Some text from the "cutting room floor" (culled from this article for length reasons):
I’m a big believer in identifying or acknowledging “known knowables.” Here’s a few:
We know the Canadian Trucker Protest was naturalized and didn’t become another Boston Tea Party.
We know none of the many Covid scandals have become an “official” story.
We know Julian Assange is still in jail and that this citizen of Australia is getting ready to be extradited to America to be tried for treason.
We also know the FBI is still looking for other “domestic extremists” to arrest and throw into jail for participation in the January 6 protest or any other alleged speech crimes.
We know “central bank digital currency,” the WHO “treaty” and all the “solutions” to fight Climate Change are being fast-tracked.
We (should) know the FBI and Department of Justice are captured, just like the FDA, NIH and every other important institution and agency in America (and the world).
We know the Censorship Intelligence Complex has not disbanded and is, in fact, expanding and quadrupling down.
The question then becomes what do Americans do with these "Known Knowables?" Shrug their shoulders?
I happened to drive along the 401 route the truckers from Windsor were using on their day to drive to Ottawa. I have never seen so many people supporting a cause in zero degree (F) weather. There were thousands lining the bridges and even on the gravel shoulder of the highway from London to Woodstock (where I got off the 401 highway). So many cheering, flag waving supporters for those truckers who protested. I sent money to support them as I already knew the jabs were poison and they seemed our best hope. I am so sorry it didn't get more momentum. I am still supporting through contributions for legal funds for the leaders. I bought Tamara Lich's book as well. In comparsion the procession for a police officer killed in the line of duty a few months later got 2 police cars each on two bridges and that was it.
When this happened my 5th graders were studying the Boston Tea Party. I likened the trucker protest to it, we researched and discussed it. It came down to this...."would you rather have 'safety' as some were calling it, or freedom?" They overwhelmingly screamed out FREEDOM!!!! I have never been so proud! They decided! They understood. 11 year olds!
Great anecdote, Les. Thank you for sharing it. I didn't really develop why it was so important that the Canadian Trucker Protest did NOT become another Boston Tea Party type event.
I think Trudeau had orders to make sure this rapidly-growing protest was nipped in the bud before it got too far out of hand. The real goal was to protect the Powers that Be from any kind of revolt that might ultimately put them at risk.
We know what the result of the Boston Tea Party ultimately was. It probably made possible the most important "insurrection" in world history. My guess is the Establishment didn't want anything like that happening again. If it did - and grew to its obvious conclusions - they'd all be scattering to their bug-out shelters in New Zealand.
So putting down this protest - and not letting any grassroots leaders emerge - was no trivial project. It HAD to be done.
I will say this about the truckers. Whatever the outcome, this is a country that has no revolutionary impulse. It was created basically as a business expense. The mere fact we had anything like this shows how bad things are under this buffoon posing as PM. In this way, it was quite a moment in Canadian history.
But as you know, the major Canadian media outlets - beholden to the state more than most Western countries - sought to demonize and dehumanize truckers. And succeeded. 80% of Liberal party voters supported the Emergencies Act and 50% of Canadians. This points to what I mentioned earlier that we have no dissident impulse.
Perhaps one day we will see the full impact of the protest. I hope. But after the sham inquiry that the judge commissioned to conduct it, it will take a long time as he somehow - despite the staggering evidence to the contrary - concluded the government 'met the threshold' to invoke the Act.
Canada is still in its maturity stage of going from colony to mature country.
As an American, Canada's government seems as tyrannical as any nation on earth. But, then again, I KNOW how many Canadians came out to support those truckers ... and tried to lead the world and stop these people. So plenty of Canadians had great freedom instincts ..Especially those brave truckers who organized this marvelous protest.
It will be interesting to see how "history" records the significance of this nipped-in-the-bud protest.
Our family left the GTA at 4am in the freezing cold that Saturday to make the trek to Ottawa. We have NEVER protested anything...and I will never regret being part of that bitterly cold bit of history. Amazing...surrounded by families who were just FED UP with it all. While I can imagine two weeks of horns grating on the residents...that day there were music to our ears. Listening to JBPs recent interview with Tamara Lich brought it all back. What a heroine.
