bearister said:

---

Hence also the loathing of NATO: any alliance that rests on mutual security and respect is anathema to him.

We could turn Greenland into a NATO fortress if we wanted to with NATO's support. But this is about glory and plunder, which means blackmail or conquest of an ally, which means the end of NATO.….

---

Trump 2017-2020: "Hey Europe, you need to increase your defense spending"

Europe: "We don't want to, but we will do a little more"

Trump 2025: "Hey Europe, I am taking Greenland cause you are weak"

Europe: "We need to spend $1 trillion to defend Greenland"

Art of the Deal

— Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) January 19, 2026

bearister said:

---

A Viking Foreign Policy - by Andrew Sullivan https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/a-viking-foreign-policy-795

"The core drive is for disinhibited domination, and this is true of Trump. He is only comfortable if he controls everything and everyone in his domain. Equal co-existence without subordination is simply beyond his understanding hence his sincere bafflement at the Constitution.

Ideas like the dignity of the individual, or the rule of law, are to him like shades of green to a color-blind person…..

Hence the tariffs. Trump raised them because, in his mind, he could leverage American economic and military power to raid other countries' treasuries. (He's wrong, of course, but he genuinely thinks foreign countries pay tariffs, and no one else.) Hence also the loathing of NATO: any alliance that rests on mutual security and respect is anathema to him. Either the US should demand full reimbursement as mercenaries, or get the hell out.…

In this Viking rubric, there's no mystery why Trump attacked Venezuela and kidnapped the president and his wife. He did it for the thrill of domination man does he relish parading his enemies in a perp walk but mainly for the lucre.…..

So why on earth not force Greenland into submission? What is anyone gonna do about it anyway, as Stephen Miller said out loud, channeling Napoleon. You also get the thrill of expanding American sovereignty by adding 836,000 square miles more than a quarter of the continental US landmass……

And there is nothing in this worldview that can or would restrain Trump. This isn't about deterring Russia and China in the Arctic. We can do that easily already, because the Danes are one of the greatest allies and friends the US has ever had from their resistance to Nazism to their support after 9/11. We could turn Greenland into a NATO fortress if we wanted to with NATO's support. But this is about glory and plunder, which means blackmail or conquest of an ally, which means the end of NATO.….

Trump is not a neocon, whatever Elliott Abrams might pathetically hope. He's not a realist, for all John Mearsheimer's wishes. He's not an imperialist, occupying foreign countries for their resources while bringing them into modernity and civilization. He's just a pagan leveraging vast American power to plunder, blackmail, extort, bully, and attack anyone weaker. No reason need be given, except the logic of dominance. If the entire system that has largely kept the peace since 1945 is unraveled as a result, why would he care? If war arrives, we've still got the biggest military."

---

Thanks for including text to a link for more. That's something SBgoldbear, or whatever his name is, doesn't do, though I've asked him too. It gets read this way.

I wish to respond in general and to one part specifically.

In general, this is merely one of THOUSANDS of high minded articles that all say one same thing: trump is a massive a-hole dick of historic proportions. Comparisons to other historically significant dicks Hitler and Napoleon are appropriate. But this is nothing new.

Tell us something we didn't already know, author.

In specific,

Quote:

---

Hence the tariffs. Trump raised them because, in his mind, he could leverage American economic and military power to raid other countries' treasuries. (He's wrong, of course, but he genuinely thinks foreign countries pay tariffs, and no one else.)

---

I cannot believe that Trump actually thinks foreign governments directly pay the tariffs.
I DO believe that Trump believes the tariffs are a way to hurt the foreign countries, and that this pain therefore gives him a perceived power over them, and THAT is what he feasts upon, as the author alludes to. It's part of his dickishness personality.

That tariffs hurt trumps own countrymen who he is elected to serve means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to him. More dickishness.

