Category: Donald Trump

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Defending the Past

On By PhotomotomanIn Automotive Manufacturing, Chinese Manufacturing, Climate Change, Donald Trump, EV’s, Political EditorialLeave a comment

How the U.S. Auto Industry Will Die: Not With a Bang… But a Whimper

What is becoming increasingly obvious is that the Big Three, are going to become the Lesser Three by 2035.

The current U.S. administration is ceding the EV world to China, and it’s obvious that it has no intention of either competing or meeting any type of climate change goals through the current administration, — ever.

This week in the Guardian, Lisa O’Carroll wrote an article entitled,

“The Chinese will not pause: Volvo and Polestar bosses urge EU to stick to 2035 petrol car ban”. The article spoke to the challenge that EU auto manufacturers have in producing cars in Europe, that can compete with Chinese vehicles, and how the attempts at keeping Chinese manufacturers out of Europe is a futile exercise that will result in EU automotive manufacturers being incapable of competing in the world of EV technology by 2035.

The chief executive of Polestar, Europe’s only all-electric car manufacturer stated, “Pausing 2035 is just a bad, bad idea. I have no words for that,” said Michael Lohsheller. “If Europe doesn’t take the lead in this transformation, be rest assured, other countries will do it for us.”

Volkswagen CEO, Hakan Samuelsson states, “I don’t see the logic in slowing down. If seat belts were not mandatory, we would probably have 30% of our cars without seatbelts and if you consider the additional cost we probably wouldn’t have any cars with catalytic converters either unless they were mandatory.”

Lohscheller is equally direct. “The Chinese will not pause. They will take over. If Brussels pauses this target and says: ‘Stop, we will give you another five years’, they are putting hundreds and thousands of jobs at risk.

It is worth noting that Chinese automotive manufacturing have been making massive inroads in Europe already.

Volvo, still believed by most to be a Swedish company, is only operated as such. It is owned by Zeijiang Geely since 2010.

But Europe’s woes in relation to vehicle production and electrification of the EU, are nothing compared to the morass of problems facing the United States.

Make America Like the 1950’s Again

Donald J. Trump is setting America up to become completely uncompetitive by 2030. It will have lost the EV revolution to China, entirely, with Japan and Korea likely being the largest, if not their sole competitors.

First, the U.S. has reversed some electrification targets. Trump, ever the wizard of the deal, has revoked a previous Biden order that aimed for 50% new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.

Just at a time where electrification looked like it was going to see adoption in the U.S., Trump intervened by doubling down on ICE engines and his interests in fossil fuels.

Trump has forced the EPA to lower its emissions rules as well. By allowing hybrids and gas-saving technologies to continue past 2030, it has resulted in some automakers scaling back their EV investments and production plans.

The Trump administration has now frozen all unspent federal funds for vehicle charging stations and is considering ending EV tax credits.

By prolonging the transition to EV’s, the U.S. will fall farther and farther behind the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans, ceding the future EV market to those interests.

American EV’s were already the least efficient, slowest to charge, with the shortest ranges and highest costs, — exactly the opposite of where Chinese manufacturers, and the buying public, worldwide are going.

Source:%20YouTube

And the news gets worse the more one delves into the issues facing American manufacturers. Trump’s tariffs mean that American products now face a 35% tariff to be imported into Canada. In addition, the heavily integrated parts industry and supply chains means that many American plants are either slowing their production or attempting to find American parts suppliers, who typically are 35% more expensive than those they are trying to replace from Canada.

This same situation exists in relation to Mexico where labour costs are even lower.

Trump is intent on bringing back ICE engines, which is destined to worsen America’s already significant lack of competitive ability against Chinese vehicles. If Chinese vehicles were allowed to enter the U.S., they would sell for less than half of the price of American made EV’s, which have longer charging times, shorter ranges and older technologies.

Canada is going to drop the 100% tariff it has on Chinese vehicles and provide incentives to Canadians (once again in 2026) to buy EV’s, which from China are expected to cost about half of the current EV vehicle prices in Canada.

What this signals is that for every Geely or BYD EV truck or car sold in Canada, that will be one less Ford, GM or Stellantis vehicle sold.

And competition with China is nye on impossible in America. Labour costs, steel costs, aluminum costs, electronic component costs, battery costs and electric motor costs are all significantly higher.

Just consider this one simple fact:

An American autoworker makes $28.02 an hour on average in Detroit or Kentucky or Texas or Alabama.

Meanwhile in China an automotive worker makes $2.18 U.S. per hour. And that’s before you add on pensions or benefits in the U.S.

So who in America will want to work in an automotive plant, that can compete?

No one.

And robotics won’t help America. Chinese automotive plants are highly technologically advanced and utilize robots to a greater degree than anywhere on earth currently.

Climate Change Will Result in America’s Car Manufacturers Seeing Less and Less Market Share

There is an analogy in the vehicle arena for what is now happening in the U.S. automotive sector. And it should act as a harbinger for what is probable if the Trump administration continues its illegal and self-defeating tariff agenda into the future.

