Canadian here, living in a city that borders the US. When I cross the border into the US, my entry depends solely on the judgement of the US border and customs agent that I meet. The agent can ask all kinds of questions, search my vehicle without probable cause, expect me to have a valid passport that is entered into a US database, etc. The agent can deny me entry on his/her whim. So, I’m having trouble understanding Trump’s demand that Canada stop the flow of fentanyl into the US. That responsibility falls on the US border patrol. Just as Canada’s desire to stop the flow of US guns is our responsibility.
So what is Trump’s rationale for the ‘dumbest trade war in history’? Is he just that stupid, does he want to beggar our economy, does he dislike Trudeau that much, does he want go try and make Canada the 51st state? Probably all of the above. Robin Williams joke that “living in Canada is like living in an apartment above a meth lab” is sadly true at the moment.
Canadian-American dual citizen here. I know Canada's history and culture well enough to say with confidence that Canada will never give up its national identity and submit to being a US state. Trump would have to go full Hitler and take it with military force. And before going full Hitler, he would have to do what Hitler did and establish himself as dictator, making all political parties illegal other than his own. No more elections, no more Democratic Party. Gitmo will be the new home of all opposing parties.
Canada's military is obviously no match for the USA's, but Canada would not stand alone. The British Commonwealth and the European Union would stand with Canada against the US. Even assuming the US still succeeded, the socio-economic upheaval that would result from a hostile takeover of its closest neighbor and ally would be incalculable. There would be widespread civil unrest in the US and internal armed resistance by Canadians and US Canadian sympathizers well after the occupation was established. Violence and sabotage would break out everywhere. It would be a nightmare scenario for the United States.
Thank you Bulwark, for giving real time accounting of everything that seems to be happening right under our noses! I do support our allies and neighbors to fight back on tariffs, but what should all of us being doing right now as well? It is time to act - where is the leverage?
1. All federal employees should disregard any notices of their 'firing'
2. Random clown security put in place at agencies in DC need to be removed as they are not authorized by Congress, have DC Police remove them
3. All tariffs should just not be paid
4. Democrats need to get up off the couch I mean wtf you need to start directing agencies yourself, take over, individual Senate staff at each agency. AOC standing security at the USAID etc.
As far as I am concerned, this American supports Canada in its resistance to Trump tariffs. Real friends do not let a wrong-headed leader treat another real friend this way. Go Canada!
Donald Trump gives us the extraordinary opportunity to watch the downfall of a nation! Unfortunately, that nation is ours. And Republicans stand by and watch.
Pay attention to if Musk and team get involved with the Dept of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration. Big contracts and classified nuclear secrets.
So glad our national security funding went to creating most of these tech billionaires. There was no other market for Thiel's Palantir.
No, the US is not up to this task. Remember that if the John Roberts immunity decision had been the Supreme Court's opinion in the Nixon subpoena case (US v. Nixon, 418 US 683 (1974)), there might have been none of the outcomes that you have described. Certainly things would have been different. So the Republican Party that brought the nation the Roberts Court has knowingly taken the US in a completely different direction. And a nation that responded to Trump's violations of the Espionage Act and his status as a convicted felon with a 49% "who gives a damn" and a "Jimmy Who brought the flags down?" learned nothing from the 1970s except how to sing YMCA while Trump sways to the music.
My bet is Canada's in the EU by January 2026. And, if by some miracle Trump's gone in four years, it will take decades to rebuild economic and security ties. I have no hope for that as long we're saddled with MAGA shit bags. Honestly, if the country was more evenly broke out between MAGAs and non MAGAs, it would be better to go to the EU with Canada.
MAGAs have more in common with Russians than they do with me or you probably. And, they chose this. We can't keep saying they're ignorant. They know this is happening, and they love it. That's the hardest part to accept for most: MAGAs don't care about freedom or a just society. They just care about Trump and feeling like winners. That's it.
PS Don't count on Congress or the Supreme Court to be that stranger's hand. And desperation? Just wait until Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid payments mysteriously go from your and my pockets to Musk's.