I have heard from some of the protesters supporting the truckers that they came from oppressive European regimes and immigrated to Canada to escape them. They are dismayed that what they escaped is now happening to their new home in Canada.
As I recall, the U.S. Truckers' Protest was preempted by a certain war in Ukraine - it's amazing the timing of that event! Otherwise, we might have had a much better showing.
There will come a day when the simple act of saying “no” to something like the clot shot will require the will to resist through force of arms, for the government ultimately enforces the will of tyrants through force of arms.
The older I get the more I see the importance of the Second Amendment. But, so far, the fact that citizens do have the right to bear arms has not deterred the State from taking away more of our freedoms. I think the fact employees of the government have a lot more guns might be germane here.
I would argue the second amendment is the only reason there were no COVID camps for the unvaccinated population in the US. They certainly went full fascist in New Zealand and Australia.
The history of the US is full of cycles of government overreach and then the tyrants being forced back. I don’t know that we are any more aware or suffering under the tyranny of our government than our ancestors, but it certainly remains to be seen what country our descendants will inherit.
I saw a article that pointed out that no government has withstood a rise up of 3% of its population against the government. Thats about 12 million unhappy Americans taking a firm stand.
Yes, the slave patrol gets paid big bucks, vacation time, and lavish pensions to oppress "the people" as tyranny is liberty for people wearing uniforms & badges.
What will happen when the general public wants neither option? Neither party is my party. As 2023 merges into 2024 it will be a very interesting year. What happens when we have open borders? No security that works for the American public but for corporations and the government. Just asking. Spouse is worried about borders and I am worried about a government hostile to my voice and existence.
Yesterday I finished reading the book, BULLSHIT JOBS, by David Graeber. This refers to jobs that do nothing of value for other people. We have lots of them in government, corporations, and banks. He ends the book suggesting that Universal Basic Income (not under the control of the government or the banks) could actually resolve many of the issues in our society. I highly recommend the book and ask readers to view the UBI with an open mind.
There's an ancient West African tune that was adapted to chain gangs of America called "Water Boy." The second verse contains the lines: "You Jack of Diamonds, now you Jack of Diamonds; Well I know you of old boys, yes I know you of old. You rob my pocket, yes you robba my pocket; You done robba my pocket, of the silver and the gold." Every time I listen to this song, I think of LBJ and FDR.
There’s an old saying “you get what you pay for”. If you pay people to NOT work, you will get less people working. Also “if a man WILL not work, he shall not eat”. While I can agree there’s many undesirable jobs, UBI is not the answer to this dilemma.
May I suggest you read the book by David Graeber to obtain his insights into the situation? We're already paying lots of people "not to work" - many in high-salary positions that do nothing of any value for other people. It seems to me this is one of the major problems we are dealing with as a culture and as the Human species in general.
Several years ago (if my memory serves me), Switzerland was considering implementing Universal Basic Income. In the end, they didn't. David Graeber makes the point that we have to understand what money actually is (much like Monopoly money), and that equitable distribution of it to provide the basic needs of people would allow all of us the ability to work at things of value (which most of us would prefer to do) and not be overworked by a system not unlike slavery. It would also eliminate the need for all the government overseers of the "welfare society."
Money comes from harvesting the Earth by mining, growing and sewing. Who would be in charge of determining who gets how much? If everyone gets free basic income, then who would harvest the earth?
The political class would still own "the people" much like it is today with Social Security.
I favor Henry George's Land Tax reform instead of UBI.
You ask some very important questions that would need to be answered if universal basic income was ever considered.
This morning someone told me about a local farm equipment museum that has built several large barns and also moved an old schoolhouse and a church to their location. All of this work was accomplished by "volunteer labor," according to the gentleman who told me. So I think that there would still be people to "harvest the earth" even if everyone gets free basic income.
Wasn't there a limited experiment in UBI in Denmark or thereabouts a few years ago? I read about it at the time, but don't remember seeing any later news.
I thought that this Substack article attached below was a wonderful assessment of how successful the Canadian Trucker's strike really was. Maybe the most successful protest of all time. Wanted to share for those who may not have seen it.
