Other Politics

Will a sympathy vote save COVID’s new poster boy from the wrath of American voters?

Submitted by Geoffrey Stevens on Mon, 10/05/2020 - 12:48

George Will, the great Washington Post political columnist, has a way with words. Consider the opening sentence from his column on the ghastly Donald Trump-Joe Biden debate last week:

“The putrescence of America’s public life was pitilessly displayed Tuesday when, for 98 minutes, whatever remains of the nation’s domestic confidence and international stature shriveled like a brittle autumn leaf.”

Covering Trump and the 2020 U.S. Election (Part 1)

Submitted by LISPOP Administrator on Wed, 09/30/2020 - 11:38

With all eyes on the presidential election in the United States, we have put together a series of blog posts on important aspects of the campaign. First in our three-part presidential election primer is an examination of the challenges facing journalists covering an extraordinary politician like President Donald Trump by Bruce Gillespie. Bruce is the chair of Wilfrid Laurier’s Digital Media and Journalism program and an accomplished journalist and author.

Covering Trump and the 2020 U.S. Election (Part 1)

Why for-profit nursing homes are especially dangerous in a pandemic

Submitted by Geoffrey Stevens on Mon, 05/04/2020 - 07:55

Public officials in Canada, as in other countries, are turning their attention from self-isolation, social distancing and keeping businesses shuttered to strategies for a cautious reopening of society.

They see a flattening in the curve of new cases of COVID-19. They feel growing pressure from cooped-up families, from 7 million unemployed workers and from business owners to let the country return to normal.

Now is the time to get ready for next time – for the next pandemic

Submitted by Geoffrey Stevens on Wed, 04/15/2020 - 09:16

It is one thing to be caught by surprise by a fast-moving virus, as most of the world was by COVID-19. It is quite another, and more serious, thing to be woefully unprepared to deal with such a crisis when it does occur.

Canada, like the United States, was taken was by surprise, although neither should have been. The Washington Post reported last week that the Trump administration received formal notification on Jan. 3 of the outbreak of the coronavirus in China. Within days, warnings from U.S. spy agencies were being included in the President’s Daily Brief.

Nothing else registers when the news is all pandemic all day

Submitted by Geoffrey Stevens on Mon, 04/06/2020 - 08:45

Who is, or was, Joe Biden?

The question is not entirely rhetorical. Just a month ago, Biden – Barack Obama’s vice-president – was the talk of every town. On March 3, he won a majority of Super Tuesday delegates and, building on momentum generated in South Carolina three days earlier, was poised to claim the Democratic nomination and challenge Donald Trump for the White House.