Sunday, October 22, 2017

Meet Canada's New and Dangerous Trudeau Haters



As I'm sure you know, I have been fighting back against the virulent Trudeau hate which is infecting our country like a hideous disease.

It's normalizing bigotry, it's slowly killing our Canadian values.

And judging from the comments I have been receiving, is resulting in a record number of death threats aimed at Trudeau...



And at myself...



I don't completely understand where this visceral hatred comes from, although I'm sure much of it is oozing like pus across the border from Trump's diseased America.

But what I do know is that Trudeau haters come in all shapes and sizes.



Starting with Andrew Scheer's Cons, who being more American than Canadian, never miss a moment to demonize Trudeau just like their depraved former leader did...



And who are as Harper was, being aided and abetted by our ratty Con media...



The scurvy scribblers who give new meaning to the words old, incestuous, and BOUGHT.

And are cheating Canadians of proper representation, just like the people in that little Peyton Place on the Rideau, cheat on themselves.

Then there are those like the shiny Nathan Cullen whose hot and heavy Trudeau hating affair with the grotesque Pierre Poilievre is enough to make one vomit...



And is not only destroying his new leader's "love and courage" campaign...
 It's making the new NDP look more like the same old NDP or the same old Mulcair...



Or the same old Rex Murphy...



Who continues his rabid and unrelenting assault on Trudeau, while still sucking on the leathery tit of the CBC, paid for with OUR tax dollars.

And then of course there are the precious left-wingers, the snowflakes, and some of the trusty dotards in our own ranks who spend more time attacking Trudeau than they do the Cons...



One of whom, the pompous ass Lorne, tried to smear me yesterday by printing the comment of a deranged homophobe who has been accusing me for years of being a criminal.

And even though I informed him of that fact, only deleted that comment after reviewing the posts he asked that homophobe to send him. 

And only after I threatened to sue his pants or his diapers off...



But still had the nerve to suggest that I should be removed from Progressive Bloggers, and didn't even have the class to apologize.

Can you believe that?

But then of course those are just the amateur Trudeau haters.

While these are the new and real thing.



A group of anti-Trudeau protesters and anti-racism counter-demonstrators clashed in Toronto on Saturday. According to organizers, the anti-Trudeau protest was planned as a means of expressing displeasure with the Liberal government’s tax policies, spending and controversial multi-million dollar settlement with former Guantanamo Bay inmate Omar Khadr. 

Held at Nathan Phillips Square, the protest was met by counter-demonstrators who accused the former group of using an anti-Trudeau stance as a veneer for far-right and racist views.

The dangerous looking thugs who are on the march all over the country like Trump's Nazis...



And from whose stinking armpits all the other Trudeau haters spring...



Because the Cons and those Nazis know the country Trudeau stands for...



And they hate women, visible minorities, gay people, and the New Canada with a passion.

Justin Trudeau is not perfect, and should be criticized like any other politician.

But he has made this country better, he does not deserve the hatred he receives...



And neither do I appreciate being threatened and insulted for simply standing up for our Canadian values.

Or objecting to the normalization of hate.

So here's my message to all those hate mongering freaks. Get out of my way or else.

We will have and keep our better country.

And enough is ENOUGH...

45 comments:

Anonymous said...

Simon while I mostly agree with you and it seems have gotten significantly worse, the ndp hogs have long been Liberal haters and obstructionists who work with cons.You can trace this back to the 1988 election where Ed Broadbent kept remarkably silent on NAFTA for fear that it would scare voters over to John Turner. This despite the fact that the ndp has a history of being a hardcore protectionist party. Since Jack Layton they have blocked, or attempted to block so many progressive policies. I'll ring them off: national childcare, Kelowna Accord, the new childcare benefit that lifted 300,000 kids out of poverty, electoral reform, legalization of weed, raising taxes on the 1%, and closing unfair tax loopholes for the wealthy. In fact, I will never forget Jack Layton gleefully blaming shooting deaths and homeless deaths on Paul Martin like the opportunistic ghoul that he was. Nor will I ever forget what he did in 2011, staying silent on Harper's contempt charges and also lying to our country about his health. They have always been hogs.

the salamander said...

.. dude Simon ..
I adore what you have done for Canada
let me repeat that
I adore what you have done
for Canadians & Canada ..

As a favor.. can you drop the
Mound & Lorne thingy ?

Its really quite beneath
what you always espouse ..
so eloquently ..

Anonymous said...

