Althouse: "Police largely cleared the self-styled and illegal 'Freedom Convoy' preventing access to a vital U.S.-Canada crossing on Sunday morning, arresting demonstrators and towing vehicles..."

February 13, 2022

"Police largely cleared the self-styled and illegal 'Freedom Convoy' preventing access to a vital U.S.-Canada crossing on Sunday morning, arresting demonstrators and towing vehicles..."

"... that had been blocking the road between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit. But authorities were holding off on reopening the route amid concerns that demonstrators would return. 'Enforcement actions continue at the demonstration area with arrests being made. Vehicles being towed,' police in Windsor tweeted Sunday morning, urging people to avoid the area. Police said those arrested will be charged with mischief. 'There will be zero tolerance for illegal activity,' police said. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said in a statement that 'today our national economic crisis at the Ambassador Bridge came to an end.'... Elsewhere, protesters continued to block parts of Canada’s capital, Ottawa, for the third consecutive weekend and staged disruptive blockades at other border crossings...."

WaPo reports.

99 comments:

wendybar said...: But he marched with BLM rioters and looters. This is why the Political class needs to be careful. The citizens of the world are angry, and the Political class is doing whatever they can to rub our faces in their hate for us.; 2/13/22, 11:34 AM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: WHO'S BRIDGE? OUR BRIDGE!

THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!

HEY HEY! HO HO! TRUDEAU* HAS GOT TO GO!

*Trudeau is on his way out. Autocorrect doesn't recognize his name. That means our Tech overseers have decided to memory hole him.; 2/13/22, 11:39 AM
Joe said...: Wait, they’re not re-opening the route? WTF?; 2/13/22, 11:54 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Leftists are creepy authoritarians... who ARE decidedly NOT for the working man.; 2/13/22, 11:59 AM
Owen said...: Truckers won this encounter, IMHO. As follows:
(1) Cops cost a lot of money and eventually it will hit the taxpayers, who will ask what the value proposition is.
(2) Cops in this case came with full battle rattle (including MRAPs and snipers at the ready). Their targets were civilians with no weapons but patience and no defense but friendly spirits. This is not a good look.
(3) Viewed in power terms, the truckers' opening bid of (jamming the bridge, without physical damage, for a few days) was "about 3." The cops' response was about 11. You never want to go to 11. Because where do you go from there? This is a kind of theater, a play of symbols and types representing a deeper debate about science, power and the public good; and in theater you just don't go to 11, except for one femto-second before the close.
(4) Because the truckers have not exhausted their dynamic range, they can pick and choose the venue, time and type of future actions. The State cannot protect everything 24/7 and its errors and omissions will be mercilessly published. Which will further impair the State's OODA loop, and the propensity of narcissistic idiots like PM Trudeau to overreact.

Pass the popcorn.; 2/13/22, 12:05 PM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: The Canadian elite are really covering themselves in shit.; 2/13/22, 12:06 PM
rcocean said...: Oh gosh. No toleratation for "Illegal activity". Guess BLM/Antifa haven't gotten that memo yet. Notice that the liberal/left Pols and the MSM aren't interested in "addressing their grivances" or "opening up a dialogue".

Nope. When its not a Progressive cause - its the jackboot and reveling in crushing dissent.; 2/13/22, 12:08 PM
Howard said...: Those arrested should have to pay back the billions of dollars in lost revenue they caused with their illegal blockade.; 2/13/22, 12:10 PM
traditionalguy said...: Boston Tea Party redux.; 2/13/22, 12:16 PM
Gojuplyr831@gmail.com said...: The workers of the world are uniting and the socialists are upset.; 2/13/22, 12:35 PM
Enigma said...: I don't think either Canada or the world will be at ease for a long time to come. The first dozen trucks to cross the Ambassador bridge may "break down" and start it all over again. Or, some of the presumed-compliant corporate delivery drivers for GM, Ford, etc. may have "an accident" and block lanes for hours while crossing the bridge.

Every day.
Every week.
Every month.

Truckers are fundamental, essential, invisible, ignored, and disrespected. However, they win by leaving the workforce through government regulations, they win by blocking the roads, or they win when their opponents surrender. They win with either direct aggression or passive aggression. With routine lockdowns and remote white-collar work, the servants became the masters.

Imagine what truckers might do to the long-running California shipping port debacle. A global blue-collar awakening (and seemingly right wing) may be happening in real time.; 2/13/22, 12:39 PM
Michael K said...: At least the corporate media is noticing this. They know nothing about the motives and plans of the protestors, of course. Fortunately there are plenty of alternate media sources.

Here is one source.

