Category America

Jun 22 2024

Making Sense of “The Fatherland”


Posted originally on the CTH on June 21, 2024 | Sundance 

A Russian person could not visit New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and then say they visited The United States and have an understanding of Americans.  They might think they understand, but any American would giggle at the notion.

Conversely, the same is true in Russia.  You cannot visit Moscow, St Petersburg and Kazan and think you have an understanding of Russians.  However, if you give yourself time, join in the daily tasks and challenges of ordinary Russians, you can easily discover some of the deeper stuff that really puts context on life in the Russian Federation.

Perhaps what follows is a different perspective.

It took a while, but I finally figured out what this phrase “the fatherland” is all about.

Let me start by sharing another phrase that almost every American will find familiar, yet virtually every Russian asked has no reference to comprehend: “you work for us.”

When talking to a federal, state or local government official in the United States and saying, “you work for us,” everyone listening would completely understand your sentiment.  However, in Russia that phrase is akin to asking a Martian for a canoe.   This is the way to understand “the fatherland.”

Within Russia the social compact is organized around the premise (key word “premise“), that government is the father figure within a family – and all of the citizens are children.   The government knows best.  The state engages in all facets, systems and structures as if they are the omnipotent father who cares about the children.

The people of Russia generally accept this system.  Generations and generations of compliant, well behaved, very structured and regimented ideology still permeates.  The muscle memory is deepest in the psychological muscles that run through generations.

Oddly, this social compact is understood, but only understood insofar as the Russian people do not have any other reference point, or alternative system that would enable them to see the deficit in the oppressive system that surrounds them.

The average Russian knows the “West” is different but doesn’t really know why the social system they see outside their window seemingly operates with well-organized randomness.  What is this efficiency within unbridled capitalism you speak of, and why would Americans be willing to give it up?

Karelia Russia, early spring ’24

♦ As stated previously, the level of social compliance within the fatherland compact is stunning.  Some observers might brush off extreme lawfulness as a remnant of strict authoritarianism – decades of hardcore soviet influence.  From that perspective, yes being an invisible “grey man” is safe; drawing attention to yourself can only bring the glare of Father. It is safer to be a generic sardine in a school of sardines.

Live within that system long enough, and it just becomes the natural way it is.  It doesn’t matter what the uniform rule is, generally Russians act with extreme compliance.

Standing in line, waiting for the light at a crosswalk, standing on the right side of the escalator, remaining stoic, “cultured” and “not vulgar” in a subway or public venue, putting your trash in an often-changed public receptacle, appropriate (quiet) use of the cell phone, the odd lack of talking in just about any venue, all the way to accepting ridiculous outcomes as a matter of engagement with the fatherland bureaucracy.

The customs and norms circle around ordinary compliance and social acceptances, learned behaviors over time, and so they do.  Note, in part this behavior pattern makes it very easy to spot a non-Russian.  [That is also one of the reasons why I was careful about taking ordinary photographs, especially considering there are literally no tourists.]

From the 30,000 ft level, generally speaking, somewhere above 85% of the Russian population are compliant children, very well behaved with low expectations of anything in life that is not ordinary.  That larger part of Russia accepts their malaise as just “life,” and they move along.  The other 15% are part of the social strata (government worker or connected to a higher status), that affords them additional benefits.

St Petersburg, Russia – Spring ’24

Yes, there are definitely two castes or classes within the population, and this is a self-fulfilling prophecy, something the intellectual left in the United States will always deny.  Totalitarianism is on the far-left side of the political continuum. Within that leftist system, a process the USA is working toward, there are ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ – or what is more familiarly called “elites.”

Have you ever visited Disney or a theme park in the USA where you can purchase a higher priced ticket to go into a “fast lane” at each attraction?  The average price visitor stands in one long line, those who pay a much higher price get to skip to a much shorter line.  In Russia, that’s the analogy for the general population engaging in everything; literally everything in their life from shopping to where they live, the better system experience is based on wealth & status.

♦ There is no part of this social system that an average American would enjoy in the long-term.  Do not romanticize Russia.  Edward Snowden gave up his best life when he made his hard choices.

Put simply, ordinary life as an ordinary Russian is just not easy.  The concept of a social system structured around liberty and self-determination is unknown.  Russians are not “free” people, not even close.  I

t is not uncommon to see police on foot, regular beat cops, on crowded streets stopping people and asking for “their papers.”  I am told the people being stopped are clearly not native Russians; but honestly, I watched this take place several times, and they all look Russian to me.

As I walked in the crowd with my friends, I asked them, “Do I look Russian”, because I was not being asked for my papers.

The response was generally that I look “white”, and the people being stopped by the police were not white.  However, again I repeat, everyone being stopped looked like a white Russian to me, so what do I know.

There were also a few seemingly random road checkpoints where you are stopped by police and asked for your papers when driving, or a passenger.  This always made me nervous (and my friends, although they were embarrassed to admit it), and with my passport I was always questioned and checked closely (but never detained – except as previously noted in the airport).

On the overall social oppression aspect, yes there are signs the Russian government is trying to change, to figure out a middle ground.  However, the default position of the social mechanism is set to strict control, oppressive govt and authoritarianism.

Step out of the sardine line, and you will end up regretting it – big time.  Ordinary Russians do not want to step out of line.

The problem for the Russian government is the generational compliance system does not create forward-thinking, independent thinking or entrepreneurship at the scale needed (Western scale) to rapidly advance modern society or keep up with technological changes and advancements. The DNA of Russia is static, lacking innovation, and built on this system of compliance.

On one hand, too many grey people, not enough independent thinkers…. that appears to be part of the problem in Russia.  Hence, the government has all kinds of financial and economic incentives for innovative Western tech people and businesses to emigrate.  However, on the other hand the government likes the domineering social compliance aspect, so they face recruitment problems.

Socially, the extreme compliance creates unity, cohesion and lawfulness.  However, that same permeating mindset chokes out innovation and independent critical thinking.  The lack of home-grown innovation, meaning the people who actually think independently, means the industrial and tech business sectors must steal their ideas from other places.  It is not accidentally the same in China.  I think this is also why Russian hacking is so advanced.

The current/modern Russian government seems to hate the social wokeism stuff, within the “West,” more than they like innovation in a free-thinking capitalist society.  As a consequence, Dear Father is not willing to allow his apples to fall away from the tree.

♦ The Western financial sanction regime against Russia has driven the Russian economy into a very close relationship with China, South Korea and larger Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN).  The new automobiles in Russia are almost all Kia, Hyundai and then Chinese models.  The Russians notably do not have many EVs; they are mostly standard internal combustion engines.  There are some newer USA and EU import vehicles, but those carry the cost of the 3rd party brokers (super high prices afforded only by the elites).

The odd thing about the sanction regime is the invisibility of it, unless you are looking deeply.  Sure, many western retail companies were forced to leave by Western political demand, but their products are still mostly available.  I cannot visibly see any segment of the Russian economy where the sanctions are having a strong impact.  Quite the opposite is true, and all outward appearances of the Russian economy look strong.

Again, in a general sense, because Russia lacks innovative capitalism, their infrastructure innovation is archaic and outdated.  This does not mean the old infrastructure is necessarily broken or doesn’t work; it only means it is old and very odd to see.   Russia spends a lot of time cleaning and maintaining its infrastructure, but large sections of housing developments and apartments are very old and look well past their use-by dates.

