I met Madeline Merlo at the 2024 CMT Next Women of Country event in Nashville in January. As is the norm, the women perform an acoustic set, and I specifically remember Merlo’s introspective song, “Make Up.”
Read MoreMusic Spotlight: Madeline Merlo
Tag: Canada
Since 2021, U.S. Has Seen Greatest Number of Canadian Illegal Border Crossers in History
by Bethany Blankley The greatest number of Canadians who’ve illegally entered the U.S. or attempted to illegally enter in recorded U.S. history has been reported under the Biden-Harris administration and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration. Since fiscal 2021 through July 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 150,701 Canadians illegally…
Read MoreNorthern Border Sector Continues to Break Records in Apprehensions
The busiest U.S. Customs and Border Protection sector at the northern border continues to break records in apprehensions with foreign nationals coming from 85 countries to Canada to illegally enter the U.S.
In less than 10 months, Swanton Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended 15,000 foreign nationals from 85 countries who all illegally entered the U.S. through Canada, the greatest volume reported in this time period in recorded history.
Read MoreCanada Officials Express Alarm About Terrorism Threats and Its Impact on U.S-Canada Border.
In addition to members of Congress expressing alarm about national security threats at the U.S.-Canada border, members of the Conservative Party of Canada are blaming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government for being responsible for creating them.
A Canadian House of Commons hearing was held Wednesday to investigate how the Trudeau government granted citizenship to a member of ISIS who allegedly plotted a terrorist attack against Canadians.
Read MoreCensorship Noose Tightens Across West with Biden White House, Trudeau’s Canada, EU Bureaucrat Moves
When the Supreme Court reversed a preliminary injunction against several federal agencies and officials for “coerc[ing] or significantly encourag[ing] a platform’s content-moderation decisions,” the ideologically hybrid majority concluded that well-documented federal pressure to censor government-disfavored narratives was unlikely to recur.
Justice Samuel Alito, joined by justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, scolded his colleagues for their perceived credulity. The high court just provided “an attractive model for future officials who want to control what the people say, hear, and think,” he wrote.
Read MoreImmigration Takes Center Stage in Contested Montana U.S. Senate Race
Montana has one of the longest shares of the U.S. border with Canada of any state.
Read MoreCanada Lawmakers Helped Foreign Powers Influence Elections, Report Alleges
The Canadian Parliament’s National Security Committee implicated multiple parliament members of “semi-witting or witting” cooperation with foreign powers to influence elections, according to a recent report.
The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) supported their findings with 4,000 documents totaling 33,000 pages. Their findings allege “pervasive and sophisticated foreign interference” in Canadian politics, including allegations that multiple unnamed parliament members worked with foreign actors to influence elections and campaigns in 2019 and 2021.
Read MoreMusic Spotlight: Nicolette and The Nobodies
I’ll confess. Sometimes I get so many emails I can’t read them all. The downside to that is I am sure I have missed several great artists. But thankfully, I did open Taran’s Smith email when she pitched Nicolette & the Nobodies to me.
Read MoreCommentary: Obama’s CIA Asked Foreign Intel Agencies to Spy on Trump Campaign
The revelation that the U.S. intelligence community, under the Obama administration, sought the assistance of the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance to surveil Donald Trump’s associates before the 2016 election is a chilling reminder of the lengths to which the Deep State will go to protect its interests and challenge its adversaries. (The Five Eyes countries are the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.) This bombshell, reported by a team of independent journalists, exposes a dark chapter in American political history, where foreign intelligence services were reportedly mobilized against a presidential candidate.
The alleged operation against Trump and his associates, which predates the official start of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation, is a stark example of political weaponization of intelligence. The involvement of foreign allies in surveilling American citizens under the pretext of national security raises serious questions about the integrity of our democratic processes and the autonomy of our nation’s intelligence operations.
Read MoreIllegal Northern Border Crossings in Last Three Months Smashed Figures for Whole Previous Years
Illegal migrant crossings at the U.S.-Canadian border in the last three months exceeded the total number of crossings in both fiscal years 2021 and 2022 combined, according to federal data updated Friday.
Border Patrol recorded 3,846 encounters of migrants crossing into the U.S. illegally from Canada between October and December, according to the data. There were a total of 3,154 encounters of illegal migrants at the northern border in both fiscal years 2021 and 2022.
Read MoreCommentary: 100 Canadian Churches Torched or Damaged Following Indian Residential School Graves Hoax
To its credit, the London-based tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail recently carried a story most corporate news outlets have been avoiding: The Indian Residential School Graves hoax.
The paper, whose article titles are characteristically long and descriptive, leaves little mystery in the scandalous story’s headline: “Nearly ONE HUNDRED churches across Canada have been torched or damaged after activists lied that 200 indigenous children were buried under Catholic schools.”
