Four Years Later…

"This is America's day. This is democracy's day. A day of history and hope"

President Joe Biden says "democracy has prevailed" as he becomes the 46th president of the United Stateshttps://t.co/hQBfBFbUvQ pic.twitter.com/QX0jNFs1Up

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) January 20, 2021

Once upon a time I did political write-ups (and I’m surprised at how in-depth some of them are) before I turned my attention back to the mess in my own country (and watched Brooklyn Nine-Nine in full seven times).

I went back and read some of the old posts and I understand why I wasn’t at all surprised or shocked by the insurrection on Jan 7th. As far back as 2017, there was violence. I even mentioned deliberate coded messaging in terms of how Trump interacts with his supporters through the media.

Everything is more or less there.

I only blogged about it for a year, year and a half?

Yet, somehow it was allowed to get to the point where domestic terrorists stormed the Capitol building. The questions will be asked and answered, but there are a lot of people who’ve stood by and done nothing over the past four years and I hope they can live with themselves.

I hope Trump supporters receive the deprogramming they need.

Most importantly, I hope Trump is never allowed anywhere near the White House again.

Not only for the sake of democracy, but for transparency across the entire world.

I hope he’s never allowed Twitter again so that media can focus on holding all politicians accountable, and not just the ones who love attention.

I also hope he goes away quietly (but I know I’m just deluding myself!).

no justice, no peace

So, if I’m to get this right… The police in Kenosha, Wisconsin shot Jacob Blake in the back six times for…well, the reason is unknown (to me), although they supposedly found a knife in his car several days later. Currently, he’s in hospital and…he may never walk again.

Still, they didn’t have to shoot him up like that. With three children in the car. That one split second of lunacy will have far reaching impacts on Blake’s family and his children when it could have been dealt with peacefully.

Anyway, not to be outdone by the initial act of idiocy, the police proceeded to allow an alarmed militia to turn up to the protests that followed, and provided them with bottled water and thanked them for assisting.

‘Cause what’s a couple more bullets when they’ve already fired six into one person?

It’s such a stupid and ridiculous thing to do when they caused the issues to begin with! Stop using excessive force against black people and people won’t have a reason to be out in the streets. It’s that simple.

Predictably, it turned into such a shit show that a seventeen year old white boy ended up killing two (white) protesters for no reason. Well, they took him on because he was running around with a gun — and the inevitable happened. I am absolute not condoning the kid’s actions, but if the police had brains, it would not have happened in the first place.

Also, can I get some stats on white on white crime? Or do we reserve that for black people?

Protesting is not a crime, not is it a reason to take someone’s life. Counter-protest, disagree, scream, shout, but forming armed militias to take on people protesting? Even if some take advantage and loot or destroy property – it’s not right.

There is a very famous saying – two wrongs don’t make a right.

Not that anything is right about this situation – quite contrary. Once again, people are bringing up arrest records and sure, Jacob Blake is not a perfect person – but again, there is no such thing as a perfect victim and it’s not right for the police to shoot him six times.

Of course, the white supremacists and self-haters are out in full force, but…still, we have to hope and pray things change someday.

you’re fired, ivanka

First of all:

Ivanka Trump was part of the procession that made its way to the church and reportedly carried the Bible that her father used in her purse.

…now she’s upset about ‘cancel culture’ and ‘viewpoint discrimination’

The Guardian reports that…

Ivanka Trump has hit out at “cancel culture and viewpoint discrimination” after plans for her to give a virtual commencement speech to students in Kansas were canceled amid criticism of Donald Trump’s response to anti-police brutality protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.

Questions – why did they even want her to give the speech in the first place? All she seems to do is advise her father – and not very well.

Secondly, what is ‘viewpoint discrimination’?

Viewpoint discrimination is a form of content discrimination particularly disfavored by the courts. When the government engages in content discrimination, it is restricting speech on a given subject matter.

So, she’s complaining about that but…

President Donald Trump engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination when his staff blocked certain individuals from responding to his Tweets, a federal appeals court panel has ruled.