The idiot fools who elected him because they couldn't stand Biden's feebleness or anything that Kamala presented are responsible for whatever damage Trump will leave behind in his wake. So far, we can recover from him. But he is a uniquely horrible person and a fear of terribly tragic things is present - because he is capable of the worst you can imagine.

bearister said:

---

New Hampshire Episcopal bishop warns clergy of a new era of martyrdom | AP News

---

go Bishop Rob (2nd link above)
https://apnews.com/article/bishop-ice-martyrdom-new-hampshire-b58050770e7d40e3247d0aa3b91fe0d2

shrugs (ai jpeg, apparently)

The Globe and Mail, Canadian equivalent of the NYT, publishes an article on Canadian defensive options to fend off a US military invasion...

“military planners are modelling a U.S. invasion from the south, expecting American forces to overcome Canada’s strategic positions on land and at sea within a week and possibly as quickly as two days.

Canada does not have the number of military personnel or the sophisticated…

— Justin Massie (@justinmassie1) January 20, 2026

Cal88 said:

---

The Globe and Mail, Canadian equivalent of the NYT, publishes an article on Canadian defensive options to fend off a US military invasion...

“military planners are modelling a U.S. invasion from the south, expecting American forces to overcome Canada’s strategic positions on land and at sea within a week and possibly as quickly as two days.

Canada does not have the number of military personnel or the sophisticated…

— Justin Massie (@justinmassie1) January 20, 2026

---

This isn't gonna happen but it's laughable to think Canada could defend themselves. 1/3, at least, of their fighting forces would be against their own government.

And then we haven't even gotten to the technological differences of our military to theirs

Cal88 said:

---

smh said:

---

shrugs (ai jpeg, apparently)

---

Obviously those pics were edited, but the point is that those edited pics were acually posted by Trump himself. That is an incredible statement for a POTUS to make.

---

Globalism is dead

Cal88 said:

---

BearlySane88 said:

---

Cal88 said:

---

smh said:

---

shrugs (ai jpeg, apparently)

---

Obviously those pics were edited, but the point is that those edited pics were acually posted by Trump himself. That is an incredible statement for a POTUS to make.

---

Globalism is dead

---

19th century empire building is even worse than 20th century globalism.



With stunts like these, American soft power is collapsing right before our eyes. The economic and political repercussions could be dire, including the acceleration of dedollarization.

---

Globalism pretends to be mutual benefit while entrenching inequality through economic coercion, cultural homogenization, and dependency without borders. It hollows out local industries in developing nations via unfair trade deals, further extends wealth gaps, and fuels environmental devastation on a global level.

Even skeptics admit internal U.S. dysfunction (like debt growth) poses a bigger threat than external plots, but with investors piling in regardless, the "end of dollar dominance" narrative is lacking at best
https://fortune.com/2026/01/16/stocks-dedollarization-is-dead-trump-us-assets

Greenland's and Canada's new motto:

bearister said:

---

Greenland's and Canada's new motto:

---

"If" they are killed 10-1, it'll be over pretty dang fast

Cal88 said:

---

BearlySane88 said:

---

bearister said:

---

Greenland's and Canada's new motto:

---

"If" they are killed 10-1, it'll be over pretty dang fast

---

Vietnam lasted decades, and in the end, they won.

---

Fighting in a jungle is a lot more brutal than fighting in the prairies of Canada. To be clear, I'm not advocating for war with Canada nor do I think that will ever happen

oski003 said:

---

concordtom said:

---

bearister said:

---

A Viking Foreign Policy - by Andrew Sullivan https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/a-viking-foreign-policy-795

"The core drive is for disinhibited domination, and this is true of Trump. He is only comfortable if he controls everything and everyone in his domain. Equal co-existence without subordination is simply beyond his understanding hence his sincere bafflement at the Constitution.

Ideas like the dignity of the individual, or the rule of law, are to him like shades of green to a color-blind person…..

