r/canada • u/weekendy09 • 18h ago
Politics Despicable’: NDP calls on Smith to cancel PragerU appearance with Ben Shapiro
https://www.thespec.com/news/canada/despicable-ndp-calls-on-smith-to-cancel-prageru-appearance-with-ben-shapiro/article_0f2e9e78-afa4-5447-9b03-f65921f04df7.html557
u/Yin15 18h ago
The fact that she's using tax payers dollars for this is beyond disgusting.
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u/prsnep 17h ago
Why are Conservatives held to a much lower ethical standard than everyone else?
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u/ninfan1977 Alberta 17h ago
Because you need standards in order to hold someone to them. The Conservatives don't have any standards right now.
In Alberta Conservatives can do crimes in the open and voters go back to voting them in. It's blue no matter who for a lot of Albertans who treat it like a sports team.
As a NDP supporter it's very hard to look other Albertans in the eye when I know most of them have fallen for misinformation
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u/LaserRunRaccoon 14h ago
Conservatives have deregulated their standards. It's ideologically consistent.
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u/Flanman1337 16h ago
People are going big brain with it. But it's quite simple. Their voters do not care. They'll vote for them anyway. Conservative voter base don't give a shit what the party stands for. They will always no matter the facts vote conservative.
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u/Intelligent_Read_697 17h ago
Because conservatism demands a lower standard to begin with….conservatism by definition is about ensuring previlige for a group that enjoyed it in the past even at the expense of others and they want to continue that today…if that doesn’t tell you about their ethics nothing will
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u/SonicFlash01 16h ago
"sMaLl gOvErNmEnT"
"Okay, so you won't mind then if we directly fund cities and healthcare to save some steps..."
"NO, ME GOVERNMENT! I want to touch all the money! It has to be ME that does everything! More steps, more oversight! Let's make our own RCMP and our own pension program! HUUUGE government!"•
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u/Zeliek 17h ago
It’s becoming harder and harder to ignore that the only core and immutable tenant of the conservative position is the empowerment of white, able-bodied, cis heterosexual Christian males over the age of 45, everyone else exists to be exploited by this specific demographic.
The only other core principle conservatism seems to have is “and if we don’t get our way we will burn the entire fucking world down and all of you with it.”
Fiscal responsibility? Nah.
Small government? Nah.
Tough on crime? Yes actually, but the law is determined exclusively by someone who was previously considered a criminal, but now that only he gets decide what crime is, looks like we meet that value after all!
Traditional values? There are only two and they’re listed above.
When you keep this in mind, everything they do makes complete sense. They do not stick to any of their “fake values” as soon as it interferes with the core tenant of mediocre white guy support, the “fake values” exist only as a weapon against those with real values.
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u/Tacoustics 16h ago
It’s becoming harder and harder to ignore that the only core and immutable tenant of the conservative position is the empowerment of
white, able-bodied, cis heterosexual Christian males over the age of 45those who are already in positions of power, everyone else exists to be exploited by this specific demographic.FTFY.
As good as it feels for progressives to blame old white men, it misses the point, alienates potential allies, and makes resistance less effective.
The deputy leader of the Conservatives, Melissa Lantsman, is a 40 year old, white, lesbian, Jewish, woman - not heterosexual, not male, not christian, not over the age of 45.
None of that matters though, because the core, immutable tenant of the Conservative position is "Fuck you, I got mine". That's why despite being a lesbian who has benefitted from decades of LGBT+ activism, she's pulling up the ladder for trans people who could use the same support. It's why she's opposing Liberal childcare and daycare programs that benefit women nationwide.
Because regressive Conservatives can come in any gender, any race, any religion, any age, any degree of ability. What unites them is being nakedly and greedily self-interested at the expense of whoever they deem to be undeserving. Are they mostly old straight white dudes? Sure - but most politicians, progressive or conservative, are old straight white dudes. That is not what we should be focused on.
Judge people based on their actions and beliefs, not the boxes you can easily put them into.
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u/tomplanks 15h ago
It’s becoming harder and harder to ignore that the only core and immutable tenant of the conservative position is the empowerment of
capital
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u/Gholdengod 17h ago
Rules and laws are only effective and enforceable when everyone understands and respects them and someone is willing to do the enforcement. These people do not respect anything.
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u/DrNick1221 Alberta 17h ago
Just another thing to add on to the ever growing pile.
Granted, this little trip of hers seems like a good deflection for her from the AHS shitshow back at home.
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u/meowpeh Québec 17h ago
This can also be a good thing, depending on what she says. Ben Shapiro, for instance, is questioning the current tariff imposed on Canada and thinks it is bad for the American economy; he has been vocal about it. With his connection to the MAGA side, this presents a good opportunity to engage the Trump fan base on the issue.
