The Blue Jays and Rogers have some nerve raising ticket prices again!

I’m pretty surprised they had the audacity to raise the ticket prices this much . . . They have the longest streak of playoff futility in the league, and after Game 2 of the World Series they hit us up with a price increase? It’s par for the course for what people expect from Rogers.

- Mike Wilkomirsky, a disgruntled Blue Jays fan, as quoted in the Toronto Star


Sixty bucks might not seem like much, but when you’re on a tight budget you have to think twice about what you spend on leisure.

- Vishala Shembedasie, another disgruntled fan whose 20-game 500-level ticket package increased from $200 to $260 this season, as quoted in the Toronto Star.


I won't mince word either.  The decision by the Toronto Blue Jays and Rogers, the mammoth telecommunication company that owns the team, to increase ticket prices is absolutely contemptible. This is a team that has failed to make post-season play since 1993 and they have the unmitigated gall to ask fans to shell out more of their hard-earned money.  It's disgusting! Worst of all, the price for 500-level tickets is increasing the most.  The fans in the nose-bleed seats are going to be hit the hardest.  Talk about gouging the public!

Here's the deal.  Your Toronto Blue Jays chose the 21st anniversary of the last day they were in the post-season to increase ticket prices almost across the board for season ticket-holders in 2015.  Prices in the 500-level were the hardest hit, where costs for a 15-game flex pack rose a whopping 50 per cent compared to last season.  Other price increases ranged from five to ten per to 35 or 40 per cent. Prices in the 200-hundred level outfield seats decreased slightly. Single-game tickets don’t go on sale until January, but Stephen Brooks. Blue Jays senior vice-president, confirmed that those prices will go up as well.

According to Brooks, prices had to be raised in order to "get consistency in product pricing relative to other products by section.”  All that corporate bafflegag doesn't mean a thing to fans. All they know is that the Blue Jays organization did not even have the decency to give season ticket-holders any prior notice about the price increases.  Subscribers were merely informed of the increases when they received their invoices.  Is that how the Jays show their respect for the team's most loyal followers!

What a great sense of timing!  What great appreciation for the fans who have supported them during all years of frustration and losing!  Is this Rogers' way of rewarding such patience.  It's time someone stood up for the much-maligned fans.  The players have agents and a union to support them. Rogers is a huge corporation and billionaire owners have wads of cash.  Tell me, please, who speaks for the downtrodden fans?  Who will be their advocate?  When was the last time you heard a baseball player express concern about the affordability of attending a game for fans?

These ticket increases are pocket change to the wealthy player and billionaire owners.  They live in in a very different world than most people.  For the ordinary Joe and Jane, with bills to play, higher ticket prices will probably mean that they won't be able to afford to take their children to many baseball games.  It's sad because these are the truest fans. They don't attend games because it's trendy and they want to be seen.  They attend because they genuinely enjoy the game.

Baseball used to be one of the most reasonably priced sports for live attendance.  Those days are quickly fading away, ruined by greed and selfishness.  Oh yes, sports teams pay lip service to the fans.  They use phrases such as "our wonderful fans" and they have "fan appreciation days" at the end of each season.  Big deal!  So they give away a few cars and cell phones, while at the same time receiving advertising revenue from the companies that provide the prizes.  What good is that when live sporting events are becoming more and more expensive?  If the owners and players really cared about the fans, they'd be concerned about the affordability of their product.

I write this as a longtime fan of the Jays, and I am no fair-weather fan either.  Here in Toronto, we are gouged more than almost any city in North America.  The cost of tickets for Leaf and Raptor games are beyond the reach of an increasing number of Torontonians.  The prices at the concession stands at the Air Canada Centre and the former Sky Dome are outrageous.  I call it highway robbery, pure and simple.

We all know about the soulless and silent "fans" in the platinum seats at the Air Canada Centre Most of the time, they just eat and talk business.  Often their chairs are unoccupied, a testament to their interest in the game.  Is this what Rogers wants for the Blue Jays too?  Perhaps, as long as the cash keeps rolling in.


- Joanne

2014 World Series Quiz

It's that time again, baseball fans.  It's October and the World Series is just around the corner.  To put you in the mood for the Fall Classic, Number 16 presents a 2014 World Series Quiz.  Are you up to the challenge.  Put on your baseball cap and find out by answer the following questions. Get ready to play ball!


2014 WORLD SERIES QUIZ


1.  Which of the following statements is not true about the 1964 World Series between the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals?

A.  The 1964 World Series marked the last Series appearance for both Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford.

B.  The St. Louis Cardinals won in six games.

C.  Yankee manager Yogi Berra was fired after the Series ended and replaced by the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.

D.  The New York Yankees did not play in another World Series until 1976.

E,  All of the above.



2.  Name the youngest man ever to broadcast a World Series game.

A,  Vin Scully

B.  Ernie Harwell

C.  Red Barber

D.  Bob Costas

E.   Mel Allen



3.  What was the nickname of the 1982 World Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals?

A.  "The Beer Fest"

B.  "The Brew War"

C.  "The Big Brewsky"

D.  "The Suds Series"

E.  "The Battle of the Brews"



4.  When was the last time the Chicago Cubs won the World Series?

A.  1912

B.  1907

C.  1908

D.  1913

E.  1924



5.  Reggie Jackson, known as "Mr. October," played in 27 World Series games during his career.  How many home runs did he hit in those 27 games?

A.  seven

B.  ten

C.  twelve

D.  nine

E.  eight



6.  Have any of the various versions of the Washington Senators ever won the World Series?

A.  No team named the Washington Senators has ever won the World Series.

B.  Yes, the Washington Senators won the 1922 World Series.

C.  No team named the Washington Senators has ever even played in the World Series.

D.  Yes, the Washington Senators won the 1931 World Series.

E.  Yes, the Washington Senators won the 1924 World Series.



7.  Which baseball manager has won the most World Series rings?

A.  Connie Mack

B.  Joe Torre

C.  A tie between Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel

D.  A tie between Sparky Anderson and Tony La Russa

E.  Miller Huggins



8.  Did Ty Cobb ever play on a World Series championship team?

A.  No, Cobb never won a World Series ring during his baseball career.

B.  No, he never even played in the World Series.

C.  Ty Cobb won a World Series with the Detroit Tigers.

D.  Cobb won a World Series with the Philadelphia Athletics.

E,  Cobb won two World Series rings with Detroit.



9.  Which of these statements in false about the Toronto Blue Jays' back-to-back World Series victories in 1992 and 1993.

A. 1992 marked the first time a World Series game was played outside the United States.

B.  The Blue Jays' manager, Cito Gaston, became the first black manager to win the World Series.

C.  The Toronto Blue Jays became the first Canadian-based team to win the World Series.

D.  The Blue Jays became the first Canadian-based team to participate in major league post-season play.

E,  All of the above.



10.  When the New York Mets (dubbed the "Miracle Mets" or the "Amazing Mets") won the 1969 World Series, which American League team did they defeat?

