Nothing To See Here, Eh?

The Trump administration insists nothing was classified. Others beg to differ.

UPDATED: Plain For All To See

Even if you have a less than fanatical devotion to news and politics, it probably hasn't escaped your attention that the United States has quickly slipped into autocracy. Some might even call it fascism. A reader of this blog sent me a substack article by Emmett Macfarlane that readily attests to this, and I shall not attempt to summarize it here. It is best if you read it yourself.

That theme has been very much on my mind of late, brought into strict relief almost daily. Judges are impugned; judicial orders are ignored; security clearances are being revoked. Increasingly, the long arm of Don Trump's vengeance is being felt. 

So what happens when it is essentially made a crime to speak out against this rot from within? That answer is not yet fully known, but recent developments suggest it is nothing good. Take, for example, the length universities are now taking to curry favour with the Trump regime. After the regime pulled $400 million in funding from Columbia University, allegedly for not sufficiently protecting Jewish students from pro-Palesinian protest, the university has supinely submitted to its demands in the hopes of getting that funding restored.

Columbia’s concessions followed a letter from interim President Katrina Armstrong detailing changes the school would implement:

• Security upgrade: 36 peace officers will soon be authorized to make arrests.
• Academic oversight: A senior vice provost will now monitor Columbia’s Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies department—an area targeted by conservatives.
• Speech limitations: New restrictions on protests and disciplinary changes are being rolled out.
• Redefining antisemitism: Columbia pledged to formally adopt a new definition aligned with Trump administration expectations 

But critics from across academia blasted the move.

• Rutgers professor Todd Wolfson called it “arguably the greatest incursion into academic freedom…since the McCarthy era.
• ”Columbia student leader Mohammad Hemeida said the university “gave in to government pressure instead of standing firm on the commitments to students and to academic freedom.

Columbia has been in the news lately involving the totally unjustified regime efforts to deport Mahmoud Khalil over his pro-Palestinian activities. 

His case has become a test of President Donald Trump's pledge to combat antisemitism and deport noncitizen college activists who the Department of Homeland Security said “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”

Khalil, 30, who holds a green card granting him permanent residency in the U.S., is being held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, more than 1,000 miles from his home in New York City. His legal team is trying to get him released.                                                                                                                             

Perhaps one of the worst example of academic cowardice from Columbia is that it has revoked degrees. 

On Thursday, the university announced it was expelling, suspending and revoking the degrees of 22 students following last year’s Hamilton Hall protest, fulfilling one of the nine demands issued in a letter from the Trump administration to Columbia.

But Columbia is hardly the only university being targeted.  Over at Cornell, this has happened:

The Department of Justice on Friday asked a Cornell University student who is suing the Trump administration after helping lead campus protests last year to surrender to immigration authorities, according to a new court filing.

Lawyers for Momodou Taal, a Ph.D. student who is a U.S. visa holder and a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Gambia, said in court documents that he received an email from a Department of Justice lawyer with a notice to appear — which initiates the deportation process — and an invitation to surrender to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

It should be clear to all but the MAGA cultists that any resistance to Washington's efforts to remake Amerika into something only a fascism enthusiast could love will be punished by deportation, funding cuts, or worse. The ultimate fates of Khalil and Taal are still 'works in progress.' However, given that the universities now seem to be falling into line in order to save themselves, something Chris Hedges discussed at length in Death of The Liberal Class, no one can be even remotely hopeful about their fates.

UPDATE:

In response to something else, my friend John sent the following, which seems especially appropriate for America:

I am reading Mark Twain and he writes of his interview with Satan.  They are discussing Twain’s efficient wood stove that provides comfortable heat while he stays in a house in Europe.  Satan asks if they use this wood stove in America.  Twain  is surprised and says roughly, “ surely Satan is familiar with America.”  Satan replies, “Well, no I have not been there.  I am not needed there.”

He Has Trump's Number

I don't especially feel like writing today, so I hope this pithy analysis of Don Trump resonates, at least with those who are not part of the cult. Thanks to my friend Gary for sending it along.

