Canada is not for sale, Donald Trump!

Memo to Donald Trump and his supporters: Canada is NOT for sale.  Canada is a sovereign country.  Our sovereignty is non-negotiable.  We love our country as much as you love yours.  We do not wish to be the 51st state.  We are your neighbour and your ally.  It is disconcerting, to say the least, that the United States has elected a man who disrespects and insults our country. Canada has always been a loyal friend  to the United States.  Yet, Trump has never had a good word to say about the True North Strong and Free.

I guess Trump doesn't remember how Ken Taylor, the Canadian Ambassador to Iran, helped six American hostages escape from Tehran by procuring Canadian passports for them so they could pose as a Canadian film crew scouting locations.  I guess he doesn't remember how the good people of Gander, Newfoundland provided hospitality to Americans travellers stranded during the 9/11 terrorist attacks?  Has he seen the musical Come From Away?  If he hasn't, he should.

Trump has threatened Canada with tariffs and "economic coercion."  As I write this, there are reports that he will not impose the tariffs right away.  However, that does not mean that he has changed his mind.  He could impose the tariffs at any time.  Canadians are preparing for a response to whatever he decides to do.  After all, Trump has had the unmitigated gall to refer to the border between Canada and the United States as an "artificial line."  We must be ready to respond to tariffs that will not only hurt Canadians, but will also hurt American consumers.

How dare Trump threaten a sovereign nation like Canada this way!  Has he ever criticized his buddy, the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin?  Never!  Ha he ever said a bad word about another brutal dictator, North Korea's Kim Jong Un, to whom he has written "love letters."  Trump really doesn't have any idea who America's real friends are.  

Today is only the first day Trump's presidency, but he has already created chaos around the world.  Americans will deeply regret allowing him back in the White House.  He is a sick man, a dangerous man.  He is dangerously unstable.  Such a person should not be making decisions concerning wars and nuclear weapons.  

Trump has not ruled out forcibly annexing Greenland and seizing control of the Panama Canal.  You can be sure that Putin and his Russian oligarchy have been paying close attention to Trump's revival of  Manifest Destiny.  If they succeed in seizing control of Ukraine, the Russians now have the excuse to annex other countries such as Poland, since the American leader also advocates annexing other territories.

As Joe Biden warned in his farewell address, an oligarchy is forming in the United States.  Trump has surrounded himself with billionaires, men such as his co-president, the unelected Elon Musk.  Other billionaires, such as Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Rupert Murdoch are happy to do Trump's bidding.  In return, he will deliver tax breaks to them.

For me, this is a very sad and tragic day.  I am upset, and I have a right to be.  I am appalled to see my neighbours to the south under the control of an authoritarian and undemocratic leader.  Some will say that Trump was elected democratically, whether I like it or not.  They will say that he won the election fair and square.  Here is my reply to them.  Donald Trump should not have been permitted to run again as president because he does not respect democracy.  In 2021, he supported a violent insurrection against the duly elected government of Joe Biden.  That alone should disqualify him from running for public office.

When Biden won the 2020 election. Trump refused to admit defeat.  He screamed that the election was a scam, even though there was no evidence of widespread fraud.  Not surprisingly, Trump isn't calling into question the legitimacy of the 2024 election.  Hmmm.  I wonder why.

Today is Martin Luther King Day in the United States.  Just imagine how Dr. King would feel about a white supremacist becoming president for a second time.  I wonder how Bobby Kennedy would feel about his son, RFK Jr., supporting a man who want to trample over civil rights, a man who plans to deport millions of undocumented Americans and separate them from their families.

Trump has shown no respect for women.  He and J.D. Vamce seem to regard them as second class citizens, only useful for reproduction, housekeeping and child rearing. What a terrible setback for the female sex!  How wonderful for Alpha males and men with a locker room mentality!

Canada and other countries must remain vigilant. We must not succumb to Trump's bullying.  We must not run to his Mar-a-lago palace to kiss his ring.  Sadly, the entire world all have to pay the price for the folly of many of the American people.

- Joanne

Beware! There will be even more false information online

“The bottom line is: We take misinformation seriously.  There are many respected fact-checking organizations . . . and, while we have reached out to some, we plan to learn from many more.”

Mark Zuckerberg, personal Facebook post, November 2016

No wonder the world has so many problems.  More and more people believe the false news and half-baked truths they read online.  That's one of the reasons why Donald Trump was elected to the highest office in the land last November.  So many voters were misled or fooled by his lies.  So, Trump will be quite pleased about the recent news concerning social media.

Meta, the social networking giant which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and Threads, has announced that it will end its longstanding fact-checking program.  The fact-checking program was started in order to restrict the spread of false information across its social media apps.  Meta will now allow more speech, and the onus will be on users to correct inaccurate and false posts.  

Obviously, it is impossible to correct all misinformation.  Readers cannot entirely be relied upon to monitor inaccurate information or outright lies. The danger is that some readers will endorse the misinformation, further spreading lies and propaganda.               

