Spousal abuse – Sommer Season all year

For weeks now, I’ve (#blogger #blog #somseason #YA #authors) heard nothing but the media and fellow Canadians talking about Trump’s tariffs. I talked to people who fear the tariffs will cause a recession. I know many people who have engaged fully in the “Buy Canadian” campaign as referred to in the article, The Rise of the “Buy Canadian” Movement and What it Means for Businesses. Many Canadians blame Trump’s tariffs for Canada’s high prices and poor economy. Many are angry at Trump and call him a bully (#bullying, #antibullying). If Trump was really a bully, he would have kept the tariffs in place from the beginning. Much of this anger is fueled by mainstream media with headlines like, Donald Trump called an ‘arrogant bully’ after he boasts about world leaders ‘kissing my a**’ over tariffs, The Terror of Trump’s Tariffs: What does it all mean for Ottawa? and Trump’s tariffs would crush Canada’s economy.

According to the article, Trump’s Tariffs: A timeline of the ongoing global trade tension, it all started not long after President Trump was sworn in, when he announced 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico starting February 1. What I’ve observed is a pattern with Trump. He announces a tariff on some country, then when that date approaches, he pulls back, like in the article, Trump pauses tariffs for most nations, unclear if it affects Canada. CBC claims Trump has started a Trade War as in its article, Trump’s trade war goes global… This is not about a trade war as there is always more to any story. President Trump is signaling something else.

Let’s focus on Canada. Why is President Trump imposing tariffs on Canada? According to the White House’s Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Imposes Tariffs on Imports from Canada, Mexico and China, the USA is placing tariffs on Canada for the following three reasons; to secure the Canada-US-Mexican border to stop the flow of illegal drugs, to stop the flow of illegal immigration, and to bring about balanced trade. The article states:

President Trump is taking bold action to hold Mexico, Canada, and China accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country….There is also a growing presence of Mexican cartels operating fentanyl and nitazene synthesis labs in Canada…A recent study recognized Canada’s heightened domestic production of fentanyl, and its growing footprint within international narcotics distribution…While trade accounts for 67% of Canada’s GDP, 73% of Mexico’s GDP, and 37% of China’s GDP, it accounts for only 24% of U.S. GDP. However, in 2023 the U.S. trade deficit in goods was the world’s largest at over $1 trillion.

The questions are: Is Canada really a gateway for fentanyl and other narcotics? Is illegal immigration happening where illegal aliens are entering the US from Canada? Is there a trade imbalance between Canada and the US? Those who know me know I never accept at face value what mainstream media (MSM) says. I do my own research and do my own thinking.

Is Canada producing fentanyl and other narcotics? Now if you believe the CBC—which I don’t—”less than one per cent of the synthetic opioid seized at American borders is at the northern border” according to a CBC report. Is the CBC right?

The book, Wilful Blindness: How a network of narcos, tycoons and CCP agents infiltrated the West, by Sam Cooper essentially claims Canada is a major fentanyl portal. Coopers research uncovers an intricate network where the ingredients to make synthetic opioids like fentanyl move from China to Vancouver, where they are processed into fentanyl and released all over North America. The money profited from these illegal drugs is then laundered through casinos, real estate, and Chinese exports. Mr. Cooper even suggests that the Liberal Party in Canada is profiting off of the fentanyl crisis. Might that be true? That’s a very brief explanation, so listen to the following interview with Mr. Cooper to learn more.

News articles like, How Chinese gangs are laundering drug money through Vancouver real estate, Triad money laundering is fueling Canada’s fentanyl nightmare, Canadian organized crime making more fentanyl: Police report. and TD Bank fined $3B US after pleading guilty in historic U.S. money laundering case all support what Sam Cooper is claiming. Even the Government of Canada website lists seven transnational criminal organizations that are active in Canada According to the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada Summary – 2024 Public Report on Organized Crime, a threat rating was assigned to 668 Organized Crime Groups as part of the 2024 Integrated Threat Assessment. Mr. Trump’s claim seems legit to me.

Is illegal immigration happening where illegal aliens are entering the US from Canada? The CBC is reporting U.S. Republicans are now warning: Migration from Canada is a problem. The Toronto Sun says, Canada becoming a source of illegal immigrants into USA. Now that’s MSM making this claim, so it must be true, right? Newsweek says, U.S. Northern Border Crossings Break Record In 2024. The Hill’s article, The overlooked threat: America’s northern border, reports that in 2024, in Canada’s Swanton Sector, in 2024, 19,000 illegal crossers were apprehended by U.S. border agents, more than the last 17 years combined. That sounds like a problem to me. Maybe the US president is right again.

