Leaderboard

By slamming experts, Pierre Poilievre and his staff are degrading political debate Stephen Maher is a political journalist and author of The Prince: The Turbulent Reign of Justin Trudeau. On Tuesday, when Doris Grinspun, the CEO of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, told CBC that Ontario’s decision to close 10 supervised drug consumption sites is “a death sentence for people that use substances,” the federal Conservatives were quick to attack her. Sebastian Skamski, a spokesman for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, slammed her on X: “CBC’s so called ‘expert’ (with 23 letters behind her name) deems Trudeau’s crime ridden drug dens ‘essential’ & equates them to cancer treatment centres. These are the WACKO ‘experts’ Trudeau uses to defend his drug disaster. These are the WACKO ‘expert’ voices media peddles.” Story continues below advertisement Mr. Skamski, who is entitled to put two letters behind his name, may not fully appreciate the value of the letters after Dr. Grinspun’s name. They show, among other things, that she is a registered nurse and a PhD, that she has an honorary law degree and is a member of the Order of Ontario. Those letters do not show that she is right about supervised injection sites, but do show that she might know what she is talking about, and is the kind of person we ought to hear from. If she has good reasons to believe that supervised drug consumption sites save lives and reduce the harm of addiction, then she has a responsibility to speak out. Mr. Skamski is impolite, therefore, to call her names and treat her disrespectfully for doing her job. But he is following the example set by his boss. Mr. Poilievre is going after the people working on the front lines of the opioid epidemic. It is part of a pattern. Story continues below advertisement Mr. Poilievre has previously attacked Indigenous survivors of residential schools, the chief electoral officer, former governor-general David Johnston, a small-town reporter and variousexperts. Mr. Poilievre is often careless about others’ reputations. In February, for example, in the House of Commons, where he can speak without fear of defamation law, he called housing expert Mike Moffatt a “failed Liberal academic,” an ill-considered, inaccurate and unfair smear on a public intellectual who has done as much as anyone in Canada to explain the housing crisis and propose solutions. In the online conservative world where Mr. Skamski and Mr. Poilievre likely spend too much time, it is normal to refer to some people as NPCs – non-playable characters. It’s an idea from video games: NPCs are the figures nobody is controlling, like the pedestrians who get hit by cars in Grand Theft Auto. Conservatives who are “very online” – meaning they are excessively engaged with internet culture – use the term as an insult. Elon Musk used the phrase recently to complain about hostile media coverage of his boring conversation with Donald Trump. But in a way, many citizens are NPCs in politics; they are non-partisans who nonetheless can participate in debates. It is a bad idea to sneer at those people, or discourage them from speaking. Story continues below advertisement Mr. Poilievre has a fearsome reputation because of his unerring ability to quickly identify his opponents’ weak spots and attack them ruthlessly. He sometimes goes further than necessary, but the parliamentary system depends on no-holds-barred exchanges. It is wrong to expect the Leader of the Opposition to treat the Prime Minister and his cabinet as flawed but well-meaning. That’s not how the game has ever been played – not by John A. Macdonald, John Diefenbaker or Jean Chrétien. If you don’t want to be attacked, do not run for office. But when Mr. Poilievre is disrespectful to NPCs – like Dr. Grinspun or Mr. Moffatt – he is making our public conversations even viler than they need to be. Our debates do not need to resemble YouTube comment sections, where nasty basement dwellers anonymously trade vicious insults with strangers. Mr. Poilievre has had a commanding lead in the polls for almost two years. His party is united behind him while the Liberals are confused and dispirited. Everyone thinks he is going to be prime minister. He would be smart to start acting like it and direct his partisan attacks only at those who put their names on ballots. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-by-slamming-experts-pierre-poilievre-and-his-staff-are-degrading/

While filming a political video at Arlington Cemetery, an Arlington employee told a Trump cameraman that he was forbidden from entering or photographing Area 60, where the most recent veterans are buried. Doing so, she explained, was a violation of Federal law. But we know that Trump and his cronies don’t give a damn about Federal law, nor respecting our veterans. The statement from the U.S. Army said Trump’s staff “unfairly attacked” an Arlington National Cemetery employee: “This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked,” a statement from the Army’s public affairs office said, referring to Arlington National Cemetery. “ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve.” Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, said in a statement that the cemetery official was “clearly suffering from a mental health episode” and that the campaign was prepared to release footage of the confrontation to support its account of the clash. The campaign did not provide that footage after several requests. Chris LaCivita, a top Trump campaign adviser, added in a separate statement that the cemetery official was “a disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery.” PROOF that Donald Trump and his cronies have no respect for the men and women who serve our nation.