Those comments directed towards yourself and JT are sickening Simon. They are made by the vilest of individuals among us, individuals that should be caged as one would cage a rabid animal.
They are not Canadian in the least. They are a putrid spawn of the Trumplings that are trying to destroy America. Nurtured and reared by the king of hate himself, Trump.
As you point out Simon, these uh, let's call them Harplingz, got their full hate on starting with Harper who as most cowards do, let Ezra do the dirty work while he casually stoked the flames from the fringes so as not to be too overt.
Well it worked, sort of. He lost the election but his legacy lives on in what we see today with these Harplingz and their cowardly threats at people who only have this country's best interests at heart.
As you say "get out of my way or else", please change it to get out of our way or else. You're not alone in this Simon, hate may win some battles but it will NEVER win the war.
JD

Anonymous said...

That's a very powerful post.Simon. I'm sure you managed to annoy a lot of people, and you sounded angry. But I think you have a right to be angry and I can't disagree with anything you said. We do need to stand up against hatred before we become like the United States. Our Canadian values protect us all.

Anonymous said...

Simon needs to be removed from Progressive Bloggers at all costs.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

What a joke. You project your own sense of insecurities with your ‘love’ of Trudeau. Attack him, therefore attack me.

It’s sad. You need to grow-up.

Anonymous said...

You say you don't know where all this visceral hatred is coming from, and I might be able to help you out. Andrew Scheer's CONservative band of thugs and haters hired a bunch of "right-wing writers" to post to social media shortly after seizing control of the CONservative party. That's one place to start.

Anonymous said...

Go away, fascist.

Simon said...

Hi anon...Everything you say may be true, but I try to refrain from criticizing the Liberals, the NDP, and the Greens. It's a position that infuriates supporters some people from all of those parties, but I do have my reasons. One, I want to concentrate all my fire on the Cons. And two, I have always dreamed of a united left. Because the day progressives are united the Cons will be dead forever, and that of course is my biggest dream...

Simon said...

Hi salamander...I hear what you're saying, and don't worry I'm done. I needed to say what I said in this post, because I was very angry that Lorne would not just allow but actually solicit a list of my "offensive" posts from a deranged homophobe who has been calling me a criminal for years. And even though I pointed this out to him. When it comes to anti-gay bigots, or any kind of bigots for that matter, I don't concede an inch. However, Lorne did finally delete the comment, I've said what I had to say, so we can all move on...

Anonymous said...

Simon, I hope you know you have many American allies below the 49th and on the wrong side of the Orange Curtain, who witnessed this venomous hatred directed at Barack Obama for eight years and will go down fighting before we ever let it happen to Canada.

These people are sick. This isn't even about legitimate policy disagreements. They want blood: "Bring me the head and the nice hair of Justin Trudeau." Not to mention the vomitous spew they unleash upon literally everyone in his family -- even his mom, his dead brother and his young children. We won't let the Snow Nazis have their way either. Not after what they've done to America.

The wannabe revolutionaries on the loony, collaborationist far left and the fascist far right will not be allowed to take over what remains of the free world. We love our Jedi, and the Dark Side must never be allowed to win.

Anonymous said...

Follow the money... I bet Russian is the first language of those "freelance writers" if you dig far enough...

Anonymous said...

"What a joke. You project your own sense of insecurities with your ‘love’ of Trudeau. Attack him, therefore attack me. It’s sad. You need to grow-up."

Go away Mound (or Lorne), you're drunk.

Simon said...

Hi JD...in the more than ten years I have been blogging I have received hundreds and hundreds of vile comments and death threats. At one point some maniac came after me with a knife. But I have never seen so many ugly violent comments as I am now seeing. I believe Harper prepared the ground by pitting Canadians against Canadiand for crass political purposes. Sun TV news further prepared that field of hate. Then came Levant who dropped his drawers, squatted down and fertilized it as only he could. And finally came the monstrous turd Trump who completed the process. None of this intimidates me, I can defend myself, but it does make me fear for my country. So yes, let me rephrase how I ended this post, and say as you suggest, get out of OUR way or else.... :)

Steve said...

A lot of this hatred is generated by false narratives. Narratives the MSM especially the one that tinkles treat as truthy. The Kadar payment a prime example. The cons throw a flamming turd on the Liberals porch and then ask, why did you put it out? The press likes the stink.

Unfortunately there is no liberal press left. The Star to some extent but they still have the right coloum of doom.

Simon said...