Unfortunately, there has been a mass brainwashing in America.  For example, many Americans actually believe that January 6th is of little consequence, that the attack on the Capitol in Washington was as harmless as a walk in the park.  They regard the January 6th insurrectionists as Capitol tourists.  They won't believe or can't believe what is clear to anyone who watches the videos of that horrible day.  A violent mob of white supremacists and right-wing extremists, encouraged by Donald Trump, attempted to overthrow the duly elected government of the United Sates.  That mob called for the hanging of then-Vice President Mike Pence.  It is truly frightening that the man who engineered that attack on democracy will  soon be back in the Oval Office. He wishes to pardon the January 6th insurgents and he regards them as patriots.

To please Donald Trump, Meta has opted for a wild west approach to free speech.  In other words, it has chosen a recipe for chaos.  Unfettered free speech is the law of of the jungle.  Free speech must have limits.   It should also be kept in mind that the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States does not protect the right to yell "fire" in a crowded theatre.

Not surprisingly, right wing Supreme Court Judge and Trump stooge, Samuel Alito, in his 2022 remarks to the conservative Heritage Foundation, repeated the myth that yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre is "unprotected free speech."  Alito, however, did acknowledge that the First Amendment doesn't protect all speech, including "extortion and threats," defamation., and "shouting 'fire' in a crowded theatre."

The world certainly has more information than ever before, but is humanity really better off when the truth is more difficult to find?  There's no turning back from the internet, social media and AI.  They are very useful tools when used properly.  Used improperly, they can be profoundly dangerous, especially when there is a lack of critical thinking. 

Like it more not, the internet and social media are the way of the future.  They are locked in forever.  It is foolhardy not to adjust to this reality.  Sometimes, though, books and hardcopies of newspapers seem far more trustworthy.

Meta is obviously positioning itself for Trump's inglorious return to the White House.  It is no coincidence that this decision by Meta has come just before Trump's inauguration.  Could it be that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is trying to curry favour with the Dear Leader?   

According to a report on Semafor. Zuckerberg paid homage to Trump by visiting his Mar-a-lago palace on Friday, January 10, 2025.  It was confirmed to Semiafor that Zuckerberg was spotted at Trump's Florida compound on that day.  It wasn't Zuckerberg's first visit to the compound. either.  According to CBS News, on November 28th, 2024, soon after the presidential election, the Mega chief had Thanksgiving dinner with Trump at the exclusive club.

It is no accident that just days after Mark Zuckerberg's January 10th visit to Mar-a-lago, Meta announced its new policy, ending two sources of aggravation for Trump and his supporters: fact-checking and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.  In a video, Zuckerberg stated that the changes were implemented due to "too many mistakes and too much censorship."

Below is a September 19, 2019 photo of Zuckerberg meeting Trump in the Oval Office.

It is absolutely disgusting how so many bow down to Trump.  It is tragic how he is being allowed to build his authoritarian regime, with very little impunity.  I am sickened.  How can so many seemingly educated people have forgotten the rise of fascism in the 1920s and 1930s?  Trump is using fascist language and fascist tactics.  America, what have you done?

Note:  I will try my best to practice what I preach.  I pledge to aim for the accuracy of the factual information presented on Number 16.  I will reveal my sources.

SOURCES: New York Times, "Meta Says It Will End Fact-Checking Program on Social Media Posts," Mike Isaac and Theodore Schliefer; January 9, 2025; Freedom Forum; "Is It Illegal to Yell 'Fire' in a Crowed Theater?" by Freedom Forum; Reason (reason.com), "Yes, ," by Emma Camp, October 22, 2022; Semafor,"Trump, Zuckerberg meet at Mar-a-lago," by Shelby Talcott, January 10, 2025.

- Joanne

Here is why Alpha males are not real men

 

This may sound contradictory, but it's not.  Alpha males such as Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu project an image of toughness and aggressiveness, but they are truly weak. Unfortunately, millions of men, and also many women, buy into their false bravado.  Many are attracted to their vision of masculinity.  That's one of the major reasons why Trump won the 2024 U.S.  presidential election, an election in which he should not have been permitted to run as a candidate, given his crimes.  

The truth is that Alpha males like Trump, Musk, Putin and Netanyahu have very little inner strength.  They are weak inside.  They are made of jelly.  They remind me of the Wizard of Oz, all snoke and mirrors.  They pretend that they are larger than life.  They demand unwavering loyalty.  They bully so that they appear to be mighty and strong.  However, we all know that it's a mirage.  It's all a front to cover up their lack of courage and fortitude.  The truth is that they are really insecure cowards.  They have to put others down in order to raise themselves up.  They falsely believe that empathy is a feminine trait.  

Unlike Donald Trump, real men don't brag that they can do anything to women because they are powerful, rich and famous.  They don't dismiss such words as "locker room talk."  Unlike Elon Musk, real men don't attempt to insult the Prime Minister of Canada by referring to him as "girl."  

Real men are secure.  They are comfortable in their own skin.  They have no need to bully and they have no desire to do so.  Real men respect women.  They don't put them down or treat them like chattels, sex objects, playthings or servants.  Real men are not afraid of "uppity women."  They don't think that women should know their place or answer to men.  They are not threatened by well-educated, intelligent, creative or ambitious females.  They see women as equal partners.  In fact, they encourage women to be the best they can be.  They know that life will be better for everyone when it is better for women.  Real men are secure in their masculinity.  They don't need to prove it by knocking down others.

- Joanne