A Pivotal Moment

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I have three links for you: read this piece by John Pavlovitz – it’s a call to action – follow his admonition! (I love his pieces, they read like sermons – not a surprise since he’s a former Pastor):

It’s Time to Pick a Hill Worth Dying On

This piece from Robert Reich: 

What trump ignores

Enjoy the cartoon, have a giggle, and pass it on widely! (BTW, the cartoonist, Bruce MacKinnon, is Canadian, from Halifax NS where I live!) – It was in Reich’s piece but I thought you should see it on its own, it’s worth a million words!

If you’re looking for a resistance movement that’s growing fast, check out Indivisible – indivisible.org – find yourself a local group and get busy! 

As Pavlovitz says – use your voice now or forget you have one – I believe the window of opportunity is getting smaller…

How Dumb Is This?

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From the Globe and Mail: “Trump says he wants U.S. to redevelop, take ownership of Gaza Strip after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere”

“President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Feb 4 2025) suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and proposed the U.S. take “ownership” in redeveloping the area.

Trump’s brazen proposal appears certain to roil the next stage of talks meant to extend the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and secure the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

The provocative comments came as talks are ramping up this week with the promise of surging humanitarian aid and reconstruction supplies to help the people of Gaza recover after more than 15 months of devastating conflict. Now Trump wants to push roughly 1.8 million people to leave the land they have called home and claim it for the U.S., perhaps with American troops.”…

trump’s serious! He caved when Canadians and Mexicans pushed back! (Well it wasn’t our pushing back that made him cave, it was the stock market fall early in the morning on Monday that did it, and his cronies reaction to what would have turned into a rout, but anyway…). 

He doesn’t, in god’s name, expect the Palestinians to vacate meekly! He’s going to have to slaughter every last one of them! I know that’s what the idiot would really like to do, then give the land to the goddamn Israeli settlers, that’s what he’d really like to do. 

I’m sure every single young Palestinian will fight to the death over this lunacy.

Please someone with sense – listen – it’s time to lock trump up!

trump Caved. Now What?

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A local comentator yesterday made an interesting assertion – she didn’t think anything Trudeau or Sheinbaum had to say to trump made the difference. trump is claiming a win for the US. Yes, both Canada and Mexico agreed to strengthen the borders with increased policing but those were actions already being undertaken, and likely desirable. No, she believes the pushback against the 25% tariffs came from a few significant close trump confidants who screamed loudly when both Canada and Mexico revealed their retaliatory tariffs and some personal businesses (like Tesla and Starlink) were going to be hurt! (The early morning big drop in both US and Canadian stock markets was an indication of what would come if the tariffs were actually levied.)(A good explanation by Matt Stoller.)

OK, so the tariffs have been shelved for the next 30 days. Where does that leave us? Stuck with the same “cat and mouse” game, more musings about the “51 state”, questions about what will happen in a month answered with a cryptic “Watch.” We’re stuck in limbo for a month.

Yesterday Canadians, (Mexicans, too, I’m guessing) began boycotting “produced in US” products. My grocery shopping on Sunday took me 20 minutes longer because I read every label and put back anything connected with the US. I wasn’t shopping yesterday but I know when I go to any local store in the next day or two I’ll find Canadian products marked with shelf labels or small Canadian flag stickers to make my shopping Canadian easier! I must check whether any such labelling will happen online – I have to look for it. I have to make the same effort to buy Canadian when shopping online!

The thing is, we Canadians need to keep that up, not just for a week. Not just for a month. We need to make buying Canadian a priority going forward. Our politicians need to keep this conversation going.

In part that will happen because there’s an election in Ontario shortly, and the Liberal Party of Canada is in the midst of a leadership race where these threats made by trump will continue to be a major issue. When parliament resumes in March, I expect the government to fall to be followed by a national general election where our vulnerability to trump’s whims will be front and centre.

