Notes From Inside a Dumpster Fire

I don’t know how to begin a post like this, because how do you?*

We’re in the most terrifying geopolitical moment of my lifetime. Note this week, because everything changes here on out.

When Trump blundered ahead with tariff fuckery, global observers were baffled, but many said it was his attempt to destabilize Canada ahead of a military action. Now Timothy Snyder, author of the most important book written in our time, On Tyranny, says that’s exactly what Trump’s doing too.

Folks were saying things like, “Oh, that’s stupid, no one wants to invade Canada.”

That tune has changed.

Now, let me be blunt: I am not saying an invasion of Canada is imminent. No one is. It is far from zero percent, and the odds are growing — and quickly. We have incredibly vast resources that make sense for Americans to feel greedy about us.

But that’s not what’s most concerning in this moment. So park the “War with Canada” thing for a sec.

What The Fuck, America?

Here’s what’s important to know, now, about the world we find ourselves in:

The United States’ entire economy essentially depends on three things:

1. For-profit healthcare (anywhere from 15-20% of their GDP depends on people being sick or trying not to be, hence their terrible COVID response)
2. Military manufacturing — from Humvees to AR-15s, when they’re not making it for their army, they’re selling it to the world
3. Agriculture (which they hyper-profit from because junk food and those processing costs)

There’s lotsa other stuff, of course, but those are the three biggies.

So much of what America sells internationally, though, depends on good will they’ve created since WWII.

Coca-Cola? People don’t buy it because it’s the world’s tastiest soda drink. They buy it because Coke represents FREEDOM and the ability to reach your dreams and be who you are. Hell, this ad is one of the most famous ads in history! People buy Lay’s because it’s a little bag of crunchy Americana.

And F-35 fighter jets? They buy American jets because America’s been the world’s ally and a freedom fighter for 80 years.

Or they were.

Canada has made shockwaves by suggesting we will back out of our agreement to buy 88 F-35s because we can’t trust our “ally” who manufactures them. They’re around $100 million each. We’ll still need to buy 16 to meet our contract’s minimum kill fee, but that’s $7.2 billion being left on the table with a single contract.

Now, other countries are looking to back out. Billions and billions lost in just two months.

Canada’s boycotting American agriculture — overnight we’ve switched to Mexico, Egypt, Morocco, Spain, and other countries. Our government has made the call for Canada to buy Canadian and they've put their money where their mouth is. Other nations are following our lead.

Here's a terrific ad stoking the warm fuzzies from Canadians... paid for by our military.

America may have anticipated Canada would slap retaliatory tariffs on them, but the arrogant pricks in charge never assumed the whole world would start boycotting them. From toasters to TVs to cars, people are making switches — and it’s only been nine weeks.

Every time a product loses a customer, that customer’s gone forever. It is 25x harder to get a new customer than keep an old one, and that’s just in a regular shop, never mind national economies or military suppliers.

But here’s the thing.

War Machines Be War Machines

The American economy depends on military manufacturing. If they can’t SELL them to foreign countries, then either they’re creating a stockpile that rusts in warehouses, or they’re creating supply to use on others.

The reality is, America has now forced itself into a war economy posture. They have to keep manufacturing weapons, because that is what America does.

Today, they’re deporting brown people en masse. Now, Florida wants to roll back child labour laws so kids 14 years old can work overnight shifts, because Florida knows they need anyone and everyone to grow their food.

What's next? Will be prisoners of all kinds be forced to work on chain gangs again? (And which prisoners? They’re outlawing dissent, cracking down on universities. They wouldn’t be the first authoritarians to throw intellectuals and scientists into detention.)

No one knows just how bad this gets, but all indicators are: it ain't great.

So, if their harvests turn out, great. Yay! Unlikely, of course, for many reasons — including that they're gutting the national weather forecasting services.

But look at what happened in China during the Cultural Revolution and its famines. Spoiler: 30 million died.

Because that’s what happens when you mismanage agriculture for a whole country.

Whatever the particulars are now, just look at the price of gold. It’s over $3,000 an ounce, because gold ALWAYS goes up when rich folks are expecting a global market crash.

The Americans have now, in just nine weeks, pushed themselves into an economic darkness that will probably envelope the whole world.

When their economy crashes, the world’s will.

The economic engine of our planet is about to burn out.

Then, what will America do to keep their economy running? What happens when the world stops trusting American technology of all kinds?