Harley-Davidson motorcycle company.

HD has lost almost three quarters of its market share in a fourteen year period due to a myopic 1950’s attitude towards the manufacture of their motorcycles. By continuing to build motorcycles that the world’s youth doesn’t want, HD is slowly killing its own market.

If Ford, GM and Stellantis continue to double down on ICE vehicles and mild hybrids or hybrids, their market share will continue to decline, while costs escalate and the cost of fuel and maintenance continues to rise, unabated.

In reality, the battle is already over. Only Americans fail to recognize that their competitiveness is no longer valid. China’s EV growth around the world is increasing at an amazing rate.

Chinese EVs are experiencing rapid global growth, especially in emerging markets, though they face strong competition and protectionist barriers in North America, as previously discussed.

China is the world’s largest EV market, and its manufacturers are rapidly expanding their export sales, which surged in 2025 to a record high. Factors driving their success include cost advantages from cheaper batteries and strong government support. 

In 2025, two out of three EV’s sold on earth, are now Chinese.

And if the US opens its borders to Chinese vehicles, Ford, GM and Stellantis will become little more than a memory, like Studebaker, which ended production in Canada, in 1966.

The future is anything but bright for U.S. car and light truck manufacturers, but that’s what comes when the President of the United States cares more about his financial interests than the hundreds of thousands of Americans who depend on auto manufacturing.

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An American Pope and the Sociopath’s Commandments

On By PhotomotomanIn Donald Trump, Hate, Old Time Religion,, Political Satire, PoliticsLeave a comment

A Satirical Consideration for the Conclave in Waiting

Well, that didn’t take long, did it?

Trump wants an American pope.

Well hallelujah.

Strange though, Vance met the Pope yesterday, and he died.

I suppose it was all the good vibes he oozed from his pores, eh Vance?

I mean, such a pious, honest and upstanding man as Vance, right?

Yup, the final coersion America.

How about a new Giliad rule for the ages.

Thou must contribute 20% after taxes to the “American Pope’s Purse”.

Yup…

An American pope. Maybe you can find one from Boston who is an abuser, and make him Pope, right?

Someone with all of the values and amazing human attributes of Trump.

Make sure you get one that is a pathological liar, thief, convicted felon, and rapist. Let’s get one that has no values whatsoever, okay? I mean, why start out with expectations, — let’s get right into the larceny, thievery and immorality.

Let’s change the ten commandments to the, eight recommendations or the eight considerations or the eight remote possibilities, or institute a new list of the eight liklihoods, instead.

First, for the rules (exempting any preemption by the Supreme), now the Not So Supreme Court.

Thou shalt not get caught;

Lying, (umm…right)

Raping (damn, been there done that)

Stealing (by the time I was three, oops)

Coveting (geez, look at that….nice)

Murdering ( I can’t say, it was dark and it happened so fast)

Bearing false witness, (oh, that ship has sailed, bigly), and;

Thou shalt not invade another country on odd days.

Thou shalt not nuke another friend, unless they deserve it.

I know that Donald can’t even remember the others, so that’s irrelevant.

Yessir America.

An American Pope from Texas would be good.

The good book in one hand, and an AR 15 in the other.

Maybe America can deport all non-christians, (unless of course they’re cute, right).

In that case, give them a job in the west wing.

Nudge, nudge, nod, nod.

I think it’s time to flush and go wash my hands.

Too many pathogens in the air today.

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The Dictator’s Playbook

On By PhotomotomanIn Donald Trump, Dystopian Future, PoliticsLeave a comment

This morning Michael Smercomish, on his Saturday morning show, after belabouring the poor state of America’s democracy stated, “Change doesn’t come at the end of a gun.”

I’m not so sure that’s true Michael, for I fear the United States is getting closer and closer to discovering whether that statement holds water, domestically.

I’m not at all sure there aren’t Americans who believe whole-heartedly that they not only can, but will, create change with the use of a gun. If their attempt to enforce the playbook were to stumble, they would turn to accomplishing what they ‘plan for’ through the use of a well-worn playbook. A playbook that tyrants and dictators have used, studied, and know well.

In 1991 we saw what happens when evil men attempt to institute their vision as a replacement for democracy. The debacle in the Balkans finally came to an end in 2001, with the criminal convictions of those who instigated those wars. However, it cost the lives of 140,000 people, and only came to an end because NATO intervened.

But NATO is a force that Donald Trump wants America to leave. “What has NATO done for us?” is his mantra. Once again, if NATO had not been available to force Serbia to stop or face destruction, it undoubtedly would have continued. He wants to leave for a number of reasons, mostly unspoken, for even he doesn’t want to show his hand at this point.