The Mets celebrating their 1969 World Series win

A.  Detroit Tigers

B.  Baltimore Orioles

C.  Kansas City Royals

D.  Chicago White Sox

E.  Cleveland Indians



11,  What team defeated the Chicago White Sox in the infamous 1919 World Series?

A.  New York Giants

B.  Philadelphia Phillies

C.  St. Louis Cardinals

D.  Boston Braves

E.  Cincinnati Reds



12.  To date, the New York Yankees have won 27 World Series championships, the most of any team in Major League history.  Which team has recorded the second-most World Series victories?

A.  St. Louis Cardinals

B.  Pittsburgh Pirates

C.  Boston Red Sox

D.  New York/San Francisco Giants

E.  Detroit Tigers



13.  On October 8, 1956, Don Larsen pitched a perfect game for the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series.  To date, Larsen's perfect game is the only perfect game in the history of the Fall Classic.  Until 2010, it remained the only no-hitter of any kind in post-season play.  Which pitcher threw a no-hitter in the National League Division Series that year?

Don Larson after his perfect game

A.  Pedro Martinez

B.  Cliff Lee

C.  Roy Halladay

D.  Cole Hamels

E.  Roy Oswalt




ANSWERS

1.  B

The St. Louis won the 1964 World Series in seven games.  They won the seventh game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis by a score of 7-5.  Yogi Berra was fired and replaced by Johnny Keane, who had resigned from the Cardinals after the series.  It was the last World Series appearance for both Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle.  Mantle played his final major league game in 1968 and announced his retirement on March 1, 1969.  Ford  played his final major league game in 1967.  Their New York Yankees did not appear in another Word Series until 1976 when they were swept by the Cincinnati Reds in four games straight.


2.  A

Vin Scully was only 25 years old when he broadcast the 1953 World Series, a rematch between the four-time defending champion New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers.  He replaced Red Barber who was involved in a salary dispute.  In so doing, Scully became the youngest person to broadcast a World Series game, a record that still stands today.  At the age of 86, he is still the voice of Dodger baseball, but in Los Angeles.

By the way, the Yankees won that 1953 Series in six games for their fifth straight title - another mark that has yet to be equalled.


3.  D.

The 1982 World Series was dubbed the "Suds Series."  St. Louis and Milwaukee had never met in a Series before, but the two cities were beer market rivals with St. Louis being the home of Anheuser-Busch and Milwaukee the home of Miller Brewing.  The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee brewers in seven games.


4.  C

The last time the Chicago Cubs won the World Series was 1908 - that's 106 years ago!  The Cubbies have only won two Series in their storied history - back to back wins in 1907 and 1908.  Both times, they defeated the Detroit Tigers.


5.  B

Reggie Jackson slammed ten home runs in his 27 World Series games, batting .354 with 24 RBIs. The Hall of Famer played on five World Series championship teams.  He won three times with the Oakland Athletics and twice with the New York Yankees.  On October 18, 1977, Reggie slugged three home runs in Game 6 of the World Series, leading the Yankees to a 4-1 win over the Los Angels Dodgers and a victory in the Series four games to two.


6.  E

The Washington Senators did indeed win the World Series - in 1924.  They defeated the New York Giants in seven games.  In the above photo, Washington manager Bucky Harris presents U.S. President Calvin Coolidge with the baseball used to open the 1924 World Series at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D,C.  The Senators lost the first game of the Series by a score of 4-3 (in 12 innings).

Pitching great Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators made his first World Series appearance in 1924.  He was 36 years old.


7.  C

Joe McCarthy

Casey Stengel

Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel hold the MLB record with seven World Series rings each. McCarthy earned his rings while managing the New York Yankees in 1932, 1936-1939, 1941 and 1943. Stengel's victories were with the Yankees from 1949 to 1953 (five straight championships), and in 1956 and 1958.  Stengel won a total of 37 World Series games, while McCarthy won 30.

Connie Mack is in second place with five rings.  Joe Torre won four World Series and Sparky Anderson, Tony La Russa and Miller Huggins each notched three.


8.  A

No, Ty Cobb never won a World Series.  However, he did play in three straight World Series for the Detroit Tigers in 1907, 1908 and 1909.  The Tigers lost all three.  They lost to the Chicago Cubs in 1907 and 1908 and to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1909.


9.  D

The Toronto Blue Jays had been in post-season play prior to 1992, but they were not the first Canadian-based team to participate in the post-season  That distinction belongs to the Montreal Expos. In 1981, the Expos made it to post-season play for the first and only time as a Montreal franchise. However, they lost the best-of-five National League Championship when Rick Monday of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit a ninth-inning home run in Game 5 at Montreal's Olympic Stadium.  In 2005, the Expos moved to Washington D.C. to become the Washington Nationals.

Cito Gaston, who spent his entire managerial career with the Toronto Blue Jays, became the first African-American manager to win a World Series in Major League history when the Blue Jays won the championship in 1992.

Cito Gaston

10. B

In 1969, the New York Mets defeated the Baltimore Orioles in what is considered one of the greatest upsets in World Series history.  The Mets won the Series in five games, becoming the first expansion team to win a division title, a pennant, and the World Series.  Under manager Gil Hodges, the Mets captured the championship in what was only the eighth year of their existence.  They overcame a fine Baltimore Orioles club, managed by Earl Weaver.



11.  E

In 1919, the Cincinnati Reds defeated the heavily-favoured Chicago White Sox five games to three in the best--of-nine World Series.  A scandal followed (dubbed the "Black Sox" in which it was revealed that several members of the White Sox had conspired with gamblers to intentionally lose the 1919 championship.


12.  A

To date, the St. Louis Cardinals have won 11 World Series championships, the second-most Series victories.  The Boston Red Sox have won eight times, having appeared in 12 October Classics. The New York/San Francisco Giants have combined for seven World Series titles - five in New York and two in San Francisco.  The Pittsburgh PIrates have compiled five championships, while the Detroit Tigers have prevailed four times - 1935, 1945, 1968 and 1984.


13,  B

On October 6, 2010, Roy Halladay tossed a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of their 2010 National League Division series against the Cincinnati Reds.  It was Halladay's  second no-hitter in 2010 and the first postseason appearance of his career.



NOTE TO READERS: If you can't get enough baseball trivia, why don't you also try a previous baseball quiz I posted on October 1, 2012.  It's called "Baseball and World Series Quiz."  Just click the QUIZ tab at the top of the page.


- Joanne

Spare the rod and spoil the child?: Corporal Punishment and the Adrian Peterson Case

We need to understand the difference between discipline and punishment.  Punishment is what you do to someone; discipline is what you do for someone.

- Zig Ziglar (1926-2012), American author, motivational speaker


If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.

- Albert Einstein

The Adrian Peterson case has certainly stirred up the debate on corporal punishment..  Peterson, 29, is a star running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. On Thursday, September 11, 2014, he was indicted by a  grand jury and charged with causing reckless or negligent injury to a child.  On Saturday, September 13, he was freed on $15,000 bail after turning himself in to police in Houston, Texas. Peterson was booked amid allegations that he disciplined his four-year-old son by repeatedly hitting him with a tree branch.  Last May, he allegedly struck the boy approximately ten to 15 times with the branch, causing injuries to the child's back, hand, buttocks, ankles, legs and scrotum.

