O Canada!

Another ridiculous Truth Social post by our embittered president. He cannot control himself and acts like a spoiled two year old whenever he does not get what he wants. He is both embarrassing and dangerous.

On Thursday, Trump took his silly spat with Canada — silly, but costly — to another level by signing an Executive Order (EO) “officially” changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. Really — this is all the President of the United States has on his “to do” list? One would think that he might be focused on ending the war of choice against Iran, or helping to improve the economy or focusing on the fact that people are dying from the measles or a hundred other actions to actually help everyday Americans.

So typically Trumpian. This what the party formerly known as the Republican Party has become. Today, it is merely a rubber stamp for every inane idea he has in the moment. Can’t beat the Iranians? Attack Canada with twenty billion dollars in tariffs. Tariffs that Americans will pay. Not interested in Ukraine? Attack South Korea by cancelling critical national security exercises and praising North Korea’s ruthless dictator — a dictator that is supplying artillery shells and ten thousand troops to fight with the Russians against Ukraine. Not interested in NATO? Then praise Vladimir Putin — the same guy that is supplying Iran with drones and intelligence and targeting information to attack U.S. military forces.

His mad method of running our country is to attack, bully, extort, and vilify our (increasingly fewer) friends while praising, aiding and abetting our enemies. He denigrates our allies and praises our enemies. Not one sentient world leader trusts him or the United States to do the right thing. They have figured out that there is a new world order, and to much of the world, that order does not include the United States of America. They must and will plan without us into the future. As Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week in describing the negotiations with the U.S.,

“We have been pragmatic, patient, and persistent. We have pursued every opportunity to reach an agreement that protects Canadian workers and their families, that strengthens our economy, and that respects Canadian sovereignty. We have been under no illusions. We recognized from the start that America has changed. Early last year, I observed that the decades-long process of steadily increasing integration between our economies was over. Our government understood, before many, that America would transform all its commercial relationships. That it would put a series of tariffs on its closest allies and use economic integration as a weapon. That its signature was written in pencil.“

Our signature is written in pencil. In other words, as a partner, we are erratic, untrustworthy, unreliable, inconsistent and irresponsible. The U.S. has lost the very things that have served us so well in the post-World War II era.

It is no surprise to learn that Canada is reciprocating by placing twenty billion dollars of tariffs on U.S. goods. It will be painful for both countries economically, not to mention the impact on our longest and most trusted friendship and alliance. If the Canadians really want to make an impact, consider that Canada supplies 99% of our natural gas imports, 85% of our electricity imports, and 60% of crude oil imports. Those crude oil imports go to refineries in the American Midwest that were specifically built to refine Canadian crude and cannot be used as currently configured to refine oil from other sources. Several northern states get their electricity directly from Canada. Oh, by the way. Ever hear of the Welland Canal? That is the twenty-seven mile long canal that connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie to bypass the Niagara River (Niagara Falls). It runs through Ontario, Canada. Close that to U.S. ships and trade on the Great Lakes comes to a crashing halt. They could really make us hurt. So far, they have not. But one cannot really blame them if Trump continues to antagonize them that they will up the ante.

There was already an agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico (called the USMCA in the U.S. and CUSMA in Canada) that Trump in his first term called “the largest, most significant, modern, and balanced trade agreement in history.” It replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). What happened to the USMCA? I would suggest the Epstein Files, the Iran fiasco, affordability, and the looming blue tsunami of the upcoming mid-term elections. He needed a distraction so why not pick on our best friend?

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is facilitating Trump’s worst instincts. Chief Justice John Roberts lifted a stay on the construction of the East Wing at the White House. He ruled that construction can continue while the case to stop construction works its way through the system (lower courts had stopped it). While only a “technical” ruling, no time frame was given for the case to be heard by the entire Court. It could be days, it could be months, meaning Trump will get his ballroom. Remember that he claims it is a national security requirement. This week the Washington Post revealed, thanks to former White House officials, that a secret (well, it was until the article was published) complex already exists under the White House. Started after the terrorist attacks on 11 September, it was completed during the Obama administration. It is built for continuity of government purposes, has months of food and water and can withstand a nuclear blast. But Trump will get his ballroom.

