Today's News: Poilievre's "Bot-gate" scandal

Hundreds of very excited twitter posts today from people from around the world talking about a recent Pierre Poilievre rally in Kirkland Lake Ontario. 

But they're all just fake "bots". 

They're not Canadians at all, they're not even real people -- its just a ridiculous grift to inflate Poilievre's support.

It seems #CdnPoli, Northern #Ontario (every person) converged on Kirkland Lake to see Pierre Poilievre and ALL had the EXACT same opinions & wrote their tweets the exact same ways too.

(There's more variations but I'm bored)
Fix the #CanadaDisabilityBenefit NOW @JustinTrudeau pic.twitter.com/uU2rhZauXY

— The280Times Trivia Channel (@The280Times) August 3, 2024

Hundreds of accounts claiming to be located in the United States, France, England, Russia, etc. say they are “still buzzing” after attending Pierre Poilievre’s recent rally in Kirkland Lake, Ontario: pic.twitter.com/40chY4i7cb

— Luke LeBrun (@_llebrun) August 4, 2024

They even "braved the cold" to attend!

Yong finding Kirkland Lake cold is funny pic.twitter.com/V28dvpmEHj

— Vote4WomensRights (@VoterNerd) August 4, 2024

Wonder what they thought about the black flies? And there's more...

Found this version going around too pic.twitter.com/j90wjPbRGb

— churanah (@churanah) August 4, 2024

Canada should just point and laugh:

Let’s not forget his woman-hating hidden YouTube tags for Incels that he “didn’t know about” and all the Diagolon/racist meetings, straight pride & KKKonvoy-embracing, Euro racist AfD party meetings with his team and anti-Ukraine votes.

— Stephano Barberis (@HelloStephano) August 4, 2024

Here's the reality:

I have family in KL and can confirm that all three hotels were not booked with internationals. Or at all

Also. His team privately denied any support for various funding and resources to the local trades colleges because not interested in mining. Kirkland Lake is a mining town pic.twitter.com/iOI2eCD2cY

— Amanda Peabody (@emmasmugshot) August 4, 2024

I'll bet Poilievre's staff will start claiming that all these people could have "participated" by Zoom, just like the Kamala virtual rallies going on.

Weekend funnies and animal crackers

Hope your mood is Quokka #7 at least.  And enjoy some of the other good stuff I have collected over the past few weeks.

First up, so to speak - the lighter side of the Olympics:

Men’s junk is the story of the Olympics apparently.

— Mike Sperrazza (@MikeASperrazza) August 3, 2024

And just by the way, Imane Khalif is a woman, not trans. 

And France should never have apologized for including trans-gender performers in the opening ceremony Last Supper parody, it just made the MAGA haters think they could boss everyone around. 

Moving on, it appears that Trump is still trying to figure out some way to avoid debating with Harris while somehow blaming her for it:

Please enjoy my cartoon for Friday's @TorontoStar pic.twitter.com/AxTY3rNdc6

— Theo Moudakis (@TheoMoudakis) August 1, 2024

Its becoming a meme too:

I HAVE AGREED TO A SWIM MEET WITH KATIE LEDECKY SO LONG AS SHE WEARS A FULL SUIT OF ARMOR AND HOLDS HER BREATH THE WHOLE TIME ALSO I GET A JET SKI.

— David Litt (@davidlitt) August 3, 2024

Today's News: "Brace yourselves"

Americans are wondering how they will deal with a three-month presidential campaign -- of course, the rest of the world is saying "that long? Ours are just a few weeks!". 

Just this year, England and France have both campaigned and voted in the few months between the US primaries and Biden's withdrawal. 

But America is used to a more leisurely pace.

What amuses me is how some political reporters are commenting how short the time frame is for Kamala - 100 days! They'd be gobsmacked to know we do it in a 36 day campaign normally. #cdnpoli #uspoli #uspolitics https://t.co/q1FX1fWVzi

— 🇨🇦 Scott Tribe 🇨🇦 (@stribe39) July 31, 2024

Here is Josh Marshall talking about the unprecedented dynamics of a 100-day US presdential campaign:

...something totally unheard of and unprecedented in modern American political history. American presidential campaigns last at least 18 months. In some ways they’re perpetual. But there’s nothing in recent American history to compare to what Kamala Harris is doing right now.

