The comments have been getting nasty for about a week now but I hit my limit today. I'm handing out bans for insults and personal attacks. I have less than zero patience for oh-so-stereotypical comment section pissing matches. You're all warned.
Is there a feature in Substack that can limit the number of comments that an individual user can make in a given article? It's the same handful of people who go back and forth that wind up insulting each other. Maybe limit everyone to only one or two posts per article, if possible? And yes, I've been guilty of it, I've been working on myself!
Here are a few points refuted as succinctly as I could. Most of this article is pure, unsubstantiated fear-mongering.
• Nazi parallels are Godwin's law nonsense: Trump's bombast and policies echo past U.S. actions (e.g., Iraq, drone strikes) more than Hitler's systematic genocide. Where is Obama's critique of his liberal use of drones to kill (sometimes innocent people), as well as the mass deportations that were occurring under his admin?
• "Lawless" government claims ignore context: ICE expansions target immigration enforcement, not domestic terror. Budgets ballooning are sanctioned by Congress. Shootings like Good/Pretti as sad and unfortunate as they are, are under investigation, not state-sanctioned murders.
• Refugee/invasion fears are paranoid: 50,000 Vietnam dodgers were real, but millions fleeing Trump? That's assuming total collapse without evidence.
• Canadian wargames are routine hypotheticals, not imminent threats. That literally the military's job, as Gurney said in a recent podcast. Why are we even surprised?
• U.S. military "purges" replace critics, but no mass defections or coups and has been routine under many past presidents
• Economic "hybrid warfare" overstates the case: Trump's maps and Alberta nods are trolling or leverage plays (like Panama Canal threats), not invasion blueprints.
•Bessent/Burgum comments are offhand, not policy.
• Tariffs (as much as I hate them) renegotiate trade, not "destroy" Canada. Canada's current situation is almost entirely self-inflicted, but the Canadian left LOVE to blame Trump for our own woes, to avoid taking a good look in the mirrow. Which is frankly disgusting, misplaced nationalism. I'll listen to that argument when we can trade as freely internally as we can with the US and building pipelines is a no-brainer.
• No "off ramp" ignores democracy: Midterms are around the corner.
• Vance's 2020 musings are hypothetical, not a blueprint for 2028.
• De-dollarization and "Donroe Doctrine" are bluster: BRICS failed their attempts before. U.S. "control" of the western hemisphere is Monroe Doctrine redux, not tyranny. It's literally a 200 year old idea and ensconced in US foreign policy for that long.
Overall, the article conflates tough policies with fascism to fan the flames of panic. The U.S. is a flawed democracy, sure, but certainly not a "blood and soil dystopia". Preparing is always wise, but paranoia never helps.
It's pretty obvious that you haven't spent a lot of time reading history. Start with "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" - the parallels between the rise of an authoritarian blood & soil party in Germany and MAGA in the US should send a chill down your spine.
Yep - you definitely haven't read much about the rise of Nazi Germany. "Poisoning the well!! You can't make a comparison with the Nazis!!! Godwin's Law!! You're so deranged that you think Trump is going to gas people in concentration camps!!!"
If you actually WANT to learn something about it, consider these parallels:
1) Populist leaders claiming that as outsiders, only THEY could deal with corruption and fix systemic problems. Not just that, but that only THEY could be trusted because everybody inside the system is corrupt.
2) The use of media to push emotionally charged narratives through repetition and simplified messaging.
3) Scapegoating of opponents for problems and increasing characterization of them not just as opponents, but enemies who must be crushed through violence. The Nazis started with Jews and Communists; the current administration labels protesters as "domestic terrorists" and a lot of them and their supports aren't exactly crazy about Jews either.
4) Attacks on institutions. The Nazis undermined courts and stacked them with stooges. They did the same with the civil service. They routinely attacked and suppressed the press. They used emergency powers to jam through changes. Trump has been attacking courts and judges as illegitimate and biased. His more recent judicial appointments have been loyalists like personal lawyers. He's been suing the press for absurd amounts of money if he doesn't like their message. His administration has applied pressure to major law firms to bully them into refusing to represent lawsuits against the government. The Trump administration has routinely make dubious assertions of emergency powers to do anything from wide-sweeping tariff policies to deploy troops in American cities to overthrow foreign governments - all of which tend to fly in the face of established law.
5) Let's not forget the attacks on legitimacy of elections. The Nazis routinely claimed election were rigged or unfair when the results didn't go their way. When they gained power, they used emergency powers and intimidation to start rigging elections to favor them. Trump has also always claimed elections were rigged against him, even when he *won* as in 2016. He tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He's behind a push for mid-decade redistricting to gerrymander results to favor Republicans. He's still trying to interfere with elections by throwing spurious accusations at various state authorities in Georgia and elsewhere (and did you notice one of his demands to Minnesota was access to all their voting records?)
The Democrats are pushing harder for redistricting that the Republicans.
In December, officials in Fulton County (Georgia) admitted that 315,000 votes were illegally verified without any poll worker signatures. Some 140 tapes printed by electronic voting machines remain unaccounted for. Then they refused to turn over the paperwork. The FBI recently executed a court order and raided the warehouse where the ballots/tapes/documents from 2020 were kept.
Voter fraud is/was rampant in the US because Democrat run states allow unregistered, non-citizens to vote in federal elections and want to make it the law of the land. This is why the government is asking Minnesota for their voter registration and this is the reason behind the SAVE Act currently working it's way through Congress and the Senate. The premise is simple, in order to vote in the federal election, you must prove you are a citizen with a valid photo ID. No more mail in or online voting where the person casting the vote cannot be verified. Tell me what is wrong with that? Protecting the integrity of the system from foreign interference, something that we suffer from in Canada and ensuring only eligible voters cast ballots?
Points 2, 3, and 4 of your post summarize everything the Democrats are guilty of during the previous 4 years. It is a well known fact that media is biased against Conservatives, especially in this country. The only group most of us see using physical violence in the US come from the left and the progressives. The only group. Illegals are being deported all over the US, without fanfare. It is only in Democrat run states, where the leadership is telling their people to resist that makes it to the news. But we never hear about that because of, you know, media bias. Where was the outrage when Obama, using the very same director of ICE, deported over 3 Million illegal aliens. Obama gave him a medal.
Lets not forget the massive amount of fraud that is being uncovered in Minnesota and California. Over the weekend, it was reported that the protestors in Minneapolis were using encrypted messaging to coordinate the protests. Members of these chat groups included high ranking officials in the Minnesota government. Suddenly Governor Walz has ordered law enforcement to assist ICE in their operations and stop people from obstructing them. It's almost like someone throw a circuit breaker.
