foreign interference, stressing both the importance and urgency of action.

These hearings will not focus on “who knew what and what did they do about it.” I have examined these issues, drawn conclusions, and provided as much information as possible to the public, as well as in a confidential annex to be viewed by the Prime Minister and members of Cabinet (as well as officials or Opposition Leaders with the requisite security clearance). I also recommend the Prime Minister refer my report, including the confidential annex, to the chairs of NSICOP and NSIRA so those bodies can review my conclusions and advise the Prime Minister, Parliament and the public if they disagree.

I carefully considered whether an inquiry under the Inquiries Act could help enhance public trust in our electoral process, over and above the work I have done. When I was first appointed, my preliminary view was that I was very likely to recommend a Public Inquiry. But my conclusion is that, in light of the material and information that would lie at the heart of any inquiry, it could not be done in public. Rather, a “public inquiry” would necessarily be done in private and largely replicate the process I have undergone, and not advance the goals of transparency or trust any further than I have taken them and raise expectations that will ultimately be disappointed.

A thoughtful set of findings by David Johnston. He proposes public hearings on the policy and governance issues and a separate review by two national security bodies on the classified aspects of foreign interference. #cdnpoli https://t.co/SXLPpfoDuS

— IReza (@IshatReza) May 23, 2023

Sounds pretty good, really. But cue the wailing and gnashing of teeth today as Ottawa reporters will be denied stories and commentary until Johnston's public hearings begin this fall.

Kind of fun to see our media mavens rolling on the floor, holding their breath, turning blue in paroxysms of rage when respected Canadians like the Hon. Paul Rouleau or the Right Honourable David Johnston, whose salaries don’t depend on clicks, tell them they’re all wet. 🤭

— David Hamer 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇨🇦 (@DavidHamer_1951) May 24, 2023

Updating the Ukraine-Russia War: the F16s are coming

Over at Balloon Juice, national security expert Adam Silverman has written a piece about the war in Ukraine every single day since Russia started their unjust and illegal war.  

At Routine Proceedings, Dale Smith also writes a Ukraine Dispatch every single day. 

 Every weekend, Phillips O'Brien writes a Weekend Update on substack. 

These knowledgeable and experienced commentators are seeing a recent evolution in US thinking about this war -- that Ukraine is winning, that Russia is losing, and that the risk of Russia starting a nuclear war is getting smaller by the day. 

Today Silverman writes about how Russia was viewed when it invaded Ukraine 15 months ago, compared to how it is viewed today: 

My professional opinion is that the beltway consensus was that the Russian army was what we had assessed it to be: professional, properly resourced and equipped, and powerful. 

Another part of the beltway consensus was that despite Ukrainian resolve their was no way they would withstand having the bulk of that force thrown at them. 

These two beliefs, which we now know like much of the beltway’s deeply held convictions are just wrong, were exacerbated and enhanced by the fact that Russia won the information war around Ukraine back in 2014 and almost every policy discussion and almost all of the news reporting was being done within the informational shaping that Russia had successfully undertaken. 

This includes everything from views of Russia’s military to views of Ukraine and the Revolution of Dignity to taking Russia’s nuclear weapons and usage doctrine exactly as Russia wanted us to.

 Silverman then notes the change in tone as shown in these tweets yesterday:

Good for him. This is the correct response. https://t.co/i7euZINuUu

— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) May 21, 2023