Is there a trade imbalance between Canada and the US? What is a trade imbalance anyways? A trade imbalance occurs when a country has either a trade surplus or a trade deficit. A trade surplus occurs when a country exports more goods than it imports, while a trade deficit happens when imports exceed exports.

Wikipedia’s article, Canada–United States trade relations, says

the trade imbalance between Canada and the United States has historically favored Canada, with the U.S. experiencing a trade deficit. In 2023, the U.S. trade deficit with Canada was approximately $41 billion, with U.S. exports at $441 billion and Canadian exports at $482 billion.

The Financial Post reported that, Canada’s trade surplus with US widens before Trump’s return . Mr. Trump has made statements such as, If we are subsidising Canada, Mexico let them become a state of US. In Donald Trump’s view, if countries, like Canada and Mexica, have a trade surplus with the USA, then the US is subsidizing them. Investopedia defines a subsidy as a benefit given to an individual, business, or institution, usually by the government. I suppose by definition, it is kind of a subsidy as Canada is benefitting by having a trade surplus. As I already mentioned, a trade surplus occurs when a country exports more goods than it imports, while a trade deficit happens when imports exceed exports. In 2023, the U.S. exported $441 billions of goods while Canada exported $482 billion indicating Canada has a trade surplus and USA a trade deficit of approximately $41 billion. So, the real question is: Is a trade deficit a bad thing? Mr. Trump seems to think so. Does the US have a legitimate complaint? The article, Should we worry about a trade deficit? basically says it’s open to debate. The article, History of Tariffs between Canada and the United States, provides the history of Canada-USA trade wars, so we mustn’t forget—as the article shows—that Canada also imposes tariffs on US goods as well. It’s not just “big bad Trump” doing this to Canada, as the MSM wants us to believe.

What is my conclusion? I think President Trump has legitimate complaints when it comes to Canada producing narcotics and illegal immigration into the US from Canada. There is definitely a trade imbalance between Canada and the US, but whether that’s good or bad is open to debate. Having said that, balanced trade should be what happens; it’s logical. Canada does need to deal with the fentanyl crisis and border security. Canada is not the “innocent” country most Canadians think it is. President Trump is not initiating a Trade War with Canada. Mr. Trump wants us Canadians to wake up to the corruption in our country; a corruption permitted by our corrupt political system and politicians, and to do something about it. That is what I think is happening with these tariffs.

In planning a blog about spousal abuse, I (#blogger #blog #somseason #YA #authors) asked a friend to tell me in writing her experience with an abusive boyfriend. This is what she wrote (paraphrased):

My boyfriend won’t let me visit my friends and family. He has made me stop all contact with them except on the phone, but then the other week, he told me to go out for a meal with my friends. When I did, I was punished for it. I know he’ll tell me to do it again though, so I’m confused. He keeps doing this. He makes me feel like I’m going crazy for thinking he’s controlling, saying, I’m being ungrateful because he cares about me. He didn’t want me going to the gym anymore, so I don’t go anymore. He also doesn’t let me go to work, instead, telling me to rely on him for income because he will look after me. I’m not allowed to go out, unless it’s for necessities, but when I do, I need to share my location with him no matter where I go. If I don’t check in with him when I get to the store, I get in trouble. I miss my Mom so much, so last week I snuck off to see her, he caught me, and I was punished for it. My Grandma is dying in a nursing home, but I’m forbidden to see her. I’m not allowed to do anything unless he says so. I want to book a holiday to go visit relatives, but he said no. I wanted to go back to school, but I wasn’t allowed to do that either. I can’t wait until I’m allowed to do these things. I know the time will come soon, and he will change. I know he’s only doing this because he loves me. He’s doing all of this for my own good.

Okay, I’ll be honest. I didn’t get that from a friend. I saw it on a meme, but I bet it got your attention. Perhaps you believed me, illustrating how easily we can be manipulated to think something. I suspect some of you thought the above narrative was about an abusive relationship between a girl living with her abusive boyfriend, but it’s not that at all. At the end of the meme, it said, “Oh wait, did I say boyfriend? I meant the government.” Are we in an abusive relationship with our governments? Is our relationship with health officials and the mainstream media healthy? Let’s explore.

