This is the way America ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.

We are the hollow men 

We are the stuffed men 

Leaning together 

Headpiece filled with straw.

Alas, here we go again:

The rest of the world is now realizing what Canada learned a month ago, that America is no longer Reagan's "shining city on the hill". 

It is turning into Mordor.

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Europe is getting its act together quickly:

Paul Krugman 

Europe: Is the Force Awakening? 

A potential superpower realizes that it can’t rely on America

... the Musk/Trump betrayal of America’s international principles is having an unintended result: Europe’s democracies, which as a group remain one of the world’s economic superpowers, are rousing themselves to fill the vacuum. ... there appears to be a real possibility that the Musk/Trump Administration will use its “reciprocal tariffs” doctrine to start a trade war with the European Union. This won’t be because Europe imposes high tariffs on U.S. products — it doesn’t. It will be because some Trump advisers have decided to ignore basic economics and claim that European value-added taxes are protectionist.

If Musk/Trump does go that route, they will be in for a shock: Europe can effectively retaliate. The European Union is a customs union, with a unified trade policy and common tariff levels.

A trade war with Europe means going head to head with an economy more or less the same size as our own, at the same time that we’re having fights with all our other trading partners. And the Europeans are not going to be in a conciliatory mood. Did I mention that Tesla sales in Europe fell 45 percent last month

It’s terrible watching the United States degenerate into Putin-loving thuggery. But there may be some compensation: our degradation encourages the remaining good guys to step up to the plate...

And I hope Canada will be able to count on Europe now too:

Interesting discussion here, too: 

Arthur Dennyson Hamdani / The Walrus 

If Canada Wants a Plan B for Trade, Europe Could Be the Answer 

It’s time for us to play the field 

Amid US president Donald Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Sigmar Gabriel, former German vice chancellor and foreign minister, made a curious suggestion in an interview with German media outlet The Pioneer: invite Canada into the European Union. Soon after, Guy Verhofstadt, former prime minister of Belgium, addressed Canada on X to say that “[t]here is no reason why EU membership should be off the table.” The thought of this North Atlantic alliance excited some Canadians and Europeans—one YouTube video even theorized how “CANEU” (read: canoe) would be a “global superpower.” 

The article continues with a discussion with Mark Camilleri, president and CEO of the Canada EU Trade and Investment Association—CEUTIA—based in Brussels. About the CANEU idea, Camilleri concludes: 

 "Well, I don’t think it’s really in the realm of possibility for Canada to join the EU. But the reality is Canada doesn’t need to join the EU in order to promote trade between the two. Again, there’s already a very robust trade agreement in place: CETA.

The EU is more than just an economic union. Joining the EU would be a political move as well, and I don’t think there’s much of an appetite—probably on both sides—to go that far. At the end of the day, there’s lots that can be done between the two to enhance and grow. I think that Canada has looked to the EU for a long time as an alternative market—a balance against the US market. And I think there’s been a lot of progress since CETA, but still so much more to be done. I really think there’s so much potential here that hasn’t been fully tapped yet...."

Actually, it could be pretty nice for Canada to join the EU -- imagine how easily Canadians could winter in Spain or work in Germany or....

Finally, here's another example of how everything Trump touches dies #ETTD

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