I’m not altogether sure why I’m doing this but somehow feel that, on behalf of my nation, I ought to offer apologies to the rest of the world for yesterday’s disgraceful behavior in our nation’s capitol. I fear that such antics do after all reflect who we are – what we have become – rather than who we used to be. They’ve made us, the land of my birth, the laughingstock of many if not most other nations.
Some of those involved may vainly grope for excuses and may cite infringement upon personal liberty by things like Coronavirus lockdowns, mandatory wearing of masks, etc.. Such things do not wash with me.
At least the FBI are doing their job and are hoovering up all film, video and airline passenger lists that may lead to more arrests. As of this moment, they’ve already nabbed 52 people, more than I’ve seen arrested in any civil unrest before now. It’s also worth noting that, in two weeks, we’ll have a new President and a whole new Government who, hopefully, will bend their efforts to putting this sort of nonsense to bed once and for all.
Again, I apologize to all for any irritation, anger or whatever caused by this humiliating lapse within the United States of America by my fellow citizens.
Boadicea's Chariot 
As everyone knows one bad egg drives out the smell of other far nicer perfumes.
And if one thing is for sure, the Covid-virus has brought quite a few bad eggs to the surface – not just in the U.S. but all around the world in many, many countries.
Somehow, the world seems to have forgotten that there are always winners and losers – I blame that on the daft idea taught for far too many years that no-one can fail and everyone is right.
And the biggest victim is democracy – where the whole point of the exercise is that there must always be a winner.
This not a new phenomenon – I saw thousands upon thousands march in protest against Trump’s election, as they did in the U.K. against Boris’s election, against Brexit and against law and order and health directives in many countries.
It is all part and parcel of the ‘woke’ culture whereby anyone who disagrees with what they want must be ‘wrong’.
What happened yesterday is not down to Trump alone – but to a whole raft of people who think if they shout loudly enough and cause enough mayhem they will get their own way and clearly, yesterday, thought they could use force to achieve their wishes.
We all have our idiots and bad eggs but I suspect most of the world is quite relieved to know that other countries have them too.
Cog, like you, I am not sure why you personally should apologise, but if apologies are on the menu, I would like to see a raft of them for the BLM protests that took place throughout the summer. They were far more significant in their long term, pernicious damage. Given the violence and widespread nature of those protests, not to mention the baseless justification for them, what happened in Washington was hardly surprising and yet surprisingly restrained.
Having said that, a very good friend of mine, a Californian and a better man than most, was present on the day to register his dissatisfaction with the way the elections were held. His only comment to me, so far has been , “Don’t believe the reportage. It’s a lot of BS.” We plan to catch up over the weekend when I hope to hear a lot more detail. But given the universal hatred of Trump by the media, both social and traditional, coupled with the mendacious involvement of Washington establishment and various entities determined to destroy not just Trumpism but more enthusiastically US democracy (and that is the tragedy that so many chest-beaters fail to grasp), there is simply no way that any rational person would accept the reports at face value. Just as one would be a fool to accept that George Floyd was simply an innocent man murdered by a racist Minneapolis cop.
It is important to remember that roughly half the US electorate, give or take a couple of percent depending on whether or not you trust the process, voted for Trump. Whatever you think of the man, as a president or as an individual, it is simply wrong, in a so called democracy, to dismiss those people as deplorables and misfits which has been the approach of the establishment of America since he first rose to political prominence. Trump’s supporters are the backbone of the US; hardworking, blue collar, law abiding citizens who believe in their country. Where do Biden’s supporters come from? The wealthy, aforementioned mendacious establishment and the vast numbers of ‘have nots and do nothings’.
Just look at California under Gavin Newsom to see what is going to be coming to the US. The dust devil that occurred in Washington on the 6th will morph into a tornado before too long.
In the meantime, we want our statues back!
Just when I think I can return to my burrow where this interesting albeit quirky site’s concerned, up pops another heartfelt posting, eliciting just one more “final” comment!. This 0ne’s a case in point.
Look up the wiki entry on the 2016 US Presidential election, then note the bizarre manner in which the winning candidate does/did not need to win the popular vote. Then go to the wiki entry devoted entirely to the latter anomaly:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_elections_in_which_the_winner_lost_the_popular_vote
How, one might ask, did such a system (d)evolve, one that is arguably the root cause of what we saw on Wednesday, one where the 2016 winner was a total politically-illiterate outsider where governing/leading a nations is concerned, one who cleverly but cunningly exploited the negative views re his rival candidate (Hilary Clinton) etc etc. ?