Analog is still everywhere; digital systems have yet to become mainstream.  If you step outside the center-city tourist perspective, you enter the 1970’s or 1980’s system in the suburbs dominated by the sardine cans where people live.  As a person who was born/raised like Huck Finn in Florida on the beaches, islands and backwater bayous, the stacked-up rows and rows of sardine can apartments is seriously wild and simultaneously “yikes.”

The sardine Russians enjoy their parks, and to be fair they have some really nice spring and summer parks to enjoy, provided and maintained by Dear Father.  On nice weather days, the benches are full of people quietly talking to one another, enjoying the fellowship outdoors and generally being well cultured and exceptionally civil.

Random park in center city, St Petersburg, Russia

The well-mannered expectations of social rules, within the suburban and city park system, were explained to me, and I did not see a single reference of non-compliance or crude behavior anywhere – not even once.  NOT ONCE.

Truthfully, it’s really weird how quiet and stoic the Russian people are when they are enjoying their recreation time.  It’s like something out of a 1950’s pod-people movie, and after a while I found it to be very disconcerting, almost bordering on annoying for some reason.

I woke up early and hiked up to that specific and beautiful hilltop in Kareila, Russia, just so I could record that train video.  No one else was on the mountain. It was a cold and beautiful morning.

♦ Food and Diets – Russian people eat well, and generally you would say they eat healthy fresh food.  Because he was apparently concerned about it at some point, Dear Father banned Canola oil in Russia as a food additive.  Fresh foods are what the average American would consider “organic foods.”  For those of you who grow in your own gardens, you understand what the food markets are like in Russia.

This is not to say Russians are “healthy,” because overall they might not be.  Smoking cigarettes and heavy alcohol drinking are very visible, and the difference in appearance between a 20-year-old and a 40-year-old is striking; perhaps that’s why.

Good quality food is cheap in Russia.  Everything you see on the counter in this picture (left) was purchased for less than $70.  I transposed the prices that I would pay at my local grocery store in the USA, and I came up with around $150-$175.

Processed food prices in Russia (crackers, chips, candies, cereals) generally are about half of what you would pay in the U.S.  However, on the fresh foods side (produce, fish, meats, dairy), the Russian prices are a fraction of the U.S.A costs.

[10 eggs for $0.50, bread $1, bananas $0.05/lb, salmon $2.00, head lettuce $0.50, berries less than $1, apples $0.45/lb, steak $2/lb, ground chuck $1.50/lb, etc]

A 30-mile cab ride is around $5 to $8, and gasoline costs less than $2/gal.

A typical “nice” restaurant meal for 2 people is around $15.00, and you can easily grab a burger and fries for $3/$4 at any fast-food place.  The average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment (city or suburb) is around $300/mo.  The average income of a middle class (blue collar) worker is around $1,000/month.

Those grab-n-go electric scooters and electric bicycles are well used in the Russian cities and cost around $1 for an hour (kinda cool, and yeah I used them).

Keep in mind, during the soviet era religion was essentially forbidden.  As a consequence, the Christian calendar within economic life (something you don’t think about in the USA) was erased.

In the USA the typical work week, Monday to Friday 9-5 weekends off, was an outcome of Christianity in the economy.  In Russia you can get a dental appointment at 8:00pm on Sunday, or a haircut at any random time of day.  All of the private sector businesses operate based on paying customer needs, not the social economic history of church attendance or worship schedules.

You can open a bank account in Russia using a passport, you do not need to live in Russia to open a bank account.  Almost everything in “modern Russia” is done through your phone number and apps.  On the downside, I have no doubt Dear Father monitors all of the connected activity on the phone number.

FYI, there are no sanctions on telecommunications, and USA issued cell carriers operate reciprocity systems in Russia.

Instagram, Facebook, Rumble and all pornography sites are blocked on Russian internet, but people use VPN’s.  However, before you think it’s big government remember, the number of sites blocked by Russia is less than the number of Russian web sites and domain IDs blocked by the USA govt.

If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) carries a Russian identifier, about half the USA websites will block it, including President Trump’s Truth Social platform.  This happens in cell phone networks and targeted apps also.  I find this to be very troublesome, because communication is critical to avoiding conflict.  The “West” and Russia are building walls around their internet protocols making it harder for Americans and Russians to talk to each other.   I do not think this is good.

♦ Healthcare – Russian healthcare is very cost efficient, and the system of healthcare itself is really cool.  This is one element where you could say Russian outcomes easily exceed the USA.  Healthcare for the average Russian is free; essentially, socialized medicine paid via taxes.  However, yes there is a private sector healthcare system available for those who want to pay for extra stuff.

Dental is a good example to give you an idea of costs.  You can get braces in Russia for less than $1,000 (generally $500).  Standard dentists visit for cleaning around $20.  That cost ratio carries throughout the general healthcare system that is remarkably modern, although if you need a specialized test like a CAT scan ($75), PET scan ($200) or MRI ($100/$150) you need an appointment at a govt institution (although, super-efficient timelines there too).

Within private sector healthcare, I’m told medical tourism used to be a big thing with people traveling to Russia for low-cost high-quality healthcare. I can see why.  I went on several visits to healthcare providers, and the in/out efficiency within both the govt and private sector was impressive.  You can also purchase just about all prescription medications (except narcotics classed meds) without a prescription at pharmacies (that are seemingly everywhere like convenience stores).

♦ The Russian Federation, at least through the prism of life as an ordinary Russian (generally middle class/worker class), is not really close to the portrayal that we see about it through Western media.

Russia is a beautiful country; it is massive and filled with natural resources.  From the landscape beauty and natural resource perspective, it is similar to the United States in many ways, but the USA is better.  Culturally, there is a big difference between the USA and Russia, some of the differences may be considered good, some of them not good depending on what point exactly we were discussing.

I can see how a very specific type of rugged individualist person may enjoy living in Russia more than the USA.  In a place where you are disconnected from the modern world and far away from the urban city centers; you can do just about anything you want in Russia – yes, even beyond what is possible in the United States.  However, on the aggregate, the ordinary life of the average MAGA American is far superior in quality than the ordinary life of the average Russian.

The opportunities to improve your independent life in the USA are present and within reach.  Those same opportunities are not easily found as an independent person in Russia.

When the innovative DNA is triggered in a Russian person, they are inherently compelled by disposition and expressive need to leave the federation.  That dynamic is the irony you will find buried deep under the surface, and for very obvious reasons it is the one dynamic the Russian government will not discuss.

If you were to ask me what is the “one thing” I think that will culturally change Russia, you just read what I think it will be in that prior paragraph.

Feel free to use this discussion thread as an ‘Ask Me Anything’ about my time visiting Russia, and I will try to answer as best possible.

Love to all….

Mar 4 2024

Haley win Washington DC which is 98% Democrat – What do You Ecpect


Posted originally on Mar 4, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

2024_03_03_21_15_10_Haley_wins_DC_GOP_primary_The_Hill

Nikki Haley has finally won none other than the LEFTIST stronghold – Washington, DC. If you get pulled over by a cop there, you may hear that line coming from the new movie Civil War  – What Kind of American Are You?