Hi anon 1:11...thank you for your support and encouragement. Your post was excellent but I'm sorry I couldn't publish it because you accidentally I'm sure mischaracterized what the Mound of Homophobia and Misogyny actually said. He did suggest that Trudeau was a "bitch" who should be raped in jail. But he didn't say HE was the one who would do that. I know it's a fine point, and it's still appalling, but I don't want to slander him like I was slandered in the last couple of days. And don't worry, I've had to deal with bigots since I was about 12-years-old, I've always fought them, and I always will...

Simon said...

Hi anon 12:19...thanks I'm glad you liked the post, but actually I was too tired to be angry. I was angry earlier in the day because I couldn't understand how a progressive could give an anti-gay bigot a platform. But as I tried to say in my post, I'm more worried than angry about some of things I see happening in this country. However partisan we might be, we do need to stand up for our peaceful Canadian values, and don't let the crazy bigots poison our country...

Anonymous said...

The opposition has become like a deadly cancer growing on our Canadian democracy. E.g., The well organized revolt, by CPC lead by Scheer & MP PP to silence any public debate of the recent "proposed" government tax changes. Then when the government listen they turn into mad dogs ripping apart the finance Minster's excellent reputation with slanderous innuendo. Bill Morneau has done absolutely nothing wrong or immoral or illegal. Then we have the divisive Bill 62 in Quebec, which I am sure was NDP & back room BQ BFF bs. Remember Jack brought in Tom to make nice nice with the Block voters.

the salamander said...

.. always felt you had a huge huge heart
& nothing changes that Simon ..
as always, remain calm, strong
and never be intimidated..
haha.. no liklihood of that .. !

Gyor said...

Do you honestly think the NDP should never, ever critize Trudeau?

They are an opposition party, holding Trudeau's feet to the fire is literally part of their job description, it's they job to hold whoever is Prime Minister and his party to account.

I think you need to take a step back and get some perspective and try to see things from the perspective of others.

Can you honestly not understand why NDPers are so mad at Trudeau?

He promised electoral reform, let them do the all the work on committees, months and months of work, believing that it's actually going to happen, then at the last minute decided to break his word. Can you honestly not understand how that would create bad blood, hurt, and serious mistrust towards the Liberals?

I mean fellow Progressive Blogger and Liberal supporter Curiousity Cat, quit the Liberal party over the matter, and he's not even a NDPer so imagine how upset actual dippers like me are?

And then Morneau gets caught not being honest and ethical in his handling of his wealth and the NDP are supposed to look the other way? Would you look the other way if Andrew Scheer was in Morneau shoes? No you wouldn't,you'd be using it as proof the Tories are sleazy.

As for Jagmeet yes he's focusing on. sunny ways, but that does not mean as an opposition leader he doesn't have moral obligation to hold the government to account.

And lets be honest the MSM with the exception of the National Post and The Sun had largely given Trudeau a easy ride for the passed two years.

Simon said...

Hi anonycon...well well what have we here? The same creepy bigot who persuaded Lorne to give it a platform, and who has spent the last two years crawling through my blog posts, looking for something to use against me. And how has that worked out? Not so good? So now let me tell you what your future looks like. Let's see...I see you lying on a bed heavily sedated, in a small room with barred windows, and I'm looking in at you and laughing my head off. Now go away you poor sick bigot, and please drop dead as soon as you can. Thanks...

Simon said...

Hi anon 1:16 pm...what are you talking about? I'm projecting my "sense of insecurities" with my "love" of Trudeau? No, what I'm saying is that we are clearly heading in the wrong direction when so many people can threaten a Canadian prime minister, and get away with it. And I can be flooded with vile messages and threats for defending him, as I would defend any prime minister, including your Con Fuhrer. It's not the Canadian way, and if you don't get that, then you are the one who needs to grow up....

the salamander said...

.. well simon.. thanks for the gracious reply.. & keep on keepin on..
You hold a fine & special place in history..
the indy blogger who could.. n did.. !
in a unique n astonishing way ..

For sure.. move on from the Lorne or Mound ..
those guys are big time Canadians & adults..
just different from you .. and why not ?
so am I different from you.. & vicey versy eh ?

and so they are opinionated ..
& so is you.. so is I ..

we're all just leaves
from the same damn maple tree eh !

You don't need no pep talks..
but I think you're special ..
n sayin so ..

Simon said...

Hi anon 2:49...I don't doubt that Scheer will set up a social media war room, since he has always hung out in Con internet hot houses. And the Cons realize that our social media brigades crushed them in the last election, and thwarted their plans to suppress and divide the progressive vote. However, we are more than them, we are better than them, most young Canadians are on our side, and we are going to make mince meat out of the Cons in the next two years...

