The true villains of modern history may be the social media overlords – Elon Muskand Mark Zuckerberg, above all – who have stripped away any fetters on far-right lies and demagoguery.
Consider which ideas spread fastest online: not the ones that are most accurate, but the ones that receive the most attention.
This has turned large swaths of the internet into little more than a contest for liars.
After all, online, who cares if claims are true or not, as long as people share them? The social and financial rewards of online attention are barely reduced when the underlying claim is false. Indeed, truth-tellers are at a massive disadvantage on the internet since they’re forced to compete with wild, hysterical, or completely manufactured material that has been engineered specifically to attract notice and be shared. Many people have persisted in publishing true facts anyway – but they often sink out of sight, occluded by the more viral claims of skilled fabulists.
“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.”
― John Kenneth Galbraith
‘The modern conservative is not even especially modern. He is engaged, on the contrary, in one of man’s oldest, best financed, most applauded, and, on the whole, least successful exercises in moral philosophy. That is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. It is an exercise which always involves a certain number of internal contradictions and even a few absurdities. The conspicuously wealthy turn up urging the character-building value of privation for the poor. The man who has struck it rich in minerals, oil, or other bounties of nature is found explaining the debilitating effect of unearned income from the state. The corporate executive who is a superlative success as an organization man weighs in on the evils of bureaucracy. Federal aid to education is feared by those who live in suburbs that could easily forgo this danger, and by people whose children are in public schools. Socialized medicine is condemned by men emerging from Walter Reed Hospital. Social Security is viewed with alarm by those who have the comfortable cushion of an inherited income. Those who are immediately threatened by public efforts to meet their needs — whether widows, small farmers, hospitalized veterans, or the unemployed — are almost always oblivious to the danger.’
John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author Speech (1963-12-13), “Wealth and Poverty,” National Policy Committee on Pockets of P0verty
Court Painter with portrait of John Kenneth Galbraith
Martin Lurther King Jr. Day was signed into law in 1983, and first observed three years later on January 20, 1986. It continues to be celebrated each year in the USA on January 20th.
In March 1968, Martin Luther King Jr.brought together a group of more than 50 leaders representing Black Belt sharecroppers, Appalachian coal miners, Chicano farmworkers, and American Indians, among others, to join the Poor People’s Campaign. The poor, “both white and Negro, live in a cruelly unjust society,” he said. “If they can be helped to take action together, they will do so with a freedom and a power that will be a new and unsettling force in our complacent national life.”
On January 20/2025 Donald J Trump was inaugurated as the US 47th President. Convicted felon Donald J Trump brought together a group of supporting tech billionaires, millionaires, election denying Republican lawmakers, grifters of all stripes and numerous merchants of Trump merch. The President’s wife Melania in celebration of the event launched her own cryptocurrency Sunday on the eve of her husband’s presidential inauguration, just a day after his own cryptocurrency was launched. Ethics be damned!
A star supporter of the new president , the morbidly richest man in the world Elon Musk exemplified the spirit of the event with his enthusiastic remarks and straight arm salute very reminiscent of a Seig Heil.
Court Painter with portrait of journalist Justin Ling
JAN 17, 2025
Excerpted from article:
The Need for Sincerity
‘I don’t know what four more years of Trump means. I have to suspect that it will not mean the annexation of Canada or Greenland. I believe it will mean cruelty to migrants whose only crime was trying to chase the American dream, trans people who just want basic respect, and a host of others who don’t fit into the reactionary vision Trump represents and who are easy targets for his high-velocity online propaganda machine.
And I know that the hollow patronizing from his liberal critics isn’t going to be an effective check on his power nor a popular alternative.’
Trump demonstrating an interest in geography!
‘For years, liberals have remained fundamentally stuck in their ways — while the left and non-reactionary right have only tried to emulate their tactics. They have lectured their critics to stop whining, insisted that things are better than they may seem, and defended their half-measures as sufficient, all the while insisting: We hear you.
Yet when Trump comes along, fundamentally in charge of the pervasive frustration present in Western society, he forces them to do more in a few days that they’ve done in years.
Trump demonstrating an interest in geography.
Now is the time to dismantle this rigid, inflexible, and paternalistic liberalism of self-fashioning, and figure out what an actual democratic, participatory politics would look like. It’s not enough for our politicians to become the symbol they think we want, it’s time they actually start speaking to people in real terms — offline, whenever possible — and leave the absurd conventions behind.
