this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2025
258 points (98.1% liked)

World News

32792 readers
361 users here now

News from around the world!

Rules:

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/24657192

Summary

In a virtual speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump suggested Canada could become a U.S. state to avoid his proposed tariffs on imports.

The remark elicited gasps from the audience.

Trump claimed the U.S. does not need Canadian lumber, energy, or vehicles, vastly overstating the trade deficit between the two nations.

He reiterated his intention to impose tariffs, potentially as high as 25%, on imports from Canada and Mexico starting February 1.

Economists warn such tariffs would raise prices for U.S. consumers.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Democracy is demagogue-prone. That’s a disease to which electoral systems are vulnerable. Yet demagogues are easy to identify. They gesture a lot and speak with pulpit rhythms, using words that ring of religious fervor and god-fearing sincerity.

The practice can always be detected by anyone who learns the signs: Repetition. Great attempts to keep your attention on words. You must pay no attention to words. Watch what the person does. That way you learn the motives.

They create a system where most people are dissatisfied, vaguely or deeply. This builds up widespread feelings of vindictive anger. Then they supply targets for that anger as they need them—as distraction. Don't give time to question.

They bury mistakes in more laws. Traffic in illusion. Bullring tactics. Wave the pretty cape. People will charge it and be confused when there's no matador behind the thing. That dulls the electorate just as it dulls the bull.

Fewer people use their vote intelligently next time.

There appears to be a rule of nature that says it's almost impossible for self-serving groups to act enlightened, flowing with the forces of life, adjusting your actions that life may continue. With the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number, of course.

The risks of democracy and how to prevent them paraphrased from Dune.

Apparent everywhere, Trump is just one in this path of centuries.

Focus on actions, not promises, and unite against inequality and division. Systems should be simple, transparent, and work for everyone, not just the wealthy or powerful. Educating and organizing workers, holding leaders accountable, and building solidarity across all groups are essential for achieving fairness. Lasting change comes from addressing root causes, not chasing temporary fixes.

Maybe the next century will show results somewhere.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

I want to see Canada put out an open offer for immediate welcome, territoriship, and instant citizenship for any state along the border that votes to join Canada.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 day ago

Oh, boy, what you've got going on looks like so much fun, how could we want to miss out?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

I mean honestly, he's just a giant douche canoe that accurately reflects the level of intelligence and emotional maturity that the most of his fucking deplorable Nazi base is. There's nothing he's here said that isn't what his moronic base says on a daily basis and is more or less a accurate representation of America and Americans by large.

America is a nation of idiots.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Canada is avoiding Trump's tariffs by not becoming a state.

They are not paying the tariffs, american people do. So by joining the US they would start paying all the tariffs that Trump is putting on China's products, European products ....

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

Canada is already a state... a SOVEREIGN state.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

If'n he can point to it on a map

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago

Just. You know....

become a state.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Four more years of this shit. But oh well, it's worth it if it spared a few people of superior moral integrity from compromising their principles to vote for Harris when she didn't measure up to their requirements and the Democrats didn't run a good enough campaign and besides it was kind of cold that day and it would have meant putting on pants.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Why are you okay with your fellow Americans being unrepresented in the voting booth?

Are you working to replace First past the post voting in your state? People should be free to vote for those they deem best, while still counting their vote against those they don't want in office.

We don't need to wait for a miracle from congress. How we vote us controlled at the state level. Alaska has already done away with FPTP voting. Alaskan Republicans were so upset that Ranked Choice voting kept Sarah Palin out of office they offered up a referendum to go back to FPTP voting. The people of Alaska voted to keep it

Why do you want to use the same voting system republicans prefer? Do you support democracy? Or do you get off on telling people how to vote?

Videos on alternative voting systems

First Past The Post voting (What most states use now)

Videos on alternative electoral systems we can try out.

STAR voting

Alternative vote

Ranked Choice voting

Range Voting

Single Transferable Vote

Mixed Member Proportional representation

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 days ago

That is a huge leap of logic from the parent comment. They sarcastically said how happy they were that some people got the satisfaction of staying home and not voting, and you took that to mean they don't support democracy?

I'm Canadian, and Justin Trudeau, our current (for a few more weeks) Prime Minister, campaigned in 2015 that it would be Canada's last election with FPTP. They put a committee together that made some recommendations, but the government untimately ignored those recommendations, said it was too hard, and nothing changed. (Yes, that's an incredibly simplistic take, don't @ me).

FPTP benefits them. The Liberals won a majority of seats with only 40% of the popular vote. Large parties tend to benefit from FPTP because it discourages minority and fringe votes. So while I'm sure you're right that the Republicans prefer FPTP, I'd bet a shiny Canadian dollar (or about 0.69USD) that the Democrats also prefer FPTP.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Feel free to express (and explain) your opinion that some people are unrepresented, but why are you okay with pretending that's my opinion and asking me to defend it? Millions of people who voted for Biden in 2020 refused to vote at all in 2024 because the Democratic Party hadn't given them a candidate they liked. More than enough to defeat Trump, but that wasn't important enough for them to step off their moral high ground, and now here we are.

load more comments
view more: next ›