The Democrats have been funding Haley, and anyone with common sense would end their campaign. So why is Haley going endlessly? Because the word is if the Supreme Court or all the legal cases somehow manage some way to prevent Trump from running or he magically contracts COVID version 35 and dies before November, Haley will take the nomination by default. The Democrats will rejoice along with the Neocons, who will be popping champagne bottles for they will get World War III fully on board.

She has already come out and said she will NOT support Trump if he runs in November. If you have children or grandchildren, their future will be uncertain with Haley as President. Victoria Nuland will rejoice.

Jan 1 2024

A New Year Awaits – 2024 Will Be as Awesome as We Create


Posted originally on the CTH on December 31, 2023 | Sundance


2023 has been one heck of a ride.  I mean, wow.

This is the year when so many assumptions collapsed because we did not pretend. I will have other thoughts on the year upon better reflection, even some predictions that might seem a little “out there”.  Then again, I’m not exactly known for following the herd safety formula.

However, as the eve winds down, and as we are given to considering everything that has taken place, a revisit to the spiritual core of our association is appropriate.

For me, this year provided many memorable gifts; almost all were driven by a purposeful God reminding me to keep poking my head into the human mechanics of common presumptions.  Nothing is more empowering than listening to His message, being completely lost yet jumping on faith, and then finding out the wow; why it was necessary to put prayer in front of fear.

Yup, we are about to walk into entirely new challenges.  Perhaps we are not prepared, perhaps we will all test our faith, perhaps we will discover new limits to our exhaustion, perhaps we will discover we are much stronger than we realize.  One of the reasons for my optimism is that I think the latter is assured.

I believe we are stronger than we give ourselves credit for.  I believe YOU are stronger, more purposeful, smarter, more strategic, more influential, more necessary and far more loved than you can ever imagine.

Yes, I am stunningly optimistic, much more so today on the last day of 2023, than I was on the first day.  The knowledge we possess is powerful – far more powerful than the pretenses we fight against.

Regardless of how we exit this year, excited or slightly nervous, we must admit it can be challenging to retain a joyful ‘best life’ while everything around us seems created to deliver ultimate chaos and madness.

However, if we accept that a loving God is the source of the purest truth, we can create something stronger within ourselves just by making a choice.   Do that, choose that, follow that and we will have accomplished a great deal.

Regardless of what tomorrow brings, we always have choices.  A new year’s perspective:

I have long felt that life is like a series of links in a chain. You might be driving down the road and you hear a song on the radio, or see a picture, and you feel a memory….

Something triggers within you that reminds of a different time and place than where you are right now.

You reflect.

The memories you consider remind you of a totally different time in your life.

Perhaps you lived in a different place.  Perhaps you were surrounded by different people. Perhaps a different job or completely different friends. You recognize those memories were constructed like frozen moments in time.  They became individual links in the chain in your life.

We never actually realize, in the immediate moment, when one link closes and another link begins. But when we look back, we can clearly see distinct points where things changed, the link closed, and a new link began.

You see, the links are only visible in reflection.

As we reflect, we find parts of the chain in our life where each link closes and connects with the other. A beginning, and an end. At the point where the links are joined, we carry parts of the previous link forward to the next.

For many people those connections are bonded by family, or very strong lifelong relationships. Connections which continue beyond our geographic moments, jobs or temporary acquaintances.

But for everyone, the primary bonding agent brought forward from one link to the next is us, our center, our values and core principles. Our beliefs.

The strength of the steel which comprises the links of our life is forged in the fire of adversity, weakness, challenge, pain, loss, and painful growth. The steel is then cooled with the tears of triumph, hurdles overcome and resolve.

The forging makes the steel stronger and able to withstand the pressures that accompany the additional length. Slowly the chain becomes wiser as it lengthens. Able to reach further, form more significant benefits and become more useful.

Hope replaces fear. Love replaces loneliness. Success replaces adversity. These are successful links began and finished while contributing to the whole.

At times we may manipulate the links with avoidance. We hide from -or choose to avoid- an issue in our effort to begin a new link before the old one was naturally, and spiritually, prepared to be closed.

Eventually, as life continues and the chain lengthens, the weak link can fracture, and we are forced to revisit/repair what we originally chose to avoid.

You see, in life we cannot control the universal laws that guide us. So, if we manipulate circumstances to avoid confronting our own weakness, we cannot fully strengthen our life of links. Eventually, the weakness of our past will impact our future.

So, what principles do we carry from link to link? What core values and beliefs stay with us throughout the journey of our lives? The answers to these questions are what makes us human spiritual beings.

We possess free will able to make choices about what we do, and how we define our individual humanity; but can we then define ’right’ and ‘wrong’ according to our individual principles? Or are there principles that exceed our influence and definition?

Are there natural laws of right and wrong, good and bad, that cannot be subjected to the determination of man?

These are the bigger questions, perhaps the more important questions; and yet, perhaps the ones we reflect upon the least.

Consider the example of the ‘Law of the Farm’ vs. the ‘Law of the School’. Natural principles vs. those made by man.

A student can skip class, take few notes, pay only half attention, then stay up all night cramming for a test and manage a decent grade. It depends on the student’s goal: grades or learning.

The student can choose to manipulate the education, by avoiding the learning and capturing the grade. This is possible in the ‘Law of the School’.

However, a farmer cannot take short cuts. A farmer cannot avoid tending to the soil, preparing the seed, fertilizing and nurturing the crop, and still gain the benefit of an abundant harvest.

The farmer must necessarily do all of the appropriate work in order to benefit from it. Such is the ‘Law of the Farm’, the natural law.

When one considers the weakness remaining within a poorly constructed and manipulated link, perhaps established by selfish choices and driven by avoidance and fear, one can be faithfully assured those who have dealt dishonestly with us will have to visit the issues of their association again.

Conversely, no amount of manipulation or avoidance on our own behalf is going to improve the frailty of any link without first resolving the lack of character which created the weakness.

So, we have choices in our lives. Decisions we each make regarding how we interact and participate in the lives and links of others, as well as how we choose to construct the links that comprise our own lives.

Do we base our sense of purpose around natural principles? Principles based on natural laws of right and wrong, good and bad, truth and lies.  Do we forge strong links by following our heart, our values?

If we can interact with others absent of a prideful self-driven agenda, or manipulative intent, we can then apply such principles and strength to our endeavors.

If we protect the integrity of the soil upon which we build the foundation of our lives, we can live without regret.

If we fertilize and cherish our crop, and the crop of our neighbor, with honesty and sincere appreciation for the souls we meet along our chosen path, we will live a life of abundance.

If we tend carefully to the consideration of everyone, yet holding true to our values and principles, we can strengthen ourselves amid the face of adversity and disenchantment.

If we do not hide from, nor ignore our individual and collective faults, we can build the chain of our life with strength, humility, and purpose.

I wish for each of you a long chain of bold, strong, beautiful links, polished with the reflective brilliance of Love, and the very happiest of blessings for a brand-New Year.

Abiding love to all.