Hence the tariffs. Trump raised them because, in his mind, he could leverage American economic and military power to raid other countries' treasuries. (He's wrong, of course, but he genuinely thinks foreign countries pay tariffs, and no one else.) Hence also the loathing of NATO: any alliance that rests on mutual security and respect is anathema to him. Either the US should demand full reimbursement as mercenaries, or get the hell out.…

In this Viking rubric, there's no mystery why Trump attacked Venezuela and kidnapped the president and his wife. He did it for the thrill of domination man does he relish parading his enemies in a perp walk but mainly for the lucre.…..

So why on earth not force Greenland into submission? What is anyone gonna do about it anyway, as Stephen Miller said out loud, channeling Napoleon. You also get the thrill of expanding American sovereignty by adding 836,000 square miles more than a quarter of the continental US landmass……

And there is nothing in this worldview that can or would restrain Trump. This isn't about deterring Russia and China in the Arctic. We can do that easily already, because the Danes are one of the greatest allies and friends the US has ever had from their resistance to Nazism to their support after 9/11. We could turn Greenland into a NATO fortress if we wanted to with NATO's support. But this is about glory and plunder, which means blackmail or conquest of an ally, which means the end of NATO.….

Trump is not a neocon, whatever Elliott Abrams might pathetically hope. He's not a realist, for all John Mearsheimer's wishes. He's not an imperialist, occupying foreign countries for their resources while bringing them into modernity and civilization. He's just a pagan leveraging vast American power to plunder, blackmail, extort, bully, and attack anyone weaker. No reason need be given, except the logic of dominance. If the entire system that has largely kept the peace since 1945 is unraveled as a result, why would he care? If war arrives, we've still got the biggest military."

---

Thanks for including text to a link for more. That's something SBgoldbear, or whatever his name is, doesn't do, though I've asked him too. It gets read this way.

I wish to respond in general and to one part specifically.

In general, this is merely one of THOUSANDS of high minded articles that all say one same thing: trump is a massive a-hole dick of historic proportions. Comparisons to other historically significant dicks Hitler and Napoleon are appropriate. But this is nothing new.

Tell us something we didn't already know, author.

In specific,

Quote:

---

Hence the tariffs. Trump raised them because, in his mind, he could leverage American economic and military power to raid other countries' treasuries. (He's wrong, of course, but he genuinely thinks foreign countries pay tariffs, and no one else.)

---

I cannot believe that Trump actually thinks foreign governments directly pay the tariffs.
I DO believe that Trump believes the tariffs are a way to hurt the foreign countries, and that this pain therefore gives him a perceived power over them, and THAT is what he feasts upon, as the author alludes to. It's part of his dickishness personality.

That tariffs hurt trumps own countrymen who he is elected to serve means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to him. More dickishness.

The idiot fools who elected him because they couldn't stand Biden's feebleness or anything that Kamala presented are responsible for whatever damage Trump will leave behind in his wake. So far, we can recover from him. But he is a uniquely horrible person and a fear of terribly tragic things is present - because he is capable of the worst you can imagine.

---

Foreign countries directly pay the tariffs.

---

Foreign companies do NOT pay the tariffs. The way this works is that the IMPORTER pays the tariff. So, for example, if you are a company selling lets say freezers (most of which are now made overseas) you pay them. You then have to decide how much to increase your prices to recoup that additional tax (cause that is what it is) that you just paid. There is a LARGE literature in econometrics trying to measure tax incidence and how much (and when) it is absorbed and when it is passed on. Really fun math and good stuff.

Now POSSIBLY you could argue that foreign PRODUCERS pay SOME of the tariffs (indirectly) by lowering the cost of the good to the buyer. Again, a LARGE literature in econometrics trying to understand tax in supply chains and how iand when it is absorbed. But under no possible argument does the Government of Canada pay the tariffs for goods imported from producers in Canada into the US.

BearlySane88 said:

---

\. 1/3, at least, of their fighting forces would be against their own government.