The Tenor Of The Times

Great thing, Amerikan values, eh?

UPDATED: For Those Who Think We Have No Power

When I watched this video, I couldn't help but think about the woman I wrote about yesterday. According to her, we are such a small market that anything we do to retaliate in this current conflict with the U.S. has no impact.

She couldn't be more wrong:

The video also amply demonstrates how many regular people are negatively affected by Trump's tariff madness. I guess he would regard them only as collateral damage in a battle for a greater good. I'll leave readers to figure out what that greater good could be.

UPDATE: Charlie Angus has emerged as a very, very strong voice for Canada as it battles the madness seizing the U.S. If you have time, please consider watching this video in which he warns us against travelling to that benighted country:

A Brief Observation

I was in my local LCBO yesterday buying a couple of craft beers when, waiting in line, I overheard an interesting conversation. A woman, perhaps in her thirties, was talking to an older gentleman who was buying a bottle of Havana Club rum. While I overheard only part of the conversation, prompted, I guess, by the absence of American alcohol, it went something like this:

"We are such a small market that anything we do has no effect on the Americans. So, I say, enjoy what you want."

I couldn't resist offering a fact-check, and I told her that the American distilleries were indeed suffering, and that we do have a substantial impact since the LCBO is the one of the largest purchasers of booze in the world. Her reply was a perfunctory, disinterested, "Oh, is that right?" I assume she then  returned to her insular world, where things are as she ordains them to be.

I was neither surprised nor upset by her perspective, but the incident was yet another reminder of the cocoons in which too many people envelop themselves, aided and abetted by highly 'curated' sources of information that serve only to reinforce one's beliefs and prejudices. Social media and right-wing news sources are often the main culprits.

I have a relative whose son has a worldview totally dictated by such sources, much to the consternation of his parents. Married with two children, he seems to be in love with the U.S. and would gladly see Canada absorbed by that diseased nation. A staunch PP supporter, he saw Trudeau as a traitor to our nation. Additionally, he sees the world as a dangerous place, having chosen to homeschool his children lest they be indoctrinated by the 'woke agenda' of public education.

And speaking of PP, another person who likes to traffick in disinformation, I offer a comment from lungta on yesterday's post, which dealt with Conservative campaign tactics: 

Think 'lil pp is playing out of the drumpf playbook. Smith (TC Dani) went silent to win in Alberta too. Kamala had a textbook oldschool campaign , remember? And there is the "moron mining" on those vlog sites where you have no responsibility to know the truth, no responsibility to tell the truth, only a drive to mobilize the morons to get out and vote , probably for the first time. That's the audience 'lil pp is appealing to.The big blue tent has the fundamentalists and proud boys already. Just trigger those other guys .

A sadness of democracy, as we know it, is there is no requirement to have any understanding of anything let alone political policy to play.

My optimism is tempered by those previous results.

Now, more than ever, knowing about the world is crucial to our national survival. While it often seems like a thankless task, we have no choice but to continue our efforts to inform and be informed, take action and expect results. We cannot aspire to anything less in these troubled times.

Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Press?

The answer is Pierre Poilievre, better known as PP on this blog.

Althea Raj reports new restrictions on reporters seeking to cover the lad in the upcoming campaign.

On Tuesday, Conservative national campaign director Jenni Byrne informed journalists that, in a break with tradition, the party will not allow journalists to accompany its leader on his bus or plane during the next election campaign.

This move will prevent journalists from peppering PP with pesky questions, but not entirely, according to Byrne, as she averred

steps are being taken to ensure media will be able to “share any public events, participate in events on the ground, and ask questions remotely and in-person.”

This comes with a rather significant qualifier, as

the campaign will provide an “equitable balance” at all news conferences between local and national media — in effect limiting the number of questions political reporters get to ask.

Why are the Conservatives bucking tradition and kicking the media off the plane? It’s no secret the Conservatives have never liked having reporters accompany them. Some believe the press gallery is full of left-leaning journalists who don’t give them a fair shake. 

According to Raj, controlling the message is paramount in the Conservatives' strategy.