Let’s cut a long story short.
The USA is too big for its own good, and has been for centuries. Time methinks for it to split politically, indeed nationally, into three largely independent entities: 1. Eastern Atlantic seaboard states, from Canada down to Florida. 2. Pacific seaboard states (California etc) 3. Midzone America with access to the Texas coastline.
Let there be healthy competition between the three. Let each have its own President, Parliament and military. (But let there be a joint military command operating between the three to counter external threats to the newly re-invented Americas and the world at large).
Let the political systems in the three new nations be re-invented from scratch. Dispose of the crazy system (Electoral Colleges etc) that exist at present.
Return please to the Real World, you presently Disunited State of America!
Certainly, as far as I’m concerned, there is no need for any apology.
It is a sign of the times that we are living in, not only in the US, but all over the world.
I used to have clear views and ideas about democracy, climate change, Brexit, fighting terrorism, left or right, and more recently Covid.
These views have been so confused over recent times by fake news, deceit by politicians, MSM bias, social media etc etc, that I no longer know what is going on.
Was the US election corrupted? Is COVID really so dangerous? Why is the vaccine so critical for people at no risk from the virus? Is Brexit good or bad for Britain?…etc etc
Basically, these days, I haven’t a clue.
P.s. But I went for a jog along the seafront this morning. I’m just about to make a large pot of beef stew to keep out the cold. The house is cosy with the woodburner flickering in the hearth, and my best pal and soul mate is writing her memoirs on her computer, while I stroke the cat on my lap and write this message.
All is well in my little world. Perhaps that should be enough. 😃
As I keep telling cog, “How dare the Yanks destroy their Capitol?”
That’s OUR job, we did a creditable job of burning it to the ground in 1814 (I believe) had they wanted a rerun I’m sure we could have managed somehow!
Deja vu all over again, Trump has actually been named Mad King George in the newspapers here today.
All we need is some tea chucking and mad horse riding to complete the re-enaction.
I too am surprised that the West Coast joined the USA, or failed to break away subsequently. The coastal plain to the West of the mountains from S California to British Columbia has very little in common with the rest of the USA (and Canada). The people are quite different in style and character to those from the East. I’ve always thought of it as Cascadia.
Why is this a shock? Remember the attempts to storm the US Supreme Court after the confirmations of Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney-Barrett? The riots after Trump won in 2016? The way that the likes of Gavin Newsom, Jay Inslee, Kate Brown, Andrew Cuomo, Bill De Blasio, Lori Lightfoot, Ted Wheeler, Jenny Durkan, etc. were all siding with, if not egging on, rioters throughout the summer? I remember when, during the Obama presidency, public transport and institutions were “occupied” by thugs and ruffians. And no excuses — I was commuting between San Francisco and the Sacramento area at that time and was right in one of the hot zones. I remember when the California State Capitol was threatened and I fail to remember much criticism when Trump had to be evacuated from the White House because of leftist mobs. What can do you expect? That various leftist mobs, BLM and Antifa can run roughshod with the tacit, sometimes active, support of “serious” political figures? Whilst I do not share the view that the 2020 election was necessarily “stolen”, I have seen enough evidence if serious failures, irregularities and problems — often wilful — that should have been looked into in good faith. If those errors could have been prevented from recurring and those involved penalised, then a lot of damage could have been fixed. Florida, after the calamitous 2018 midterm elections, sorted out its affairs.
After all, after 2016 the Republicans and Trump (he’s always been too much of an opportunist to truly be considered a conventional Republican, hence his often tortured relationship with much of his nominal party) in good faith held long, vast and sprawling investigations about alleged Russian collusion. Once they gained power in the House, the Democrats held pointless impeachment hearings. The arrogance and blatancy of so many in Washington, that which brought first Obama, later even more so Trump, into power to begin with as voters grew increasingly disenchanted. No, the Democrats who did more than any others to create this climate will not have solutions. Expecting them to get things under control is like expecting pimps, hookers, drug dealers, crooked cops and bribe-loving corrupt politicians to sort out a blighted neighbourhood. Perhaps a unity government of those handful of sane Democrats left and those handful remaining pragmatic Republicans could come together and block the worst instincts of their own parties — Manchin and Sinema, Collins and Rubio, etc.
