THE SMEAR

There’s nothing new going on here. 
Character assassination has always had a certain appeal.

THE RISE & FALL OF JUSTIN TRUDEAU

Burn Baby Burn

The smear has been around for a long, long time. First, you find someone you don't like, then you smear them and throw gasoline on them, splashing it around like it’s important before lighting the match and watching them burn. Those relevant will be on board; those not don’t matter anyway. A great way to make new friends who are loyal and unforgiving, sharing our animosity and judgements like hot dogs, burgers and beers at the summer barbecue laughing at them because it’s fun. Allies in a just cause. Fucking Liberals. Fuck Trudeau! (pass it on).

Male bonding whether you’re a man or a woman. Stand by your man. Make America Great Again. Make Canada Great Again - Bring it Home to papa. Cheers! Proponents of the smear are often media figures like Jordan Peterson or Tucker Carlson, who jump on the bandwagon/wave knowing they'll benefit from the traction, fanning the flames in a souring scowl that rips them to shreds while watching their social media blow up. An interior, perhaps cerebral introspection lasting several seconds. Na ... I swing both ways ;). To fully participate in the smear you need to be just pre-adolescent emotionally. I'd say 8 1/2 going on 9. Translation? just stoopid.

 

The resentment is a bi-product of our bi-polar mortality and the smear is fallout. Wanting political figures have learned early on that it is so much easier to gain power when they stoke reaction & resentment towards those running the show (and those they represent).
Anger sells. Unfortunately for them, it rarely pans out. A flash in the pan that comes and goes after people realize that it's just posturing with no real substance. Still worth the jab. Look ...

Everything that’s wrong is over there. Zero accountability - zero responsibility. Easy peasy. A slam-dunk bona fide killer. Nasty because it needs to be AND works every time because the masses need a scapegoat; someone to blame. I mean why use an environmentally friendly pest control solution when you can use real poison? It's a process of retaliation then elimination. Plus - it feels good.  Rage has its benefits. Endorphins kick in. A side order of testosterone and a big blast of oxygen from all that huffing & puffing, all brought on by those you despise. Short term gain, long term pain. Bring it ON! Ok, the stress may eventually give you a heart attack but the satisfaction will linger, long after you’re dead and gone.

The Punishment: Tough Love

I’m sure humans in history felt so much better after stoning someone, watching the insidious adversary get crushed by our rising underling, wrestling, boxing - any sport for that matter. The patriot vs. the traitor. Good vs. evil. Right vs. wrong … blue vs. red. That said, I feel a haunting emptiness, especially now (cue Pachabel's Canon - deutsche grammophon - Vienna Symphony 1998). Being in the middle is a lonely place to be, in a world where you have to be one or the other. I mean, if it’s not black it has to be white right? If you’re not a Conservative then you MUST be Liberal and vice versa. Both really love to pull the lever … not one of us? Then you gotta be one of THEM.

Remember Dad servicing you with a proper strapping when you were 5, saying something like 'I'm doing this for your own good'?  Kinda like that. All I ever learned by being smacked around was how to resent. So ya, I’m a moderate with issues. On the political spectrum, I would be considered center leaning left. That said, most Cons see me as FAR left just because I’m ‘leaning’ that way. Nope. Turns out there are some like me who see the flaws on both sides. I have almost as many problems with the left as I do with the right. Justin Trudeau’s time is up after having made so many colossal blunders. WHAT? Ok, just a frikkin' minute. Give me a few seconds to absorb that. You said what?? 

My Conservative friends aren’t sure what to make of me when I agree with them. A silence in confusion. But I thought you were … Jesus man. Pick a side for christ's sakes. Hilarious.  Ok. Let me clarify ... Trudeau's blunders have been blown way out of proportion by the smear. 

Sunny Ways: The Wokey Pokey

Note to pompous 'protagonists'; I really don't need to be told to be careful around making references towards nationalities, using a colour in a sentence, when and when NOT to wish someone Merry Christmas or that it's offensive to be gender specific when the situation demands a variation. I am respectful of all people. Being dictated to is offensive to me.