Democrats were also the first to weaponize lawfare. If they spent as much time fixing the problems in the country as they spent going after Trump, American lives would be better. Convicted felon? Only if you ignore the fact that the instructions the trial judge gave to the jury simply stated that the prosecution didn't need to prove the intent of the payments Trump made, only that he made them. It was the purpose of the payments that made it a felony but the judge instructed them the prosecution didn't need to prove it.
Everything Trump has done is within the power of the office of the President. You don't have to like his methods but over 70 million people in the US elected him to do what he is doing.
In the meantime, while our Liberals and our media keep our attention on the US, what exactly is our government up to?
It's pretty obvious you haven't read history. Hitler (and Stalin) had facial hair: so does JD Vance. American totalitarianism is obviously just around the corner.
I'm sorry but none of this lands; the rebuttals look like lipstick on a pig. History tends to affirm the realists when a lunatic narcissist raves and waves a gun.
Many of your supposed refutations are ripe with logical fallacies and errors.
Nazi parallels: you're not addressing the author's argument directly. Nazism scapegoated a specific racial group and provided state-sponsored tolerance (and later their own execution) of violence toward them. For most fair-minded observers, the parallel with what ICE is doing to immigrants - and not just the criminal element they are purportedly tasked to target - is clear. Trump is picking on a racial group to provide grist for his base's mill: that's a fascist act. And invoking Obama is an exercise in whataboutism. Obama is not the president; Trump is.
Canadian wargames: military professionals prioritize their planning efforts based on the most urgent requirements, i..e the most critical threats. Up until Trump 2.0 the US was considered a reliable ally whose potential threat to Canada was insignificant, necessitating no contingency planning that would deal wht the US as a threat. The situation has changed, and the military has responded. Wargames are indeed routine hypotheticals. Wargames addressing a potential US invasion are not.
Hybrid warfare: the subversion of a nation state with financial and propaganda support for a separatist or insurgent or dissident cause is right out of the Gerasimov playbook for Estonia, Georgia, the Crimea and elsewhere. You can argue that the US doesn't have a specific strategic objective to facilitate Alberta separation - I agree there's no evidence of that - but you can't argue the tactics are unrelated to hybrid warfare.
Tariffs: it is irrational to argue the tariffs aren't going to destroy Canada because Canadian internal policies are the real problem. The effects of interprovincial trade barriers are real, but this does not lessen the impacts of the tariffs. Your argument is illogical. It does not follow that the effects of tariffs are insignificant due to the larger effects of trade barriers. The current and projected effects of tariffs on Canada have been well documented by professionals in the field.
Midterms: the author hyperlinked non-hypothetical attempts and thwarted attempts by Trump and his acolytes to subvert the democratic process. Citing "midterms are coming" in context of the January 6th events seems to shrug off both recent history and the tendency of the current Trump administration to press their advantage.
Your post selectively cherry-picks pieces of the author's argument and substitutes your own beliefs and projections as being more significant or relevant. I do not find it convincing.
The Line editors posited a question a few months ago that they said they are going to give our answers to soon. Where would you draw the line on Trump and agree with this articles' claim and how can you assure me that the placement of your personal line isn't too late for making the necessary preparations?
I care way more about what's happening on our side of the border and am much more worried about it than anything Trump has done so far.
Picking a line makes no sense when our betters keep poking the bear. How can we complain about how we're treated by the US when we've been playing with fire and grossly underperforming and failing at our most basic commitments for 10+ years now?
Being prepared is and should always be a priority. No matter how warm or cold our relations with the US are. And we're not prepared, so there's my line.
Let's build a serious military that punches far above its weight.
Let's have the greatest intelligence service the world has ever seen.
Let's trade with anyone who wants to throw cash at us and buy our energy.
Let's tear down internal trade barriers.
Let's tear down external trade barriers.
Let's innovate and neuter all the Canadian Cartels™.
Let's build more housing than we've ever had.
Let's kick out all the foreign assets and influencers that are buying our politicians.
This would make for a highly effective Conservative government that would absolutely have my full support. I haven't yet seen platforms and consensus from all levels of conservative governments that show they are willing to do whatever it takes to do anything resembling this.
You can't refute a comparison to the Nazis with "ha ha, Godwin's law!" To me, the parallels are becoming difficult to ignore (although, as Rauch points out in the Atlantic, institutions in the US appear to still be holding in the US). And the end result need not be some dreadful new Holocaust to be very undesirable (indeed, the Nazis were more interested in forced migration and exclusion than in mass murder before the war).
I have to echo the question asked by others: It's fine that you're not worried now, but when would you be? What would it take? "I'm more interested in complaining about our current government than I am in answering that question", which is the answer you gave below, is not an answer.
Simple, ICE is enforcing existing and widely accepted laws. You can question their methods, and I would agree that they are pretty disgusting, but it's a far cry from looking to exterminate all gays, jews and gypsies.
The illegals they're arresting are overwhelmingly convicted criminals, or people charged with crimes (70% + I think).
So forgive me for being a little skeptical of the rampant reductio ad hitlerum around here.
Did they break eggs? Yeah. Do I care? No, not really, it's not my country.
I mean, I lament that this is happening to other human beings, but can I realistically take on all the suffering of the world? No.
As I said elsewhere, we have much more pressing problems here that if tackled would greatly reduce our risk profile with regards to the Americans side-eyeing us.
When I read these sorts of Trump apologias that downplay what has been happening I think back to Jen's request of readers about a year ago; pick something then that would be your red line for determining if the US was well down the road to authoritarianism. Tough policies aren't shooting demonstrators on their knees in the back, declaring them domestic terrorists, and then arresting witnesses and refusing to conduct a real investigation. Not that anyone would trust the weaponized DOJ to conduct a fair investigation, and even if they did and found the agents culpable Trump would pardon them anyway.
But it's pointless to argue with people such as yourself so I will just ask Jen's question, what is your red line? Arresting journalists? Attempting a self-coup? Pardoning insurrectionists? Massive corruption? ICE agents outside voting locations? Seizures of voting boxes in swing states? Actively working for the breakup of Canada?
Pretti’s death is only being investigated because of massive public backlash. The administration’s initial reaction was to publicly state that he was a domestic terrorist trying to kill ICE agents. I’m not aware of any investigation of the agent that shot Good. My understanding is the agent is back at work. Feel free to enlighten me if you have evidence that suggests otherwise.
Both above banned for 30 days for insulting fellow commenters and the author.
Grow the everliving fuck up, people. I don't have time to babysit idiots who can't behave on the internet. You can disagree without arguing, you can argue without insults, and if you can't, I ban your asses.
A great synopsis of what is going on in the meth lab beneath us. I blame a normalcy bias and a failure of imagination by many who are happy to be the boiled frog.
I speak as an American of some eighty years, and while I see exactly what Mr Stratton sees and agree with it, I would be cautious about underestimating the increasing number Americans who utterly oppose this madman.