---

We are not supposed to act like children but under what ridiculous drugs are you operating on to type such a thing? No basis in fact and no grounding in reality.

Cal88 said:

---

BearlySane88 said:

---

bearister said:

---

Greenland's and Canada's new motto:

---

"If" they are killed 10-1, it'll be over pretty dang fast

---

Vietnam lasted decades, and in the end, they won.

---

Keyboard pundits that forget history are condemned to repeat it.

socaltownie said:

---

oski003 said:

---

concordtom said:

---

bearister said:

---

A Viking Foreign Policy - by Andrew Sullivan https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/a-viking-foreign-policy-795

"The core drive is for disinhibited domination, and this is true of Trump. He is only comfortable if he controls everything and everyone in his domain. Equal co-existence without subordination is simply beyond his understanding hence his sincere bafflement at the Constitution.

Ideas like the dignity of the individual, or the rule of law, are to him like shades of green to a color-blind person…..

Hence the tariffs. Trump raised them because, in his mind, he could leverage American economic and military power to raid other countries' treasuries. (He's wrong, of course, but he genuinely thinks foreign countries pay tariffs, and no one else.) Hence also the loathing of NATO: any alliance that rests on mutual security and respect is anathema to him. Either the US should demand full reimbursement as mercenaries, or get the hell out.…

In this Viking rubric, there's no mystery why Trump attacked Venezuela and kidnapped the president and his wife. He did it for the thrill of domination man does he relish parading his enemies in a perp walk but mainly for the lucre.…..

So why on earth not force Greenland into submission? What is anyone gonna do about it anyway, as Stephen Miller said out loud, channeling Napoleon. You also get the thrill of expanding American sovereignty by adding 836,000 square miles more than a quarter of the continental US landmass……

And there is nothing in this worldview that can or would restrain Trump. This isn't about deterring Russia and China in the Arctic. We can do that easily already, because the Danes are one of the greatest allies and friends the US has ever had from their resistance to Nazism to their support after 9/11. We could turn Greenland into a NATO fortress if we wanted to with NATO's support. But this is about glory and plunder, which means blackmail or conquest of an ally, which means the end of NATO.….

Trump is not a neocon, whatever Elliott Abrams might pathetically hope. He's not a realist, for all John Mearsheimer's wishes. He's not an imperialist, occupying foreign countries for their resources while bringing them into modernity and civilization. He's just a pagan leveraging vast American power to plunder, blackmail, extort, bully, and attack anyone weaker. No reason need be given, except the logic of dominance. If the entire system that has largely kept the peace since 1945 is unraveled as a result, why would he care? If war arrives, we've still got the biggest military."

---

Thanks for including text to a link for more. That's something SBgoldbear, or whatever his name is, doesn't do, though I've asked him too. It gets read this way.

I wish to respond in general and to one part specifically.

In general, this is merely one of THOUSANDS of high minded articles that all say one same thing: trump is a massive a-hole dick of historic proportions. Comparisons to other historically significant dicks Hitler and Napoleon are appropriate. But this is nothing new.

Tell us something we didn't already know, author.

In specific,

Quote:

---

Hence the tariffs. Trump raised them because, in his mind, he could leverage American economic and military power to raid other countries' treasuries. (He's wrong, of course, but he genuinely thinks foreign countries pay tariffs, and no one else.)

---

I cannot believe that Trump actually thinks foreign governments directly pay the tariffs.
I DO believe that Trump believes the tariffs are a way to hurt the foreign countries, and that this pain therefore gives him a perceived power over them, and THAT is what he feasts upon, as the author alludes to. It's part of his dickishness personality.

That tariffs hurt trumps own countrymen who he is elected to serve means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to him. More dickishness.

The idiot fools who elected him because they couldn't stand Biden's feebleness or anything that Kamala presented are responsible for whatever damage Trump will leave behind in his wake. So far, we can recover from him. But he is a uniquely horrible person and a fear of terribly tragic things is present - because he is capable of the worst you can imagine.