To quote from above, "Today, almost all “leaders” are eager to side with “the Crown” and will persecute and attack those who do stand up to injustice or challenge authorized narratives."
Or, these so called leaders, remain silent, keeping the status quo or even advancing their own selfish aims. Either way...
Perhaps, in a way, we have even less freedom today than our country's founders did 250 years ago. And losing what freedoms we still do have at an accelerating pace. Unless we, the people, can stop it, illustrious leaders or not.
There is no doubt both of us are right. The Crown wouldn't have told colonist they couldn't work or had to get a vaccine or couldn't go to church, etc.
The truckers lit the fuse of a nationwide protest but it was the response of ordinary citizens that exploded the bomb. Canadians discovered their collective voice and the power of it shook the world awake. Trudeau freaked and pounded the tyranny button and suddenly it was over. His preview of the coming global totalitarian corporate state scared the shit out of people. Losing access to your bank account in the middle of a -40 degree winter was too much to handle.
When the Boston Tea Party occurred most trade was local and communities could provide for themselves and survive. Everyone had rifles and guns and citizens could match government forces. Those days are gone and only one weapon is left... our collective labour. Citizens produce everything, bankers, governments and investors steal it away from us using interest, taxes and profit. We need to refuse to work. We need a massive consecutively rotating general strike to paralyze government and industry. Individual occupations need only strike for a week at a time, that way no individual suffers a serious or sustained loss of income. As one industry goes back to work a different industry starts a new strike to continue to pressure the government to respect workers rights and autonomy.
Citizens can't win using violence. Withdrawing our labour is the only tool that will work. If the government tries to turn off our bank accounts then they will turn the temporary inconvenience of a strike into a permanent crisis of their own making. We must prepare now and strengthen our local economies using barter and local currency. Diversify and unite. https://localresistance.org
Thank you Bill. I totally agree with the lack of leadership being the key issue. However, I disagree with one point. The trucker's convoy in Canada was not futile because it sparked the biggest protest in Australian history in the nation's capital which was nearly a total media blackout and even now, the media said "10,000 anti-vaxxers showed up."
There were at least 500,000 who went DURING LOCKDOWN and it was called "convoy to Canberra."
And what was the enduring effect of this? Currently, the government wants to racialise our constitution and we are going to vote in a referendum to give native black people more rights than anyone else - it is a cover for UN-style communistic takeover. If it were not for covid, and the truckers, and the Australian protestors, I have no doubt that the meek, weak Australian public would have bowed to the woke bullies and passed this.
I don't understand your sentiments on the Canadian Truckers protest. They weren't trying to overthrow or punish Trudeau - they had very specific demands focused on vaccine mandates and passports, and they were enormously successful!
I don't think they succeeded in getting their vaccine mandate for cross-border travel removed, but the vaccine passport system was abandoned a few weeks later. From the wikipedia page on Canada's covid 19 vaccine mandates: "On March 1, 2022, Ontario's COVID-19 vaccine certification system was lifted." "On March 12, 2022, Quebec's vaccine passport system was lifted".
No, the story didn't end well for the Truckers. Many were debanked and arrested, but the political uprising achieved one of it's primary goals, ending Canada's vaccine passport mandate.
Some text from the "cutting room floor" (culled from this article for length reasons):
I’m a big believer in identifying or acknowledging “known knowables.” Here’s a few:
We know the Canadian Trucker Protest was naturalized and didn’t become another Boston Tea Party.
We know none of the many Covid scandals have become an “official” story.
We know Julian Assange is still in jail and that this citizen of Australia is getting ready to be extradited to America to be tried for treason.
We also know the FBI is still looking for other “domestic extremists” to arrest and throw into jail for participation in the January 6 protest or any other alleged speech crimes.
We know “central bank digital currency,” the WHO “treaty” and all the “solutions” to fight Climate Change are being fast-tracked.
We (should) know the FBI and Department of Justice are captured, just like the FDA, NIH and every other important institution and agency in America (and the world).
We know the Censorship Intelligence Complex has not disbanded and is, in fact, expanding and quadrupling down.
The question then becomes what do Americans do with these "Known Knowables?" Shrug their shoulders?
