Trego's Mountain Ear

"Serving North Lincoln County"

Tag: Freedom Convoy

  • God Save the Queen

    “When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary.”  Thomas Paine

    As I watch Canada, thoughts go back to my undergrad days, when Trudeau was a Prime Minister – that’s Pierre, not Justin, and the protest movement as the sixties became the seventies was anti-war, not independent truckers with a Freedom Convoy.  Folks were headed to Canada to dodge the draft, not to protest mask and vaccination mandates.  It’s important to remember I live about 20 miles south of Canada – Canadian politics affects me.  There’s a reason Eureka is occasionally called Tijuana del Norte.  As a community, we depend on Canadian trade.

    Pierre had some good remarks – my memory includes “I’ll bloody well not tell you whom I seduce.” – but I can’t find that one online.  I can find “Who is it that said that ‘you have not converted a man because you have silenced him?’ This is true of the use of the military on people.”  Another Pierre quote, possibly relevant today is “There are a lot of bleeding hearts around who just don’t like to see people with helmets and guns. All I can say is go and bleed. It is more important to keep law and order in society than to be worried about weak-kneed people Society must take every means at its disposal to defend itself against the emergence of a parallel power which defies the elected power.”  I’m pretty sure the son won’t have as many good quotes as the father.

    I’ve spent most of my lifetime respecting the Queen.  For quibblers, that’s Queen Elizabeth II.  For me, there is but one Queen and she doesn’t need introductions.  I like, I respect the lady.  But I remember that virtue is not hereditary.  In her case, Charles and Andrew have spent most of my lifetime demonstrating Thomas Paine’s 1776 observation.

    Admitted, there have been times when I kind of envied Prince Charles his ease of decisions on career choices.  He was going to grow up and be king of England.  He didn’t need to write and revise resumes, or plan for interviews. His Master’s from Cambridge just required him to stay out of jail for six or seven years after he got his BA.  Still, at 72, retired for the past five years, and with a resume packed with interesting job, I think my career path was better.  Prince Charles is a year older, and still hasn’t got the job he was born to fill.  His record doesn’t seem to be above reproach, so it may be that, as Thomas Paine pointed out, “Virtue is not hereditary.”  On the other hand, I’ve seen colleagues and neighbors with equally nasty, but much less publicized divorces.

    Then we get to Prince Andrew.  Last month I read that, while he is still titled, His Royal Highness the Duke of York, he’s been stripped of his other royal titles and tasks because he’s under charges resulting from Epstein scandals.  Thomas Paine was right – “Virtue is not hereditary.”

    God Save the Queen.  I’m not sure even God can save Justin Trudeau.

  • Blockades at the Border

    Slow Roll Protests have emerged at several crossings over the past month, as well as full and partial blockades. Protests are against the new vaccine mandates for crossing the border, and in support of the Freedom Convoy in Ottowa protesting the same.

    A Slow Roll Protest began at 3 in the morning, Monday January 17th on the US Manitoba border at the Crossing between Pembina, North Dakota and Emerson, Manitoba. The Pembina/Emerson crossing is a 24 hour port of entry, with three commercial lanes and 4 auto lanes. It is the most heavily traveled border crossing in North Dakota. Between 30 and 40 semi-trucks moved in a slow loop, passing through the crossing, then turning, and crossing again.

    The largest port of entry in Alberta is the Coutts Border Crossing, between Coutts, Alberta and Sweet Grass, Montana where traffic has been disrupted since Saturday, January 29th. On the 29th, the RCMP said that several hundred vehicles took part in the protest.

    Also on the 29th, a blockade was set up at the Houlton-Woodstock border crossing, between Woodstock New Brunswick and Houlton Maine. The blockade was scheduled to last 24 hours, and to demonstrate support for the Trucker Convoy protesting in Ottawa.

    The current blockade of Highway 4 at the Coutts border crossing violates the Alberta Traffic Safety Act. It is causing significant inconvenience for lawful motorists and could dangerously impede the movement of emergency service vehicles. This blockade must end immediately.”

    Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, January 30th
    Coutts border crossing, Jan. 31

    On January 31st, Rebel News reported on a standoff between the RCMP and the protesters, including ongoing negotiations. The protest at the Coutts border crossing continued on February 1st, with further negotiations between RCMP and the protesters. The protest continued to grow on the 2nd. There is a group set up to fund the legal defense for the protesters. At some point a second blockade occurred in the area. With so much coverage for the Coutts border crossing, it’s difficult to find news about any other ports of entry. That said, there are videos that suggest protests (with lotsof honking) have been occurring in other places along the border.

    Saturday February 4th Video Update from Rebel News on the Coutts, Alberta Border Blockade. Also on the 4th, an article came out suggesting that companies will be rerouting their shipping to crossings to the east or west of the Coutts crossing.

    On Sunday, February 6th, there were reports of a protest at a different crossing: Convoy slows traffic at the border and closes 402 westbound Sunday– CBC News. A convoy slowed traffic at Ambassador Bridge, a 24 hour crossing that connects Windsor, Toronto to Detroit, Michigan, another major port of entry.

    The protest at the Coutts crossing continues- it’s well worth watching the youtube videos. The written press coverage has been fairly limited- youtube and twitter both provide more information, if less linearly.

    Local News- if you’ve been watching the Eureka Montana Community Page, you’ll have seen that a Freedom Rally in support of the Freedom Convoy 2022 is scheduled for February 12th, b/w 1 and 4 PM, gather at the parking lot of the First & Last Chance Bar.