Read MorePeople in Florida Will Soon Be Able to Buy Drugs from Canada
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Florida’s request to import cheap prescription drugs from Canada on Friday.
Policymakers across the political spectrum have long sought to import drugs from Canada, where drug prices are lower, and Florida’s authorization makes it the first state to import drugs in bulk from America’s northern neighbor. Florida estimates that it may save as much as $150 million on drugs treating things like diabetes, hepatitis C and certain psychiatric conditions.
Read MoreVehicle Explodes at Niagara Falls Bridge Connecting U.S. and Canada, FBI Says
A vehicle exploded Wednesday, causing the Rainbow Bridge connecting the United States and Canada near Niagara Falls to close, the FBI said.
Read MoreMore than 300,000 Illegal Aliens Entered U.S. through Southwest Border in September Alone
More than 300,000 people illegally entered the U.S. through the southwest border in September, according to newly released U.S. Customs and Border Protection data and gotaway data first reported by The Center Square.
Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations agents apprehended 269,735 people last month and Border Patrol agents reported at least 33,203 known gotaways, bringing the total to 302,938.
Read More736 Known or Suspected Terrorists Apprehended at U.S. Border in Fiscal 2023
There were 736 known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) apprehended at the northern and southern borders in fiscal 2023.
The Center Square initially reported 659 were apprehended for the fiscal year, as of Sept. 15, 2023. The fiscal year ended Sept. 30.
Read MoreAcademics: Allowing Kids to Opt Out of Drag Storytime Is a ‘Dangerous Setback’ for Gay Rights
A pair of academics affiliated with York University in Canada believe that allowing parents to opt out their children from drag storytime events is a “dangerous setback for 2SLGBTQ+ human rights education.”
Writing in the Toronto Star, Beyhan Farhadi, a fellow at York’s Institute for Research on Digital Literacies, and “community educator”/York M.Ed student Joy Henderson say the Toronto School Board’s decision to allow opt-outs from the “family-friendly” activity “sends a message that [queer] rights are debatable.”
Read More‘Anti-Capitalist’ Cafe Closes Down After a Year Due to a Lack of Capital
The Anarchist, a Canadian coffee shop dedicated to fighting capitalism, is going out of business on May 30, about one year after its opening due to a lack of capital, according to its owner. The café sold coffee and tea alongside books and merchandise promoting radical leftist ideas, and was ardently anti-capitalist. The business was unable to obtain enough capital to stay in business during a slow winter season, the cafe’s owner, Gabriel Sims-Fewer, wrote in an online announcement about the closure.
Read MoreParents of Student Urging Pro-Catholic Teachings Suspended from Their Teaching Positions, Under Investigation
The parents of internationally known Ontario high school student Josh Alexander have been suspended from their teaching posts in another board and placed under investigation over what appears to be their son’s outspoken views against his Catholic school board’s cave to the LGBTQ agenda.
“From the beginning, I understood the consequences my actions may have and I was willing to take that stand and face the consequences,” Alexander told The Epoch Times, according to a report Thursday.
Read MoreMusic Spotlight: SACHA
One thing I have learned while writing my blog is that there is a lot more to Canadian country music than Shania Twain. The Canadians love their country music and have given us Tenille Arts and Tenille Towns, Lindsey Ell, Terri Clark, Brett Kissel, Manny Blu, Kimberly Dawn, Tebey, and country rocker, Cory Marks to name a few.
Therefore, When I heard Sacha sing at a writers’ round recently, I was not a bit surprised to find out that she was from Ontario, Canada. Now living in Nashville, I met up with her at CMT’s Next Women of Country and scheduled an interview.
Read MoreEastern Washington Legislators Urge Biden to Lift Vaccine Mandate for Border Travel
Two U.S. Representatives from Eastern Washington have signed onto a letter that urges the Biden Administration to drop all vaccine requirements for people entering the United States from Canada.
Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, and Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, say the decision to send the letter follows Canada lifting vaccine mandates for international travelers entering the country despite Biden’s refusal to follow suit.
Read MoreTen Dead, 15 Wounded in Canadian Mass Stabbing Spree, Suspects at Large
Canadian authorities on Sunday said 10 people have died and at least 15 more have been hospitalized following an apparent stabbing spree in Saskatchewan.
“There could be more injured,” said Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commanding Officer Rhonda Blackmore.
Read MoreAmericans Could See Grocery Store Prices Skyrocket Even Higher: Report
Food prices in the U.S. may get worse in the coming months as European Union countries predict a dismal wheat harvest on top of the loss in Ukraine’s wheat exports, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
The EU may produce 5% less wheat than 2021 because of dry weather, agriculture consulting firm Strategie Grains told the WSJ.