The plan calls for Trump to make sure that Russia will oversee the divvying up of Ukraine as a fait-accompli by the United States and by so doing reward his fellow sociopath, Vladimir. Trump dislikes Volodymyr Zelensky simply because he is not a wimp or coward (like trump himself). Zelensky has the courage to ignore both trump and Putin’s wishes, and will not only fight, but will win if support is maintained. Therefore, there is the need by Trump to submarine the possibility of Ukraine winning the war, by refusing to provide weapons and ammunition.

Remember, trump is all about winning the zero-sum game, irrespective of how many die or lose their country. How else would he be able to secure his future fortunes and ensure that Russia will assist him, behind the scenes as time unfolds?

Herr Trump, the new Reichfuhrer-SS and Fuhrer of the Incoming Fascist Regime is attempting to suppress the free press and any dissenting voices. He publicly calls the free press, ‘enemies of the state’, calling them out as anti-democratic, and has stacked the Federal Courts with his personal legal henchmen and minions to ensure the enforcement of his wishes.

He has even installed a new leader of the incoming Schutzstaffel, a Billionaire named Elon Himmler to carry out his destruction of the departments that may pose opposition.

At the same time he is suing any and all he doesn’t agree with in an attempt to not just suppress but subjugate the free press. We are on the verge of democracy no longer truly existing in the United States.

And a theocratic group of kleptocrats are waiting in the wings to suppress non-white voters and women in an effort to create the hypocritical theocracy whose model they want to install.

I think the ‘playbook’ has been drawn up by the sociopathic hand of men like Bannon and his minions, (and that is no animated cartoon) so that the plan is ready and has been disseminated to the appropriate gangs of ‘proud boys’ or forces that come from current military forces in the U.S.. They in turn, are simply awaiting the green light.

I fear that an event, staged by the fascist leader himself will lead to a modern version of ‘Kristallnacht”, providing the excuse he needs to institute martial law, and thereby cement control in the soon to be Fascist States of America.

He will enforce martial law, and then curfews. His deputizing of ‘brown shirts’ with extrajudicial powers to enforce extrajudicial measures will lead to the arrest of those who stand in his way.

We have seen this playbook before. We pretend it was just a bad memory by a very evil man. Yet, almost every tinpot dictator throughout history has sought to accomplish what trump is doing in America today.

While I don’t live in America, I will retain the necessary metal instruments to ensure that, — when, — not if, hell is unleashed in America, I feel confident of having taken the necessary steps to assist in the safety of those people in my world that matter, inside a functional democracy that eschews trump’s objectives and plans.

We are on the precipace of societal armed resistance and civil war in the United States. I would have given a one in four chance of armed insurrection a year ago. Today, I think the odds are one in three. All it will take, unfortunately is the spark that America’s Reichfuhrer-SS will instigate once anointed on January 20, 2025.

The only potential means of avoiding societal disintegration in the United States in the near future is to remove the man responsible.

Again, unfortunately, political violence in the United States is moving from the sidelines to center field.

It is just as likely that trump will see his impediments to dictatorship disempowered prior to unleashing hell on America.

Personally, I intend to stay as far away from America as possible, – in every way possible.

We may well be in the final days of democracy in the U.S. and it is beginning to feel like a dystopian novel about the end of reason and the end of dissent.

Trump will loose his ‘proud boys’ in an effort to suppress dissent. He will blame the loss of life in the coming ‘event’ on a scapegoat, the attack of which will be unleashed by trump in an effort to ‘protect America from Anti-American Forces’.

This scenario, this scheme or plot, will come to fruition, in spite of all those fighting for democracy and free speech, because the final act requires complete victory and submission.

Why? Because trump intends on this being the last gasp of democracy. After this, democracy will be just a word, that people speak of in hushed remembrance.

That’s my take on the future of America, and so far, the playbook is open, the ball is on the tee, and we’re almost at kickoff time.

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Where is the West’s Line in the Sand?

On By PhotomotomanIn Donald Trump, Existential Risk, Future, Survival, Trust, Ukraine, WarLeave a comment

I cannot help being disillusioned, but more-so worried for Ukraine in its war with Russia. The war has now become a major international conflict that has implications for the future of Europe in its entirety. North Korea is more than willing to send 100,000 soldiers to Russia, in an effort by Kim Jong Un to cement a relationship with Russia. And Iran is providing drones and drone technology to Russia.

While Russia’s army has been bleeding personnel at an enormous rate, (by Ukraine’s estimate, almost 700,000 Russian personnel have been either killed or injured,) Putin has been able to now gain commitments from North Korea for up to 100,00 soldiers, not to mention that with Russia’s disproportionate manpower and military size the likelihood of a ‘peace deal’ ceding Russia all the land it has stolen to date, for peace, is probable. Not that Ukraine could take any armistice or agreement with Russia as truthful. Putin lies as easily as Donald J. Trump.

Ukraine, with a population of less than 38 million people has suffered significant losses, some say amounting to nearly 400,000, but with North Korea now providing additional troops, and with Russia having a population of 144 million, the attrition of troops in combat, favours Russia by a huge number. Kyiv, without a committed United States in support of Ukraine, is likely to lose.