Anonymous said...

Simon if we don't fight back, the ndp will push votes over to the con hogs. They are disgusting. Look at this tweet, it kinda lays it all out there for everyone to see https://twitter.com/ForPetesSake__/status/922208127017279488

Simon said...

Hi anon 3:22...I've seen no evidence that the Russians are as involved here as they have been in the U.S. However they are annoyed at the Canadian government for passing the so-called Magnitsky Bill, so we must be vigilant, and get ready to roll out our bot destroyers...;)

Simon said...

Hi neighbour...I must admit I didn't realize how many American readers I had until recently, when I checked out my stat page to try to figure out where some hideous comments were coming from, and saw all those little American flags. I was pleasantly surprised since I do love my neighbours,and now I can help cheer some of them up, as they suffer through the dark years of the Trump regime. And of course celebrate with them when the Orange Oaf is finally defeated. When our dictator Harper was toppled I celebrated for three days, but when Trump hits the ground with a sickening thud, I'm thinking at least three weeks...;)

Simon said...

Hi Steve....yes you're right, the Cons jacked up the bill for the Khadr case by ignoring one court order after the other, and then blamed the Lberals for paying it before it got even bigger. They are doing the same with the tax reform package, making it seem like an attack on the little people, when in fact it's just the rich who want to pay even less than they already do. And as for our MSM you're also right, even the Star has gone over to the Dark Side...

The Cailleach: Another Blogging Ginger said...

I have vehemently disagreed with the approach of the right to getting to a better Canada for many, many years. But, in the past, Conservatives were still, in their misguided way, striving to make the country better. This new crop of Conservatives are quite different. They seek to improve nothing for anyone, but their own cronies. They employ tactics of bullying, abuse, division, deceit, and incite racism, misogyny, and hatred to achieve their goals. And what are these goals? Simply power, for its own sake. They are authoritarians who hate to see anyone who deviates from their black and white view of the world. Religious zealots, white supremacists, and those for whom money is more important than people, animals, the environment...

We have never faced such an evil party in Canadian politics. It boggles the mind how anyone could think that uttering death or sexual violence threats could ever be appropriate. And yet, they do. Every day. The CPC and their followers seem to be filled with a rage resembling Marc Lepine's when they contemplate Rachel Notley, Christia Freeland, and any other progressive female politician. The UCP is as bad, if not worse.

And they lie. They lie in their emails to supporters, on social media, and in interviews with MSM. And where are our journalists? How can they dignify themselves with that name when they are not calling out every lie spouted right in front of them? Where are the journalists who challenge? Why has no one asked Pollievre to state exactly when any Liberal MP called people using the tax loopholes "tax cheats", for example? They just let him talk, spouting his untruths with abandon. I am profoundly disappointed. It falls to bloggers like us to cling to the truth in the face of a tsunami of aggressive and belligerent lies. Good essay, Simon. Keep it up!

Simon said...

Hi Gyor...as I made clear in my post, I thinks it's perfectly OK for the NDP or anyone else to criticize the Liberals. What I object to is the way the NDP just mimics the Cons. So while the Cons sound like rabid hyenas, the NDP sound like rabid chihuahuas. I realize that many in the NDP are still bitter about what happened during the last election campaign, when among other things, Trudeau managed to outflank them on the left. But in a country where ideology is not a big mover, I believe that Justin Trudeau won the election because he was able to project hope and optimism. That's the kind of politics that appeals to millennials, and since they will be the biggest bloc in the next election, the NDP needs to adjust its strategy if it wants to be a contender again. Jagmeet Singh seems to understand that, while it seems to me Nathan Cullen doesn't. His angry yapping in the hideous company of Pierre Poilievre may please old and bitter NDPers but it will not help the party attract new and younger voters. The new generation wants to be inspired, Singh is capable of doing that, but without a seat the danger is that the party will still sound like the barking chihuahuas, and Jagmeet's influence will be drowned out. Finally, I don't really want to wade into the stormy waters of electoral reform. But it does need to be said that while the Liberals mishandled the dossier, the NDP must also share some responsibity for what happened. If Nathan Cullen had decided to work with the Liberals instead of the Cons, he wouldn't have fallen into the referendum trap. The Liberals and the NDP might have agreed on some formula, probably my favourite a ranked ballot, which favours them both.
But a referendum would have cost about a billion dollars, it would have been hugely divisive, and since voters would almost certainly have stuck with the status quo, the issue of electoral reform would have been buried for at least a generation. It's convenient for the NDP to blame it all on the Liberals, but Cullen's bitter patrisanship, was also to blame, and trust me, if he can't control himself, he will help bury the NDP....