The Conservatives already choose not to hold news conferences in the National Press Theatre, where they don’t control who asks the questions. Away from Parliament Hill, Poilievre’s team often decides which reporters ask questions — and there are no followups. Poilievre has also picked fights with the journalists who ask him probing questions. Rather than answer, he attacks: the CBC, the Canadian Press, freelance reporters he doesn’t like.

People like PP know that social media play an increasingly important role in conveying propaganda information, especially to young people.  That may be good for his political fortunes, but ultimately bad for democracy. The mainstream media are still our best bets for accurate information, given the fact-checking that goes into their reports. No such constraints exist for social media. 

And I am sure that suits PP just fine.

UPDATED: Another Reason To Avoid Travel To The U.S.

As I have been writing of late, more and more Canadians are choosing not to travel to the U.S. for holiday purposes. The American attacks on our sovereignty have rightly rankled people, but now there are additional reasons to avoid the increasingly fascist country.

You have probably heard of new rules requiring Canadians visiting for more than 30 days to register as aliens and be fingerprinted. However, there is something else to now worry about beyond administrative inconvenience, as evidenced by the horrifying experience of Canadian Jasmine Mooney. While some may say she brought this on herself because of a visa 'irregularity',  most Canadians do not expect imprisonment upon entering America.

Jasmine Mooney, an actor who is also co-founder of the beverage brand Holy! Water, was detained on 3 March in San Diego, California.

The 35-year-old Canadian citizen’s work visa to the US was reportedly revoked back in November while traveling from Vancouver to Los Angeles, and she was attempting to file a new application.

Her mother, Alexis Eagles, who lives in British Columbia, says Mooney was detained at the San Ysidro border crossing between Mexico and San Diego, the busiest land border crossing in the world, on 3 March with an incomplete application for a work visa. Eagles told the Vancouver Sun that instead of sending her daughter to Canada or advising her to fix her application, US Customs and Border Protection officers arrested her.

What ensued was nothing short of a nightmare. 

She spent three nights in the detention centre, then was transferred. “We eventually learned that about 30 people, including Jasmine, were removed from their cells at 3am and transferred to the San Luis detention center in Arizona,” Eagles said.

“They are housed together in a single concrete cell with no natural light, fluorescent lights that are never turned off, no mats, no blankets, and limited bathroom facilities.”

Every time Mooney was transferred, she was handcuffed and in chains, Eagles claimed.

Mooney told ABC 10 that she was appalled by the conditions inside the private detention facility in San Luis where she was being kept.

“I have never in my life seen anything so inhumane,” she said. “I was put in a cell, and I had to sleep on a mat with no blanket, no pillow, with an aluminum foil wrapped over my body like a dead body for two and a half days.”

The case did not escape the attention of David Eby, C.C.'s premier, who said

he was "profoundly concerned about these kind of actions" by the U.S. administration, saying they "violate the very idea that Canadians are safe in the U.S. when we visit." 

"The nature of our relationship is so fraught right now that this case makes us all wonder, you know, what about our relatives who are working in the States? What about when we cross the border, what kind of experience are we gonna have?" 

Mooney is now back home in British Columbia, but her experience sends a chilling message to all of us. As my mother used to say, "It's better to be safe than sorry." Indeed, all Canadians would be wise to keep such observations in mind if contemplating crossing the border, and err on the side of caution. 

UPDATE: If you would like to read Jasmine Mooney's first-person account of her ordeal, please click here.

A Message For Amerika

Theo Moudakis captures Canadian pride and resoluteness here.

As if to drive home the fact that we are not Amerika's vassal, Carney has made this decision:

Prime Minister Mark Carney has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the G7 summit, which will be held in June in Kananaskis, in a sign of solidarity as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth year.

The invitation was extended on Sunday when Carney spoke to Zelenskyy by phone, days after Carney was sworn in as prime minister .

It isn’t uncommon for non-member countries to be invited. The summit usually has 16 tables, and in 2023, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia and South Korea attended talks in Japan.

The gesture to invite Ukraine comes as the country has agreed to a 30-day ceasefire in exchange for the lifting of U.S. military aid restrictions following a fiery meeting between Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump.