Adrian  Peterson

Adrian Peterson apparently told police earlier this year that he cares deeply about his son and that he did not consider himself guilty of wrongdoing.  He said he would never "eliminate whooping my kids . . . because I know how being spanked has helped me in my life."  Peterson's lawyer made the following statement to ESL.com.

He used the same kind of discipline with his child that he experienced as a child growing up in east Texas," the statement read. "Adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury.

In the United States, parents in every state are permitted to legally hit their child, provided the force is "reasonable."  Corporal punishment is also permitted in schools in 19 states, including Texas. According to Texas law (Texas' Family Code), child abuse is "an act or omission that endangers or impairs a child's physical, mental or emotional health and development."  The state, however, makes an exception for "reasonable discipline" by the child's parent or guardian.

Here in Canada, criminal law is under the jurisdiction of the federal government and applies to all the provinces and territories.  Under Section 43 of the Canadian Criminal Code,

Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada

Section 43 of the Criminal Code( reads as follows:

Every schoolteacher, parent or person standing in the place of a parent is justified in using force by way of correction toward a pupil or child, as the case may be, who is under his care, if the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances.

The defence of reasonable correction appeared in Canada’s first Criminal Code back in 1892.  The content has remained practically unchanged since that time, the only update being the removal of "masters" and "apprentices" from among the relationships covered by the defence.

The controversial law remains despite challenges from the Senate, the House of Commons and the Supreme Court.  Sadly, as a result, Canada continues to be one of the few developed countries in the world that officially condones corporal punishment.  In September of 2012, the Canadian Medical Association Journal called for the repeal of Section Section 43.  Its editor-in-chief, John Fletcher, wrote: "To have a specific code excusing parents is to suggest that assault is a normal and accepted part of bringing up children."  He also referred to Section 43 as a "constant excuse for parents to cling to an ineffective method of child discipline."

The CMA's editorial was prompted in part by a February 2012 study that looked into 20 years of research on corporal punishment and its effects.  The study found that spanked children are more likely to become antagonistic  and aggressive adults, more prone to antisocial behaviour.  Despite such findings, both social and economic conservatives continue to support corporal punishment. Social conservatives support the practice because, as Dave Quist, executive director of the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada put it, "There is a distinct difference between assault and discipline,” He and other social conservatives it consider it a necessary, although increasingly less popular, means of disciplining a child.

Social conservatives are fond of quoting the old axiom about sparing the rod and spoiling the child. Right-wing religious fundamentalists are strongly influenced by the biblical adage: "He that spareth the rod, hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes." (King James Version of the Bible, Book of Proverbs 13:24).  Note: The old adage is probably derived from a 17th century poem by Samuel Butler called Hudibras.  In the poem, a love affair is compared to a child, and spanking is lauded as a means of strengthening the love. The actual verse reads as follows:

"What medicine else can cure the fits

Of lovers when they lose their wits?

Love is a boy by poets styled

Then spare the rod and spoil the child."

Conservatives tend to believe that parents, not government, know best how to raise their children. They consider it the duty of parent, not the state. to decide how children should be disciplined, as long as it is reasonable.  Therein lies the rub.  How does one define the word "reasonable" and how can one ensure that spanking remains within reasonable limits?  Where does one draw the line between "spanking" and "child abuse?"  If the state doesn't protect children from abuse, who will?

Although Canada holds strict guidelines on what constitutes a legal spank (The child must be between two and 12 years of age, the blows may only be administered with an open palm and the force used must be “transitory and trifling in nature), there is no way those guidelines can be truly enforced or monitored.  Furthermore, they do not prevent a child from receiving unintentional injuries from parents who become extremely angry and go overboard in their attempts to punish a child.

Shouldn't society have some role in protecting children from abuse before it happens?  In some instances, parents don't intend to abuse their children, but they get carried away or overwhelmed by frustration, stress and anger.  If corporal punishment were outlawed, there would fewer occurrences of child abuse due to parents losing control.  There would be fewer adults perpetuating the attitude of parents who spanked them.

If the allegations against Adrian Peterson are true, then he is guilty of child abuse.  No matter what his intentions, if he caused physical harm to his son, his method of "discipline' was utterly reprehensible and disgusting, to say the least.  Opponents of corporal punishment do not deny that children require discipline.  However, there are many other methods of discipline that are effective and do not result in children being beaten and bruised and frightened of their parents.

It is unfortunate that former basketball star, Charles Barkley, defended Peterson in a recent interview with Jim Rome for CBS Sports' The NFL Today.  Barkley, who hails from Leeds, Alabama stated: "Every black parent in my neighbourhood in the South would be in trouble or in jail under those circumstances. . . . As far as being from the South, we all spanked our kids. I got spanked, me and my two brothers."  It would have been more helpful if Sir Charles had criticized such conduct and called for a a change of attitude, an end to such behaviour in the southern states.  "I'm a good ol' Texas boy and my daddy spanked me" is not an acceptable justification for hitting a child.

Corporal punishment is archaic and should not be tolerated.  It is a 17th century method of discipline that has no place in the 21st century.  It should be outlawed.  It should be taboo.  It is unacceptable PERIOD.  That is why the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) proposes that all states implement a law prohibiting all forms of corporal punishment in schools, private and public institutions, the juvenile justice system, the alternative care system and the home.


- Joanne

Shoeless Joe Jackson: His Life Before and After the Scandal

(Shoeless Joe) Jackson's fall from grace is one of the real tragedies of baseball.  I always thought he was more sinned against than sinning.
- Connie Mack (1862-1956), baseball player, manager and team owner


Joe Jackson agreed to throw the World Series, and he received $5,000 for doing so. The evidence that he actually did throw the Series is slightly less than conclusive, but in a way that's irrelevant. He certainly knew what was going on, and he probably helped. And that's all we need to know. Shoeless Joe's not a god, nor even a ghost. He was a man who happened to play baseball exceptionally well.
- Rob Neyer
July 30, 2014, ESPN.com

There has been a great deal of controversy about whether Pete Rose should remain banned from Major League Baseball and whether he should eligible for membership in the exclusive National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  In 1989, Rose was expelled from MLB amid allegations that he gambled on baseball games during his tenure as player and manager for the Cincinnati Reds.  In 2004, he admitted to betting on baseball, but not against his own team.  The issue of Pete Rose's possible reinstatement and induction to the Hall of Fame continues to spark debate. There is, however, another player from a much earlier era whose exclusion from the hallowed halls of Cooperstown still remains an issue.  That player is Joseph Jefferson Jackson, better known as "Shoeless Joe."

Shoeless Joe Jackson was born on July 16, 1887 (some sources cite 1888 as his birth year) in Pickens County, South Carolina, the eldest of the eight children (six boys and two girls) of George Jackson, a sharecropper, and his wife, Martha.  In 1901, the family moved to a company town called Brandon Mill, just outside of Greenville, South Carolina where George found employment at the textile factory.  Young Joe also went to work at the Brandon Mill to help meet family finances.  He probably would have remained a mill worker if it hadn't been such an immensely talented baseball player..

