HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-02-01, Page 7Wednesday, February 1, 2017 • Signa! Star 7
Is the U.S. bad as Trump says it is?
Dear Editor,
In his inaugural address, Presi-
dent Trump continued his divisive,
fear -mongering style of political
messaging by presenting the world
with much inaccurate information.
Basically, he gave America an "F"
and insinuated that he, and only
he, could make America great
again. His style and substance of
presentation belongs to the genre
of "Post -truth politics;' also known
as post -factual politics.
This style of misleading,
untruthful messaging is now
most common within the politi-
cal realm. With few exceptions,
many politicians depend on this
format for selling their platforms
to citizens. Trump has set the bar
very high for any other politician
to beat him on this issue.
Trump has to be one of the most
shrewd and successful adherents
to Post -truth political messaging.
He would definitely be given the
Oscar in the minds of many for
his most successful contribution
to this unethical, Orwellian
Newspeak.
The contemporary use of Post -
truth politics was first announced
in an article written in 2010 by
David Roberts fo'• Gist. Prior to
this, George Orwell, in his futur-
istic novel Nineteen Eighty -
Four, spoke of a world in which
political leaders created New-
speak, a fabricated form of daily
messaging, tailor-made to
fit their political propaganda of
the day. Orwell obviously antici-
pated the future would produce a
political ruler of President
Trump's ilk. The prevalence of
post truth politics was so great
that in 2016, post -truth was cho-
sen as the Oxford Dictionary's
word of the year, due to the its
use in Brexit and the American
presidential election campaign.
Over one hundred organisations
check public speeches and
announcements for misinforma-
tion and outright lies. Not surpris-
ingly, Trump's inaugural address
kept them very busy. Factcheck.
org is just one of many fact -check-
ing services available on the Inter-
net. Factcheck.org, an affiliate
organisation of the University of
Pennsylvania, provided the follow-
ing critique of President Trump's
inaugural address:
Trump portrayed the United
States as a nation in decline, using
rhetoric that did not always match
reality:
.Trump portrayed the U.S. as
crime -ridden and promised to .
stop the "American carnage:'
But the U.S. violent crime rate in
2015 was less than half what it was
at its peak in1991. (The figures for
2016 are not yet available;)
- Trump promised to "bring
back our jobs." Manufacturing
jobs have been on the decline for
decades, but Trump inherits an
overall economy that has gained
jobs for a record 75 straight
months and an unemployment
rate well below the historical
norm;
- He said he would "get our peo-
ple off of welfare and back to
work." But the welfare rolls have
declined under President Obama,
and they have dropped precipi-
tously since President Clinton
signed legislation in1996 institut-
ing work requirements and time
limits;
- Trump promised to "bring
back our borders," blaming past
politicians for "refusing to defend
our border." But the U.S. Border
Patrol budget has tripled since
2001,and the number of border
patrol agents has doubled. South-
west border apprehensions have
dropped from the peak in fiscal
2000.
With populist energy on the
rise in North America and
Europe, it is the democratic duty
of each one of us to be aware of
and to reject any form of politi-
cal, populist Newspeak. Many,
but by no means all Canadians,
have been fortunate to
always live in a democratic soci-
ety. Democracies throughout the
world are now under siege
by populist movements. The very"
survival of our democracy
depends on our collective deter-
mination to recognise and
reject fake news and post -truth
politics wherever they can be
found. Both inaccuracies
and outright lies can always be
found on Trump's twitter account
and also in abundance on the
Internet. As our national anthem
states, "0 Canada, we stand on
guard for thee."
Sincerely, Jim Hollingworth
"The County needs to base its decisions on law, not just an opinion"
Letter to the editor,
When Bev Hill recently ques-
tioned county council about the
lawfulness of the Huron Natural
Heritage Plan, Warden Ginn
claimed that they "absolutely have
the right" to make any regulations
the county wants to for private
property. (Note: We recognize that
a municipality has complete
autonomy to regulate public prop-
erty. That authority ends where
private property begins. That's the
Iaw.)
The warden drew support for his
view from a legal brief that was
clearly labeled as "Legal Opin-
ion..." It began with these words,
"Summary: Our firm has been
asked to provide an opinion..."
And that is exactly what the county.
What if one company
could solve all your
business needs?
We can connect all the pieces
in more ways than ever before.
For more information, visit postmedia.com/advertise
got - the opinion that past Warden
Gowing solicited from law firm
Garrod and Pickfield whose prac-
tice is in "Environmental, Munici-
pal and Planning Law'. The pre-
senter, Peter Pickfield, did a good
job of delivering what the county
asked for. However, for those who
examined the content of his pres-
entation, it was clear that what he
delivered was "an opinion" - just as
advertised on its cover.
So that is why some were
amused when the warden then
dismissed a solid rebuttal (for
Pickfield's brief) by Elizabeth Mar-
shall of All Rights Research as':..
well, just an opinion'. Ms. Marshall
may well be one of Ontario's most
knowledgeable experts on prop-
erty law, and anyone familiar with
her work knows better than
to dismiss it as `:..well, just an
opinion': Where Pickfield com-
piled a suitable collection of
loosely -related case law, Marshall
outlined and explained the actual
laws which delineate the limita-
tions on the powers of municipal
government.
Think of it this way: suppose we
were to ask two people to explain
how a car works. The first, a profes-
sional racer, jumps into his
machine and squeals off in a cloud
of blue smoke, shouting "That's
how it works!" The other is an
automotive engineer who explains
the function of the engine and its
connection to the wheels through
the drive train. Volume vs. clarity.
Which one taught you the most?
THE STRONGEST CRITIQUE of
the warden's words, `:..well, just an
E POSTMEDIA
opinion" might come from within
county council. By his leave, I refer
to the published words of one of
county council's respected mem-
bers, Councillor Jim Donnelly.
Although now retired, many will
recognize and remember him as
the Honorable James M. Donnelly,
a highly acclaimed lawyer and
retired Ontario Supreme Court
judge. We are all enriched to have
available to us an autobiographic
record of his past work.
In his book "Donnelly on Law,
Vol III'; he states "It is incontrovert-
ible that opinions are for hire", fol-
lowed by the observation that such
occasionally "can be exposed for
the chicanery that it is." (p.263).
Donnelly then refers to the amus-
ing character in legal lore - "Nick
olodian Charlie, where you "Plug
in a nickel and get any song you
want". Viola, Donnelly's wisdom
borne of experience shows the
folly of hiring an "advocate" opin-
ion, an opinion based on a prede-
termined bias rather than on the
foundation of underlying fact or
law. The county plugged in our
nickel, bought the song they
wanted, and are telling us to dance
to their tune.
In summary, we know that there
is no stronger judgment to which
one can be subjected than that
which is passed upon us by a
respected peer, unless maybe that
of an actual judge.
The County needs to base its
decisions on law, not `:..just an
opinion".
John Schwartzentruber
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