---

Foreign countries directly pay the tariffs.

---

Foreign companies do NOT pay the tariffs. The way this works is that the IMPORTER pays the tariff. So, for example, if you are a company selling lets say freezers (most of which are now made overseas) you pay them. You then have to decide how much to increase your prices to recoup that additional tax (cause that is what it is) that you just paid. There is a LARGE literature in econometrics trying to measure tax incidence and how much (and when) it is absorbed and when it is passed on. Really fun math and good stuff.

Now POSSIBLY you could argue that foreign PRODUCERS pay SOME of the tariffs (indirectly) by lowering the cost of the good to the buyer. Again, a LARGE literature in econometrics trying to understand tax in supply chains and how iand when it is absorbed. But under no possible argument does the Government of Canada pay the tariffs for goods imported from producers in Canada into the US.

---

Most of these foreign companies have U.S. subsidiaries. The U.S. subsidiaries of these foreign companies pay the tariffs.

socaltownie said:

---

BearlySane88 said:

---

\. 1/3, at least, of their fighting forces would be against their own government.

---

We are not supposed to act like children but under what ridiculous drugs are you operating on to type such a thing? No basis in fact and no grounding in reality.

---

Just facts you want to ignore like the fact that Albertans won't fight for Canada as a whole and plenty of conservatives wouldn't either. I have family that live in Alberta and many of them were rooting for Trump to free them from their liberal hell hole.

To be fair, there are plenty of Americans who wouldn't fight for America either.

Eastern Oregon Bear said:

---

Cal88 said:

---

BearlySane88 said:

---

bearister said:

---

Greenland's and Canada's new motto:

---

"If" they are killed 10-1, it'll be over pretty dang fast

---

Vietnam lasted decades, and in the end, they won.

---

Keyboard pundits that forget history are condemned to repeat it.

---

I certainly didn't forget the Vietnam War but if you're telling me that fighting in the jungles vs fighting in familiar terrain aren't different beasts, idk what to tell you

BearlySane88 said:

---

Globalism pretends to be mutual benefit while entrenching inequality through economic coercion, cultural homogenization, and dependency without borders. It hollows out local industries in developing nations via unfair trade deals, further extends wealth gaps, and fuels environmental devastation on a global level.

Even skeptics admit internal U.S. dysfunction (like debt growth) poses a bigger threat than external plots, but with investors piling in regardless, the "end of dollar dominance" narrative is lacking at best
https://fortune.com/2026/01/16/stocks-dedollarization-is-dead-trump-us-assets

---

I actually partially (30%?) agree with this but I want to put it in today's news and with much greater context.

Canadian PM Carney had a really important (if you study International Relations) speech at DAVOS where he articulated one of the grand bargains that undergirds the post-war system.

https://globalnews.ca/news/11620877/carney-davos-wef-speech-transcript/

Here is the section which resonated for me (from the perspective of a middle power)

"We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false, that the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient, that trade rules were enforced asymmetrically, and we knew that international law applied with varied rigor, depending on the identity of the accused or the victim.
This fiction was useful, and American hegemony in particular helped provide public goods, open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security, and support for frameworks for resolving disputes."

There is much truth to that but I think that the criticism from both the hard left (and the populist right) converge here to say that while the gains from internationalism may be positive sum they do not come without costs. The China shock is real. Globalisms challenge to cultural norms around religion and language are not minimal and trade, while raising all boats clearly also creates forces that widen the gap between those whose boats have raised slightly and those that now sail their 4th mega yatch and ferry the crew back and forth on private jets.