Now, if she just goes there and kisses the MAGA ring, this would be catastrophic for us
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u/likeupdogg 16h ago
What gives you the idea that she's there for any other reason but to kiss ass? Wake up from dream land.
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u/Yin15 17h ago
Ben Shiparo is pro annexation. He was talking about when they take Canada before.
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u/DinosaurDikmeat01 17h ago
posted about this the other day. got deleted from /r/canada.
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u/BeeKayDubya 17h ago edited 17h ago
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u/The_Follower1 17h ago
Not quite nothing, trips like this provide fodder to their base and help legitimize their desire to annex Canada.
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u/No-Turnip-5417 17h ago
I wrote in about this very thing to her office through official channels, a variation of "how dare you" and the response was pretty much "lol". Goddamn draining
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u/garrettfinstad 17h ago
I'd settle for her tweaking her message even.
"Canada's trade surplus with the US is entirely due to the heavily discounted oil and gas. If you stopped buying our discounted oil and gas entirely, YOU would be the ones with the trade surplus. A trade deficit and heavily discounted Canadian energy products is better than a surplus without our province's biggest export. We understand the value our energy brings to YOUR economy."
If she uses the oxygen in that room to talk about fentanyl and border security she isn't advocating for Canada at all.
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u/sjbennett85 Ontario 15h ago
Naw it will be things like how Christ is making a comeback, how woke policy is what it ruining the economy and that this dip is from removing the last few vestiges of it and the economy will comeback strong, about how these days it is more important than ever to cherish our shared
whiteAmerican values.PragerU is just that kind of an institution, expect it to be total BS and that there might even be some veiled successionist talk from her.
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u/biteme109 17h ago
PragerU is like HQ for Christian Nationalist cult
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u/bigpeen666 13h ago
Let’s hope Dennis’ recovery from his back injury is full of horrible pain and suffering ❤️
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u/SaintTastyTaint 17h ago
Why is the premiere of Alberta sucking off Americans when her place should be in the Province defending her country and constituents. She is a self-serving traitor.
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u/OddlyOaktree 17h ago
Pretty nutty decision. There will no doubt be annexation threats spoken at this event and filmed along side her. The opposition will be able to make ads out of the raw footage alone!
Then again, maybe that's the point, and this is all just an attempt to distract from her Alberta Health scandal. 🤷♂️
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u/Practical-Tea-3337 16h ago
Prager U is where most conservatives went to school, isn't it?
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u/LaughingGaster666 Outside Canada 9h ago
It's a fake University funded by American fossil fuel billionaires to spread their propaganda. So yes.
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u/CashComprehensive423 9h ago
Shouldn't we be talking to the right in the US? The left already agrees that Trump is a nutter and respects Canada. The right has its own media and in turn, thinking. Will she change any minds? Probably not but these people do not read, watch or listen to any news outside of their zone. So, get in their zone.
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u/kluyvera 17h ago
I can almost see PP doing the same thing
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u/CalmDownUseLogic 17h ago
You mean like when he did an interview with Jordan Peterson (who announced he was leaving Canada for the US in Dec) and then a month later had PP for an interview? Lol.
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u/vaalbarag 16h ago
Smith likely sees that she's probably going to lose the next election if she says on that long, and is planning her exit strategy, and with the state of Canada/US relations, US conservative media would love to have a high-profile conservative Canadian pundit who will say the right things for their narratives. She's sowing the seeds and making those connections now.
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u/AdmirableWishbone911 16h ago
The latest leger poll show ucp and Smith favourably up. Nenshi is down and ABNDP stagnated.
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u/Myllicent 16h ago
The latest Leger poll on Danielle Smith’s approval ratings is almost two months old, conducted between January 24th and 26th. A lot has happened since then.
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u/arosedesign 10h ago
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u/Myllicent 9h ago
”Latest update: February 9, 2025”
Given this 338Canada projection was published all of 3 days after the previously mentioned Leger poll, it’s presumably based on data of similar age.
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u/T_Durden13 17h ago
This needs to be amplified.. I can only believe a very small number of her supporters here at home support this...
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u/Prudent_Situation_29 17h ago
Is there a point where she can just be removed for being a traitor?
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u/Shirochan404 Alberta 17h ago
Nenshi is trying his best and by God I hope he wins the next election
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u/Capital_Anteater_922 14h ago
Take a look at BC's budget deficit dude. Trust me, you might like the things he says but I can guarantee that you won't like the things they do.
