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!).

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.

 

#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. 

Idiot(s) of the Day

1. The dickhead who did this.

A manhunt is underway after nearly three dozen commuters were injured following an explosion at Parsons Green underground station in west London, which police are treating as terrorism.

Witnesses described seeing people with burns from the blast and other wounds caused when passengers rushed to escape the station.

Thank God that no one died. As someone who takes the train/regularly sees the stations during rush hour, it’s not difficult to get anything on them. The small stations don’t have any security or many staff. That’s a very scary thought, but here’s hoping that the intelligence agencies get better at stopping this kind of thing. 

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.

Bye Bye Bye-nnon

The latest:

https://qz.com/1057457/steve-bannon-trumps-ex-chief-strategist-is-more-dangerous-outside-the-white-house-than-in-it/

Well, well, well. So, it continues. The exodus. None of this is surprising. Trump was never supposed to win and these people never really wanted to be in an actual government, except for Kushner who really wanted that darn loan (take that Qatar!). The goal was to shake up the establishment and they seem to be doing a good job at that. So each termination and resignation isn’t even a cause for celebration. It’s just a sign of what’s to come. More chaos. Which is what they wanted all along. Even when Trump is losing, he’s winning. It’s kind of like how One Direction and Ed Sheeran can churn out ‘hit’ albums of shitty songs and still make millions. 

Anyway, here’s what happened:

Trump: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the most Presidential of them all!

Mirror: Uh, most presidential you are, buuut, there’s a huge issue that you’re yet to respond to. 

Trump: I’m still gathering the facts, Mirror. The right facts. Not the fake facts or the genuine facts, but the facts that are right for me right now. 

Mirror: Oh oh oh-oh, the right facts. Oh oh oh-oh, the right facts!

Trump: You’re fired! 

Later, without the Mirror to guide him, Trump called Bannon a great guy and said he wasn’t a racist (coming from someone who’s a rampant racist himself) but he didn’t say whether or not Bannon would remain his Chief Strategist. On one hand, it’s odd because if I was in the middle of defending a bunch of racists and neo-Nazis, I’d at least go for bat for the other racist, Nazi douchebag on my team, but hey, that didn’t work out too well for Sessions either. 

Anyway, in came Bannon who supposedly offered his resignation on August 7th and wanted to announce it a week later. 

Except, it didn’t really work out because of what happened in Charlottesville, and Trump’s “We’ll see [about whether or not Bannon stays]” comment. 

So he retaliated with this:

Steve Bannon said he wanted to “crush” political opponents taking a stand against racism following the fatal violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Spoken like a true non-racist. 

Mr Bannon downplayed the danger posed by Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi sympathisers and revealed his ambition to dominate anti-Trump groups focused on “race and identity” in an interview with left-wing magazine The American Prospect on Tuesday.

Asked about racist elements of the far-right, Mr Bannon said: “Ethno-nationalism, it’s losers. It’s a fringe element. I think the media plays it up too much, and we gotta help crush it, you know, uh, help crush it more.

On the democrats:

“These guys are a collection of clowns.” He said of the Democrats: “The longer they talk about identity politics, I got ’em. I want them to talk about racism every day. If the left is focused on race and identity, and we go with economic nationalism, we can crush the Democrats.

On North Korea:

“Forget it. Until somebody solves the part of the equation that shows me that 10 million people in Seoul don’t die in the first 30 minutes from conventional weapons, I don’t know what you’re talking about, there’s no military solution here, they got us,” he said.

Bannon might have contradicted Trump in his “interview” but what the fuck is ethno nationalism? JUST SAY WHITE. We know that the prefix ‘ethno’ probably makes him break out into a rash. 

If you’re going to pull a lazy Scaramucci, at least make it less obvious. You don’t make a phone call to a liberal journalist and then claim you didn’t know it was an interview. Mind you, many, many, many people believe him. 

I think most sane people know that he knew what he was doing. 

