Today's News: Turning America into Oceania

*illustration from Wayne Horton's substack

View on Threads

It is not just Canadians and other foreign visitors who are running afoul of America's border police. It's now happening to Americans too. The US Customs and Border Protection and the Immigration and Naturalization Service might as well start wearing brownshirts.

Example one: 

Former FBI head James Comey (you remember, the dumbfuck who sabotaged Hillary's campaign a week before the 2016 election? Yeah, that guy!) 

So yesterday he tweeted and the entire Trump administration lost their minds:

James Comey just broke the Internet 🤣

Epic! pic.twitter.com/MC6jsE72Ms

— Quadcarl (@quadcarl_carl) May 15, 2025

Pushing back against MacKinnon's awful article

The University of Saskatchewan has been in the news lately. It's where I worked for much of my career, so of course I'm interested in how they are getting along.
Very well, overall -- but with evidence lately that some don't want to get with the tour and join the rest of us here in the 21st Century.
First, ever since Trump started babbling about it, the North American right wing has concluded that DEI is just awful in every way. Somehow, trying to be fair and equitable and thoughtful to people of all genders, colours and religions by learning about different cultures and being willing to listen better is now a very terrible thing -- its particularly mean to those rich white guys like Trump who apparently don't get hired first anymore. 

And here in Canada, the right-wing is just following along with the DEI hatred. Thus, on May 2, the National Post published this derisive piece:

Tristin Hopper First Reading, Canadian politics newsletter / National Post

FIRST READING: Saskatchewan professor blogs his way through mandatory anti-racism 'boot camp'
Participants told that 'meritocracy' leads to 'inequities'
A University of Saskatchewan law professor provided a unique window into the equity mandates now ubiquitous at Canadian universities by blogging the details of a compulsory anti-racist “learning journey.”

Hopper's article begins by describing the workshop content, then continues with the point of view of one participant, a U of S law professor Mickael Plaxton who posted dismissive tweets about his experience on X beginning here and ending here. 

Hopper continues:

....Michael Plaxton, an expert in criminal law and statutory interpretation, alternately called the course a “mandatory DEI bootcamp” and a “forced march of self discovery.” He noted that it began with a declaration of “we’re not here to debate.”
....Plaxton told National Post that he wasn’t any kind of “crusader on the whole DEI thing,” and that he didn’t think any of the course leaders “were anything other than earnest, well-meaning people.”
“No one was rude to me,” he wrote in an email, adding that he mostly felt “awkward” about the whole affair....

Yeah and you should be embarrassed now, fella, because you got played right royally, by a national media that now has adopted Trump's anti-DEI agenda and will seize on any excuse to echo it.

Carney's new cabinet - comments from Brittlestar, Delacourt, Wark;,Urback, Ling, and Scrimshaw.

I gathered some of the comments on Prime Minister Carney's new cabinet.

Overall, the judgement seems to be "lets wait and see".

First, this is hilarious:

View on Threads

Alberta separatists want to have their cake and eat it too

Yep, let's move fast and break things. 

This is NOT what Canada needs to deal with right now, but I guess we don't have any choice:

An Alberta separatist group released on Monday a referendum question on independence from Canada that it will petition to get in front of provincial voters — but only once it has garnered support from 600,000 Albertans.
That's more than triple the number of signatures the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) would need under a new United Conservative Party government bill that makes it much easier to force a referendum on the ballot.
The group also said it would push Premier Danielle Smith to allow a separation referendum later in 2025, instead of next year as she's suggested. They said a critical mass of separatist UCP members can persuade the premier to fast-track the referendum — and to join their cause as well....