The protests really boil down to demonstrating the divide in Canada between the makers vs. the takers, the producers vs. the parasites. For far too long the parasites have been getting away with murder, figuratively and, on occasion literally, and the politicians have been pandering to them whether it be at Caledonia, at the BLM protests, at the pipeline blockades or whatever “green” nonsense of the day the professional malcontents have dreamt up. Finally, the makers/producers have had enough and, as Kate pointed out recently, started to use the tactics of the parasites to poke a finger into the faces of the politicos.; 2/13/22, 12:52 PM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: But authorities were holding off on reopening the route amid concerns that demonstrators would return.

So the protesters are still winning. Good

'Enforcement actions continue at the demonstration area with arrests being made. Vehicles being towed,' police in Windsor tweeted Sunday morning, urging people to avoid the area. Police said those arrested will be charged with mischief. 'There will be zero tolerance for illegal activity,' police said.

Gee, weren't there a bunch of BLM protests with tons of "criminal activity" that got infinite "tolerance"?

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said in a statement that 'today our national economic crisis at the Ambassador Bridge came to an end.'... Elsewhere, protesters continued to block parts of Canada’s capital, Ottawa, for the third consecutive weekend and staged disruptive blockades at other border crossings...."

Gee, all they have to do is stop being a bunch of fascist pigs, stop destroying people's lives for not getting a shot that has no public health benefits, and the problems would go away.

But that, apparently, is a bridge too far; 2/13/22, 12:55 PM
Mary Beth said...: People were blocking the road, so to prevent that, the police closed the road? It sounds like it's not a matter of having open access, but who gets to be king of the hill. (King troll of the bridge?); 2/13/22, 12:56 PM
effinayright said...: '"There will be zero tolerance for illegal activity",

said every shameless Democrat allowing shoplifting, murder of police, arson, vandalism, homeless squatting, defecating in the streets, free crack pipes, get-out-of-jail free "bail reform", and promoter of foreign invasion at the southern border.; 2/13/22, 12:59 PM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: Note:
A vaccine has public health benefits to the extent that it stops vaccinated people from spreading the disease to other people.

The Covid shots simply don't do that
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8481107/
Increases in COVID-19 are unrelated to levels of vaccination across 68 countries and 2947 counties in the United States

There is no legitimate justification for "vaccine mandates", "vaccine passports", or any of the other garbage that the authoritarians are pushing.

To the extent that adults have any right to make decisions for themselves, every adult has the right to decide whether or not to get the shots.

No one else has any legitimate say in the matter; 2/13/22, 1:00 PM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: Howard said...
Those arrested should have to pay back the billions of dollars in lost revenue they caused with their illegal blockade.

Now do BLM and Antifa, Howard.

Let us know when you're calling for the impeachment and removal of every single left wing official who sat back and let the BLM riots go, or stopped police from arresting the BLM criminals, or who refused to prosecute the BLM criminals.

When you're ready to go full bore against the BLM criminals, and other criminals of the Left, we'll listen to what you have to say about people opposing your authoritarian thugs

Until then? You've set the rules, we're just following them; 2/13/22, 1:05 PM
Gospace said...: Still no traffic across the bridge as post. Bridges are obvious choke points and easy to disrupt traffic at, and according to British news source, actually covering the situation- the movement is spreading.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10507083/Freedom-Convoy-truckers-hold-line-continue-block-access-Ontario-bridge.html

About 350 road miles from Niagara Falls CA to Cornwall CA, everything East of Cornwall is land border, with numerous roads crossing the border. Toronto, London, Windsor- they're all on what amounts to a large peninsula. About 240 road miles from Niagara Falls to Windsor. Next west is Sault Ste Marie. Going to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Pretty much out of the way to anywhere. Then at the western end of Lake Superior to the west coast all land crossings. But mostly secondary and tertiary roads. Because of where Canada's population and industry are, most cross country traffic goes through the choke points.

I was driving random roads near Massena NY once and noted there was a guard shack in the middle of the road, and turned around. It was manned and checked cars returning to the USA.... hadn't even realized I entered Canada. There were no signs. Apparently the road was open 24/7, but the post manned only during the day, M-F. Many crossings are really out of the way for commercial traffic.; 2/13/22, 1:09 PM
Achilles said...: Howard said...

Those arrested should have to pay back the billions of dollars in lost revenue they caused with their illegal blockade.

Now do BLM/Antifa you piece of shit.

Oh that's right you only care when your Oligarch masters lose money and don't really care about small businesses getting destroyed.; 2/13/22, 1:09 PM
Sebastian said...: Let's assume the actual vaccine mandate is still the point at issue.

Question: what benefit, in terms of severe outcomes prevented, would that mandate produce, according to the Canadian government, now that we know vaccines do not prevent transmission as such? What is the actual, substantive public-health justification for the requirement? I have not seen it in articles pro and con.; 2/13/22, 1:10 PM
Achilles said...: If you don't help make Pfizer a couple more billion, you are an enemy of the State.