But even if that is the critique what Trump's failure, and the failure of the broader MAGA movement, is to not acknowledge the non zero sum nature of this order. Yes, Canada runs a trade surplus with us. It also doesn't open up its territory for Chinese and Russian military bases. Yes, NATO spends less of its GDP on military forces. NATO also creates a system where Germany and France do not have nuclear weapons pointed at each other and have to launch on warning rather than as a second strike. Yes, Germany tends to subsidize its industries in ways that makes them relatively more competitive than they otherwise would. But hundreds (thousands) of US service men and women have benefited from state of the art hospitals located in Germany rather than be transported from wars of our choosing across the Atlantic after suffering industry. And perhaps most importantly, the rules that are in place STILL benefit the US more because...well...we wrote the rules.

Carney goes on to note that the world of fortresses will be immearable poorer. That middle power countries DO have options and that as they diversify that means the US will be poorer. Do we really want Mexico as the 52nd state. **** I don't because it would be adding a state (s) with far greater challenges than the poorest US state. But if we don't....and Mexico decides, as Carney calls for, do we want a world in which Mexico forms a military alliance with China to "hedge its bets?" ANd before you suggest that is fantasy that is the nature of the world in which Trump aspires - not only of iron clad blocks but one in which Middle powers look to play off the great powers to find the greatest autonomy they can. Carney's speech at DAVOS nicely articulates such a strategy. And to trump it could be paraphrased, be careful what you wish for you just might get it.

At the end I return to the above mission - that those of us who DO believe in the rule based system that emerged after WW2 have to act so those gains are more widely shared. We need to not reacitvely expand that system as was done with China and the WTO. And we must, above all else, help articulate the vision of a world without rules were great powers compete not as one that the US wins but one akin to the world of Europe in July 1914....where competition and rivalry drove the world to madness.

bearister said:

---

There is also a big difference between fighting to be free from the oppression of a foreign invader vs fighting for your leader's ego.

---

Lots of Canadians are displeased with Carney's current ego trip

Cal88 said:

---

BearlySane88 said:

---

bearister said:

---

Greenland's and Canada's new motto:

---

"If" they are killed 10-1, it'll be over pretty dang fast

---

Vietnam lasted decades, and in the end, they won.

---

I don't think our kill ratio was anywhere near 10-1 in Vietnam

Aunburdened said:

---

Cal88 said:

---

BearlySane88 said:

---

bearister said:

---

Greenland's and Canada's new motto:

---

"If" they are killed 10-1, it'll be over pretty dang fast

---

Vietnam lasted decades, and in the end, they won.

---

I don't think our kill ratio was anywhere near 10-1 in Vietnam

---

I looked and was surprised, it actually was about 10-1 or 12-1. If you include South Vietnamese who fought with us it drops to about 3-1

BearlySane88 said:

---

socaltownie said:

---

The idea that we are talking about kill ratios in regards to a possible occupation of 2 of our closest allies should underscore that our President is NOT WELL and clearly insane. I hope ALL of you that are not aghast in this have your grandchildren signing up to get shot at in the ruins of Toronto or the wilds of British Columbia.

---

We are talking about it because Bearister posted a quote from Ho Chi Minh. We aren't going to literal war with Canada. That would be foolish on all sides

---

Well yes. It would be ridiculous foolish. Not sure how they become the 51st state unwillingly. Same with 50,000 Greenlanders.

socaltownie said:

---

BearlySane88 said:

---

socaltownie said:

---

The idea that we are talking about kill ratios in regards to a possible occupation of 2 of our closest allies should underscore that our President is NOT WELL and clearly insane. I hope ALL of you that are not aghast in this have your grandchildren signing up to get shot at in the ruins of Toronto or the wilds of British Columbia.

---

We are talking about it because Bearister posted a quote from Ho Chi Minh. We aren't going to literal war with Canada. That would be foolish on all sides

---

Well yes. It would be ridiculous foolish. Not sure how they become the 51st state unwillingly. Same with 50,000 Greenlanders.

---

Well Trumps gonna buy all the Greenlanders loyalty. Canada was just a bit of fun to rile up the frozen north.