Hugh Mackenzie
Huntsville Doppler
After all of the events of last week there is not much doubt that Donald Trump lacks moral clarity and there is little or no doubt that he is a bigot. But to simply label him as that is to not really understand Donald Trump and that could be dangerous.
There are very few things that Donald Trump actually stands for. He is not so much a Nazi sympathizer, an anti-Semite or a white supremacist, or, for that matter, a Republican, as he is an enabler and an egotist. It is all about Donald Trump. From his perspective, you are either for him or against him. There is nothing else in between and nothing else matters. It is all about the glory of Donald Trump and his interests. His loyalty is to himself and to no one else. To quote a recent article in The Economist, “Mr. Trump is bothered only about honouring himself and taking credit for his so-called achievements.”
To this end, he has seldom been confused by the facts. He treats the truth as a dispensable commodity and he cares little about contradicting himself. He once said that if you lie about something three times, people will believe it. You can be his friend today and his bitter enemy tomorrow. All that matters is that he comes out on top.
Sadly, he believes his own lies. He completely believes, for example, that in the Presidential election last year, he won the popular vote, even though the facts contradict this. Trump simply cannot comprehend that Hillary Clinton received more votes than he did and so he simply convinced himself otherwise. It is all about Donald Trump.
The tragic events in Charlottesville had the unintended consequence of defining Trump’s presidency. His response over a three-day period was inadequate, contradictory and inflammatory. He mouthed unity and inflamed division. He blamed both sides for the tragedy in Charlottesville, also saying there were “fine people” on both sides. Most people know that there are not two sides to hatred and bigotry and that if you espouse them, you cannot be “fine people”.
Trump appeared more interested in maintaining the support of David Duke and his white supremacists than he was in condemning unspeakable cruelty and racism. It didn’t matter to him that he was enabling and even encouraging the likes of David Duke and his band of thugs to continue their neo-Nazi terrorism. It was all about what was best for Donald Trump. And it worked. The white supremacists applauded his remarks. Again, the article in the Economist sums it up when it says, “…His unsteady response (to Charlottesville) contains a terrible message to Americans. Far from being the saviour of the Republic, their president is politically inept, morally barren and temperamentally unfit for office.”
Donald Trump has claimed that the United States, under his leadership, will soon come together as one and yet he bears much responsibility for it being divided. Charlottesville was not the beginning of his divisive strategy but it has become the catalyst for its legitimacy in the eyes of those who espouse hatred.
The result is a bolder neo-Nazi movement, with new demonstrations across America and indeed, in Canada. Today, in Quebec City, a demonstration is taking place by La Meute, who support white supremacist viewpoints. Many others are planned in the United States and in other parts of Canada. Trump’s actions have made it more difficult to control these rallies and to keep the peace.
For every action there is a reaction and that, of course, creates the backlash. There are those who cannot stand by and watch these demonstrations of hatred and bigotry without responding. Confrontation is inevitable and almost always ends in tragedy, as it did in Charlottesville.
Sadly, too, those who oppose the principles of racism and bigotry can overreact. They have every right and, indeed, a responsibility to stand against such beliefs. Denying history, though, is a mistake. History happened and you don’t change it by taking down a statue or removing a name from a building. The risk is that you bury the very injustice you oppose. It is important to learn from our past but it is equally important not to deny it. You cannot change history.
As President, Donald Trump is becoming isolated. I recently saw a picture, taken in January in the Oval Office with the President and his top five advisors. With the exception of Vice President Mike Pence, all of them are now gone. He doesn’t speak to the Democrats in Congress and he blames the Republicans for not passing his legislation. Most world leaders have little respect for him. His business, manufacturing and cultural advisory committees have abandoned him. The tipping point was the way he handled the Charlottesville tragedy.
When you are isolated you become cornered and when you are cornered you become dangerous, especially when your greatest wish is to be the centre of attention.
To paraphrase Confucius, we live in interesting times!
Hugh Mackenzie
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Conrad Black is a convicted criminal, specifically for fraud in the form of lying to investors. Something to consider when weighing the truthfulness of his words.
President Trump is being totally blocked from enacting his agenda for the American people who chose him and elected him president based on his platform to put them first and make much needed changes in the government of America. He is not a born politician and thus approaches governing from a somewhat different perspective. It is puzzling that he is viewed as a threat to so many. He is one of the few western leaders that has taken a clear stand against the Globalist Elitists’ agenda to transform our democratic sovereign nations and also stood firm on mass immigration and security measures against terrorism.
Below is an article by Conrad Black from The National Post which presents an unbiased, factual account of President Trump’s comments regarding Charlottesville. North Korea is another area receiving much comment. I find it interesting that Bill Clinton, in 1994, gave North Korea $5 Billion and two nuclear reactors essentially giving them nukes, a fact largely ignored by the media.