I don't require being reminded or told 'how' to properly appreciate others.
 

I find woke culture’s need to make their point by sticking it in your eye as offensive as the trucker convoy in Ottawa 3 years ago. Fighting for their right to ‘protest’ when in reality it was all just a lame excuse to burn the barn down, in the name of ‘freedom’. No, it was never about vaccine mandates but about righteous entitlement. That all too familiar ‘fuck you’ to the liberal elites who think they’re better than we are. All about taking our country back and not taking any more bullshit. The mandate nonsense was just a red herring - hapless hypocrisy.

That said, if I had to choose between accepting people for who they are instead of who I want them to be? I'll choose the former. In my humble opinion, in this final chapter of my life now, I honestly think that Liberals in general are far more tolerant and open-minded around our differences; more willing to compromise (despite their strict rules around language). 

We are now in a minority of those who think that way.

Also entertaining and amusing for me is that so many Canadian Conservatives disapprove of Trump yet approve of Poilievre when in reality, they’re basically one in the same ideologically. Welcome to the con. No, Justin Trudeau’s biggest downfall is just one big smear campaign. From his patterned socks, to blackface, to his infamous ‘sunny ways’, it’s all very calculated and thought out, just like it was in the United States … AND it worked! Hook, line & sinker, the classic snow job designed to take down a flawed political ideology in favour of the right one.

Epilogue: 

What most Americans and Canadians still don’t see is that it’s just that. A con that won’t be obvious for several more years after the shit really hits the fan and this new breed of imposters are seen for who they really are. Frauds. In the meantime, the smear has its place in the grand scheme of things. In our upcoming ‘carbon tax election’ so few are actually getting that there is a much bigger picture lurking under the surface. I mean c'mon; carbon tax election? Pathetic. I can promise you this ... in 10 years, even our most loyal Conservative Canadians will look back on the Justin Trudeau years and say that he wasn't so bad after all. 

Out of sight, out of mind and what you don't know won't hurt you ... yet.

jimlamarche.ca

 

THE PERFECT STORM

The end of an era and the beginning of a new one.

“How do men act on a sinking ship? Do they hold each other? Do they pass around the whisky? Do they cry?”

Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea

The Presumption: Snatch & Grab

It would be presumptuous to think that 2025 will be just another year. All indicators are pointing to massive changes unlike anything we have seen before.

Super powers will be vying to take claim of territories that up till now have maintained decades, even centuries of independent sovereignty. Land grabs, country confiscations and takeovers will proliferate in that which was and will be forever changed.

Democratic socialism as a practiced system will be phased out in favour of autocratic rule worldwide. Freedom AND free speech will become selective, favouring those loyal to their leaders and excluding those not conforming, even embracing the preferred ideology. Environmental initiatives will slowly grind to a halt in favour of a short term gain, long term pain global acquisition agenda always looking over it’s shoulder. We will see the birth of a new breed of trillionaire who will control economies & governments, shifting cultures to adapt. 

Players like Elon Musk will continue to buy their way into government in exchange for perks/kick-backs and party favours in a military industrial complex on steroids becoming several times larger. Defence contracts, billions to trillions with lots of adolescent head banging, infighting, internal conflict in a slow dismantling of government whilst the masses stew in a complacency/compliance cocktail of crony capitalism gone awry. Perpetually pissed.

All this because that’s what America VOTED FOR!

Axe the Tax: Russian Roulette

Now. That said, I am consistently reminded that I'm an alarmist by friends who think I’m just a few fries short of a happy meal and maybe they’re right. When Pierre Poilievre becomes our Prime Minister maybe everything will in fact get better … inflation will drop back to normal levels, climate will just take care of itself, our dollar will climb back up, smart investors will get rich on bitcoin and our overall standard of living will return to what it once was.

Most importantly? The frikkin' carbon tax will be long gone!