That is not to gainsay what Mr Stratton proposes as very sensible precautions for Canada to take, but only to remind Canadians of our longstanding alliance with and affection for our northern neighbor.
Yes, this is a very dangerous time. But if we remember what binds us together is actually far more powerful than the lunatics who are trying to divide us, we have an excellent chance to pass through this time with our friendship and alliance intact.
I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t, only to remember that, like you (the Alberta business) America is not all of one mind here, and shouldn’t be understood as such.
I lived and worked in the US off and on for 25 years, and I'm well aware of the differences of opinion. When I sat at a table in the US, my presence alone would start an argument between Americans about health care.
Being of more than one mind is, so far, an unhelpful consolation, a distraction. The person chosen to represent the US to the world is a fickle, uninformed, narcissist and a bully with unjustified confidence, who insults anyone who doesn't make him feel special.
When they elect someone else to represent them, we'll remember a healthier relationship.
I find this to be quite alarmist and not at all in the area of even 5% probability. I know there are people with this level of fear in the US. But I know many people who aren’t white in the US who are open Trump supporters and aren’t at all concerned about ICE. We can’t let the propaganda that is coming out of the US media influence us anymore than we let our own propaganda influence us. And most of the big media reports are propaganda at this point for one side or the other.
The othering that is pointed out as occurring in the US is likewise occurring in Canada. You don’t need a fool in power to have citizens come to dangerous conclusions due to failure of institutions to maintain neutrality - and that’s the real problem. Our institutions are captured by left wing ideals. Turns out that was a dangerous thing to have happen. Now we see the consequences in a world where people are more connected to their phones than their neighbors.
Jesus, this is the level of fear we are contending with. No wonder millions of voters don't care about economic issues or mass immigration anymore. And we were so close to them figuring it out.
The U.S. greenback is preferred only because of stability, and it's a tool of leverage that sad baby is about to "transform" like he "transformed" a healthy, huge productive R.E. portfolio his daddy gave him. If he cures the world of their currency as standard, the fool further, dramatically weakens the $U.S., and weakens lots of leverage that I assume the child doesn't understand.
The $Cdn dollar is a "petro-dollar", meaning it's value is tied to the demand for oil and, increasingly, extracted resources like metals and rare earth.
We could be in for a relative jump as the whackadoodle instability continues, the demand for resources increases, especially metals.
It's a problem that the US federal government has been on a reckless spree of spending resulting in massive deficits and a rapid increase in their national debt. Combine that with Trump's stated objective to get the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates and the repeated fiscal brinksmanship in the US Congress over government shutdowns and their debt ceiling, and there's a real potential that the US experiences a fiscal crisis before the end of Trump's 2nd term.
There is also the looming question of Trump pushing too far and countries dumping US Bonds. I doubt the greenback will be the reserve currency in 5 years.
I would like to thank Mr. Stratton for this article as it is a conversation that needs be happen, considering our proximity to the United States.
History isn’t a crystal ball, but it is a warning system. Comparisons to Weimar Germany are often dismissed as hysterical because people assume they imply an inevitable replay of Hitler’s rise. That’s a misunderstanding of how historical analogies work. The point isn’t that the United States is “about to become Nazi Germany,” but that certain structural stresses—polarization, economic anxiety, delegitimization of institutions, and a tolerance for norm-breaking—have appeared before, with outcomes shaped by how societies responded at the time.
History also shows how easy it is to underestimate danger while it is still unfolding. In late-Weimar Germany, many ordinary citizens—including many Jews—believed that the worst outcomes were unthinkable, that the rhetoric was performative, or that institutions would ultimately hold. Those assumptions were understandable, and tragically wrong. The lesson is not about blame, but about how gradual normalization and disbelief can dull a society’s ability to recognize when lines are being crossed.
At the same time, history only takes us so far. The United States is not Weimar Germany: it has different institutions, a longer democratic tradition, and a very different global position. The current trajectory does not point to one predetermined outcome. It could lead to something worse, something less severe, or something permanent but more benign. That’s precisely why historical comparisons matter—not as predictions, but as tools for identifying risk before events harden into irreversible facts.
Excellent accompaniment to yesterday's post. What should Conservatives do in response to the lurid Trumpian fantasies of deranged Liberals?
The best response is an eye roll and to say "we focus on the Canadian people". Strengthening our economy, our military, and our nation (rather than our state) are always good things, regardless of what happens in America.
Americans will do what they do, and thinking we can influence that by hectoring, economic punishment like banning bourbon, or bulking up our population with 60 million third world immigrants is both dumb and crazy.
Arguing specific scenarios with the Trump-phobes is classic porcine mud wrestling - Conservatives shouldn't bother.
Every time someone stands up to sad baby, he eventually folds. It's so far his one, single consistency. and they have a word for it now, in the experimental country... "TACO". Those of us who've had to work with, manage bullies, know what to do.
While I agree with you, I also think it's healthy for them to publish differing opinions and let the comments hash it out.
We either want free speech or we don't. I favour the version were we can disagree about what the line publishes (god knows I do - especially McDougall, he's got a special place in my heart) than the one where they self-censor and will never fault them for that.
They're human, just like us.
Also, Stratton has published pieces here that were spot on, so being wrong on one topic doesn't make one wrong on everything.
For me, we are absolutely past the point of no return for America. The only thing that can save America are its citizens. So much happening now that has happened in the past. Since the end of the Weimar republic up to WW II - parallels are too many between 2026 and the lead up to war only its happening at lightning speed because of technology. I did a little googling and the parallels are damned terrifying.
Economic Fragility, Political Gridlock, collapse of the center, executive orders rather than representative democracy. I think the political center is gone now Institutional Decay: Declining trust in elections, the judiciary, and the press mirrors the late-Weimar loss of faith in democracy itself.
The Mainstreaming of Extremism: Political discourse has shifted from debate to physical or digital confrontation, normalizing fringe rhetoric within mainstream parties and in mainstream discussion.
Revisionist Geopolitics: Modern powers challenging the global status quo parallel the 1930s "revisionist" states that sought to dismantle the post-WWI order.
Global Fragmentation: A retreat from global trade into protectionist "national-first" economic blocs mirrors the 1930s collapse of internationalism.
Culture War Backlash: Rapid social and cultural liberalization has triggered a fierce traditionalist counter-movement, much like the reaction to "Berlin Modernism."
Information Chaos: The use of new media (then radio/tabloids, now social media) to spread "stab-in-the-back" narratives and conspiracy theories. Rabid antisemitism in all its forms.
So, yeah. I feel we're already in it, folks. I think by the end of this year there is a hell of a change we could wind up, as a country, utterly screwed, broke and isolated. Canadians are sleepwalking amid Canada's greatest crisis since confederation. The country is divided I think beyond fixing but we have to try to fix it.