Now would be an ideal time for Carney, or one of his competitors, to model good behavior, drop the vacuousness of this modern liberalism, and show everyone what better can look like.
We don’t have five or ten years to figure this out. It needs to happen today.’
Court Painter was dragged out of his studio to explain ‘what the hell is going on?‘
He mumbled something to the affect that “we don’t know’.
Those in attendance thought that was a well considered and accurate accessment of …well…everything..
. A Hardon MacKay Court Painter’s Press Attache and Sales Manager thought this an opportune time to roll out inventory of previous Court Painter unsold gems to underscore Court Painter ‘s prescient words.
Court Painter with portrait of the upcoming”leader of the free world”.
Court Painter with portrait of the recent version of Capt Canada
Court Painter’s depiction of Alberta Premier Smith during her recent vacation trip to Mar a Lago
Court Painter with portrait of Robert Kennedy Jr. holding his symbol of health
Court Painter with portrait of Truth to Power Charlie Angus NDP MP
Court Painter with recent wartime deadly combination
Court Painter with candid portrait of Kevin Wonderpants O’Leary bearing his soul.
Court Painter with munching portrait of aspiring prime minister Pierre Poilievre
Court Painter with recent portait of leading contributing figure in civilizations race to the bottom: Mark Zuckerberg.
Court Painter went on a random painting spree in Mar A Lago ,capturing in memorable revelatory works some of the latest diehard Right leaning newsmakers and griftersduring their ring kissing mission.
So many to choose from so little space!
The friends you keep!
Kevin Wonderpants O’Leary seen with Alberta Premier Smith and Jordan Rotter Peterson
Alberta Premier Smith seen with Mara A Lago regular Donald Trump
Albera Premier Smith seen with autograph hunters Don & Kevin
Court Painter seen with painting The RIGHT Stuff
Poster commissioned to be part of the inauguration ceremony for President Donald J Trumpwho modestly insisted on being in the background.
Court Painter proudly displays a recent The RIGHT Stuff painting
Poster commissioned to mark the Donald J Trump Presidental Inauguration 2025
Prime Minister Trudeau seen with a Sunny Ways painting in 2016
Court Painter during height of his studio’s Sunny Ways production.
The Court Painter has reluctantly decided to conduct a Fire(d) Sale and release inventory of the Sunny Ways series of paintings from the archive. These works, crafted in 2015/16 during a hopeful rush of anticipated success and sales, once radiated painterly optimism and the pregnant promise of plump progress.
Yet now as 2024/25 rolled in, the passage of time has left the paintings dull, weary, their brilliance faded to a frown and quite frankly the sunny ways don’t rise and shine no more.
Everything must go!
No reasonable offer refused. All sales final!
An original painting in 2016 and it’s present state in 2025. So sad…
Justin Trudeau seen putting up his dukes
Court Painter ever the sales-guy tries to unload a painting to potential customer.
Court Painter seen moving old inventory at the ByWard Market, Ottawa
In an inspired Canuck Trade & Diplomatic Initiative(CTDI) ,PM Justin Trudeau dispatched 3 teams of the Great Dominion’s reportedly best Team Canuck Canada negoiators.
Canada pulled out all the stops and sent in their freshly appointed diplomatic heavyweights to defuse the recent tariff threat by President elect Trump.
The Great Dominon trade and diplomatic teams include Bob & Doug MacKenzie, The Trailer Park Boys and Marg Delahunty batting clean up!
Epic trade related encounters with Trump & this inspired Canuck TDI is already being reported from the halls of power.
Bob & Doug MacKenzie & The Donald
The Trailer Park Boys & The Donald
Marg Delahunty getting on The Donald’s nerves
Marg Delahunty has The Donald looking for devine intervention
Marg Delahunty has reportedly proven to be Trump’s nemesis
Despondent Donald
Court Painter captured Desponent Donald in a slouch as he not anticipated the bench strength of this Team Canuck Canada.
Arguably the Great Dominion’s next prime minister, Pierre Rotter Poilievre says Canadians are too obsessed with race because of “wokeism”(actually the Right is obsessed with “wokeism”) and agrees with Jordan Rotter Peterson that Canada essentially had to invent and import racism because it didn’t exist here before recent decades.
Rotter: a worthless, unpleasant, or despicable person
Pierre Poilievre says Canadians are too obsessed with race because of “wokeism” and agrees with Jordan Peterson that Canada essentially had to invent and import racism because it didn’t exist here before recent decades.
