Trump Tower, Trump Hotel, Trump (and Kennedy) Center, Trump Institute, Trump Park, Trump Highway, Trump Boulevard and, as of last week, Trump Station (replacing Penn Station in New York), and Trump International Airport (replacing Dulles International in Virginia).
These last two are just possibilities for now. They’re the quo in the quid pro quo of Trump unfreezing billions of dollars in funding for a major New York infrastructure project. If Senate Democrats say yes to Trump’s offer, the taps will open. They’ve said no so far, though this is only the opening round of negotiations.
But they illustrate just how insatiable Donald Trump is in his need to have his name on everything. Insatiable as in ‘addictively beyond control’, where one is too many and a thousand is never enough.
This got me thinking last week as we waited for our flight from Oaxaca, Mexico, to Houston and Toronto, with everyone clutching their passports for inspection by various border agents, that there’s one government property Trump hasn’t got his mitts on yet with an eye to renaming it.
America’s Passports.
There are 183.2 million of them in circulation, representing 54% of Americans. What a perfect marketing vehicle this little handheld device can become. Not just for President Trump, but for “the greatest nation in all of human history.”
Today, the cover of the American passport says: “Passport”…then below, “United States of America.” Tomorrow, that cover, so official, so dignified, so appropriate and almost regal, could become a billboard for the President and his boundless bad taste. But the cover is just one of its 26 pages of largely blank billboard space, most highly suitable for words and images hailing America’s broad stripes and bright stars.
But here’s the thing. The U.S. passport is outdone by the new Canadian passport in terms of fancy new security features. Indeed, Canada’s passport was unveiled in 2023, and is among the most secure in the world. The most secure is Belgium’s with 43 separate security features. The point is, Canada’s is fancier than America’s, making it suitable for appropriation by Mr. Trump for its show business potential alone.
Like what?
According to Canada’s Passport website: “We added a Kinegram that changes colours and appears to move when you look at it from different angles.”
Just like Donald Trump.
“The same page also has a photo of you and your date of birth under a special lens. Each will appear and disappear depending on how you look at it.”
Just like Donald Trump.
“The visa pages now have seasonal art. These designs make your passport very difficult to counterfeit. They also change when you look at them under ultraviolet light.”
Just like Donald Trump.
When I told an American friend I was going to mention this idea in today’s blog, he said: “Don’t! It will only encourage him!!”
Well, aside from the unimpeachable fact that Donald Trump and his minions don’t read my blog, I’m sure they are already working on this project.
Meanwhile…
1. “Are you talkin’ to me?” – Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver turns 50 this week. It made the careers of Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle and Cybill Shepherd, plus writer Paul Schrader and, of course, Scorsese.
And speaking of daring work on camera, is this TMI? Still on the Winter Olympics, this backgrounder will make them all clear.
2. Is Toronto anxious and depressed? Toronto’s first report card on mental wellness came out this week. “The percentage of Torontonians who say they have good mental health declined substantially between 2015 and 2022 – from 73% to 52%.” Report here.
Plus, here’s how to understand the Eglinton Crosstown LRT in 7 illustrations (link free, but sign in).
3. Resist and Unsubscribe. This is what Scott Galloway suggests all of us do to change things in America. And if you really want to fight fascism, host a potluck dinner with the neighbours.
Plus, how to identify ICE’s “Less Lethal Weapons.” And the best gas masks to use at demonstrations, and the difference between Life and LinkedIn.
4. AI is the cheetah; we are the gazelle. AI is already editing the photos on your phone.
But in two other parts of our lives, AI is sprinting past regulation and even perception. First, it’s created a new social network that AI bots use to connect with other AI bots.Second, there’s a good chance we will soon be doing most of our writing not for other humans, but for AI.
Speaking of existential risks, here are the top global risks today vs. 10 years from now. And…don’t navigate New York City without this app.
5. How to…(men’s division): Dress like Steve McQueen…Walk and play music at the same time. Both really well…Plan for lunch with Jeffrey Epstein…And watch Heated Rivalry, “the small Canadian” streaming series about two gay pro hockey players, written and directed by Montrealer Jacob Tierney. It went both viral and global last month and is now one of the most talked-about series in the world.
And speaking of daring new TV series, have you seen RFK Hospital?
6. Bezos appoints Melania Trump editor of Washington Post. Kidding!
7. There’s no such thing as…a Grand Strategy. All government is day-to-day…Life Without Struggle; it’s what gives it meaning…Substack without Nazis newsletters…R&D being over 5%, except, of course, in Israel where it’s 6.3% (it’s 1.8% of our GDP).
8. How to evaluate phone policies in schools. This guide is from the U.S., but it speaks to the universal need for ways to reduce phone use by kids and teens during the school day. Already, 40 U.S. states and one quarter of countries in the world have policies to restrict use in schools. But it’s generic enough that Canadian school boards (including Toronto’s) could adapt it as a de facto evaluation toolkit, layering on local outcomes like EQAO scores or Ontario‑specific well‑being indicators.
9. The end is near. The end is here. Two items on death: the experience of near-death is finally getting serious scientific enquiry at a conference in April. Plus, couples who choose medical assistance in dying. They’re small in number and huge in ethical landmines.
10. Not welcome…First, American refugees in Canada. Next, Jeff Bezos as a publisher. And of course, the idea that space and time are separate things.