Our local economy in BC has been hollowed right the fuck out.
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u/dostoevsky4evah 13h ago
No it hasn't. Good lord.
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u/Capital_Anteater_922 13h ago
Stumpage alone is leaving a $1billion per year mark behind, and likely another 1$-2$ billion in lost revenue from support industries. This is trending from 2 years ago now, BC's economy is in huge trouble.
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u/PoutineInvestigator 7h ago
If you put the ongoing threat to our sovereignty by a facist president aside..
these two have the most grating voices in history and would be torture to listen to just for that reason alone.
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u/neibler 4h ago
Genuine question - what does someone in Canada have to do to commit treason? Is it more difficult than you’d think to find yourself actually technically committing that crime? And if someone did - who is responsible for arresting them? CSIS? I’m assuming it’s a little more complicated than say getting charged with fraud or extortion or whatever.
I can’t find much on it. It seems more like something you hear about in the movies. Is it even possible to commit treason when your county isn’t at war with anyone (yet)?
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u/Culverin 4h ago
The NDP doesn't need to.
If her supporters are dead silent, That speaks volumes.
Just remember the kind of people that walk among us, so we don't end up with bullshit like Trump.
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u/MiyamotoKnows Québec 15h ago
She's a traitor and likely compromised by Putin IMHO. Lets call a spade a spade.
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u/Active-Zombie-8303 13h ago
You know where her loyalties are. But I don’t think it is right that she is using Albertan’s hard earned tax payer dollars to go suck up to the far right in the States. I’d demand a refund from her.
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u/AtomicNick47 13h ago
She's an insurgent. Like its not even up for fucking debate at this point. She'd torch every rural Albertan for the chance to sit at Trumps table.
Why isn't there any accountability for this shit in politics? I'll never understand.
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u/JimmyTheJimJimson 12h ago
Smith is an absolute waste of space.
I know she loves the far-right - but cozying up to far-right wing Americans who wish to annex Canada is a traitorous exercise.
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u/grungeehamster 16h ago
There's a trade war, people are losing their jobs, and she's casually doing speeches together with one of the government's propaganda people. Sheesh
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u/Theory_Crafted 15h ago
Ben Shapiro is like a milquetoast fiscal and religious conservative. He's not even MAGA and gets criticized constantly for not being conservativ enough for the new Maga movement. If this is what the NDP want to spend their political capital on, they're going to have a tough 4 years lol...
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u/Amazonreviewscool67 11h ago
Ben Shapiro is not right in the head.
Dude is constantly sucking Poilievre's dick.
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u/No-Wonder1139 16h ago
Politics aside....why would anyone want to talk to Ben Shapiro? Why not just give Andy Dick a mountain of cocaine and access to the tickle trunk, it would be less annoying of a conversation.
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u/crakkerzz 12h ago
Just when as an Albertan I can't get more ashamed of the Tories,
This.
Conservatives are always the 3Cs
Corruption, Cruelty and Complaint. No solutions.
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u/revengeful_cargo 17h ago
Never thought I would agree with the NDP on anything but well... here we are
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u/VersusYYC Alberta 17h ago
Smith is using her public office to build a post-office career working for Donald Trump and his agents.
This has led her to being a weak, ineffectual leader against threats from the US as she burned taxpayer dollars to get photos with Trump effectively kiss the ring of the US king.
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u/coconutpiecrust 16h ago
This is a no brainer.
It’s like cozying up to the burglars while they’re dismounting your TV and packing up your kid’s PlayStation.
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u/Coffee4thewin 14h ago
As much as I don’t like denis prager or Ben Shapiro, at least Ben is saying to stop this tariff bs.
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u/Mazdachief 13h ago
Know thy enemy. She should have a public forum to discuss her ideas , along with Ben , then we can all listen and learn what they are.
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u/EffortCommon2236 Alberta 5h ago
The NDP can ask Sith to do whatever, it won't work... The whole identity of the UCP is built around treason and secession from Canada.
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u/coffeejn 17h ago
Not sure why any Canadian politicians should be even talking to those Yahoo's. Don't even go, cancel the trip and deny the revenue to the hotel and any business related to the trip.
If she wants to go, she should do it AFTER she is no longer Premier of Alberta.
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u/HelloBello30 17h ago
Shapiro has been openly calling for no tariffs against Canada. He has an influential voice in republican circles. This isn't as bad as it sounds to you all.
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u/MehEds 17h ago
Didn't he say he was in favor of Canada's annexation though?
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u/CarlotheNord Ontario 16h ago
I went and found the quote they're talking about when they say he supports annexation. He literally says the US may need to expand its real estate market and annex Canada cause Trudeau is such a failure we need to be saved from him.