It was a clear message to Trump – Bannon can rewrite his own narrative and have a voice whenever he likes. Trump choosing his rivals over him is a declaration of war. He’s in a position to undermine Trump, especially now that he’s back at Breitbart. Now he’s seen firsthand how everything works and he’s in a prime position to bring it all down. 

Case in point:

He [Bannon] told the Weekly Standard, a conservative opinion magazine: “The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over.

“We still have a huge movement, and we will make something of this Trump presidency. But that presidency is over. It’ll be something else. And there’ll be all kinds of fights, and there’ll be good days and bad days, but that presidency is over.”

On life after Trump…

He said: “I feel jacked up. I built a f***ing machine at Breitbart. And now I’m about to go back, knowing what I know, and we’re about to rev that machine up.”

One would think that he used Trump, but hey, they’re as much friends as they are not racist. And they’re both dangerous men. Bannon more so than Trump. He has ‘egomaniac, Bond-esque villain’ stamped all over his forehead. Truly a disturbing individual. 

Anyway, one down, many more to go. Omarosa and Ben Carson can stay, though. Their black membership cards are still revoked. 

Fast & Furious: Trump vs. North Korea

Since Trump became President, tensions between the US and North Korea have been rising purely because Trump is the only one that hasn’t realised that North Korea are all talk and no action. 

They’re constant missile development is mostly for propaganda purposes. Their missiles are inferior compared to the US, and they aren’t really in a position to do anything to the US (most likely they would target territorial waters and South Korea, but only if they deem there to be a credible threat to them). 

Well. 

Donald Trump has claimed the threat from North Korea will be met with “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if they continue to expand their nuclear and missile programmes.

The comments come after reports that North Korea had produced a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

In a press conference at his Bedminster, New Jersey property, Mr Trump warned that North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un “best not make any more threats to the US”.

.@AP news alert: Trump says North Korea will be met with "fire and fury" if it doesn't end threats to the U.S. pic.twitter.com/9jxGU2ljhP

— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) August 8, 2017

I love the way he says ‘Thank you‘ like he’s just given a presentation that he’s really proud of.

Shuuuuuut uppppp! 

Fire and fury like the world has never seen. 

This sounds like something from a Games of Thrones episode (not that I’ve seen the show, but whatever). 

This is not how to respond. He sounds like every single crazy James Bond villain that inexplicably wanted to destroy the world. 

The consequences of any US strike against North Korea would potentially be catastrophic for South Koreans, Japanese and US military personnel within range of North Korean retaliatory strikes – let alone the possibility of civilian casualties.

1. Is is me or is there hypocrisy regarding nuclear weapons? 
2. Yes, nuclear weapons are not a good thing, but if we want NK to stop producing their weapons, maybe the nuclear powers should work on removing their weapons.
3. They probably won’t, so there will always be a situation where volatile nations seek to expand of their missile and nuclear programs. 
4. Provoking and antagonising North Korea isn’t really a sound plan. This is a country where reason doesn’t apply in the simplest scenarios. Let alone a very huge issue like nuclear weapons. 
5. What kind of world is it where the former host of Celebrity Apprentice USA is now in charge of the USA’s policy towards North Korea? 

This is the part where we all let out a collective sigh. 

[Source: The Independent]

Too Mooch, too soon

Good news everyone!

White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci has been fired after fewer than 10 days in the post.

I’m sorry, but I have to go all Channing Tatum up in here. 

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. 

Oh no he diiiiiiiiidn’t

This is too much. 

This man missed the birth of his child to attend that embarrassing Boys Scout event and this is how Trump pays him back? He even got served with divorce papers because his wife was unhappy with his level of ass kissing. Still, that wasn’t enough to save him. 

That’s cold-blooded. I almost feel sorry for him but he’s still a rich, privileged man. He will be fine. 

I’m guessing it all went down like this. 

