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You've got to really struggle with whether ignoring them totally, or responding in any way, is the better strategy. Certainly, responding in any way in comment-forums like this, or social media, has never done any good.

I think that journalists should struggle with whether to give any coverage, to these hucksters (the merch! The merch!) famous name(s) or not. I have to give a pass to this piece, though, for the news that the two "famous" names have joined up, but especially for news of the RV that's advertising an American political campaign in Ottawa.

NB: I was actually unaware of the half-brothers entirely. Despite all my newsreading! It is so great that Canadian journalism mostly ignores families!

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I always tell myself that *how* you cover these figures is a much more important question than just whether they should be covered.

Really successful conspiracy theorists latch on to an item in the news and use it to nudge forward their own worldview. I try to take a page from their book in that regard.

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I think the way you covered it here is exactly the way it should be covered. Acknowledge what they get right and slam what they get wrong. I don't know how much of the population is able to absorb how much complexity but we've got to keep nudging everyone that way. Most things aren't cut and dried.

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Right! Which is why I get annoyed at the people who demand that we either ignore these people entirely or talk about them like they're subhuman or serial killers. Goes back to the dispatch I wrote a few weeks ago, about conceding the point sometimes.

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You've got to admit, it's pretty hard not to treat the Trump's, RFKs, Musks, Marjorie Taylor Greens Etc like subhumans...

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I’d be interested to know if Justin Trudeau’s 1/2 brother has inherited his Mom’s bipolar disorder.

Also I’m an huge Bill Maher fan, never miss a show, a podcast, whatever. I used to think that he called everything like it was or would be. This past season or two, I have found him more grumpy, has more grievances towards the left. I too have some issues with the very far left particularly in the US and would hate to see it edge into Canadian politics more than it already has. I know that there is a tendency for people to drift towards the middle as they age. Hopefully that’s what is going on

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