The Beacon on The Hill

I tend to stay away from politics on this platform. It was intended to be light, self deprecating, and from time to time, thought provoking.

I don’t like to get into my political leanings, and respect that others have different views than I. Frankly it makes me uncomfortable to have a conversation with others on something so personal.

That said, what is happening in the USA is frightening to me and our own upcoming election has some pretty high stakes.

Let’s start with our neighbours to the south.

What Does Annexation Mean?

We hear words like annexation thrown around a lot lately. Donald Trump has suggested he would like to take over Greenland, Panama and yesterday, Gaza. Several times lately he has said the US should annex Canada.

Annexation,^[1] in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state’s territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory.^[2] In current international law, it is generally held to be an illegal act.^[3] Annexation is a unilateral act where territory is seized and held by one state,^[4] as distinct from the complete conquest of another country,^[a][7][8] and differs from cession, in which territory is given or sold through treaty.

If you think that annexation means simply taking something that does not belong to you, think about Ukraine.

There is violence and bloodshed involved. People are displaced and terrified. They lose everything they have worked and saved for their entire lives. Families are torn apart. There is rape and murder.

We have never seen, let alone had to be concerned, about this kind of threat in North America since we kicked the American’s ass in the War of 1812. Things have changed a bit in the 200 years since.

Between Trump in the south and Putin in the north, we don’t stand a chance, should they decide they want what we have. They are clearly collaborating in a number of areas.

The arrogance is astounding – and terrifying.

I have said from the beginning that Trump, on some level is insane. I truly believe that. But wasn’t Hitler as well?

Let’s just relocate two million Palestinians and build condominiums on their land! Where in the hell are these people to go? There have been countless wars fought over this small strip of land. Most recently forty thousand mostly innocent people have lost their lives, had their homes and lives destroyed and been uprooted from their land.

Israel made their point in short order, but leadership was not content with revenge. They insisted on decimating the entire country. Now don’t get me wrong, to some degree, I understand the hatred between Israel and Palestine. It is real and it is visceral.

But genocide?

If you want to understand more about the history of the Middle East, I highly suggest you read the book “From Beirut to Jerusalem”, by Thomas Friedman. There is a deep rooted hatred here, and its not something that Donald Trump or Jared Kushner is going to solve. Many others have tried and failed before them – it’s not going to happen.

What is Happening in The US

While the MAGA base will scream bloody murder that Trump has their best interests at heart, there is much to debate about that. If past is prologue, his racism and greed paints a pretty accurate roadmap for anyone that is interested in being serious.

If you are Republican, or Conservative in this country, you believe that top down economics are the best way to ensure prosperity. If corporations do well, they will share their good fortune with the rest of us.

While I am not convinced that has ever been the case, it is less so today than ever before. A few decades ago, the stock market was only an afterthought for most of us. But as wealth has grown and the gap between rich and poor has widened, the stock market has become more of an influence on the economy.

Corporations are not as interested in making sure they share their prosperity, as they are ensuring those that are able to invest in the stock market get the returns they are expecting. Money gets poured back into the returns rather than to increase wages etc. And the gap continues to widen.

CEO’s are paid an extraordinary amount of money to ensure returns are realized for the shareholders. This often means cutting jobs and reorganizing, or sending jobs offshore, where wages are low, resulting in higher profits.

It is worse in the US, as there are less protections for those less fortunate. The gap is much wider between the rich and poor.

There are new millionaires created almost daily, through technological advancements – developing apps, influencing etc. This instant wealth means more people are taking advantage of the tax loopholes to pay less taxes, so less people are contributing to propping up society.

To be clear, this is an absolute right to use the tax system to your benefit. But we seem to have lost our soul in the meantime.

There is an argument made that if people would just work harder, they too can become wealthy. In some cases that is absolutely true. People can impact their lives by pulling up their bootstraps – but life is not linear. Not all people can do that, and many fall through the cracks.

Trump and Musk

It is my belief that Donald Trump and Elon Musk are both evil, The difference is that Musk is smart AND evil, which makes him the bigger risk. It is well documented that he thinks he is the smartest person on earth. I believe his long game is to take over the world. It would not shock me to hear of Trumps assassination via his own party, to bring in a much younger version of himself – like Musk. Or simply claim he is cognitively incapable – not such a stretch at his age and health.

Given his ties with Trump and Putin, and his relationship with Xi in China (through manufacturing Tesla and sharing Starlink services), there is the very real potential of becoming a true axis of evil. Musk has literally used his StarLink system to influence the war in Ukraine, shutting off satellite services in battle areas, to disadvantage Ukraine. He is capable of anything to accumulate power.

He bought Twitter (now X), for the sole purpose of influencing elections in Europe and the US, by spreading misinformation and disinformation to hundreds of millions of people. If you don’t do your due diligence, and sort out fact from fiction, it is easy to be swayed one way or another.

Musk has gotten rich by getting hundreds of millions of dollars in grants from the US govt, and is now tearing down systems to be certain he has no competition.

While there is a valid argument that there is a lot of room for making governments more efficient, it appears that Musk, the richest man in the world and an unelected official, is being given carte blanche to decimate programs, including the department of education, medicade, medicare and many other social programs, without any proper vetting – just ripping out programs on a whim.

Tariffs against Canada have nothing to do with fentanyl and border security- but more about weakening our economy to make us an easy mark down the road. We have many natural resources that the US in general and Musk in particular need, to enhance their economic positions and to consolidate political power.

I would like to see X banned in Canada, for the duration of this and future elections. Elections are typically eighteen weeks. Surely we can suck it up that long.

Facebook is another totally different, but connected problem.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers.

Like many of you, I mostly have questions.

But should we not ask questions rather than sit back and watch our democracy crater before our eyes? What about our children and grandchildren.

I am reminded of this poem by Martin Niemoller:

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Who will be left for you and me, for our kids, for our grandchildren?

Canada’s Election

I am the first to say, it was time for Trudeau to go. He has more than worn out his welcome.

In Canada, we tend to hold on to our leaders way too long……Diefenbaker, Pearson, Chretian, Mulroney, Harper, both Pierre and Justin Trudeau. We tend to go from one extreme to another.

Once again it is time. But be careful what we wish for.

Pierre Polievre says all the right things, but on a deeper dive there is not much substance. It is easy to be in the opposition, but much harder to govern. It is why we have never had an NDP federal government. They simply don’t have the infrastructure to run a government and can’t deliver on the vague promises they make.

A bigger concern is his propensity to lean not just right, but to the far right. He and Elon Musk share a best friend from their time at Yale. As much as I welcome a change in our leadership. I am very concerned that he would take us down a similar path to the US, and cave to every Trump and Musk demand.

Indeed, Musk has fully endorsed Pierre Polievre. That in itself should raise concerns among Canadians.

Unlike my parents, who voted Liberal their entire lives, I have tended to be an independent, voting for the party that I thought presented the best platform for me and for the country. We have not been blessed in this country with a lot of good options recently, at least in my opinion.

I am not about to change anyone’s mind on their vote. But I am very concerned about the direction we take in this upcoming election.

I urge you to think very carefully before you mark your ballot.

We are a free country and one of the perks of being in a democracy is the ability to choose our leaders.

Don’t take that for granted.

I fear that the US has had its last election, as Trump is tearing down democracy. He controls the House, the Senate and sadly a very corrupt Supreme Court. He has said as much in his campaign: “Vote for me. This will be the last time you ever have to vote.”

He may come for us next.

The land of the free and home of the brave? That’s now just a catch phrase. That beacon on the hill that used to be the United States of America, has become very dim.

Let’s make sure Canada continues to shine bright.