The Piece of Shlt named Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. This is a fact, because the United States is a nation of laws. Those laws were followed, Trump filed his ridiculous 64 lawsuits and lost them all, so done deal. Even his hand-picked Supreme Court refused to overturn the election. And Fox News lost $785 million in a defamation lawsuit because they lied about Trump’s loss. Repeat: Fox News paid $785 million because they repeatedly lied to their viewers. Now the traitor says he will pardon the seditionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol, including people convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 17 years in Federal prison. One of Trump’s closest confidants, Stephanie Grisham, said that while spending the holidays with the Trump family, Donald repeatedly called his own supporters “basement dwellers.” That’s what Trump thinks of YOU. He thinks you’re a “basement dweller.” And, maybe you are. Trump hates the United States Constitution, hates disabled veterans, illegally uses Arlington Cemetery for political photo ops, illegally tear-gassed people for another photo op, and is still facing felony charges in DC, Florida and Georgia. This convicted 34-time felon is facing sentencing next month. Republicans are supporting a traitor who hates everything about America. Donald Trump wants to turn America into an oligarchy just like Russia, with no civil rights, where reporters are jailed without trial and nobody has freedom of speech… and the only people with money are a handful of a few dozen oligarchs. That’s Trump’s America. More tax cuts for billionaires, and nothing to help the middle class.

Why are so many conservatives afraid of imaginary monsters?

But he didn't get things done. He committed to the failed Afghanistan withdrawal, he couldn't even build a border wall (and people just used rope ladders to climb over what was built), and he ruined the economy by creating chaos with his mismanagement of Covid and his failed insurrection attempt. His only policy is to grift money for himself, pardon himself, and give more tax breaks to billionaires. You guys don't care about policy at all. You just want to burn it down to own the libbies.

these leftist Academic elites run every institution in Canada as a result, Canada has followed their Woke Progressive agenda to the letter and in less than a decade, that has resulted in widespread chaos and a sharp economic decline across the board no we are apparently supposed to feel sorry for these vacuous fops as the fires of populist revolt inevitably rise around them

It's too bad that biden/Harris incompetence led to so many dead veterans. Very sad indeed

Not only that, sounds like some anti-Trump leftist bureaucrat tried to abuse their power to make a scene too. The families invited him. The families took pictures with him. Yes, he did honor them.

Yet FB was directed to censor people the Demoncrats didn't like. You Libbies don't "protect" Democracy...you actively destroy it.

Woops - all caps AND bold. You really riled him up this time @Deluge . You can practically hear the foam forming when he types LOL

Because he's present and paying respects? Yeah. Funny how that works. More than she did Do.... do you realize that pretending to studder makes you look like a tard? Of course not, you're a tard. Do... do you realize that what you just said makes it even MORE shameful Kamala didn't show? Of course not, you have no sense of honor or decency. Oh well. I guess we can't expect you to recognize decent behavior considering you can't recognize a vagina.

I used to be a vigilante but quit when my profession was being overrun with vaginalantes who were all fakes.

I love when they demand peer-reviewed studies and I provide them, then they reject them all. And my other favourite, "The FDA said blah blah blah". I don't care what the lying FDA said about ivermectin, there are 87 peer-reviewed studies and datasets from all over the world that say otherwise. 🤣

No, no, this isn’t important!!! Pay attention to the fake attack by Trump on Arlington instead…this is how things work these days. Fake news to distract from real news.

Yes I agree with those basic principles. Humanity is in an imperfect fallen state. The cause is disobedience, eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I think that the Garden of Eden story is, much like the Tower of Babel story, about human arrogance and presuming to be God. When humans commit this act of hubris, a fall is inevitable, which is all the more reason to resist our narcissistic proud secular values. This isn’t just storytelling. There are many historic examples of humanity pretending to have all the answers and to know who is worthy and who isn’t. The Holocaust is a great example. He who forgets the sins of the past is likely to repeat them.

Aww - all you've got left isn't it little guy Let me guess - that's the tattoo you've got on your butt so your boyfriend can figure out where things go right? I mean, you guys can't recognize a vagina, you're bound to need some instructions LOLOL - kid, you're a mess Is that who's doing it for you every day? Seems like you spend a lot of your time here crying

And there you have it normal people. Libbies just don't care. They hate people. The only thing they understand or want, is power. IMO...It's way past time we turned their coveted desires... On Them.

Do you pass your posts through a Dillon-Wagoner Graviton Polarity Generator before clicking submit?

Apparently the women wasn't acting right even tho Donnie got clearance for a private photographer. She's probably worked up because of all Harris/Biden casualties so we can give her a pass

Not to spoil your fun but... This time in 2020, Brandon was ahead by about 3 points. In 2016 Hilary-Billary was up by about 4 points. Have a nice day...