But what a reckoning we are facing.
A banker is in charge of geopolitics and believes s the world can be corporately restructured. So awesome. An opposition leader who is, in my view, afraid to eject the extremists from the party and addicted to being a confrontational jackass. So awesome.
PS: Authoritarian regimes like invading the country next door.
Trump is term-limited, and old. American democracy remains strong and a majority of Americans oppose his more extreme policies and state actions. In some cases an overwhelming majority.
We've long considered Americans our friends and its dismaying to see Canadians lash out so emotionally in a time that demands clear heads and clearer thinking. It's dividing us internally, as we now routinely call each other traitors and freely accuse fellow Canadians of being traitors. It's ugly to watch. It's also the kind of environment that leads to stupidities like the Emergencies Act.
There are separatist initiatives renewed in both Alberta and Quebec, and both will get much greater support than they should if we continue to freak out and point fingers at each other. America will fix itself - it's gone through far worse. Those in a position of influence should choose their words carefully and calm down.
1) Trump told Americans this was what he was going to do throughout the 2024 election campaign. He was elected despite that and despite trying to overturn the 2020 election.
2) Elected Republicans have done nothing to check Trump's excesses, letting his administration commit increasingly lawless acts.
3) Trump's MAGA coalition is currently in control of the Republican Party, and could win again given the way that Democrats keep leaning into increasingly repulsive left wing policies that are even more off-putting to Americans.
The problem here isn't merely Trump - it's a deep dysfunction in the American political system and the American electorate.
Trump is a symptom. The GOP/ Heritage Foundation are the disease. Assuming elections will proceed normally at this point seems naive. American democracy is dead.
The "Citizen's United" decision replaced god, morality, governance with money... the outcome was predictable. Money is now their god whether they believe it or not and, as a result, any kid can grow up to purchase the presidency. (The phrase had to be renovated - used to say "any kid can grow up to the president.")
It's a danger that we all need to pay attention to. Billionaires have bought themselves a lot of power. It's why I keep preaching a return to the 1950s tax code. Governments need to take back fiscal control and end wealth hoarding.
If the Canadian people spent as much time on the things we could control while trying to understand our own Country we might be able to weather storms and change a little better.
While I am not fond of a lot of US policies and among them the current trade policies. I do like the US new energy policies under Chris Wright. It’s a great change from the ideology and economic harm that has gripped much of the Western world.
Regarding the parallels to Germany and the Nazi regime, Germany was a progressive Country but the decline that its leaders initiated via WWI and the interwar years left the German people with an economic mess, hyperinflation and people that had relegated Hitler to just 4% of the vote as a marginalized party felt betrayed by decades of established elite leadership.
I have been asking people for the last 10 years why Trump exists and instead of answering that question they go right back to focusing strictly of character.
We in Canada have a similar problem in a different suit. When our leaders put reality and common sense in a back room and citizens forget that rights come with responsibilities and identity politics become the norm we will all pay.
I remember being on a tour of Dachau in 2016, the morning after Trump's victory, and the guide describing the rise of the Nazis to power and the failure of society and institutions to prevent their rise. Uncomfortable parallels, so while Stratton may be overly alarmist, not drivel at all
THE scariest article on the situation south of our border and how it affects Canada. Things to think about. Not too many really obvious solutions though. Maybe because there aren’t any.
Well written and eerily true and possible. Fascism in the USA is alive and well and plain for all to see, if you’re willing to open your eyes. No simple solutions from Canada’s perspective. Preparing for the worst, shoring up other allies, and calling out tyranny for what it is. There is a non-zero chance we’ll all be Americans in the next couple years, and there is little we can do to prevent it. Important we keep our connections to Europe and NATO strong.
If fascism is alive and well in the US, it is more alive and more well in Canada.
The only difference is that it's not embodied by jackboots with ICE patches in the streets, but by liberticide laws that criminalize behaviours that were normal a few short years ago.
It's a softer, but no less concerning form of fascism
To wit:
• Bill C-4 banning conversion therapy - which may I remind you criminalizes parents asking their children to wait gender dysphoria out.
• Bill C-63 (thankfully not passed) - which would have slapped life sentence for "advocating genocide" - not enacting it, advocating. As a free speech absolutist, I find this disgusting and rife with potential for abuse. Would asking for proofs IRS mass grave be advocating for genocide?
• Bill C-21: useless and costly, as guns used for crimes are usually illegal guns to begin with.
• Bill C-59: beefing up hate speech law, with up to two years in prison for "wilfull promotion of hatred", again rife with possible misinterpretations and abuse. We already have laws against, violence, assault and murder, and the advocacy of it. Speech as heinous and hateful as it may be is not violence, despite with millenial snowflakes would like us to believe.
• Let's not forget the now-deemed and confirmed unconstitutional use of the emergency powers, and subsequent debanking of poor saps who committed the heinous crime of donating a few dollars to a cause they liked. You may not like the truckers protest, but the response to it was an unmitigated abuse of power.
• And let's not forget the entrenched cartels that stifle competition, innovation and are one of the main reasons nobody wants to invest in Canada, and are happily supported by every level of governement: dairy, telecom, banking, grocery, etc. If not outright government monopolies (LCBO anyone?)
It's easy to criticize our neighbour's flaws, much harder to identify and correct our own.
...because "the news" is delivering you a perfectly balanced view, right?
There's no bias whatsoever, and you get BOTH sides of every story to consider, correct?
...which is why we saw all those headlines recently about the report showing that among all the other violent crime stats showing remarkable and sudden improvement in calendar year 2025, the murder rate in the USA has fallen by over 20% in just one year...
The comments have been getting nasty for about a week now but I hit my limit today. I'm handing out bans for insults and personal attacks. I have less than zero patience for oh-so-stereotypical comment section pissing matches. You're all warned.
Is there a feature in Substack that can limit the number of comments that an individual user can make in a given article? It's the same handful of people who go back and forth that wind up insulting each other. Maybe limit everyone to only one or two posts per article, if possible? And yes, I've been guilty of it, I've been working on myself!
I’d rather just charge $20 a comment.
I despair when I read the Line publishing this drivel.
Here are a few points refuted as succinctly as I could. Most of this article is pure, unsubstantiated fear-mongering.
• Nazi parallels are Godwin's law nonsense: Trump's bombast and policies echo past U.S. actions (e.g., Iraq, drone strikes) more than Hitler's systematic genocide. Where is Obama's critique of his liberal use of drones to kill (sometimes innocent people), as well as the mass deportations that were occurring under his admin?
• "Lawless" government claims ignore context: ICE expansions target immigration enforcement, not domestic terror. Budgets ballooning are sanctioned by Congress. Shootings like Good/Pretti as sad and unfortunate as they are, are under investigation, not state-sanctioned murders.