Noted.; 2/13/22, 1:11 PM
JAORE said...: Out traveling group was south of Death Valley on motorcycles when we heard Vegas, where we had rented bikes, was shutting down completely. We beat feet back to Vegas where we got the last room at an airport hotel. Food was pizza delivery, but only to the parking lot. And we got six of the last seats on a flight to ATL.

On the way back to Vegas we had to search for places to eat. Luckily drive through would accept us. They would NOT take walk ups and no interior service. We saw at least two examples where truckers were stymied. Too big for the drive through, yet no other service.

Throughout the pandemic they have soldiered on supplying us. Politicians break their own Covid rules. Millions of illegals cross the border and are spread across the country without care for Covid status. Burning and looting are understandable."Mostly peaceful". Truckers parking their trucks are potentially violent.

But those truckers should just shut up and obey. Right?; 2/13/22, 1:14 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: "Those arrested should have to pay back the billions of dollars in lost revenue they caused with their illegal blockade."

The George Floyd and BLM rioters, too? Not to mention the BLM and George Floyd rioter property damage. And antifa, too.

They certainly have done that with the mostly peaceful rioters in Chicago--not.

I am with you in principle, Howard, but you forgot a few things.; 2/13/22, 1:30 PM
Jaq said...: The billions in dollars of damage done in cities like Minneapolis and the huge number of looted, burned, and sadly underinsured small businesses, largely minority-owned, need not be repaid, or even thought about. But I am sure "make the truckers pay back the billions, enslave them for the rest of their lives!" sounded a lot better in whatever liberal echo chamber you first heard it.

The hammer is down, and it's "Not your body; not your choice."

In the end, I am of two minds, on the one hand, there has been a lot of deceptive anti-vaxx stuff floating around, arguments that betray lack of even the most rudimentary knowledge of statistics, and a stubborn refusal to even acknowledge that strokes, heart attacks, and other clot related events were concerning cardiologists before the vaccine was even approved.

On the other hand, the truck drivers are right that the vaccine is experimental still, not a lot of time has passed since the first shot, and they should not be forced to choose between their livelihood and submitting to a shot that is pretty much obsolete, since omicron, not to mention, that the natural immunity that occurs from an infection can be measured, and this was never allowed to even be considered. That was never "following the science."

The government's complete refusal to talk to anybody in the protests is nothing more than a sign that the government knows how weak their arguments are, and that the whole house of cards will simply fall if exposed to scrutiny, since the policy is more driven by polling than by science.; 2/13/22, 1:33 PM
Clyde said...: Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again

When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes; 2/13/22, 1:41 PM
Darkisland said...: Is this a "protest" or a "strike" and what would be the difference between the two?

It is definitely about working conditions which is a legitimate and legal reason to strike. (In the US. With some exceptions. Don't know specifically about Canadian labor law.

If they ever do decide to open the bridge, truckers should drive at the minimum legal speed maintaining the minimum legal separation. Side by side so no passing.

It doesn't close the bridge but perhaps they can cut throughput 30-50%

Who is John Galt?

John LGBTQBNY Henry; 2/13/22, 1:45 PM
Jaq said...: BTW, the forced jabs on truckers is one more Biden fuckup, as his administration imposed the requirement first, meaning that Trudeau can't even lift it if he wanted to.

But don't worry, all of the people who have been forced out of their jobs due to this issue have zero to do with the supply chain problems, that are not Biden's fault in any way.

I can't wait to see what this war Biden has been brewing up to cover his corruption in Ukraine does to the supply chain.; 2/13/22, 1:47 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: The police, city hall and parliament can soon expect to hear: "No deliveries for you!"; 2/13/22, 1:50 PM
Darkisland said...: Anyone interested in a pool as to when the Queen gets pissed and dismisses Trudeau?

Either directly, through the Viceroy/"Governor general" or by having her minions drop a quiet word into the ear of the party leaders.

I suspect that he will "Resign" but we will all know he has been pushed.

I'm taking next Saturday.

JOhn LGBTQBNY Henry; 2/13/22, 1:50 PM
Browndog said...: China crippled the auto industry by sharply reducing the export of semi-conductors.

Both the US and Canadian governments have closed their borders in one fashion or another because of "The Science". Both governments have crippled their own economies.

As one Canadian protester said today near the bridge when asked about the economic damage being caused by the protest "the trade-off is short term economic pain for long term FREEDOM."

Speaking of pain, it's your turn--suburban white mask wearing Karens:

U.S. government suspends all imports of Mexican avocados after a U.S. plant safety inspector in Mexico received a threat. - AP; 2/13/22, 1:51 PM
Jaq said...: Here is a little porn for Howard, he can look at the beatdowns the French police are dishing out. There is a really good "agony of defeat" scene where the demonstrator's leg is hanging broken. Almost as good as the body camera footage showing the Capitol Police beat that lady to death on J6, but that one is only if you are into snuff stuff when it comes to deplorables.; 2/13/22, 1:52 PM
Jim at said...: You know, some consistency would be nice.; 2/13/22, 1:54 PM
wildswan said...: The truckers lose their jobs and can't eat? Why do they not just send out for pizza?; 2/13/22, 2:08 PM
Maynard said...: Those arrested should have to pay back the billions of dollars in lost revenue they caused with their illegal blockade.

I was angered at first by this take, but realized that it is just a childish attempt at trolling.

Actually these people should languish in jail for years, like the 1/6 protesters. Both the US and Canadian governments see the truckers as terrorists and should treat them as such. Let's do the same with parents who protest their local school boards.

You will be made to obey!; 2/13/22, 2:08 PM
Interested Bystander said...: This is t going to end the way the govt. thinks it will. The drivers can easily go home and park their rigs until mass starvation or revolution comes.; 2/13/22, 2:08 PM
JK Brown said...: Snidley Trudeau "wins" this round; 2/13/22, 2:11 PM
Michael K said...: Blogger Howard said...

Those arrested should have to pay back the billions of dollars in lost revenue they caused with their illegal blockade.

You silly little fool, how about ANTIFA and BLM ? How about if they all went home and let you twerps grow your own food?

The left is heavily populated with parasites and those who have never made anything or run anything but their mouths.; 2/13/22, 2:21 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Why behave like progressive barbarians?; 2/13/22, 2:22 PM
jim5301 said...: "Leftists are creepy authoritarians... who ARE decidedly NOT for the working man."

Right cheeze-wiz, like the working man laid off from an auto plant in the USA because no parts. That working man?; 2/13/22, 2:46 PM
JK Brown said...: "The truckers lose their jobs and can't eat? Why do they not just send out for pizza?"

No worries, things fall off trucks all the time. In fact, in most urban areas there are organized groups who "collect" these things for reallocation of ownership.; 2/13/22, 2:49 PM
JK Brown said...: "The truckers lose their jobs and can't eat? Why do they not just send out for pizza?"

No worries, things fall off trucks all the time. In fact, in most urban areas there are organized groups who "collect" these things for reallocation of ownership.; 2/13/22, 2:50 PM
Leland said...: today our national economic crisis at the Ambassador Bridge came to an end.

But authorities were holding off on reopening the route amid concerns that demonstrators would return.

Oh yeah, that is better. Now the Freedom Convoy has the local mayor blockading the bridge without the need to put protestors there. Honk.; 2/13/22, 2:51 PM
gilbar said...: can we assume that the left is DONE With "defund the police" now?; 2/13/22, 2:52 PM
gadfly said...: So what took the Canadians so long to bust this idiocy? Full sentencing in jail and the cost of truck towing and cleanup should be imposed on the truck owners, who I suspect are the arrested drivers. Fleet trucks have employee drivers who would have been fired long ago and fleet rigs have not been blocking traffic at the bridge and in Canada's capitol.

The choice to take the Covid-19 test to cross the border instead of getting a simple vaccination is made daily by a few recalcitrant drivers and this choice has never been a national problem up North.; 2/13/22, 2:53 PM
Iman said...: “We went from 15 days to Flatten the Curve to 18 Wheels to Flatten the Regime.”; 2/13/22, 2:53 PM
jim5301 said...: Let's play a game. It's called the rule of law. It means that you look at what was done to determine whether or not punishment is appropriate, not whether you happen to agree with the politics of the accused. As John Lennon said - it's easy if you try.

Of course Antifa/BLM protestors who broke the law should have been arrested and prosecuted. I have always said that. I'm consistent . . . unlike most of you hypocrites.

Not sure why so many of you have such contempt for the rule of law. But then I remember who your leader is and it all starts to make sense.; 2/13/22, 2:54 PM
Iman said...: Producers vs. Parasites… battle on!; 2/13/22, 2:56 PM
gilbar said...: Actually these people should languish in jail for years, like the 1/6 protesters

Goddamn RIGHT! each and every truck drive in north (and central) america, should be locked up!
THAT would teach them! We can show them that we don't need them Or their stupid trucks!
There's NOTHING in this country, that can't easily be delivered by clean electric cars and bicycles
Well, Nothing except maybe Food/Fuel/Clothing/Appliances/Electronics/Cement/Construction Materials and Equipment/Lumber... But other than those items, there is NOTHING that we can't deliver with clean electric cars and bicycles
(well, except for the clean electric cars and the bicycles; but That's It!); 2/13/22, 3:02 PM
gilbar said...: jim5301 said...
Right cheeze-wiz, like the working man laid off from an auto plant, because he won't vax?

fify!; 2/13/22, 3:04 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: “About 350 road miles from Niagara Falls CA to Cornwall CA, everything East of Cornwall is land border, with numerous roads crossing the border. Toronto, London, Windsor- they're all on what amounts to a large peninsula. About 240 road miles from Niagara Falls to Windsor. Next west is Sault Ste Marie. Going to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Pretty much out of the way to anywhere. Then at the western end of Lake Superior to the west coast all land crossings. But mostly secondary and tertiary roads. Because of where Canada's population and industry are, most cross country traffic goes through the choke points.”

Visited the house of our new in law-parents when my kid got married last Sept. They live by the border, and you have to drive within a couple hundred yards of the border crossing station to get there. They are dairy farmers and one of their farms is right up against the CA border. So, yes, there is a fence along that border - to keep the dairy cows from wandering over the line. You go a bit either way, and there aren’t even the two strands of barbed wire protecting us from the rabid Canadians.; 2/13/22, 3:09 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: Interestingly, I was just on the elevator (at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas), and asked the couple riding down with me where they were from. Apparently from Canada, just across from Niagara Falls. We got into just this discussion, after I asked him what going on there.; 2/13/22, 3:12 PM
Captain BillieBob said...: Truckers don't have to park their trucks on bridges or roads or anywhere they block traffic. They just have to park their trucks. A week or so should do it.; 2/13/22, 3:12 PM
cubanbob said...: Interested Bystander said...
This is t going to end the way the govt. thinks it will. The drivers can easily go home and park their rigs until mass starvation or revolution comes."

Indeed. You beat me to the punch. Just go home, stock up and go on strike and encourage the rest of the drivers who work for Amazon, FedEx and the rest get sick for a week and the same for gasoline truck drivers. Then raise the ante with Trudeau and the various provincial governments.; 2/13/22, 3:20 PM
Howard said...: Bravo Tim in Tampa. You seemed very kempt that the thin blue line blue lives matter heroes treat your friends like POC. Next you'll preach police reform and civilian oversight boards.; 2/13/22, 3:43 PM
Howard said...: Main steam stop valve.; 2/13/22, 3:46 PM
walter said...: "So. What are YOU in here for?"
(rubbing hands together)"Mischief!"

I love Gadfly's repeated invoking of "simple" regarding jabs.
Yes..folks' avoidance is about convenience. It's damn hard to find a willing, highly trained jabber!; 2/13/22, 3:47 PM
Jim at said...: Of course Antifa/BLM protestors who broke the law should have been arrested and prosecuted.

But they weren't.

That's the point, you stupid shit.; 2/13/22, 3:48 PM
DanTheMan said...: >>Anyone interested in a pool as to when the Queen gets pissed and dismisses Trudeau?
>>I suspect that he will "Resign" but we will all know he has been pushed. I'm taking next >>Saturday.

I'll take that bet.
The only lesson that the Clintons, Obamas, Pelosis and Trudeaus of the world have learned over the last decade or so is that the rules do not apply to them, and they cannot be called to account.; 2/13/22, 3:54 PM
walter said...: It's a disengenuous deflection to frame the issue as strictly border process. But the border is certainly a pressure point.
BTW, has the Althouse haus watched any Viva Frei ewetoob? A wealth of interviews.; 2/13/22, 4:02 PM
Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...: "But authorities were holding off on reopening the route..."

The Government controls the bridge and will decide when the People are allowed to use it.; 2/13/22, 4:02 PM
Big Mike said...: Let's play a game.

Let’s not. The rest of us are tired of the games progs play.

It's called the rule of law.

There has been no real rule of law in the US or Canada for many, many years.; 2/13/22, 4:07 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The point has been made. Let other institutions step up. You don't want any one group to be the face of this. Besides, these truckers are needed by their families too.; 2/13/22, 4:08 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: As for that "illegal" phrasing by the WAPO, I refer my right honourable Althousians to an Althouse post from a few days ago.

Link; 2/13/22, 4:19 PM
David Smith said...: I have never been so proud to be Canadian. Provincial Premiers have seen what is happening to Baby Trudeau and can't wait to walk things back and save their cushy jobs.; 2/13/22, 4:24 PM
effinayright said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/13/22, 4:25 PM
Michael K said...: Not sure why so many of you have such contempt for the rule of law. But then I remember who your leader is and it all starts to make sense.

Poor dopey lefty. Peaceful demonstrations are not your thing. You prefer jack booted thugs (term coined by John Dingle, a Democrat) and a fascist police state. Well, I would say things are going your way. Simple citizens are pretty helpless in front of armored police with snipers (!) stationed on tall buildings. One thing, though, police are starting to sympathize with the truckers. Tienanmen square might still be a ways off. More to come.; 2/13/22, 4:31 PM
charis said...: The last two years have been an education on which protests are favored by the ruling class and which are not.; 2/13/22, 4:36 PM
Darkisland said...: A Harvard Professor Genius Thursday suggested that they slash the truck tires, remove all fuel and THEN remove the trucks.

She is also a former member of the National Security Council which should give everyone pause.