From Christina:
“The coastal plain to the West of the mountains from S California to British Columbia has very little in common with the rest of the USA (and Canada). The people are quite different in style and character to those from the East. I’ve always thought of it as Cascadia.”
For those who, like myself (till 5 minutes ago, that is), had not previously encountered the term “Cascadia”, here’s a link to a wiki item:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_(independence_movement)
My preferred choice of name for an independent California (etc)?
Give me time, lots thereof.
But off the top of my head?
(Oops, forgetful one- where did you last put that darned head of yours? Damn old age…).
I see no need for you to apologise, cog. One thing the USA should be proud of is that the rest of the world could see and read about what was happening. How unlike certain other countries where sanctimonious paws are being held up in pretended horror; where demonstrations are not reported because the demonstrators have been shot or arrested; where the news is suppressed because it casts an unfavourable light on the government.
Colin, just looked at that ref of Cascadia, they include the whole States. Personally I would say there is an incredible difference in the people from either side of the mountains, much more Republican to the East and very much more liberal to the west. That is why I referenced the coastal plain only. They don’t have a lot to do with each other east and West, far more North, South. Tremendous quantity of people here in Whatcom Co. on the border have relatives in B C.
Up until the ragheads started trouble in the USA in early 2000s you didn’t need a passport, a driving licence would do! Nobody gave a damn!
“…, just looked at that ref of Cascadia, they include the whole States.”
Took me a short while to re-read the wiki entry on Cascadia, Christina, and to realize that your “States” is not a reference to “United States”, but to one of more of the individual states on your Pacific seaboard.
(Yes , even at the level of individual states there can be enormous diversity of scenery, especially between coastal plain and inland valleys separated therefrom by mountain ranges).
The location of the capital becomes especially important when there exists vast differences of scenery and the accompanying diversity of outlook. (Just don’t repeat Brazil’s mistake of re-siting a capital more centrally, in the belief one has waved a magic wand!)
PS: Speaking of the siting of new capitals (post-state, new independent nation) I’ve just come across this jaw-dropping website:
https://zapatopi.net/cascadia/
It’s devoted to the hoped for “Republic of Cascadia”. It shows where its capital is (to be) located – up in the north towards the Canadian border (Christina’s neck of the woods) . Trouble is that capital of “Cascadia” is at present a tiny village, present population just short of 150!
It doesn’t quite fit with my scheme for the present (so-called) United States to be split via approximate N-S boundary lines into three independent nations, the present California in its entirety – being the most westerly of the three.
Create a Cascadia as per the map on the above link, and you create not just one but two vertically aligned, side-by-side Chile strip-like nations, both hugging the Pacific shoreline (if you count a slimmed down California as the first). Maybe over-egging the pudding of devolved independent nation states?
One surely wants to live in a nation, correction, Nation, with diverse sub-populations – as distinct from a super-duper elongated overgrown county in which everything looks, and everyone thinks much the same!
Diversity is everything (providing it’s kept within reasonable bounds, correction, territorial boundaries).
PPS: Correction: capital of Cascadia planned for present-day Canada, not the US, well north of the border between the two. My apols for over-hasty viewing of the proposed map of Cascadia.
Sorry. I’m on a steep new learning curve where your “Cascadia” is concerned, Christina, and have failed to see its precise location on my supplied link to present day California, way to the south. Ignore everything I’ve said thus far re “Cascadia”.
Boadicea: True, there have been demonstrations, riots and what not other places in the world. I am just appalled to see it happen in MY country. Also true that what happened is not down to Trump alone, but it certainly didn’t help that The Only President We’ve Got made statements that could only be construed as incitement to insurrection.
True again, bad eggs can be found in nearly every basket. Those who continually carry on about “racist” police actions do not for some reason ever seem to consider why there should be any interest, legal or otherwise, in the past of some of the black people involved. All too often, such individuals are, as is said, “known to the police.” George Floyd, for example, had a colorful criminal past and was detained by police acting in response to a shopkeeper’s report of having been given a counterfeit banknote by… guess who? Others have had warrants outstanding against them. That’s still no reason to kill the evil livers (or kidneys?) and I cannot condone the often-excessive response of police but do think that Black Lives should be made to “Matter” by getting them in order before all else. Otherwise, I much prefer to think that “ALL Lives Matter,” whether black, brown, yellow or yes, even white.
