I think we agree on the overall premise, but disagree on the degree. I also think that’s fine. I don’t know how hard it would be to arm Canadians broadly as you suggest. I’m suggesting that armament will be most effective built on a foundation of intelligence and logistics.
I think there would be value in something like the Swiss model (though I understand that it isn’t as ubiquitous as it once was).
Wars aren’t won with weapons. Battles are won with weapons. Wars are won with intelligence and logistics.
Russia tried to make their “special military operation” a battle and take Kyiv in the first few days. They failed, and now they have a war on their hands. If you follow the details of the war, a lot of focus is placed on cities that are well-connected to other cities by road or by water. Your military can be much more agile in where it chooses to deploy resources if you control the supply infrastructure.
Occupations are notoriously even worse. The asymmetry of maintaining resources for an occupation is huge. Relatively small pockets of resistance, well applied, can cripple an occupier’s forces, even if the resistance is relatively poorly armed.
The question is what the limit of the American populous’s tolerance for soldiers dying to occupy Canada, of all places. I hope we never find out.
The entire premise of this piece is that it happens consensually within the law. Secretary Krasnov-Trump of the 47th Oblast is not known for respecting consent or the law.
The outcome we have to be wary of is forcible annexation. Trump only respects strength, so the right thing to do is to be strong. Trump’s reaction to Ontario’s energy surcharge is proof that we’re on the right track—it’s him whining “no, I’m stronger”. We have to keep showing Canadian strength in response. Not aggressive strength, but a forcible “no” with enough oomph to back it up.
He’s a bully. He’ll give up when we’re no longer fun and hand the file over to someone who will be willing to negotiate. Then when a deal is reached that is almost exactly where we were in December, he’ll claim victory for bringing Canada to heel.
Peace, Order, and Good Government is the right goal. But right now all three of those aims require paying attention to Trump, not ignoring him.
The official @protonprivacy@mastodon.social account replied and doubled down
protonprivacy@mastodon.social - @jonah
Corporate capture of Dems is real. In 2022, we campaigned extensively in the US for anti-trust legislation.
Two bills were ready, with bipartisan support. Chuck Schumer (who coincidently has two daughters working as big tech lobbyists) refused to bring the bills for a vote.
At a 2024 event covering antitrust remedies, out of all the invited senators, just a single one showed up - JD Vance.
1/2
protonprivacy@mastodon.social - @jonah By working on the front lines of many policy issues, we have seen the shift between Dems and Republicans over the past decade first hand.
Dems had a choice between the progressive wing (Bernie Sanders, etc), versus corporate Dems, but in the end money won and constituents lost.
Until corporate Dems are thrown out, the reality is that Republicans remain more likely to tackle Big Tech abuses.
2/2
(Less importantly, my response)
warof1812 has entered the chat.