The Jackson family was poor and could not afford to send Joe to school.  Of his lack of formal education, Joe once stated, "I ain't afraid to tell the world that it don't take school stuff to help a fella play ball."  Well, Joe sure knew how to play ball!  The great Babe Ruth imitated Shoeless Joe Jackson's style because "I thought he was the greatest hitter I ever saw.  He's the guy who made me a hitter."  Ty Cobb, no stranger to controversy himself, praised Joe as "the finest natural hitter in the game."

Joe was originally a pitcher for the mill league squad, but he was moved to the outfield because his fastball was so hard that he once broke a catcher's hand or arm.  After that, it was difficult to find someone who would agree to catch for him.

On July 19, 1908, Joe Jackson married 15-year-old Katherine "Katie" Wynn, also of Greenville.  That same year, the newlywed Joe played professional baseball for the first time, with the Greenville Spinners of the Carolina Association. He led the league with an impressive .346 batting average.  In August of 1908, Connie Mack, manager of the Philadelphia Athletics, bought Joe's major league contract.

Joe and Katie on their wedding day

Shoeless Joe had a difficult time in Philadelphia, then a city of over 1.5 million people.  It was all rather overwhelming for the illiterate country boy who was teased incessantly by his teammates because of his inability to read and write.  When Connie Mack offered to get Joe a tutor, he refused the offer. In 1909, after five games with the Athletics, a homesick Joe departed for his native South.  He played 118 games for the South Atlantic League's Savannah, Georgia team (the Savannah Indians) and batted .358 for the season.

The Philadelphia Athletic eventually gave up on Shoeless Joe.  In July of 1910, he was traded to the Cleveland Naps (later the Indians) for outfielder Bris Lord and $6,000.  He dutifully reported to the team's New Orleans farm club (the Pelicans) and batted .354 during that Southern League season.  Joe's performance in New Orleans earned him a promotion and he was brought up to play for the Cleveland team for the last twenty games of their season. During that time, his batting average was an impressive .347.

In 1911, Jackson's first full major league season, he batted a stellar .408, the highest batting average ever recorded by a rookie.  In 1912, his batting average was .395 and he led the American League in triples. The following year, 1913, he led the league in hits with 197.

Joe as a Cleveland Naps player

On August 20, 1915, Shoeless Joe Jackson was traded to the Chicago White Sox for $31,500 in cash and three players (Braggo Roth, Larry Chappell and Ed Klepfer).  The owner of his new team was Charles Albert Comiskey (1859-1931).  A former player and manager, Comiskey had been instrumental in the formation of the American League and the founding of the White Sox.  Under his direction, the team's renowned stadium, Comiskey Park, was built in 1910.

Charles Comiskey

Joe's trade to the White Sox would alter the course of his life.  As he boarded a train to Chicago on the night of the deal, he had no way of knowing what turbulence lay ahead.  The next day, he joined his new team and played left field in a double header against the New York Yankees.

By 1917, the United States had entered World War I and Shoeless Joe was a star outfielder for the Chicago White Sox.  He batted .307 that season and led his team to a World Series victory over the New York Giants - four games to two.  Joe was ineligible for the draft because he was the sole supporter of his wife and his mother.  In 1918, he took a job in the shipyards, receiving much criticism for not going overseas to fight in the war.  He continued to play baseball for industrial team leagues and returned to Chicago when the war ended.

During the 1919 season, Joe Jackson resumed his fine play on the field.  He recorded a .351 average during the regular season and once again led his team to a berth in the World Series.  His Chicago White Sox were heavily favoured to defeat their National League opponents, the Cincinnati Reds. Despite being underdogs, the Reds won the best-of-nine Series five games to three.

1919 Chicago White Sox

1919 Chicago outfield  (L to R) -  Nemo Leibold, Happy Felsch, Shano Collins, Jackson

After Chicago's lacklustre performance, suspicions were aroused that some of the White Sox players had been influenced by gamblers and bookies.  Owner Charles Comiskey attempted to discourage speculation that the Series had been fixed.  He made the following statement to the press.

I believe my boys fought the battle of the recent World Series on the level, as they have always done.  And I would be the first to want information to the contrary--if there be any.  I would give $20,000 to anyone unearthing information to that effect.

Despite his initial statement of confidence in his players, Charles Comiskey's actions prove otherwise. According to Douglas Linder, author of an article entitled "The Black Sox Trial: An Account," on the Famous American Trials  website, Comiskey employed a private detective to investigate the finances of seven of the eight players who were considered part of the original conspiracy."  Infielder Buck Weaver was the only one of the eight not under investigated.

In December of 2007, the Chicago History Museum purchased a collection  of documents relating to the Black Sox scandal.  The documents, all came came from the same source - the offices of Charles Comiskey's attorney.  Among the documents were reports from the detectives Comiskey hired through his lawyer, Alfred Austrian,  These included letters from J.R, Hunter of Hunter's Secret service of Illinois.

So, the Chicago White Sox played the 1920 season under a cloud of suspicion, even from their owner. Shoeless Joe batted .385 and led the American league in triples for the third time in his career, but his team failed to win the pennant.  Although the White Sox were in contention until the final week of the season, they quickly fell out of the race in the autumn of 1920, when the infamous "Black Sox" scandal broke wide open. News of the affair was made known to the public on September 26th. Shoeless Joe and seven of his teammates (Eddie Cicotte, George "Buck" Weaver, Oscar "Happy" Fetsch, Arnold "Chick" Gandil, Charles August "Swede" Risberg, Fred McMullin and Claude "Lefty" Williams) were accused of accepting $5,000 each as part of a conspiracy with gamblers (including former boxer Abe Attell) to throw the 1919 World Series.  Newspaper headlines screamed "WHITE SOX INDICTED.".

Charles Comiskey suspended the seven players who were still active.  The eighth player was first baseman Chick Gandil, the self-admitted ringleader of the conspiracy.  Gandil,who opted to leave major league baseball after the 1919 season, had associated with a bookie and gambler, Joseph "Sport" Sullivan, who would later become a key figure in conspiring with Gandil to fix the 1919 World Series.

After the 1920 season, Major League Baseball's first commissioner, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, banned Shoeless Joe Jackson from playing professional baseball.  Jackson's last major league appearance occurred on September 27. 1920 for the Chicago White Sox.  He was in his early 30s and in the prime of his career.

The next day, September 28, 1920, Joe testified under oath before a County Cook, Illinois grand jury. In his testimony, he admitted to agreeing to throw the 1919 World Series for the sum of $20,000. However, he stated that he received $5,000.

Q: Did anybody pay you any money to help throw that series in favor of Cincinnati?
A: They did.
Q: How much did they pay?
A: They promised me $20,000, and paid me $5,000.
Q: Who promised you the twenty thousand?
A: "Chick Gandil.
Q: Who is Chick Gandil?
A. He was their first baseman on the White Sox Club.
Q: Who paid you the $5,000?
A: Left Williams brought it in my room and threw it down.
Q: Who is Lefty Williams?
A: The pitcher on the White Sox Club.
Q: Where did he bring it, where is your room?
A: At that time I was staying at the Lexington Hotel, I believe it is.

