FAM 16: Canada Body Checks Trump
Ideas For A Very Donny Christmas | Andor Soars | Dope Dance Playlist
Way To Go, Eh?!
Let me start by saying I love Canada.
My mother was born and raised in Sarnia, Ontario and I spent big chunks of my childhood there. In fact, I had dual citizenship before I turned 18. After moving around the country, we settled in Port Huron, Michigan when I was in high school and I spent even more time — not just after I turned 19 and could legally drink.
When Amy and I (and then our child) lived in Detroit we spent many a long weekend in CA — mainly exploring southern Ontario. That has continued since we moved back to Port Huron and I could go on and on about the places we’ve been and the awesome nature of Canadians themselves. But, that’s not the point here — just a base-line reference.
Over the years I’ve kept up with Canadian politics, likely not as closely as many Canadians keep up with ours — but I’ve spent a fair amount of time following their fascinating parliamentary elections. Needless to say, I wouldn’t have missed this last election given Trumps trade war and what it has done to our friendship and the elections there.
What started with watching a little CBC coverage on election night turned into a 2-day marathon session that taught me much more that the results.
Some thoughts:
Donald Trump is an idiot. That’s nothing new, but one of the most idiotic things about Trump 2.0 is his insane trade war and calls for taking over Canada. It’s really one of the dumbest things he’s ever done. The trade was is an unmitigated disaster and starting it with our biggest trading partner was stupid enough. But, the whole 51st state thing is hard to even fathom.
I have no idea what addled recess of Trump’s mind this came from, but taking over Canada has pretty much been taken as a sick, diversionary joke here. Obviously, I knew it wasn’t being taken as such in Canada — and rightfully so. And it completely changed the face of the Canadian election for Prime Minister.
In case you don’t know back story, here’s a quick recap. Justin Treudeau has been Prime Minister since 2015. In the last few years his popularity has been steadily falling. There’s the general voter malaise over prices post-pandemic that has happened all over the world plus some cabinet scandals and a very unpopular carbon tax.
Trudeau and his Liberal party have been so deeply unpopular that it looked like they were headed for a historic defeat as the hands of the Conservative party and its leader Pierre Poilievres. Since the rise of Trump Canadian Conservative have been drifting into MAGA territory — they call it Maple MAGA. It’s not nearly as toxic, but for Canada is controversial.
But, still, the Conservatives were looking to win big — even after Trump was re-elected in November. We know what happened next. Trump made an ass of himself — started the trade war, talked his 51st state shit and upended the entire political work north of the border.
Trudeau smartly resigned and Mark Carney an economist and former head of the Bank of Canada won the internal Liberal election for leader and became Prime Minister and called for a new election. He also went right at Trump in a serious and sober way. Poilievres, on the other hand, equivocated and tried to have it both ways. He didn’t see that Trump’s attacked had created a wave of Canadian pride and solidarity.
The Liberals won the majority but not quite enough for a majority government. Still, it’s one of the most dramatic political turnarounds I’ve ever seen, anywhere.
While I knew things had turned I really didn’t grasp the scope of what this did to Canada until I watched the CBC coverage. When I say the Trump threat isn’t a joke to Canadians that is a giant understatement. While Canadians know this is Trump’s deal and not most Americans they’re still done with us and how can you blame them. They’re not just looking for new trading, they’re looking to dramatically overhaul their entire economy to make many of the things they once imported from the United States.
I can’t tell you how many times I heard the term existential threat from CBC political commentators of all stripes. And Mark Carney didn’t pull any punches in his acceptance speech — there was no olive branch to Trump. While he spoke with a very Canadian tone, it was serious and sober and he told Canadians that there was likely pain ahead as they find new markets and transform their economy. It really had the feeling of something akin the home front uniting during World War II.
Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration, is over. The system of open global trade anchored by the United States, a system that Canada has relied on since the Second World War, a system that well not perfect has helped deliver prosperity for a country for decades, is over.
It’s worth watch, not just for the talks about Trump but also for Carney’s earnest call for Canadians to retain their good identity.