We MAGA. Make Authoritarians Gibbet Adornments. I in no way relish the idea. But don’t see many alternatives...
This is a great science fiction short story written in 1951. The Gands have the right idea about what Americans should do.
Reading - Eric Frank Russell - and then there were none (1951) ...
vimeo.com
› dick eastman › videos
'Canadian Trucker Protest was naturalized '
You mean neutralized?
I happened to drive along the 401 route the truckers from Windsor were using on their day to drive to Ottawa. I have never seen so many people supporting a cause in zero degree (F) weather. There were thousands lining the bridges and even on the gravel shoulder of the highway from London to Woodstock (where I got off the 401 highway). So many cheering, flag waving supporters for those truckers who protested. I sent money to support them as I already knew the jabs were poison and they seemed our best hope. I am so sorry it didn't get more momentum. I am still supporting through contributions for legal funds for the leaders. I bought Tamara Lich's book as well. In comparsion the procession for a police officer killed in the line of duty a few months later got 2 police cars each on two bridges and that was it.
When this happened my 5th graders were studying the Boston Tea Party. I likened the trucker protest to it, we researched and discussed it. It came down to this...."would you rather have 'safety' as some were calling it, or freedom?" They overwhelmingly screamed out FREEDOM!!!! I have never been so proud! They decided! They understood. 11 year olds!
Great anecdote, Les. Thank you for sharing it. I didn't really develop why it was so important that the Canadian Trucker Protest did NOT become another Boston Tea Party type event.
I think Trudeau had orders to make sure this rapidly-growing protest was nipped in the bud before it got too far out of hand. The real goal was to protect the Powers that Be from any kind of revolt that might ultimately put them at risk.
We know what the result of the Boston Tea Party ultimately was. It probably made possible the most important "insurrection" in world history. My guess is the Establishment didn't want anything like that happening again. If it did - and grew to its obvious conclusions - they'd all be scattering to their bug-out shelters in New Zealand.
So putting down this protest - and not letting any grassroots leaders emerge - was no trivial project. It HAD to be done.
Well said Bill.
I will say this about the truckers. Whatever the outcome, this is a country that has no revolutionary impulse. It was created basically as a business expense. The mere fact we had anything like this shows how bad things are under this buffoon posing as PM. In this way, it was quite a moment in Canadian history.
But as you know, the major Canadian media outlets - beholden to the state more than most Western countries - sought to demonize and dehumanize truckers. And succeeded. 80% of Liberal party voters supported the Emergencies Act and 50% of Canadians. This points to what I mentioned earlier that we have no dissident impulse.
Perhaps one day we will see the full impact of the protest. I hope. But after the sham inquiry that the judge commissioned to conduct it, it will take a long time as he somehow - despite the staggering evidence to the contrary - concluded the government 'met the threshold' to invoke the Act.
Canada is still in its maturity stage of going from colony to mature country.
As an American, Canada's government seems as tyrannical as any nation on earth. But, then again, I KNOW how many Canadians came out to support those truckers ... and tried to lead the world and stop these people. So plenty of Canadians had great freedom instincts ..Especially those brave truckers who organized this marvelous protest.
It will be interesting to see how "history" records the significance of this nipped-in-the-bud protest.
Our family left the GTA at 4am in the freezing cold that Saturday to make the trek to Ottawa. We have NEVER protested anything...and I will never regret being part of that bitterly cold bit of history. Amazing...surrounded by families who were just FED UP with it all. While I can imagine two weeks of horns grating on the residents...that day there were music to our ears. Listening to JBPs recent interview with Tamara Lich brought it all back. What a heroine.
I have heard from some of the protesters supporting the truckers that they came from oppressive European regimes and immigrated to Canada to escape them. They are dismayed that what they escaped is now happening to their new home in Canada.
There was a similar trucker protest here, but instead of actually doing anything meaningful, they simply circled DC a couple times and drove home.
No doubt the Biden administration was ready to immediately jump to the 'freeze bank accounts and confiscate trucks' phase.
The US trucker protest was the epitome of astroturf
I give them credit for trying.
I don't see it that way.
They were fund raising off the backs of the Canadian truckers
They were charging to do ride alongs.
