Us vs. 'Them'

 

So just for the moment, let’s leave Mexico out of this, because that’s a slightly different though equally tragic story. This moment is about our benign neighbor to the north, on whom for no valid reason whatsoever the U.S, government has declared war.

This isn’t a war to be waged with guns or bullets, but with an equally lethal weapon only our side possesses, the U.S. dollar. To get a sense of the scale of the imbalance between the two forces, the U.S. economy’s annual G.D.P. of nearly $30 trillion is ten times the size of Canada’s.

Any extended trade war would hurt both sides, but on the Canadian side the damage could prove fatal. What do I mean? That Canada would no longer be able to continue as a viable national economy — or as an independent nation — and would have to capitulate and be absorbed into the U.S.

As outrageous and extreme as that scenario may sound, that may well be Trump’s ultimate purpose here — to destroy Canada as a sovereign nation so that the U.S. can take it over and fulfill one of his imperialistic dreams.

It makes me sick to my stomach to write these words, but what other purpose could possibly be served by the declaration of an economic war on our closest ally. This is every bit as despicable as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both are acts of imperialism committed by rapacious leaders determined to demonstrate their power through the expansion of their empires.

The difference is that the U.S. is still a democracy, for now, although this could be one of the acts that brings that to an end, and leads to an autocracy with larger borders.

What can be done to resist? What’s needed is an anti-war movement. Trade wars are far harder to understand than the bombs and bullets type, so it may start in little ways by acquiring and displaying the Canadian flag as a symbol of resistance.

But it will quickly need to become big enough to stop this war and restore our neighbor’s sovereignty and self-rule before it’s too late. 

If I am right, Canada is first, but Mexico, Panama and Greenland (aka Demark) will be next.

HEADLINES:

• The Dumbest Trade War in History (WSJ)

• Dow futures slammed by 600 points after Trump hits Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs (CNBC)

• With tariffs and threats, Trump turns on America’s closest allies (WP)

• U.S. auto industry is in the tariff crosshairs (Axios)

• Trump says Americans could feel 'pain' in trade war with Mexico, Canada, China (Reuters)

• Canadians are 'perplexed' by Trump's tariffs, ambassador to the US says (ABC)

• Canada announces $155B tariff package in response to unjustified U.S. tariffs (Canada)

• Trump’s Tariffs Would Reverse Decades of Integratiovn Between U.S. and Mexico (NYT)

• What will be the impact of a North American trade war? (Financial Times)

• ‘This is a self-inflicted wound to the American economy’ (Politico)

• Musk Moves With Lightning Speed to Exert Control Over the Government (WSJ)

• USAID security leaders on leave after trying to keep Musk’s DOGE from classified info, officials say (AP)

• U.S. aid freeze hits secret girls' schools, post-flood repair and much more (NPR)

• DOGE Gains Access to Payment System Doling Out Trillions to Americans (WSJ)

• Project 2025 For Real (The Nation)

• Rubio demands Panama 'reduce China influence' over canal (BBC)

• Donald Trump’s Anti-Woke Wrecking Ball (New Yorker)

• Trump’s DEI purge targets federal workers who did not work in DEI (WP)

• Vance and Duffy Echo Trump in Blaming D.E.I. for Crash Near Washington (NYT)

• JD Vance Backtracks on DEI Slur After Pilot’s Identity Revealed (Daily Beast)

• More USAID staff ousted as Trump administration dismantles aid agency (Reuters)

• Illinois governor bans Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump from state jobs (WP)

• The Baby Gap (Financial Times)

• Shocking Fourfold Spike in Ocean Warming Sparks Global Concern (SciTechDaily)

• AI systems with ‘unacceptable risk’ are now banned in the EU (TechCrunch)

• Clever architecture over raw compute: DeepSeek shatters the ‘bigger is better’ approach to AI development (VentureBeat)

• DeepSeek has ripped away AI’s veil of mystique. That’s the real reason the tech bros fear it (Guardian)

• Report: Universe To End Next Friday (The Onion)

The Way of all Words

“Most of the basic material a writer works with is acquired before the age of fifteen.” — Willa Cather

___________________________________________________________________________

A few years back, one of my grandchildren mentioned that whenever she writes a story, “I let the pen go where the pen wants to go.” She was nine at the time.

I took note of it because it was one of the better insights into a style of writing I admire, plus I’ve learned over time to listen carefully to kids when I’m thinking about how to tell a good story.

Most writing teachers will tell you to focus on the structure of your story; they may even advise you to work from an outline. There is nothing wrong with that advice, especially for school or work assignments. But there’s also nothing more likely to suffocate your creative impulses than having too detailed of a plan. 

Therefore, when it comes to story-telling/writing , I’m of the opinion that you just have to work yourself into the right mood. The one where you can just let it flow. Out there beyond where any known form of outlining can take you.

So how do you get there? Methods vary. Some people meditate. Some pour a drink (not recommended.) Some light up a joint (really not recommended, you’ll never get started.) Some nap. Some exercise. The very best way for me is to meet up with a friend for coffee. 

Anyway, once you’re writing you’ll know you’re on the right track if — to paraphrase my granddaughter — the story is going where the story wants to go, plus that’s where you want it to go as well.

(Thanks to Sophia.)

NOTE: I’ll get back to the Trump tsunami of outrageous acts soon. I just had to take a break from that stuff to preserve what is left of my sanity. But one thing — Go Canada!

HEADLINES:

• Canada announces retaliatory tariffs on long-time ally (Reuters)

• Why tariffs on Mexico and Canada could drive up grocery costs, in 3 charts (CNN)

• Trump tariffs will cost U.S. households $830 a year, study says (Axios)

• Trump hits Canada, China and Mexico with tariffs (Reuters)

• Canada, Mexico Want America to Feel the Pain of Tariffs Too (WSJ)

• Our Health in the Hands of a Man Who’d Make Us Sick (NYT)

• Pro-RFK Jr. letter to the Senate includes names of doctors whose licenses were revoked or suspended (Politico)

• Wiping out ‘gender ideology’ (Reuters)

• Washington Crash Renews Concerns About Air Safety Lapses (NYT)

• Army helicopter was alerted to plane’s presence two minutes before collision (WP)

• EPA workers receive emails warning their employment could be terminated (CNN)

• CBS News Set to Hand Over Transcript of ‘60 Minutes’ Interview to F.C.C. (NYT)

• Pentagon removes major media outlets, including NBC News, from dedicated workstations in new 'rotation program' (NBC)

• Exclusive: Musk aides lock Office of Personnel Management workers out of computer systems (Reuters)

• How an arcane Treasury Department office became ground zero in the war over federal spending (CNN)

• See how thousands of federal agency websites have changed under Trump (WP)

• FBI Agents Are Stunned by the Scale of the Expected Trump Purge (Atlantic)

• Trump prepares to revoke legal status for many migrants who arrived under Biden (CNN)

• House GOP is nearing a massive tax and spending bill for Trump’s agenda (WP)

• 183 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jail after Hamas releases three Israeli hostages (BBC)

• How the World Is Reeling From Trump’s Aid Freeze (NYT)

• What Does Chinese AI Start-Up DeepSeek Mean for Nvidia Stock? (Motley Fool)

• DeepSeek Arrived. America Freaked. What Happens Now? (WSJ)

• DeepSeek: What lies under the bonnet of the new AI chatbot? (BBC)

• The Media: Are They Media-Obsessed? (The Onion)