Canada is more than a nation. We are and we always will be a confederation. A sacred set of ideas and ideals built on practical foundations that we know were not always perfect, but we always strive to be good. We do things because they’re right, not because they’re easy and we see kindness as a virtue, not as a weakness.
It’s a wonderful speech. It’s not soaring oratory but straightforward and honest.
It’s simply amazing to grasp was a stupid and long-lasting mistake Trump made with our best friend in the world.
Unsurprisingly, watching CBC coverage was great and it reminded me how bad most cable news coverage is in the US. Political commentators from all the major parties were represented and they were both nice to each other and actually honesty — it wasn’t just a bunch of bullshit talking points at all costs.
There’s so much to love about Canada.
I hope we can win them back after we get rid of Trump and MAGA once and for all. The whole thing made Trump look like the fool he is and also weak and pathetic on the world stage, which he also is. I’m not just happy for Canadians, but it made me even more eager to get Donny’s downfall going in 2026.
Three Posts That Say So Much
Just a reminder that almost every POTUS in modern history — whether you agreed with them politically or not — came into the most important job in the world and felt the full weight of the office.
From the responsibility of the inherent life and death duties, to how they could help people in their daily lives. And, yes, some were better and some were worse as people — but you knew that the power of the office had an inherent leveling affect that molded the person to it.
And then there was Trump — the smallest man to ever hold the office. More paranoid daily than Nixon ever was before even he had the inherent sense of right and wrong to resign. Childishly obsessing over every cable news show — every possible slight no matter how small — and lashing out for what is obvious to most is something to fill the void where his soul should be.
Mentally unable to ever admit even the slightest error, let alone let any buck stop at his desk — so craven to distract as to go to delusional and comic levels of lying to keep any responsibility for anything at bay.
And the flippant and crass mocking of everyone and anything good, anyone whose selfish acts remind him on some fundamental level of his own lack of empathy, grace, and morality.
Through it all he erodes the character and the very soul of our country — dragging us all down into the bottomless void he inhabits.
On those points alone, it is a tragedy that even Shakespeare would struggle to comprehend.
Gifts For Fans Of Donny 2 Dolls
Do you want you kids to have more than two dolls this Christmas? You might want to consider Etsy. Not only can you buy local but you might avoid some of Trumps Grinch tariffs. I did a quick search for Trump dolls and came up with some great ideas. They’re fun for the whole family!
Culture Club: Yes, Andor Is Awesome | Disco To Rap Spotify Mix
I’ve got a backlog of pop culture stuff to watch and write. On the to write list is a review of both Anora which cleaned up at the Academy Awards this year and Seth Rogan’s new show The Studio on AppleTV. Putting that down on “paper” to force myself to do it for next week.
REVIEW: Andor Doesn’t Belong In A Trash Compactor
On Rotten Tomatoes the second season of Andor sits at a very impressive 96% on the Tomatometer. I think that that number may be a tad high, but I also think there’s a good reason for it.
Let’s be honest, since Disney took over the Star Was franchise most of what they’ve produced has been mildly good to absolute crap with absolute crap in the lead by more than a parsec. I guess one thing we learned is that, yes, the Star Wars universe can be extended across a vast, um, universe of genres. But, that doesn’t mean that things can’t suck from Coruscant to the Outer Rim and from theaters to streaming.
Because Andor is very good — in fact at times great — I think it’s getting graded a bit on a curve simply because there’s a reservoir of hope for the franchise.
But, that bigger picture isn’t the fault of the makers of Andor. And it does merit most of its high praise.
In case you don’t know, Andor is the prequel of the excellent Rogue One — which is itself the prequel of A New Hope — the original Star Wars. From a technical standpoint Andor is all leading up to the fledgling Rebellion getting plans to the Death Star, but the show has bigger fish to fry than that.
It’s been called the first adult Star Wars project and that is true. Andor is about the rise and expansion of authoritarian power and sparks of rebellion against it. The creators draw from lots of authoritarian history — especially the Third Reich. But, it’s impossible not to draw comparisons to the Rise of MAGA and everything we’re going through now. It does give the show a real edge that is both depressing (the Empire) and hopeful (the Rebellion) that you can’t ignore. From torture and propaganda and the bureaucracy of authoritarianism to the moral dilemmas of war, it hits everything and shies away from nothing.