The Trump campaign is obviously furious about the switch. Vance called it a sucker punch. They essentially wasted their convention on the wrong candidate. You can understand why they’re mad.

But the key part that stands out to me is this: a huge amount of modern Republican campaigns are based on wearing down a Democratic politician over months and years in the right-wing echo chamber. We saw it with Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Biden, Kerry. It’s a well, well worn thing. But it takes time. There are seldom knock-out punches. It’s a slow osmotic process. And the critical part of it takes place at the nexus where what’s happening in the right wing echo chamber bleeds into and begins to shape mainstream media reporting.

Obviously we don’t know how this campaign is going to play out. Looks pretty good ten days in, but there’s ten times more days coming. But regardless of how it plays out, this blitz factor — something totally new and unexpected right as the true campaign starts — is clearly wreaking havoc not only with the Trump campaign but with the whole far-flung Republican political and media apparatus.

Obviously there was no planning any of this. It only becomes possible out of the ashes of an electoral disaster. But some portion of what we’re seeing now derives from the fact that this late switch simply breaks the structure of American presidential politics and has, at least for the moment, allowed Harris to begin the presidential sprint while her opponent’s campaign is still trying to make sense of what happened.

This seems prescient:

I hope that everyone is clear-eyed about the fact that the extraordinary burst of enthusiasm & unity around Harris grinds against every instinct of the US political press. They are not going to sit back & let it continue organically. Brace yourselves for immense backlash.

— David Roberts (@drvolts) July 30, 2024

I'll admit, I was surprised by the party's ability to pull off this transition so smoothly, with such good vibes. The political media was surprised too. It's on its back foot, unsure of how to penetrate it & start fomenting infighting. But they'll figure something out.

— David Roberts (@drvolts) July 30, 2024

Today's News: from Biden passing the torch, to Olympic success, to Weird Trump, to White Dudes for Harris

Credit

Accurate, accurate, accurate pic.twitter.com/yEBOdysQYm

— Kim Wexler's Ponytail 🐝💛🪷🎗😺 (@MadisonKittay) July 23, 2024

Biden is the one who really took a bullet for democracy, not trump.

— Mia Michaels (@MiaMichaels77) July 22, 2024

Moving on to the Olympics, we see Canada doing great today. 

First gold for Canada at #Paris2024 and first-ever Canadian Olympic champion in judo 🇨🇦

Christa Deguchi DID THAT 🥇#MedalMoments presented by @petrocanada pic.twitter.com/RzwYqPq3KG

— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) July 29, 2024

Today's News: Terrible news that Jasper is on fire

Terrible news tonight from Jasper National Park - multiple buildings in the town of Jasper are burning.. 

We always loved visiting Jasper -- it was almost as scenic as Banff, but without the crowding and the touristy kitsch (or at least, not as much). 

It was a easier drive too, from Saskatoon, especially after most of it was twinned. 

Whenever we drove to Vancouver, we usually took the easier Edmonton route, with its long and lazy valleys instead of twisting through the Calgary to Kamloops route. 

I cannot imagine how frightening and terrible it would be to get told to evacuate at 10 pm, then drive all night to get to safety. 

Such outstanding courage those people are showing us all.

...Parks Canada says firefighters continue to battle to save as many structures as possible in the Jasper townsite.

“Today has been an exceptionally difficult day for Jasperites, incident personnel and everyone who loves Jasper,” said the agency.

Crews working to save homes, businesses and critical infrastructure will be supported by “many more” structural firefighters en route to the community.

...Jasper is under attack by fires from the north and south, and the town’s 5,000 residents -- along with 20,000 park visitors -- have already left.

The northern fire was spotted five kilometres from Jasper earlier Wednesday.

The southern fire had been reported eight kilometres distant from the town, but Katie Ellsworth, with Parks Canada, said strong wind gusts swooping in behind it sent it racing.

Everything that could go wrong earlier Wednesday did go wrong.

Fire perimeters changed minute by minute.

Ellsworth said bucketing efforts by helicopter failed.

Crews using heavy equipment to build fireguards couldn’t complete the work before having to pull back for safety.

Water bombers couldn’t help due to dangerous flying conditions.

A last-ditch effort to use controlled burns to reroute the fire to natural barriers like Highway 16 and the Athabasca River failed due to “unfavourable conditions.”