At the present time the Russians are building a concentration of troops along the eastern front, bolstered by 10,000 North Korean soldiers. While the quality and capabilities of the North Koreans may well be suspect, rapid increases in manpower for the Russians in Donetsk and Luhansk, at a time when Ukraine’s manpower is, though stable, completely committed, does not bode well for this winter.

And then there’s Donald Trump, and his Art of the Steal. Yes, the steal. He intends to force Ukraine to admit defeat and sign an agreement in favour of his good friend, Vladimir Putin, unless NATO and the European Union do what’s essential and support Ukraine now, entirely. As France’s foreign minister, Jean Noel Barron stated, just two days ago Jeff Overs of the BBC in the following statements:

The wild card in this equation is Donald Trump. If Trump fails to support Ukraine by discontinuing the supply of weapons and ammunition, then it will fall solely on Europe and its NATO allies. And if the United States pulls out of NATO, then it will be incumbent on the remainder of NATO to stand up to Putin, by drawing a red line in the Ukrainian soil, and mobilizing a major defensive operation in support of Ukraine.

If Europeans make a decision to fight with and for Ukraine before Trump plays his, excuse the pun, trump card with Putin, then the United States will have lost all leverage with Europe and its former NATO allies. In fact, by no longer acting as an ally. Canada, New Zealand and Australia should remain committed to assisting Europe and Ukraine in order to ensure it stays free and democratic. Canada, in particular, should immediately commit to increasing its military expenditure as part of NATO to 2% and commit to developing its own military force sufficiently to where it is completely independent militarily from the United States.

This would likely require something Canada has not done since 1945, conscripting Canadian men into the armed forces. Each year, roughly 400,000 men turn 18 in Canada. If Canada found it necessary to double the size of the Canadian Armed Forces to 140,000 personnel, Canada would only have to conscript one in six 18 year olds men each year in the form of a lottery. If in so doing they decided to cover admission to University or any post-secondary institution of their choosing for any man who served their full year commitment, I doubt that most Canadians would find that problematic. Citizenship has a price, but so does national sovereignty and its protection.

NATO, without the United States, should unilaterally admit Ukraine to NATO immediately, placing a NATO army in the defence of Ukraine’s sovereign territory with Ukraine’s Forces.

Two days ago, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former Commander-in-Chief of all military forces made the following statement in the Kyiv Independent,

“World War III is underway. Speaking at the Ukrainska Pravda-100 award ceremonyon Nov. 20, Zaluzhnyi pointed to the direct involvement of Russia’s allies in the war against Ukraine as evidence of a global conflict.

“I believe that in 2024, we can absolutely assume that World War III has begun,” Zaluzhnyi said. He emphasized that Ukraine is no longer fighting Russia alone. “Ukraine is facing soldiers from North Korea. Let’s be honest. Iranian-made Shaheds [loitering munitions] are killing civilians in Ukraine quite openly. It’s missiles made in North Korea that are being launched onto Ukraine, and they are openly declaring this. Chinese-made shells are exploding in Ukraine, and Chinese parts are used in Russian missiles.”

It’s time to call Putin’s bluff, or be prepared for Ukraine to fall.

Ukraine cannot trust the United States under Trump. He has shown his willingness to ‘deal away’ Ukraine’s sovereignty and sovereign territory. Trump sees himself as a ‘deal maker’, at a time when Ukraine cannot afford his deals. Trump is very willing to prove he is a master of the deal, when he’s playing with other people’s lives, instead of his own. He was too cowardly to even serve in the military of his country.

It would seem, however, that the majority of the European Union’s democracies are resolved to prevent Putin from conquering Ukraine. Almost all nations have signalled their intent to go it alone, if the United States abandons Europe. And Poland’s Prime minister has vowed that Poland ‘will not let Ukraine fall to Russia.”

Europe has the industrial capacity to provide the EU’s NATO forces with sufficient weapons and ammunition to defeat Russia in a conventional war. However, the EU and Canada have wasted the time necessary to effectively strengthen their military forces and logistics capabilities necessary in an outright war with Russia.

Time has run out, and the EU and Canada need to commit to strengthening their military forces, now. The commitments made to date are but a starting point. As Poland has suggested, reorganizing the EU’s capacity to create both weapons and ammunition within Europe must take effect now.

Putin may agree to sign a cease fire, but in six months or a year, it’s just as likely that he will set his sights on Moldova, or attack Ukraine again.

What should be made clear to Trump, is that walking away from the defence of Ukraine, will have long term implications for the relationship between the United States and its former allies.

Norbert Rottgen stated in “Foreign Affairs” November 2024,

“Europe now has no choice but to manage its own security. There is no doubt that it has the economic potential to do so; the combined GDP of the European Union is roughly ten times that of Russia. What holds Europe back is a lack of political will.”

But political will, will be found when an existential threat like Russian invasion is the option.