  

Maybe our public healthcare system will make a full recovery and Canadians will celebrate their wise choice to eject a narcissist Trudeau in favour of a new breed of politician who REALLY cares (like the Americans just did) ... OR it could all go to total shit AND Poilievre will blame our previous government for the mess we're in, throwing all of his camouflaged mistakes in there while consistently caving to a tireless tyrant south of the border insisting he continue to bend over. Na. I’m the alarmist. Remember? Hey Jimbo, get with the program. 

Mountain out of a molehill dude.

For me the writing is on the wall. Conspiracy theorist? Nope, just a REALIST. I’m thinking Ukraine will fall to Russia this year before they take eastern Europe and eventually Finland, Sweden & Norway. The U.S. will be making serious moves on Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Cuba (in exchange for Ukraine) and the Virgin Islands (Caribbean) because Trump wants a second Mar-a-Lago and world class golf course there that's HIS … China taking Taiwan, Bhutan, both Koreas, Vietnam, the Philippines and eventually Japan. Britain/UK and western Europe will be dangling by a thread in 5 years, shaking; looking up at the sky a lot and most places south of the equator will be the safest place to be. The further south, the better.

This is just the beginning. 

The Big Bone of Contention

The Arctic will become the most controversial hotbed for territorial disputes as global warming melts most of the ice and shipping lanes open up. Strategic airspace will become a priority for Russia in the north; the U.S. AND China which will create huge tensions for who controls what. NATO will slowly disintegrate and global organizations like WEF & NGO will splinter before dissolving in 3-5 years. Globalism will wane in favour of Nationalism as cultural & religious discrimination (and terrorism) skyrockets in our reinvented draconian new world order. 

It would be presumptuous to think that 2025 will be just another year. All indicators are pointing to massive changes unlike anything we have seen before.

Epilogue

It might be a good time to think about moving to South America, Australia or even better - New Zealand if you’re still young. Me? Na - a bit late for that. The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic representation of how close humanity is to a human-made global catastrophe. 

Dateline January 2025. They're saying it is now 90 seconds to midnight. Tick tock.
It's 11 o'clock. Do you know where your children are?

jimlamarche.ca

 

OLD SOUL

“The soul is born old but grows young.” — Oscar Wilde

I’ve met some amazing people from a multitude of nationalities. My favourites are East Indian/South Asians, particularly from the northern Punjab region. There’s a sense of humility that’s in their old souls. It can’t be described accurately and everyone I meet and talk to from the Punjab exudes empathy and generosity.

A childlike innocence that embraces life regardless of the obstacles - an all knowing sense of self randomly drifting in the turbulence. Contentment.

It’s passed on as well. Younger Punjabi Indians born here have the same shimmer, an unexplained aura, temperament and ok - good karma. Mischievous and unpredictable.

Humanity is too vast/complex to even pretend to know what’s going to happen here. I mean it’s a crazy spin or roll of the dice that lands a certain way and we just deal with it. The one thing that remains consistent is our troubling times. I'm thinking this … we got through it before; we’ll do it again. I have faith even though I’m not religious. Faith embodies everything, transcending the limitations of religion. Salvation? Sure. Bring it on. Purgatory? If we must. 

Life is difficult. We humans are cruel. It’s just here and there; it's what we do. 

The Welcoming

In a recent poll, it was determined that around half of Canadian Conservatives would have voted for Trump too and that floored me. Roughly two thirds of us right now are Conservatives so 1/3 of Canadians overall approve of him. That said, we as a country are standing on the same precipice they were just a few short months ago, ready to jump like they just did. I was under the impression that almost all of us despised Trump's arrogant psychopathy but nope. We welcome it! The Lemming Theory comes to mind. It's a 'how could it possibly be any worse' or 'what have we got to lose' mindset having absolutely no idea that the answers to these questions are unthinkable. 

Our complacency is relentless. Oh he's just kidding. That could never happen here. We wallow in mind numbing complicity while perilous provocateurs sow seeds of autocracy and all in the name of freedom. A crime of the century con carried out in broad daylight with those doing the stealing smiling and waving at us while we wave back in awe and admiration.