The hope was that up to 20 mm of rain, forecast to begin falling in the area later Wednesday night, would bring some relief.

Alberta Forestry Minister Todd Loewen has asked the Canadian Armed Forces for help.

"We are requesting firefighting resources, aerial support to move wildfire crews and equipment and more," Loewen wrote on the social media platform X.

Jasper and Jasper National Park are treasures for the world … and they’re a special haven for those of us lucky enough to live close by. What’s happening tonight breaks my heart. Prayers for those displaced by the fire and heartfelt thanks to those fighting it. #JasperFire pic.twitter.com/y72Sq5JQv8

— Gil McGowan (@gilmcgowan) July 25, 2024

Farewell to Biden; Hello to Kamala

Biden was one of the best presidents America has had but I expect Kamala will be even better. 

Tonight, social media is full of great tweets and stories about Biden, about Kamala, about Democrats. And there was definitely a tone of relief tonight that things are settled.

I told my 11-year old daughter that Joe had dropped out and she started to cry and through her tears she asked “So who will run now?”

And I said “Kamala.”

And then she shouted “FUCK YES!!!!”

— Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) July 21, 2024

Biden, the Clintons, 26 Senators, 74 US Reps and 9 Governors along with almost all 50 state party chairs, and national convention delegations from LA, NC, NH, SC, TN and Denton Co., TX have now endorsed VP Kamala Harris.

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) July 22, 2024

I’ve gotten a lot of text messages today from Gen Zers, who are not interested in politics, asking me how they can get involved to help Vice President Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump. Something is brewing. Young people are fired up. Trump should be scared.

— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) July 22, 2024

Today's update: That rascally Biden!

Today it seems people are realizing the Biden-Must-Go campaign could be retitled as "Elitist Dems and Fat Cats v. Biden" - yes, Biden stumbles over his words, but his ideas and goals are clear and admirable. 

AOC speaks:

NEW

Congresswoman @AOC just did a nearly hour long live where she shared her grave concerns with replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee.

Here’s the full video minus the very short intro she did on other work she is doing at the moment. pic.twitter.com/eeVWhRUlwC

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) July 19, 2024

And Bernie:

I am putting aside all 2016 feelings to strongly strongly urge and recommend Bernie Sanders to spend every waking minute on the media. Literally, if he is not sleeping, he should be on TV talking. All the way up until election day. https://t.co/kwwExwc8QW

— Paul Gundlach (@PaulSGundlach) July 19, 2024

Both of them understand that unions and workers have never had as good a president as Biden:

Pains me to say this, but AOC and Bernie being more sycophantic to Biden than Pelosi and Schumer turns my stomach.

— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) July 19, 2024

Biden said fuck your polls, fuck backstabbing Democratic lawmakers, fuck wealthy donors, and fuck the mainstream media. He is not stepping aside. Let's go! pic.twitter.com/EPtKsJgKoZ

— Christopher Bouzy (spoutible.com/cbouzy) (@cbouzy) July 19, 2024

Amazing pushback from MAGA over this tweet:

I’m a capitalist. If you want to make a million bucks – great.

I'm just going to make sure you pay your fair share in taxes.

And thanks to my Inflation Reduction Act, this month, the IRS crossed $1 billion recovered in past-due tax debt from millionaires.

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 19, 2024

And this is also the truth:

pic.twitter.com/ok3dtEm5gH

— Tony the antifascist swan (@TonyYvce) July 19, 2024

Today's News: Trump babbles while Biden burns

I didn't watch it - apparently a good decision - but here are some comments about the Trump speech at the Republican Convention last night:

He's insane. Boring, but insane. This is just Capt. Queeg-level crazy.

— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@acoyne) July 19, 2024

I’ve watched a lot of convention speeches over 40 years. The crowds are usually fired up and roaring.
This is a crowd listening to a weird old guy ramble on and looking up from their phones and remembering to hoot and clap every now and then

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) July 19, 2024

This is absolutely correct. His brain is mush. https://t.co/cY9gq4fx3B

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) July 19, 2024

I have no idea how the public is going to react to this very bizarre speech...but I can't stop thinking about these two-paragraphs from McKay Coppins https://t.co/hotmLIkY39 https://t.co/neWWymeMrx pic.twitter.com/c8xzJTqkIb

— Michael Lovito (@MLovito) July 19, 2024

Weekend Funny Stuff and Animal Crackers

We need a break before plunging into the fresh hell of next week. 