Simon said...

Hi Salamander...thanks for your kind words. Yesterday I was angry but today I am my usual placid self. As I have always said,mI have only one main enemy in this world and that's the Cons. We live in a very dangerous time, and should Canada be lost in the age of Trump we would be in a very difficult situation from which this country might never recover. All the more reason progressives should stop fighting themselves, and focus on the real enemy...

Simon said...

Hi Cailleach...well and powerfully said, and I agree with every last word. We are dealing with an evil party like this country has never seen before. And why are the journalists not calling them out their lies? Why is the lie that the Liberals called people taking advantage of existing loopholes "tax cheats" allowed to be repeated again and again? It reminds me of what is happening in the United States, and it can't be allowed to develop further here. We bloggers can help fight back against what you so rightly call this tsunami of aggressive and belligerent lies. For to turn up at a knife fight armed only with a spoon, will be the death of us, and the death of our country...

Jaundiced Eye said...

What JT did with his ill-considered (and I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt here) promise to disqualify single-member-plurality from the reform deliberations was perhaps worse than the unworkable promise itself, but the NDP played its part, as did the other parties on committee, in turning the whole thing into a hopeless hash.

Nathan Cullen’s antics were brutally embarrassing to a Dipper like me, and I implored almost daily for him to shut the fuck up. As it was, his tantrums were at least as inappropriate as JT’s campaign promise, and the NDP’s popularity showed it by falling steadily as he ranted and raved; the numbers only started to recover when the committee had wrapped up and Cullen was shut up.

I know only too well how fucked up the NDP is, from the inside, I mean: here I was, a smaller contingency of Dippers who happens to disapprove of the party’s official endorsement of MMP, having to watch first the party scapegoat Mulcair for, of all things, retaining 16 of the seats they’d been temporarily loaned in Quebec where not long before they had but one, whilst at the same time winning the second-highest number of seats the NDP ever had. Bad enough my comrades who disfavoured MMP did so for a different reason than I: they wanted a purer form of pro-rep and I don’t want pro-rep at all. But Cullen’s incessant caterwauling absolutely took the cake, him going from hero to zero when he voted on committee the only way he could (it was mandated to form a consensus and the NDP didn’t want to ruin its reputation for cooperativeness which required conceding to the superior number of Con and Liberal votes — the Cons having been totally manipulated into the position they took — and gladly, too).

The lesson learned is that we should never expect ineluctably partisan committees to debate or decide on what should rightly be a totally nonpartisan result.

Anonymous said...

Call out the ndp on their lies, my good man.

Visitor - Pierre D. said...

The media are all, irrevocably, in the tank for th Conservatives. And now, sadly, I thought I would never see the day, but the NDP have allied themselves again with the CPC.
I will not vote for the NDP in the next election, allying yourself to Pierre Polievre must bear a price.
Yes, the Trudeau government has had several missteps, but none have been as appalling as the Barbaric Cultural Practices hotline, the fear-mongering of Harper or the raw demonization that they still do through the soulless Malcolm, Sun Media and Hamish Marshall.

The CPC must fall, and the only way for them to change is the return them to opposition (or worse) in the next election. That is my only goal, a second LPC majority or an Green-LPC coalition in my wildest fantasies.

And nothing but the grave for the horrid, dessicated Tories and their Harper fetish...

Anonymous said...

At this point, Cullen is no different than Poilievre

e.a.f. said...

Something is fueling this new tirade of "news" from the Cons. Do have to wonder who is organizing it and who is paying for it. It was just weird to see the little Polliere carrying on like a banshee on the CTV evening news about how people with Diab. 1 where being denied disablility status at CRA. what is interesting is while the Cons new little front man is making allegations he is a tad short on facts and figures. He managed to have the Diabetic Association's person there and the next thing I wonder about it, why is she suddenly involved in this political campaign to smear the federal Liberals. Whats in it for her. She never did mention how many people had been denied the tax break. all the press conference had was one diabetic.

It might be interesting to find out what is going on at the CRA. Are they out to embarrass the federal Liberals. Are the orders coming from a cabinet minister or is it a bureaucrat who is suddenly making decisions on their own.

It would be nice to find out because with all the fake news going on around the world, I need more information.

e.a.f. said...

if nasty and vile threats are suddenly on the increase, I'd suggest you're doing a fine job. These creatures don't turn on a blogger if they aren't doing a good job.