It is utterly appalling that so many Canadians and the mainstream Canadian media continue to focus on President Trump in America rather than on the destruction of Canada’s sovereignty and democracy that is taking place under Justin Trudeau. The complacency of the electorate in this country is alarming. Trudeau is well into the process of shifting Canadian society: the denationalization of Canada is globalism. MASS-IMMIGRATION is the fuel of change. We are told to accommodate and tolerate. Justin Trudeau is a globalist of the highest caliber who doesn’t believe in the nation state. He sees Canada as a post-nation state and doesn’t really think there’s such a thing as a Canadian identity any more. Trudeau disceptively presents a moderate image when in reality he has a radical agenda. He truly believes the idea of nation-states is outdated and must be replaced. He truly believes he should serve an international agenda rather than the Canadian people. Trudeau refuses to listen to Canadians ‘ legitimate concerns about extremism, the growing threat of terrorism and instead is trying to silence them through legislation . While globalism gets sold to us as being about “inclusion,” it’s really about destroying national sovereignty, weakening the nation state, and concentrating all power in the hands of a small elite. That’s why Canadian citizenship is being systematically stripped of it’s meaning by the Trudeau government, as we lose rights and freedoms, while those who break our laws get rewarded. Justin Trudeau is not loyal to Canada. He has acted in ways that damage and weaken our national strength and national sovereignty.
Since his election-
He has given Canadian citizenship back to convicted terrorists.
He has focused his time on admiring basic dictatorships like China, fondly recalling ruthless dictators like Fidel Castro, and even cozying up with communist government-connected billionaires.
He has been selling access to government to anyone that donates enough money to the Liberal Party,
He has been stacking the Senate with people involved in the Trudeau Foundation.
He has completely eliminated Conservative tax cuts and tax breaks that benefitted hard-working Canadian families.
He has raised taxes on everything from alcohol to Uber to bus passes, and will soon be forcing a massive carbon tax onto the entire country which will drive up the cost of everything.
He has nickel and dimed Canadians so much, we’re now projected to have forty years of deficits which will pile $1.5 trillion of debt onto our children, and their children.
Trudeau makes any criticism of Islam – even justified criticism – get labelled as “Islamophobia.” He never acknowledges the legitimate fears of extremism that millions of Canadians have. . He never acknowledges that the threat of terrorism is growing. Instead, he plays political games, seeking electoral advantage by dividing Canadians against one another.
The evidence is far too numerous for anyone to deny. From cash-for-access fundraisers with foreign billionaires, ignoring the advice of security experts to let China buy militarily-sensitive ITF Technologies, tweeting a message that has caused a flood of migrants (including many with criminal records), weakening our military, abandoning our Veterans, giving billions to foreign countries while neglecting issues at home, gutting accountability, restricting opposition, eroding freedom of expression, and much more – Trudeau has shown beyond any doubt that he has zero loyalty to Canada.
Meanwhile the media continues to fall for what seems to be a constant stream of PR stunts by Trudeau. This man has an endless appetite for media attention and is successful in suckering them into turning a staged photo op into a story. A picture from the prime minister’s personal photographer is not a coincidence, and not news. Cleverly, all this overshadows the critical questions that should be asked of his governing ineptitude.
http://www.conradmblack.com/1321/who-was-really-at-fault-in-charlottesville
The reality of Charlottesville
Conrad Black The National Post
President Trump’s comments on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were accurate and appropriate, and as usual the national media either eagerly grasped the flame-thrower handed them by the professed Nazi demonstrators and accused the president of mollycoddling David Duke and the Klan
As the day approached, it became clear that the other side of the issue, whose core was reasonable townspeople who put the ultimate fact that the Civil War was fought to suppress an insurrection and to promote at least the gradual elimination of slavery above the gallantry of the Confederate Army, was being reinforced by MORE MILITANT LEFTIST
organizations, ANTIFA, a Democrat Terror group -a group of anti-American communists who use terror, intimidation, and beatdowns to enforce their will., Black Lives Matter (whose name suggests that any sane person had ever said otherwise), and other FAR-LEFT GROUPS with a propensity to violence, made no secret that they too would be there.
As the day unfolded, it was clear that orders had been given to the local police to ensure that a serious fracas occurred. The police did nothing to disperse the armed groups on each side, on several occasions herded them toward each other to encourage combat, and then withdrew at times to facilitate the violence. It must be assumed that orders for an insufficient law enforcement and ineffectual rules of engagement emanated ultimately from the governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, the ne plus ultra of Clintonian zeal and cynicism, and former Democratic Party chairman.
Thanks, Hugh. You nailed it.
Keep up the good work.
Hugh, I agree in the main with this opinion piece but wish to take issue with a thing or two and comment on others.
