Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

KRUGGEL -- You have to be grossly tone deaf and ignorant as a diplomat to say something like that in the nation you are speaking to


U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstr is dumb, and I have no problem writing that down.

Why would I write that? My first reason is that it is true.

Ambassadors have a unique role in politics. They aren't elected, but they are national representatives, nevertheless. They are accorded a high degree of diplomatic immunity. They speak for their government. They speak to the state they are posted to.

Let me repeat those two key points. One of their duties is that not only do they speak for their government, but they also gauge and understand the people they are speaking to on behalf of their government.

A good ambassador, a good diplomat, is sensitive to the mood of those people he or she speaks to. Their job is to grasp the nature of the people in a country.

Hoekstr is missing the part completely.

He made some comments that Canadians aren't happy with the United States, and they are downright unpleasant about it. Our anti-American sentiment upsets him.

I'm disappointed that I came to Canada — a Canada that it is very, very difficult to find Canadians who are passionate about the American-Canadian relationship... You ran a campaign where it was anti-American, elbows up, me too. You know, that was an anti-American campaign. That has continued. That's disappointing." ~~ Pete Hoekstr

What exactly was he expecting? His boss is Donald Trump. 

Before Donald Trump was sworn into office he outright lied about Canada, on numerous occasions, about various topics including saying that Canada was a major conduit of Fentanyl entering the USA (about 0.1% comes through Canada), and that Americans couldn't bank in Canada. The last one was an outright lie.

Then he said he would place 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods. He said the United States subsidizes Canada to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars a year. He said that Canada doesn't work as a nation. He got back on trade and said Canadians are nasty. He said he would consider annexing Canada.

That last one is tantamount to war.

This is all in spite the fact that Canada has easily been the United States most reliable trading partner. Trump blames current US-Canadian trade deals like CUSMA. Except, he signed CUSMA after forcing it in his first term.

Now, saying all of that, Pete Hoekstra is surprised and disappointed that Elbows Up! and anti-Americanism is rampant.

You have to be grossly tone deaf and ignorant as a diplomat to say something like that in the nation you are speaking to. He clearly has zero grasp of Canada-US relations and why they have deteriorated.

The sentiment here is 100% the fault of the administration, nay the regime, he represents.

He also complains about boycotts by average Canadians. I'm sorry but if you kick my dog ,and crap on my lawn ,I'm not going to be your friend. If I'm not your friend, I'm not going to buy your products or services.

The boycotts are from average Canadians who are pissed off and rightly so. Any good diplomat would understand this and look for ways to:

(a.) communicate this back to his boss and 
(b.) smooth out the relationship.

Yet, Pete Hoekstra, like many in the Trump regime, believes that they are victims of the world that has been taking advantage of America. The victim mentality is strong among the Trump regime leadership.

It is nothing less than delusional thinking.

Most seasoned diplomats wouldn't mouth off like Pete Hoekstra did. They'd choose their words far more carefully, and they'd do so not because they are trying to kiss ass but because bilateral diplomacy is a two-way street. A diplomat, as I said, has to represent their nation and understand the nation they are speaking to.

Pete Hoekstra got the first part right, and the last part wholly and completely wrong.

He's not very good at this job.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Budget 2027: After a Decade of Decline, NDP Budget Delivers an Assault on Seniors, Working Families, and Small Businesses

Peter Milobar, BC Conservative Finance Critic, condemned the NDP government’s latest budget as the result of a decade of decline that has left British Columbians broke, unsafe, and paying more for less.   “After ten years of NDP mismanagement, this budget is an assault on seniors, working families, and the small businesses that drive our economy,” said Milobar. “The NDP have turned their back on the people working hardest to make ends meet and the seniors who built this province.” Milobar pointed to a new $1.1 billion annual income tax increase and warned that the government is piling new costs onto households already struggling with affordability.   “This government keeps asking British Columbians for more, while delivering less,” Milobar said. “The question people are asking is simple: Where has all the money gone?” Milobar noted that BC has gone from a surplus in the first year of NDP government to a projected deficit of more than $13 billion this year, while prov...

WARD STAMER -- Those are REAL forestry numbers, not just made-up numbers

The following is a condensed version of remarks Kamloops – North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer’s made, regarding Forestry, in the BC Legislature, on Tuesday afternoon (02/24/2026)   Let’s talk a little bit, when we talk about Budget 2026, about the forest industry, which is near and dear to my heart. Forestry remains one of British Columbia’s foundational industries. It’s a pillar that built this province. Entire communities depend upon it. Interior towns, northern communities, Vancouver Island regions, the Kootenays, the Lower Mainland, with manufacturing facilities in Surrey and Maple Ridge, just to name a few — everywhere in BC is touched by forestry. One word that was not mentioned in Budget 2026 was forestry. That’s a shame, an incredible shame. It wasn’t an oversight – it was intentional. This government has driven forestry into the ground .... INTO THE GROUND! We can talk a little bit about some of the initiatives that this government has brought forth, to try to resurrect ...

FORSETH -- Before anyone gets excited about one poll showing a candidate with a 25 percent lead, and 44 percent support overall, let’s give it a few more weeks

Is this based in reality -- how accurate are the numbers? In the past couple of weeks a couple of candidates, for the leadership of the BC Conservative Party, have been presenting polling results that they lead the pack – one even going so far as to say they have a lock on 44% of those who will be voting, and a twenty-five percent lead over the individual ranked second. I am going to say that this one, from Kerry-Lynne Findlay, is highly suspect. First of all the company conducting the poll, ERG National Research, is not a Member of Industry Bodies (the Canadian Research Insights Council), meaning they do not adhere to established industry standards for research, such as transparency, privacy, and methodological rigor. AI Overview states that ... based on alerts from the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC) and reports, ERG National Research should be treated with extreme caution regarding its reliability, and legitimacy, in conducting political polling. Before I even read this in...

Labels

Show more