• Refugee/invasion fears are paranoid: 50,000 Vietnam dodgers were real, but millions fleeing Trump? That's assuming total collapse without evidence.
• Canadian wargames are routine hypotheticals, not imminent threats. That literally the military's job, as Gurney said in a recent podcast. Why are we even surprised?
• U.S. military "purges" replace critics, but no mass defections or coups and has been routine under many past presidents
• Economic "hybrid warfare" overstates the case: Trump's maps and Alberta nods are trolling or leverage plays (like Panama Canal threats), not invasion blueprints.
•Bessent/Burgum comments are offhand, not policy.
• Tariffs (as much as I hate them) renegotiate trade, not "destroy" Canada. Canada's current situation is almost entirely self-inflicted, but the Canadian left LOVE to blame Trump for our own woes, to avoid taking a good look in the mirrow. Which is frankly disgusting, misplaced nationalism. I'll listen to that argument when we can trade as freely internally as we can with the US and building pipelines is a no-brainer.
• No "off ramp" ignores democracy: Midterms are around the corner.
• Vance's 2020 musings are hypothetical, not a blueprint for 2028.
• De-dollarization and "Donroe Doctrine" are bluster: BRICS failed their attempts before. U.S. "control" of the western hemisphere is Monroe Doctrine redux, not tyranny. It's literally a 200 year old idea and ensconced in US foreign policy for that long.
Overall, the article conflates tough policies with fascism to fan the flames of panic. The U.S. is a flawed democracy, sure, but certainly not a "blood and soil dystopia". Preparing is always wise, but paranoia never helps.
It's pretty obvious that you haven't spent a lot of time reading history. Start with "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" - the parallels between the rise of an authoritarian blood & soil party in Germany and MAGA in the US should send a chill down your spine.
Textbook poisoning the well. Attack my putative reading instead of my point because you can't refute it. Predictable. Boring.
Yep - you definitely haven't read much about the rise of Nazi Germany. "Poisoning the well!! You can't make a comparison with the Nazis!!! Godwin's Law!! You're so deranged that you think Trump is going to gas people in concentration camps!!!"
If you actually WANT to learn something about it, consider these parallels:
1) Populist leaders claiming that as outsiders, only THEY could deal with corruption and fix systemic problems. Not just that, but that only THEY could be trusted because everybody inside the system is corrupt.
2) The use of media to push emotionally charged narratives through repetition and simplified messaging.
3) Scapegoating of opponents for problems and increasing characterization of them not just as opponents, but enemies who must be crushed through violence. The Nazis started with Jews and Communists; the current administration labels protesters as "domestic terrorists" and a lot of them and their supports aren't exactly crazy about Jews either.
4) Attacks on institutions. The Nazis undermined courts and stacked them with stooges. They did the same with the civil service. They routinely attacked and suppressed the press. They used emergency powers to jam through changes. Trump has been attacking courts and judges as illegitimate and biased. His more recent judicial appointments have been loyalists like personal lawyers. He's been suing the press for absurd amounts of money if he doesn't like their message. His administration has applied pressure to major law firms to bully them into refusing to represent lawsuits against the government. The Trump administration has routinely make dubious assertions of emergency powers to do anything from wide-sweeping tariff policies to deploy troops in American cities to overthrow foreign governments - all of which tend to fly in the face of established law.
5) Let's not forget the attacks on legitimacy of elections. The Nazis routinely claimed election were rigged or unfair when the results didn't go their way. When they gained power, they used emergency powers and intimidation to start rigging elections to favor them. Trump has also always claimed elections were rigged against him, even when he *won* as in 2016. He tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He's behind a push for mid-decade redistricting to gerrymander results to favor Republicans. He's still trying to interfere with elections by throwing spurious accusations at various state authorities in Georgia and elsewhere (and did you notice one of his demands to Minnesota was access to all their voting records?)
The Democrats are pushing harder for redistricting that the Republicans.
In December, officials in Fulton County (Georgia) admitted that 315,000 votes were illegally verified without any poll worker signatures. Some 140 tapes printed by electronic voting machines remain unaccounted for. Then they refused to turn over the paperwork. The FBI recently executed a court order and raided the warehouse where the ballots/tapes/documents from 2020 were kept.
Voter fraud is/was rampant in the US because Democrat run states allow unregistered, non-citizens to vote in federal elections and want to make it the law of the land. This is why the government is asking Minnesota for their voter registration and this is the reason behind the SAVE Act currently working it's way through Congress and the Senate. The premise is simple, in order to vote in the federal election, you must prove you are a citizen with a valid photo ID. No more mail in or online voting where the person casting the vote cannot be verified. Tell me what is wrong with that? Protecting the integrity of the system from foreign interference, something that we suffer from in Canada and ensuring only eligible voters cast ballots?
Points 2, 3, and 4 of your post summarize everything the Democrats are guilty of during the previous 4 years. It is a well known fact that media is biased against Conservatives, especially in this country. The only group most of us see using physical violence in the US come from the left and the progressives. The only group. Illegals are being deported all over the US, without fanfare. It is only in Democrat run states, where the leadership is telling their people to resist that makes it to the news. But we never hear about that because of, you know, media bias. Where was the outrage when Obama, using the very same director of ICE, deported over 3 Million illegal aliens. Obama gave him a medal.
Lets not forget the massive amount of fraud that is being uncovered in Minnesota and California. Over the weekend, it was reported that the protestors in Minneapolis were using encrypted messaging to coordinate the protests. Members of these chat groups included high ranking officials in the Minnesota government. Suddenly Governor Walz has ordered law enforcement to assist ICE in their operations and stop people from obstructing them. It's almost like someone throw a circuit breaker.
Democrats were also the first to weaponize lawfare. If they spent as much time fixing the problems in the country as they spent going after Trump, American lives would be better. Convicted felon? Only if you ignore the fact that the instructions the trial judge gave to the jury simply stated that the prosecution didn't need to prove the intent of the payments Trump made, only that he made them. It was the purpose of the payments that made it a felony but the judge instructed them the prosecution didn't need to prove it.
Everything Trump has done is within the power of the office of the President. You don't have to like his methods but over 70 million people in the US elected him to do what he is doing.
In the meantime, while our Liberals and our media keep our attention on the US, what exactly is our government up to?
Thank you.
Doubling down on the same ad hominem smear while ignoring every actual counterpoint just proves you're arguing in bad faith. Conversation over.
Methinks the novelist is testing out the premise for a new novel. Hard pass from me.
It would make gripping Jack-Ryan-level dystopian fiction to be sure.
It's pretty obvious you haven't read history. Hitler (and Stalin) had facial hair: so does JD Vance. American totalitarianism is obviously just around the corner.