Look at Russia. Their whole economy is pinned to war. Ukraine peace can’t happen, because if it does, the Russian economy will collapse, Russians will revolt, and Putin will be hung in the town square, because Russians like doing that to leaders who starve them.

Putin needs war for economic stability. Soon, America needs war too.

Question is, with whom will they start it? Well, reports are, today on March 26, that American forces are amassing in the Indian Ocean. It’s an alarming build-up and people are noticing.

But the best option for the world, in terms of who America attacks, would be their own people.

If Americans revolt and cause a revolution, it might not only topple their ruling class of oligarchs, but could inspire revolutions around the world.

Americans caused this, and Americans will have to stop it, or the world will be forced to stop all Americans, at some point. Fact is, 30% of the country will have caused 100% of them to be "the enemy," and it's something Good Americans need to confront and atone for.

So. That’s where it is, in simplest terms.

So What Do WE Do?

When I tell you to stop spending money needlessly, to focus on learning to cook cheaply, to learn how to be resourceful at home — it’s not because we have six or so challenging months ahead.

It’s because the world will never be the same as it was six months ago, because there could be war or famine for the next decade.

That’s terrifying! I know!

But these dark times hit every century. We can, and we will, defeat fascism.

We can. We will. It will not be easy. It will have consequences.

This is why you need to take time to listen to ELBOWS UP. I think it is every Canada’s duty to listen to it, because it’s not a partisan or anti-American podcast, it’s about the need for Canadians to collectively work towards a goal of civil defense.

It’s a terrific podcast. You will feel heard. It’ll give you more insight into dangers we have to anticipate, and what Canadians can do to offset them. The podcast tagline says it’s not a show about picking a fight — “it’s about being ready for one.”

The reality is, we have no idea how hard or fast all this changes — but the chucklefucks in charge believe in the Silicon Valley mantra of “move fast and break things,” and it’s clearly the guiding wisdom they’re using now.

So, while they're being fast-moving fools, we'll be fast-moving Canucks. It’s our Canadian civic responsibility to get real about the threats they pose against us, and to act accordingly.

The first priority is understanding this:

Mark Carney may not be the second coming of Christ, and he may be part of the banking system we’ve all come to loathe, but he also has a trans kid, has LED the effort to try to make banking more socially and environmentally responsible, and he has his national security clearance.

Pierre Poilievre, in this time of national urgency and the greatest threat to our sovereignty in our country’s existence, still refuses to get his security clearance so he can be briefed on foreign interference worries about our election.

And it's so much worse than that in terms of Poilievre and Danielle Smith, but that's simplest thing to ask yourself: What kind of political leader refuses to get security clearance in a time of unparalleled threats?

Canada's choice is down to: Do we pick the devil we know, a banker who will continue to honour our way of life, who opposes Trump, or do we pick a Conservative leader who refuses to get his security clearance and whose worldview aligns with Trump’s?

That’s where we’re at.

So, mark your calendars: Canada votes on April 28^th. Advance voting is April 18, 19, 20, 21.

•Listen to Elbows Up.
•Cut spending.
•Buy Canadian.
•Communicate with neighbours.
•Tell politicians your concerns.
•Get involved in something, anything!

By just chatting with a councillor online, I’ve gotten the City of Victoria to start thinking about how to incorporate community food gardens in parks. That’s the conversation I had one day after listening to Elbows Up!

It's proof we can all contribute creative ways of making Canadian life safer and secure for all. We are RESOURCEFUL PEOPLE. We are MADE for this.

Don’t be terrified.

But be alarmed. Be practical.

And most importantly, while you might be worried about the future, truly live in the moment. We don’t know what’s coming, but don’t let your fear of the future prevent you from enjoying the little moments when and where you can.

This is what we are fighting for, freedom and our way of life — so we gotta keep living our lives while we fight for ‘em.

You may have seen the cutesy ad with these two guys, but here's an actual conversation they had. Myers is a good comedian, but I've heard from national journalists that they get emails from Myers, and have for decades, checking in on what's occurring back home. The guy cares about Canada.

*By the way: I am not flaking out on posting — I decided to get my life in order this month so I'm ready for whatever will come. I've planted my food garden, filed my taxes, and did a few other things. Then, last weekend, when I planned to write all about it for you, I cut my hand with a rusty saw, got a tetanus shot, and was useless for three days. This weekend, multiple friends are visiting, but it's back to boring, I hope, next week!