So, according to Jackson's own testimony, he agreed to fix the series and he also accepted a bribe. Shoeless Joe was guilty as sin!  Case closed!  Well, it's not quite as simple as that.  Joe's biographer, Donald Gropman, author of Say it Ain't So, Joe!," portrays Joe as more of a victim than a villain.  At the time of the grand jury hearings, Joe did not have his  own legal counsel.  In what was clearly a conflict of interest, he was represented by Charles Comiskey's lawyer, Alfred S. Austrian (Comiskey paid Austrian's legal fee).

Gropman claims that Austrian advised Jackson to admit to the judge that he was guilty and to apologize.  It was this lawyer, Gropman says, who persuaded Joe to sign a waiver of immunity, which Joe couldn't read.  As for the presiding judge, his name was Charles McDonald and he was a close friend of none other than (you guessed it) Charles Comiskey.

In 1949, Joe Jackson told his side of the story to Furman Bisher of Sport Magazine.  Bisher was young journalist at the time and his interview with Shoeless Joe was a real coup for him.  Joe told Bisher that he was aware of the talk about fixing the World Series and that he went to see Charles Comiskey about it.

When the talk got so bad just before the World Series with Cincinnati, I went to Mr. Charles Comiskey's room the night before the Series started and asked him to keep me out of the line-up. Mr Comiskey was the owner of the White Sox. He refused, and I begged him: "Tell the newspapers you just suspended me for being drunk, or anything, but leave me out of the Series and then there can be no question." 

As for the famous legend about the young boy who tugged at Joe's sleeve as he left the courthouse and urged him to "Say it ain't so, Joe," it's a great story, but it's likely a fabrication of the press. Here's what Shoeless Joe had to say about the alleged incident to Sports Magazine.

I guess the biggest joke of all was that story that got out about "Say it ain't so, Joe." Charley Owens of the Chicago Daily News was responsible for that, but there wasn't a bit of truth in it. It was supposed to have happened the day I was arrested in September of 1920, when I came out of the courtroom. 

There weren't any words passed between anybody except me and a deputy sheriff. When I came out of the building this deputy asked me where I was going, and I told him to the Southside. He asked me for a ride and we got in the car together and left. There was a big crowd hanging around the front of the building, but nobody else said anything to me. It just didn't happen, that's all. Charley Owens just made up a good story and wrote it. Oh, I would have said it ain't so, all right, just like I'm saying it now. 

On August 2, 1921, a Chicago jury acquitted Joe Jackson and his teammates of helping to fix the 1919 World Series.  Kenesaw Landis, however, chose to take a hard line on the matter, arguing that it was necessary in order for Major League Baseball to clean up its tainted image. Landis acted against the court ruling and he claimed that baseball was perfectly capable of governing itself.  As a result, Shoeless Joe and the seven other Chicago players were prohibited from ever playing professional baseball again.

Joe leaving the courthouse in 1921

On the day after the jury's verdict,  Landis released the following statement to the press:

Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player who throws a ballgame, no player that undertakes or promises to throw a ballgame, no player that sits in conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the ways and means of throwing a game are discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball.

Kenesaw Mountain Landis

The Chicago players who threw the 1919 World Series were not satisfied with their salaries. While that does not justify their actions, by any means, it explains their motivations.  Charles Comiskey certainly had a reputation for being a tightwad who failed to follow through on promised bonuses to his players. He apparently tried to save expenses by reducing the number of player uniforms laundered.  Two of his biggest stars, Shoeless Joe and third baseman Buck Weaver, received $6,000 a year, far less than their value.  At the time, of course, there was no free agency. Due to baseball's reserve clause, any player who turned down a contract was forbidden from playing for another team.

To be fair, most owners during that era were no better than Comiskey.  In fact, the 1919 Chicago White Sox actually had one of the highest team payrolls in the majors leagues at $93,000 ($20,000 more than their National League opponents, the Cincinnati Reds).  These facts did not come to light until 2003 when Major League Baseball allowed the archives of the Baseball Hall of Fame to have access to index cards containing information about players' payments and contract modifications.

There is no doubt that Comiskey was  unpopular with his players and that he was intensely disliked by Chick Gandil.  In the September 17, 1956 issue of Sports Illustrated, Gandil provided his view of the scandal to journalist Melvin Dursag in an article entitled "This is My Story of the Black Sox Series!" Here is what Gandil thought of Comiskey.

There was Charles Comiskey, the White Sox owner.  He was a sarcastic, belittling man who was the tightest owner in baseball.  If a player objected to his miserly terms, Comiskey told him.  'You can take it or leave it.'  Under baseball's slave laws, what could a fellow do but take it?  I recall only one act of generosity on Comiskey's part.  After we won the World Series in 1917, he splurged with a case of champagne.

The major issue regarding Comiskey is not, however, whether he was a skinflint and a tyrant.  The major issue is that he was aware of the conspiracy to some degree and that he played a part in covering up the scandal.  Shoeless Joe claimed to have warned him about it, and there is evidence that the White Sox front office had knowledge of what was going on, including Harry Grabiner, the team's secretary and Comiskey's top aide (a position similar to a general manager in today's baseball).

In the mid-1960s, baseball owner and promoter Bill Veek (1914-1986), a Chicago native, discovered Grabiner's diary hidden away in a remote area of Comiskey Park.  Veek published parts of the diary in a 1966 book entitled The Hustler's Handbook.  Grabiner's journal contained pages of handwritten notes about contract negotiations with players and the White Sox's investigation into the World Series fix.  Here is what Veek wrote in The Hustler's Handbook.
.
Beyond any doubt, the White Sox front office had more than some inkling of what was going on from the very first game of the 1919 World Series.  Some accounts state that Grabiner warned Comiskey, American League President Ban Johnson and National League John Heydler of a possible scandal after Game 2 of the Series, but was ignored.

In his biography of Shoeless Joe, entitled Shoeless: The Life and Times of Joe Jackson, author David Fleitz also revealed Comiskey's cover up of the scandal.

(Charles Comiskey) could not risk the public exposure of the 1919 Series fix., since his enemies could use his own awareness of the details against him . . . The temptation to cover up the scandal proved irresistible, so Comiskey and Grabiner soon got all the crooked players, except for (Chick) Gandil, back in the fold . . .

How did Cominkey get his errant players back in the fold?  Prior to the 1920 season, Charles "Swede" Risberg and Oscar "Happy" Fetsch were given an increases in salary.  As for Shoeless Joe, he signed a three-year contract for $8,000 a year.  After the 1919 season, Chick Gandil refused Comiskey's offer of a raise and retired from the majors.  Instead, he decided to play semi-professional baseball in California, far away from Chicago and the brewing scandal.