Steadfast,

~ Sundance

…Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

~ Robert Frost

Dec 20 2023

Over Half of Democrats Want a New POTUS


Posted originally on Dec 20, 2023 By Martin Armstrong 

Democrats Stake in the Heart

The Democrats simply have no voice within their own party, and the Republicans are no better. Joe Biden admitted that he is only seeking a second term to prevent a Trump victory. Biden does not want to be in the Oval Office and has no passion for the job, but it is expected of him. The establishment has him completely under their thumb. Biden allegedly received more votes than any president in US history, but most of the people who voted for him did so because they also hated Trump. Now, over half of Democrats want him out of office.

A recent poll conducted by Fox News revealed that 54% of Democrat primary voters would prefer an alternative to President Joe Biden as the 2024 nominee, while only 43% want to keep Biden. The poll also showed a slight increase in negative sentiment against the president compared to previous months. The Democratic Party is reported to have no “plan B” if Biden does not run for reelection because the establishment does not plan on having a fair election.

BidenTrainwreckNYPost

What could Joe Biden possibly campaign on? I genuinely cannot name one accomplishment. His presidency has set historical records for border crossings, inflation, homelessness, crime, and government spending, to name a few items. The bribery attempts made during the last election will not work as Biden failed to make good on his promises. Then you have strong support for Palestine among liberals, especially the youth who predominately vote blue. Hence, Biden’s people indicted his main opponent and painted his supporters as domestic terrorists. They weaponized the FBI and CIA and manipulated the media with endless propaganda. The establishment now refuses to allow any Democrat to run against him. Do you still believe we live in a democracy?  

Nov 6 2023

Check Yourself – You Are in Control


Posted originally on the CTH on November 5, 2023 | Sundance

It might, heck, -check that- it does seem overwhelming at times. But that is the nature of this collectivist strategy. That is the purpose of this “great reset” bombardment. We must hold strong; you must hold strong.

If you look closely at the attacks that unnerve us, most of them are weak, and almost all of them are targeting your psychology. Do not fall into the trap of despair. Step outside of your home right now; look around, do you see any threat – or is the sense of fear and foreboding created by a dark imagining?  If the latter, ask yourself, is the psychological attack working simply because you are allowing it?

You have purpose. If you walk into a room, and the people within it respond negatively to your presence, it’s likely because your disposition unnerves their demons. The need for control is a reaction to fear, and you have stopped pretending.  As a consequence, you create fear amid those who maintain pretending as a survival mechanism.

When I share the message, “Live your best life”, it is not without purpose. Every moment that we allow the onslaught to deter us from living our dreams, is a moment those who oppose our nation view as us taking a knee. Do not allow this effort to succeed. You might ask yourself how I can, one person, a flea looking into a furnace, retain an optimistic disposition while all around me seems chaotic and mad?

Ultimately, the collective weight of leftism is putting us in isolation. There are many historic references to this disconcerting sentiment to review with hindsight. However, ultimately the feeling of isolation first begins with a rejection of God. Defeat dark imaginings by embracing Him. Stand in the light of a loving and purposeful God. Hold faith, and evil manifest will run away because the dark whispers will fall on impenetrable ears.

Yes, it is true; I will not deny it; all around us is this great sense of foreboding, ugh, and it’s not just connected to you – it’s everywhere. Everything being created by the constructs of those in power is weird; everything created around us is less comfortable; everything created around us is intended to project less joy – and as a consequence, it requires an intensity of thought just to carry on ordinary events. It’s exhausting at times.

Diminished faith creates anxiety, a sense of foreboding, a sense of fear and worry and a sense of trepidation. Additionally, evil tribesmen know the strategy to create the environment for control is isolation.

Isolation, the tool to remove hope, first begins with a diminishment of God. A faith-filled person is never alone.

Throughout history, large armies have been defeated through the process of division. It is not a leap to see the same strategic objectives being deployed against social assemblies with ridicule, labeling, targeting, diminishment. All of it intended to fuel this purposeful division.

Ultimately, it is the currency of human connection that is the true value in our lives. We have each felt how our positive influence upon the lives of others nourishes our own sense of purpose and fulfillment.  Do not lose that.

Perhaps we are in this position today because we didn’t sit still enough and contemplate the real priorities in our lives. Fellowship is the essential ingredient to a purposeful life. I fight like hell to keep this website operating, to keep our community discussion ongoing, in the largest part because the assembly is the point. The connection is the most important facet.

On our prayer threads, and within our conversations, families return to see, read and feel the words from those we and they have lost. Do you know the scale of responsibility that comes from hearing the words of a granddaughter who visits CTH every year to read the words of her grandfather who has passed away?  Can you imagine how hard you would fight to keep that ability present? We are more than just a conversation!

Perhaps tears flow at times, and we struggle to understand what this unusual anxiety is all about. Then, we begin to struggle with the feelings of shame or guilt for being weak and allowing our humanity to pour out of our human selves. Then, perhaps when needed most, our faith organizations are slow to understand the importance of fellowship and community amid an upheaval that seems unrelenting.

The insufferable lack of regional or national leaders standing tall only makes the anxiety worse. Where ARE the brave?

Where are the purposeful few who know the benefit of larger messages?

Yet, I do not fault their absence; I find value in it. Why, because the void reminds me to stop, look at that face I see while brushing my teeth, and remember the greatest strength of all is from within. Nothing has the capacity to remove the strength provided by a loving God unless we allow it to, unless we allow them to.

As our grip on our familiar surroundings becomes more tenuous.  As we face dictates or mandates, or financial pressures that only exacerbate the issues, the ridiculous media drumbeat becomes an incessant noise intent on destabilizing us. Perhaps we cannot quite put our finger on why the impact is worse now, but it is. This effort of theirs is more impactful. It is all ugh. It is all just ugh.

If you find the assembly of these simple words familiar to your current sense, first understand YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Second, understand there is nothing wrong with you. This blanket of anxiety is laying across our entire nation, indeed the entire world, and no matter where we stand – we are all sensing a various level of this ‘ugh’ with some familiarity. However, that said, it is important to know this is transitional. We will not be in this place long. This too shall pass.

How do we shake these destabilizing feelings and emotions?

♦ The first way we shake this ‘ugh’, is to give to others without reservation. Giving with purpose is the true spirit of human contact. The giving is not related to money or wealth, the giving is related to our human purpose. Perhaps we give a smile. Perhaps we give a kind word. Perhaps we give a compliment, or perhaps we just give time to another.

Giving, is being present – talking, engaging… giving yourself.

Perhaps send an email; or better yet, write an actual penned letter to a dear friend or family member. Or just randomly, like right now, pick up the phone. Reach out and tell them they matter and express why their place in this life of yours is important.

Remind them of your specific thankfulness and connect to the purpose of why we endeavor in this thing we call life.

Years from now, what they will remember, what will have much greater impact, is today. That random message from YOU to THEM that they matter, that they are loved, will not be forgotten.

That moment you create, perhaps those multiple moments provided by your strength, will NEVER be forgotten. And don’t be surprised when you hear, “You have no idea how much I needed to hear that right now. Thank you!”

That look in your eye or sound of your voice that reached into them and emphasized their value, their worth, their importance. That is the gift they will remember in great detail, forever. If you write it down, they will cherish that letter forever and carry it with them in every move of their life.

The important thing is to give, and to do it without any other intent or purpose than to fill their heart.

♦ Within the giving, remind yourself what this journey is all about, and look around to recognize how fortunate we are to have this life. Choose to cherish the ultimate gift from a loving God who wants joy and hope to permeate our human sense.

Hope is the one necessary human element beyond all other facets of life. Give the gift of hope and light to those you love by first reminding yourself of the gift that a loving God has given us all. It is too easy in our human sense to forget the biggest gift we have been granted, the gift of life. The ability to live and choose how we engage in the lives of others.

Remind yourself of His kind of purposeful HOPE, because that hope is pure. That love is perfect.

No politics, or false sense of security, can overwhelm the message of HOPE that a loving God has provided. No effort of man or human disposition can surmount the greatest love of all. The message of grace and faith, the message of the purest truth, is bigger and greater than any great reset or legislative battle.

“No power of hell, nor scheme of man”, can come close to the purpose of God’s intent and love for you as a unique person qualified to receive that love.

Wrap yourself in the blanket of that unconditional love. Stop listening to the dark imagining, the whispers of foreboding.

Pause in the peace of the moment that you can create within your own mind.

Set down your troubles, pray, LISTEN and FEEL.

Love to all,

Oct 8 2023

About Us


Our Mission at The Conservative Treehouse is to be the premier assembly of freedom loving people.  To that end we commit to:

(1) The highest standard of stewardship for our fellowship.

(2) Being intolerant of hate and division.

(3) Uphold faith in the purposes of a loving God; however you perceive him to be.

(4) Affirm the inherent dignity, value and right to privacy of our members.

(5) The accurate dissemination of truth; without fear or apology, because ultimately the Truth Has No Agenda.

The Conservative Tree House may be called a Last Refuge for each of us for different reasons. Whatever trail through the woods brought us here, we have shared the turmoil of storms as we have been finding our voices as individuals in this growing community

Perhaps you’ve had some truly shockingly cruel things said to you purely because you believe in limited government and fiscal conservatism. Perhaps you not only believe that we should be self-reliant and personally responsible, but also believe that when we are allowed to depend on ourselves, we are stronger, more successful, take greater pride in ourselves and our work, and are more likely to make positive contributions to society. And then we are happier people, or at least more likely to be happier.

Which lends to the following theory: Fear is at the core of modern liberalism, and love/trust is at the core of conservatism. Modern liberalism, most commonly evolved to leftism, is about control. Conservatism is about self-empowerment.

Control is a reaction to fear. Think in terms or politics and society – the fear behind liberalism is the fear that someone might withhold things (opportunities, money, whatever) from me, fear that if you live your life in a way I dislike that it might affect my life, fear that if you get that job, there will be nothing left for me. Fear that if you make tons of money, it’s means there’s less money out there for me. So people who believe in leftist ideologies seek control as a means of trying to create guarantees and safeguards against those circumstances they fear.

Modern “liberals”, leftists, try to control the world and people to enable their comfort and happiness. Which, as we know, is an endless quest. Trying to control others does nothing in the way of making oneself happy. By extension, voting in this mindset so that government can try to control others will also – shocking – not lead to a happier, more comfortable life.

The conservative (and moderate, independent, but for the sake of expediency, the conservative), on the other hand, relies on himself to meet his own needs. And the trade off of being free to live his life as he wishes is also understanding that he has to make peace with how you live yours. By extension, aware that he wants to be able to hold onto this liberty and freedom forever, the conservative votes accordingly, so that everyone can remain free and in charge of his or her own life.

But here’s the crucial difference, perhaps, particularly where misery on the left stems: The conservative does not worry, so to speak, about you. The conservative knows that you were born with the same access to self-love, self-empowerment, self-determination and self-reliance that we all were, no matter the circumstances into which you were born. (Think about the millions of people this country has allowed to crawl up from poverty into prosperity – the conservative KNOWS this is possible.) And the conservative believes that if you want prosperity, or a good job, or a good education, you can make it happen – but you have to work hard.

The conservative hopes and intends that the free markets bring you all of the affordable and positive opportunities and resources that you need. The conservative also knows that on the other side of that hard work is great reward – material and, more importantly, emotional, spiritual and mental.

The conservative understands that not only is it a waste of time to try to control you, it’s actually impossible. Humans were born to be free. And if we put a roadblock in front of you, you’ll find another way around it. So we see attempts at control as a waste of resources, energy and time at best, and at worst, creating detrimental results that serve to hinder people’s upward mobility or teach dependence. We see much more efficiency, as well as endless opportunity, in leaving you to your own devices. And we want the same in return.

This is where modern democrats mis-view conservatives as heartless. But really, the conservative believes that there is one and one path only to sustainable success and independence – and that is self-empowerment. All other avenues – welfare, affirmative action, housing loans you can’t actually afford – ultimately risk doing a disservice to people as they teach dependence on special circumstances, the govt, or arbitrary assistance (that can disappear tomorrow). And the real danger – they will ALWAYS backfire, and leave the recipient in equally or more dire circumstances. Any false improvement will always expire.

The conservative believes in abundance. The liberal believes in scarcity.

The conservative believes man is born free and will be who he is, no matter what arbitrary limitations or rules are put on him. The leftist believes man is perfectible, and by extension, believes a society at large is perfectible, and command and control is justified in the quest to a “perfect” utopian society. (Sounds familiar!)

The conservative tends to be more faithful – and not necessarily in God, but in the ability of the individual to find great strength in himself (or from his God) to get what he needs and to be successful. Therefore the conservative has an outlet for his fear and disappointment – trust and faith in something bigger.

The leftist believes the system must be perfected in order to enable success. Therefore disappointment is channeled as anger and blame at the system. Voids are left to be filled by faith in the govt, which they surely then want to come in and “fix” things.

And therein lies the roots of love and fear respectively. For the conservative, when life presents great struggles, he knows he has the power to surmount them. Happiness stems from internal strength and perseverance. For the modern leftist, when life presents great struggles, the system failed, therefore they were at the mercy of a faulty system, and they believe that only when the system is fixed can their life improve. Happiness is built on systemic contingencies, which they will then seek to control or expect someone else to.

One blames himself. The other blames anyone and everyone but himself.

And there it is. There’s where the meanness comes from. The leftist ideology causes that person to cast anger at the world when things go wrong or appear “unfair.” He constantly chooses only to see the “injustices” – and that makes for a very miserable, mean, blame-casting existence.

One last point that we have seen over and over and over with many (not all) of our leftist friends: Extreme stinginess and cheapness.

In our conservative community growing up, we were always taught that you give when people are in need – make donations to the Red Cross when there’s an earthquake, donate to charity when you can afford it, etc. Even if it’s just $50 here and there – it’s the right thing to do. Conservatives see this as the responsibility that comes with gaining from the capitalistic system; if you happen to benefit greatly from the system, it’s your duty to give back.

The liberal, on the other hand, does not seem to share this same viewpoint, at least not in my experience. And perhaps think this is linked to believing in scarcity, and that your dollar comes at the cost of mine. So it seems that liberals, on some level of consciousness, feel guilty about not being voluntarily charitable. Therefore, to write off their guilt, they outsource their “generosity” to the government by voting for wealth re-distributive policies. Thus, the liberal cheats himself of the joy and addictiveness of direct generosity. (Not to mention – re distributive policies ALWAYS end up dis-empowering those who they’re meant to help.)

