Well, I hope that our technical problems have finally come to an end. Problems Wednesday were about changing our domain registration to a new ISP (internet service provider), which required time for “prorogation”. I myself didn’t have access until Thursday morning. Then the normal Brock traffic simply overwhelmed our shared server service which was promoted by the ISP but turned out to be thoroughly inadequate for our needs. That’s when we started getting the account suspended message–and no, that wasn’t because you put some bad language in a comment. So we had to change to a new platform which is more robust and will hopefully carry us into the next year.
For those naysayers of Isaac Brock–and boy do we ever have them, I have a message. Take for example Kim Moody, who wrote:
In today’s day and age, anyone with a microphone and access to the Internet can provide their opinion, and while free and open democracies need freedom of speech in order to function, sometimes the loudest opinions are inaccurate, incomplete and, in the FATCA world, inflammatory.
Who could she mean but the Isaac Brock Society? Have we not used our free speech to say that people like Kim Moody have no business in Canada collecting taxes in our sovereign nation on behalf of the serial rights abuser called the United States of America? Is she not paid handsomely to enforce IRS compliance on innocent Canadian citizens? So isn’t that act itself inaccurate, incomplete, and inflammatory.
I have this to say to the Kim Moodys and to the Honourable Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his merry band of thugs: “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.” Our new platform is now sufficiently powerful to handle the traffic that you folks are going to force our way.
In the meantime, I had a number of messages from loyal Brockers. One said, “I am going through IBS withdrawal. It is worse than being an alcoholic.” Another claimed to be happy it was down because reading posts here destroys optimism. Another, who works in a psychiatric hospital, said that their emergency room was quite overwhelmed with Brockers who were beside themselves. I am so relieved that we can provide once again the only treatment that seems to work against the disease of clinging US nationality. Welcome home.
I want to know if Bopp wins his case – will there be a refund for those who were over-penalised? Because if that is how it might turn out, then that could be an awful lot of refunds. Wouldnt one want to be sure before collecting?
@Petros, giving a forum another try might be a good idea. So many more people know/are finding out about how FATCA is going to affect their lives I think it would prove very popular. It would also allow sticky threads where useful info can be placed for easy access. Just a thought.
Had to comment on a comment that I saw on US Citizen Abroad’s blog.
“There are millions of us here in the U.S.A. who understand that our Tax system is driving patriotic people away. Millionaires should be running toward us instead of away, but our Politicians of both Major Parties are unaware that we need millions of Americans to live abroad to sell and service our exported products. We have gone from a trade surplus to a trade deficit so large that it is draining the wealth of the nation away.
Taxing citizens no matter where they live in the world is a dumb idea. The FairTax, supported by millions of Americans, would reverse the Marxist trend and make it un necessary for anyone to renounce their citizenship. We had a record number of citizens renounce last year and if the embassies had not made it so difficult it would have been double or more than double the number who were successful.
I knew some Green Card holders who wanted to quietly retire to their native Mexico and now it is impossible, Financially. Perhaps the fence they are building, on our Southern Border, is to keep us in instead of them out.”
I know Wilton posts here because I’ve seen his handle over here. And frankly I’m sick and tired of people saying that FairTax is potentially a solution to this problem. IT IS NOT! I say this emphatically.
—————————————–
I get extremely tired of the FairTax angle being quoted by more misinformed people. It’s “pay a percentage of what you make” regardless of where you make it. That is just another form of citizenship based taxation and that isn’t going to work for those of us who end up working our entire lives in a foreign country, Where is the U.S. infrastructure that those of us who live in foreign nations are using? Why should we have to pay for YOUR Obamacare? We use foreign infrastructure in our daily lives. Local banks in foreign nations; we drive on foreign roads paid for by foreign taxes we pay to foreign (but local to us) governments. Why should we have to pay anything to you with hands held out to beg for money that isn’t yours to begin with? Reminds me too much of the platform that Obama got in on. He got the vote of those greedy enough to want other people’s money.
Folks, lets start with respect to Canada.
Everyone and I mean everyone whose data is handed over to the USA will get a nasty but encouraging letter in the post.
The whole process will be automated.
It is simple and cheap to generate those letters.
All those self rightous MPs are going to have loads of constituents screaming at them.
But that will only be the start…………….
Some whiz kid just out of Harvard will be working for a member of Congress. They will take the first data dump from the CRA and “calculate” what is the maximum tax, penalties and FBAR penalties due on the pot of money reported by CRA. They will take that spreadsheet to their boss who will then demand aggressive action be taken. Trust me, by the time Congress gets through with you Canada will be branded as equal to the Cayman Islands w/out the sun.
@Yogagirl.
I’ve looked at some of some of the interviews with Allison Loat on her book “Tragedy in the Commons.” I think many of us have come to the same conclusion that once elected our MPs become lapdogs of the PM and no longer represent their contstituents.