Sipu: I cannot see that Biden’s supporters come mainly from the ranks of the wealthy (he himself was certainly not born rich), although there would undoubtedly be many such included in a reasonable cross-section of the population. Trump’s supporters may well include many “blue collar” types, but I suspect those are attracted mainly by the cheap thrill of rubbing shoulders with the rich, perhaps hoping that some of what they have will rub off on them. And all too many of Trump’s supporters are those whose wealth was gained or increased by being “bought” in one way or another by the Orange One – through relaxing Government restrictions and regulations, selling or leasing valuable public property (such as, most recently, an Arctic area involved in an oil lease), etc., etc..
Don’t get me started on the subject of statues. How much of our history is being lost by the cowardly pulling down of statues of people whose positions and actions, whether considered good or bad by any vociferous group, played a significant part in the development of our nation?
As a side note, the city of Rutland, Vermont, now has a sculpture of Martin Freeman, who was the first black President of an American college. Although he was undoubtedly an intelligent and kindly man, as well as a competent educator, I cannot see that he deserves to have a statue erected in his honour for what amounts to the simple reason that he happened to be black. What about a statue for me, with my fair skin and blond (OK, grey now) hair?
Prof. Berry: The USA’s Presidential election process is indeed deeply flawed but, even so, it has served us in one way or another for longer than even I have been alive. I hold out next to no hope that it will be amended. Unless… the nation were to be divided, as you mention, into three bite-sized chunks. Still less hope of that, eh? And then we’d have to contend with my dear wifeperson, who, geologist that she is, could well want to draw the borders along seismic fault lines. As for her idea that Britain be invited to return for a “rerun” of previous unfortunate events, I’d warn that precautions would have to be taken to ensure that the supply of our favorite tea (Taylor’s Yorkshire Gold) remains uninterrupted.
Gazoopi: (Expletive deleted), I could really go for a good beef stew along about now.
Christopher: Hey, nobody’s perfect.
Sheona: Point well taken. The way things sometimes seem to be headed, I wouldn’t be surprised if someday we’re owned by China.
Cog, while I agree that Trump has been part of the problem, I do hope that Pelosi gives up her stupid idea of impeachment. Trump will be gone in a week and all the threat of impeaching him would do, IMO, would be to create more unrest.
Everything seems so polarised nowadays……..where’s the sensible, calm middle ground? Compassion, empathy, compromise? All rapidly disappearing it seems. Social media to blame? Who knows. Fake news has always existed as I’m sure the esteemed historians in here will agree.
The only thing a pollie has said recently that makes sense to me amongst this world of farce and fundamentalism is: “we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us”. But look what happened to her sadly.
I have just spent the morning watching the 1963 movie, Dr Strangelove. I fear for our future and it isn’t just because of Trump. He’s a symptom of our time, not the cause.
C’mon charioteers, encourage everyone to play nicely! Especially Aussie cricket spectators.
Cog: Where have you been for the last four years? Big! Big! Smiley here! The moment Trump was elected there were demonstrations and violence all over your country against his election. O.K. they didn’t actually storm the Capitol – but they never accepted the results of the 2016 election and made their opinions loudly – and violently. Once violence is accepted as a form of ‘free speech’ it can and will escalate.
Yep! I agree that Trump seems to have incited his supporters to storm the Capitol – and yes he needs to be made accountable in such a way that no other out-going President would ever consider behaving the way he has.
Since the Democrats did not think the election of 2016 was fair and the 70 million Trump supporters do not think the 2020 election was equitable – maybe an independent enquiry into your electoral system might be a way forward? I know! In my dreams!
Sheona: I think the main reason for trying to impeach Trump is that were that to happen he would be disqualified from standing to be President in 2024. Not such a bad idea!
Cuprum: Alas! I fear extremists have the loudest voices – and, thus, attract more media attention. Jo Cox was right – but her views do not sell media – even though I am convinced that the ‘silent’ majority agree with her.
I’m sure that most of us need no encouragement to play nicely! I really believe that the majority of humankind are ‘nice’ .
Your dig at some half-a dozen Aussie Cricket Spectators would be better received had we been told what was said that was so ‘offensive’. I do not think that Justice is served by keeping silent about such details.
All; On the question of ‘Free speech’ – I am quite appalled that Facebook et al have stopped Trump’s accounts. Sure, he has not used them honourably. The only solution I can suggest is that none of these media-magnates allow anyone in a political position to have an account.
“I think the main reason for trying to impeach Trump is that were that to happen he would be disqualified from standing to be President in 2024. Not such a bad idea!”