Here's the discussion on Power and Politics:

View on Threads

Weekend Stuff: More laughing at Poilievre, More in Elbows Up!, Other funny moments, More about Pope Leo, and Animal Crackers

First up, laughing at Poilievre never gets old

Today's News: let's laugh at Poilievre; let's laugh at Alberta separatists; let's find out about Pope Leo

Let's laugh at Poilievre!
So much for Poilievre regaining anyone's respect now:

Inspiring! Pierre Poilievre just released his new campaign slogan for Battle River-Crowfoot and it is truly moving! One word, but it perfectly encapsulates voters who support a leader who has to manufacture an election after losing the last one. #Pierre4PM #abpoli

[image or embed]

— Danielle Smith ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎(Parody) (@abdanielsmith.bsky.social) May 9, 2025 at 12:52 PM

Things I learned today: the new language of the Internet, the tariff "deal" with the US/UK, and Prof Galloway on Trump's corruption.

Meet Tralalero Tralala, the Italian Brain Rot AI meme.

Did you know there is a whole new language around Artificial Intelligence and Internet memes now?
One of the internet columns I follow is Casey Newton's Platformer, and today he introduced me to the term Italian Brain-rot, which led me to other new terms: Uncanny Valley, AI slop (which is sort of a 21st Century version of the old Telephone Game - remember that?), Shitposting, Rage-baiting. The only one I had already heard about was enshitification - Cory Doctorow's great term for how social media invariably gets worse as it gets more successful.
Speaking of betting worse -- Parker Molloy reports this week on a creepy recent court case where the victim's sister produced a AI video "victim statement" showing the victim himself "speaking" to the person convicted of killing him, and the judge loved it!

Canada's Alberta square-dance: "Promenade and don't be slow, Where we're going nobody knows"

Just a little square-dance patter for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who seems to be doing the Wexit do-se-do-- getting closer to it then backing around it, then sashaying closer again. She can't say yes and she can't say no, and where we're going nobody knows. 

So I asked ChatGPT to give me a picture of Danielle Smith at a square dance and I think it did a pretty good job ⬆️ 

Maybe even a better job than Smith herself is doing. 

Tonight I found some posts and commentary on what is happening. 

And really, my square-dance analogy seems apt: 

"Inviting (the separation referendum) experience to Alberta, and to Canada, especially now, is more than a failure of duty and leadership; it’s a failure of character." #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli

[image or embed]

— Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean (@mitchellab.bsky.social) May 7, 2025 at 1:39 PM

Carney visits the lion's den - oops, sorry, it was just a paper tiger after all 🐯!

Today was Carney's day to visit Trump at the White House. 

No tariff deal resulted, so then the DOW dropped 500 points.

But the 51st State talk is clearly dead now. And I must say, sometimes it was hard to tell who was the host and who was the guest. 

Here are three cartoons that tell the story of this visit:

Before:

During:

After:

Canada's Red Dress Day

May 5 is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit+ People (MMIWG2S+) 

Red River Métis artist and activist Jaime Black founded the REDress project in 2010 after she displayed her first REDress installation at the University of Winnipeg that included a series of empty red dresses to honour and symbolize the lost lives of Indigenous women at the hands of violence. 

Black writes: 

It is an installation art project based on an aesthetic response to this critical national issue. The project has been installed in public spaces throughout Canada and the United States as a visual reminder of the staggering number of women who are no longer with us. Through the installation I hope to draw attention to the gendered and racialized nature of violent crimes against Aboriginal women and to evoke a presence through the marking of absence. 

I also wanted to note that later this month, HighWater Press is publishing Black's book REDress Art, Action, and the Power of Presence - click the link for more info.

Here's a good summary:

Today, we remember our Missing and Murdered Indigenous sisters, aunties, Elders & land defenders. MMIR is a crisis rooted in colonial violence. Awareness must lead to action. Start by reading the 231 Calls for Justice.#DayOfAwarenessForMMIWG2S+ #RedDressDay #MMIR #MMIWG2S pic.twitter.com/g83i6dIjj2

— Indigenous Climate Action (@Indigenous_ca) May 5, 2025

May the Fourth be with you, Justin Trudeau

I will miss the Star Wars socks:

Trudeau ran for the leadership at just the right time, in 2013, when the Liberal Party was flailing and failing. 

And he left at just the right time too, as it turned out.

Yes, by 2024 he had worn out his welcome with many Canadians, but he still had fucks to give. 

From that dinner at Mar-Lardo in November, until his exit in March, Trudeau led Canada through a time of grave peril.

