As IF Times

link:  https://www.rebelnews.com/nova_scotia_premier_defends_right_to_wear_poppy_after_judges_demand_staffers_remove_them

One of the most annoying things in recent modern life is the phenomenon of “shrinkflation”.  As everyone has discovered by now, the price of everything has noticeably increased in our daily lives.  Why this has happened is a topic for another discussion, but suffice to say, it’s an issue that affects mostly everyone profoundly unless you are part of a government pay regime.

Let’s clarify what this is.  Consumers become more reluctant to purchase a given product because prices increase.  For example, a bag of potato chips that used to cost 3 dollars is now 4 dollars. People notice these things and thus, they avoid buying these more expensive chips.  What to do?  Well, a genius marketing fix was created.  Why not keep prices as they once were….but decrease the amount of product being sold in the package?  This stroke of genius has been embraced by all consumer companies and thus, producers maintain their saleability on store shelves.

If the producers were totally honest, they should re-label their products for transparency, thus M&M’s would simply be “M” and potato chips would be “some chips of potato”.  That’s not even mentioning the fact that many products aren’t even as they are implied.  Kraft single slices aren’t even cheese and thus, they are not allowed to label it as such. Thus, in this way, producers can hide from consumers the fact that the product that they’re accustomed to consuming is not the same as before.  It’s not exactly bait and switch, but it is a subterfuge nonetheless.

This genius technique of selling  much less of something than what is advertised is one which the political establishment has adopted with great success.  The best example of this is the nation once known as Canada.  I say once known, because the packaging has long outlived the actual contents.

Similar to the deceptive packaging described above, Canada is still regarded by some as a proud, free nation, welcoming to all and benefactor to the planet. In fact, the labelling on the package, aka the national anthem, states boldly, “the true north strong and free”. Who doesn’t recognize the unofficial icon of Canada which is a forthright, broad shouldered, Dudley Do Right of a Mountie. This used to represent the general “goodness” and decency of the nation, or as a former prime Minister invoked, “da Canadian values”.

The main pillar of Canadian-ness, if there actually is one, is that of a free,  lawful and peaceful society.

However, if there was any nation in the world best representing the phenomenon of “shrinkflation”, it’s Canada.  Recently, the premier of Nova Scotia had to go to court to fight for the right to wear a poppy on Remembrance Day, a long honored Canadian tradition. Ironically, this is the day on which Canadians honor those that fought and died in wars for the preservation of the free society in which we live today. It was a judge that wanted to prevent this. There is so much angst about offending virtually anybody who complains loudly enough that Canadians are willing to omit all traditional Canadian customs and values. Canadians are notorious for accommodating any and all sorts of complainers, in the name of inclusivity.

THE cornerstone of a free society is the sanctity of free speech. This liberty is specifically enshrined in the foundational document of the Constitution of The United States.  Because this is the foundation of any free society, it is also explicitly written in the Canadian Charter of Rights:

“…Section 2(b) of the Charter guarantees “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression including freedom of the press and other media or communication” This right is recognize as a fundamental freedom and is protected against actions by all levels of government…”

Seems pretty clear, BUT WAIT!  There also follows a weasel clause which states:

“…it also allows for reasonable limits on expression if those limits are prescribed by law and can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society…”

In essence, it’s free unless someone decides it’s not a good idea.  So it’s really only a strong suggestion.  As we know, any vacillations in wording on laws are like small holes in a house. Like rodents, politicians will find their way inside.  Thus, the nation has prohibitions on what can be said online under penalty of fines or jail for non-compliance.  This is a page taken from the parent nation, the UK.  Access to certain internet site are now blocked if they don’t conform to official government approval. When asked how Canadians would access information, they are referred to, you guessed it, the official government media outlet, the CBC.

Sounds like political shrinkflation to me. The Canada of today is not what they were selling even a decade ago.  At the very least, change the national anthem to reflect this reality.  Though I’m not sure how they’ll fit “the true north, weak and not really free” into music stanzas.

When we think of the most impactful events on western life in the past 5 years, two events stand out conspicuously.