Our old souls are not amused.

The Imposition & The Reaction

Rage baiting resentment politics, casting that reaction vote is so very much in fashion, in pursuit of justice - empowering entitlement and appeasing anxiety (wishful thinking). That impending threat of being swallowed up by progressive socialist elitists forcing their insipid ideology on those of us just needing to be left alone (or so we would like to believe). 

No. It's the friction, tension and anger that is very much part of the allure. We have been inundated with the idea that hate actually feels good even though it's something most would never admit to. It's a covert agenda shared enthusiastically amongst like minded cohorts who love painful pleasures. Inflicting scorn - eating popcorn.

Imposing Black Lives Matters, LGBTQ/carbon tax, vaccination nonsense on us like rules we’re just supposed to follow now? Time to take a stand. Bring it home (to Daddy). Short term gain, long term pain but hey - it’s what’s necessary to maintain some sense of tradition.

Old souls are detached, wise and gracious. Generally quiet, understated. Always listening and relaxed yet alert. They don’t say much but when they do it’s like a bright light in a dark tunnel, illuminating truth and accepting any challenge presented. No affiliations, no allegiances - no puritan pride. Neutral ...

Responsible. Kind.

Epilogue: 

This imposition of authority is erroneous. Old souls remain detached, knowing this. We're born, we live our lives then we die ... every one of us. The ongoing need to be dominant only hurts.

Any old soul will tell you that those pretending to be all knowing are those who know nothing and that politicians pretending to be 'for the people' care little about the people, only about what they can get from them. In these treacherous times one needn't look very far to make these discoveries.

Hey Canada. The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree. Time to strap in and drop like a stone.

jimlamarche.ca

 

AN AMERICAN AUTOPSY

Written on Wednesday Nov. 20, 2024 after an extended locker-room chat with a friend at the Southside Aquatic Centre (Woodstock) who is a moderate Conservative and who believes that a Trump presidency will be a good thing for America.

GULLIBLE - easily persuaded to believe something; credulous. 

PERSUASION - in a belief or set of beliefs, especially religious or political ones.

Nighty Night

There is a growing movement that subscribes to a serene sarcasm. A beautiful blend; bold with a crisp, satisfying finish. Safe/secure. Reaction & resentment appears to be on the menu so let’s do one of each. Let’s bring it home shall we? Complacency is a pleasant valley Sunday sermon. Later - looking soulfully into your loved one’s eyes on a romantic night out (that you’re paying for), wondering if she really loves you or is just after your money. 

Time shift. Ah, if only we could go back. NEWSFLASH: WE CAN!

It’s warm, cozy and familiar. It’s that fairy tale we were told as kids by our Moms after our bath, in bed after dark with our flannel daffy duck pyjamas on hugging Teddy. It’s mommy giving me a hug goodnight, while a tipsy Dad yells at her from the kitchen, waiting for his late supper. It is what’s REAL. What I remember; long for. It’s what’s here now. Now back again. 

Praise be.

Reaction vs. Proaction

Denial is so easy. I mean he IS just Daddy; harmless really. Poor man. I don't care about you, I just want your vote - “oh he’s just kidding/joking” or “he’s not being serious”. “He’s a businessman, it’s how he negotiates” and on and on, justifying the jargon, punctuating the platitudes. Ok but what about Project 2025 (asking)?  Strained glare ... “He has denied that, fake news”. But it’s his manifesto, drawn up by all his closest people. Long pause. “There’s no proof he had anything to do with that”. Right. Have you read it? “No. I don’t need to”. 

Awareness and humility is woke speak for weakness and I’m not weak. Black Lives, Me Too, Taking the Knee? Shove it. Transgendered should NOT be in MY vocabulary (because I am TOLD it should be). You’re either a man or a woman. Period. End of discussion.

