“A Fish Falls From the Sky and Sparks a Brush Fire in British Columbia.”

“Officials say a flying osprey dropped its catch, which then struck power lines, causing sparks that ignited dry grass.”

NYT. 

"This is, like, utter chaos that Trump started. Utter chaos. I understand that you want to make product in your country, but you also need to trade."

Said Pauline Ridley, the union chairwoman at KB components, quoted in "Canadians Fear Trump’s Tariffs Will Create a ‘Ghost Town’ in Ontario/President Trump’s tariffs on auto parts are already causing job losses in Windsor, Ontario, the heart of an industry that makes components for vehicles bound for the United States" (NYT).

"Suggestions that the number of people wanting to separate is growing worries me.... [Premier Danielle Smith] is manipulating the people of this province..."

"... into believing that we should seriously look at separating. It is just ludicrous. Not all of us think like that. I absolutely disagree."

Said Kathleen Sokvitne, a citizen of Calgary, Alberta, quoted in "'We're Canadians': Some Albertans divided about separation in cross-province checkup/Republican Party of Alberta leader says membership has doubled since the federal election" (CBC).

For the annals of Things I Asked Grok:

1. What does "checkup" mean in this Canadian newspaper headline...? 

2. In the US, we'd just say "poll," right? (Or "survey") 

3. If Alberta became the 51st state, there would be a lot of odd language and spelling quirks that might make Albertans feel/seem like outsiders. 

In preparation for Alberta's joining us as the 51st state, I'm listening to Millennial Moron explain the Canadian love for Kraft Dinner Language (AKA K.D. Lang).

And it's great that Bob Dylan went on to become a popular musician in his own right. Some commenter over there says "This is the single most Canadian bit of humor I think I might have ever seen." I don't know, but I want to find out. Join us, Alberta! 

We'll give you more gold/Than your apron can hold.

Now, maybe you think I'm getting ahead of myself, and I am. I lived through the arrival of the 49th state and the 50th state, and — I was a kid — I just thought new states would be joining us every year or so. Alaska and Hawaii clamored to join the coolest place on earth, and I thought everyone else would just be piling in. Why wouldn't they?! Why didn't they? Here it is, 66 years later and not one new entrant. So it would really warm my heart — I literally had tears in my eyes — if Alberta would come on in.

I was reading "Should Alberta Become the 51st State? The Case for Secession, Statehood, and a Freer Western Canada" by Rod D. Martin. Excerpt:

"I look forward to meeting the new Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney. I very much want to work with him, but cannot understand one simple TRUTH..."

"Why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 Billion Dollars a year, in addition to giving them FREE Military Protection, and many other things? We don’t need their Cars, we don’t need their Energy, we don’t need their Lumber, we don’t need ANYTHING they have, other than their friendship, which hopefully we will always maintain. They, on the other hand, need EVERYTHING from us! The Prime Minister will be arriving shortly and that will be, most likely, my only question of consequence."

Writes Trump on Truth Social.

President Trump Participates in a Bilateral Meeting with the Prime Minister of Canada, May 6, 2025 https://t.co/GE1pY6Dws7

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 6, 2025

"From 25% in favor to 5 to 10% against.... It will be bad for America. It'll be bad for the world. So that was a foreign policy failure. He gets an F on that one."

"Canada — he gets an F. Sorry, sorry, I don't see any alternative. Please write to me and tell me if you're a Canadian or if you're American why he deserves better than an F ? Why should he have intruded on an election that was going to help the United States, going to help the world, going to help the economy? Why should he have intruded and turn the election around and turned it against the interests of the United States? So I don't see any justification — any justification — for that."

Said Alan Dershowitz, grading Trump on his first 100 days.

I'll bring up my question from yesterday: Does Trump know what he is doing? What if you had to argue that Trump knew what he was doing, that the seeming fiasco of the Canadian election was, in fact, exactly what Trump had in mind, a step in his genius plan?

ADDED: For the Annals of Things I Asked Grok (after quoting Alan Dershowitz):

Tell me the best justification. Maybe Trump is a genius and this is a multi-step process that he is seeing from a higher angle. Give him an A and explain why. 

Grok's answer here.

FROM THE COMMENTS: New Yorker takes the assignment seriously:

"The predecessor who now inspires Trump in vivid oil paint served only one term, dying shortly after he left office in 1849."

"But in four years Polk nearly doubled the territory of the U.S. On the northern border, Polk’s supporters rallied around the expansionist slogan '54°40’ or Fight,' demanding the U.S. take over the entire Pacific Northwest up to that latitude, then the southern boundary of Russian Alaska, even if it meant going to war with Britain. Instead, in 1846 Polk negotiated a treaty that established the U.S.’s northern border at the 49th parallel. In the Southwest, Polk annexed Texas and fought the Mexican-American War, which ended in Mexico ceding more than 500,000 square miles to the U.S., including all of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming, in exchange for $15 million. It was 'one of the largest land grabs in world history,' said historian Hampton Sides... 'He wanted it all, and he got it all in one term....' In terms of personality, Polk and Trump have little in common, Sides said. Despite his aggressive foreign policy, Polk 'was not this blustering, loud, bully of a person. He was morose, a kind of dark guy.' Polk was also known 'for being quite honest…He wasn’t this erratic, crazy person who was constantly throwing people off guard....'"

From "The Painting That Explains Trump’s Foreign Policy/James K. Polk expanded the U.S. more than any other president. Now his portrait hangs in the Oval Office, a signal that President Trump’s ambition to take over Canada, Greenland and other territory is more than just talk" (Wall Street Journal).

Is absorbing Canada "a real thing"?

🚨Update: Secretary Marco Rubio: Canada becoming a US state is a real possibility! “If you balance out our trade, Canada will cease to exist as a country!”pic.twitter.com/UUPArryP32

— US Homeland Security News (@defense_civil25) February 21, 2025

"[Chantal] Kreviazuk, who is from Winnipeg, Manitoba, also wrote the phrase 'that only us command' with mascara on her left hand."

"She posted a picture of that on her Instagram with emojis of a Canadian flag and a flexed muscle. 'I just put it on there so if I ever had a moment and I kind of froze, I would be able to look at my hand and see it,' Kreviazuk said. 'I’d love to see people sort of get inspired and catch the fire and say their heart more in their art. ... Sometimes you just got to speak the truth in your art and it’s awesome. That’s what it should be about.'..."

From "Singer of Canadian anthem at 4 Nations Face-Off changes lyric to protest Trump’s 51st state remarks" (AP).

The official lyrics begin: "O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all of us command."

That is, the homeland commands true patriot love in all of us.

The changed lyric was "O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love that only us command."

So it is no longer the homeland commanding love. It is "only us" commanding love. There are several problems (aside from the problem of changing the words of the anthem):

"It wasn’t planned. That wasn’t two coaches throwing guys over and saying 'This is happening' — none of that happened. That was as organic as it gets."

Said Jon Cooper, the coach for Canada, quoted in The London Times:

Here's the video at YouTube. Judge for yourself. Political theater? Is this about Trump — Trump and his tariffs and his fifty-oneness?

Meanwhile, Trump himself was at The Daytona 500 and — with his lovely tiny little granddaughter — the sports-related masculine political theater was not brutishly macho but nobly patriarchal:

ADDED: The oversized MAGA hat emphasizes the tininess of the granddaughter, and it made me think of this image of Elon Musk in a giant hat:

pic.twitter.com/nhRCtyA3wj

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2025

You can see the hat as it is — large — or you can perceive the optical illusion that Musk is a tiny person, a child. Musk famously tweeted: "I love @realDonaldTrump as much as a straight man can love another man." And I've been thinking the love is a boy's love for the father he never had. Musk real father was — as Musk tells it — "a terrible human being" who has done "almost every evil thing you could possibly think of." The giant hat is a bid to be seen as a boy, to be loved by a father.

"Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, after speaking twice by telephone with Mr. Trump, said the tariffs would be postponed by 30 days as the two countries negotiate a border deal."

"That announcement came hours after Mexico negotiated a similar delay, and agreed to send thousands of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to curb drug smuggling and illegal immigration.... After their call — which Mr. Trump described as 'very good' — Mr. Trudeau announced the delay in a social media post. As part of the agreement, he said, Canada would help form a 'Canada- U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering.' 'I have also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl and we will be backing it with $200 million,' Mr. Trudeau said...."

The NYT reports.

Another success.

"We pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars to SUBSIDIZE Canada. Why? There is no reason. We don’t need anything they have."

"We have unlimited Energy, should make our own Cars, and have more Lumber than we can ever use. Without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable Country. Harsh but true! Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State. Much lower taxes, and far better military protection for the people of Canada — AND NO TARIFFS!"

Writes President Trump, at Truth Social.

I like how he capitalized all the C words — Canada, Cars, Country, Cherished.

AND: There's one question — and I've raised it before — which is why would Canada be only one state? Why not 2... or 10... or more? The answer is:

"President Trump will carry out his threat of 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10 per cent on Chinese goods..."

"..., and said he 'absolutely' intends to impose tariffs on the European Union. Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday evening there was 'nothing' the three countries could do to avoid the tariffs, which in the US neighbours’ case are aimed at forcing them to curb the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into America. The president made no mention of plans to target the UK, but added: 'We’ll be doing something very substantial with the European Union,' and said that the bloc had 'treated us so terribly.'..."