First, some funny stuff:

Lenin said this, or maybe didn't say it, but in either case it's apt right now:

"There are decades where nothing happens. and there are weeks where decades happen."

--

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 3, 2024

Why we love #Canada. pic.twitter.com/THW9VNnMna

— John O'Connell (@jdpoc) July 11, 2024

Sen John Fetterman (D-PA) about Pres Biden electoral chances

“Maybe we can encourage President Biden to bang a porn star”

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 9, 2024

🤷‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/9f9yTBqShI

— Sarah (@Tiogar) July 4, 2024

Today's News: Save the Last Dance For Me

 

So some Democrats may still be flirting on the dance floor, but Biden is telling them all to save the last dance for him. 

Josh Marshall describes the media frenzy around Biden and whether he will withdraw from the nomination:

...For the second half of last week I was basically certain that Joe Biden would be forced to end his candidacy and that it was simply a matter of time before he did so. Then, starting Saturday, things seemed to shift. These things work in waves. For any politician the best way to avoid being forced to resign ...is simply not to resign. It’s one of those truisms that contains more depth and nuance than one at first realizes.

One of the reasons for that shift was simply that Biden was still there. He’s still running and still the nominee. We’re in the midst of a level of feeding frenzy I’ve only seen twice as a political observer — the first week of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal in 1998 and the one that ended Al Franken’s career in the Senate in 2018. The Washington press corps and national political press overwhelmingly and vociferously want to force Biden out of the race. I don’t say that in the sense of bias, per se — it’s not even necessarily at the level of intentionality. It’s more at the level of crowd behavior. It’s just how these feeding frenzies work. What do foxes think they’re doing when they rip through a hen house? For the DC press, this is all mixed in with ego and a sense of vindication. But again, it’s just how feeding frenzies work. But at a certain point, the feeding frenzy has been churning for days and Biden’s still running and there’s some element of a wave cresting. Like, hey we’ve been telling you all the reasons why Biden has to withdraw from the race for days but he’s still running and okay, well, maybe not — or, like, we can’t keep up this 100 yard dash forever. It’s just a cresting pattern.

At the same time I think there were the first hints of a realization that this has been overwhelmingly a conversation among media and political elites without much focus or knowledge about anything average voters are thinking or doing....

As the days go by and as Biden holds fast, the tide is turning. 

At No More Mister Nice Blog, Steve M writes

...It's striking that his poll numbers have dropped only slightly since the debate -- he trailed Trump in FiveThirtyEight's poll average by 0.2 on debate day, and trails by 2.2 now. FiveThirtyEight's forecast has Biden winning in 49 simulations out of 100. And Morning Consult's polling shows Biden gaining ground in swing states.

...When people ask about Donald Trump's baffling popularity, one frequent answer is that voters look at him and think, "He fights." I wonder whether Biden's refusal to step aside is being seen by some Democratic voters as a "He fights" moment. That might explain the polls that show only slight slippage, or even an improvement, in Biden's standing.

I think this battle is effectively over. I just hope that Biden's renewed fighting spirit doesn't dissipate once his would-be dumpers have retreated. I hope he stays invigorated, and pivots to fighting Trump with the spirit he's showing in fighting his intraparty doubters.

Today's News: Moving on from Biden?

As the days pass after Biden's disastrous debate, I'm reading more stories from people I respect, saying that Biden needs to withdraw from the presidential race. 

For a time after the debate, I dithered about this. But the problem as I see it now is this: Trump is a terrible person, and Biden is a great one. But Biden's awful debate performance demonstrated that he isn't able to rise to the occasion anymore, he has apparently lost the ability to lead, to be a president. Americans have never voted for a leader they consider weak, and the way things are going, Biden will not only lose himself, he will drag down the whole ticket with him:

The narrow current conversation about how Biden polled right after the debate obscures a much broader, much more relevant conversation about the next four months. Every Biden glitch, every misstep, every senior moment will spur another news cycle, more leaks, more recriminations.

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 30, 2024

Then again..

"The president may be too old to fill his function in his next term" is a worry Americans had about Reagan, Eisenhower, FDR, and so on. It's comfortable to talk about.

"The would-be president tried to seize power in a coup once and wants to try again" - is not so comfortable.