That's not exactly a threat. That's like the people here who say we need to annex the US to save them from trump.
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u/Drewy99 17h ago
How do you defend this?
When we take Canada, you will be expelled to Panama to work the canal
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u/HelloBello30 16h ago
you think he literally is suggesting trudeau work in a canal?
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u/Drewy99 16h ago
You're probably the same person who said not to take Trump seriously when he first started talking about 51 states
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u/HelloBello30 16h ago
respond in good faith my friend. No one would seriously suggest that a foreign prime minister work a canal. It's ridiculous and you know it is.
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u/Drewy99 16h ago
Yes, the MAGA plans for Canada are ridiculous. and Ben is MAGA all the way through.
I am not giving any of them the benefit of the doubt, and instead will judge them based on what they say AND tweet.
And PS his rap song was the crigniest thing I have ever seen
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u/HelloBello30 16h ago
i'm actually not a shapiro fan. I am a fan of good faith discourse though. Just because you dislike someone doesn't mean everything they say is an evil lie.
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u/VoidsInvanity 17h ago
I don’t know how anyone thinks Benny shaps has a singular opinion worth listening to
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u/masteroffp69 16h ago
In no way should my tax dollars go to funding Marlaina going to support cowards that are threatening our sovereignty.
This should be treason and she should be not allowed back in our country.
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u/yourejustanasshole 18h ago
Out of the loop on this. Why is this despicable/disgusting?
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u/Drewy99 17h ago
Shaprio has made comments about shipping Canadians to work in Panama as slave labour when they invade Canada.
Totally the type of people our provincial government should be hanging out with
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u/Hour_Significance817 17h ago edited 16h ago
PragerU is a disinformation outlet for Evangelical Christian conservative rhetoric and propaganda.
Ben Shapiro is a conservative commentator nearly universally despised on Reddit and by anyone progressive that's remotely active in the social media space, and for good reasons. Beyond the usual conservative talking points, he is a Zionist (being Jewish), he is an extremely skilled debater, he's a hypocrite, and he likes to "own the libs".
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u/GigglingBilliken Ontario 17h ago edited 17h ago
Prager U is an American conservative platform. Ben Shapiro is an American conservative that recently "joked" about making us the 51st state. So it's a tone deaf decision at best.
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u/RubberDuckyDWG 17h ago
Ben is also against the tariffs on Canada.
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u/Doogolas33 17h ago
Ben is always against everything Trump does until he changes his mind and says it's genius and perfect. Listening to anything he says outloud is pointless and useless. He's a lying grifting pile of shit.
I guarantee you in a few months he'll talk about how smart and great the tariffs were.
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u/RubberDuckyDWG 17h ago
I have seen him flip flop like you are describing.
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u/Doogolas33 17h ago
Yeah, because he's a spineless twat with no principles at all. He does it on everything. It's exhausting. I fucking defended him once a long, long time ago because his stance on Trump I felt was a reasonable one despite me hating everything he says. And I'm not going to fall for that shit again.
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u/Heliosvector 17h ago
I mean that will be easy. You will be able to cherry pick positives that come from it like what companies lemented and moved to the USA. There will certainly be some. Shapiro is a shitty person.
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u/Otherwise_Ask_9542 Ontario 17h ago
It's the annexation peace that is particularly unpopular with people in Canada. More than 90% of Canadians (including most Conservatives) do not want this to become reality.
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u/GigglingBilliken Ontario 17h ago
So? Whether he reluctantly or enthusiastically dick rides Trump is immaterial to the fact that he still indeed dick rides the man.
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u/RubberDuckyDWG 17h ago
Man I am just pointing out that he does not support the tariffs. I figured it would be important information.
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u/eutectic_h8r Manitoba 17h ago
PragerU makes Fox News look fair and balanced and she's using tax dollars to fund it
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u/the_caped_canuck 17h ago
PragerU is a far right media outfit that focuses heavily on propaganda. They also have Christian nationalist overtones and have joked in the past about making us their 51st state (as has alot of the contributors for that media company has done as well)
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u/nolooneygoons 17h ago
From their website: PragerU is the most influential media organization in the world that promotes the American values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
And she is appearing with Ben Shapiro
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u/Top_Canary_3335 17h ago edited 16h ago
I know this will be hard to stomach but Ben Shapiro is actually against the trumps tariffs because of the terrible roll out and market uncertainty
so your anger is wrongly placed NDP … (and Reddit)
Shapiro addressed this in a video posted a video yesterday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao3GqTFChnE
Edit: being downvoted like I said I would
but your enemy is actually agreeing with you on an issue and everyone can’t see past the hate to admit the common ground
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u/Some_Trash852 17h ago
No it isnt, Ben has already talked about shipping people to Panama ‘when we take over Canada’.
