Just so you know, this one starts light, then dives deep and uncomfortable, then you get Curtis.
We call Celina the queen of de Nile. She likes to deny us the fur love. We can offer her a lap, and she will deny it. Even when it's the fuzzy blanket and I am fulfilling my role as a fuzzy blanket substrate, she might deny it.
Lots of people are big on denial as well. Denial of reality. Denial of humanity. A blog on these topics as been brewing for a while, fueled by the news, especially American news, though I am trying to cut down on it. News has become bad for my blood pressure, partly because I don't think I can do much about it.
Did you see ever see the Australian general's video statement from a few years back? "The standard you walk past is the standard you accept." That was David Morrison. I don't know how that story ended, but I hope he managed to root out the troglodytes in the Australian army. I suspect he did, and all of them moved to America.
Take off the blinders and look at what is happening in America, in Ukraine, and in Israel. Let's start with America; it's the closest. Maybe start with what I said about America back in 2012 here, and maybe you'll think I'm a genius for seeing it. No, just a realist who has seen what has happened to other empires and autocrats. Even while Trump was happening the first time, I couldn't believe Americans would do that to themselves. And then to vote him in the second time? Greed, wilful stupidity, or recognizing he is like you, are the only explanations that make sense to me. That marked the end of the empire for me, though historians are going to argue about it for a while.
Yes, I am saying I told you so, and I'll say it again as often as seems appropriate.
And it's not like Trump was the lesser of two evils. In both cases he was running against women with demonstrated competence and experience. Not sure if he won was because Americans dislike women in power, or women in general, or are afraid of actual competence. There's lots of evidence to support any of those ideas.
My advice to Americans that are not male, white, and very rich is the same as what should have given to the Jews living in Germany in the early 1930's. Even if you are those three things, but somehow still have a functional conscience, then take that advice or find others and start fighting back. You'll find yourself on the wrong end of a Trump temper-tantrum sooner or later. Your choice will be to fight back or kneel.
It seems as obvious as the sun in the sky at noon that Trump is a Russian agent doing whatever he can to damage America in service of Russian geopolitical goals. Much as I dislike what Russia is doing to Ukraine, I have to admit that Putin has played a poor hand with great skill. I'm sure he's actually quite a smart man, along with being evil and ruthless.
I think there's a lot more going on with that war than what appears on the surface. America doesn't want to get involved in a shooting war with Russia in Ukraine, but doesn't want to see Russia win, either. I'm pretty sure that any so-called peace treaty would see Ukraine divided up between Russia and America like a Christmas turkey. And no, Russia will not stop after absorbing Ukraine. The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are next, and they know it.
And then there's Israel. Sigh. Yes, Jews have been getting the shitty end of the stick since forever. Anti-Semitism is a real thing, and it's on the rise. Yes, Jews were the main target of the Holocaust, but they had plenty of company. That horrific event is still within living memory, and yet, now Jews in the government of Israel are carrying out genocidal policies against Palestinians. The only real difference is that gas chambers aren't being used, but there is no difference between starving in a concentration camp in the 1940's, or in the 2020's.
"The standard you walk past is the standard you accept."
What to do about those situations? Many Canadians are rethinking their position on America. Lot's of us won't buy American products, or travel there. I haven't been to America since about 1993 or 94, not even to transit on the way to other places. I didn't use to pay much attention to where things came from, but I do now.
We need to support our government and corporations in finding alternatives to trading with America. There's going to be some discomfort, probably most likely in higher taxes and prices in general. We've had it good for a long time. Time to get off our asses and hustle a bit. Expand trade with Europe, and make it easier to get goods to east coast ports. Expand trade with the Pacific rim countries, and make it easier to get goods to the west coast ports. Get the consultations with First Nations underway and get them on board. Yes, that means sharing the pie better than has been done. There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that they've been getting the shitty end of the stick for 500 years. Don't give up on oil and gas because there are going to be markets for that for decades, but get on with renewables. Tell Premier Smith to stop pandering to the separatists, and sign the petition to keep Alberta in Canada. I'd love to see a million people sign it. Every signature takes more the wind out of the traitorous sails of the Wexit pro-Trump crowd.
Ukraine? Our government is already supporting Ukraine, and has supported Ukrainian immigration. Is there more than can be done? I don't know.
Israel? This is a complicated situation. I don't know the solution. It seems nobody does, and nobody wants to know. I do know that military force is not the answer, unless you intend to replicate the solution that the Romans inflicted on Carthage. (Hint, burned the navy, enslaved the citizens, and totally razed the city, though sowing the ground with salt appears to be a myth.) Is it wrong to starve the inhabitants of the Gaza strip? Absolutely yes. The people that are doing so have long since lost the moral high ground and are and are now wading through a pit of depravity.
While my blood is up, it isn't just governments. The mega-corporations are out there plundering with the best of them, led by rapacious billionaires wanting ever more for themselves. It's long past time for a wealth tax on billionaire individuals. We should be better funding the tax cheat investigation squads, focussing on wealthy corporations and billionaires. Corporations should not be able to make contributions to politicians. It should be clear that I'm not on about small businesses. They're as much the victims as ordinary people.
What's weird is that the rich have managed to convince ordinary people that a wealth tax, or an increase in tax rates on high incomes is bad for everybody. There's this idea that it will diss-incentive entrepreneurs investing in new ideas and getting rich by risking their money, or the bank's money. I have to say that if you are discouraged from investing because you might only make $500 million dollars and would have to pay more tax on a billion dollars (just putting out numbers), then your head is in a very strange place. Many people seem to think they are only a lucky break from joining the billionaire club, and they don't understand that the game is rigged against them getting ordinarily wealthy, let alone anything more.
Plus they don't understand the difference between a million, and a billion. As a reminder, a million dollars in $100 bills is a pile about a metre high and would probably fit into an airline carry on bag. A billion dollars is higher than the Burj Khalifa.
My advice for ordinary people? Good question. Hunker down. Look after your own family, your community. Be kind to those around you. Be mindful where you spend your money. Don't line up at the self-checkout, go to the human running a till and say hello to them. Try to push back on evil when shows up. Remember that laughter, education, and the arts are things the autocrats hate most of all.
I've no idea which photo goes with that essay, so let's just get straight to the Of the Day images.
Of the Day
Driftwood (NZ)
Film
Linda
Newfoundland
Polar bears
Why ever didn't I publish this, and maybe I did
90 days, or so ago
Seen through the window, through the trees, and across the road.
Flower
Landscape
Dino related