Even as their 401 (k) plans lose value, even as the prices of Mexican produce go up those that are politically disengaged but supportive of Trump will shrug at the news of Musk and his muppets mucking about in the Treasury computers (and probably national security related computers too). They are the people that believe there should be a cleanup of the country, preferably one done by an "outsider" to the government. That Musk has no job title that was created by statute will be seen as a good thing, not a bad one. And stopping payments to bad agencies and people is one of the things they would approve of.
So, over the weekend Musk shutters USAID with the aid of young "engineers" with deliciously first gen sounding names. Meanwhile, Newsweek reports on the shutdown and the reaction by Shumer and Chris Murphy. Where do they react but on X. Remind yourself of who owns X, lock, stock and barrel, and remind yourself of section 230, or simply of private property, and that Musk is not a Government employee. In spite of all the pieties about free speech and suppression before, I will take a bet that there will be some selective silencing of Congressional voices on X.
I watched Schumer's press conference about the tariffs. He was pathetic. No energy, no outrage. He at first referred to Trump's proposed tariffs until an aid off camera had to remind him that Trump already announced them. It was sad. Schumer needs to go.
I heard there is a new game show coming to Fox. It’s called ABC. On the show the contestants are asked to identify if a Trump statement or answer to a question is:
A…it’s a lie B it’s nonsense, something Trump made up because he didn’t know the answer but will never admit he doesn’t know and C….it has to be True because Trump said it.
The one who gets the most answers wrong gets a cabinet nomination or ambassadorship. In case of a tie, you have a seat on the Supreme Court
Canadian here, living in a city that borders the US. When I cross the border into the US, my entry depends solely on the judgement of the US border and customs agent that I meet. The agent can ask all kinds of questions, search my vehicle without probable cause, expect me to have a valid passport that is entered into a US database, etc. The agent can deny me entry on his/her whim. So, I’m having trouble understanding Trump’s demand that Canada stop the flow of fentanyl into the US. That responsibility falls on the US border patrol. Just as Canada’s desire to stop the flow of US guns is our responsibility.
So what is Trump’s rationale for the ‘dumbest trade war in history’? Is he just that stupid, does he want to beggar our economy, does he dislike Trudeau that much, does he want go try and make Canada the 51st state? Probably all of the above. Robin Williams joke that “living in Canada is like living in an apartment above a meth lab” is sadly true at the moment.
I do appreciate the Bulwark, tho.
Canadian-American dual citizen here. I know Canada's history and culture well enough to say with confidence that Canada will never give up its national identity and submit to being a US state. Trump would have to go full Hitler and take it with military force. And before going full Hitler, he would have to do what Hitler did and establish himself as dictator, making all political parties illegal other than his own. No more elections, no more Democratic Party. Gitmo will be the new home of all opposing parties.
Canada's military is obviously no match for the USA's, but Canada would not stand alone. The British Commonwealth and the European Union would stand with Canada against the US. Even assuming the US still succeeded, the socio-economic upheaval that would result from a hostile takeover of its closest neighbor and ally would be incalculable. There would be widespread civil unrest in the US and internal armed resistance by Canadians and US Canadian sympathizers well after the occupation was established. Violence and sabotage would break out everywhere. It would be a nightmare scenario for the United States.
Thank you Bulwark, for giving real time accounting of everything that seems to be happening right under our noses! I do support our allies and neighbors to fight back on tariffs, but what should all of us being doing right now as well? It is time to act - where is the leverage?
1. All federal employees should disregard any notices of their 'firing'
2. Random clown security put in place at agencies in DC need to be removed as they are not authorized by Congress, have DC Police remove them
3. All tariffs should just not be paid
4. Democrats need to get up off the couch I mean wtf you need to start directing agencies yourself, take over, individual Senate staff at each agency. AOC standing security at the USAID etc.
I can't tell you how sorry and ashamed I am of the Trump Administration's wretched treatment of our good neighbors to the north and south.