While PP (Poilievre) has managed to take a “tough” stance on Canadian retaliation to the stupid tariffs, he can’t resist lying about our energy exports, he can’t stop himself from belittling anything the Liberal government puts forward. His “Canada First” is tinged with a kind of bombast that reveals the posturing he’s addicted to. I have a very close friend, a staunch Conservative, who keeps telling me PP is “a smart politician”. I can’t see it. Forced into defending Canada, he’s still singing his one song – he can’t bring himself to stand as a leader of a signifiant resistance to a US takeover. He’s certainly not persuading me to vote for him. I wonder how many other Canadians are evaluating the situation similarly.

The next thirty days are important. I have decided to stop worrying about the impending tariffs, not because they’ve been set aside, but because I refused to live with the uncertainty. I do believe as March 3/4 draws nearer the nonsense from south of the border will reappear, with new unmeetable demands and both Canada and Mexico will scramble once more to strategize ways to push back.

In the meantime every Canadian needs to be creative about finding small ways to strengthen our sovereignty! It’s not enough to refuse to buy US today. We need to keep it up going forward and for the foreseeable future! It’s part of the “playing offence” that Jean Chretién was advocating!

In the meantime sign the Pledge For Canada!

It’s Really About Submission

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I do think Canadians – a good number of us, at least, understand that the tariffs are about submission and nothing to do with US national security. It’s sheer bullying with all the hallmarks of bulling – unpredictability, impossible/inexplicable/changing demands which cannot be met, taunting, and on and on. We’re organizing, here, too – I thought it would be against Poilievre (our mini-trump), but turns out, it’s against trump himself! Even Poilievre is on board with this resistance with full out support for retaliatory tariffs and other withholding of necessary commodities to the US! I also think a good number of Canadians understand this may be for the long haul, at least until the pain is great in enough in the US for people to start marching against Washington screaming in rage against the insanity of it all.

Robert Reich offers a very clear synopsis of the madness of what’s going on both with regard to tariffs, but also about the coup that’s taking place in the US largely without public awareness!

What You Need To Know About trump’s Madness
Robert Reich

And Then There Were Tariffs…

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The tariffs were levied yesterday! Finally the suspense is over. Now we can do something about it.

Here’s a invitation to Pledge for Canada:
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/pledge-for-canada-petition

Wondering what the tariffs are all about (not what trump says they are). A great analysis by Paul Krugman – “Why trump has gone soft on China“

If you’re interested in the extent of trump’s anti-constitution moves, Heather Cox Richardson explains them well.

Lots of comprehensive analyses out there. I’ll share more as the world unfolds. In the meantime if you haven’t discovered Substack.com, take a look. That’s where you’ll find reliable news reporting from people like Robert Reich, Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance, Timothy Snyder, Jim Acosta…

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/pledge-for-canada-petition

Our “1938”?

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A friend commented this morning: One wonders if this moment is our “1938”?

I replied:

“It’s 6:30am. I can’t fall back to sleep. I’ve been thinking the very same thing! Yesterday it was Columbia! On Feb. 1 it will be Canada and Mexico. The militia are now armed and active and there’s no one who will stop them wreaking havoc against the “enemies”. The courts are a joke. There are people who see what’s coming, but they are powerless to stop it. The moment for that has come and gone. And then there’s the tech panic over China’s latest AI announcement. And out of control AI. This time it’s all out economic warfare and who knows what else! And it’s all happening so fast that nobody can see it all, no time to react, and no way to run from it or toward it. There’s so much disruption you can’t get a handle on it. We will all need to make the personal decision to go along or to resist and resistance will need to be creative. Yes, I do think this is our 1938 moment!”

Last night I watched “Resistance: They Fought Back” on PBS – a documentary about Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. It premiered last night – International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“We’ve all heard of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, but most people have no idea how widespread and prevalent Jewish resistance to Nazi barbarism was. Instead, it’s widely believed “Jews went to their deaths like sheep to the slaughter.”  Filmed in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Israel, and the U.S., Resistance – They Fought Back provides a much-needed corrective to this myth of Jewish passivity. There were uprisings in ghettos large and small, rebellions in death camps, and thousands of Jews fought Nazis in the forests. Everywhere in Eastern Europe, Jews waged campaigns of non-violent resistance against the Nazis.“

That’s partly why I couldn’t fall back to sleep. Since the day trump was elected I’ve been uneasy. OK, now people will get what they voted for, I said to myself. It wasn’t going to be pretty; he’d telegraphed his plans openly with Project 2025. I wasn’t prepared for how fast everything would unravel. In a single week it’s become clear how trump’s agenda will unfold.

The best example of what’s coming is what happened to Columbia yesterday/day before – Seth Abramson gives the most succinct description of what transpired: https://sethabramson.substack.com/cp/155917891. trump sent deportees to Columbia without any prior consultation with Columbia, and he used a military plane to shuttle them – an overt display of disrespect to Columbia. Columbia rejected the military flight (though not explicitly the deportees). trump then issued a 25% tariff on Columbian exports to US along with withdrawing diplomatic clearances. Columbia threatened retaliatory tariffs on coffee, corn, flowers. The corn got somebody’s attention – corn farmers? Columbia backed down, trump withdrew the tariffs. The outcome of all of this? The rest of the world is on notice that tariffs is the big 2×4 trump plans to wield if you don’t give him what he wants.

But capitulation can’t be the go-to response for nations under threat. Canada/Mexico have been under threat of tariffs for weeks (months). The purported reasons are illegal immigration and drug smuggling. Both countries have taken steps to improve border control to prevent people and drugs crossing into the US. However, it’s not about people and drugs; it’s about subjugation! February 1 is a few days away. I expect the tariffs will be applied on Canada/Mexico exports, anyway. Then it will be retaliatory tariffs and other restrictions imposted against the US by Canada/Mexico. And on it will go.

Back to the documentary. What do you do, what can you do, when your livelihood, your very life, is threatened. The Jews in Europe redefined “resistance” – surviving any way you could was fighting back against Nazi extermination plans. Walking to the gas chambers with dignity – they knew that was the fate they were facing – spit in the face of their Nazi exterminators. Surreptitiously holding religious services, smuggling books into the ghetto, singing, sharing what little they had, looking after one another were all actions of resistance.

What forms of resistance can nations take? We’re going to find out, I guess. It’s not going to be pretty – people aren’t at all prepared for the hardship and difficulty to be managed when nations face bullying like trump’s. They’ll rage against leaders who resist, and many will scream and push for compliance, not understanding that caving in brings more bullying!

I wasn’t alive in 1938. I have no idea how the German population understood what Hitler was proposing to do to the “enemies within” and to national neighbours. Some obviously did – they emigrated as quickly as they could. This time, there is no place to immigrate to – where would you go to be out of reach of China or Russia or the US if it comes to that?

This is a stand and be counted moment, if there ever was one. At the end of week one I’m exhausted and overwhelmed and terrified.

As Maggie Muggans said: “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow!” It’s not looking good. Start making connections, keep an eye out for people and groups that will help you stand tall and strong.

Bishop Budde’s Sermon

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I’m a devout atheist. Have been since the age of 8. I grew up in a secular Jewish home with parents who weren’t observant in any way. My encounter with religious nonsense happened when in fourth grade I was given a Gideon bible and then was required to relinquish it because the rabbi didn’t want the children of his congregation to be exposed to any Christian scripture. 

At 8, I was already a rabid reader. For me, this bible was just another story book. At 8, I was offended by the oppressive way the rabbi (and my acquiescing parents) determined to restrict my reading choices. At 8, I quietly took a stand. I would become a skeptical Jew. 

At age 12, I prepared for a Bat-Mitzvah. Not the same full religious coming of age ritual in which boys participate, just a small contribution within a Friday evening service. That, in itself, spoke loudly to me of the inferior status of women within Judaism. Worse, was my encounter with the book of Leviticus during the preparation for the service. I was particularly offended by the description of the “uncleanliness” of women. The rabbi offered flowery explanations of those passages when I questioned the proscription. I didn’t buy them – they were male rationalizations against the essence of woman. At age 12, I walked away from religion.

So I respond to Bishop Budde’s sermon in an a-religious way. I respond to the politics of her act. I respond to her courage to confront these significant social issues in a very public way with the very people deciding the fate of many frightened people!

If you haven’t seen the critical part of her sermon you must watch it:

Listen to her words and watch the faces of the powerful!

If you want to understand why she took a deep breath and spoke aloud these deepest tenets of her faith watch her interview with Rachel Maddow: 

John Pavolitz urges other religious leaders to follow suit: 

Don’t Let Bishop Budde Stand Alone: A Challenge to Every Minister in America

Not only am I an atheist, I’m a Canadian not an American citizen. But the escalating chaos I see as an outside observer makes me fearful for the majority of US citizens because the rising tide of hate and xenophobia will pit neighbour against neighbour, will break long standing friendships, disrupt families, make the vulnerable even more vulnerable. 

Steve Schmidt sounded a warning in his Substack today: 

The Warning with Steve Schmidt: The big lie

These and many more upcoming decisions by trump and his administration are going to have world-wide consequences. I don’t claim to be prescient; but the rising tide is obvious to anybody willing to see.

Twenty Lessons On Tyranny

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Timothy Snyder shared his Twenty Lessons On Tyranny eight years ago on the occasion of the 2017 inauguration. He reshared the list again today Jan 20 2025: https://substack.com/home/post/p-155209838?source=queue

Read his post (it’s short and to the point). Print it. Pass it on.

The advice is relevant everywhere in today’s world, whether you live in an autocratic country or a democracy (?). I’m astounded by the number of rich and powerful who have already kowtowed to the wannabe autocrat violating Lesson #1: Do not obey in advance!

Ann Telnaes

https://anntelnaes.substack.com/p/why-im-quitting-the-washington-post

Says it all.

[Ann Telnaes resigned from the Washington Post over this cartoon – they refused to publish it because it included Jeff Bezos bowing down and making a payment both of which he did for a ticket to the inauguration(?).]

Bubbles

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Bubbles!

This is where I am at the moment – 21 1/2″ x 18″. There are four insert circles, the smaller circles are fused raw edge appliqué. Although I’ve ended up with an even number, the distribution and colour feel comfortable.

I’ve been auditioning fabric for a thin inner border and a wide outer border – no luck. Everything I’ve tried – light fabrics, medium fabrics, dark fabrics – all look wrong. I think the piece is telling me to end here and finish with a facing, not a binding!

The next question is whether to quilt or not. I need to do decorative stitching around the appliqué (and possibly outside the inset circles, as well) – I have to wait until I’ve finished the stitching the appliqué to decide.

The point of this effort was to expand my technical know-how – to see how difficult it was to do an insert circle. Definitely not a beginner skill. After five circles, I’ve decided the sewing works best for me with the background on top, just four pins to hold the 3/6/9/12 positions, sewing slowly, one small section at a time, so I can align the opposing curves as closely as possible and still maintain a 1/4″ seam.

I’m not giving up on this idea – I still want to make a table runner and a quilt using it – it’s a matter of deciding whether to use pieced backgrounds, as I’ve done here, or a subtle print/batik throughout. I have to audition some fabric to see what might work.

Inset and Appliqué?

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Bubbles?

Four inset circles with appliqué? This is all an experiment. First, the blue background doesn’t add anything – it shows I want to stay with greys, lights and blacks. That block also shows I don’t want pieced circles – I want to use the large prints from my Kaffe Fasset collection – I like the statement each circle makes.

Second, three of those inset circles are not too bad, one is kind of wonky – an appliqué over the wobble would hide the imperfection. Also the piece is stark without the smaller circles – I can’t see trying to inset them, much too difficult – the bigger the circle the easier to inset, I’m finding. I’ve also been moving the circle around in the square, rather than place it at the centre. Will continue doing that.

I also wanted to sew four blocks together and inset a circle at the intersection – there aren’t enough blocks here to try that. I may have to add another couple, making the piece longer, to see whether I can add an inset circle at the intersection. This has become an experiment going in directions I wasn’t expecting.

I have enough here for a fibre wall piece. I want to replace the blue and see what I have . I haven’t nailed down precisely what I want this to be – stopping at this point and finishing the small piece will let me start over.

I’ve been scouring Pinterest for “circle” and seen a lot of very interesting ideas for quilts made with both insert and appliqué circles. I need to review the images I’ve collected and rethink where I’m trying to go with this project.