…it’s okay when her own father does it! Not just then but as recently as a few weeks ago.

Perhaps Ivanka should stick to carrying photo-op Bibles.

 

stupid and senseless: covid-19 edition

(…and before anyone calls me insensitive, I’m here to complain about other people’s insensitivity – stupid & senseless so happens to be the perfect way to do it).

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Something worse than Supernatural (post season 5) is upon us – COVID-19 – a globe trotting virus that simply doesn’t give a fuck.

In usual fashion, people have taken this opportunity to show us how much they suck.

I’ve decided to give you a nice little round up.

First up we have the UK government whose plan for the virus has to be the most insane thing I’ve ever heard – until I realised that there’s basically no money.  They’re not testing every case because they can’t afford to and they simply don’t have the means to either. How could they when the same government have been cutting service for the past ten years? So they’re basically like, ‘if you catch it, you’re on your own and hey, maybe you’ll be immune?’.

God save us all.

when you’re too smart for your own good

I’ll be honest, 2018 has gotten off to a shaky start and I haven’t been keeping up with the news much. It’s been Trump, Trump, Trump for a year and it’s become rather tiring. 

That being said, it’s time to check back in and this week didn’t disappoint. 

We have Melania and her Einstein visa, Hope Hicks and her wife-beating ex-boyfriend, and her resignation. We have Jarvanka getting their security clearances downgraded. Gen. Kelly appears to have gone power mad. Sessions and Trump are like two old pensioners who spend their time arguing with each other. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is still the resident WH Bullshitter. It’s been a long week for Trump.

Oh and Roy Moore has no money. 

Former U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore is pleading for money to pay for his legal bills as he fights a lawsuit against a woman who says he molested her when she was 14.

Moore said on a campaign Facebook page Thursday that his “resources have been depleted.”

Maybe he should auction off his guns? Just a suggestion. 

However, what caught my attention was an ethics story. We have whistleblower drama, extravagant furniture and feigned ignorance.

The worst thing about smart people is that they can easily go rogue and end up with a severely inflated opinion of themselves. Being an expert in their field means that they can do anything. Yet, they struggle with basic tasks like operating a toaster. Maintaining budgets, being able to talk about what they do. Or, not being smart enough to know that they have no business running a governmental department. 

Yes, these musings are in honour of Ben Carson. Ben Carson is one of those frustrating black people who had his black membership revoked a long time ago. He’s an embarrassment as far as I’m concerned. The kind of person that misuses the good fortune they’ve been given. His comments on people on welfare are disgusting. His comments about slavery are even worse. He truly has no shame. 

However, people like him are always the ones that are thrifty with their money while playing fast and loose with other people’s.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson is under fire spending $31,000 on a lavish dining set for his office.

Call me crazy, but why does he need a dining set at all? Are we supposed to believe that there are going to be enough working lunches and dinners that’s it’s a requirement? Not only that, it’s custom made. Supposedly the order has been cancelled but somewhere out there there’s someone with half a dining set who’s probably not happy.

I know that government officials think they’re above the rest of us, but what’s wrong with IKEA? Maybe Ben Carson can get a team of people on welfare to assemble it for him, seeing as how poverty is a ‘state of mind’ and all that.

I think the most ludicrous part is that the actual budget for redecorating was $5,000. That’s still a lot of money. However…

Carson’s wife, Candy, said that “$5,000 will not even buy a decent chair”.

Carson’s department also signed a contract last year to spend $165,000 on “lounge furniture” for its Washington headquarters from the retailer OFS Brands of Huntingburg, Indiana, according to federal procurement records.

All of this amidst the fact that they stand to lose at least six billion dollars of funding. Oh, wait. Ben Carson couldn’t care less about housing. That might be because you know, he’s a brain surgeon with absolutely no experience and also someone with no basic human compassion or understanding of how people less fortunate than him live. 