This anti-system sentiment is a wonderful distraction and why not? I’d rather bury my head in the sand than look at what’s obvious … that we are being conned? No it’s YOU that’s being conned! There are REACTIVE and PROACTIVE Populists. Bernie Sanders is an example of the latter. Not about HIM but a greater good for all. Trump/Poilievre & most others are examples of the former; all about them ... their electorate? Pawns. Their critics? Enemies. Lock them up.

Far more potent and way more dangerous.

Epilogue: Larger than Life

Is humanity committing suicide? My suggestion earlier on and the jury is seriously OUT on that one. Maybe our American autopsy is just another episode on Springer. Like nothing matters anymore so destroy it. Only it’s way more entertaining. I’ve always wanted to be a rock star. Jesus. Hurts so good. This is actually what it feels like, because when you get right down to it

... being larger than life is way better than life itself.

for Brian

jimlamarche.ca

 

IN THE GRACE OF GILEAD

For some people, becoming larger than life becomes paramount. 
Sociopathic narcissism has no nationality; no boundaries.

 Insecure? Na. Just confident.

music video remixes below/bottom
DYSTOPIAN 2125
DEAD END

The Massive Sceptre

It's all about the show. You know that kid in school … class clown. Trickster, grandstander. 

Maybe the schoolyard bully who ended up playing lead guitar in the local metal band before becoming Mayor. No wait. The good looking quiet one in the back of the class who becomes a multi-millionaire real estate mogul at 26, marries a trophy wife/high school sweetheart (Playboy bunny), has 3 kids and divorces her at 40, dumping her for someone younger, prettier, hotter - packin’ a massive sceptre and a proper pre-nup. Dude. Always out to prove something. Broad strokes on an empty canvas aching for retribution. Art of the deal. 

Boner. I mean bonus.

Thelma & Louise

Donald Trump is in good company as he embarks on his second term as President of the United States. I guess America would rather vote for a felon poser misogynist than a black woman. I mean … come the fuck on! Let’s get REAL! Freedom for ME, no freedom for you.

So what we have here is Trump 2.0. You know, the new and improved version. The one where capitalism becomes unhinged and looks a whole lot more like Russia’s oligarchy than a democracy. The one where humility becomes weakness and everyone is vulnerable. All part of Putin’s plan when he juxtaposed himself into America’s election the first time around. 

Now? 2024? Bullseye. In this new world order, there are winners and there are losers.
You decide. Oh wait, that decision is no longer yours to make. Oh well. Maybe next time.
Oh wait, maybe there won't BE a next time. America's electorate (fuelled by a Russian President and multiple billionaire infused super PACS) has collectively driven us off a cliff and into grave uncertainty and it is a Canadian author saying 'I told you so', 40 years later. 

 

In or Out

Look, this dichotomy is insane, surreal ... heartbreaking. Comatose camaraderie with a side order of inbred inebriation. Trailer park TV, late morning.  She's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake. Realizing she's almost out of smokes with a call to have them added to her beer delivery. Boyfriend having left for another 12 hour shift at the plant and a rain-soaked TRUMP - TAKE AMERICA BACK sign now partially tipped over on their non existent lawn a week after the election. Texting a girlfriend to see if she wants to party tonight. It's a mood thing ...

I’m in the final chapter of my life - so it seems fitting, that I just unload (not a whole lot to lose at this point). I am so grateful to have been born in 1956 in Canada! The '60s, '70s, '80s & '90s were spectacular decades to be alive. By 2000 the party was winding down and it started expiring heavily. 9/11 officially knocked the wind out of my sails. By 2016 it becomes downright tragic - so ya let’s spill. What’s unfolding/at stake here is a long list - so WARNING: If you don’t really want to get bummed out right now? Don’t read any further. Distract yourself accordingly. It’s a synopsis based on perception. No holds barred. A now or never kind of deal. You’re either in or out.