Allison’s views are in line with the book “Democracy’s Oxygen – How Corporations Control the News” author James Winter argues that our PMs are essentially controlled by the media barons, specifically the Blacks and the Desmarais. It matters very little which party is elected the end result will be the same and the agenda will be advanced. The PMO serves the interests of the Global Elites not Canadian Citizens.
@George
That’s what I keep saying. FATCA treats countries like Canada as tax havens and Americans living in other countries as tax evaders. In all “fairness”, the US will make no distinction between countries and apparently our Canadian government doesn’t seem to care.
So Mr. Moody says that while we may not like citizenship-based taxation it “is what it is” and we have to live with it. I don’t think so, Mr. Moody! Slavery “was what it was” too, but it was brought to an end. The British imposed “citizenship-based taxation” back in the 18th century and we all know what the American colonists did about that! They made a collective decision to *change* their fate rather than *accept* it. They said “No! We will not pay!” The result was that a new nation was born and the world was changed.
We are in a very similar situation today. That formerly “new nation”, our “mother country”, is coming after us for taxes *we do NOT owe* whatever their law books may say. The world must change again and it is *us* who must do what we can to bring that change about … not do what Mr. Moody suggests and go running to the compliance experts to continue this “same old, same old” nonsense. CBT *must* end! Change must be brought about. One by one we are the instruments that will make that happen. “CBT Ends With Me.”
You can tell I missed Brock too! Welcome back!!
@MuzzledNoMore
Consider the source.
Old word: Carpetbagger
New words: Moodybagger, Bergbagger or Roybagger for short.
http://www.infowars.com/infowars-reporters-grill-bilderberg-member/
for some strange reason when i am out driving around in my 1967 chrysler and a protest song/group from the ’60s come on my ipod i am inspired to keep on keeping on.
“Somebody has to do something, and it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.” — Jerry Garcia
i think we are on the cusp of something similar to roseta parks and the back of the bus issue or the chap who stood in front of the tank in tinaman square.
“we will survive”……thank you jerry 🙂
http://democracywatch.ca/
There is more and more factual history that points to slavery as one of the root causes of the American revolution b/c the Brits and colonies like Canada were actively beginning to move away from it and the American south, which was heavily dependent on slavery, had more representation in terms of governing and movers/shakers than the North.
Slaves, in one form or other, have always been a wealth source for Americans.
Not sure if this is the proper thread to post this, but will post it here anyway:
As I ruminate about the injustice foisted upon us by our back-stabbing Conservative government, I have come to the conclusion that we have to somehow get the attention of the Canadian public and educate them (those that don’t already know) about the treachery of the Harper government. We have a large pool of very educated, intelligent, motivated people here who come from every section of the political spectrum. If we could coalesce around our disdain for Dear Leader and his betrayal of us, I think we could be galvanized into a political force to be reckoned with. The only thing holding many of us back is our fear of being identified by the IRS. I think our compassionate government is relying on that fear to keep us quiet.
We have lots of ammunition to embarrass the Conservatives. Perhaps we have to be more strategic and political. Harper was very successful in branding Dion and Ignatieff the way he wanted, and Trudeau seems intent on destroying himself (my plan is to support the NDP, as they have supported me). With Canada Day coming up, could we somehow come up with a tombstone graphic saying:
R.I.P.
Canada
Born: July 1, 1867
Died: July 1, 2014
Epitaph: “Congress has spoken”
…or something along those lines? Perhaps a professional looking pamphlet to hand out at Canada Day events? I am obviously still very angry about the way the Cons have treated us after having always voted for them. I think that the way they treated the amendments is a clear indication that they care nothing about Canadians. I cannot imagine that any Canadian with some US connection would not deeply resent the Conservative position that they are first and foremost a US person resident in Canada (a group that is probably big enough to have a significant effect on the outcome of the next election).
Canadian Cop, alerting the average Canadian is very important but I fear that until they are touched personally by FATCA (and given the number of snowbirds and how interdependent our economies are this will happen to more people than the Cons are leading us to believe), no one is going to care overmuch about what they read or hear. It’s experience that riles us up and makes us wiser.
The important thing is to vote in the coming elections – at every level – and reduce the Cons to their 1993 levels of irrelevance. Parties that face extinction are the ones that see the light.
@YogaGirl
FATCA is to US persons abroad what the cotton gin was to slavery, only it will cause our numbers to decrease, rather than the opposite.
bubblebustin, yep
@YogaGirl
“There is more and more factual history that points to slavery as one of the root causes of the American revolution b/c the Brits and colonies like Canada were actively beginning to move away from it”
From Dr Johnson:
“How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of slaves?”
Samuel Johnson, 1775.