Read MoreCommentary: The Gathering Storm in the West
Canada is now governed by absurdism, and it is symptomatic of an ailing Western elite.
Liberal Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week invoked martial law to arrest and financially destroy truckers on the charge that their largely peaceful protests are “dismantling the Canadian economy” that had already been dismantled for two years under some of the most draconian lockdowns in the world. The trucker “sect,” Trudeau added, is guilty of felonious “unacceptable views.” But his rhetoric still cannot square the circle of demonizing vital workers while conceding he cannot run his country without them.
Read MoreCommentary: In Trudeau’s Canada, a Pastor Is Imprisoned for Talking to Truckers
“In an unjust society the only place for a just man is in prison,” said the writer Henry David Thoreau. That is increasingly true in Canada, where critics of its COVID restrictions can be thrown in jail for peaceful protests. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is unleashing powers meant for terrorists on the truckers. His mandates already damaged their livelihoods, but now his treatment of the truckers as a group akin to ISIS threatens to wipe them out completely. Meanwhile, a Calgary pastor who merely preached to the truckers finds himself in solitary confinement on a phony charge of incitement, according to his lawyer.
The condition of religious freedom in America is pretty dismal, but it appears to be even worse in Canada. This imprisoned pastor, Artur Pawlowski, didn’t urge the truckers to violence. On the contrary, he explicitly disavowed violence. “May God help us all, because we don’t fight with guns and swords,” he said to truckers gathered for a freedom convoy rally. “We don’t fight with Tasers and the police vehicles. We don’t. We just want to go back and work hard and achieve something and provide for our families. We just want to be left alone.”
Read MoreMedia Wage Harassment Campaign Against Freedom Convoy Donors Doxxed In GiveSendGo Hack
Media outlets are continuing to message small-dollar donors to the Freedom Convoy whose identities were leaked to the public after a hack of crowdfunding site GiveSendGo.
The personal information of roughly 90,000 donors to the Freedom Convoy, a group of truckers and hackers protesting Canada’s vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions, was leaked after hackers breached GiveSendGo late Sunday. The leaked data included names, email handles, IP addresses and zip codes, and was provided to “journalists and researchers” by Distributed Denial of Secrets, an activist group hosting the information.
Read MoreCanadian Father Loses Custody of Children Due to Being Unvaccinated
In New Brunswick, Canada, a father of three lost custody of his children after a single judge ruled that his unvaccinated status was a danger to his children.
According to USA Today, the concerned father presented evidence to the judge that pointed out possible harmful effects of the Pfizer-BioTech vaccine, as proof that his concerns about taking the vaccine were valid. But Justice Nathalie Godbout, of the Court of Queen’s Bench, ruled against him by simply deferring to “public health officials” as being superior to his own research.
Read MoreWhite House Plans to Reopen Borders with Canada and Mexico to Vaccinated Travelers
The Biden administration plans to reopen the land borders with Canada and Mexico to vaccinated travelers, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
People who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to enter the U.S. for non-essential purposes including visiting family or tourism starting in November, according to The Washington Post. Anyone planning to cross the border for non-essential or essential travel is required to be vaccinated in January.
Read MoreCommentary: The Left Can Finally Admit What It Wants
I remember a staggering conversation with my high school lunch table in the early 2000s. Everyone agreed with one kid’s statement that there was nothing special about living in America: Life in Canada, or anywhere else, would be identical except for maybe the weather.
At the time, I wondered what was going to happen to America when all these kids grew up. What happens when America’s young adults, far from having any intellectual commitment to freedom, don’t even understand what life would be like without it?
Read MoreChinese Student Studying in Canada Targeted for Criticizing the Chinese Communist Party, Experts Say Students in America Face the Same Threat
A Chinese student attending a Canadian university is currently facing repercussions from the Chinese government for his criticism of the regime on Twitter.
Experts tell Campus Reform that the same thing has happened in the United States.
Read MoreMusic Spotlight: Tebey
NASHVILLE, Tennessee- Until I started writing this column, I had no idea of Canadian musicians’ influence on the country music industry. Country music is as big in Canada as it is in America. Tebey is a prime example.
Read MoreMusic Spotlight: Brett Kissel
If there were ever a darling of the Canadian Country Airwaves, it would be Brett Kissel. Not only has the 30-year-old won numerous Canadian Country Music Association Awards, but he also has three number one hits and numerous top-tens on Canadian Radio.
But the main reason I wanted to interview him was because his music really is that good. His songs are all over the spectrum sonically but they resonate with the listeners.
Kissel admits that absolutely no one in his family is musical. “Not a grandpa, not a dad, an uncle, an auntie, nobody ever played music, period.”
The fact that he picked up a guitar, the fact that he can sing, the fact that he can write songs, and the fact that he moved to Nashville and made a go of it, is nothing short of remarkable.
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