Edmonton Police Services defines abuse as an attempt to control the behaviour of another person. I call this bullying (#bullying #antibullying). Psychology Today’s article, 10 Red Flag Warning Signs of Abuse, lists warning signs of an unhealthy, one-sided relationship. It lists signs such as, attempt to control all aspects of a partner’s life, attempt to isolate the partner from family and friends, being disrespectful by blaming, shaming, and putting the partner down, and threatening with harm if you don’t do what they want. Would authorities do that?

I urge you to watch the video OH CANADA. WAKE UP! (Source: Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms), and you’ll see all the warning signs listed above are all checked off. Shaming is real, as shown in the article Shaming of the unvaccinated intensifies. Ontario gives police new powers to enforce stay-home order and ban on outdoor gatherings is yet more evidence of bullying by government. Even our police forces are abusive as Ontario police officer pushes child to the ground at park. Mandy Hale says, “A healthy relationship will never require you to sacrifice your friends, your dreams, or your dignity.” This is so true, so my conclusion is we are in an unhealthy relationship with our governments, police, and health officials. Yet, people like Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, told CNN “…it was very very clear that he was talking about liberties that were being restricted. This has nothing to do with liberties…” (see Dr. Fauci).

Speaking of the mainstream media (MM): Are we in an abusive relationship with them? One of the warning signs of abuse mentioned above is the attempt to control. Is the MM attempting to manipulate us by controlling the narrative and trying to persuade us to think a certain way? Sky News Australia, itself considered MM, says Mainstream media is ‘deliberately engaging in propaganda’ to control ‘the way you think’. Listen to its video to find out why. Another video titled, CNN Director ADMITS Network Engaged in ‘Propaganda’ to Remove Trump from Presidency, has recently gone viral. Check it out. The CNN Director admits it delivers propaganda and uses fear right on camera.

Here is The Federalist’s story about the video. Perhaps this is why CNN has shed more than half its viewers since Biden took office, down staggering 60%. Then there’s MM’s Globe and Mail paid £27,776 by U.K. government for coverage.

Seems like control to me. The latest media lie being revealed is The Brian Sicknick Case Shows How the Media Make Their Own Reality and Greenwald blasts New York Times, media for initial reports on Sicknick’s death: ‘Complete fiction.’ Journalist Glenn Greenwald divulges The New York Times “published an emotionally gut-wrenching but complete fiction that never had any evidence” by initially reporting that Sicknick’s “skull was savagely bashed in with a fire extinguisher by a pro-Trump mob until he died.” Washington’s top medical examiner recently debunked this media narrative announcing U.S. Capital Police officer Brian Sicknick suffered two strokes and died of natural causes the day after he was confronted during the January 6 US Capitol riots. Just another example of how we’ve been abused—or shall we say bullied—by the MM.

NBC News Digital, also part of the MM, has an article, U.S. commander: Intel still hasn’t established Russia paid Taliban ‘bounties’ to kill U.S. troops. Here is CNN’s June 2020 story: Washington Post: Russian bounties to Taliban fighters believed to result in deaths of US troops, intelligence assessments show. The credibility of the Taliban report by MM alleged the Russian government was paying bounties to Taliban fighters to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan to make people think negatively about the Trump Administration. Now it is shown to be yet another lie to manipulate our thinking about Trump. It is abundantly clear to me that we are in an abusive relationship with the MM. Joss Whedon, in Astonishing X-Men, Volume 2: Dangerous says, “The news isn’t there to tell you what happened. It’s there to tell you what it wants you to hear or what it thinks you want to hear.” For me, MM has no credibility.

How do you solve abusive relations? Jonathan Mead says, ‘Sometimes the easiest way to solve a problem is to stop participating in the problem.’ That means we must start thinking for ourselves and stop blindly believing what we are told by governments, health officials, and MM. I remind you of what Adolf Hitler once said, “What good fortune for those in power that people do not think.” Or as Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, said, “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself.” Could this be what MM is doing? Could they be telling lies about the alleged pandemic? I’m merely asking the question. Goebbels also said, “A lie told once remains a lie but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.” It is time to do your own thinking!

Goebbels’ best quote, however, is, “There will come a day, when all the lies will collapse under their own weight, and truth will again triumph.” W. Clement Stone once said, “Truth will always be truth, regardless of lack of understanding, disbelief or ignorance.” Or, as Flannery O’Connor says, “The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” I believe the truth will triumph, we will eventually know the truth. In Phaedrus, a dialogue written by Plato, it says: