Congratulations to Mayor Andy Hallikas for his declaration of friendship between ourselves and International Falls (Fort Frances Bulletin, July 3). It was the right thing to do.
We do not blame the citizens of International Falls personally for the economic war waged on Canada by their government. Many of the people in the Falls are nice to Canadians and many have been nice to me over the years. Many Russians are nice people but that does not excuse the war in Ukraine and Russian war crimes.
We need to recognize that many of them are enthusiastic Trumpers. Trump overwhelmingly won Koochiching County with almost twice the votes cast. Pete Stauber has once again been elected their congressman. He is an obsequious Trump sycophant. He will not speak up against the war with Canada. In fact, Congressman Stauber has been working hard to have a sulfide-ore copper mine established on the outskirts of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. This would guarantee toxic pollution of these hitherto pristine waters. Guess who is downriver from that abomination. Not a very friendly act.
You may recognize Rep. Stauber as one of the congressmen who recently garnered some headlines by complaining about the wildfire smoke Americans have recently experienced. He is a man who claims not to believe in climate change but feels entitled to blame its effects on us.
The fact that the mayor of International Falls wants to befriend us means that our elbows up policy is working. The more we boycott American businesses, both local and national, the more we are showing our patriotism.
This is a conflict not of our making but is one which threatens our survival. In a recent editorial The Winnipeg Free Press advised, “We should avoid American products, decline to vacation or travel in the United States and refuse to absorb American tariffs into the prices Canadian sellers charge American customers.”
I’m sure we all look forward to a day when the Americans are not just friendly but actually friends.
Yours truly,
Rudolf K. F. Zeitlhofer