Coercion used by the United States against liberal democracies, within the EU’s membership, may work in the short term, and it may well be fact that the EU and it’s NATO members, including Canada should have strengthened and expanded their military forces, but removing support for a democracy in the middle of its fight for survival is seen by most to be unconscionable, even cowardly. Leaders and nations that feel extorted have long memories, and those memories may well impact future policies, like trade and the supply chain that impacts the pocket books of Americans and the power and interests of the United States in the future.

Moreover, what does Trump’s willingness to abandon a friend signal to all other member states of the European Union?

Let me suggest how Europeans will react to abandonment — you cannot trust your sovereignty or survival to the United States, and specifically not to Donald J. Trump.

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Hope…is an ephemeral thing.

On By PhotomotomanIn Donald Trump, Hate, Ignorance, Psychosis3 Comments

Reflections on aging, and how lies have destroyed trust.

Trust once lost, is almost impossible to regain. And so it is in this election in the United States that one man, without credibility, has destroyed peoples belief in facts.

Throughout my entire life, in fact, until the 2015 U.S. election, I never doubted the media’s representation of what was factual and what wasn’t. And then Donald J. Trump entered the political arena. With Trump came a team of people willing to leave their ethics and morals at the door of Trump’s campaign in order to promote a pathological liar, racist, pervert and misogynist to the highest office in America.

I watched, wrapped in anger, as a candidate for the Presidency of the United States, a once revered position of authority, overtly, deliberately and with malice, denigrated the position, destroyed truth and trust in the office of the President while acting like a boor, fool and buffoon.

Trump, is simply not worthy of the position. He is an angry, ugly, demeaning racist and misogynist, without any intelligence, empathy or logic. Trump is simply a self-interested narcissist that will prove himself to be a sociopath and autocrat, once elected again. His inability to listen, to reason, and his arrogance and ignorance at a time when the world needs an intelligent, reasonable and cogent person at the helm of the most powerful office and nation in the world, is terrifying.

Until Trump’s denigration of the Presidency in 2017, I had hope that Americans would have the mental acuity to discern that Trump possessed absolutely none of the requisite talents and skills necessary to assume the office of the President of the United States. I was dead wrong. Currently, half-of-America’s voting population believe that Trump will restore, what they perceive is a failing federal government. They do so without any real gathering of independent data or analysis.

Instead, voters for Trump are assuaged by lies, ignorance, hate and ‘a-want’ to seek retribution and inflict pain on those ‘not on their side’. Facts, are irrelevant. They are immune to truth, to reason or logic. And irrespective of trump’s failures and failings, they will deny the objective facts and assert their ignorance in response.

I HAD hope for America prior to the current election cycle, thinking that the American public would wake up and smell the excrement being blasted by Trump from podiums all across America. But no, Americans will blame any issues that Americans face on anyone else, in order to never have to rationalize their ignorance, their lack of reason, logic or rationality. The majority of America, if Trump again wins election will have been ‘dumbed down’ to such a level that they have become consumers of the mean and ugly gruel being served by Trump across America.

If, on this day of voting, America chooses Trump, then all hope for a future America to once again become a beacon of promise and freedom to the world, will be eradicated. Instead America will become known as the land of hate. A dangerous and mistrustful place, where truth is non-existent and honour, unknown.

As for hope, it will vanish like the morning dew in a stiff breeze. A malignant and dangerous breeze will begin to be felt that the world will shutter its windows against. Meanwhile Evangelical churches will be filled with hypocrites to their so-called beliefs this coming Sunday where gratitude will continue to be preached to the faithful for a man devoid of honour, truth, empathy or kindness. Praise for a man who has broken every commandment of their faith, save one.

Give the man time…

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The Gathering Storm

On By PhotomotomanIn Donald Trump, Hate, Ignorance, Politics, Protectionism, PsychosisLeave a comment

Tomorrow, America will decide its future, and Americans will either seek to continue the great democratic experiment of America or decry democracy in favour of an amorphous and dangerous future. A future not only filled with uncertainty, but one without stability or predictability.

Not since 1861 has America been so divided. Slavery was the issue then and a form of slavery is the issue today. Racism, misogyny, hatred led by Americans carrying crosses is on clear display. The right are led by a populist charlatan, devoid of truth, a convicted felon without empathy, intellect or competence, yet half of America doesn’t care. Ethics, morality, the truth, mean nothing in America today, and every nation and citizen outside of the United States bears witness to that fact.

I have a much better idea of how Poles felt in August of 1939. As a Canadian, waiting for the unthinkable to ‘possibly’ occur, is nerve racking and aggravating. We in Canada have no ability to affect the outcome of tomorrow’s vote, yet we, adjacent as we are, will be splattered with the detritus of a Trump win. Free trade destroyed, security in doubt, the economy damaged and civil war on the horizon to the south.

As an atheist I know that no superordinate being can be appealed to in order to assuage America from electing a demagogue. Weathering the coming storm means being prepared, to the extent possible. Survival may be determined by preparation and planning for the worst case scenario, as I have no trust in America anymore.