In any event, it seems like it will be extremely difficult to remove the trucks unless the drivers can be convinced to do so.

This article explains what is involved:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-protest-truck-tow-remove-1.6339652

Key point?

Heavy-duty towing experts say it will be difficult or impossible to remove the hundreds of heavy trucks entrenched in Ottawa's downtown — unless the drivers allow it.

Note that this is from the Canadian Broadcasting System, financed by Trudeau.

So it must be true, the govt would not lie, would they?

Who is John Galt?

John LGBTQBNY Henry; 2/13/22, 4:45 PM
effinayright said...: JAORE said "Throughout the pandemic they have soldiered on supplying us. Politicians break their own Covid rules. Millions of illegals cross the border and are spread across the country without care for Covid status. Burning and looting are understandable."Mostly peaceful". Truckers parking their trucks are potentially violent.

But those truckers should just shut up and obey. Right?"
**************

That's jim5301's position.

Apparently there's no tyranny he will not embrace. If tyrants invoke the rule of law, that ends the matter.

I suspect he regrets he has only two knees to bend.; 2/13/22, 4:56 PM
Jim Gust said...: There was a riot in Minneapolis on Friday night, with extensive looting and vandalism. The police never showed up. Because it is different when BLM and Antifa do it.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/02/inside-the-bizarre-hellworld-of-minneapolis.php; 2/13/22, 5:04 PM
walter said...: Darkisland,
Heard similar from a trucker interviewed in his truck in Ottawa. I think he said something about anyone who knows about the airbrake systems...

-----

"Effective January 15, 2022, all travelers entering Canada, including truck drivers, must use ArriveCAN to provide mandatory travel information, including proof of vaccination. Submission of mandatory travel information can be done up to 72 hours before arriving in Canada. ArriveCAN is available as a free mobile app and can also be accessed via a web-based version at Canada.ca/ArriveCAN. Exempt travelers, such as truck drivers, can also save time by creating an reusable receipt in ArriveCAN. This allows them to submit their mandatory information once and create a single receipt that can be used each time they cross the border."
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/international-programs/canada/new-canadian-border-vaccination-requirement-exempt-essential; 2/13/22, 5:11 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: To paraphrase Union General Phil Sheridan: "The only good ANTIFA GOON is a dead ANTIFA GOON."

Same for BLM GOONS.

I look forward to home owners coming out of their homes with their AR15s to defend their neighborhoods. Live home owners: 100, Live ANTIFA GOONS: 0.; 2/13/22, 5:26 PM
Gahrie said...: can we assume that the left is DONE With "defund the police" now?

Are you kidding?

They're already trying to blame it on the Right. I've heard Psaki do it twice recently.; 2/13/22, 5:28 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: Not sure why so many of you have such contempt for the rule of law. But then I remember who your leader is and it all starts to make sense.

Donald Trumps is a federalist. Joe Biden is a fascist. Trump knows what a court order is and what to do about it: appeal it. Joe Biden doesn't understand what a court order is and is response is to ignore it.; 2/13/22, 5:28 PM
boatbuilder said...: Not just "illegal" but--horrors!--"self-styled."

I.e., not approved of, or designated, by the elect.; 2/13/22, 5:30 PM
Gahrie said...: Those arrested should have to pay back the billions of dollars in lost revenue they caused with their illegal blockade.

Howard swooned when he learned that the Chinese Communists send a bill to your family for the bullet they use to execute you.; 2/13/22, 5:35 PM
Iman said...: “I suspect he regrets he has only two knees to bend”

Especially considering he had the foresight to buy several pair of Clinton Regulation Kneepads when they had a fire sale back in ’98.; 2/13/22, 6:17 PM
Dude1394 said...: Democrats run to the aid of the fascists. Because, well, democrats are fasicsts.; 2/13/22, 6:22 PM
PaoloP said...: Thank you for the update, Duce.; 2/13/22, 6:57 PM
LA_Bob said...: The WaPo headline bummed me a bit at first, but some of the comments here lead me to think the police action was not all that.

I also read a feel-good story about the convoy on Gato Malo's substack.

https://boriquagato.substack.com/p/pro-tips-for-police-and-society/comments; 2/13/22, 7:02 PM
PaoloP said...: Those arresting legal protestors should have to pay back
the trillions of dollars in lost revenue,
the social polarization,
the psychological damage,
the derailment of education,
the perversion of democracy,
they caused with their insane lockdowns.; 2/13/22, 7:10 PM
Owen said...: Apparently the RCMP in Coutts Alberta have now disabled three earthmovers so they can't be moved and used to further the border blockade. I will try to find the cite; it needs confirmation because IMHO this is a whole new step change in the severity of State response to "citizens seeking redress of grievances." Will the State pay the owners of the equipment for the needed repairs and loss of use of their equipment? On what grounds --suspicion or certainty, and how established-- can the State so much as touch private property on its theory of potential use for a purpose not convenient to the State?