Hi Boadicea, I sincerely hope that was said tongue -in-cheek. Whatever you think of Trump, he would only win the 2024 election, (electoral fraud aside) if here were the democratic choice of the American people. To deny him, or more importantly, to deny the US electorate that opportunity based on a technicality, is anything but democratic.
There is no question in my mind that the Democrats and the liberal establishment in whatever form, have exhibited outrageous levels of hypocrisy and double standards. I find it absolutely baffling that so many intelligent people are unable to recognise what is going on in the US right now. Biden made comparisons to Goebbels, but the lies and propaganda being promulgated by the left and their tech-media cohorts, is nothing short of evil and are far closer to Nazi behaviour. Burning books is not so different to refusing to publish on social and mainstream media. Not to mention the fact that Simon and Schuster cancelled plans to publish Sen Hawley’s book. As for the tech giants’ concerted efforts to close down Parler, there can be no excuse, and if the Dems had any integrity whatsoever, they would be up in arms about it. But they have no morals and free speech and the good of the American people are the last things on their minds.
Unfortunately, America has got the government it deserves and it, along with the rest of the Western world, will live to regret it. I already do.
Just to be absolutely clear. I am perfectly aware of Trump’s enormous fallibilities, or at least some of them, but his goal was to make the American people the primary beneficiaries of government policy. To do that he needed to drain Washington’s political Swamp. That was why he was elected and that was why he was so hated by the Swamp.
Watch this, if you have the time. Its Fox News, so will be detested by many. But it does demonstrate the double standards of the left. Meanwhile, #Hang Pence has been trending on Twitter!!!!
No Sipu, I was not talking tongue in cheek. I did say ‘I think’ and that was based on an article I read.
I have since looked at various sites and found that removing Trump with the 25th Amendment would not prohibit him from standing again. However, if he is impeached (and he can be impeached even after his Presidency is over) Congress can then vote to have him disqualified from standing for any other office again.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-01-11/an-impeachment-like-no-other-answers-to-your-questions
If you can find a link stating the opposite, please post here.
As I’m sure you are aware, I agree with your third paragraph. I’m utterly sick of the ‘Left’ claiming the ‘high moral ground’ and forcing me, and others like me, who are naturally tolerant and want to discuss differences of opinion into becoming extremists simply to have our voices heard.
I didn’t have the fortitude to listen to the whole of your video. But I listened to just after the CEO of Parler spoke. I’m appalled.
Boadicea: There has long been an understanding of sorts in American politics. Whatever the rhetoric, administrations do not as a rule pursue previous administrations. The reason for that is very simple. Politics is filthy. When people have accused Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, etc. of acting criminally they have, in essence, been correct. If one were to adhere strictly to law and enforcing law, no presidency could survive. Likewise, no Australian, Canadian or British PM could hope to serve out a full sitting of parliament. Of course, some presidents and PMs are more corrupt than others. The past four years have been truly toxic in American politics. Trump shares, without any plausible doubt, his share of the blame for that. Politics is factional. It involves deal-making, negotiation and overlooking a lot of unpleasant things. It’s mutual and no side should — or reasonably can — pretend to be the superior. Trump’s administration has been unusually unstable for two reasons. One is, of course, that he had to deal with a lot of people who actively wanted him to fail. He could not even trust his own cabinet officials not to sabotage him. The Democrats have been pure poison. The second is Trump’s severe personal failures. He has some psychopathic traits including the expectation of absolute adherence to his word. When General James Mattis, one the finest military minds of his generation, disagreed with Trump’s Syria plan, the two had a bitter, personal falling out. It descended into personal attacks. Ultimately, Trump had to go along with Mattis’ original plan but the two have never reconciled. Trump made political feuds incredibly personal. That he didn’t led the Democrats railroad him was refreshing. However, he could have kept his fights about the issues and he would have had far more success. Even if his frustrations with Pelosi, Schumer, Nadler, Schiff, etc. were justified, his personal attacks were utterly juvenile.