However each of us got here, it’s probably a fact that we have the turmoil of those storms in common, perhaps some unease that we could share and always, we also find fresh ground to cover from day to day. We’re developing valuable relationships as we trust one another in our community in the woods. The chatting in the branches encourages, strengthens and equips for some serious walking.

We think the Treehouse is a good armory for those who doing long distance walking for the sake of our nation. We hope you’ll think so, too. Find yourself a good branch….or just pull up a rock to the campfire.

Oct 2 2023

Sunday Talks – Matt Gaetz is Throwing Atomic Truth Hammers at The UniParty


Posted originally on the CTH on October 1, 2023 | Sundance 

This is good stuff. Brutally good stuff.  I’m going to begin by repeating what I said last week.

I do not know if Matt Gaetz is the worthy Ty Cobb of Republican politics or not, but I do know he is currently one of the only people that is not pretending.  That elevates him in my view.   Oh sure, he’ll probably acquiesce to the pressures and sell out just like the rest of them, but right now – in his best form – Matt Gaetz has dropped the pretense, and that has sent the machinery of the DC Republican system into fits of apoplexy.  Good.

I’m at the point of frustration with this nonsense where apoplexy, anger and visible ‘losing their sh*t’ makes me smile.

As CTH has outlined for well over a decade, the last federal budget that went through the appropriations process, passed both chambers and was signed by a president, was the fiscal year 2008 budget signed in September 2007 by George W Bush.  Every single budget from that moment to today has been a series of continuing resolutions, omnibus spending packages (mini and regular) and baseline budgeted CR extensions.  So, when Gaetz says it needs to stop, he’s holding the righteous high ground, and it doesn’t matter which congressional or media voice tries to say he’s wrong. He ain’t wrong.

Today, Gaetz said he’s willing to do whatever it takes, to see Kevin McCarthy taken down -OR- forcibly propped up by the Democrats in congress.  Which, I might add, will highlight the exact nature of the UniParty construct with a clarity not before understood by the majority of Americans.  Go for it, Matt… Make it happen. WATCH:

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STAY STRONG MATT! 

Gaetz was also on CNN giving Jake Tapper a case of the vapors. 

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Apr 13 2023

The Battle…


Posted originally on the CTH on April 12, 2023 | Sundance 

It’s going to be ugly.  Likely to be uncomfortable. Certain to be intense, grit, bloody, fierce and filled with adrenaline.

As we share in a reminder every morning, “This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can’t be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won’t be done. The Founders’ Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.” I can assure you of only this, if we do not stand victorious it will not be because Donald J Trump left anything on the battlefield.

2024 is MAGA burning the ships behind us.  This one is for all the marbles. This is not a place where tepid half-measures and gentlemanly pastels will suffice.  Get right with God, put on the armor, absorb the focus of fighting like the third monkey on the ramp to Noah’s ark, and get comfortable being uncomfortable. {Direct Rumble Link}

Our ally is anyone who stands beside us, right now. Our enemy is anyone who doesn’t.

The new sons and daughters of the revolution are going to look completely different.  The Green Dragon Tavern may be a church, a picnic table or a tailgate.  The assembly is not focused on the labels of the assembled.  We ain’t got time for that.  The mission is the purpose… The fight is wherever it surfaces…. Delicate sensibilities dispatched like a feather in a hurricane.

Apr 1 2023

A Message Today From President Donald Trump


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on March 31, 2023 | Sundance 

We sit as spectators to a battle, some with various levels of engagement to the fight, but we are spectators, nonetheless.   Most watch, many are called to action, the feeling within each spectator is increased deliberateness.  We are not the target, we are protected by the target, thus the nature of our focus on the battle.

As we watch the battle, it is worth considering that we are -after all- only spectators, and yet our feeling is very real… very purposeful… very engaged.

Imagine what it is like to be the target, to be the one inside this furnace of hatred and yet never backing down from the flames…. This is the inspiration that President Trump brings to an abused, forgotten, silent majority, and yes… he has a message.  WATCH:

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Mar 25 2023

Joe Biden and Justin from Canada Hold a Joint Press Conference – Video and Transcript


Posted originally on the CTH on March 24, 2023 | Sundance

Joe Biden is in Canada visiting Justin Trudeau Friday and they held a joint press conference.  WATCH:

[Transcript] – We’ll be taking two questions from the American delegation, two questions from the Canadian delegation.  One question and one follow-up.

Mr. President, first question over to you.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  All right.  I guess the first person I’m calling on is Josh.  Josh Boak.  Josh?

Q    Thank you, Mr. President.   Two questions, one for each of you.

Mr. President, you talked today about the security and economic partnership with Canada.  President Xi just went to Russia and expanded China’s economic commitment with that country.  Why do you think many leading countries are choosing to form competing partnerships?  And what does that mean for the world?

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  It —

Q    Prime Minister Trudeau —

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Oh, sorry.

Q    — Canada recently banned TikTok on government devices.  Knowing what you know, are you comfortable with the idea of your children or family members using TikTok?  Thank you.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  I respond to the question first here?

Well, first of all, look, in 10 years, Russia and — and China have had 40 meetings.  Forty meetings.

And I disagree with the basic premise of your question.  I have — we have, you know, significantly expanded our alliances.  I haven’t seen that happen with China and/or Russia or anybody else in the world.

We’re in a situation in the United States where NATO is stronger, we’re all together — the G7, the Quad, the ASEAN, Japan and Korea.

I have — my staff pointed out to me: I have now met with 80 percent of the world leaders just since I’ve been President.  We’re the ones expanding the alliances.  The opposition is not.

Name for me where that’s going, and tell me what ha- — I don’t mean literally you, but rhetorically — tell me how, in fact, you see a circumstance where China has made some significant commitment to Russia.  And what commitment can they make, economically?  Economically.

Q    Their trade has increased, sir.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Pardon me?

Q    Their trade has increased, sir.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Yeah, their trade has increased compared to what?

Look — look, I don’t take China lightly.  I don’t take Russia lightly.  But I think we vastly exaggerate.

I would hear — I’ve been hearing now for the past three months about “China is going to provide significant weapons to Russia, and they’re going to…” — you all have been talking about that.  They haven’t yet.  Doesn’t mean they won’t, but they haven’t yet.

And if anything has happened, the West has coalesced significantly more.

How about the Quad?  How about Japan and the United States and South Korea?  How about what we’ve done in terms of AUKUS?  How about what we —

I mean, so I just — I just want to put it in perspective.  I don’t take it lightly what Japan — what China, excuse me, and — and Russia are doing.  And it could get significantly worse.

But let’s put it in perspective: We are uniting coalitions.  We.  We, the United States and Canada.

PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU:  On TikTok, we made a similar decision to the American government and others when we said that we do not feel that the security profile is safe for government-issued phones.  There are concerns around privacy and security, and that means — that is why we have banned TikTok from government-issued phones.

But your question, Josh, was about what I do as a parent of teenagers and my kids on social media.  And on that, I —

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Pray.

PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU:  — (laughs) — on that, I am obviously concerned with their privacy and their security, which is why I’m glad that on their phones — that happen to be issued by the government — they no longer access TikTok.  (Laughter.)