I'm sorry but none of this lands; the rebuttals look like lipstick on a pig. History tends to affirm the realists when a lunatic narcissist raves and waves a gun.
You're entitled to your opinion. But, until you provide your own rebuttal, I'll just assume that you have zilch.
Many of your supposed refutations are ripe with logical fallacies and errors.
Nazi parallels: you're not addressing the author's argument directly. Nazism scapegoated a specific racial group and provided state-sponsored tolerance (and later their own execution) of violence toward them. For most fair-minded observers, the parallel with what ICE is doing to immigrants - and not just the criminal element they are purportedly tasked to target - is clear. Trump is picking on a racial group to provide grist for his base's mill: that's a fascist act. And invoking Obama is an exercise in whataboutism. Obama is not the president; Trump is.
Canadian wargames: military professionals prioritize their planning efforts based on the most urgent requirements, i..e the most critical threats. Up until Trump 2.0 the US was considered a reliable ally whose potential threat to Canada was insignificant, necessitating no contingency planning that would deal wht the US as a threat. The situation has changed, and the military has responded. Wargames are indeed routine hypotheticals. Wargames addressing a potential US invasion are not.
Hybrid warfare: the subversion of a nation state with financial and propaganda support for a separatist or insurgent or dissident cause is right out of the Gerasimov playbook for Estonia, Georgia, the Crimea and elsewhere. You can argue that the US doesn't have a specific strategic objective to facilitate Alberta separation - I agree there's no evidence of that - but you can't argue the tactics are unrelated to hybrid warfare.
Tariffs: it is irrational to argue the tariffs aren't going to destroy Canada because Canadian internal policies are the real problem. The effects of interprovincial trade barriers are real, but this does not lessen the impacts of the tariffs. Your argument is illogical. It does not follow that the effects of tariffs are insignificant due to the larger effects of trade barriers. The current and projected effects of tariffs on Canada have been well documented by professionals in the field.
Midterms: the author hyperlinked non-hypothetical attempts and thwarted attempts by Trump and his acolytes to subvert the democratic process. Citing "midterms are coming" in context of the January 6th events seems to shrug off both recent history and the tendency of the current Trump administration to press their advantage.
Your post selectively cherry-picks pieces of the author's argument and substitutes your own beliefs and projections as being more significant or relevant. I do not find it convincing.
The Line editors posited a question a few months ago that they said they are going to give our answers to soon. Where would you draw the line on Trump and agree with this articles' claim and how can you assure me that the placement of your personal line isn't too late for making the necessary preparations?
I care way more about what's happening on our side of the border and am much more worried about it than anything Trump has done so far.
Picking a line makes no sense when our betters keep poking the bear. How can we complain about how we're treated by the US when we've been playing with fire and grossly underperforming and failing at our most basic commitments for 10+ years now?
Being prepared is and should always be a priority. No matter how warm or cold our relations with the US are. And we're not prepared, so there's my line.
Let's build a serious military that punches far above its weight.
Let's have the greatest intelligence service the world has ever seen.
Let's trade with anyone who wants to throw cash at us and buy our energy.
Let's tear down internal trade barriers.
Let's tear down external trade barriers.
Let's innovate and neuter all the Canadian Cartels™.
Let's build more housing than we've ever had.
Let's kick out all the foreign assets and influencers that are buying our politicians.
In one word? Asshole Canada.
This would make for a highly effective Conservative government that would absolutely have my full support. I haven't yet seen platforms and consensus from all levels of conservative governments that show they are willing to do whatever it takes to do anything resembling this.
You can't refute a comparison to the Nazis with "ha ha, Godwin's law!" To me, the parallels are becoming difficult to ignore (although, as Rauch points out in the Atlantic, institutions in the US appear to still be holding in the US). And the end result need not be some dreadful new Holocaust to be very undesirable (indeed, the Nazis were more interested in forced migration and exclusion than in mass murder before the war).
I have to echo the question asked by others: It's fine that you're not worried now, but when would you be? What would it take? "I'm more interested in complaining about our current government than I am in answering that question", which is the answer you gave below, is not an answer.
Simple, ICE is enforcing existing and widely accepted laws. You can question their methods, and I would agree that they are pretty disgusting, but it's a far cry from looking to exterminate all gays, jews and gypsies.
The illegals they're arresting are overwhelmingly convicted criminals, or people charged with crimes (70% + I think).
So forgive me for being a little skeptical of the rampant reductio ad hitlerum around here.
Did they break eggs? Yeah. Do I care? No, not really, it's not my country.
I mean, I lament that this is happening to other human beings, but can I realistically take on all the suffering of the world? No.
As I said elsewhere, we have much more pressing problems here that if tackled would greatly reduce our risk profile with regards to the Americans side-eyeing us.
When I read these sorts of Trump apologias that downplay what has been happening I think back to Jen's request of readers about a year ago; pick something then that would be your red line for determining if the US was well down the road to authoritarianism. Tough policies aren't shooting demonstrators on their knees in the back, declaring them domestic terrorists, and then arresting witnesses and refusing to conduct a real investigation. Not that anyone would trust the weaponized DOJ to conduct a fair investigation, and even if they did and found the agents culpable Trump would pardon them anyway.
But it's pointless to argue with people such as yourself so I will just ask Jen's question, what is your red line? Arresting journalists? Attempting a self-coup? Pardoning insurrectionists? Massive corruption? ICE agents outside voting locations? Seizures of voting boxes in swing states? Actively working for the breakup of Canada?
Thanks, but my post was more succinct.
Pretti’s death is only being investigated because of massive public backlash. The administration’s initial reaction was to publicly state that he was a domestic terrorist trying to kill ICE agents. I’m not aware of any investigation of the agent that shot Good. My understanding is the agent is back at work. Feel free to enlighten me if you have evidence that suggests otherwise.
What did the article get wrong?
Both above banned for 30 days for insulting fellow commenters and the author.
Grow the everliving fuck up, people. I don't have time to babysit idiots who can't behave on the internet. You can disagree without arguing, you can argue without insults, and if you can't, I ban your asses.
Right on. If you resort to insults and profanity, you've lost your argument and time to STFU.
Thank you so much, seriously.
A great synopsis of what is going on in the meth lab beneath us. I blame a normalcy bias and a failure of imagination by many who are happy to be the boiled frog.
OK, let's play.
State your case with incontrovertible proof that the US is on the verge of Nazism. I'll wait.
If you make extraordinary claims, the burden of proof is on you.
Bovino.
There ya go.
English plz
I know! The irony.
I speak as an American of some eighty years, and while I see exactly what Mr Stratton sees and agree with it, I would be cautious about underestimating the increasing number Americans who utterly oppose this madman.
That is not to gainsay what Mr Stratton proposes as very sensible precautions for Canada to take, but only to remind Canadians of our longstanding alliance with and affection for our northern neighbor.