Charles A. Comiskey died on October 26, 1931 and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939 by the Veteran's Committee.  He was not excluded from Cooperstown despite his cover-up of the Black Sox scandal.  If one believes that Shoeless Joe should not be a member of the Hall of Fame, then by the same token, Comiskey does not deserve to be there either.  Did Judge Landis know of Comiskey's complicity in the scandal and the subsequent cover-up of the affair?

Ted Williams, legendary left fielder for the Boston Red Sox, is best known for batting 406 during the 1941 season.  Nicknamed "The Splendid Splinter," Williams was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966, his first year of eligibility.  He made the following statement in defence of Shoeless Joe, whom he admired.

Joe shouldn't have accepted the money...and he realized his error.  He tried to give the money back.  He tried to tell Comiskey . . . about the fix.  But they wouldn't listen.  Comiskey covered it up as much as Jackson did--maybe more.  And there's Charles Albert Comiskey down the aisle from me at Cooperstown -- and Shoeless Joe still waits outside. 

Shoeless Joe's performance in that 1919 October Classic was absolutely superb.  Not only did Jackson belt the only home run of the eight games that were played, but he was responsible for 11 of Chicago's 20 runs, and he led his team in RBIs, with six.  His batting average was a robust .375 and his 12 hits set World Series record at the time (Bobby Richardson of the New York Yankees had 13 hits in the 1964 Series). In addition, Joe's defensive work in that 1919 Series was flawless.  He fielded 30 balls without committing a single error.

Nevertheless, Jackson's detractors contend that he did not perform to the best of his ability in the 1919 World Series.

In the first four games the conspirators wanted to lose, Jackson hit .250 with zero RBI.  In the fifth fixed game, Jackson was hitless until the Reds were ahead 5-0, at which point he hit a solo home run.  Later, with the Sox trailing the Reds 10-1, Jackson hit a meaningless two-run double.

- Rob Neyer
July 30, 2014, ESPN.com

In 1922, after his banishment from the majors, Joe and his wife, Katie, moved to Savannah, Georgia where they owned a dry cleaning business.  The couple returned to Greenville in 1932 and opened a barbecue restaurant on Augusta Street.  They later owned Joe Jackson's Liquor Store  on Pendleton Street, near Brandon Mill, where the two grew up.  They operated the store until Joe's death.

Joe and Katie circa 1932

Shoeless Joe at his liquor store

During the years following his expulsion from the majors, Joe played with and managed several semi-professional teams in the South, mainly in Georgia and South Carolina.  In 1941, when he was over 50 years of age, Jackson played in his first and only night game.  He put on quite a show, by the way, slugging two home runs.  Shoeless Joe Jackson died of a massive heart attack on December 5, 1951 at his home in Greenville, South Carolina.  He was 64 years old at the time of his passing.

Ted Williams once declared:  "When I was younger, the Red Sox used to stop sometimes in Greenville, South Carolina.- that's Joe Jackson's home.  And he was still alive.  Oh, how I wish I had known that and could have stopped in to talk hitting with that man.

In November of 1999 the United States House of Representatives  passed a resolution praising Joe Jackson's sporting accomplishments and urging Major League Baseball to reverse its stand on his ineligibility for the Hall of Fame.  The resolution, of course, was purely symbolic, since the government of the United States has no official authority or power over the situation.  However, MLB commissioner Bud Selig declared that Jackson's case was under review.  Almost 15 years have pass since then, and Shoeless Joe's status remains unchanged.  He is still in ineligible.  The problem will be passed on to Selig's successor, Rob Manfred.

Movies such as Field of Dreams (1989) and The Natural (1984) have portrayed Shoeless Joe Jackson as a heroic figure.  While there is something wonderfully romantic and dreamlike about Joe's film persona, it is a highly idealized image of the man.  In truth, Joe was neither an angel nor a devil.  He was merely a flawed human being, much like the rest of us - except for his ability to play baseball.

 Joseph Jackson died in 1951 but lives on as Shoeless Joe, more a myth than a man, a ghostly figure walking out of a cornfield wanting nothing more than to play the game he loved. The real Joe Jackson, the South Carolina mill hand and small-town businessman, would smile and shake his head at the legend that surrounds Shoeless Joe today. 

- David Fleitz
From: Shoeless: The Life and Times of Joe Jackson



END NOTES

* Although Joe Jackson's death certificate and his grave marker list the year of his birth as 1888,  it must be remembered that his family records were destroyed in a fire.  According to Shoeless Joe Jackson's Virtual Hall of Fame website, "Joe gave many interviews over his lifetime and in most of them he was asked his age at the time.  If one takes the age quoted, from the year it was quoted in, it always comes up to the year of birth as 1887.  All family records were lost in a fire so there is no way of proving this, however logic would lead one to believe that Joe would know his own age when asked."

Below is a photo of Joe's grave marker.  His middle initial is given as "W," although his middle name is always listed as "Jefferson."

* Shoeless Joe's father, George Elmore Jackson (born May 30, 1856) died on February 11, 1914.  He was only 57 years old at the time of his passing.  Joe's mother, Martha Ann J. Jackson (born February 14, 1864) died on August 25, 1923.

* Shoeless Joe Jackson and his wife never had any children.  According to Joe's 1949 Sports Magazine interview, he and Katie "raised one of my brother's boys from babyhood."   "He was never was interested in baseball," Joe stated, "but they used to tell me he would have been a fine football player."  Their nephew "didn't get to go to college.  The war came along and he went into the Navy as a flier."  "He was killed accidentally a couple of years ago when a gun he was cleaning went off. Katie and me felt like we'd lost our own boy," Joe added with sadness.

* Katie Wynn Jackson died on April 18, 1959 and is buried alongside her husband at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Greenville, South Carolina.  Unlike Shoeless Joe, Katie was able to read and write and she taught Joe how to sign his name by tracing a pattern.  It was Katie, however, who signed Joes's autograph all but a few times.

* Joe obtained the nickname "Shoeless" because he played a minor league game in his stockings after a new pair of spikes has caused him to have blisters.

* In 1923, Shoeless Joe launched an $18,500 lawsuit against the Chicago White Sox for breach of contract for salary.  The trial took place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in February of 1924.  Here's what he told Furman Bisher about the lawsuit in the 1949 Sports Magazine article.

 I sued Mr. Comiskey for the salary I had coming to me under the five year contract I had with the White Sox,.  When I won the verdict - I got only a little out of it -- the first one I heard from was (American League President Ban) Johnson.  He wired me congratulations on beating Mr. Comiskey and his son, Louis.

In Milwaukee, Joe denied that he took part in fixing the 1919 World Series and was arrested for perjury.   Here's an Associated Press news item from the trial.

FRIDAY, FEB. 15,1924 - New Sensation In Jackson SalarySuit JAILED FOR PERJURY WHEN JURY RETIRES Former Star Outfielder Finds Himself In Toils As Case Ends (By Associated Press) MILWAUKEE, Wis., Feb. 15.— Additional sensational developments are expected after the circuit court jury reports today in the trial of Joe Jackson’s salary suit against the Chicago, American league, baseball club. Tbat was intimated by Judge J. J. Gregory after he ordered Jackson’s arrest for perjury at the conclusion of the trial last night. The former star outfielder was released on $5,000 bail after he had been sent to jail. FelscH Also Jailed Oscar (Happy) Fblsch, former team mate of Jackson and who testified for him in the salary suit,, was arrested for perjury Wednesday and released on $2,000 cash bail. Jackson is suing for money he alleges due him after he was barred from organized baseball for alleged participation in the 1919 world’s series scandal. 