Naturally, Ben Carson is denying all knowledge of this. I guess he just signed off on a bunch of papers that he read but only comprehended after the ink dried (that’s actually plausible). 

To conclude: Ugh.

Meanwhile in the UK….

Theresa May’s Mansion House speech on Britain’s future relationship with EU was dismissed as vague and unworkable

…not much has changed.

The big news this week was the collapse of Maplin and Toys’R’Us.

Two of the UK’s best-known retailers, Toys R Us and the electronics specialist Maplin, have collapsed into administration on the same day, putting 5,500 jobs at risk.

…another sign of how Brexit will be good for the UK, surely?

“The business [Maplin] has worked hard over recent months to mitigate a combination of impacts from sterling devaluation post-Brexit, a weak consumer environment and the withdrawal of credit insurance.”

didntseethatcoming.gif

To conclude: DOUBLE UGH.

Over in Nigeria, the government took a week to admit that yes, 110 girls were kidnapped by a terrorist group they’ve absolutely failed to do anything about. 

Infinity ugh. 

the threat is real, but the hysteria is fake

I’ve grown tired of Trump and writing about it was so utterly depressing that I’ve stopped. However, considering that he managed to drag the UK into his bullshit, I shall comment.

Donald Trump has shared a series of Islamophobic tweets from far-right extremist group Britain First, sparking condemnation for spreading its “deplorable” ideology to a global audience.

The first video, originally shared by deputy leader Jayda Fransen’s account, claimed to show “Muslim migrants beating up a Dutch boy on crutches”.

A second re-post was captioned “Muslim destroys statue of Virgin Mary”, while a third read “Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death”. [link]

Britain First are a bunch of crazy, whackos, however, that doesn’t mean that they don’t have their admirers. I’m sure you’ll find some wayward Christians who agree with them but will never say so out loud. That doesn’t legitimise Britain First in any way. The President of the United States retweeting them might. Getting a cosign from David Duke also isn’t a good thing.

At this point, Trump is making the rest of the world root for North Korea. He can’t get a tax bill together, the federal government might shut down next month, North Korea are trying to blow up the country yet he had time to retweet some anti-Muslim bullshit.

Naturally, his useless minions are out in force to defend him.

“Whether it’s a real video, the threat is real,” Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters. “His goal is to promote strong border security and strong national security.”

Whether it’s a real video? That’s like saying a bank robber didn’t commit a crime because there were only counterfeit notes in the vault. Girl, bye. Go and parrot your lies and subterfuge elsewhere.

I’m not talking about the nature of the video,” she said. “…The threat is real, what the President is talking about – the need for national security and military spending – those are very real things, there’s nothing fake about that.”

Yeah…. swap out Muslims for Trump and those words ring true. The threat is already in the country. In the Oval office with his tiny fingers tapping out his next tweet.

Meanwhile, Theresa May had this to say:

The Prime Minister earlier said the billionaire was “wrong” to have retweeted messages by Britain First’s deputy leader that featured misleading, Islamophobic videos.

Her spokesman added: “British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents – decency, tolerance and respect.”

Weaaaaak. Not surprising, though.

In true buffoon fashion, Trump repsonded via Twitter. To the wrong account. And then deleted it.

He reposted it of course.

.@Theresa_May, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2017

I wish that we could delete him.

The price of freedom

People’s reactions to mass shootings often range from false concern, to no concern, taking several hours to tweet about it and…

… debating gun control. 

The simple fact of the matter is that none of those reactions will undo the devastating and horrible action that happened in Las Vegas. 

According to Bill O’Reilly, being targeted by someone who allegedly had up to 10 modified/semi-automatic weapons with him is the ‘price of freedom’s. He also claims that gun control won’t stop psychopaths from harming people. No, but it might stop them from shooting people. Or harming themselves. Guns are not toys. 

There seems to be this weird never ending cycle of mass shooting in the US that do not have an impact on those that are pro-guns. I’m from a different country entirely and I feel sick every time I hear about a shooting in the US. I have no idea why people feel like the Second Amendment means they don’t have a right to ensure the safety of millions of people. 