As I recall, the U.S. Truckers' Protest was preempted by a certain war in Ukraine - it's amazing the timing of that event! Otherwise, we might have had a much better showing.
IIRC they were prohibited from going any closer than the beltway.
I had the misfortune of driving past DC at the time.
There will come a day when the simple act of saying “no” to something like the clot shot will require the will to resist through force of arms, for the government ultimately enforces the will of tyrants through force of arms.
The older I get the more I see the importance of the Second Amendment. But, so far, the fact that citizens do have the right to bear arms has not deterred the State from taking away more of our freedoms. I think the fact employees of the government have a lot more guns might be germane here.
I would argue the second amendment is the only reason there were no COVID camps for the unvaccinated population in the US. They certainly went full fascist in New Zealand and Australia.
The history of the US is full of cycles of government overreach and then the tyrants being forced back. I don’t know that we are any more aware or suffering under the tyranny of our government than our ancestors, but it certainly remains to be seen what country our descendants will inherit.
I saw a article that pointed out that no government has withstood a rise up of 3% of its population against the government. Thats about 12 million unhappy Americans taking a firm stand.
They haven't made all of us into criminals, yet.
While everyone is sitting with family today having hotdogs, go around the faces and pick the ones who will be shooting at you.
There won't be an organized war.
There will only be the holdouts, who will be hunted down.
Yes, the slave patrol gets paid big bucks, vacation time, and lavish pensions to oppress "the people" as tyranny is liberty for people wearing uniforms & badges.
What will happen when the general public wants neither option? Neither party is my party. As 2023 merges into 2024 it will be a very interesting year. What happens when we have open borders? No security that works for the American public but for corporations and the government. Just asking. Spouse is worried about borders and I am worried about a government hostile to my voice and existence.
Yesterday I finished reading the book, BULLSHIT JOBS, by David Graeber. This refers to jobs that do nothing of value for other people. We have lots of them in government, corporations, and banks. He ends the book suggesting that Universal Basic Income (not under the control of the government or the banks) could actually resolve many of the issues in our society. I highly recommend the book and ask readers to view the UBI with an open mind.
There's an ancient West African tune that was adapted to chain gangs of America called "Water Boy." The second verse contains the lines: "You Jack of Diamonds, now you Jack of Diamonds; Well I know you of old boys, yes I know you of old. You rob my pocket, yes you robba my pocket; You done robba my pocket, of the silver and the gold." Every time I listen to this song, I think of LBJ and FDR.
There’s an old saying “you get what you pay for”. If you pay people to NOT work, you will get less people working. Also “if a man WILL not work, he shall not eat”. While I can agree there’s many undesirable jobs, UBI is not the answer to this dilemma.
May I suggest you read the book by David Graeber to obtain his insights into the situation? We're already paying lots of people "not to work" - many in high-salary positions that do nothing of any value for other people. It seems to me this is one of the major problems we are dealing with as a culture and as the Human species in general.
Unfortunately, UBI can only be achieved by use of force.
Several years ago (if my memory serves me), Switzerland was considering implementing Universal Basic Income. In the end, they didn't. David Graeber makes the point that we have to understand what money actually is (much like Monopoly money), and that equitable distribution of it to provide the basic needs of people would allow all of us the ability to work at things of value (which most of us would prefer to do) and not be overworked by a system not unlike slavery. It would also eliminate the need for all the government overseers of the "welfare society."
Money comes from harvesting the Earth by mining, growing and sewing. Who would be in charge of determining who gets how much? If everyone gets free basic income, then who would harvest the earth?
The political class would still own "the people" much like it is today with Social Security.
I favor Henry George's Land Tax reform instead of UBI.
You ask some very important questions that would need to be answered if universal basic income was ever considered.
This morning someone told me about a local farm equipment museum that has built several large barns and also moved an old schoolhouse and a church to their location. All of this work was accomplished by "volunteer labor," according to the gentleman who told me. So I think that there would still be people to "harvest the earth" even if everyone gets free basic income.
Thanks for the information about Henry George.
Wasn't there a limited experiment in UBI in Denmark or thereabouts a few years ago? I read about it at the time, but don't remember seeing any later news.
Finland. The Swiss would never engage in this.