Yes, this is a very dangerous time. But if we remember what binds us together is actually far more powerful than the lunatics who are trying to divide us, we have an excellent chance to pass through this time with our friendship and alliance intact.
true, however as a sovereign nation, we do well to look after ourselves.
I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t, only to remember that, like you (the Alberta business) America is not all of one mind here, and shouldn’t be understood as such.
I lived and worked in the US off and on for 25 years, and I'm well aware of the differences of opinion. When I sat at a table in the US, my presence alone would start an argument between Americans about health care.
Being of more than one mind is, so far, an unhelpful consolation, a distraction. The person chosen to represent the US to the world is a fickle, uninformed, narcissist and a bully with unjustified confidence, who insults anyone who doesn't make him feel special.
When they elect someone else to represent them, we'll remember a healthier relationship.
I’d prefer not to descend into that pit. It is no more helpful than a question of two minds on either side.
You should do what's best for you. The sad baby president jumped into that pit.
That of course, assumes that the pit was already there, and in a way it was. We are none of us so pure as ignore that.
I find this to be quite alarmist and not at all in the area of even 5% probability. I know there are people with this level of fear in the US. But I know many people who aren’t white in the US who are open Trump supporters and aren’t at all concerned about ICE. We can’t let the propaganda that is coming out of the US media influence us anymore than we let our own propaganda influence us. And most of the big media reports are propaganda at this point for one side or the other.
The othering that is pointed out as occurring in the US is likewise occurring in Canada. You don’t need a fool in power to have citizens come to dangerous conclusions due to failure of institutions to maintain neutrality - and that’s the real problem. Our institutions are captured by left wing ideals. Turns out that was a dangerous thing to have happen. Now we see the consequences in a world where people are more connected to their phones than their neighbors.
Yeah, this is an admin thats flailing
Jesus, this is the level of fear we are contending with. No wonder millions of voters don't care about economic issues or mass immigration anymore. And we were so close to them figuring it out.
Maybe fear for you... (and every US propagandist, political actor.)
To me this is clear eyed realism, the foundation for good decisions.
When the world is still standing in 2029 you owe me a beer.
The world will be standing. What the US is remains to be seen. Wings too? :)
This is a serious question.
The U.S. greenback is preferred only because of stability, and it's a tool of leverage that sad baby is about to "transform" like he "transformed" a healthy, huge productive R.E. portfolio his daddy gave him. If he cures the world of their currency as standard, the fool further, dramatically weakens the $U.S., and weakens lots of leverage that I assume the child doesn't understand.
The $Cdn dollar is a "petro-dollar", meaning it's value is tied to the demand for oil and, increasingly, extracted resources like metals and rare earth.
We could be in for a relative jump as the whackadoodle instability continues, the demand for resources increases, especially metals.
It's a problem that the US federal government has been on a reckless spree of spending resulting in massive deficits and a rapid increase in their national debt. Combine that with Trump's stated objective to get the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates and the repeated fiscal brinksmanship in the US Congress over government shutdowns and their debt ceiling, and there's a real potential that the US experiences a fiscal crisis before the end of Trump's 2nd term.
There is also the looming question of Trump pushing too far and countries dumping US Bonds. I doubt the greenback will be the reserve currency in 5 years.
I would like to thank Mr. Stratton for this article as it is a conversation that needs be happen, considering our proximity to the United States.
History isn’t a crystal ball, but it is a warning system. Comparisons to Weimar Germany are often dismissed as hysterical because people assume they imply an inevitable replay of Hitler’s rise. That’s a misunderstanding of how historical analogies work. The point isn’t that the United States is “about to become Nazi Germany,” but that certain structural stresses—polarization, economic anxiety, delegitimization of institutions, and a tolerance for norm-breaking—have appeared before, with outcomes shaped by how societies responded at the time.
History also shows how easy it is to underestimate danger while it is still unfolding. In late-Weimar Germany, many ordinary citizens—including many Jews—believed that the worst outcomes were unthinkable, that the rhetoric was performative, or that institutions would ultimately hold. Those assumptions were understandable, and tragically wrong. The lesson is not about blame, but about how gradual normalization and disbelief can dull a society’s ability to recognize when lines are being crossed.
At the same time, history only takes us so far. The United States is not Weimar Germany: it has different institutions, a longer democratic tradition, and a very different global position. The current trajectory does not point to one predetermined outcome. It could lead to something worse, something less severe, or something permanent but more benign. That’s precisely why historical comparisons matter—not as predictions, but as tools for identifying risk before events harden into irreversible facts.
Excellent accompaniment to yesterday's post. What should Conservatives do in response to the lurid Trumpian fantasies of deranged Liberals?
The best response is an eye roll and to say "we focus on the Canadian people". Strengthening our economy, our military, and our nation (rather than our state) are always good things, regardless of what happens in America.
Americans will do what they do, and thinking we can influence that by hectoring, economic punishment like banning bourbon, or bulking up our population with 60 million third world immigrants is both dumb and crazy.
Arguing specific scenarios with the Trump-phobes is classic porcine mud wrestling - Conservatives shouldn't bother.
The line is now publishing
fiction ?
Every time someone stands up to sad baby, he eventually folds. It's so far his one, single consistency. and they have a word for it now, in the experimental country... "TACO". Those of us who've had to work with, manage bullies, know what to do.
I thought The Line's policy of rejecting bullshit was a real policy.
Seems I erred in that assessment.
This is a new low.
While I agree with you, I also think it's healthy for them to publish differing opinions and let the comments hash it out.
We either want free speech or we don't. I favour the version were we can disagree about what the line publishes (god knows I do - especially McDougall, he's got a special place in my heart) than the one where they self-censor and will never fault them for that.
They're human, just like us.
Also, Stratton has published pieces here that were spot on, so being wrong on one topic doesn't make one wrong on everything.
For me, we are absolutely past the point of no return for America. The only thing that can save America are its citizens. So much happening now that has happened in the past. Since the end of the Weimar republic up to WW II - parallels are too many between 2026 and the lead up to war only its happening at lightning speed because of technology. I did a little googling and the parallels are damned terrifying.
Economic Fragility, Political Gridlock, collapse of the center, executive orders rather than representative democracy. I think the political center is gone now Institutional Decay: Declining trust in elections, the judiciary, and the press mirrors the late-Weimar loss of faith in democracy itself.
The Mainstreaming of Extremism: Political discourse has shifted from debate to physical or digital confrontation, normalizing fringe rhetoric within mainstream parties and in mainstream discussion.
Revisionist Geopolitics: Modern powers challenging the global status quo parallel the 1930s "revisionist" states that sought to dismantle the post-WWI order.
Global Fragmentation: A retreat from global trade into protectionist "national-first" economic blocs mirrors the 1930s collapse of internationalism.