And like the poles of 1939, all I can prepare for is a willingness and readiness to join the resistance movement.

Batten down the hatches, the storm is almost upon us, and to looks like the sky will be red in the morning…

Autocrat’s Should Be Banned

On By PhotomotomanIn Donald Trump, Future, Hate, Ignorance, Psychosis, SurvivalLeave a comment

There should be a requirement in a democracy to accept the will of the people, and to accept the electoral process, or be invalidated as a candidate. For any candidate who abrogates the rule, he or she should subsequently receive a permanent lifetime ban from the political process as punishment.

Convicted felons should be disqualified from candidacy, particularly where that felon is a convicted rapist, pathological liar, misogynist, racist as well as an immoral and unethical sociopath.

There should also be a requirement for a candidate to pass a mandatory mental evaluation in order to be an appointed as a candidate for President, conducted by a panel of independent psychiatrists.

Trump is as religious as I am, – and I’m an atheist. He will do anything and say anything to assume power, including feigning a belief in Christianity.

Trump has never done a Christian thing in his life, and has broken every commandment save one that I know of. He will joyfully destroy democratic institutions and the rights of women, and the ability for women to control their own bodies.

In Canada, trump would be prosecuted for “hate speech”. Free speech does not allow threats of violence of any kind, something Trump voices frequently.

If America elects Trump, there is no way that any foreign government should trust America. He is a man devoid of honour, ethics or morality. How can an absolute COWARD who refused to serve his country and sought deferment FIVE times be eligible to be “Commander in Chief” of the armed forces?

Seriously America?

The man is a sociopath and narcissist and you want him in control of your nuclear arsenal?

Are you mad?

America is destined to implode with Trump at the helm.

It’s sickening and terrifying.

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A Response To the End of Reason

On By PhotomotomanIn Donald Trump, Hate, Politics, Survival, The Future, WarLeave a comment

Today I decided to remove myself from the toxic effects of Facebook and social media in general. The American election for the Presidency of the United States has, without question, become a toxic affair, more fitting black sites from the Dark Web, where hate speech espoused by social misfits and sociopaths can be found, prompting action by extremists who will act on impulse given the opportunity.

The mentally ill, sociopaths, racists, misogynists, rapists, psychopaths and social misfits not delineated as of yet within the DSM V, actually are being ‘goaded-on’ by so-called mainstream politicians seeking office in America. Hate is not simply the purview of a very small number of Americans, it is entering the mainstream, where the hateful are invited to attend rallies, so obnoxious and vehement that I am shocked by what I am seeing.

What is transpiring in this election has never been seen before. The level of hate and the fervour of those espousing hate, is not just emanating from the public, but by design from those within the political leadership of the Republican Party. Hate speech has not just entered the arena of politics, it has pushed everything else off the stage and threatened democracy in the process.

I am a Canadian. We certainly have had ‘instances’ of hate speech in Canadian politics, but it is immediately called-out and those taking part sanctioned for doing so. Hate speech in Canada is part of the criminal code, and has a zero tolerance. What is visibly and viscerally different in America and this election is that extreme anti-democratic hate speech, which would would lead to a charge for hate speech in Canada, passes for political mainstream ‘speak’ in the United States. Some have the nerve to call hate speech, free speech.

Joseph B. Walther in Sciencedirect.com, Volume 45, June 22, 101298 states,

“Online hate is pervasive: surveys across several countries indicate that 42%–67% of young adults observed ‘hateful and degrading writings or speech online’ [2,3], and 21% have been victims themselves [4]. Online hate has negative effects on the well-being of both victims and observers, including ‘depression, isolation, paranoia, social anxiety, self-doubt, disappointment, loneliness, and lack of confidence’ [5].

The effects of observing and receiving hate via social media, however, may be quite different than the effects of expressing hate via social media. Although some scholars suggest that ‘dark participation’ in online hate reflects individuals’ malevolent impulses [6], an alternative perspective considers whether social media help satisfy the needs for inclusion and recognition that ‘bad actors’ also have. From that perspective, the conduct of online hate, as a social process, enhances its perpetrators’ well-being. By identifying, collaborating, and reinforcing other like-minded culprits (see, e.g. studies by Ferguson and Glasgow [7]), and forming bonds with them through virtual interaction, they may experience validation and social support.

A social approval-based theory of online hate suggests that the motivations and gratifications of those who post hate messages are not primarily to antagonize their ostensible victims. Alternatively, people generate hate messages online primarily to accrue signals of admiration and praise from sympathetic online peers and to make friends [8]. As a by-product, because social media magnify self-persuasion [8], their prejudices should become more extreme as they obtain more social reinforcement in response to their public hate messaging.”

What is occurring online in 2024 is a direct reflection of what is being viewed daily on television and reported by mainstream media. It is loosing those who are mentally unstable and irrational into the mainstream politic of America, and it is both dangerous and contemptible, as is the willful intent of the Republican Party to do so.