I thought that this Substack article attached below was a wonderful assessment of how successful the Canadian Trucker's strike really was. Maybe the most successful protest of all time. Wanted to share for those who may not have seen it.
https://open.substack.com/pub/anarchonomicon/p/the-truckers-won-everything?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android
It definitely makes some very good points. I like the last point - what "they" fear is the people coming after them.
Happy 4th
Makes sense to me.
To quote from above, "Today, almost all “leaders” are eager to side with “the Crown” and will persecute and attack those who do stand up to injustice or challenge authorized narratives."
Or, these so called leaders, remain silent, keeping the status quo or even advancing their own selfish aims. Either way...
Perhaps, in a way, we have even less freedom today than our country's founders did 250 years ago. And losing what freedoms we still do have at an accelerating pace. Unless we, the people, can stop it, illustrious leaders or not.
We definitely have far less "freedom" than American colonists did 250 years ago.
We have less freedoms than those British subjects of the King.
90% of the British population of the 1700s never had any interaction with the Crown's enforcers.
Ha
Upon re reading your comment I have repeated it.
I should delete my comment.
There is no doubt both of us are right. The Crown wouldn't have told colonist they couldn't work or had to get a vaccine or couldn't go to church, etc.
The truckers lit the fuse of a nationwide protest but it was the response of ordinary citizens that exploded the bomb. Canadians discovered their collective voice and the power of it shook the world awake. Trudeau freaked and pounded the tyranny button and suddenly it was over. His preview of the coming global totalitarian corporate state scared the shit out of people. Losing access to your bank account in the middle of a -40 degree winter was too much to handle.
When the Boston Tea Party occurred most trade was local and communities could provide for themselves and survive. Everyone had rifles and guns and citizens could match government forces. Those days are gone and only one weapon is left... our collective labour. Citizens produce everything, bankers, governments and investors steal it away from us using interest, taxes and profit. We need to refuse to work. We need a massive consecutively rotating general strike to paralyze government and industry. Individual occupations need only strike for a week at a time, that way no individual suffers a serious or sustained loss of income. As one industry goes back to work a different industry starts a new strike to continue to pressure the government to respect workers rights and autonomy.
Citizens can't win using violence. Withdrawing our labour is the only tool that will work. If the government tries to turn off our bank accounts then they will turn the temporary inconvenience of a strike into a permanent crisis of their own making. We must prepare now and strengthen our local economies using barter and local currency. Diversify and unite. https://localresistance.org
Thank you Bill. I totally agree with the lack of leadership being the key issue. However, I disagree with one point. The trucker's convoy in Canada was not futile because it sparked the biggest protest in Australian history in the nation's capital which was nearly a total media blackout and even now, the media said "10,000 anti-vaxxers showed up."
There were at least 500,000 who went DURING LOCKDOWN and it was called "convoy to Canberra."
And what was the enduring effect of this? Currently, the government wants to racialise our constitution and we are going to vote in a referendum to give native black people more rights than anyone else - it is a cover for UN-style communistic takeover. If it were not for covid, and the truckers, and the Australian protestors, I have no doubt that the meek, weak Australian public would have bowed to the woke bullies and passed this.
But now? Polls indicate that this is failing spectacularly because people no longer trust the government, the media, and the institutions. And guess what? The referendum (called The Voice) is sponsored by Pfizer. https://news.rebekahbarnett.com.au/p/red-flag-pfizer-advocates-for-constitutional
Don't underestimate the ripple effect of the truckers.
I don't understand your sentiments on the Canadian Truckers protest. They weren't trying to overthrow or punish Trudeau - they had very specific demands focused on vaccine mandates and passports, and they were enormously successful!
I don't think they succeeded in getting their vaccine mandate for cross-border travel removed, but the vaccine passport system was abandoned a few weeks later. From the wikipedia page on Canada's covid 19 vaccine mandates: "On March 1, 2022, Ontario's COVID-19 vaccine certification system was lifted." "On March 12, 2022, Quebec's vaccine passport system was lifted".
No, the story didn't end well for the Truckers. Many were debanked and arrested, but the political uprising achieved one of it's primary goals, ending Canada's vaccine passport mandate.