Reading the stuff here, I'm dismayed by the utter unreality of what most people are saying on this page. In the face of what is happening in Europe today, with what is likely the beginning of WWIII just 200 kilometres from where I sit, this is such a flight from reality. You can bet that war will quickly sweep both Wokism and Trumpism from people's brains. It's sad to see this fine place that is Bari Weiss' "Common Sense" so over-run by Trumpism and libertarianism, when only a united society, without Trumpism and Wokism, can overcome the existential challenges we face.
First of all, this whole "protest" was based on a lie, namely, that being vaccinated against Covid-19 is dangerous and could not be made compulsory. Secondly, it was funded and promoted by shady American (??) interests, and thirdly, but most importantly, it tied up the national capital for three weeks and blocked much of Canada's international trade for a week or two. Live-aboard tractor-trailer rigs were used as a novel tank-like weapon, much larger and more intimidating than European and Asian rigs. In most countries, after a day or so the protestors would have been beaten with truncheons and hauled off to jail, just like the G20 protestors in Toronto in 2010. Only because Canada, the ultimate rule of law state, was so slow and kid-gloved in dealing with the protest did it last so long. The vast majority of truckers in Canada were vaccinated, the protest was that of a small minority with delusions of grandeur, as shown by the ridiculous nature of their manifesto, so ignorant of Canadian constitutional procedures.
The sudden birth of this "movement" must be understood in terms of Internet bubbles, ephemeral sound chambers which only the algorithmically selected participants would have access to. Bubbles of extremism are particularly viral. A good question is who seeded this quickly inflating bubble. Its purpose is obvious, disrupting the country and generating more disunity. The participants most likely were owner-operators of rigs, so hardly the most oppressed of those in an industry notorious for its exploitation of employee/contract drivers.
The fact that such disruption can be triggered by minor causes suggests a weakness in liberal democracy in the face of sudden spurious revolts (the post-George Floyd riots and 01/06 were other examples). As Europe today shows, the world is a much tougher and harder place than what we have become accustomed to in North America, and the lessons need to be absorbed.
Truly depressing to read this and see that we are almost certainly heading down this insane and anti democratic path. How on earth are any Canadians (outside the scum implementing these draconian measures) good with what has been happening? I would hope that there really is a silent majority out there willing to throw out these scoundrels in favor of pols who will govern with the values that have served so well the Western democracies for ages.
They first need to prevent it from taking root in Canada. It means forcing the current government to resign, followed by new elections. Then the inquiries and trials can start. Trudeau has been centralizing power, more like an absolute monarch than a prime minister, for many years.
Funnily enough, the way Trudeau forced his emergency powers through Parliament was by threatening new elections if he didn't get his way. He gambled (correctly) that Liberal/NDP MPs wanted to vote no, but not so badly that they'd volunteer to put themselves up for early reelection.
On the bright side, invoking the Emergencies Act comes with a mandatory inquiry, so that should be fun. He didn't have legal standing to begin with, and played chicken with a snap election to get it ratified only to backpedal 2 days later when the Senate threatened to strike it down.
"They aren't after me, they're after you. I'm just in their way," said everyone of those truckers in Canada. I understand coming down against the ongoing protest. I get it that they were moved from Ottawa and from blocking major trade arteries. Making them the untouchables was a step too far. I knew when they took President Trump off of Twitter this would not go well for a long time to come.
For those wondering why Trudeau ended his Emergency Powers 2 days after they were ratified by Parliament, smart money is he thought the Senate would strike them down, so he took the "quit before being fired" approach.
What can we do? Simple - cast ALL your votes for Republicans. As insipid as they are, as greedy as they can be, they are nowhere near as bad as Democrats. With Democrats you know where we are headed - tyranny.
Give Republicans 8 years in power, then vote all them out. Rinse, repeat.
David Saks' comments are interesting but his title was rather odd, given the history of Canada, which he may not know much about. In our context, "Social Credit" was actually a longstanding right wing/populist political party that was fairly active and successful for almost fifty years, from Alberta in the 1930's to Quebec in the 1960's and '70's. Perhaps the enthusiasm of Americans to comment on Canadian affairs might be tempered by some more knowledge about the country.....but the lack of that is admittedly not a new problem.
Aw...big bad gov'mnt making these snowflakes get an ouchie. Vaccine mandates are lawful and are required for 5yr olds in all schools. Almost all laws mandate that you do things you don't want to; you can't speed, you must stop at weigh stations, you must have specific safety equipment, etc. These guys are simply outlaws, and Trudeau waited far too long in enforcing the laws.
So, let me get this straight. GOOD PROTEST: Alternative government over blocks of a major city; burning police stations and courthouses; looting; murder; misappropriation of millions of charity dollars; destruction of property. PUNISHABLE PROTEST: peaceful blue collar sit ins on public property.
You're full of progressive BS. No martial law was decreed during any of the ANTI-AGING/BLM rioting in 2020 I remember being alerted for riot duty in Chicago in 1969. Was sorry we weren't deployed, so I could shoot some of the SOBS dead. Three rounds to the chest.
The Abercrombie and Fitch bitch of a president in Canada is all supportive of the Chinese people but to hell with his own.