America is on the verge of civil strife, possibly civil war. In that respect, art mirrors life, as the mainstream film of the same name, I believe, was meant to draw attention and serve as a warning to the dangers associated with such a polarized and hate-filled political environment. Unfortunately, in America, the positions taken are diametrically opposed, and neither side is listening to the voices of rationality or reason. Democrats, convinced, and duly so, that trump is mentally unstable, and a sociopath, seem no longer capable or interested in debate or dialogue with those on the extreme right.

I can entirely understand this, as I have attempted on numerous occasions to enter into dialogue with these same individuals. I am an avid motorcyclist and normally travel throughout the US photographing and documenting. This fall, on a short trip through rural up-state Minnesota I entered into conversation at several cafe’s enroute with local Trump supporters, all wearing or displaying Trump supported statements. What I discovered for myself was that dialogue was, and is, impossible.

These were local Minnesotans who held extreme rightwing views and also held no willingness or no evident capacity for reason or understanding. They simply stated that they wanted to see Republicans gain power in order to use the organs of power to destroy Democratic institutions and Democracy, as they felt it was not working for them and Republicans “would create something better”.

So visceral and angry was their rhetoric, that on the two occasions where such discussions were held, face to face, I ended the discussion for fear that they would act violently towards me.

America is in peril, real peril. Democracy, if trump is elected, will end, of that I am convinced. Retribution, hate and the release of those in society who willfully will act to hurt or destroy, not just democracy, but immigrants, blacks; – in fact any and all who attempt to stop their actions, is possible, even probable.

Civil War is truly possible and the window of opportunity to gain back control and avoid chaos, is very limited.

I for one, should this election be won by trump, will never again set foot in the United States. And the reason for doing so should be obvious, – America is a reflection of its political leadership and their beliefs. It tells me that not only is America a dangerous place for anyone who does not believe in autocracy and the victimization of minorities in America, but Americans, in the majority, are also capable of acting irrationally and dangerously towards anyone not part of their tribe.

Tribalism is destroying America.

I want no part of it…ever.

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The End of Hegemony – America Retracts

On By PhotomotomanIn Donald Trump, Ignorance, Political Discourse, Politics, ProtectionismLeave a comment

Donald Trump has signalled that the United States will leave NATO once elected. If he succeeds in this Presidential bid, America will indeed leave NATO, and NATO will functionally cease to exist. The infrastructure necessary extends far beyond simple manpower. Manpower in Europe is sufficient to withstand the demands of a mainland war with Russia, however not in the form of a volunteer army, as conscription will be required if war extends beyond Ukraine into either Germany, Poland or the Baltic states.

What this will mean for the United States will also be profound. The US cannot expect business, industry and manufacturing to remain in a pre-war state. Sales of weapons, technology, aircraft and virtually every product necessary to support the war effort from America will collapse, along with the millions of American jobs that supports the military.

Trust, security and trade, go hand in hand. If Europe, in its totality, withdraws from America in order to ensure development of its own supplies and technology and the commensurate necessary war materials, America will have lost both trade and internal manufacturing in one fell swoop. In addition, American influence will have been dealt a devastating blow. Nations once aligned with America’s interests will form new coalitions and a new military protectionist entity and force will be created, – one without American involvement, or influence.

Will this make life difficult for former NATO members? Absolutely. Will their resentment lead to new investment in competitive weapon systems and an unwillingness to share new technologies with the United States? Very likely. Why would anyone assume that not to be the case? You cannot create an existential threat on the one hand and not suffer the effects of those actions.

As a bloc, the G7 nations share something resolute and of primary value to its citizens, democracy and the rule of law. Once the United States acts as an autocracy and retracts from support for Europe, Canada and other like-minded democracies such as those within the ASEA nations, will also look to the formation of new alliances to protect their interests. In return, America’s fortunes will slide dramatically. Without a quid pro quo of trade, security and democracy, new alliances will form that assure interdependence and the exclusion of America, no longer a trusted partner or dependable source of military equipment, intelligence and related technologies.

Today, Germany, France, the UK, Israel, Poland, Japan and South Korea are all investing heavily in their respective arms industries. And as suggested in ModernDiplomacy, February 2024,

“If our allies and partners can’t count on us (the United States) to be there, we will lose access to many military bases around the world…but here is the thing. Our nuclear-powered super carriers may have unlimited endurance, but the vessels supporting them do not. They need those bases around the world. Without friendly ports, the United States Navy doesn’t look so much like a blue water force but rather a green water navy that can only operate closer to America’s shores.”

And the ramifications for isolationism extend far beyond the obvious. Hundreds of thousands of jobs in the US depend on arms sales, and foreign sales are crucial for those firms. Nations that once trusted America will find that fear may well replace trust. By so doing, America will set into motion its own marginalization. Without the influence that nuclear protection affords nations, nuclear proliferation will be assured. Nations will seek a balance of power in order to restore some sense of independence of action, and an umbrella of protection that creates a deterrance.