This chart shows the huge discrepancy between the US and other countries. 

(source & more information here)

The main difference? The US has a lot more guns. 

Sadly, I don’t see anything changing. 

RIP to those who lost their lives and my thoughts are with those who were hurt. Life is effing cruel.

-S. 

Idiot(s) of the week

1.. Donald Trump

I’m not even going to go into it because I am tired of hearing about Trump. Just Google ‘Donald Trump Puerto Rico’ and go from there.

2. Jim Carrey

Yoo, what eff is Jim Carrey on? He’s out there sounding like he binge read fifty self-help and meditation books in a week and now he just speaks in weird sweeping statements that mean nothing at all.

Existential crisis or heightened case of preexisting douchebaggery? You decide.

The stuff about his ex is terrible too. The more he denies it, the more believable it is. Calling her immature and emotionally damaged when she’s dead and can’t defend herself was a low move even if her family are trying to sue him.

3. Boris Johnson

Apparently £140k isn’t enough to live on. Meanwhile, people in the UK are relying on food banks to feed their families. Out of touch doesn’t even cover it.

Add that to the fact that he’s trying to overthrow Theresa May.

Cabinet ministers and senior Tories have warned Boris Johnson that “nobody is unsackable”, demanded he get behind Theresa May and made clear they do not want a leadership contest.

The backlash against Mr Johnson was spelt out in the back rooms at the Conservative conference, at fringe events and from the main stage, where successive big hitters called for unity.

One cabinet minister told The Independent it “needs to stop” after Mr Johnson again publicly demanded changes to Ms May’s Brexit plans at the weekend, while another ex-minister said the Foreign Secretary looked “incredibly disloyal”.

If there’s one thing the United Kingdom is actually united on it’s Boris Johnson. The poor man’s Donald Trump. No one wants him anywhere near Downing Street.

This dude is straight up nuts. In fact, he’s the physical embodiment of the word incompetent. 

I have no sympathy for Theresa May. She gave him the power he lost after the leadership debacle with Michael Gove.

See also: Yay for colonialism!

4. Jacob Rees-Mogg

Jacob Rees-Mogg, who recently said he was against abortion even for pregnancies resulting from rape, has admitted that his investment firm profits from pills used in abortions.

Mr Rees-Mogg, a devout Catholic who has been touted as a possible replacement for Theresa May as leader of the Conservatives, defended his fund, Somerset Capital Management’s £5m investment in an Indonesian company called Kalbe Farma.

Mr Rees-Mogg told the Sunday Mirror: “It would be wrong to pretend that I like it but the world is not always what you want it to be.

Why are politicians always the worst people?

#TakeAKnee

I’m tired of coming up with new ways to insult Trump. I think calling people who respect themselves and want to be treated equally ‘sons of bitches’ really just sums up what a cantankerous, ill-mannered, orange faced, lying sack of useless bullshit Donald Trump really is. 

Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017

‘Disinviting’ Steph Curry and co is just sour grapes on his part. Lebron summed it all up in two words. ‘U bum’. 

Haven't had to use the dry eraser since January 20. #TakeAKnee pic.twitter.com/Qoja0lO8XW

— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) September 24, 2017

I’m with everyone who took a stand against him today. 

they couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery

… otherwise known as the UK’s Brexit position.

[see here for a definition of the title if you need one]

From this article we have:

As the third round of discussions closes on Thursday, the British team are increasingly certain that the hands of EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier are tied by the rigidly worded mandate handed to him by the EU27 member states.

In what universe are his hands tied? His job is to negotiate, not to blindly say, well, there’s twenty seven countries versus the UK, so let me do you a favour!