Ah, you’re in. So let’s do this …

1. MIGRATION/DEPORTATION - ICE on steroids - militarized, as Trump’s new GESTAPO. Official police of the nation (remember Germany 1943? Ok you’ve seen the movies). Feds over-riding state, county and urban jurisdictions. An ALL -IN kind of deal. Local cop? Go home. Families separated, parents sent away whatever. Refugees, legal immigrants? Doesn’t matter. Mass deportations. Incarceration camps. An invigorated crematorium industry silently sewn. End of birth right citizenship. Ban Muslims from entering the country and those here now? 

Get the hell out or face the consequences.

 

2. ECONOMY - It is said that inflation in an out of control economy was the backbone of Trump's campaign and that moderate middle class Americans caved to an 'anti-system' sentiment out of fear and mistrust of the current system. I mean what do we really have to lose by tearing it all down and building it back again right? How can it get any worse and what exactly will he DO? Doesn't matter. Worth a try and Trump is our man. Hints? Oh ya ... dark clouds on the horizon? The term 'out of the frying pan and into the fire' comes to mind.

Ok, let's start with tariffs. Let’s PUNISH Americans first (by making it all WAY more expensive), then China, Mexico and Canada for intruding on us. Trade? Don't make me laugh. Newsflash: Globalism is yesterday's news. Nationalism is today's. Protecting U.S. interests (translation: billionaire campaign donors heavily invested in a MAGA U.S.) coming first obviously! 

Lower & middle classes will just have to deal with it - you get out what you put IN. Oh BTW, thanks for your vote - now FUCK OFF! Using public, taxpayer money for private religious & ideologically aligned vocational schools. Additional tax breaks for corporations and the top 5%. Trillions syphoned at the expense of those who voted for this crime of the century con and all out in the open, mid-day (smiling & waving). Elimination of unions and worker protections. 

Raising the price of medications so as to benefit big pharmaceutical donors. Taxes up for those lower in the food chain, taxes down for those higher up.

 

3. ENVIRONMENT/REGULATIONS - Abandoning all initiatives. EPA, FDA, NOAAA designed to protect the public from crony capitalism’s extreme exploitation. The Paris Climate Accord and global climate incentives in 2017 abandoned by America then, now again. Let's put the final nail in that coffin shall we? It's a short term GAIN long term PAIN manifesto, racing down a dusty back road towards the Grand Canyon in a green 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible.
We’ll deal w/it as it comes. Just adapt. Future generations? Whatever. Objections? Bring it.

Canada’s earnest carbon tax was a good idea, then. Now? Irrelevant. Big business and big oil will prosper. Green energy initiatives all on the chopping block. Canada, now ruled by Pierre Poilievre will fall into line and our resources will be up for grabs in a new willingness to comply and be rewarded as such. Ontario's Premier Doug Ford will be re-elected and his original plan to sell off the Green Belt will now become a reality with wealthy Americans benefitting the most from the new deal, Canada's affluent real estate players a distant second. A minority of Ontarians upset, a majority complacent. Indifferent. Numb.

 

4. FOREIGN RELATIONS - Turbulence/uncertainty. Arms escalation - more fingers on the LAUNCH codes. A military industrial complex working overtime. Ukraine, Palestine, Middle East becoming a more unstable powder-keg with a shorter fuse. Russia, China, North Korea aligning. WW3 becoming a very real possibility. Especially now. Restraint? None to be had. Ukraine eventually folding into Russia, NATO deteriorating and Israel becoming emboldened with increased support by the U.S., Britain and Europe collectively shaking their heads in wonder of what will happen to them. Hair trigger defence mechanisms proliferate.

Prediction: Trump will hand Ukraine over to Putin like a burnt burger on a plastic platter.

5. DOMESTICS - Here it comes. A national abortion ban? Not quite yet but watch out. Give it a year or two. Trump has stated he will continue to let states decide BUT rogue blue states not complying to a MAGA ideology will be hung out to dry on such issues including transfers, FEMA and grants. The hundreds of billions of federal aid dollars shared amongst states now every year will become more selective, favouring Republican states; excluding/punishing others.