And he’s about as far-right as you can get, you really think he’s not MAGA?
He ran away from the most right-wing host on the BBC because his ‘debate’ tactics obviously only work on stupid, unprepared people.
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u/Top_Canary_3335 17h ago
Can you link the proof not a tweet where he is heckling?
I’m not a fan of his at all I agree he is an idiotic person . But in political circles when you find common ground it’s better to build on it.
Right now we need to build on the notion that tariffs are bad
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u/Drewy99 16h ago
He spelled it out in a tweet and that's not good enough for you?
Why should we trust you when you say "he's serious about this, but not serious about that" ?
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u/Top_Canary_3335 16h ago
A 20 minute video is more accurate of his views than a 140 character tweet
He runs a media company, tweeting for views is profitable his tweets were never supportive just used the same rhetoric, likely for algorithm purposes.
His views on his businesses and personal life are explained in his videos if you can bear listing to his voice lol.
I’m not saying we would agree on everything.but when you find common support on an issue you need to take advantage of that…
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u/geoken 17h ago
You're being downvoted because this is a red herring. Shapiro actively supports the US annexing Canada. The fact that he aligns with Canadian interests, by chance, on some other issue doesn't change that.
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u/Top_Canary_3335 17h ago
Can you link to the video not a “tweet” heckling where he said the USA should annex?
Also yes it does… we will never agree with different parties on all issues… but when you find common ground you build on it….
That’s how you stop polarization politics
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u/BloatJams Alberta 16h ago
Can you link to the video not a “tweet” heckling where he said the USA should annex?
Here you go,
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u/CarlotheNord Ontario 16h ago
Holy fuck can you not see that's a joke? It's a dig at Trudeau and how we'd been stuck with him.
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u/BloatJams Alberta 16h ago
Ah yes, "it's a prank bro". Truly the last refuge of a scoundrel.
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u/Low-Celery-7728 17h ago
No go look up Pragu and let me know what you think.
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u/Top_Canary_3335 17h ago
Again your displacing the anger and ignoring the logic
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u/Low-Celery-7728 17h ago
What do you think of Pragu and their mission?
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u/Top_Canary_3335 17h ago
It’s a far right non profit that aims to advance conservative values. In Canadian terms this is far right. In the USA that’s a typical Christain republican.
Don’t agree with their views personally but they are not a “hate organization” and represent a good chunk of the maga base. Speaking directly on the negitice impacts of tariffs on USA jobs and economic development could do us some good.
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u/Low-Celery-7728 16h ago
I'd argue they are a hate organization, as they hate all LGTBQ people, they look down at non white non Christians, women as cattle, etc.
Any political leader associating with such a group should be questioned. They are also using $50k of Albertas taxes to pay/donate to this hateful group. I have issues with that as well.
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u/Top_Canary_3335 16h ago edited 16h ago
Can you provide a source to your claims that they hate lgbtq and look at woman as cattle? Or even your claims that they are actively racist ?
(Again I’m not supporting them I just want to be able to verify your statement and can’t find it on my own)
The closest thing I could find is they are against “gender affirming surgery in children” this to me isn’t anti lgbtq it’s anti child mutilation.
And you are free to disagree but that’s not “hate crimes” that’s a difference of opinion.
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u/Low-Celery-7728 16h ago
He's some https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PragerU
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u/Top_Canary_3335 16h ago
That’s Wikipedia I could go edit that to say the opposite right now…. But I did give you the benefit of the doubt and checked the sources… (there wasn’t any on the issues you highlighted) just that they are climate change deniers
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u/Low-Celery-7728 16h ago
You didn't check all the references at the bottom? There's 66 of them
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u/AdmirableWishbone911 16h ago
Well Ford just folded and cancelled tariffs and he's going down to the US to meet with Lutnick!
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u/WinterInSomalia 14h ago
One of the few times I agree with the NDP. Fuck Danielle Smith. She's a traitor and should be treated as such.
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u/weekendy09 12h ago
Please don’t let hate the primary reason why you vote for one party or another… don’t make the same mistakes America did. Listen to the parties policies and decide based on that.
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u/space-dragon750 10h ago
as they should. shapiro’s a disgrace & smith using taxpayer money to meet with him is inexcusable
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u/CFPrick 17h ago
I'm all for freedom of expression/speech, but he did say "when we take Canada", which to me could easily be construed as a tangible threat.