From "Trump to impose high tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China/The levies are intended to force countries to cut the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into America. The president said he has plans to include the EU" (London Times).

"Trump is a long-standing admirer of the era, more than a century ago, when high tariffs were the cornerstone of US trade policy and Treasury revenue. 'We were at our richest from 1870 to 1913. That’s when we were a tariff country,' he said.... Chrystia Freeland, the former finance minister who is running to replace Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party, said... that she was calling for a 100 per cent tariff on American wine, beer and spirits, as well as Tesla vehicles.... 'We need to be very targeted, very surgical, very precise,' Freeland said. 'We need to look through and say who is supporting Trump and how can we make them pay a price for a tariff attack on Canada.'"

What's "surgical" about going after "wine, beer and spirits"? Is it just that it always seems relatively palatable to make drinking more expensive — the idea of "sin taxes"?

By the way, when and where did the term "sin tax" arrive? Grok couldn't pin it down for me for me, so I checked the NYT archive. The second appearance of the term, on December 24, 1928, was as the name of a play:

"Trump has been adamant that the United States should exert control over [Greenland], given both its strategic position in a melting Arctic region..."

"... where China and Russia also have growing interests, as well as the wealth of natural resources that are thought to lie beneath Greenland’s seabeds and frozen wastes.... Trump and his allies do not envision an invasion of Greenland.... Instead, Trump is hoping for Copenhagen’s acquiescence in some sort of deal, framing a U.S. acquisition of the territory as an act of generosity to relieve Denmark of the burden of administering it. There is plenty of historical precedent. U.S. politicians have eyed Greenland for more than a century and a half. William Seward, the U.S. secretary of state who purchased Alaska in 1867, was close to a similar deal for Greenland, but was foiled by political rivals in Congress. With both northern territories folded into the United States, Seward suggested this continental nation 'will flank British America for thousands of miles … and greatly increase her inducements, peacefully and cheerfully, to become a part of the American Union.' That is, he thought buying Greenland would be a precursor to absorbing Canada — a vision Trump hasn’t quite relinquished, either...."

From "The curious momentum behind Trump’s quest for Greenland/In 2019, Trump’s bid for the Arctic territory was laughed off as a joke. Now, it’s gaining traction and provoking jitters in Europe" (free-access link).

"[T]here would be clear advantages: to participate in the great drama rather than watching from across the border, to shape the imperium rather than negotiating a position in its shadow."

"If I were a young Canadian, especially one outside the Laurentian heartland, I think I would feel this vision’s pull. And yes, even if I were a young left-leaning anti-Trump Canadian — because what better way to serve those causes than to actually pull Washington leftward, to add your votes to the coalition that just failed to defeat Trump? That’s the reason that it would be somewhat strange for American conservatives to actually welcome Canadian accession at this time — because it would immediately destroy the Republican Party’s political advantage."

Writes Ross Douthat, in "O Canada, Come Join Us" (NYT).

"Every bone in my body has always told me to fight because I care deeply about Canadians."

Said Justin Trudeau, quoted in "Canada Live Updates: Trudeau Is Stepping Down as Party Leader and Prime Minister/Justin Trudeau, who has led the country for nearly a decade, is giving up leadership of the Liberal party. He said he would remain in both roles until his replacement has been chosen through a party election" (NYT).

Canada can't be the 51st state. It would need to be the 51st through 63rd state...

... Tom Green explains.

"No one can answer why we subsidize Canada to the tune of over $100,000,000 a year? Makes no sense!"

"Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State. They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it is a great idea. 51st State!!!"

Writes Donald Trump on Truth Social.

Discussed here, at The Hill:

His joking comes after the president-elect announced last month that he would impose a 25 percent tariff on products imported into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico.... Trump said the move would exert pressure on the trading partners to better crack down on the movement of fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S. and fortify border security.... He has also jokingly called Trudeau the “governor” of the “Great State of Canada.”

ADDED: BBC asks: "Will Trudeau Resign? Four paths Trudeau can take as political crisis deepens."

"It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada."

"I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we may continue our in depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all! DJT"

That's DJT, on Truth Social.

Canada man.

"Canada man jumps on polar bear to defend wife from attack" (BBC): "A man in Canada's far north leapt on to a polar bear to protect his wife from being mauled, police say. The unnamed man suffered serious injuries but is expected to recover...."

I like "Canada man" as a contrast to the familiar "Florida man." Canada man is strong and effective and a loyal husband.

Also, this story contrasts to the familiar bear-related advice: "If it's brown lay down, if it's black fight back, if it's white good night."

Alysa McCall, a scientist at Polar Bear International, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) that polar bears rarely attack humans. When an attack occurs, the bear is often hungry, young and unwell, she said.... "If you're attacked by a polar bear, definitely do not play dead — that is a myth," she told CBC. "Fight as long as you can."