* Did you know that Joe had a favourite baseball bat, which he named "Black Betsy?"  According to his official website, "it was 36-inches (91 centimentres) long and weighed 3 pounds (1.36 kilograms)."

* None of Joe'e five brothers played in the big leagues, but his brother, Jerry, played pro ball for a significant length of time.  Jerry Jackson was a minor league pitcher and was also an umpire in the Western Carolina League.

* In 1989, the late A. Bartlett "Bart" Giamatti, then-Commission of Major League Baseball, refused to reinstate Shoeless Joe Jackson into MLB because the case was "now best given to historical analysis and debate as opposed to a present-day review with an eye to reinstatement."

- Joanne


EDITOR'S UPDATE (June 7, 2017):  In 2015, Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, denied Shoeless Joe Jackson's reinstatement into MLB.  In a letter to Arlene Marcley, the president of the Joe Jackson Museum in Greenville, South Carolina, Manfred wrote the following:

I have reviewed our records concerning the responses of both Commissioner (Bart) Giamatti and (Fay) Vincent, who declined to reconsider Mr. Jackson's case.  I agree with that determination and conclude that it would not be appropriate for me to reopen the matter. 

Photos of the Gallery on the Lake in Buckhorn, Ontario and the Hutchison House in Peterborough

THE GALLERY ON THE LAKE, BUCKHORN, ONTARIO

On Saturday, August 23, I visited The Gallery on the Lake, one of Canada's largest retail art galleries.  It is located near Buckhorn, Ontario, in the picturesque Kawarthas (65 Gallery on the Lake Road) off Country Road #36, just north of Peterborough.  The gallery is situated on beautiful Buckhorn Lake.  It contains a Gallery Cafe and Tea Room with  a magnificent view.

The Gallery on the Lake offers extensive collections of art by some of Canada's most renowned artists (I enjoyed the work of Aboriginal artist Noval Morrisseau) and also some of  the country's up-and-coming artists.

Here are some photos from my visit, highlighting the gorgeous lakeside setting.

THE HUTCHISON HOUSE LIVING HISTORY MUSEIUM

On Sunday afternoon, August 24, I visited the Hutchison House Museum (270 Brock St., Peterborough, Ontario).  The Hutchison House, owned and operated by the Peterborough Historical Society, is a limestone house built in 1837 by local citizens.  Their intent was to persuade Dr. John Hutchison, the city's first resident physician, to remain in Peterborough.  Dr Hutchison and his family resided in the house until the doctor's death in July of 1847 at the age of 49.  He died of typhus he contracted from a patient.  His medical instruments and books are prominently displayed in the house.

Born in Kirkaldy, Fifeshire, Scotland on November 27, 1797. Dr. John Hutchison studied medicine at Glasgow University Medical Facility.  He arrived at Port Hope, Upper Canada in 1818.  The doctor was a cousin of Sir Sandford Fleming, a talented engineer and inventor, best known for mapping the Canadian Pacific Railway, designing the first Canadian postage stamp (the Threepenny Beaver) and for his proposal of worldwide Standard Time, a single 24-hour clock around the globe.

Fleming, also born in Kirkaldy, came to the Province of Canada in 1845 at the age of 18.  Already apprenticed as a surveyor, he lived with the Hutchisons during his first for two years in the new land.  A bedroom in the Hutchison House  is dedicated to Sir Sandford and it contains his surveying tools and one of his original maps of Peterborough.

After the death of John Hutchison, the house was sold to James Harvey, a distinguished local merchant.  The Harvey family maintained ownership of the residence until 1969, when it was donated to the Peterborough Historical Society.  The house was restored to to the mid-1800s period and it opened as a museum in 1978.

During the moths of July and August, Scottish tea is served on the Hutchsison House terrace  by young volunteers.  Along with tea or lemonade, visitors can enjoy traditional oat scones and oat cookies.  There are also gardens with various flowers and a variety of herbs that would have been available in the 1860s.


- Joanne

Is the right wing or the left wing controlling the agenda?

               LEFT WING versus RIGHT WING

Conservatives of the far right would have us believe that the media is controlled by left-wing zealots. Yet it they who are controlling the political agenda, especially in Canada and the United States. Yes, U.S. President Barack Obama is a Democrat, but he is hardly a socialist or a left-wing radical. Throughout his presidency, Obama has been hampered by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Here in Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, has gradually shifted the political paradigm in this country to the right.  The Liberals have become the "Progressive Conservatives" and the New Democrats have turned into the Liberals.  As for the Conservatives, they are akin to U.S. Republicans.

The next Canadian federal election is scheduled for October of 2015 and the party leaders, for the most part, are certainly not focusing on issues such as youth unemployment, pensions, the environment, poverty and homelessness. Conservatives have put the spotlight on the deficit, taxes and crime.  Not that these aren't valid issues, but other important matters have been moved to the background or ignored.  The Conservatives are determined to remove the deficit before the election.  They want to campaign as the party that put Canada's books in order.

Getting rid of the deficit is certainly a laudable goal, but at what cost?  Can it be justified if causes pain and suffering for the most vulnerable in society?  Is it worthwhile if it creates more inequality and a greater income gap between the haves and have nots?  It is unconscionable that the Harper government is attempting to erase the deficit sooner than necessary in order to further its chances for re-election in 2015.  By the way, the Conservatives never mention that the Liberals left a $13.7 billion surplus when they handed over the reigns of power to them in 2006?

Most politicians try to portray themselves as fiscally responsible.  While taxpayers' money should certainly not be wasted, a certain level of taxation is absolutely necessary.  Right wingers, however, have worked diligently to make "tax" a four-letter word rather than the the three-letter word it is.  Yet certain programs are necessary to maintain services, prevent poverty and protect the environment.  People need those services right not, not three years from now.

Since he assumed the office of prime minister in 2006, and especially since forming a majority government Stephen Harper has actively pursued his right wing agenda - cutting government programs, relaxing environmental and gun control laws and eliminating the long gun registry and the long form census etc.  Some changes have come sneakily through omnibus bills.

During the 2008 recession, however, the government temporarily abandoned conservative principles and used stimulus spending to spur the economy.  Combined with Canada's regulations on financial institutions (a conservative no-no but already put in place by previous governments), the recession was not as painful as it was south of the border.  The Harper government took ample credit for this and portrayed itself as a party of sound fiscal management.  Then, in order to appease its base support, it reverted to cutting and slashing social programs and public sector jobs.