In November, this is where we began:

By March, this is where we ended up:

It was Trudeau who led us from that beginning to that end. 

His unselfish and non-political leadership roused Canada to reject Trump's 51st State talk while not disrespecting the American people. He alerted Canada to the profound danger posed by Trump while giving us confidence that we could rise to meet the challenge. 

You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 21, 2025

Trudeau inspired a rush of patriotism that even surprised us with how deeply and sincerely we could feel Canadian pride.

And we didn't even realize that Trudeau had anything to do with it, we thought we had done it all ourselves. 

Weekend funny stuff: Let's bring Stanley home! Let's laugh at Trump! Plus some other good posts, and Animal Crackers

Go, Canada, Go!

when it comes to the nhl playoffs i would like to simply say, “play ball”

— Jon Bois (@jonbois.bsky.social) April 29, 2025 at 7:35 PM

you don’t get to have good politicians AND a second round of the nhl playoffs.

— Elyse (@elysebee.bsky.social) April 30, 2025 at 8:13 PM

View on Threads

Today's News: a random roundup -- Carney's press conference; Smith's carpet; Poilievre's seat; and First Nations nix Wexit

Basically, it seems we are back to politics-as-normal now -- tonight I have just a random assortment of political news and views tonight, without anything really dominating the headlines. Yet.

 First, we got some good news today that the King is coming!

This is a master stroke. Mark Carney knows how global power positioning works and to have King come to Canada to read speech from throne instead of Governor General says Canada is never going to be the 51st State. And that we can command performance by the monarch #Cdnpoli 🇨🇦 https://t.co/C4Zt4PN1CO

— Laura Babcock 🇨🇦 (@LauraBabcock) May 2, 2025

All in all, a great press conference today from Carney:  

Stormy weather over Stornoway

I keep waiting for wiser heads to prevail - will the Conservative party realize that they don't need Canada's version of the Trumpy Man-Baby as their leader anymore?

Listen to this interview with Bob Fife: "We like some of the policies you're doing about but we think your leader is a dick!"

Yes he's quite hated but I just can't get past him almost calling him Millhouse 🤣 #cdnpoli #canada #canadasky #elxn45

[image or embed]

— Jo (@darkcoffee8.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 8:39 PM

Now that Poilievre has lost his seat, its a perfect excuse for the party to say "See ya! Don't let the door hit you on your way out!"
Alternately, it would be a perfect time for Poilievre himself to be the bigger person and withdraw from public life for a while - use his pension to regroup, maybe get a job at a think tank or an NGO or some such - then start working his way back up. That's what ordinary politicians do when they lose.

CPC party dropped Andrew Scheer after the 2019 election and Erin O’Toole after the 2021 campaign. Both these leaders won the popular vote against the Liberals, but not the seat count. Mr. Poilievre lost both And, strike three, also his own seat. archive.is/L8c76 #cdnpoli

[image or embed]

— Pete Quily (@pqpolitics.bsky.social) May 1, 2025 at 10:41 AM

Post-election News: voting maps, Carney wins, Wexit update, Poilievre sad. Plus, it's always fun to ridicule Trump!

In Canadian events today, some interesting maps showing how Canadians voted -- much more clearly than just showing big empty blocks of red and blue:

In response to the election map of #Canada showing large areas voting Conservative blue, here's a graphic from reddit entitled "Land doesn't Vote, People Do". #Liberals are red. #canpoli #cdnpoli #CanadaStrong Source: www.reddit.com/r/onguardfor... h/t @ianbremmer.com

[image or embed]

— Bill Comeau 🇨🇦 (@bill-comeau.bsky.social) April 30, 2025 at 5:25 PM

And here's news: the Liberals don't actually need another party to vote with them!
The Liberals have 169 seats while the Conservatives and the Bloc have 166 seats in total. Therefore the Liberals actually do have enough seats to pass budgets and laws on their own, even if the Cons and the Bloc vote against them, provided the NDP and Elizabeth May abstain. So ha ha!!!

Here's what Carney accomplished:

View on Threads