Things are getting pretty kinky here.; 2/13/22, 7:12 PM
Owen said...: Here you go: the first hit on a query "Coutts earthmovers RCMP."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLTvejNzaTo; 2/13/22, 7:14 PM
Mason G said...: "There was a riot in Minneapolis on Friday night, with extensive looting and vandalism. The police never showed up. Because it is different when BLM and Antifa do it."

One would think. Since the truckers haven't engaged in looting or vandalism, have they?; 2/13/22, 7:19 PM
PaoloP said...: What law haw been broken? Isn't protesting a right? If the law is applied only to your political opponents is it still law? Why is Trudeau calling the protesters, indiscriminately, all the names in the PC vocabulary? Doesn't such behavior require a general strike?; 2/13/22, 7:26 PM
Owen said...: Here's another link (to CBC, which is the State propaganda organ) evidencing the RCMP vandalizing private property on a theory that it "might be used" in ways they didn't approve.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/coutts-rcmp-blockade-troy-savinkoff-protest-1.6350336

So long as you don't struggle, all will be well.; 2/13/22, 7:26 PM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: jim5301 said...
Let's play a game. It's called the rule of law. It means that you look at what was done to determine whether or not punishment is appropriate, not whether you happen to agree with the politics of the accused. As John Lennon said - it's easy if you try.

Now do BLM and Antifa.

Oh, wait, you can't, because your'e an unprincipled pile of shit

Of course Antifa/BLM protestors who broke the law should have been arrested and prosecuted. I have always said that. I'm consistent . . . unlike most of you hypocrites.

1: Please point to your contemporaneous posts where you said that. We'll wait
2: Please point to your contemporaneous posts where you said that all teh Democrat politicians who let BLM run wild must be voted out of office.

Please point to the posts where you called out Kamala Harris for her support of the rioters, and where you said you refuse to vote for the Biden / Haris ticket because of her criminality

Oh, wait, you can't because you're a lying sack of shit

Not sure why so many of you have such contempt for the rule of law. But then I remember who your leader is and it all starts to make sense.

No "emergency orders" with respect to Covid, made more than 3 months after the start of Covid, qualify as "the rule of law".

Did the Canadian Parliament pass a law mandating those "vaccine passports"? No?

Then no respect for the rule of law requires anyone to respect them.

What's it like, having positions that are such shit that you can't honestly defend them?; 2/13/22, 8:32 PM
Mutaman said...: Bruce Hayden said...

" Interestingly, I was just on the elevator (at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas),"

Its fake news that The Trump hotel Vegas was the only hotel that refused to donate rooms and money for health care workers-there were one or two others.

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/apr/16/facebook-posts/trumps-vegas-hotel-hasnt-made-donations-it-isnt-on/; 2/13/22, 11:30 PM
Mutaman said...: Greg The Class Traitor said...

"There is no legitimate justification for "vaccine mandates", "vaccine passports", or any of the other garbage that the authoritarians are pushing.

To the extent that adults have any right to make decisions for themselves, every adult has the right to decide whether or not to get the shots.

No one else has any legitimate say in the matter"

I submit that the stupidity manifested in this post should be "punishable by death".; 2/13/22, 11:51 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Lemme see... who said "I don't work for you" to auto workers? After that, who demonstrated that sentiment so vividly? I remember who, and, so do the auto workers.; 2/14/22, 5:48 AM
wendybar said...: If lefties hated the Trucker protest, they are REALLY going to hate when the truckers STAY HOME. I hope it hits the people mad at the Truckers the hardest. Suffer for for your leaders. You chose the wrong side of history (as they keep telling US.); 2/14/22, 6:11 AM
Jaq said...: Kamala Harris raised bail money for those arrested, and only violent people were arrested in those riots. The bail money would go to the rioter after the charges were dropped by prosecutors supported by Democrats and the press. I am sure that those "jibes" of yours go over a lot better in one of your lefty hothouse sites, where all contrary opinion is banned.; 2/14/22, 6:35 AM
Rusty said...: gadfly said...
"So what took the Canadians so long to bust this idiocy? Full sentencing in jail and the cost of truck towing and cleanup should be imposed on the truck owners, who I suspect are the arrested drivers. Fleet trucks have employee drivers who would have been fired long ago and fleet rigs have not been blocking traffic at the bridge and in Canada's capitol.

