SpankyMcFarland

In most games with one winner, I can’t see the difference described. And nobody can describe Trump as a good loser. He has been deeply vengeful and has talked about that. All successful politicians must be opportunists because politics demands an ability to take advantage of changing circumstances. Hypocrisy is a vital virtue too but we’ll leave that for another day. Carney has been highly ambitious in his life and spectacularly successful by any measure. Any leader of a major political party deserves to be described in that way, let alone one who has just become prime minister. I’d say he has been thinking vaguely about running the country for decades, a very common fantasy. What makes me laugh is when any politician says he isn’t thinking of it - they all are all the time! It’s their default daydream. But there’s a difference between that and actively planning to become leader of a party and PM. That was much more recent.

One is at the centre of its world and the other is at the very edge.

We evolved for life here. The distances involved in interstellar travel and the amount of radiation may be too much for us - perhaps we can grow intelligent tardigrades and put them in spacesuits? Robots, on the other hand, are much more resilient. I’d send them to Mars a hundred times safely before dispatching any humans there.

A friend of Reagan? Comrade, do you not immediately recognise me as the woke/queer/transgender/radical/Marxist/leftist/globalist/soccer-loving/left-handed lunatic I clearly am? I don’t think the particular circumstances of the speech are that important for us. What matters is that Reagan was an opponent of tariffs in general and a supporter of an amicable and respectful trade relationship with Canada and Mexico in particular. For good or ill he laid the ground for NAFTA, a glaring contrast with the policies of the current president. Google ‘Reagan tariffs’ and see the tone of what comes up. It is unmistakable. Yes, Reagan imposed tariffs in his time because it was politically unavoidable but he didn’t like doing it. I’m not saying he was completely right about free trade, just that his opinions were very different from Trump’s which is one reason why Trump got so angry. Another lie has been exposed. Here’s a great quote. Deep down, I swear I always loved the man despite what I may have been alleged to have said at the time about certain unfortunate events in Central America… That is at 3.40 in this speech but the whole thing is only five minutes long and is well worth listening to as a summary of Reagan’s ideas as he left the presidency. Does this man’s approach to trade sound remotely like Trump’s? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp1T7kPEdDY Note how he speaks beautifully in well-formed sentences and paragraphs that flow so well despite already showing some early signs of Alzheimer’s. Compared to the current nincompoop he sounds like Abraham Lincoln here!

Unfortunately, the Foundation misrepresented what Reagan said because like so many institutions in America it now toadies to the fragile ego of one poorly informed man. Reagan was opposed to tariffs in general and regretted when he felt he had to employ them, a completely different position from that of Trump.

He’s a pathetic loser with a lifetime of incompetence and crime behind him.

Mate, I don’t care. I’m not involved. But obviously if you tried that question with somebody who did, in the flesh, you could be facing consequences. It’s deliberately insulting as I hope you realize. But you’re really talking to the wrong person here. I’m sure there are lots of people who can get fired up properly about this. I’m afraid I can’t. Over and out from me.

Imagine having the leader of a liberal democracy who is so childish, petulant and unstable as to make such a bizarre announcement. In any properly run country he’d be facing his party colleagues tonight for an explanation. America is in serious trouble.

This is not something I care about unlike a lot of topics I could name. I don’t know anybody in this position and I simply don’t meet them in the outback. Your example of a cat is a little out there, for rhetorical purposes I suppose. It’s not a serious question. There are people who are convinced they are really of the other sex from a very early age and they’ve written convincing memoirs of this. Again I am not highly charged on this matter either way.

Are you quite well?

‘Mere personal pleasantries’ are actually rather important in keeping a society together and I’m not the one getting all excited about this. I’m just curious how far you would actually go in a social situation. That’s a legitimate question, I think. From your response it sounds to me like you’d probably say nothing but bark about it all the way home which is probably a good thing for the country. I also notice that, in general, school kids are much less vigilant and indignant about these matters than older people. It’s just regarded as one of things one encounters in life, no big deal.

This is the mentality we are dealing with: He hates free speech in his own country and wants to restrict ours too. How any Canadian defends this person is truly beyond me.

Didn’t you have your fill of conquest already? Those adventures didn’t go too well.

Is NRO a liberal publication? Try convincing any liberal of that. https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/trump-is-mad-at-canada-but-not-for-misquoting-reagan/ What about the Marxists at Forbes? I love this paragraph: https://www.forbes.com/sites/taxnotes/2025/08/04/ronald-reagan-would-have-hated-trumps-tariffs/

The sources I respect across the political spectrum have defended the ads as a fair depiction of Reagan’s views on tariffs. In general, he did not like them. Most Republicans were sceptical of them pre-Trump too. They’re a blunt instrument that can be used occasionally but their effect on economic growth is generally negative as Reagan pointed out.

A problem in the Canadian family is that every premier of a big province sees themselves as a near peer of the PM which is a recipe for chaos while negotiating with the likes of Trump.

Anyway, I hope Wakeham is going to be put under immediate pressure to find a better deal if he can and get a referendum done ASAP. What a mad promise to make. The voters could easily have soured on him by then - I’d say support is beginning to curdle already - and may reject his deal for that reason alone. We have to remember that the clock is ticking for Legault too.

So would you correct somebody who told you they were a woman? My approach would be you do you, mate. Or Miss.

The pathetic aspect of all this is that Trump actually believes in tariffs. It’s one of the few things he has been consistent about in his life. You’d expect someone who brags about a business school education to have picked up a bit more information there but we are where are. He’s just going to keep on running into a brick wall of reality on this issue until voters stop him, if they ever do.

I’ll call people whatever they want to be called. In my neck of the woods this is a vanishingly rare problem anyway.

Cars are going electric. That’s the direction of travel. China copped onto this before they had a serious car industry and look set to dominate our collective auto future.

You’re right behind us, pal.

Trump claimed in caps that Reagan ‘LOVED TARIFFS FOR OUR COUNTRY, AND ITS NATIONAL SECURITY’ in a screed about the Ford, not Canada, ad which gives us a clue as to why he is so upset. That claim is laughably false. Reagan never liked imposing tariffs when he felt he had to. Only by lying can Trump make Reagan’s position resemble his. And I was surprised how vague Rubio was about who exactly Doug Ford is. In his position he should be entirely familiar with the post of Ontario premier and how it differs from that of Canadian prime minister etc. One utter ignoramus in the administration is more than enough.

It would be a catastrophe for Ontario and the country but we have to start thinking the unthinkable. At some point if a deal can’t be reached we Canadians need to know what is holding it up and what we should sacrifice. For example, I have often criticized US hypocrisy on agriculture but supply management is something I could live without if it was stopping a deal. I’m hoping for a jump in US inflation in this quarter as a result of tariffs. It is coming but not soon enough for my taste. That would get their attention.

America seems to be losing faith in itself which is a tragedy for the world.