Arguably the most impactful was the entire narrative and follow on consequences of the January 6^th demonstration at the US Capitol in 2021. Who can forget the handwringing and faux outrage of the left and the entire media as they characterized the demonstration as a violent uprising threatening to topple democracy.  This event resulted in imprisonment, recriminations and even deaths for many of the unfortunates involved.

Politicians and media alike condemned the actions of the ‘violent rioters’ even as conflicting evidence at the time, made these assertions questionable.  One of the more interesting claims was that demonstrators were encouraged, even welcomed into the Capitol by law enforcement plants.  “An outrageous accusation” was the response of lawmakers and the FBI at the time.

As time went on, they admitted that, “ok there were a few, but just to monitor things”.  Under recent congressional grilling, the “few” number turned out to be somewhat higher. . But it wasn’t an easy path to the truth.  It started off with; there were NO feds. Over time, this became; there probably weren’t any undercover feds, which led eventually to ok, there were twelve undercover feds. And of course after the congressional grilling the actual number was 270.

This mischaracterization of events served to quell any opposition and investigation into the disputed results of the latest national election.  By criminalizing the mere event of protesting, the government crushed any opposition to the official narrative.

In a parallel but related track and very much a result of the official fibs told by the authorities at the time, the COVID narrative came on stream.  Though the horrific events are now a few years in the past, we recall the narrative espoused by the ‘authorities’ at the time.  The font of the narrative was Anthony Fauci but he took his moral authority from the WHO, which declared that this was a severe existential virus and extreme measures needed to be implemented.

It’s not necessary to recite all of the measures imposed upon the world, but suffice to say, it was a dystopian time with drastic Orwellian measures against entire populations. Now, as with the walk-backs on the January 6^th demonstrations, the WHO is distancing themselves from their own narrative.

“…The World Health Organization (WHO) has denied any involvement in forcing people to wear masks or receive vaccinations. A WHO spokesperson stated that allegations of forced vaccinations are “both flagrant lies and dangerous pieces of disinformation,” emphasizing that the agency has no authority to impose vaccine mandates or involve the military in such actions. The organization clarified that decisions regarding health measures, including mask and vaccine policies, are made by individual sovereign governments, not by the WHO….”

Thus, it’s clear that all governments worldwide must have decided on their own to impose mask and vaccination mandates without any influence by the WHO.  If this this case, why do they exist? This is amusing, because if it’s one thing that we’ve learned over the years, it’s that the internet is forever. It’s impossible to erase your digital footprint.  Just ask Jon Gruden.  Here’s the WHO head back in 2020:

“…Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), urged people to wear face masks once more amid a purported rise in Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) infections.

He defended the necessity of face coverings against COVID-19 in public remarks delivered July 12, during the WHO’s COVID-19 media briefing that day. “As transmission and hospitalization [rates] rise, governments must also deploy tried and tested measures like masking, improved ventilation and test-and-treat protocols,” said Tedros, adding that “diagnostics, treatments and vaccines are not being deployed effectively.”

Tedros’ call for re-imposing mask mandates stemmed from his apparent concern about the continued rise of COVID-19 cases and deaths. These, he mentioned, put “further pressure on stretched health systems and health workers…”

The point of this discussion is not to reveal that authorities lie to us, as shocking as this may be for some.  The issue is that the lies are so blatant but that there are no consequences.  We all recall Baghdad Bob during the first Iraq war invasion stating in a live TV interview that there was total calm in Iraq even as buildings were being blown up behind him on camera.  Blatant mendacity is an affront in most civilizations and from a young age, most are taught that lies are not acceptable.  In the classic fairy tale, Pinocchio’s nose grew every time he lied to conspicuously reveal to the world his mendacity.

Why are societies now so tolerant of narratives that are completely absurd and detrimental to their own well-being?  That’s a question for social science PhD candidates to answer in the years to come, but I suggest there’s a simple explanation: There are no consequences.  Few ever seem to suffer from figurative long noses.  Lawyers are employed to parse words and events.  We may recall the famous Bill Clinton line of ” it depends what is, is.”   No one is naive enough to think that politicians will stop lying.  But at least bring in some consequences. Maybe the tar and feather business can make a comeback.