That said, the show is named Andor not after a planet, but after Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) as he begins his career in the Rebellion which will lead to his role in Rogue One. Cassian is a well-written, three-dimensional, rich character, and Luna brings impressive skill bringing him to life. He’s got both steely resolve, a boyish charm, and can pull of reluctant action hero when needed.
And while his story is at the center of the show there are four other storylines that rotate it like moons. Most of the story is through the eyes of the Rebellion at different layers — from the upper echelons of politics down to the day-to-day operations of Cassian and his Rebel cohorts. But, it also offers a fascinating look inside the Empire — primarily through a twisted romance between two ambitious mid-level technocrats.
What really makes Andor adult isn’t just the subject matter but the complexity of story. This isn’t popcorn Star Wars. It’s actually pretty dense, with a decent number of characters, and an interweaving story line that takes some effort to follow. That doesn’t mean it isn’t exciting — there are a number of thrilling sequences — some quite tense and others pure fun.
Like most SW efforts the SFX are great and the world-building here is particularly good. While there are some obvious sets, most of the show has a seamless mix of practical and special. Also good is the dialing back on the creatures. A number of recent projects have seemed to add as many crazy aliens walking the streets as possible. Andor has them, but it doesn’t feel like they are simply an exercise to meant to impress.
On the negative side, not all the main storylines are equal, some second-tier characters could probably be eliminated an there are a few diversions that took away from the main story arch. But these are pretty minor quibbles.
I’m up-to-date on the final season, with two episodes dropping this week and the finale the next. You can see the outlines of how the storylines might be coming together and the built up has been great.
I read that the original plan was to have a few more seasons. It’s a shame that that didn’t happen because there would be plenty of room for this show to breath. It’s even sadder thinking that Disney might have limited this show to ruin an iconic character like Boba Fett.
Given the relative failure of some of the recent Star Wars dreck I know plans for some films and shows have been cancelled. That’s good. Disney needs to hold off on producing junk and get back to some sort of quality control before they completely ruin a storied franchise.
Using Andor as a North Star would be a good place to start.
Tuesday Music Mix: From Disco To Rap To Pop (1979-1983)
Hearing something the other day reminded me of the late 70s and early 80s and what an odd convenience of musical styles that was. So much of the late 1970s was just overwhelmed by disco. And don’t get me wrong, as an 8-10-year-old kid I loved, it.
And I still do.
It’s amazing how isco was like an inescapable Black Hole — sucking in nearly every genre. Funk, soul, and R&B were a natural fit — basically just speed up the beats. But, disco also started sucking in early new wave and electronica and all that is still the basic building blocks of almost all modern club music.
Yet, when disco originally “died” it did so right at the birth of rap and hip-hop. It’s interesting looking back at how reliant early rap was on disco — Rappers Delight is basically rapping over Chic’s Good Times. And there was an early 80s “genre” (think Nucleus, Midnight Star, etc.) that came out more new wave and electronica than anything soul.
Granted, Prince was doing all that all on his own, in his own lane.
Still, it’s a fascinating period and I grabbed some later songs that show how that was all reconfigured into broader pop music. Music evolution is never a straight line. It’s branches that spreads out, always blooming into new combinations. But, the years 79-82 or so were really the primordial ooze that is still birthing a great deal of modern pop music, both good and bad.
Plus, I was there.
I didn’t try to make some kind of chronological music hypothesis here. But, I put some songs together that might be interesting and transitions that I hope are fun. Enjoy!
PS: If there is ONE person that bridges the soul-to-disco-to-new-wave-to-pop of the era it’s Niles Rogers of Chic. He and Bernard Edwards (I Want Your Love is one of the best bass lines ever) were the building blocks of much of it. Niles went on to produce tons of seminal stuff in the 80s — everything from Bowie’s Let’s Dance to multiple Duran Duran albums. He is a giant.