America’s massive military will become a millstone around the necks of American taxpayers, as the impacts of isolation and protectionism decrease a need for American military might. Tens of thousands of displaced military personnel, without the necessary skills to transfer into industry and technological jobs, will put stress on civilian life and the finances of the state. It may also lead to an increase in resentment and anger within the US as the burgeoning unemployed population seek a scapegoat for their financial insecurity.

Without a need for a blue-water naval force capable of projecting American power, the already diminished American navy (smaller than at any time since WWII) will shrink in size and military might. While nuclear deterrence will still exist, without foreign bases and a global reach, America will become evermore dependent on its nuclear submarines for protection and force projection.

America’s major trade partners will likely seek to procure new markets for their products, particularly scarce natural resources. The very fact that scarce resources will be in demand, suggests that finding new purchasers seeking reliable supply will not be as hard to find as presumed. And, while this will take time, developing manufacturing in those adjacent nations to create the finished products, once assured through free trade, will further reduce both the sale of American products and increase the trade deficit. Countries like Canada and Mexico will find willing partners among the nations once secured by American protection and trade, increasing their free trade, further increasing the American trade deficit by the resultant decrease in importation of American goods.

Ron Erving writes in npr.org of February, 2024;

“For a time, the phrase “America First” seemed an artifact of the prewar world. But the idea that the US would do better for itself by holding the rest of the world at arm’s length never left the conversation completely. Pat Buchanan revised the theme and Donald Trump appropriated one from Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign, dropping just the first word; “Let’s Make America Great Again.”

He further states,

“Still, the main current of energy revitalizing isolationism today has a much older pedigree and features suspicion or rejection of international commitments including the United Nations, (which trump has suggested is ‘useless’, multiple times) world trade organizations, free trade agreements and military treaties such as NATO that obligate the US to fight on behalf of other countries.”

The impending election on November 5th may well signal a bellwether event for the west and its democratic institutions. If trump wins, the resultant shock wave in western centres of power will have consequences far beyond the worries that citizens of the west portend from trumps narcissism and sociopathic tendencies.

We will be in a new era. One with consequences far beyond the imaginings of the majority of Americans.

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Fake News and the Death of Journalism

On By PhotomotomanIn Donald Trump, Editorial Commentary, Hate, Ignorance, Motorcycling, Political Discourse, PoliticsLeave a comment

The right wing of the Republican Party has managed to achieve what commerce and the dynamics of business could not in relation to the news industry and journalism as a whole. It has made it irrelevant.

By simply declaring that ‘alternate facts’ are not just acceptable, but worthy of belief, without any proof, it has unequivocally destroyed an institution, that being the news. No matter the training, qualifications, experience or capability of a reporter or journalist, no matter whether video or photographs of the incident or event, one viral chant by the political right has eclipsed, logic, rationality, truth, scientific evidence or visual fact.

Fake news.

The sheer childishness of such a statement should have created a backlash that would have buried those willing to destroy their own careers with such statements. That was until a presidential candidate, without any honour, substance or value used it repeatedly to address professional journalists and their reporting. Adopted by the cult of populists now known as the Republican Party and its extreme right wing, the term was applied to any and all reporting that ran contrary to the needs of Republicans to reinforce lies in order to cast aspersions that ultimately led to distrust and the convenience of ignorance.

Sound bites replace professional journalism. Perceptions honed by disinformation, misinformation, lies and half-truths have led the public to question all sources, irrespective how competent or thorough. The less educated, the willfully ignorant and those without any ethics need only suggest a whisper of ‘fake news’, and the public runs with it like an NFL fullback.

In January of this year, Jack Schafer of ‘Politico’ wrote a column entitled, “The News Business Really is Cratering”. In it he documented how the news business is in decline. The decline, I suggest, is in large part attributable to the spreading of ‘fake news’. When one need only subscribe to group think and garner support from a myriad of like-minded believers who have neither the ability, mental acuity or willingness to question the veracity of published ‘fake news’, it supports a strategy wholly unethical in relation to the facts of an event, statement or incident.

And when the possibly future President of the United States lies pathologically, it undermines democracy and our trust in its institutions. Wholly a half of America is incapable of differentiating fact from fiction, truth from lies. It clearly illustrates the failure of an academic system to enshrine values inculcated throughout the years.

As the mango-faced distributor of lies and ignorance attests, “I like the uneducated”, – why of course would he not. It has not just allowed but fostered the present level of distrust, anger, hatred and polarization evident within America today. Lies and scapegoating makes a return to reason, truth and rationality that much less likely, and it keeps America ignorant and worthy of their leaders beliefs.

America will pay a heavy price for ignorance, that may ultimately enable a charlatan, thief, rapist, pathological liar and sociopath to steal autocracy out of democracy.

America hangs in the balance, and Republicans have their thumbs on the scales of justice.