No experience? Harris has far more government experience than Vance and Orange Felon Criminal Shlthead combined. Kamala Harris is more experienced at prosecution criminals. Donald Trump is more experienced at being a criminal.

What he said...and then some. Libbies...what you refuse to acknowledge is that The Donald came to prominence right when the American public had had enough of the games of the Uni-Party. They elected a guy who had the balls to stand up and proudly declaire..."ENOUGH!" Trump has suffered the Wrath if Khan ever since. Yet, much to your petty little chagrin, the fcker is still there shouting..."ENOUGH!" In order to relieve your frustration and hatred, you have displayed a willingness you sink to the very depths of morality and honor. Your Presidency with Brandon only punctuates the complete flop you and your petty, woke, chickensh1t are. I just thought I'd add colour commentary to what @CdnFox started...

My understanding from what Polievre said is that he wants to hold "experts" accountable for their bad advice. Like the safe injection sites. Maybe he knows about Fisman and his fraudulent government funded studies during covid, too...... **shrug**

I guess most people would rather be a 'basement dweller' than a 'deplorable person' in the eyes of their gov't? LOL People don't (or shouldn't) hire a gov't to be friendly and likeable. They hire gov'ts that can get crap done and make their lives better. Biden failed in that. Harris who was right there the whole time would be even worse by an order of magnitude. She has no experience and is twice as extreme left. Trump is an ass. That's baked in, everyone gets that. But he will deliver a decent economy, and will do a decent job managing the countries interests abroad and domestically, as he did in his first term. And that's what people want. Of the two he will deliver better governance and better results. Nobody cares what he thinks about anyone else.

Just making sure pups like you understand by using pictures and video. Apparently though, even those visual aids are over your head. Meh...pups...

Those "weather balloon" memes were hilarious 🤣

Even if he was, federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries including photographers, you genital-obsessed psycho.

And as i've previously noted - one of the favorite leftie defenses when they know they can't refute the fact they don't like is "why are we even talking about this??". They will downplay it. pretend it's nothing. Claim nobody's interestesd. ANYTHING - ANYTHING rather than address the issue or suggest it should be addressed. Obviously Hodad knows this is true and a problem - but he doesn't want people talking about it. So .. "why are we talking about this?"

If this were a dude putting on such an obviously fake mask to appear to be a woman, you would be here cheering him on and trying to tell all of us that makes him a woman.

True, you two aren’t the first lunatics I’ve come across.

right. So Kamala only virtue signals over dead bodies and doesn't actually show proper respect for fallen soldiers and it's our fault 🙄 That's always the Golden Rule isn't it. It's either what about ISM or it's our fault whenever the left does something cringy or horrible Biden has gone to memorial services for soldiers many times and not faced criticism from the right. Oopsie, you forgot that I take it.

I can't tell if you're lying to me or yourself more. We all know how you and all your fellow zombies would react is she had campaigned over their dead bodies and pretending otherwise isn't doing you any favours. Yeah that's not what happened. it was the Republicans who lost their minds and cried about the event being used for partisan purposes. They wouldn't shut up about it! And that was a funeral for a guy who was literally a partisan politician. And anyway, that's irrelevant: the point is Trump used those dead guys as political props for his campaign and suckers like you lap it up.

Really? When have we ever done that? It's easy to make such a claim. Why don't you back it up. Throw some receipts down. Would we criticize her decisions in Afghanistan. Oh, f#ck yeah. But no one would have criticized her honoring fallen soldiers. That doesn't happen. That's a you guys thing. Remember when Republicans went to Paul Wellstone's funeral, to pay their respects? F#ck me, you guys went off the deep end. I mean way off. All because they came to a funeral. They said nothing. They did nothing. They just attended and yall lost your sh1t and then ate it. I'm sure all that was too harsh for you. So go find your emotional support teddy and get back to us when you've grown up.

LOL if Harris had shown up a the cemetery with photographers in tow for a cheap pop, you apes would be howling about her using the dead servicemen as political props. But when old bone spurs does it you guys lap it up like the rubes you are.

The covid response was like that "one big fight" in a relationship, after which the couple can never go back to the way things were, and it is only a matter of time before the divorce is final. We may still have to live together for a time, but the relationship has soured beyond repair. Prior to covid, it was possible to at least pretend that the majority of people were *somewhat* sane. We now know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the majority are mindless, bleating sheep, and that a subset of them are spiteful, petty tyrants. We could pretend that, while odious, the factions that govern us were simply misguided in their ministrations. We now know that they are nothing less than evil psychopaths.

You might be stupid and gullible but not everyone else is.

You need to seek the services of a licensed mental health professional.

Agreed. And... There are about 4 posters on here who would find some blame on both sides.