That was a big frustration for them.  “Really?  This applies to us too, Dad?”  “Yes, I just did that.”  (Laughter.)

But I think as parents, we are understanding, particularly of teenagers, just how much of our kids’ lives are lived online and how much they are impacted not just by — influenced the way their friends are and peer pressure that all of us went through as teenagers, but a degree of misinformation, disinformation, and malicious activity that is allowed for by incredible advances in technology that we are benefiting from in so many different ways.

As governments, we have to make sure we’re doing what we can to keep people safe in the public square, making sure we’re pushing back against hate speech and incitations to violence online.  And we’re carefully calibrating legislation to do that.

As a parent, I spend a lot of time talking to my kids about what’s online and how they should try and, you know, go outside and play a little more sports and not get so wrapped up in their phones.  And we’re going to continue to do that.

Our concerns around TikTok are around security and access to information that the Chinese government could have to government phones.

It’s just a personal side benefit that my kids can’t use TikTok anymore — that I recommend everyone to use my en- — my encouragement to try and do.

MODERATOR:  (As interpreted.)  We’ll now go to a Canadian question.  Christian Noel.

Q    (As interpreted.)  Good afternoon, Mr. President.  Good afternoon, Mr. Prime Minister.  I’d like to ask a question about Roxham Road.  The agreement has been ready for a year.  Why did you wait so long?

And for the 15,000 migrants that Canada will welcome, why so few?  What have we offered to the U.S. in exchange?

PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU:  (As interpreted.)  Thank you, Christian.  We’ve known for a long time theoretically what modernization needed to be made to the Roxham Road, to the agreement.  We couldn’t simply shut down Roxham Road and hope that everything would resolve itself, because we would have had problems.  The border is very long.  People would have looked for other places to cross.

And so that’s why we chose to modernize the Safe Third Country Agreement so that someone who attempts to cross between official crossings will be subject to the principle — the same principle as someone who should seek asylum in the first safe country they arrive at.

Now, for people who are coming from the U.S., that is where they should be asylum seekers, using this means of uniformly applying the agreement, which we knew theoretically would be the solution, but it takes complex processes to manage the border.  It took months before we could move forward with the announcement.

But by doing so, we protected the integrity of the system.  And we’re also continuing to live up to our obligations with respect to asylum seekers.

At the same time, we continue to be open to regular migrants, and we will increase the number of asylum seekers who we accept from the hemisphere — the Western Hemisphere — in order to compensate for closing these irregular crossings.

Thank you.

Q    Mr. President, this question is for you.

(As interpreted.)  Please feel free, Mr. Trudeau, to answer as well.

Are you disappointed that Canada is not part or hasn’t taken a bigger role in the multilateral forces in Haiti?  And what would you like Canada to do more, in addition to the $100 million announced today?

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Well, no, I’m not disappointed.  Look, this is a very, very difficult circumstance, the idea of how do we deal with what’s going on in Haiti, where gangs have essentially taken the place of the government, in effect.  They run — they rule the roost, as the saying goes.

And so I think that what the Prime Minister has spoken about makes a lot of sense.  The biggest thing we could do, and it’s going to take time, is to increase the prospect of the police departments in Haiti having the capacity to deal with the problems that are faced.  And that is going to take a little bit of time.

We also are looking at whether or not the international community, through the United Nations, could play a larger role in this event, in this — this circumstance.  But there is no question that there is a real, genuine concern, because there are several million people in Haiti, and the diaspora could cause some real — how can I say it? — confusion in the Western Hemisphere.

And so — but I think that what the Prime Minister is suggesting, and we are as well going to be contributing, to see if we can both increase the efficiency and capacity of the training and the methods used by the police department, as well as seeing if we can engage other people in the hemisphere, which we’ve been talking to, and they’re prepared to do some.  So it’s — it’s a work in progress.

PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU:  (As interpreted.)  For 30 years, Western countries have been involved in Haiti to try to stabilize the country, to try to help the Pearl of the Antilles.  And the situation is atrocious.  It’s affecting the security of the people of Haiti.  We must take action.

And we must keep the Haitian people in the approach that we build for security.  And that’s why the approach that we are working on with the U.S. involves strengthening the capacity of the Haitian National Police, bringing more peace and security and stability.  This won’t happen tomorrow.  It will, of course, be a long process, but we will be there to support the capacity of the police in Haiti, the National Police.

At the same time, part of the insecurity and instability in Haiti is because of the Haitian elite, who have for too long benefited from the misery of the Haitian people.  They work for their own political gain, their own personal gain.  And this has prevented the country from recovering.  And that’s why we’re proceeding with sanctions.  We will continue to bring pressure to bear on the elite, the political class in Haiti, to hold them accountable for the distress facing the Haitian people, but to hold them accountable for ensuring their wellbeing.

We’re going to continue to work together.  We fully understand how important this task is.

MODERATOR:  Mr. President, over to you.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Can I follow up with one point on Haiti?  And that is that any decision about military force, which it’s often raised, we think would have to be done in consultation with the United Nations and with the Haitian government.  And so that is not off the table, but that is not in play at the moment.

I’m sorry.

MODERATOR:  Over to you for the question, Mr. President.

Jordan, you have a question?

Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Some on Wall Street have expressed frustration that it’s unclear what more your administration is willing to do to resolve the banking crisis.  The markets have remained in turmoil.  So how confident are you that the problem is contained?  And if it spreads, what measures, such as guaranteeing more deposits, are you willing or not willing to take?

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  First of all, have you ever known Wall Street not in consternation?  Number one.

Look, I think we’ve done a pretty damn good job.  People’s savings are secure, and even those beyond the $250,000 the FDIC is guaranteeing them.  And the American taxpayer is not going to have to pay a penny.  The banks are in pretty good shape.  What’s going on in Europe isn’t a direct consequence of what’s happening in the United States.

And I — what we would do is if we find that there’s more instability than appears, we’d be in a position to have the FDIC use the power it has to guarantee those — those loans above 250, like they did already.

And so I think it’s going to take a little while for things to just calm down.  But I don’t see anything that’s on the horizon that’s about to explode.  But I do understand there’s an unease about this.  And these mid-sized banks have to be able to survive, and I think they’ll be able to do that.

Q    And, Mr. Prime Minister, the U.S. has included Canada in electric vehicle subsidies, as you’ve discussed, that were included in the Inflation Reduction Act.  But the IRA also raises some competitiveness concerns and challenges for Canada.  You know, President Biden supports “Buy American” provisions very strongly, and that has historically led to some trade tensions.

So are you planning to announce anything in your budget to keep up, so to speak?  And are you asking the U.S. government for exceptions to the “Buy American” provisions in other areas?

PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU:  First of all, there’s nothing new about Canada having to make sure that we remain competitive with the United States as a place for investment.  That’s something that we have long known as a friendly competition between us that has led to tremendous growth and benefits in both of our countries.

Right now, we’re in a time where — Joe talked about it as an inflection point; I think that’s exactly right.  We can feel the global economy shifting — shifting in very real ways towards lower carbon emission technologies, cleaner tech, great jobs in the natural resource and manufacturing industries that are going to be increased on our continent after years of outsourcing and offshoring.  There is a real opportunity for both of us.