Blue states will hang on for a year or two before caving to demands. More Republicans installed replacing Democrat judges nationally state by state before abortion rights become non existent everywhere. Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ, Muslims and minority groups going dark in fear. Civil rights, DEI protections, existing regulations and no fault divorce will end and women will automatically be blamed with no rights or compensation. Existing lunch programs in schools will be eliminated. Domestic violence, hunger and child poverty skyrocketing.

 

6. SOCIAL SECURITY - The existing social safety net will slowly disintegrate. Medicare will eventually be phased out. Healthcare will radically change with more exclusions and those who qualify will only get access if they have money or are insured. A new wave of privatization sweeping across America and Canada after a Conservative majority government is elected north of the border. The Retirement age will be raised and old age pensions reduced. 

Canadian healthcare will go from a single payer model (used in Scandinavian countries) to a 2 tier model with insurance/user pay covering half (incidental surgeries and tests).

7. LAW ENFORCEMENT - Federal and state run police will usurp local authorities. Supreme Court Justices now entirely appointed by the President for the sole purpose of serving him and his agenda. Trump's felonies once initiated by the Department of Justice will be expunged permanently and proponents of such initiatives will be fired, then jailed. Law and government will be joined at the federal level first, then the state second. Municipal policing will triple in size out of necessity. Confined to domestic disputes, increased crime and local order.

Capital punishment will be reintroduced nationally and America’s booming prison industry will expand ten-fold. Military confrontations with protestors will become commonplace with draconian measures being implemented to ensure 'safety' for America's citizens.

8. MEDIA - Fox News will become the official propaganda network for the country with others following or being shut down. Rogue podcasts, blogs, YouTube channels and what’s left of television or on-line alternatives will be weeded out and heavily censored or removed by a new Department of Communication controlled entirely by the office of the President. 

FBI and Homeland Security will be defunded and a new Department of Corrections will be introduced. Dissidents and protestors will be targeted/profiled, rooted out and either deported, imprisoned or quietly executed.

Epilogue: The Pendulum

Is there any coming back from this? Honestly, I'm thinking this blog may last 6 months to a year before it is taken down with a large percentage of my content purged/removed from my YouTube channel and Blogger. Free speech will be supported for those who comply, restricted for those who don't. Freedom and free speech will become selective, favouring those continuing subscribers to the MAGA doctrine, even in Canada. Those resisting will be silenced.

Now, all that said, it is quite conceivable that the next 4 years will pass and in 2028 there will be another election that changes everything yet again. It's a serious stretch but hey, anything is possible. I would like to leave this on a positive note. Humanity has prevailed before and can prevail again. It is said that there's this pendulum swinging left, then right - then back again, over decades driven by inertia; reversing course by our intrinsic need for change. It's really now a question if we will be allowed to initiate that change. Maybe. Maybe not.

This could be a final stretch for the swing right and it could be a final conclusion for democracy, universal critical thinking in life & liberty. Optimism is usually a good thing. 

We thought it could never happen again after the last one, especially here ...
and here we are.

power is in tearing human minds to pieces 

and putting them together again 

in new shapes of your own choosing

George Orwell

IN THE GRACE OF GILEAD

.

dictators generally, don't get along

jimlamarche.ca

.

WINDOW MEMORIAL

Till Death Do Us Part - an end of life predicament

in a remembrance of that which should have been done differently

Situation on the Ground

Life is difficult - now this? A recent trip to the doctor after tests where he tells you have cancer and it’s terminal. How long? Months, maybe a year. You’ve been tired for a long time, realizing something wasn’t right, thus the tests. Approaching 70 and it’s been a good run. Thinking, maybe it’s time to check out soon. Curing it doesn’t even enter the mind in a numbing sense of aloneness never felt before. 

Returning 3 days later for the obligatory ‘follow up’.

Of course your doctor has a ‘plan’ - you know, this agenda that doctors have … earnestly suggesting that with the right ’treatment’ there’s a chance that your life can be saved. Yay! With a couple of rounds of chemo and maybe some radiation, the cancer (now stage 4) might, just might go into remission. He is 'highly recommending' it quietly knowing there's a very slim chance of success but the script was already prepared (arrangements made) so. Worst case scenario is that you’ll get another 4-6 months of additional torture, I mean LIFE; the treatment slowing down the spread. Wow! Sounds great; I mean … that’s good news right?