Never recall being taught that one in school.
Good read on the subject: ‘Rough Crossings’ by Simon Schama
@YogaGirl,
First your getting back to my point about who they target. The IRS would likely be dumb to attack snowbirds. Sure they might go after one or two with a lot of money. They might tack on some tax charges to some unsavory snowbird they want to prosecute for some other crime. If they play it quiet and move only against those people hate or don’t care about then they won’t get the backlash.
As to voting against the conservatives over this one issue I would suggest your asking for trouble. Liberals gave us the NIIT in the US. They gave us FATCA. They think your stuff is theirs being temporarily lent to you. They are already talking about strengthening FATCA. They want to impose citizenship taxation on corporations because of the repatriated earnings. We are entering the liberal dream of unified tax and tax reporting and fewer places to run away from the taxes they want to impose.
Yes, the Obamaites seem to be oblivious of the fact that in the end they will be receiving a larger percentage of nothing.
@Canadian Cop @YogaGirl
I agree we have to make a huge, loud fuss. I am in for anything. But as YogaGirl says one has to experience it before they are riled up. This is what we are up against, most unfortunate and infuriating. I have even spoken to folks that have the taint and they often just think I am insane, this couldn’t possibly be true and just walk away. I have spoken to many that are appalled, both in Canada and the US but they just go about their day. I have told my relatives in the US I can never come and visit again, please write your legislators about this…they do NOTHING. (When I start to press I sound like a “Jesus is Coming” person and then completely dismissed…Grrrrrr).
OK, how do we let the Cons know they face extinction? What does it take? Again I ask, although it is probably an idiotic question as no one has answered me, could the NDP ask for a non-confidence vote? Even though we know how it will end up it will force the Liberals to take a stand. It would heighten the exposure of the issue. (I would assume a violation of our constitution and sovereignty is right up there with the gravity of other votes of non-confidence in the past). Even if the NDP makes noises of calling for a vote it would heighten the exposure. Can citizens in enough numbers call for such a vote? I’m grasping at straws here. We can not collectively be stumped and impotent.
I am so freaking frustrated, we need a plan. A big smart CSIS kind of plan….how does one hold the governments feet to the fire?
@Neill
If I was American, I would be Tea Party. That movement sprung up because of big government, tax abuse and so on. FATCA is the type of bad legislation that spawned the Tea Party. Yet they are demonized by the GOP and the Dems alike (the governing classes). There is little difference between those two parties (see John McCain). It is the same here. The Conservatives have morphed back into the progressive Conservatives.
Despite any of the good things that the Harper government may have done, they have failed in their most basic duties: protecting their citizens and protecting Canadian sovereignty. There is no doubt that legislation like FATCA is expected from the left, but it should NOT be tolerated by an alleged Conservative government. The Harper government, in trying to manage any fall-out, will not even admit publicly that this affects Canadian citizens – only US persons living in Canada. They know how toxic it sounds to admit that they are throwing Canadians to the IRS – hence their efforts to frame the issue in their terms.
On February 18, 2014 I made a post at Isaac Brock Society titled “Canada – An Easy Mark” which I concluded by saying, “As a conservative and former supporter of the current Canadian government, I am particularly appalled by their actions. In my lifetime, I cannot recall ever before experiencing such a profound sense of disgust, disappointment and betrayal at the hands of a Canadian government. If the Harper government had any interest in doing what is right, they would stand up to the extortionist. Should the US impose the threatened sanctions, it might even have political benefits, as no one likes a bully and Canadians of all political stripes might rally together against the extortionists in Washington.”
I still believe that to be true. If the Canadian public had a true leader with ANY backbone, they could be convinced that we will not be bullied by the US and we will rally together to stand against the current evil administration in the US. Instead of marginalizing us by calling us US persons in Canada to try to justify this treachery, a true leader would say we are not sacrificing any Canadians to the US. Stephen Harper does not even deserve to have his name mentioned in the same sentence with. Isaac Brock. He talks about Canada taking a more prominent role internationally. He had his chance to show real leadership internationally, but has shown he would rather be a lapdog to Barack Obama.
@ Canadian Cop
“The Conservatives have morphed back into the progressive Conservatives.”
Interesting observation but do you realize that the “progressive Conservatives” actually still exist in the form of the Progressive Canadian Party? They were first up to the plate to oppose FATCA. They organized the Toronto Forum on FATCA back in late 2012. So whatever the Cons have morphed into I don’t think it was a backward morph. I’d say the Cons just reasserted their affinity for Team Evil USA (that’s a two-headed devil — blue and red).
https://www.youtube.com/user/FATCAForum/videos?view=0&sort=da&flow=list
My suggestion for an extension of the epitaph for Canadian sovereignty: “Congress has spoken and Harper’s Parliament has obeyed.”