Culture War Backlash: Rapid social and cultural liberalization has triggered a fierce traditionalist counter-movement, much like the reaction to "Berlin Modernism."
Information Chaos: The use of new media (then radio/tabloids, now social media) to spread "stab-in-the-back" narratives and conspiracy theories. Rabid antisemitism in all its forms.
So, yeah. I feel we're already in it, folks. I think by the end of this year there is a hell of a change we could wind up, as a country, utterly screwed, broke and isolated. Canadians are sleepwalking amid Canada's greatest crisis since confederation. The country is divided I think beyond fixing but we have to try to fix it.
But what a reckoning we are facing.
A banker is in charge of geopolitics and believes s the world can be corporately restructured. So awesome. An opposition leader who is, in my view, afraid to eject the extremists from the party and addicted to being a confrontational jackass. So awesome.
PS: Authoritarian regimes like invading the country next door.
to your PS...
Often it's because they've fucked things up at home so bad they need to to bolster their self-image, and pay the bills for fucking everything up.
Get a grip people.
Trump is term-limited, and old. American democracy remains strong and a majority of Americans oppose his more extreme policies and state actions. In some cases an overwhelming majority.
We've long considered Americans our friends and its dismaying to see Canadians lash out so emotionally in a time that demands clear heads and clearer thinking. It's dividing us internally, as we now routinely call each other traitors and freely accuse fellow Canadians of being traitors. It's ugly to watch. It's also the kind of environment that leads to stupidities like the Emergencies Act.
There are separatist initiatives renewed in both Alberta and Quebec, and both will get much greater support than they should if we continue to freak out and point fingers at each other. America will fix itself - it's gone through far worse. Those in a position of influence should choose their words carefully and calm down.
Three things to consider:
1) Trump told Americans this was what he was going to do throughout the 2024 election campaign. He was elected despite that and despite trying to overturn the 2020 election.
2) Elected Republicans have done nothing to check Trump's excesses, letting his administration commit increasingly lawless acts.
3) Trump's MAGA coalition is currently in control of the Republican Party, and could win again given the way that Democrats keep leaning into increasingly repulsive left wing policies that are even more off-putting to Americans.
The problem here isn't merely Trump - it's a deep dysfunction in the American political system and the American electorate.
"American democracy remains strong..."?
The very fact he's able to do what he's doing when "so many oppose his more extreme policies" seems to contradict the point.
Trump is a symptom. The GOP/ Heritage Foundation are the disease. Assuming elections will proceed normally at this point seems naive. American democracy is dead.
The "Citizen's United" decision replaced god, morality, governance with money... the outcome was predictable. Money is now their god whether they believe it or not and, as a result, any kid can grow up to purchase the presidency. (The phrase had to be renovated - used to say "any kid can grow up to the president.")
It's a danger that we all need to pay attention to. Billionaires have bought themselves a lot of power. It's why I keep preaching a return to the 1950s tax code. Governments need to take back fiscal control and end wealth hoarding.
If the Canadian people spent as much time on the things we could control while trying to understand our own Country we might be able to weather storms and change a little better.
While I am not fond of a lot of US policies and among them the current trade policies. I do like the US new energy policies under Chris Wright. It’s a great change from the ideology and economic harm that has gripped much of the Western world.
Regarding the parallels to Germany and the Nazi regime, Germany was a progressive Country but the decline that its leaders initiated via WWI and the interwar years left the German people with an economic mess, hyperinflation and people that had relegated Hitler to just 4% of the vote as a marginalized party felt betrayed by decades of established elite leadership.
I have been asking people for the last 10 years why Trump exists and instead of answering that question they go right back to focusing strictly of character.
We in Canada have a similar problem in a different suit. When our leaders put reality and common sense in a back room and citizens forget that rights come with responsibilities and identity politics become the norm we will all pay.
I remember being on a tour of Dachau in 2016, the morning after Trump's victory, and the guide describing the rise of the Nazis to power and the failure of society and institutions to prevent their rise. Uncomfortable parallels, so while Stratton may be overly alarmist, not drivel at all
THE scariest article on the situation south of our border and how it affects Canada. Things to think about. Not too many really obvious solutions though. Maybe because there aren’t any.
"Citizens are kidnapped, disappeared, and even murdered in the street by masked agents of the state"...et al.
Bullshit.
huh?
Wow. Sad.
Well written and eerily true and possible. Fascism in the USA is alive and well and plain for all to see, if you’re willing to open your eyes. No simple solutions from Canada’s perspective. Preparing for the worst, shoring up other allies, and calling out tyranny for what it is. There is a non-zero chance we’ll all be Americans in the next couple years, and there is little we can do to prevent it. Important we keep our connections to Europe and NATO strong.
If fascism is alive and well in the US, it is more alive and more well in Canada.
The only difference is that it's not embodied by jackboots with ICE patches in the streets, but by liberticide laws that criminalize behaviours that were normal a few short years ago.
It's a softer, but no less concerning form of fascism
To wit:
• Bill C-4 banning conversion therapy - which may I remind you criminalizes parents asking their children to wait gender dysphoria out.
• Bill C-63 (thankfully not passed) - which would have slapped life sentence for "advocating genocide" - not enacting it, advocating. As a free speech absolutist, I find this disgusting and rife with potential for abuse. Would asking for proofs IRS mass grave be advocating for genocide?
• Bill C-21: useless and costly, as guns used for crimes are usually illegal guns to begin with.
• Bill C-59: beefing up hate speech law, with up to two years in prison for "wilfull promotion of hatred", again rife with possible misinterpretations and abuse. We already have laws against, violence, assault and murder, and the advocacy of it. Speech as heinous and hateful as it may be is not violence, despite with millenial snowflakes would like us to believe.
• Let's not forget the now-deemed and confirmed unconstitutional use of the emergency powers, and subsequent debanking of poor saps who committed the heinous crime of donating a few dollars to a cause they liked. You may not like the truckers protest, but the response to it was an unmitigated abuse of power.
• And let's not forget the entrenched cartels that stifle competition, innovation and are one of the main reasons nobody wants to invest in Canada, and are happily supported by every level of governement: dairy, telecom, banking, grocery, etc. If not outright government monopolies (LCBO anyone?)
It's easy to criticize our neighbour's flaws, much harder to identify and correct our own.
not really the point, though.
any attempt to compare the two countries favourably for the U.S. is undone by turning on the news... any day, every day, lol.
...because "the news" is delivering you a perfectly balanced view, right?
There's no bias whatsoever, and you get BOTH sides of every story to consider, correct?
...which is why we saw all those headlines recently about the report showing that among all the other violent crime stats showing remarkable and sudden improvement in calendar year 2025, the murder rate in the USA has fallen by over 20% in just one year...
You DID know that, ....right?
If not, why not?