In Canada, a prime minister with a majority government wields a great deal of power.  The leader of the majority government in Canada is not subject to the system of checks and balances and the division of power provided by the U.S. constitution.  While Prime Minister Harper received a mandate to govern from the Canadian electorate in 2011 via our "first past the post" polling system, it must be remembered that about 60 per cent of voters did not cast their ballot for the Conservative candidates.  Since there is no proportional representation, Harper is governing with the electoral support of about 40 per cent of Canadian voters.

The Canadian media have solidly backed the Harper government.  During the 2011 federal election campaign, the vast majority of the nation/s newspapers endorsed the Conservative Party of Canada.  The country's major dailies, including The Globe and Mail, The Gazette (Montreal), the National Post, the Calgary Herald, the Ottawa Citizen, The Vancouver Sun, The Hamilton Spectator, all of the Sun Media papers (the Toronto Sun, the Ottawa Sun, the Winnipeg Sun, the Edmonton Sun, the Calgary Sun), the Edmonton Journal, the Winnipeg Free Press and The Vancouver Sun, overwhelmingly supported the re-election of a Conservative government.

The only notable exceptions were the Toronto Star, which endorsed the New Democratic Party (NDP), but urged strategic voting for the Liberals in close Liberal/Conservative ridings,  Le Devoir, which endorsed the Bloc Québécois, Le Soleil (Quebec City), which recommended voting for the best local candidate, and La Presse (Montreal), which recommended various parties in specific ridings. Maclean's magazine also supported the Conservatives. Does that sound like a media dominated by left-wing and liberal thinkers?

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has an aversion to our public broadcasting network, the CBC, and his government has been insidiously destroying it with cutbacks to its funding.  Although Conservatives regard the CBC as a hotbed of liberals and radicals, such staunch right wingers as Kevin O'Leary, Don Cherry and Rex Murphy appear on its programs.

It is no accident that the word "Progressive" has been removed from the name Harper's party.  It is no longer the "Progressive" Conservative Party. The neo-conservatives are in control and moderate conservatives such as former Prime Minister Joe Clark, do not fit in.  Clark has been very forthright in his criticism of the Conservative government's record on foreign affairs, accusing the Conservatives of practically abandoning the global arena.  In his book How We Lead: Canada in a Century of Change, published in 2013,  Clark writes:

The Harper government is skilled at conveying, and controlling, its own image among Canadians. But sometimes the most disciplined guard goes down, and the government actually says what it means.

Clark, a longtime external affairs minister, laments that Canada "has drawn back from the fight against international poverty, peacekeeping, Kyoto, arms control, a broad presence in Africa, and Canada's customary leadership in the United Nations, Commonwealth and related multinational institutions."

Joe Clark, former Prime Minister of Canada

In the United States, MSNBC and such newspapers as The New York Times present a liberal viewpoint. Yet they are overshadowed by the vehemence of Fox News and far-right talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh.  Right wingers also have the support of affluent Americans such as the Koch family who donate large amounts of their money to libertarian and conservative causes.  Then there is the powerful and wealthy National Rifle Association and its relentless opposition to gun control.

In the United States, the Republican Party has been completely and utterly transformed.  It is unrecognizable as the party of Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower. It's becoming increasingly libertarian and under the control of the Tea Party.  From the moment President Obama assumed office, the GOP has been incredibly hostile towards him.  It refuses to co-operate with him or make compromises for the benefit of  the country.  Republicans are more interested in bringing down Obama than in America's well-being.  That is why they have attacked almost everything he's tried to accomplish.  That is why they have been as relentless and as vicious as a pack of wolves in their opposition to the president.

I understand the importance of the division of powers between the executive, judicial and legislative branches of the American government.  However, the Obama administration has faced nothing but congressional gridlock and an abundance of ill will from the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The situation has deteriorated to the point that the House recently voted to proceed with a lawsuit against President Obama (only five Republicans opposed the ridiculous resolution).

Republicans are alleging that Obama misused his executive powers, especially with regard to changes made to the federal health care law when the Affordable Heath Care Act (commonly known as Obamacare) came into being.  Thankfully, the majority of Americans do not agree with the Republicans.  A recently CBS News poll found that 54 percent of Americans disapprove of the lawsuit against the president,while 37 percent approve.

According to a report by CNN's Deirdre Walsh, many constitutional experts "have raised doubts that the courts will take up the case."  The onus will be on the House of Representatives to prove that Obama's actions were harmful to it.  What a colossal waste of time when the United States has so many pressing concerns!

Many Republicans have tried to portray Obama as a foreigner, an outsider, not a "real American."  The "birthers" have questioned whether he was actually born in Hawaii.  They intimate that his birth certificate is a forgery and that he was probably born in Kenya or Indonesia.  Unable to overtly mention the president's colour, they use his birthplace in order to paint him as some kind of foreigner.

In the words of Steve King, U.S. Representative for Iowa's 4th congressional district, "I'm not sure Barack Obama could pass the citizenship test."  King, by the way, was one of 11 members of Congress to vote against the $51.5 billion Hurricane Katrina Aid package for the city of New Orleans, claiming it was fiscally irresponsible. He later remarked that "the singular vote that stands out that went against the grain, and it turns out to be the best vote that I cast, was my "no" vote to Katrina."

Rep. Steve King (Republican, Iowa)

In March of 2008, King made the following comments about then-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's middle name, "Hussein."

I don't want to disparage anyone because of their race, their ethnicity, their name - whatever their religion their father might have been, I'll just say this: When you think about the optics of a Barack Obama potentially getting elected President of the United States - I mean, what does this look like to the rest of the world? What does it look like to the world of Islam? I will tell you that, if he is elected president, then the radical Islamists, the al Qaida, the radical Islamist and their supporters, will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11.  

The views of Rep. Steve King are indicative of the outlook of many Republicans and Republican voters.  As for their hostility to President Obama, remember that there is a movement to impeach him.  Here are the words of Michele Bachmann, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Minnesota's 6th congressional district.

We will put a handcuff on one of the president's hands.

Remember too, that Rep. Bachmann was a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2012 presidential campaign.  She is not some fringe politician.  Neither is Sarah Palin, former Alaska Governor and former Republican vice-presidential candidate.  Palin called for the impeachment of Obama in Breitbart News, a conservative website.  She claimed that more Americans would favour impeachment if they were aware of the actual meaning of "high crimes and misdemeanors."

When House Speaker John Boehner (Republican, Ohio) stated that Republicans will not impeach the president and that impeachment talk was a "scam" being staged by Democrats, Palin and radio hosts Russ Limbaugh and Mark Levin strongly rebuked him.  They felt that Boehner was denying impeachment as a possibility.  This is the kind of attitude  Barack Obama has had to deal with.  He is the target of more venom from an opposing party and right wing commentators than any president in years.

Republicans, of course, are not expected to endorse all of President Obama's policies. In a healthy democracy, opposing views must be taken into careful consideration.  Nevertheless, Tea Party types
ought to be reminded of their moral obligation,to work with the president for the sake of their nation. They ought to be told to put aside rancour and unreasonable partisanship.

In Canada, we have a prime minister whose majority government that can pass all the legislation it wants.  In the United States, the Democrats are stymied by the Republican majority in the House.  In both countries, the right wing controls the agenda.


- Joanne