iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. Wendy was a friend of Andy Prieboy who killed herself rather than letting AIDS kill her. If you feel like you want to hurt yourself, please seek help. www.wickedguilty.com/2026/09/10-s...

wickedguilty.com

10 September 2026 - Andy Prieboy - Tomorrow Wendy

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

This tit-for-tat retaliation based on poor information and false reporting needs to stop. It needs to stop now. It is hurting the United States and Canada to great degrees. It is sowing division that has not existed and should not exist. Stop the trade war escalation, Donald Trump.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

(as an aside these policies now make it very very difficult for me to get @AlexanderKeiths in the US, already a tall order. I really miss it (and other Canadian beers - looking at you, @WildRoseBrewery and your delicious Wraspberry Ale that got me way too... happy in Calgary in 2019))

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

We repealed prohibition, folks. But this is where we are.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

As it stands, imports of alcohol are regulated nationally at the border by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). I believe this system to be unconstitutional, outrageous, and an overreach of federal powers that should be held by the states.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I would LOVE ABC boards to be abolished nationwide and to let the free market dictate what is sold. In the states without ABC, alcohol tends to be cheaper and it's easier to find smaller brands that aren't just conglomerate liquors.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

These state boards aren't QUITE as powerful as the SAQ, for example - but they do wield a lot of force when it comes to pricing and presentation.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

By the way, structural control over alcohol distribution exists in the U.S. as well - 17 states operate as "Control States" (or Alcoholic Beverage Control / ABC states) where state governments hold a monopoly over the wholesale, distribution, or retail sale of spirits and, in some cases, wine.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

And yes, the SAQ and the LCBO did that, although I believe Ontario has backed off it a little (Quebec has not). However, thanks to the trade wars, people were already not buying American liquor in the same volumes when that happened. They were responding to consumers.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

In Canada, provincial governments control the distribution of alcohol (LCBO in Ontario, SAQ in Quebec). During geopolitical friction, provincial governments have ordered their boards to strip U.S. product from shelves - effectively banning sales of U.S. products across entire provinces overnight.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I know Trump has (in my opinion, illegally - I'll get there in a second) banned the import of some Canadian alcohol as well. Not whisky - there is a God - but a lot of others.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

You know what else is true? The U.S. enforces "Buy American" and "Buy America" laws (expanded under both the first Trump administration and the Biden administration). These laws mandate strict U.S. content thresholds for federal spending, which Canadian firms routinely fight to get exemptions from.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I can attest to this. I experienced it in Alberta. Well, actually, I experienced it in Ontario so I could work in Alberta. That was a fun day in Queenston!

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Provinces - most notably Ontario and Quebec - do have provincial or Canadian "Buy Local" policies for sub-national infrastructure, transit, and IT projects, frustrating U.S. suppliers who feel blocked at the provincial level.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Now, let's address the claim of U.S. manufacturers being shut out of Government Procurement Markets. It's true. Somewhat.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Don't even get me started on how wrong he is on automobiles, a sector that's been manufacturing for the U.S. market in Canada since at least 1965, when PM Pearson and President Johnson signed the Auto Pact, which eliminated tariffs on vehicles and OEM parts moving between the U.S. and Canada.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

We probably do need a higher butter quota (which, by the way, is 4500 metric tons, which equates to almost 40 MILLION sticks of butter. Canada would probably consume more butter. However, in practice, we are NOT paying high tariffs on dairy, and we are selling a LOT of dairy in the Canadian market.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Except the dairy industry is right around $800 BILLION in economic impact in the US. Yes, it could be a small bump... assuming that Canadians would even buy, and, like I said, we don't actually hit the quotas on anything except butter, and even that we don't exceed.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Heck, in the milk powder category, we're not even registering much of anything when it comes to exporting to Canada. If we did meet or exceed these quotas, it could mean approximately $30 to $120 million more to US dairy farmers. Sounds great, right?

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

And, to be fair, when it comes to butter, cheese and liquid milk, we do come close to our quotas - but we don't exceed them (we HAVE hit the cap on butter but that's uncommon and based on demand).

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Since the adoption of the USMCA, exports of dairy products to Canada have practically doubled, to more than $1.3 billion annually across all classes of dairy - cheese, milk, butter, etc.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

In speaking about the inequity of the US-Canadian trade relationship, Trump supporters and his allied political leaders frequently cite Canada's 250% - 300% dairy tariffs as evidence of unfair trade practices. Here's the part they miss:

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

3 artists so far this week fit a theme. Spoiler alert: so will the next 2. Guess the theme. :D

wickedguilty.com

19 August 2026 - Jane Remover - Dreamflasher

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I have to be honest - it took a bit for the new underscores album, U, to resonate with me. But it did, eventually.

wickedguilty.com

17 August 2026 - underscores - Do It

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I am still on X and I had kind of a viral tweet today. x.com/TonyForLP/st...

x.com

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Enjoy them, and come to wickedguilty.com every weekday. Please and thank you.

wickedguilty.com

Wicked Guilty Pleasures

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

NGL I kinda phoned it in today with HyunA and a draft I had been sitting on for eight years.

wickedguilty.com

30 July 2026 - HyunA - Flower Shower

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

On Tuesday, I talked about how I hated, then loved, this Night Ranger song. Also, @yolatengo.bsky.social makes a guest appearance here.

wickedguilty.com

28 July 2026 - Night Ranger - Sister Christian

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I do post on #WickedGP every weekday, but I've been back about sharing them this week. This was my Monday post - a song by @babynova.bsky.social that has the single greatest line on any album released this year (the song is from 2025, to be fair).

wickedguilty.com

27 July 2026 - Baby Nova - Killed For Sport

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

"Watch out for each other, and respect each other." - Lou Koller, frontman of Sick of it All, who passed away this week.

wickedguilty.com

25 July 2026 (Special Edition) - Sick of it All - Beef Between Vegans / Bull's Anthem

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Who's down for some deeply personal French music by up-and-coming artist Noor?

wickedguilty.com

20 July 2026 - Noor - H24

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Maya Rudolph AND a former member of Weezer AND a current Iowa State Senator?! LOTS to unpack.

wickedguilty.com

16 July 2026 - The Rentals - Waiting

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Reposted by Anthony D'Orazio

Amanda Roos @amandaroos.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

There are innocent people who can't celebrate today because ICE kidnapped them and put them in detention centers. Abolish ICE! WE ARE NOT FREE UNTIL WE ARE ALL FREE.

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

#WickedGP absolutely forbids you to forget your prerogative to have a little fun www.wickedguilty.com/2026/07/3-ju...

wickedguilty.com

3 July 2026 - Shania Twain - Man! I Feel Like A Woman!

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

"What is it about you and Canada?" A lot of you have asked me that very question and it's a fair one. So I wrote a Substack to partially answer that question.

open.substack.com

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Anthony D'Orazio @redargyle.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Today's #WickedGP is less about Don't Mean Maybe and more about WSBU FM and the time I was a college radio DJ.

wickedguilty.com

29 June 2026 - Don't Mean Maybe - Colt 45

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