>Confrontation is inevitable and almost always ends in tragedy, as it did in Charlottesville.
I can’t say I agree. In Boston, 20-40,000 people counter-demonstrated against few enough neo-Nazis to fit in a biggish gazebo, and there was no tragedy. I think it depends on how much they’re outnumbered, and judging by what happened in Boston, Americans are now motivated to outnumber them in a big way. I am certainly hoping no more Heather Heyers get killed, at any rate.
>The result is a bolder neo-Nazi movement, with new demonstrations across America
I think the counter-dems have them running scared. Nine right-wing rallies planned for this past weekend were cancelled; there was a set of pro-Trump rallies planned for Sept. 9, 67 rallies in 36 states, and they’ve been switched to online (where they are easy to ignore). See here – http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/march-on-google-cancel-rallies-us-alt-left-terrorist-threats-anti-diversity-memo-pizzagate-jack-a7898256.html – and here – http://www.syracuse.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/08/act_for_america_cancels_all_pro-trump_rallies_planned_for_sept_9_in_36_states.html .
>As President, Donald Trump is becoming isolated. I recently saw a picture, taken in January in the Oval Office with the President and his top five advisors. With the exception of Vice President Mike Pence, all of them are now gone.
Possibly not all Doppler readers know that the president cannot fire the vice-president as he was elected on the ticket with Trump, not appointed. Else I bet Pence would be gone too, especially since he set up a super-PAC, a move that seems an awful lot like the first step in a 2020 campaign.
>Denying history, though, is a mistake. History happened and you don’t change it by taking down a statue or removing a name from a building.
Well, the ironic thing here is that Confederate statues are being removed as a result of a rally that was supposedly about preserving them. The fact that it turned murderous raised new concerns among people whose properties hold the statues. The University of Texas president, for instance, said that the university removed their four Confederate statues — under cover of darkness — for public safety reasons related to Charlottesville and because “they have become symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism.” See here: http://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/us/texas-austin-confederate-statues.html?smid=tw-share.
The statues arguably were intended to promote white supremacy in the first place anyway. Very few of them were raised soon after the Civil War, when you’d expect, but rather mostly in the early 1900s, i.e. the period of the Jim Crow laws, and in the Civil Rights era. See here: http://www.npr.org/2017/08/20/544266880/confederate-statues-were-built-to-further-a-white-supremacist-future.
One final note, this one to Fran: if someone calls Trump unqualified, incompetent, narcissistic, bigoted, misogynist, nepotistic, exploitive, dishonest, mentally unstable, rude or likely beholden to Putin, they’re not bashing him; they’re stating facts. I could back up every one of these characterizations from multiple sources, including his own words.
My prediction is that once Trump’s approval rating hits a certain number (which they’ve already decided on but of course we cannot know) — 30%? 25% 20%? — the Republicans in Congress will impeach him. They’re walking a tightrope, trying to minimize losses to themselves and the Republican Party due to Trump’s errors. But it’s coming; they’re signalling.
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Trump is a dangerous man. What he provokes in the U,S. will and already has affected Canada.
To say we as Canadians should not be concerned about his stupidity is crazy.
He is making the entire world unsettled.
Watching and listening to that beautifully worded scripted address made by Trump last night was like scratching a spot that didn’t itch!
Trump Bashing?? Oh my goodness… you’re really that ignorant. Most people just watching his public addresses or listening to his speeches came to the conclusion that he’s a dangerous clown and don’t need commentary from media to form an opinion. Watching his press conferences is like watching a train wreck happen.
I must comment on Valerie’s remark “I think there are a lot of people who are not tuned into world events”. One wonders how anyone could possibly miss the constant excessive Trump bashing on all the media? Is that even remotely possible? Are there people in Huntsville who are so disconnected? It’s a frightening thought! Whether one agrees or disagrees with Trump is not the issue. One cannot help but wonder if this negative repetetive bashing of the president is a strategy clearly orchestrated to undermine and discredit his every endeavour?
And I apologize for misunderstanding the objective of the Doppler. When I read “About Doppler” stating that “Our mantra is local”, I guess I accepted that verbatim.
You are right. Our mantra is ‘Read Local’. In addition to local news which we cover extensively, that includes, from time to time, a local perspective on Canadian and Global issues that are of interest to our readers.
Fran ,valid point,”but” there is a lot going on beyond our “local” world. I think there are a lot of people who are not tuned into world events, so Hugh`s comment may be the only way they get broader based info!!
Interesting that the Huntsville Doppler “Read Local” gives so much attention to bashing Trump, rather than focusing on local issues that need to be brought to the attention of the people.
You nailed the situation in the US, Hugh! It appears the only thing stopping ” Make America Great Again” is Donald Trump himself!