Trump: Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the craziest and Presidential of them all!

Mirror: You are the craziest no more but Presidential you are!

Trump: What? No longer the craziest Lemme guess, Crooked Hillary has finally shown her true colours?

Mirror: No, sir, the honour has been bestowed on The Mooch! His legend grows and grows and he’s the talk of the talk shows and fake but also real news!

Trump; The who?

Mirror: Anthony Scaramucci, sir. 

Trump: Yeah, I know that guy, but who’s The Mooch?

Mirror decides to speed the process up.

Mirror: The Mooch threatens all that you’ve worked hard for, sir. He’s taking away all of the attention!

Trump: Sad! How dare he? He’s finished in this town. Nobody makes crazy, inane statements but me, and occasionally Sean Spicer and that woman who replaced him – you know, the six point five – but also ME!!!!! 

Mirror: He even threatened Priebus via Twitter, sir. It seems that he wanted to emulate you, sir. 

Trump: NOBODY SENDS OUT RIDICULOUSLY HAM-FISTED TWEETS BUT ME!! 

Mirror: Raise hand slowly, sir and let’s say the magic words together…

Trump stretches out his unnecessarily long tie and raises his hand, his finger curling as they say:

Trump/Mirror: You’re fired!

Of course, Gen. John Kelly was the one who actually fired Scaramucci. You see, when you push out the previous chief of staff who you don’t report to, you really need to make sure that the same applies for his replacement. 

Scaramucci, you are the weakest link. 
Goodbye! 

Spice(r) Up Your Life

Sean Spicer says that his six months serving in the White House was an honour and a privilege. 

Mr Spicer resigned suddenly from his top White House post this week, citing concern with Donald Trump’s decision to hire Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director.

For those of you who were around during my The Real World: Trump Administration days, you’ll know that Spicer was a regular feature. Hell, he was all we could talk about. Gaffe after gaffe, mistake after mistake, idiotic comment after idiotic comment. 

I think for the sake of his health and also the competency (hahahahaaa) of the administration, his resignation is the best thing for all. I am sure that we will look back on this day and see this as the moment he saved himself from impending doom. 

So long, Spicey. You’ll be missed. Sort of. 

How Not To Stay Out Of Politics

Hello! 

It’s been a quiet around here hasn’t it? I am extremely behind on everything. Damn. Time flies even when you’re not having fun. 

Like, I predicted, the G20 summit was lit. 🔥

In all of the wrong ways.

What did we learn about @realDonaldTrump at this #G20? @CUhlmann explains. #Insiders pic.twitter.com/TGOXdiFWhB

— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) July 8, 2017

He was an uneasy, lonely, awkward figure at this gathering and you got the strong sense some of the leaders are trying to find the best way to work around him

“He has no desire and no capacity to lead the world.

“[He] barks out bile in 140 characters, [and] wastes his precious days as President at war with the West’s institutions like the judiciary, independent government agencies and the free press.”

Yup,yup and yup.

A perfect metaphor of the United States right now. pic.twitter.com/hyotCHn4Zu

— shauna (@goldengateblond) July 7, 2017

The main talking point:

A Russian official at the G-20 Summit tweeted, then deleted a photo of Ivanka Trump taking her father’s seat alongside world leaders that sparked critiques of the first daughter’s role at the summit.

Svetlana Lukash, who is serving as a Russian emissary at the summit, tweeted on Saturday that Ivanka “replaces Pres Trump at the #G20 table as he leaves for bilateral meetings.”

The tweet was deleted around 10 am ET.

Look. I’m not American. I’m not even sad that America has been shunned by the rest of Europe and other major countries as the defacto leader when it comes to tackling issues. The one good thing to come out of Trump being President is the end of US dominance. It’s time for y’all to let someone else fuck up for a change. At least until you get rid of Le Pumpkin. 