At a time when countries seem increasingly timid for fear of offending Don Trump, it is refreshing and invigorating to see our Prime Minister setting his own course. 

The Dead Shall Have No Rest

Some mornings I get up and think I will take a break from writing for the day. Usually, however, something manages to stir my blood or strain all credulity. Today is one of those days.

In its rush to burnish its racist and misogynistic bona fides, the Trump regime has decided that even the dead are fair game.

First, some background information:

Approximately 400,000 veterans are buried in the Army-run cemetery, which was established after the US Civil War at the home of the South's general, Robert E. Lee.

On the cemetery's website, internal links that directed users to webpages with information about the "Notable Graves" of dozens of black, Hispanic and female veterans were missing on Friday.

The Independent reports the following:

The purge follows Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s declaration that “DEI is dead” as he implements Trump’s agenda at the Pentagon.

One of Trump’s many executive orders was banning DEI in federal programs, and Pentagon bosses have carried out orders to remove any content that “promotes” it.

That includes removing internal links to educational materials on the cemetery’s website.

On the website’s “Notable Graves” dropdown menu, African American History, Hispanic American History and Women’s History no longer appear...

According to the BBC, 

A spokesperson for the cemetery said ... it wanted to ensure that the content aligned with Trump's orders and also with instructions from Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth.

These shameful actions form part of a larger pattern:

Trump has made dramatic changes in the military in his second term, including firing the country's top general, CQ Brown, a black man who had supported diversity in the armed forces.

Secretary Hegseth - a former Fox News host and military veteran - has pledged to root out all diversity initiatives and had accused Gen Brown of being "woke". 

Understandably, given that over 30% of those currently serving identify as Black or Native Americans, and 18% as Hispanic or Latino, and one-fifth are women, outrage is widespread.

Democrats and veterans groups hit out at the move. “This is a terrible affront to the veterans posthumously dishonored and canceled and to their families,” Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said. “It is a pathological statement that the MAGA government cannot even accept inclusion in death.”

Progressive Veterans group VoteVets accused the Trump administration of “whitewashing history.”

“Arlington National Cemetery just erased DEI from its website — because Republicans threw a tantrum over honoring ALL who served,” the group said. “The same GOP that cuts Veteran healthcare now decides who’s worthy of remembrance. This isn’t patriotism. It’s whitewashing history.”

I'll close with a picture and information of one of the dead who have been 'erased:

 AltSpaceForce 🚀🇺🇲

‪@altspaceforce.altgov.info‬

The Defense Dept has deleted references to Black, Hispanic & female service members as well as topics such as the Civil War from its website in order to remove all references to diversity, equity, & inclusion. 

Sgt William H. Carney, a former slave, is the first black man to get the Medal of Honor. 

If enough people resist this madness, Sgt Carney will not be forgotten.

Canadian Pride, International Boycotts

As I have been writing of late, the anger Canadians are feeling towards the U.S. is deep, extensive and profound. Many, many people (and I am one of them) are doing everything they can to boycott the purchase of American goods, refusing to travel to the U.S., and going out of their way to purchase Canadian goods. As citizens of our exceptional country, it is the least all of us can do.

I am also happy to post about the kind of support being offered by quintessentially Canadian companies. One in particular, Chapman's Ice Cream, is putting its money where its mouth is.

Chapman’s Ice Cream, the largest independent ice cream manufacturer in the country, is vowing not to increase prices for customers for the remainder of 2025 as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada threatens to drive up the cost of American-made ingredients.

Article content

“As a family we have decided to absorb all immediate increases in our costs due to the Trump tariffs for the rest of the year to maintain our prices,” Chapman’s chief operating officer Ashley Chapman said in a statement on social media.

“We are actively looking internationally for alternative suppliers of ingredients that are unavailable within Canada. We will continue to reinforce Canadian-first policies within our operations because together we are stronger.”

To me, Chapman's embodies what is best about Canada. You may recall that several years ago, when a fire gutted its production facility,  it continued to pay all of its employees and was back up and running within a few short weeks. As well, during the production of Covid-19 vaccines, it offered the use of its industrial freezers to store them. 

