You know, I’m used to a certain degree of politics in my paganism. So much of Paganism has been taken over by politically minded people using the Gods for their own ends that it is more often I find someone preaching their politics as the religion rather than a sane voice like House of Vines. Heck, of those who get into politics and paganism, I can count on one hand  the number of people I can actually trace making their political ideologies from their religion, and not the other way around.

So when Beckett decided to instead of talk about gods, he was going to open his mouth about Trump, I responded. Now, Beckett has decided to open his mouth about it again and well..I’m bored so I’ll respond to some of it too. I’m not giving it the full break down because it’s not as important this time.

9 Reasons I’m Not Moving To Canada If Trump Wins

As Donald Trump racks up more and more delegates toward the Republican Presidential nomination, Google is reporting a huge increase in the search term “move to Canada.” Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia is encouraging people fleeing Trump to visit their island. And my Facebook feed has regular entries from friends talking about moving to Canada, or Ireland, or somewhere in Scandinavia.

Well, as someone well versed in what is going on politically in Scandinavia, especially Sweden, I cannot recommend moving there if you’re trying to avoid Trump. Mostly because you will quickly realize how bad the immigrant rape problem is and promptly start voting for Trump. That much of a shift can cause serious injuries.

Funny thing is, everyone talks about moving to Canada as if Canada is awesome. Of course, most of my dad’s side of the family moved out of Canada and into the USA, so you can judge for yourselves if Canada is really worth living in if native Canadians wanna leave. Also, Canada is the nation that finally released a man they put into prison for several years. His crime was disagreeing with some feminists on Twitter about the level of violence they were about to commit against someone for making a game. Not exactly a bastion of free speech.

Also, I was under the impression that Trump was the president of Canada until he got f*cked to death by Mr Garrison. If South Park is anything to go by.

1. Trump’s not going to win. I admit he’s hung around longer than I thought he would – I wasn’t counting on the #2 Republican being Ted Cruz. The Republican establishment hates Cruz as much as it hates Trump (and to be honest, I’m more afraid of Cruz) but they can’t get the voters behind Marco Rubio. We may be headed for a brokered convention, and there’s always the possibility of Mitt Romney being drafted as a compromise candidate.

Look, I’m not a Republican or a conservative by any means. But I can actually observe said people with open eyes and understand why they do what they do. For the last several decades, the GOP has been…disappointing to their primary voters. Most lay republicans are good, honest folk, seeking to live moral lives with as few interruptions or taxes by their government as is humanly possible. They like a strong military, not too many laws, maybe a bit isolationist, and to earn their way in this world without being punished for it. And the GOP heads have…largely fucked all that shit up.

Because the Party heads of the GOP and the Democrates aren’t that different. They want as much power as they can have with the least amount of accountability they have to take. Trump and Cruz are guys who are standing up for two different parts of the populace. Cruz for the republicans who feel shafted by the GOP and Trump for the people who feel shafted by everyone, at least on the “right” side of the political spectrum.

Trump is to the right, what Bernie is to the left. When you understand that they each speak the words of the pure ideology of those two sided. Make My Nation Great on the Right, and “Free shit for everyone” on the left.

The convention is going to be interesting to be sure though.

If Trump gets the nomination, I expect Hillary or Bernie will walk over him. Most of the constituency that voted for Barack Obama will support the Democratic nominee, and the Republican establishment will (quietly) back Hillary over either Trump or Cruz. A Sanders – Trump race could see Michael Bloomberg reverse his decision and run as an independent. I’ve already seen some Republicans supporting Libertarian Gary Johnson. A third-party candidate has the chance to send the election to the House of Representatives where Trump is hated and will not win.

I’m gonna play you a little clip.

 

“White people…do not know what it is like to be poor.” – Bernie Sanders.

Yeah…

According to Census figures in 2013, 18.9 million whites are poor. That’s 8 million more poor white people than poor black people, and more than 5 million more than those who identify as Latino. A majority of those benefiting from programs like food stamps and Medicaid are white, too.

In fact, a quick search shows that roughly 10% of all whites live below the poverty line. I couldn’t find figures for those near or just above, but I’m betting it’s probably another 20% at least. In fact, at one point when I was in a relationship and the two of us both had full time jobs…we were still below the poverty line.

If it comes down to Trump vs. Sanders, well…all Trump has to do is drag that line into the light of day and Trump it.

As for Hilary vs Trump, well…..in the choice between a demagague and a Clinton, Hilary is about as hated by her “lay people” as Trump is by the “GOP Brass.”

2. Presidential power is limited. Even if Trump wins, there are limits on what he can do. His bullying style of “leadership” isn’t likely to win him any friends or allies in Congress. Other than perhaps on immigration, I don’t see him getting any significant bills passed. As we have seen with President Obama, there is only so much that can be done through executive orders. This is still a nation of laws, and our courts are largely immune to Presidential bullying.

Well, at least I’m not the only one who noticed this fact. Seems like everyone expects the president to be the god emperor of mankind or something. Which gives me some hope if Sanders is elected. I doubt his socialism will get much traction. At least, I hope.

We’ve already seen senior advisors state that the military would refuse to obey illegal orders – I think that’s likely. I’m far less worried about a President Trump doing something crazy than I am with a President Cruz giving Israel a blank check and escalating a war in the Middle East.

Wait, wait…I think I have a meme for this.

I mean really Beckett. Israel? Gonna bring that up? I know you’re trying to earn your brownie points with Smith and the like, but you might wanna do some fact checking before you jump in with the anti-zionists.

3. I’m not in much danger. I’m not an immigrant or a Muslim. I’m a straight, white, middle class man. The only way I’m likely to run afoul of the Trump Brownshirts (other than writing posts like this, which I absolutely plan to continue) is my religion, and that can be camouflaged if it’s necessary to protect my life and property.

Yep, nothing to fear from Trump.

Everything to fear from Black Lives Matter though, so I wouldn’t count your blessings too quickly there.

And again with the Nazi imaginary here Beckett? Look, fine, you wanna present Trump and his supporters as a bunch of nazis, go ahead. But don’t then turn around and claim you’re more scared of Cruz because he might give the Jews money! Pick one! Nazis are Bad, or Jews are Bad.

Also, way to be a complete coward about your religion. “Hurr Hurr, if they come for me because I’m a Pagan, I’ll just hide the fact I’m a Pagan.” Bellona’s Blades, but that honestly pisses me off. Is your devotion so weak you would hide it away to avoid risk and loss? I have shit in my life, but I will lay it an my life on the line to stand up for my Gods no matter who comes.

i’m gonna skip over points 4 & 5 because it’s all about how hard it is to immigrate to any where not America (irony not lost on me) and how it’s expensive (because 1st world problems of rich people spending their money to be political bigots makes me laugh).

6. Canada looks pretty good – for now. For someone with liberal political views, Canada looks pretty good right now. Universal health care, marriage equality firmly established, mostly minds their own business in international affairs. And new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leads a Liberal Party that just took power after almost ten years of Conservative rule.

Ah yes, Trudeau, a man staffing his government based on their race and gender rather than their skills, and whose government jailed a man for disagreeing with feminists on twitter. A beloved utopia of left with sexism and racism…

Wait…that’s supposed to be pretty good?

But let’s not forget that for that almost ten years, Canada was led by Stephen Harper, sometimes called “Bush Lite.” Let’s not forget that the Keystone XL Pipeline project (which has been vetoed by President Obama but could be revived by a Republican President) is designed to transport tar sands oil from Alberta, the home of some of the worst environmental desecration on the planet.

[Unsolicited opinions on Oil]

Yeah, that pipeline was gonna create a lot of well paying jobs, help reduce our dependence on oil from the middle east (there by reducing the funding for Muslim Supremacist armies over there) and help re-centralize more jobs back in the US and Canada. But fuck that, white people don’t know poverty and it’s not like Americans need jobs or anything.

7. Canada is cold. And the one place in Canada with moderate weather (Vancouver) is horribly expensive.

I’m pretty sure that’s considered a racist statement there mate.

8. I trust my ability to read the political thermometer. An old proverb says that if you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water he’ll jump out, but if you put him in a pan of room temperature water he’ll never notice it getting hotter until he boils to death. I’ve never tried that experiment – I have a bit of compassion even for amphibians – but it makes a valid point. I’m sure millions of Jews in 1930s Germany thought they had plenty of time to leave, until they didn’t.

Wait, I though you were telling people not to move to Canada….but here you are mentioning the Jews who…”didn’t move to Canada” while the Nazis were coming.

The fact is that we are in the beginnings of the Long Descent. A Donald Trump presidency would floor the accelerator on our descent, but even a Bernie Sanders presidency would only tap the brakes a bit. As the American empire crumbles, things will get nastier. It behooves all of us to pay attention, even if we hate politics.

So…you think Bernie “make everything free” Sanders would have better success slowing this…”Descent” better than Donald “I’mma gonna bring back the money” Trump would.

Okay. Not entirely sure you understand why the USA is “descending” there Beckett (I mean, not like our massive expenditures in social aid programs haven’t helped build up the massive debt just as much as the war has) but whatever. If you think providing people with more 100k degrees that qualifies them to work at Starbucks is the way to make America Great Again…I can’t help you.

9. I’m not surrendering to fascists and theocrats. Call me naïve. Call me stubborn. You can even call me patriotic. But I still believe in the idea of America.

But you will surrender to Socialists and Criminals!!!!

You know, I’m starting to wonder if Beckett even knows what a Fascist is. And to be honest, Fascists have great track records for rebuilding economies. They just have terrible records for winning wars. I mean, Hela, Hitler brought the entire world out of the Great Depression. And he wasn’t even a businessman. Frankly, if Trump is a fascist, at least I’ll be able to lay odds on a decent paying job.

Sanders gets in, I’m going to be looking at a life time of slave labor to pay for other people’s shit. And let’s face it, if Trump losses to Hilary, he’s still going to have enough money and enough favors from that woman to make sure he personally comes out okay. So really, Beckett…how are your options better.

As fro Cruz being a “Theocrat” are we as men of faith going to bash another man because he has faith? Frankly, even if he is a theocratic bastard I’m pretty sure I can get my religion in an okay place with him in power. Far better than I could with say someone who is all lovey dovey with the Islamists. Which Hilary…kinda has a track record of being.

 

 

 

Hela Bless