The choice to take the Covid-19 test to cross the border instead of getting a simple vaccination is made daily by a few recalcitrant drivers and this choice has never been a national problem up North."
So, you're not in solidarity with the working man? I get it.
You should know though the protest isn't about vaccinations. The protest is about heavy handed mandates that keep trucker from effectively doing their jobs. See. Unlike you, who can work from home, other people actually have to go to a different place to work. Some of those places are trucks and factories. All so you can have your Red Bull and Cheesy Poofs while you punch keys.
Wild,huh.; 2/14/22, 9:26 AM
Rusty said...: Revolutions are never convenient for the oppressors.
Am I right, Howard?; 2/14/22, 9:36 AM
jim5301 said...: Okay Greg, You call me a piece of shit and then you give me an assignment to find old posts of mine that prove that my view as been consistent over time. Why again should I spend hours this morning doing that for you? You are the one calling me a liar with no evidence, so it seems only fair that you should look for old posts of mine that support your accusation? Don't you think? Dipshit.; 2/14/22, 9:50 AM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: Mutaman said...
I submit that the stupidity manifested in this post should be "punishable by death".

Note he can't say what about it is "stupid", because it's all entirely correct and completely backed by actual science.

As for "punishable by death". The White House posts CDC collected data on Covid, including the data broken down by county.

I happened to pull the data from the week ending January 28, 2022. Now, when you're looking how the "vaccination" rate affects the number of cases, hospitalizations, or deaths, you want data from 2, 3, or 4 weeks back, to account for the lag time (since the people actually dying because of Covid caught it some time ago).

So I did some linear modeling with the appropriate data. The results were rather funny for the Covid deaths. Because If you look at all the data, it's practically a flat line, with a slight bend in favor of "getting the shots drives down the death rate" (the problem being that the "get the Covid shot" rate explains less than 1/3 of 1% of the results. Which translates to: there's no reason to believe this has any effect").

But if you only look at counties with 200,000 people or more, or look at the top 400 counties by population, the relationship became positive.

Yes, the more people who'd gotten the shots, the HIGHER the death rate was.
And this became more pronounced, as I trimmed the data down to bigger and bigger counties.

So, fascist boy, you might be careful about deciding the others actions are "punishable by death", because it may be that you're leading the way; 2/14/22, 10:08 AM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: jim5301 said...
Okay Greg, You call me a piece of shit and then you give me an assignment to find old posts of mine that prove that my view as been consistent over time. Why again should I spend hours this morning doing that for you? You are the one calling me a liar with no evidence, so it seems only fair that you should look for old posts of mine that support your accusation? Don't you think? Dipshit.

1: You are a lying sack of sh!t. I've called you out on it multiple times, and you've always run away rather than responding.
2: So this time, you try a new trick, you say "you look through my posts1". No, you're a boringly stupid person, and I'd rather have needles stuck in my eyes than re-read all the idiocy you've written.

If you want to prove yourself to be consistent, feel free. You're not worth my time.

And the fact that you opposed Trump (who was the main political figure opposing BLM and Antifa's criminal behavior), and supported Bided / Haris (who supported the BLM and Antifa criminals), shows that any claim to previously having been opposed to BLM and Antifa criminality is an obvious lie.

Feel free to try to prove me wrong. but no one here actually believes your claim. Because no one here is that stupid, even the dishonest lefties; 2/14/22, 10:15 AM
Owen said...: Greg The Class Traitor @ 10:08. Thanks for the data analysis. What a weird finding: that the vx does not correlate with fewer deaths (except slightly), but in more populous counties the correlation is positive (more vx --> more death?!?) and I would guess that in less populous counties the correlation would have to be negative (more vx -->less death).

So should we all move to exurbia or farm country?

Would a look at different weeks show different trends: how "jumpy" is the data?; 2/14/22, 11:08 AM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: Owen said...
Greg The Class Traitor @ 10:08. Thanks for the data analysis...
Would a look at different weeks show different trends: how "jumpy" is the data?

That was the only week where the trend was upward.

But there was a pretty consistent trend that as you moved forward in time from 9/3/21, the lines get closer and closer to flat, and the R squared values (measure of how much of the results are "explained" by the relationship between the "vaccination" rate and the case / hospitalization / death rate) gets smaller and smaller.

Normally limiting the analysis to fewer larger counties makes the "vaccination" look better, which is why I found it so amusing that week of 1/28 it made things look worse.

So, take home messages:
1: The "Covid vaccination" shots provide almost no protection from Omicron, and not that much from Delta
2: There's no justification for a "Covid vaccine mandate". On a population level those shots do nothing to drop the infection rate, and very little to lower the hospitalization and death rates

All the data is here:
https://healthdata.gov/Health/COVID-19-Community-Profile-Report/gqxm-d9w9
There's at least a dozen programming languages that have libraries that can read the Excel data files and merge the relevant data (you want a time delay between "fully vaccinated" and "Outcome". If you want to make the shots look good you REALLY want that time delay, because without it the results are even worse for you).

I used R to do the linear model and plotting, because R can read the comma delimited output from the above step, and doing the analysis and plotting in R is utterly trivial.

Don't take my word for it, do it yourself. The answer is the only reason to impose mandates is because you're an authoritarian who jerks off at the thought of forcing other people to do what you want; 2/14/22, 4:12 PM