On another “technicality” the Supreme Court issued an “emergency” 6-3 decision in Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, ET AL v California, ET AL involving the United States Postal Service (USPS) and mail-in voting. Trump signed an E.O. that designated the USPS as the administrative body for determining who could vote by mail and who could not. In essence, the states must submit lists of eligible voters, which will be compared to a list put together by the federal government (Trump’s agents) and the USPS will only mail ballots to approved voters. If states fail to submit their voter lists (which the law suit claims is protected under the Constitution) then no mail-in ballots at all will be delivered by the Post Office in that state. There are other provisions such as prosecuting election officials if even one ineligible person votes and other elements designed to suppress the vote and give Trump officials the opportunity to decide who votes and who does not. It is blatantly un-Constitutional even to this non-attorney. We are supposed to be calm because experts point out that this is merely a procedural technicality and of course the Supreme Court will rule against it. In sum, the Court claims that the states’ sued too early. Supposedly they cannot claim damage until actually damaged — which seems like a huge Catch-22 and makes no sense at all to me. Forgotten in the discussions is that some states, such as North Carolina, begin distributing ballots in early September. Time is of the essence if we are to avoid chaos and uncertainty — but of course that is the point of all of this. Trump will use every tool in the box to disrupt the elections. Recall that the Supreme Court found his use of tariffs un-Constitutional and yet that did not stop him from imposing them anyway, just under a different statute. Back to court again and so on and so forth.

I do not think that the courts can move fast enough to react to (much less prevent) the tremendous mischief he will pursue that is intended to disrupt the election. The bigger the chaos and disruption, the greater voters will become confused and perhaps not vote and the bigger the confusion the more likely Trump and his minions are to declare the election invalid. For example, Fulton County (Atlanta) in Georgia returns Senator Jon Ossof to his seat, but the federal government declares that fraud or some other crime was committed, confiscates the ballots and voting machines, and without those votes, Ossof’s opponent wins. We are only limited by our imaginations, but I would focus on “blue” cities in “red” states to watch for the shenanigans.

It seems that most of Trump’s energy — the little that he seems to have — is focused on his vanity projects and turning against his perceived enemies. If Trump cannot have it, he will destroy it. Be it tariffs or monuments. He is still trying to put his name on the Kennedy Center and now, in court in front of a magistrate, the Department of Justice (DOJ) argued that if Trump’s name is not on the building, then it will be torn down and there will be a new use of the space. The aircraft carrier USS Doris Miller (CVN-81) currently under construction may not come to be. Credible sources report that the first aircraft carrier named for a black Sailor and the first Enlisted Sailor so honored should be renamed after Trump — according to Trump. “Dorie” Miller was a hero during the attack on Pearl Harbor, winning the Navy Cross — the first black man to achieve it — who was later killed in action in 1943. Trump got five deferments during the Viet Nam War for bone spurs. The same guy that, according to the New York Times analysis of the Epstein Files so far, has his name or Mar-a-Lago or other associations mentioned over 38,000 times. No wonder the DOJ is working overtime to cover it up.

We are in big trouble. The America we knew and the world respected is gone. When this nightmare is over, and one way or another it will be at some point, we cannot go back to the way it was. The way it was is what got us to someone like Trump. We and the world can never be sure that there will not be another Trump if we do not put in place the actual checks and balances and laws that we thought would protect us. They did not.

While all of this was going on we lost a truly kind person. Dolly Parton died after a short bout with cancer. Whatever you thought of her as a performer, she knew who she was, stayed true to herself, was a prolific philanthropist and by all accounts a truly kind person. Kindness is in short supply these days, and we just lost a little more of it with her passing.