I suspect there is a plan afoot with the Cons to attack specific bloggers who are supportive of Trudeau. They have been emboldened by the lack of repercussions for writing this stuff. The threats of violence though ought to be dealt with by the RCMP BEFORE things get out of hand.

e.a.f. said...

I don't know why you think Simon needs to be removed from Progressive Bloggers. He writes a fine blog. Its informative and has great visuals, his cartoons rule. They're funny.

My thoughts are, if A. wants Simon removed from progressive bloggers, there is some thing else afoot and that may have more to do with the Cons trying to have opposition removed. Sort of like how the fascists like to start, ....we know how that turned out in Germany, Chile, Argentina, etc.

Anonymous said...

Hi EAf

It does seem strange that MSM is carrying stories on what the CRA decides is now directly attributable to some Liberal taxation conspiracy. Also the claim that the Cons protest caused the Liberals to abandon their nasty plan to fleece the small business owner had no facts such as what was proposed and what the new plan looked like. Just a pile of BS bought into and distributed by MSM, very disturbing.
RT

Simon said...

Hi Pierre....I like that sentiment, the desiccated Tories in a glass jar, with a label, Cons Harperium, gathering dust after having once again exceeded the bounds of decency. Harper made that party in his own image, and they cannot escape his filthy legacy. As for the Con media, they too have exceeded the bounds of decency, and I intend spend the next couple of days going after them. Their behaviour during the tax debate has been unforgivable, and it's time we made them pay for their crimes against journalism...

Simon said...

hi Geoffrey....I'm happy to hear that somebody shares my views about what happened during the electoral reform hearings. There is enough blame to go around, but Nathan Cullen's extreme partisanship, and his decision to try to screw the Liberals by siding with the Cons was in my opinion what torpedoed the process. And so few people I know seem to understand that a referendum on a complex subject would have resulted almost certainly in the reinforcement of the status quo. Which after a ugly divisive process, and hundreds of millions of dollars, would have assured that the issue would have been buried for many many years. As it is, it remains alive, and can at some point be brought back, hopefully this time with progressives working together instead of fighting each other...

Simon said...

hi e.a.f...like you I think something funny is going on, and I suspect that Poilievre is again playing footsy with the CRA, aided and abetted by the Con media. From what I see, the government is being caught flat footed by some bizarre rulings from the CRA, which the Cons and some in the media are being made aware of before ministers are.
It reminds me of an incident in 2015 when the CRA sent pamphlets to people's homes promoting a porky plan long before it was approved by parliament. Also when the Trudeau government came to power it decided not to investigate the way the CRA had gone after Harper's enemies, and as far as I am concerned that was a huge mistake...

Filcher said...

Investigative Journalism has become too expensive for print media, resulting in only a few journalists providing factual stories, opinions, and commentaries for a multitude of papers. (AP and Rueters are the main news sources we mainly depend on for news, most papers use these aggregates as source materials.) The validity of many of these sites are questionable as they were used by various agencies in planting of false stories, which led to the herding of mass opinion towards a non factual objective. (Kuwait invasion, both Afghanistan and Iraq, and now the Russia and Iraq stories demonizing those nations).
We also have the spectre of right wing governments discriminating in minor ways the ability of papers that do provide alternative views, governments favoring one media outlet over others, providing financial support in indirect ways (such as advertising dollars), relaxation and lack of regulation or investigation when laws are stretched (printing false news and questionable opinions or content). In certain cases this results in press briefings in which only favorable media is invited (allegations trumphad a special press briefing with right wing media outlets in which MSM was ejected from), or the loss of press credentials by unfriendly reporters or those that may ask embarrasing questions. (Harper shut down a Chinese journalist from asking a question on a trip to the arctic while PM for example)
Government bias towards various media outlets that are opposed to their policy or to their view of the world, and the effect this may have on the media outlet financial well being, makes a factual and informed populace even harder to attain when you consider the need to have access to officials who can verify what the media has uncovered.
Progressives appear to rely strongly on proof or official verification, whereas research has suggested that certain types of people have an harder time to change their viewpoints when presented with facts, and the repetition of the truth will only make them more stubborn in holding unto their views and opinions. There were also reports on research done that suggests the average IQ has dropped since Victorian times, and one that suggests our attention span has dropped to just a few seconds- not only are we less able to understand the concepts that are being thrown at us from many different directions, we are increasingly unable to properly examine and digest the various opinions and commentaries in order to form opinions of our own, based on logical analysis of conflicting information.