That being said, who the fuck does Ivanka Trump think she is? Girl, why are you even at G20? I don’t care if your husband is a government official, at least we didn’t see pictures of him in what looked like an awful prom dress, or pictures of him sitting in for the President.

“I try to stay out of politics,” Ms Trump said, when she was asked what she advised her father regarding his seemingly knee-jerk use of Twitter.

She’s a Trump, so we shouldn’t be surprised that she fixed her mouth to lie about staying out of politics. The fucking White House rats don’t even stay out of politics, let alone someone who has an office and security clearance.

This is one thing that would be baffling if we couldn’t smell the stench of nepotism a mile off. I saw Trump supporters trying to compare Trump hiring family members to the Royal Family (of England). LOL, yeah, no, monarchs are a different ballgame. Try again.

What does Ivanka know about politics? Did she read Politics for Dummies? What are her qualifications? At this point she’s like the Jaden Smith of the family. Trying to follow in her father’s footsteps but failing miserably. It’s kind of like that Graham Norton clip where Will Smith and Alfonso Ribeiro did the Jump On It dance from The Fresh Prince and for some reason Jaden joined them. On one hand you’re like, aw he’s trying but on the other…I just wanted him to get out of the way. It’s meant to be Will and Carlton, I didn’t vote for Jaden.

Anyway, yeah, the fucking nerve of this woman. I don’t care who your daddy is. Go find something else to do. Like steal more designs. Or hire slave labour to make said designs. It beggars belief, it really does. If my father was a brain surgeon, I wouldn’t turn up in my scrubs and ask if I could join in. Or agree to if my father was crazy enough to ask me to.

That’s the issue, though. At this point, the sanest member of the family is Barron and that’s because he’s what, 12? His brain is still developing. The rest of them? Donald Trump Jr seems to be brainless (your Twitter will never be as interesting as your father’s buddy, deal with it and stop trying so hard)? Eric, well, he needs to ease up on the hair gel and Ivanka? I used to think she was the smartest one but clearly I was wrong. I know there’s another sister but I know nothing about her thankfully.

They’re all cut from the same box of Crayola, so nothing they do is a surprise. I heard that Melania was trapped in her hotel which I’m sure was fine for her. How’s the cyber bullying campaign coming along, sweetie? It’s not? Oh, okay.

In other news, Trump claims he…

I strongly pressed President Putin twice about Russian meddling in our election. He vehemently denied it. I've already given my opinion…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2017

Just twice?? A kid who desperately wants to open the food their parents just bought at the supermarket presses more times than that. Not impressed. Try again (unless of course he stopped at twice because he knew it was redundant anyway).

Another tweet that caught my eye…

For years, even as a "civilian," I listened as Republicans pushed the Repeal and Replace of ObamaCare. Now they finally have their chance!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2017

What the fuck have the Republicans been doing for the past seven years? They had all of that time to start coming up with something. It’s almost like they were so busy complaining that it just never occurred to them that having a plan in place might be the smart thing to do. Sorry. I used ‘smart’ and ‘Republican’ in the same sentence. My bad.

Meanwhile in the UK…

Twas London Pride this weekend and Theresa May had a message for everyone.

If only she hadn’t just given £1bn to a political party who are raging homophobes.

Theresa May was booed as her speech at Pride in London was played to crowds weeks after she struck a deal with the DUP.

Some revellers appeared disgruntled while the Prime Minister’s message was read, thought to be over her deal with the Northern Irish party.

The DUP has been widely critised for its right-wing stance on social issues including gay rights

[via Evening Standard]

Also Brexit is still an embarrassing mess. Everything costs twice as much as it did last year but uh…that impending trade deal between the UK/US will probably help with that.

Right?

A trade deal between the UK and the US would not be enough to offset the damage caused by Brexit, a cabinet minister had admitted.

David Lidington, the Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor, said even a “big new trade deal” with the US would not replace the benefits of being in the EU single market and that deals with other countries would be needed too.

[via Independent]

What a surprise….