A reason to feel just that little bit better. Smile.

All we ever wanted was to be relevant. Wanting our lives to mean something - sharing it with someone who loves us - having children … good job, nice home/car - a comfortable life. Ok scoring pretty good on most counts and getting that it would be nice to go out quietly; with dignity without pain. I mean, if death is inevitable and I’m old, it only makes sense that it should be as easy as possible right? 

Wrong. 

Loved ones are torn. “You’ve got to FIGHT this” is the common response. Like fighting it is going to fix it. All very entertaining and all very predictable. The world has a plan - that you’ll live regardless of what happens (and you really don’t have a say). The stress, the expectations and all the knee-jerk reactions just make it way worse. Suddenly this is not about my life but more about everyone else's.

The Rear View

The end of life is a mishmash of religious dogma suggesting that our lives ultimately belong to some higher power, medical chivalry with endless codes and procedures; strict rules & prescriptions on how our prognosis should be dealt with. What is probably the most disturbing, is the ongoing desperation that we humans ruthlessly maintain - to squeeze just one more day out of life regardless of how difficult it is. You OWE yourself that! What? Really?? It’s a universal narrative made up by those in charge; most of whom have never really had any experience with death themselves but since they know better, we just need to comply. Doctors, lawyers, clergymen/priests and esp. family really need you to stretch this out as long as humanly possible (even if it kills you). Why? Because that’s what we do!

Ok, when do I start the chemo? Well, scheduling delays and a backlog. We’ll ’try’ to get you started the first round in 3 weeks. Right. I have stage 4 cancer with months to live and they’re going to start my chemo in 3 weeks? That should be the first hint that this is all a very bad idea BUT it’s the ONLY chance of survival and EVERYBODY is insisting I try so … ok. ‘If you say so’.

For Thine is the Kingdom

Ten weeks later, results of the first round of chemotherapy come in and it’s not good news. Hair has fallen out and this stupid oxygen tube in my face 24/7. Too weak to even think about going out and lugging the tank around behind me. Can’t eat, sleep or shower/bath, having lost 30 pounds BUT maybe, just maybe we’ll get it on the second round of chemo and some radiation therapy for dessert. You CAN do this!  

Developments in Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) have come a long way in the last 10 years. Imagine drinking 2 small cups of liquid, laying back and falling asleep, deeper & deeper & deeper until your heart stops 10 minutes later. Jesus. That actually sounds pretty damn favourable right about now. Thinking it’s time to investigate that. Well no. Your Doctor telling you that a formal application can’t be submitted until all treatments are over and with chemo round 2 starting tomorrow, a MAID app is NOT an option for at least 10 more weeks now. Then there’s a 4 week exploratory period followed by a 6-8 week waiting period. 

The incremental agony - all there to support a system that has no idea what's really going on and all because 'hanging on for dear life' is how we roll. How it's always been done. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever ... amen.

Epilogue

It should be noted that many cancers are caught early enough that modern medical treatments work, eradicating the metastasis and even bringing about full remission, leaving those originally diagnosed free to live long, productive lives after. That said, being diagnosed w/stage 4 cancer at 70 is a time to think independently, knowing it’s only going to prolong the pain and suffering by seeking treatment for something that is too late to treat. Saying no thank you is always an option. An easier earlier departure is often best (even though it is never suggested or recommended).

Despite the clamouring for control, the kicking, screaming, clutching and resistance from all those who think they know what’s best for you, everyone facing elimination should have the right (and support) to shut it all down in minutes (no waiting, delays or excuses). Like shutting a light switch off. 

Over and out.

for Pansy Edith Batho (Pat Miller)

April 16, 1932 - July 29, 2004

https://www.ontario.ca/page/medical-assistance-dying-and-end-life-decisions

jimlamarche.ca

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