On another note, it also seems that much of the world is watching this the abusive behaviour of the U.S.,  and is taking appropriate action against the American ogre. 

A growing international move to boycott the US is spreading from Scandinavia to Canada to the UK and beyond as consumers turn against US goods.

Most prominent so far has been the rejection by European car buyers of the Teslas produced by Elon Musk, now a prominent figure in Trump’s administration as the head of the “department of government efficiency” a special group created by Trump that has contributed to the precipitous declines in Tesla’s share price. About 15% of its value was wiped out on Monday alone.

But it is not just Teslas experiencing consumer wrath. 

In Sweden, more than 70,000 users have joined a Facebook group calling for a boycott of US companies – ironically including Facebook itself – which features alternatives to US consumer products.

“I’ll replace as many American goods as I can and if many do so, it will clearly affect the supply in stores,” wrote one member of the group.

In Denmark, where there has been widespread anger over Trump’s threat to bring the autonomous territory of Greenland under US control, the largest grocery company, the Salling group, has said it will tag European-made goods with a black star to allow consumers to choose them over products made in the US.

 Takeshi Niinami, the chief executive of the Japanese multinational brewing and distilling group Suntory Holdings, which owns several major US brands, told the Financial Times international consumers were likely to shun American brands in the event of a trade war.

“We laid out the strategic and budget plan for 2025 expecting that American products, including American whiskey, will be less accepted by those countries outside of the US because of first, tariffs and, second, emotion,” Niinami said.

And it is likely to spread further still. Zoe Gardner, an organiser of the Stop Trump Coalition in the UK, is seeing rapidly increasing interest in the issue.

Asd I have said before, if there is a bright spot in all of this tariff madness, it is that we have rediscovered not only our pride but also the qualities that make us unique in the world. That other countries now are joining the battle against the Trumpian madness is just another benefit. 

Salesman Of The Year?

 You decide.

Feeling The Heat

Although it is anyone's guess as to what will ultimately happen in the tariff war we are currently embroiled in, one thing is certain: Americans are noticing as we flex our muscles. Most provinces have pulled American alcohol from their shelves, and feeling some particular pain is the state of Kentucky, the home of bourbon.

We may feel daunted by the misuse of Amerika's massive trade power, but we need not feel powerless, as the above example clearly demonstrates.

Time To Come Home

It wasn't until Don Trump was elected the first time that I made the decision never to travel to the U.S. again, barring unforeseen, exigent circumstances. And it wasn't until that election that I started to look with a degree of disapproval upon those who seek refuge from our winters in places like Florida. 

By and large, Canadian snowbirds seemed either oblivious to, or willfully ignorant of, the implications of their travel patronage. The wallet often carries more weight than most other things, and opening that wallet to a Trump-loving Amerika strikes me as a form of endorsement of policies and values inimical to the majority of Canadians.

Now, however, events and a hostile atmosphere may be doing what moral suasion could not. First, a brief clip from Global News, detailing the experiences of a Moncton couple, Mary Ann and Mike Jeffries, who have been wintering in the Sunshine State for the past 15 years. This will have been their last visit when they return at the end of March.

Yet now comes news of another reason to avoid the benighted land to our south: the apparent requirement to register thanks to one of Trump's executive orders, entitled Protecting the American People from Invasion.

A U.S. crackdown on illegal immigration will affect many Canadian snowbirds who drive across the border, with officials requiring visitors staying for at least a month to register on the government’s website, says an immigration lawyer.

The executive order

directed the Department of Homeland Security to enforce requirements for “aliens” to register with the government under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Under the rules, those aged 14 and over must register, and parents and legal guardians must register their children if they are under 14, in both cases within 30 days of their stay in the U.S.

Many Canadian retirees are feeling “annoyed” about the new registration rules, says Rudy Buttignol, president of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP).

“Unfortunately, these moves by the United States is just one more irritant, especially for snowbirds that travel regularly down south,” Buttignol said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca from Vancouver on Monday. “The overwhelming reaction that we’re getting is that people are changing their travel plans. They’re not feeling welcome.