Reading the stuff here, I'm dismayed by the utter unreality of what most people are saying on this page. In the face of what is happening in Europe today, with what is likely the beginning of WWIII just 200 kilometres from where I sit, this is such a flight from reality. You can bet that war will quickly sweep both Wokism and Trumpism from people's brains. It's sad to see this fine place that is Bari Weiss' "Common Sense" so over-run by Trumpism and libertarianism, when only a united society, without Trumpism and Wokism, can overcome the existential challenges we face.
First of all, this whole "protest" was based on a lie, namely, that being vaccinated against Covid-19 is dangerous and could not be made compulsory. Secondly, it was funded and promoted by shady American (??) interests, and thirdly, but most importantly, it tied up the national capital for three weeks and blocked much of Canada's international trade for a week or two. Live-aboard tractor-trailer rigs were used as a novel tank-like weapon, much larger and more intimidating than European and Asian rigs. In most countries, after a day or so the protestors would have been beaten with truncheons and hauled off to jail, just like the G20 protestors in Toronto in 2010. Only because Canada, the ultimate rule of law state, was so slow and kid-gloved in dealing with the protest did it last so long. The vast majority of truckers in Canada were vaccinated, the protest was that of a small minority with delusions of grandeur, as shown by the ridiculous nature of their manifesto, so ignorant of Canadian constitutional procedures.
The sudden birth of this "movement" must be understood in terms of Internet bubbles, ephemeral sound chambers which only the algorithmically selected participants would have access to. Bubbles of extremism are particularly viral. A good question is who seeded this quickly inflating bubble. Its purpose is obvious, disrupting the country and generating more disunity. The participants most likely were owner-operators of rigs, so hardly the most oppressed of those in an industry notorious for its exploitation of employee/contract drivers.
The fact that such disruption can be triggered by minor causes suggests a weakness in liberal democracy in the face of sudden spurious revolts (the post-George Floyd riots and 01/06 were other examples). As Europe today shows, the world is a much tougher and harder place than what we have become accustomed to in North America, and the lessons need to be absorbed.
Truly depressing to read this and see that we are almost certainly heading down this insane and anti democratic path. How on earth are any Canadians (outside the scum implementing these draconian measures) good with what has been happening? I would hope that there really is a silent majority out there willing to throw out these scoundrels in favor of pols who will govern with the values that have served so well the Western democracies for ages.
They first need to prevent it from taking root in Canada. It means forcing the current government to resign, followed by new elections. Then the inquiries and trials can start. Trudeau has been centralizing power, more like an absolute monarch than a prime minister, for many years.
Funnily enough, the way Trudeau forced his emergency powers through Parliament was by threatening new elections if he didn't get his way. He gambled (correctly) that Liberal/NDP MPs wanted to vote no, but not so badly that they'd volunteer to put themselves up for early reelection.
On the bright side, invoking the Emergencies Act comes with a mandatory inquiry, so that should be fun. He didn't have legal standing to begin with, and played chicken with a snap election to get it ratified only to backpedal 2 days later when the Senate threatened to strike it down.
"They aren't after me, they're after you. I'm just in their way," said everyone of those truckers in Canada. I understand coming down against the ongoing protest. I get it that they were moved from Ottawa and from blocking major trade arteries. Making them the untouchables was a step too far. I knew when they took President Trump off of Twitter this would not go well for a long time to come.
For those wondering why Trudeau ended his Emergency Powers 2 days after they were ratified by Parliament, smart money is he thought the Senate would strike them down, so he took the "quit before being fired" approach.
UD Dept of Homeland Security is way ahead of this--see their Feb. 7, 2022 advisory directive on "domestic terrorism."
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2022/02/07/dhs-issues-national-terrorism-advisory-system-ntas-bulletin
Everything is in place, they just need political cover and that can be done in many different ways.
Great article, incredibly good discussion! Easily worth the price of admission!
What can we do? Simple - cast ALL your votes for Republicans. As insipid as they are, as greedy as they can be, they are nowhere near as bad as Democrats. With Democrats you know where we are headed - tyranny.
Give Republicans 8 years in power, then vote all them out. Rinse, repeat.
David Saks' comments are interesting but his title was rather odd, given the history of Canada, which he may not know much about. In our context, "Social Credit" was actually a longstanding right wing/populist political party that was fairly active and successful for almost fifty years, from Alberta in the 1930's to Quebec in the 1960's and '70's. Perhaps the enthusiasm of Americans to comment on Canadian affairs might be tempered by some more knowledge about the country.....but the lack of that is admittedly not a new problem.
We need to stop the definition creep of "terrorism"? Where were you guys when definition creep hit "racism"? Or "greed"?
Aw...big bad gov'mnt making these snowflakes get an ouchie. Vaccine mandates are lawful and are required for 5yr olds in all schools. Almost all laws mandate that you do things you don't want to; you can't speed, you must stop at weigh stations, you must have specific safety equipment, etc. These guys are simply outlaws, and Trudeau waited far too long in enforcing the laws.
Inforcing the law is not autocratic.
So, let me get this straight. GOOD PROTEST: Alternative government over blocks of a major city; burning police stations and courthouses; looting; murder; misappropriation of millions of charity dollars; destruction of property. PUNISHABLE PROTEST: peaceful blue collar sit ins on public property.
You're full of progressive BS. No martial law was decreed during any of the ANTI-AGING/BLM rioting in 2020 I remember being alerted for riot duty in Chicago in 1969. Was sorry we weren't deployed, so I could shoot some of the SOBS dead. Three rounds to the chest.