And the IRA, which is bringing in massive investments and massive opportunities for American workers and companies, is also going to have strong impacts on supply chains and producers and employees in Canada.

Yes, we’re going to have to make sure we’re staying competitive and targeting the areas where we think we can best compete.  And we’ll have more to say about that in our budget next week.

But let us take a moment to step back and see that North America — Canada and the United States in particular — are incredibly well positioned to be the purveyors of solutions and economic growth that the net-zero economy around the world will need over the coming decades.  The innovation, the know-how, the ability of us to make big things together leave us, in a time of global uncertainty, extremely certain that we are well placed for the future.

Whether it’s investments that have seen Canada go from fifth or sixth in the world, in turn of — in terms of battery supply chains, to now second in the world in terms of battery supply chains.

Whether it’s continuing our leadership on the cleanest aluminum in the world, moving towards cleaner steel and zero emission steel.

Whether it’s moving forward on critical minerals that the world is understanding they can no longer rely on places like China or Russia for — that they can rely on Canada to be not just a purveyor of ores, but of finished materials that will be built in environmentally responsible, union or good middle-class jobs — wages, strong communities, and the kind of leadership that the world is increasingly looking for.

There’s long been a bit of a weakness, I think, to our argument that we’ve made over the past decades as Western democracies that says that our model is the best one, it leads to the most prosperity.  But so much of our model — we sort of turned our back to the fact that it relied on cheap imports —

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Bingo.

PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU:  — of goods or resources from parts of the world that didn’t share our values and weren’t responsible on the environment or on human rights or on labor standards.

And what we are doing right now is showing that we can and will build resilient supply chains between us and with friends around the world that adhere every step of the way to the values that we live by, that make sure that there are good jobs for workers in communities, urban and rural, right across our continent; there are good careers for kids long into the future, not in spite of a changing world, but because of that changing world, and how well we are positioned to see the future and meet the future.

That’s why it’s so exciting to be able to work alongside Joe in these challenging times where we know we are better positioned than just about anyone else.  And those friends of ours who share our values and our democracies around the world will benefit from the strength and the relations they have with us.  And those who choose to continue to turn their backs on the environment, on human rights, on the values of freedom and dignity for all, will increasingly not be able to benefit from the growth that our societies, that our communities are creating every single day.
PRESIDENT BIDEN:  And, by the way, we each have what the other needs.  We each have what the other needs.

The idea that somehow Canada is somehow put at a disadvantage — because we’re going to probably be investing billions of dollars in their ability to package what is coming out of the semiconductor area — I don’t get it.  How’s that in any way do anything other than hire and bring billions of dollars into Canada?

I also don’t understand how, when we talk about it, we — we greatly need Canada, in terms of the minerals that are needed.

Well, you guys — we don’t have the minerals to mine.  You can mine them.  You don’t want to produce — I mean, you know, turn them into product.  We do.

I mean, it’s — I’m a little confused, at least thus far, on why this is a disadvantage for — for Canada and the United States.  I think we each have what the other needs.

And let me conclude by saying: You know, when I started talking about we’re going to build our economies from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down, I was being literal.  Because what happened is, if you think about it — in Democrat and Republican administrations beginning over 30 years ago or more in the United States — corporate America decided that what they’re going to do is they’re going to export jobs and import product because it was cheaper labor.

Well, guess what?  Now we are making sure they import jobs here — jobs here — and we export product.  Canada is doing the same thing.

So this is a real — this is a real shift in the world economy, in terms of what we’re prepared to do.  And I’ll be darned if I’m going to stick in a situation where, as long as I’m President, where we have to rely on a supply chain in the other end of the world that is affected by politics, pandemics, or anything else.

We’re not hurting — we’re not hurting anyone in terms of having access to the start of the supply chain.  It’s available.

But again, I — I predict to you, you’re going to see, after we’re both out of office, both China — I mean, China out of the game, in terms of many of the — the product they’re — they’re producing, and the United States and Canada pretty solid economically situated for the future in terms of also bringing back manufacturing jobs.

MODERATOR:  Merci.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Sorry.  And they’re telling me I’m talking too long because we got to go to dinner.  (Laughter.)

MODERATOR:  Thank you.

(In French.)  (As interpreted.)  We’ll take one last question.

Q    My first question is for the Prime Minister.  But, Mr.  President, feel free to weigh in before my follow-up.

Prime Minister, we know you’ve — we know that you’ve appointed a special rapporteur, but with what we’ve learned about Han Dong’s communication with the Chinese Consular General, do you believe he advocated for the delayed release of the two Michaels?

PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU:  First of all, Han gave a strong speech in the House that I recommend people listen to, and we fully accept that he is stepping away from the Liberal caucus in order to vigorously contest these allegations.

But I do want to take a step back and point out that foreign interference, interference by authoritarian governments, like China, Russia, Iran, and others, is a very real challenge to our democracies and is absolutely unacceptable.

It’s why, over the past number of years, the President and I have had many conversations about this.  And indeed, we’ll continue to work together with our democratic allies around the world to keep our institutions and our democracies safe from foreign interference.

In 2018, when Canada hosted the G7 in Charlevoix, we actually created the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism to protect our democracies in cases of interference.  And we will continue to work together to make sure we’re doing everything necessary to protect our democracies, which, by definition, are more open and therefore more vulnerable to foreign actors trying to weigh in in our politics, in our business, in our research institutions, and particularly impact on citizens themselves — which is why, over the past years, Canada, like our allies around the world, has given itself new rigorous tools to counter foreign interference.

And with the work that our expert rapporteur will do, with the work that our National Security Committee of Parliamentarians will be doing, and other institutions, we will continue to do everything necessary to keep Canadians safe.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  I have nothing to add.  (Laughter.)

Q    Thank you.  And, Mr. President, when you took office, you cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline.  This week, your government delayed the environmental assessment to reroute Enbridge Line 5, and at the same time, you’re approving oil drilling in Alaska.

So what’s your response to people who say it’s hypocritical to stymie Canadian energy projects while allowing your own?

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  First of all, I don’t think it is, but I’ll be very brief.

The difficult decision was on what we do with the Willow Project in Alaska, and my strong inclination was to disapprove of it across the board.  But the advice I got from counsel was that if that were the case, we may very well lose in court — lose that case in court to the oil company — and then not be able to do what I really want to do beyond that, and that is conserve significant amounts of Alaskan sea and land forever.

I was able to see to it that we are literally able to conserve millions of acres, not a — not a few — millions of acres of sea and land forever so it cannot be used in the future.

I am banking on — we’ll find out — that the oil company is going to say not — that’s not going to be challenged, and they’re going to go with thr- — with three sites.  And the energy that is going to be produced they’re estimating wou- — would account to 1 percent — 1 percent of the total production of oil in the world.

And so I thought it was a good — a — the better gamble and a hell of a tradeoff to have the Arctic Ocean and the Bering Sea and so many other places off limits forever now.

I think we put more land in conservation than any administration since Teddy Roosevelt.  I’m not positive of that, but I think that’s true.

Q    So why are you delaying efforts then?

MODERATOR:  Thank you all.  This is what concludes today’s press conference.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Thank you.

Q    Mr. President, Iran keeps targeting Americans.  Does there need to be a higher cost, sir?

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  We are not going to stop.

[End Transcript]