ep 28

The podcast discusses the deteriorating relationship between politicians and journalists, with politicians resorting to attacking journalists when faced with criticism. This behavior is seen as a threat to democracy, especially in an era of widespread misinformation on social media. The host also criticizes Canadian politician Pierre Poliev for his use of false narratives and lies, and emphasizes the importance of holding politicians accountable for their words and actions. The upcoming election is highlighted as a crucial moment for the country's future. The podcast is sponsored by Wisson's Law, and the host encourages listeners to subscribe to his newsletter and share their thoughts. Welcome to the Bill Kelly podcast, Critical Discussions in Critical Times. Here's your host, Bill Kelly. Welcome to the Bill Kelly podcast, Critical Discussions for Critical Times. I'm your host, Bill Kelly. Today on the podcast, I want to talk about the relationship and maybe the disintegration of I think a very key relationship with information. I suppose there has always been and likely always will be this acrimonious relationship between politicians and journalists who cover politics. There could be a number of reasons. Maybe it's the fact that too many politicians will spin some version of the truth to try to gain favor with voters, while journalists will attempt to peel away the layers of the bombast and the blarney and, well, the bullshit in some situations and try to get to the truth. It can and it does get pretty tense from time to time, but if you want to run for public office these days, you need to accept the fact that you will be under the microscope. You don't get a free ride. Nobody should. Nobody does. And most politicians seem to understand that. However, I think in my experience, one of the most pathetic scenarios that seems to be happening more and more these days in this process is that an elected official at any level of government, well, feeling the heat, of course, of that process that's going on, is going to start whining and complaining that they're being picked on by journalists. Clearly, it's a move of desperation by politicians who, well, for a variety of reasons, maybe caught in a lie, maybe unable or unwilling for that matter to try to justify their positions on some controversial issues. The fallback simply is to, well, kill the messenger, in this case the journalist. And we've seen numerous examples of this cowardly behavior, frankly, by politicians, probably too many to count. And the concern, among many, is this sort of activity actually infects politicals and want to be politicals at every political persuasion. It really corrupts the whole process, at least in the mind of the public anyway. And what exacerbates this, in this era of widespread misinformation on social media, it seems the problem has actually started now to reach epidemic proportions. And to state the obvious, that's a bad thing. We can't let politicians weaponize this tidal wave of misinformation for their own purposes. And some people actually see this as an advantage and an opportunity to try to do this. This is not new. Dictators and despots have used this tool to try to gain power and abuse their office for generations. A personal gain that seems to be the endgame here. Donald Trump, of course, the self-admitted hero worshiper of harpless autocrats, is once again attempting to use social media to return to power with the express purpose, and this is what I find staggering about this, the express purpose of destroying the United States Constitution. He says he wants to rip it up. And the democratic principles that this country was founded on, our neighbors to the south. That's frightening. But what's more frightening is the fact that almost half of the Americans know that and are willing to let it happen. And that should scare the hell out of all of us, not just in the United States, not just in Canada, but in all democracies. And by the way, speaking of here in Canada, we can't be naive any longer and think that, well, that's a problem that happens down there, and here in Canada, we don't have that sort of thing happening. Let's rethink that, OK? We are not prone to the same silly challenges, but we have to accept the fact that it's happening here. As a matter of fact, it seems that this whole idea now of weaponizing false information and innuendo has already been embraced by a number of politicians, including the Federal Conservative Party and their leader, Pierre Poliev. Poliev, it's pretty clear with his behavior over the last little while, is honing these skills at never letting the truth get in the way of his false narratives. But there's one glaring weakness that I have noticed, and I think other pundits have noticed in the last little while in Poliev's attempt to try to employ the Trump playbook once again to try to gain power, namely, at least to this point, he's not very good at it. Poliev has been caught in so many lies and so many falsehoods that even conservative pundits and those who were ardent supporters, blind supporters, are starting to question his capabilities right now and actually starting to question his motives, which is why Poliev and his acolytes have now begun to use that flimsy excuse that the media is targeting them, that they're picking on them. In fact, what is happening, and I think we need to be clear on this and we need to remember this, what is happening here is that the media is holding Poliev accountable for his words, for his actions, for his promises, and they're demanding, and I think rightly so too, that he and other candidates validate their assertive rhetoric with facts. And let's be clear about this, Poliev is not the only politician that's being quote-unquote picked on these days, he's being subject to the same scrutiny that all politicians should be held to, no matter what their politicians, no matter what their political stripes, and no matter how uncomfortable that may be for the elected official. They need to be accountable and we need to have some sense of transparency. We don't just take politicians at their word. I think we've learned that lesson, haven't we? The Prime Minister has been under that same microscope for many, many years now for his questionable policies and questionable behaviors for that matter too, and justifiably so. The concern here though is that the dwindling number of journalists these days has made it more and more difficult to hold politicians' feet to the fire, and the Canadian public, sadly, are the worst for it, because we're at a very pivotal time in this country, and I know that sounds like a cliche because it's been used before, but look at what's happening around us these days. This is a very, very dangerous time in our country's history, and the next election is going to be critical to determining the direction that this country takes, not just in the short term, but in the long term. And sadly, well, if you look around here now, it seems as if we're faced with a rather ominous choice. We have one leader who has clearly lost the confidence of the Canadian people, and another leader who seems to display a very severe allergy to telling the truth. Some choice, isn't it? That's why I feel it's so important, and maybe even more important than ever before, that continue their important role in this political process. That's the way I see it. I'm Bill Kelly. This podcast was brought to you by Rebecca Wissons and her team at Wissons Law. Rebecca Wissons is a 20-time winner of the Hamilton Reader's Choice Awards for their exceptional client care and legal practice specializing in personal injury, car accidents, accidental falls, and Wilson Estates. Now, if you or a loved one have been seriously injured, or if you want to make sure that your family is taken care of for the future with the will and powers of attorney, call Rebecca Wissons, 905-522-1102 for a free consultation. When life happens, you can rely on Rebecca Wissons and Wissons Law. And trust me, Rebecca is my wife, and I don't know what I'd do without her. That's Wissons Law, 905-522-1102 for a free consultation. Subscribe to my sub stack for timely news updates and commentary straight to your inbox. Let's keep the conversation going. I'd love to hear your thoughts on today's episode. Let me know what you think we should be talking about next by contacting me through my website at www.billkelly.co. Thanks for tuning in. This is Bill Kelly. Until next time, you take care.