Last Week Today Episode 153 Show Notes for Monday, June 3rd, 2024
The Trump Corruption Trial, “Private Prosecutions” in Canada, The Ottawa Declaration on Canadian Journalism, The High Cost of Living Forcing Canadian’s to Move to the US & Clueless Grannies.
The Donald Trump Corruption Trial
Our top story tonight is the decision in the Donald Trump corruption trial, its effect on the upcoming 2024 US presidential election and Trump’s call on the US Supreme Court to annul the decision.
We begin with the May 31st, 2024 Associated Press post on the topic, “Guilty: Trump becomes first former US president convicted of felony crimes,” which notes that former US president has become:
… the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes Thursday as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.
There are so many other different ways to influence an election, its curious that the Democratic Party campaigning against the former US president would focus so closely on this particular trial.
The trial is obviously a part of the ongoing 2024 US presidential election campaign.
Republican stalwarts, who’ve been saying all along that the trial is designed to influence the 2024 US election by convicting Trump of meaningless charges which will be overturned on appeal, came out in support of his continued candidacy.
Independent journalist Megan Kelly, a woman with no love for Trump, commented on the situation after the verdict came down on her May 31st, 2024 The Megan Kelly Show on YouTube post, “Biden Weighs in on Guilty Verdict, Attacks Trump Calling it "Rigged," w/ Aronberg, Davis, & Holloway.”
As noted in the June 1st, 2024 Fox News post, “Trump verdict puts US among infamous countries that prosecuted opposition leaders: Who else is on the list?,” Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg campaigned for re-election by promising to go after Trump and, once re-elected proceeded to do so.
According to the Fox News post:
Trump insisted that his trial, which included a gag order preventing him from discussing the case, occurred to keep him out of the upcoming election because Democrats "can’t win at the ballot box.”
(US president Joe) Biden, meanwhile, has blasted any efforts to undermine the decision as "reckless" and "irresponsible" while quipping that he had "no idea I was that powerful" in response to claims he had orchestrated the trial.
The post also notes that Trump has joined a growing list of world leaders convicted and demonized by their replacements after leaving office, primarily to prevent them form running again. Many critics in the US are claiming that such measures hurt the country’s image as a global leader and advocate for classical liberal democratic institutions.
Dehumanization of the enemy is a propaganda technique which promotes an idea about the enemy being a threatening, evil aggressor with only destructive objectives.
The legacy media has responded to Trump’s conviction with stories about how, although legally allowed to continue to seek the presidency, as a convicted “felon,” he should bow out of contention for “the good of the country.”
For his part, Trump wants to appeal the case all the way to the Supreme Court, which is his right. He’s also well ahead in the election polls so continuing the campaign will appeal to his large and growing constituency.
It’s a complex situation.
Trump demonizes the “deep state,” intelligence agencies, long-term government bureaucrats intent on maintaining their power and perks no matter who holds public office and the multi-nationals, tech companies and banking employees who shuffle back and forth between the groups.
The Biden groupies fear what they say are “radically conservative, ultra-nationalist, and authoritarian republicans” surrounding Trump.
The next step in the democratic campaign to demonize Trump, republicans in general and Trump supporters supports would seem to be to start demonizing Trump’s associates.
The June 3rd, 2024 Pro-Publica post, “Multiple Trump Witnesses Have Received Significant Financial Benefits From His Businesses, Campaign,” has already begun this process.
Under fascism, jail time for opposition leaders is what happens just before the terror begins. While the current electoral shenanigans of the last few years might simply be kabuki theatre, the games are fast coming to an end.
On the other hand, Hunter Biden’s criminal trial begins today.
No one involved with this trial is expected to talk about Biden’s missing laptop or any of the larger corruption issues surrounding the trial and the Joe Biden presidency.
Also in the News this Week
“Private Prosecutions” in Canada
Private prosecutions in Canada have a long and complex history dating back to the country's common law roots.
Inherited from England, the right to initiate and hold private prosecutions once existed as a core principle of common law, which meant anyone could initiate charges and carry out a private prosecution if a judge deemed there to be evidence to support the charge.
But that’s no longer the case.
The rise of police forces and public prosecutors gradually changed the practice and public prosecutions became the norm, although the right to private prosecutions officially remains on the books in Canadian courts.
A recent request to initiate a private practice in the Ontario Court of Justice led to a unsettling conclusions when a crown attorney in Lindsay, Ontario trumped the decision of a Ontario Court of Justice judge, to proceed with a private prosecution.
Another example of private prosecutions is discussed in the April 28th, 2024 CBC Manitoba post, “Animal rights groups get rare authorization for private prosecution in live-horse export case.”
The Ottawa Declaration on Canadian Journalism
The Ottawa based national think-tank, the MacDonald Laurier Institute, has published an “Ottawa Declaration on Canadian Journalism.”
The self-appointed Ottawa based “only truly national public policy think tank,” which bills itself as “rigorously independent and non-partisan” has called on news outlets to ”reject government payroll subsidies for journalism.”
The signatories of The Ottawa Declaration believe the current subsidy regime represents a challenge to our democratic process insofar as it raises legitimate questions in the public’s mind about the independence of the press, thereby undermining the perceived veracity of reported news.
The declaration notes that:
Recent federal legislation and regulation could soon see up to half or more of the salaries of full-time journalists and editors working for digital news outlets funded by government coordinated subsidies.
These large-scale subsidies, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars to date, are in addition to the federal government’s direct funding of the CBC/Radio-Canada, which currently employs one in ten journalists in Canada in its news divisions.
Signatories to the petition include fourteen journalists including political journalist Paul Wells, columnist Andrew Coyne, publisher/co-founder of The Hub Rudyard Griffiths, and Holly Doan, publisher/owner of Blacklock’s Reporter.
The May 30th, 2024 The Hub post, “Why The Hub has signed the Ottawa Declaration on Canadian Journalism,” talks a little bit about why the Hub has signed the document.
But most of the rest of the legacy media is keeping silent on the declaration. Most legacy outlets decided five years ago that they want their 30 pieces of silver.
Here’s a suggestion.
Let’s get 50 or so alternative media outlets to sign the petition, confusing the hell out of MacDonald Laurier Institute and show the legacy media that we’re the future, not them.
Is the high cost of living forcing Canadian’s to move to the US?
Maybe, at least according to the June 3rd, 2024 CTV News post, “Is high cost of living forcing Canadians to move to U.S.? | ANALYSIS.”
Our Society is Being Destroyed by Clueless Grannies
And finally tonight, our society is being destroyed by clueless grannies, at least according to the June 1st, 2024 Mongo Minds Production on Bitchute post, “Our society is being destroyed by clueless grannies.”
“Last Week Today” provides context and connections for the most important news stories of the week.
We’re a part of the fast growing alternative, “new media” ecosystem, which grew up around distributed, low cost technologies developed to enhance two-way communications between authors and audiences.
Please support our sponsors below.
TheyLied. Join the campaign to Take Action and Raise Public Awareness at
www.TheyLied.ca
.
Video
https://theylied.substack.com/p/theylied-time-for-action-and-raising
.
Raise Public Awareness
https://theylied.ca/SpreadTheWord.shtml
.
Take Action
https://theylied.ca/TakeAction.shtml
.