In the 1950s, on the farm in the Netherlands, we had no electricity nor running water.
In the winter months, the cow pies collected from the gutters were shovelled and wheel-barrowed to a manure pile outside. The pile was later, in the spring, spread on the land. A manure spreader pulled by a horse put the nutrients on the land. Going at the wrong speed would deposit large lumps of manure which killed the grass. At the right speed, grass grew into a rich, deep green colour and that would raise milk production.
The large 'chunks of manure' flying out of Washington harming Canada, Greenland, Ukraine, etc. are hurtful. The Washington manure spreader is killing our grass. In repeatedly breaking treaties, making threats, delays, cancellations, and more threats, etc., U.S. President Donald Trump is malevolently trying to create Canadian economic instability. He intends, when we become the 51st state, to cease the provocations. All hail to the 'greatest president'? Not!
This destabilizing trick has been tried many times before. It saves American lives by not having to start military hostilities.
The USA has always been a rapacious country. That is the calling card of raw capitalism. Trump is open about what many previous presidents would have liked to do. America has become very wealthy through its exploitation of weaker countries. That is the DNA of the USA.
America came into being by eliminating its Indigenous population and taking its land. Treaties that the USA signs are not worth the paper they are written on. Just look at the USMCA, signed by Trump himself and hailed, at the time, as "a great deal" for America. In unilaterally abrogating treaties, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are soulmates.
In facing a much more powerful opponent, we Canadians have essentially two choices: Roll over and succumb or make the attempted take-over too costly for the Trumpians to try.
Previous Liberal and Conservative federal governments have been greatly remiss in not fulfilling our NATO obligations. Even now we intend to get to two per cent in 2028!
We do not have time until then and must prepare in a different way, now, because our water, minerals, and northern passage will always draw rapacious bullies.
For immediate discussion, may I suggest that we should maybe follow a modified Swiss defence model or start a draft like Poland did recently (and others are about to)? Poland also deals with a neighbouring bully.
To prevent a takeover is to be prepared. It will cost us, but to get to NATO's two per cent and more, it is time for a Canadian draft of all 19-year-olds, both males and females.
They give one year to the Canadian Armed Forces to gain fitness, learn how to handle weapons, the use of explosives, tactics, and how to make and fly drones.
A trained population will make any American or other takeover bid very costly because any invader would face perpetual guerrilla war.
To pay for this will mean a hit to our incomes. Maybe our public pensions can be clawed back a few percentage points when above a certain set mark. There are many other ways to get available money for this military preparedness.
The best chance people had in jumping from poor to middle class in North America was from 1948 to 1972. The reason for this was that the difference between rich and poor was the smallest. In Eisenhower's time, the top marginal rate taxes on wealth were 92 per cent, which he, munificently, lowered to 91! Imagine the monies those rates would free up for training the Canadian population in the military arts.
If we are serious about maintaining our sovereignty and our Canadian way of life, we need to start now.
Politicians can show the way by renouncing the early cashing of their pension and wait like the rest of us until they are 65. And to show good faith they ought to abandon their gold-plated pensions. They can vote to have their pensions align with that of, for example, nurses who are valued by most. It only seems fair.
Let's keep Canada for Canadians and out of anybody else’s hands.