As far as I am concerned, this American supports Canada in its resistance to Trump tariffs. Real friends do not let a wrong-headed leader treat another real friend this way. Go Canada!
Donald Trump gives us the extraordinary opportunity to watch the downfall of a nation! Unfortunately, that nation is ours. And Republicans stand by and watch.
Repubs are cheering and helping him. Deplorable.
"...like every past constitutional crisis rolled into one." Minus the bloodshed. But, it's coming.
Courtesy of Daily Kos (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/2/2300880/-We-have-our-champion-The-DNC-Elects-Ken-Martin-a-knife-fighter-according-to-insiders?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web) who linked to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFhY6IaUJ40
For the defeatists in the Congress: you are cowards. Do your damn jobs.
Pay attention to if Musk and team get involved with the Dept of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration. Big contracts and classified nuclear secrets.
So glad our national security funding went to creating most of these tech billionaires. There was no other market for Thiel's Palantir.
No, the US is not up to this task. Remember that if the John Roberts immunity decision had been the Supreme Court's opinion in the Nixon subpoena case (US v. Nixon, 418 US 683 (1974)), there might have been none of the outcomes that you have described. Certainly things would have been different. So the Republican Party that brought the nation the Roberts Court has knowingly taken the US in a completely different direction. And a nation that responded to Trump's violations of the Espionage Act and his status as a convicted felon with a 49% "who gives a damn" and a "Jimmy Who brought the flags down?" learned nothing from the 1970s except how to sing YMCA while Trump sways to the music.
My bet is Canada's in the EU by January 2026. And, if by some miracle Trump's gone in four years, it will take decades to rebuild economic and security ties. I have no hope for that as long we're saddled with MAGA shit bags. Honestly, if the country was more evenly broke out between MAGAs and non MAGAs, it would be better to go to the EU with Canada.
MAGAs have more in common with Russians than they do with me or you probably. And, they chose this. We can't keep saying they're ignorant. They know this is happening, and they love it. That's the hardest part to accept for most: MAGAs don't care about freedom or a just society. They just care about Trump and feeling like winners. That's it.
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes again
Can you picture what will be?
So limitless and free
Desperately in need
Of some stranger's hand
In a desperate land
PS Don't count on Congress or the Supreme Court to be that stranger's hand. And desperation? Just wait until Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid payments mysteriously go from your and my pockets to Musk's.
Even as their 401 (k) plans lose value, even as the prices of Mexican produce go up those that are politically disengaged but supportive of Trump will shrug at the news of Musk and his muppets mucking about in the Treasury computers (and probably national security related computers too). They are the people that believe there should be a cleanup of the country, preferably one done by an "outsider" to the government. That Musk has no job title that was created by statute will be seen as a good thing, not a bad one. And stopping payments to bad agencies and people is one of the things they would approve of.
So, over the weekend Musk shutters USAID with the aid of young "engineers" with deliciously first gen sounding names. Meanwhile, Newsweek reports on the shutdown and the reaction by Shumer and Chris Murphy. Where do they react but on X. Remind yourself of who owns X, lock, stock and barrel, and remind yourself of section 230, or simply of private property, and that Musk is not a Government employee. In spite of all the pieties about free speech and suppression before, I will take a bet that there will be some selective silencing of Congressional voices on X.
I watched Schumer's press conference about the tariffs. He was pathetic. No energy, no outrage. He at first referred to Trump's proposed tariffs until an aid off camera had to remind him that Trump already announced them. It was sad. Schumer needs to go.
Schumer and ilk are as useful as a coathanger in a nudist colony. Just god-awful F N pathetic.
iik?
I heard there is a new game show coming to Fox. It’s called ABC. On the show the contestants are asked to identify if a Trump statement or answer to a question is:
A…it’s a lie B it’s nonsense, something Trump made up because he didn’t know the answer but will never admit he doesn’t know and C….it has to be True because Trump said it.
The one who gets the most answers wrong gets a cabinet nomination or ambassadorship. In case of a tie, you have a seat on the Supreme Court
C!!!!