“People are cancelling their bookings if they can. And if they can’t, in many cases, people are already thinking about next year and what they’ll do.”

While registering may not be a big hassle, he said the new rules are just another “slap in the face” to Canadians.

We have seen a real resurgence of Canadian pride since the Americans began showing such massive disrespect for our country with the re-election of Trump. As outlined in recent posts, booze boycotts and concerted efforts to buy more Canadian products at the exclusion of American goods, are real manifestations of that pride.

Let's hope returning snowbirds will feel the same way.

 

"We Used To Be The Best Of Friends"

There is no shortage of songs in response to the aggression from our southern neighbours. This, in my view, is one of the best, by Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy. I only take issue with his last line. (That ship, for me, has sailed.)

Well, Another Post About The Lost One

I thought I was finished writing about Wayne Gretzky, but this past week on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Mark Critch lit into him. 

Enjoy (or not).

The Power Of Canadians

Normally, when world events overtake us, we feel largely powerless. Happily, that is not the case when it comes to the punitive and totally unjustified American tariffs. Many, many Canadians are making their power felt through their wallets and travel choices as increasing numbers choose to eliminate U.S. destinations from their itineraries.

More power to them.

There are also other ways to make our outrage felt.

And it you haven't taken to the streets for a while, there is this:

Canadian Pride, Canadian Anger

 

If you think about it, in some ways we owe Don Trump some thanks. Not only has he roused us from out normal placidity, evern torpor, to feel deep pride in our country, he has also made us very, very angry. In the long term, that can only work to our collective good.

As previously noted, Canadians are responding to American tariffs by making concerted efforts to buy Canadian products, shunning the American version in increasing numbers. Similarly, plans to travel to the U.S. are being cancelled, often redirected to other countries, including our own.

Canadians are clearly putting their money where their mouths are.

Pam, a 64-year-old retired woman from British Columbia, said she and her husband had cancelled a five-week trip to Palm Springs, losing their $5,000 (£3,900) deposit. They were planning, she said, to buy a Honda truck now instead of a Ford. 

One woman from British Columbia who lives a 10-minute drive from the US border and is participating in the boycott pointed to the irony of having joined several Facebook groups promoting Buy Canadian campaigns – one of which had now ballooned to 1.2 million members.

The tariffs, or rather our government's response to them, have had a massive impact on the politics of this country. A Polaris Strategic Insights survey reveals the following:

Dan Arnold, chief strategy officer at Pollara, said the survey contained warning signs for federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in his looming faceoff with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal successor.

 Fully 41 per cent of respondents believe Poilievre would “do what Trump demands” while 27 per cent felt the Tory chief would “strongly oppose his demands.”

In contrast, just 17 per cent thought Liberal front-runner Mark Carney would do what Trump wanted, while 44 per cent said the former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor would oppose the president’s demands.

Similarly, 16 per cent said Liberal hopeful Chrystia Freeland would do what Trump demanded, while 44 per cent said the former deputy prime minister would oppose his demands.

Probably the most heartening news I read this morning was Justin Trudeau's response to Trump's demand that Canada cease retaliatory tariffs:

... Trudeau declined, agreeing only that he might delay the second tranche of countermeasures, depending on whether Trump agreed to abide by tariff-free access under the North American free trade deal the two renegotiated and signed in 2018.

But Canada’s counter-tariffs on $30 billion worth of U.S. imports would remain in place until U.S. tariffs came off, Trudeau is said to have told Trump. 

I couldn't be prouder of our government at this moment. 

Canada Strong!

UPDATED: Scenes From My LCBO

I took a walk over to my LCBO store yesterday afternoon, and I was pleased to see that Doug Ford's order for the removal of American alcohol is being implemented with dispatch. Below are two pictures I took, the first of the American Whiskey section, and the second of the shelves formerly housing California wines.

Needless to say, I left the store quite heartened.

Oh, and one more picture. Yesterday seemed to be a propitious day to display my allegiance.

UPDATE: I love this: