Resistance

Not There Yet –

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But not far off…

This is where it’s going.

Interesting that in the ad, mom (the woman) is the brave one, the one who supports non-compliance; dad (the male) is the coward, willing to submit. It’s also clear the son aligns with his mom’s view but without dad also behind him he’s pushed into acquiescence.

Read 1984 by George Orwell to see where trump is heading!

But in case you haven’t a copy of the novel at hand watch this:

https://saveamericamovement.substack.com/p/the-pledge-of-allegiance-to-trump

trump Isn’t Joking About Wanting To Annex Canada!

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Here in Canada, we know trump’s threat isn’t a joke. We’re fully aware of what’s at stake. I’ve got my fingers crossed Canadians have the stamina to keep our “Elbows Up” and sustain the boycott on US food and goods for as long as necessary, taking on the hardship the tariffs bring and supporting one another so everybody can stand against trump! 

People in Canada are beginning to realize Canada = Ukraine now – a bully pushing to take us over for spurious reasons to enlarge their territory and steal our resources and water! To eradicate our culture and social values (which by the way are a threat to theirs, as is the case with Ukraine and Russia).

I’m raging about this, have been for the better part of a year. I’m 82 – born at the end of WWII – while my personal memories are more than vague, I do remember the immediate post-war period and I carry the stories of my parents and grandparents about what happened in the years immediately before my birth. I need to be passing on those stories so younger people who shrug at the political situation, want to turn away and let things slide, understand how they will pay for this for the rest of their lives and their children’s lives and their grandchildren’s lives until the 7th generation!

In Canada some of us do understand what’s at stake! Now we need to help the rest of us understand the costs.

Just so we’re clear, this is not a Trump-only phenomenon. Yesterday, when asked if the U.S. still considers Canada a “close ally,” White House press secretary Katherine Leavitt said that Canada would “benefit greatly” from joining the United States and pointed to its high cost of living as a reason for surrendering sovereignty. 

“Benefit greatly!” – at what cost? We completely lose our values, our identity, our freedom! Canadians don’t see any benefit to being cast into this trump chaos where the privileged few get the goodies and the rest of us are left to fight over the dregs! That’s “benefit greatly”?

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sounded a similar theme, noting that “Canada is gonna have to work with us to really integrate their economy, and as the president said, they should consider the amazing advantages of being the 51st state.”

“Amazing advantages of being the 51st state!” Really! Here’s where I take out my piece of paper, draw a line down the middle and put the headings “Advantages” and “Disadvantages” at the top on each side. I haven’t done that exercise yet. I’ll share it when I do. I welcome any suggestions for what should be on each list!

I can’t begin to tell you how angry I am. I’m tired of being the “mouse” in this “cat-and-mouse” game. I hate this feeling of powerlessness. I have power – I’ve begun using it by boycotting US goods when I’m shopping. But NOW is the time to take on the education of my fellow Canadians. I need to take back my power by shouting from the rooftops about what’s we’d be “buying” were we to succumb to trump’s inducements to become part of the US.

We need to face the fact that WE ARE AT WAR right now. This is what it looks like – the threats, the escalating tariffs, the attacks on our economy…

We need to look to Ukraine for moral support, for the example of resistance and independence we’re going to need going forward.

I’m a RAGING GRANNY!

Please join me by helping your friends and neighbours understand what’s at stake.

Tell trump To Stuff It

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Just read this succinct piece by Charlie Angus: “The Power Of The Boycott“.

Here’s what he has to say:

The power of the grassroots Canadian boycott is being felt in a big way across the United States. Just ask the US tourism industry.

Since Trump began his goon squad reign, they have suffered a precipitous plunge in reservations and trip bookings from Canada. Donald Trump says there is nothing America needs from Canada.

Turns out Canadians are by far the biggest spenders of tourism dollars in the United States. We might be polite, but we hate bullies. In homes across this country, Canadians are resisting tyranny by simply changing their tourism plans and shopping lists.

And this is causing the US tourism industry to panic.

Here’s what’s at stake:

  • In Florida, Canadians represent 38% of the tourist dollars coming into the state.
  • In Texas, Canadians spent $403 million last year. Both states have seen significant cancellations, as have other states.
  • If just 10% of Canadians hold firm in the boycott, it would mean the loss of 140,000 jobs.

It is still too early to say just how many Canadians have decided to rip up their tourism plans, but the messages I am getting from across the country paint a picture of a grassroots boycott that has become deeply embedded in the sense of Canadian nationhood.

This past week, I’ve shopped with a careful eye on where products are manufactured or grown – anything from the US got put back on the shelf. I know my local fabric store is a bit uneasy because a good deal of the fabric on hand is produced in the US and customers have been asking about that. The machines are actually made in Asia, the parent company is Swedish, and I do think shipments are direct to Canada without having to go through the US. Yup, if we keep up our boycott the US will feel it.

Angus ends with:

Once the impacts of the bourbon boycott, the grocery store actions and the cancelled travel bookings begin to pile up, you are going to see a lot of American businesses calling out the predator-in-chief.

As for Canada? Keep the boycott going. We will last one day longer and be one day stronger than the creeper in Washington.

I agree. Pay close attention to what’s going on. Read the whole piece – it will encourage you to make the effort!

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.