I don’t disagree there are things that Canada has ‘more’ of that the US has ‘less’ of. I’m sure that Americans would be surprised that they didn’t have Art, though.
Contrary to this thread, the US isn’t a desolate wasteland with roaming bands of mohawked thugs ala Road Warrior. Many find it a pretty pleasant place to live. There are a lot of snowbirds from Canada who’d agree. I sense quite a bit of “I’m Canadian, so I’m better” here.
And while I applaud your use of other’s money via taxes to support your values, in the coming insurgency how many other people’s lives are you willing to sacrifice to maintain them, Lord Farquaad?
They sure do, especially now that Trump has appointed himself chairman of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which will henceforth feature the outstanding works of celebrated artists like Ted Nugent and Kid Rock, or anyone wearing a comical cowboy hat who has sworn fealty to Trump. No more classical music or gay operas or shit like that, this is America! In celebration of this new invigoration of the arts, practically half the leadership of the Kennedy Center has quit.
Probably the worst target he could choose. Toronto is the heart of Canada’s finances, and far too much of our transportation infrastructure passes through it as a choke point. You’d destroy most of the wealth that Trump would be coveting.
Ottawa is a better target. It’s the political capital, but doesn’t have a central role in the economy like Toronto. We’re also farther off the main transport routes, so you could work around the damage much easier. Also, nuking just the downtown core would accomplish 90% of your goals, and Ottawa’s downtown is pretty small. Even an old Hiroshima-type bomb could wipe it out, meaning there’d be far less damage to begin with.
Averages are misleading. On average, we may be “poorer”, but we have far fewer people in absolute poverty.
I once took the trolley from downtown San Diego to the Mexican border. I had to re-evaluate my idea of what a “slum” was five times on that trip. I never imagined there could be places worse than a trailer park.
Wonder how he feels about Lee Greenwood. Greenwood, of course, did one of Trump’s favourite songs, “God Bless the U.S.A.” Some time later, Greenwood did the same for Canada, with “God Bless You Canada.” The video of the latter is rather poignant, and should strike home to every Canadian who loves our country and our way of life:
Has there been any polling in Canada about Trump’s 51st state crap? I would suggest a 3 part survey to the question “Should Canada become the 51st state of the USA?”
Hell no!
Maybe, if we get a free holiday every winter to Florida.
First, you are most welcome for the video. I wish more Canadians were familiar with it. Maybe now they will be.
Secondly, I have been known to wear a cowboy hat. Doesn’t look comical at all. Sadly, though I bought it 15 years ago, it is a US-made Stetson Mountain Sky. I love it, it is so comfortable, and capable of taking rain, snow, and assorted knocks, but now, I’m seriously considering a Smithbilt Hunter, a made-in-Canada hat:
And despite what some Americans will tell you, even we here in Alberta will say “hell, no!” We know we’ve got a good thing going as-is, and nothing the US can or will do will improve our quality of life. No to statehood!
My apologies about the cowboy hat. It’s just that us easterners tend to associate it with Texas yokels and Ted Nugent types, but really, that’s just as unfair as my disparagement of pickup truck owners. People should be judged by who they are, not what they drive or what they wear on their heads. Except for Trump. What the hell is that thing on top of his head?
You don’t seem to grasp the stakes. If you re unaware of them - or for that matter the sheer fury and hatred growing just from the THREAT of invasion - I am not sure what else to say except that you need to be more acquainted with the facts. Canadians value being Canadian.
He wants Canada to be Austria to Hitler’s Germany.
Remind us again how that worked out?
And that’s another factor for why a lot of Canadians won’t accept this: We don’t want later generations wondering why we joined the US entirely unopposed just as they were starting off on their great crusade to expand the American Empire at the expense of everyone else around them. We may be conquered, and forced at gunpoint to support this nonsense, but we want history to note that we did not simply acquiesce to their plans. Better to be Poland than Austria.
Puts NATO treaty signatories in a tricky position. I suspect most American’ by far oppose this nonsense and the dumpf has just fucked up a good relationship.
Trump’s intentions seem rather unclear, but he’s not leaving the Canadian government alone to scheme against him in this scenario.
Crimea isn’t a good analogy to the Arctic; it’s a place Russia already had a military presence and a substantial degree of support from the locals (who were already heavily Russian.) What you’re suggesting isn’t impossible but it’s not really of a tremendous degree of benefit to the USA. People keep talking about the vast Arctic resources but we don’t do THAT much mining up there yet. There’s no value in Banks Island. And how does that make Canada part of the USA - which, as reports are now coming out, Trump is also obsessed with in private?
I know the Ukraine thing is in many ways eerily similar, but militarily speaking it’s very different. That said I’m not saying your scenario isn’t POSSIBLE. It just isn’t very likely, because of what Ludovic points out; a piecemeal attack is a dreadful idea here. Let’s go back to Crimea; Putin’s approach in Ukraine has now gotten Russia into a horrific quagmire of a wat. tt has been a CATASTROPHIC miscalculation. By trying ti piecemeal the country apart, Putin gave Ukraine years to build up and prepare its armed forces for a larger invasion. As much as Russia is the larger power, the Ukrainian army was by 2022 very big and well armed and prepared. It’s not really that surprising that they’ve managed to hold on.
Yes, I’ve kept saying this over and over (NATO will be of zero consequence) from a conventional point of view. The day after the war starts, the UNCONVENTIONAL violence will be planned and it won’t take long to start up.
Can you explain what I wrote that was unrealistic? It’s a very likely war plan. I mean, I’m drawing from history and my job experience here. What would be a likelier way for a war to play out? If the US invades, how do you see their approach being different?
I don’t understand the ‘why’.
Canada has health care, and so does the US. Ours may be better.
Canada supports the gay opera. Apparently, the US does not.
Canada doesn’t have slums (we do), America does.
Or some such excuses about how Canada is superior to the US.
How many people are you planning to kill or you think should die so that we can keep our gay opera?
If you can’t tie it to a single, questionable metric, you have to tie national pride and desire not to be subjugated to a pretty poor straw man argument?
In celebration of this new invigoration of the arts, practically half the leadership of the Kennedy Center has quit.