British officials believe that the mandate given to Mr Barnier has prevented him having sufficient space to negotiate progress, in particular robbing him of the ability to move on to future trade relations, before separation issues like the divorce bill, citizens’ rights, and the Northern Ireland border are addressed

Once again, that’s how negotiations work. Future trade relations don’t benefit the EU, they would benefit the UK. The EU’s interest is…the EU. I’m not sure why the UK refuse to understand that no one is interested in making it easy for them.

A source familiar with the UK’s negotiating position said: “There is some concern about what the UK says is an inflexibility to the Commission’s approach, that it’s difficult to negotiate with people who have perhaps not been given the flexibility to negotiate.”

This is all funny considering that Theresa May’s job isn’t even secure (not that she’s noticed).

Theresa May has been warned that the Conservative Party will decide on her future, after she indicated she would lead it into the next election.

The Prime Minister surprised Tory colleagues with her defiant statement during a trip to Japan, where she insisted she was “not a quitter”, despite reports she would stand down after overseeing the Brexit process.

During the three-day trip to Japan, where she is seeking to boost future trade relations after Brexit, Ms May confirmed that she intends to fight the next election.

Oh Mayhem. They don’t want you as their leader anymore. They can’t even compliment you properly.

However, former party chairman Grant Shapps said it was “too early” to talk about going “on and on”, and that her comments would “raise eyebrows” among party members after the disastrous election result in June which saw Ms May wipe out her Commons majority.

He also gave faint praise to the Government’s Brexit strategy, saying people were “impressed by the Brexit papers: not necessarily even the contents, just that we were getting on with the job”.

Not necessarily even the contents. 

It’s like being happy that your child has just learnt how to go potty. You’re happy that they’ve done it but… not necessarily happy with the contents.

What a bunch of clueless, insensitive idiots.

Case in point…

The Government has been slammed by a UN Committee for failing to uphold the rights of disabled people through a string of austerity policies.

An inquiry into the UK’s progress in fulfilling its commitments to a major UN convention found ministers have failed people with disabilities through a catalogue of policies in recent years, affecting a range of areas from access to healthcare to equality in education and work.

Shameful.

Back in the BREXIT IS THE BEST! camp…

Lord Harris, a retail tycoon estimated to be worth more than £100m, claimed he could only employ staff for 35 hours a week under current EU laws.

However, the European Working Time Directive states employees should not be forced to work longer than 48 hours, and they can opt-out if they decide.

After admitting “we haven’t done too badly” when the presenter told him “you’ve done alright out of it,” he added: “I just feel we would be better off out of the EU.”

Lord Harris is now among the 1,000 richest people in the UK, according to The Sunday Times RichList.

…What the actual fuck? He basically has no idea what the EU rules are. Didn’t anyone tell him that the EU rules actually allows him to employ his workers for crazy hours. Or does he know but decided to try and defend his stance with a made up number? You tell me.

Over in the US of Awful (sorry)…

President Donald Trump has pledged that he will give $1 million to those survivors of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas and surrounding areas. But if past pledges are any indication, they probably shouldn’t hold their breath.In 2012, Trump allegedly spoke to Mary Pat Christie, who headed one of the nonprofit coalitions that was working to help those in New Jersey hurt by the storm.

No one was able to find Trump’s donation to the fund.

Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold noted that Trump also pledged $1 million to a veterans group. It was only after reporters revealed the donation never came, that Trump was finally forced to give. He’s only given $1 million donations twice ever.

Good luck getting that scrilla, Texas.

Other news:

• Trump and his team are racking up huge travel bills
• Mike Pence for President
• Another interesting Brexit/UK government article 

Inspirational quote of the week:

Have a good time!

It was said by man of the hour, Donald Trump, to a group of Harvey victims.

Seven days after the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States in a dozen years struck the coast of Texas, leaving hundreds of square miles underwater and at least 50 people dead, a buoyant President Donald Trump arrived in Houston on Saturday morning to urge victims of the storm’s devastation to “have a good time!” in the face of losing their homes and loved ones.

The sooner that we don’t have to hear about this pus bucket (Trump) the better… ugh.

I’m gonna close out with some Linkin Park because this song is fitting.