— David Frum (@davidfrum) July 2, 2024

Today's news: Hooray for Pride Parades!

The happiest photos ever taken in Canada are from our Pride parades!

Here are photos of Toronto's Pride Parade today:

As usual, Trudeau was there!

🇨🇦🏳️‍🌈I STAND WITH TRUDEAU🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦
Happy Pride Canada
🇨🇦#Trudeau2025🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/Q4nl0BzW1I

— BKBelton (@bk_belton) June 30, 2024

Animal Crackers!

A Dog at the Museum, by Tom Mosser

It's been one of those weeks, eh ... the Liberals lose the by-election, the Oilers lose the cup, Joe Biden loses the debate. 

So here's some funny to go on with, for the weekend:

Dog got skills..🐕🐾🛹🤯 pic.twitter.com/4r7vGzeQkh

— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) June 26, 2024

Friends come in all shapes and sizes..🦍🐾🐕😍 pic.twitter.com/wS48pgx2yK

— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) June 23, 2024

This is Éowyn. She taught herself sign language after living with her deaf human. 14/10 pic.twitter.com/JYPcoLVOKE

— WeRateDogs (@dog_rates) June 27, 2024

i think this is some sort of secret handshake
(bdeli34 IG) pic.twitter.com/2N8yUgRk6p

— theworldofdog (@theworldofdog) June 26, 2024

He owns the car now.. 😅 pic.twitter.com/E2HP6WyZYG

— Mirthful Moments (@moment_mirthful) June 26, 2024

A woman gave a hungry fox food and he came back with friends 🥹❤️pic.twitter.com/a46FgZ0jW5

— The Random Guy (@RandomTheGuy_) June 22, 2024

Happy Saturday: from Reggie Jackson to Indigenous Peoples Day; from "shark!" to Dark Brandon; some great moments in Twitter; animal crackers; & some beautiful threads to enjoy

Reggie Jackson describes the racism he had to endure when playing ball:

👉🏽 “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin

— Coach Julio (@FitnessFoundry) June 21, 2024

For National Indigenous Peoples Day:

It is National Indigenous Peoples Day, so enjoy this thread of Indigenous leaders and activists from our history!

Elsie Knott (1922-1995) In 1954, she became the 1st woman to serve as the Chief of a First Nation following changes to the Indian Act three years earlier

🧵1/19 pic.twitter.com/c2npfh1JTP

— Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx (@CraigBaird) June 21, 2024

American politics:

A lot of you all would’ve absolutely hated the Civil Rights Movement had you lived through it, and it shows.

— Kevin Saucedo-Broach (@kevsaucebro) April 26, 2024

I think during the presidential debate, Biden should just yell...SHARK!

— Auntie Smartassy (@AuntSassyAss) June 20, 2024

Random Roundup: trying to kibosh the capital gains tax; trying to debunk misinformation; jousting over "likes"; hearing Dr. Fauci's story; and laughing at Trump

Some interesting factoids and articles recently: 

First, some comments on how Canada's rich people are trying to kibosh the Liberal plan to increase tax rates on capital gain profits:

Why is the debate about the capital gains inclusion rate so deranged?
Because associations of very rich people have paid think tanks and foundation to operate a constant non-stop misinformation campaign about tax policy for 50+ years aimed at lowering their own tax rates. (1/3)

— Drew Yewchuk (@DrewYewchuk) June 19, 2024

It would be hard to overstate how successful this misinformation campaign has been. A huge number of North Americans believe a pack of lies are eternal truths of economics, and Alberta’s premier spent nearly her entire career working for such think thanks and foundations. (3/3)

— Drew Yewchuk (@DrewYewchuk) June 19, 2024

It's just incredible. In poll after poll, going back decades, there is majority support (usually in the 75-80% range) for making the rich pay more, but the minute you try to do it, the Conservatives swing into action and manage to convince Joe Q Public that he'll be paying more.

— 𝙲𝙹𝚃𝙾 🇨🇦 🏳️‍🌈 (@CJ_Toronto) June 19, 2024

So what you are saying, Robyn, is that a lot of Canadians are misinformed. Someone has been telling them the sky is falling when it isn't, right? Pity we don't have any journalists who could be keeping Canadians better informed.

— Dr Norlaine Thomas (She/Her) (@Norlaine) June 19, 2024