The Democrats crossed the Rubicon with their impeachment drive. If they try it again, it will only inflame tensions even more. If they pursue Trump after he leaves office next week, then they will not like the consequences. The Democrats will be pursued by the next Republican administration if they do. That will likely be sooner rather than later. The leadership of the Democratic Party is extremely corrupt. Not that the GOP always fares better — Mitch McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, is embroiled in her own corruption scandal and her family are part of the KMT establishment with far too many Shanghai interests for comfort. Dementia Joe hasn’t even taken office and his administration is already a blazing skip. The tone of his administration is “you better not question anything”. Dissent is being shut down, opposition is being shut down. It’s not a radical, communist administration. That exists only in the fevered imaginations of some on the right. Rather, it’s an extremely patronising, sneering, dismissive technocratic administration — a Macron, Monti or Turnbull. The Cabinet reflect that. The Attorney General is Merrick Garland who has a long history of having been an extremely moderate federal justice. The Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is a technocrat. Janet Yellen, the Secretary of the Treasury, is nuanced, moderate and pragmatic. Of course, there have been concessions to the nutter wing. Energy and land use will be managed by Deb Haaland and Jennifer Granholm, neither of which has much respect for regular supplies of affordable energy. But it’s as if Malcolm and Bill could rule together. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s not going to be a grand success and very few people are going to be happy for long. Conservatives will be constantly antagonised and the left-fringe, desperately needed for enthusiasm and votes, will be sorely disappointed. After four years of “Orange Man Bad” vs. “God-Emperor Trump”, this dreary, grey nothingness will be bitterly underwhelming. Nor will Vegetable Man be given a chance by the right — he does not deserve to be.
Boadicea, thanks for your response. My question re ‘tongue in cheek’ was aimed specifically at your remark that it may not be ‘such a bad idea’ if Trump were prohibited from running again. It seemed to me that you endorsed such a goal and I was attempting to explain why I felt that was anti-democratic. Perhaps I misunderstood you and/or perhaps I did not explain myself very well. Or perhaps my analysis and reasoning is wrong! No matter.
Well done for sticking it out to the Parler segment. Pretty much more of the same thereafter.
I’ve long been aware that some things go unreported, or seriously under-reported, in the “local” media of virtually any country, region, city, or whatever subdivision may be. Accordingly, I like to see what’s being said and done in other places and spend part of each day looking at Canadian newspapers, British newspapers, Japanese TV, etc., etc..
Even so, those who cannot resist expounding on circumstances in other countries should be aware that reportage in any society may be “slanted” in one way or another and that “fake news” is everywhere these days. I’m convinced that the best way to gauge the temper of the times in any particular place is to live there oneself.
Reading what some have written, I must ask myself why I have never seen the “many videos” of Joe Biden putting his hands on young females, sniffing their hair and so on. Is it because the American media have for once resisted the lure of some juicy scandal and left the telling (and, possibly, gross exaggeration) thereof to their foreign colleagues, or because such videos really do not exist at all?
As for accusations of sexual harassment, is there any public figure these days who has not been so accused? The propensity of some women to lie about such things is well established and has been so for some time. The late evangelist Billy Graham was, even in his day, very much aware of this and became known, among other things, for refusing to ride in an elevator alone with a woman. It seems to have worked: I cannot recall a breath of scandal ever being uttered against him.
When it comes to accusing a public figure of dementia or calling him a “vegetable,” I’m afraid I must insist upon knowing upon what basis such things are said – or, to put it another way, “where’s the proof?” Are there “many videos” of him drooling on his podium? While it’s true that mental acuity may diminish somewhat over time, it’s far from true that some slight slowing of mental processes may render one’s brain entirely unfit for purpose. My own memory may not be what it once was but my reason remains unimpaired. Any voids have been filled with something invaluable: experience. To say such unpleasant things of a senior public figure is to descend to the level of the Orange One’s childishness and resort to name-calling when some more cogent criticism cannot be conceived.
Nobody is perfect, and saying that as “no body” will include our current two principal political parties. Each has done both good and bad in its time; both swing back and forth over the years. Perhaps we should concern ourselves with the here and now rather than lazily declaring ourselves lifelong supporters of one lot or the other.
Biden the individual is not perfect, but at least (a) he behaves as a gentleman, (b) he is a good “front man” for this country and (c) he seems willing to work hard at undoing the damage that has been done to us.
Such damage must have come from someplace, and in this case it can only be The Only President We’ve Got, one Donald J. Trump. During his administration, we have:
⦁ Been lied to early and often, made the target of much misinformation and disinformation and expected to believe, despite his lack of scientific training, that the COVID-19 pandemic is not real.
⦁ Been represented to the world by someone who does not behave in a statesmanlike manner.
⦁ Been the victim of various regulatory relaxations and, as a result, had our personal physical health endangered by less restricted/unrestricted release of toxins into our environment.
⦁ Been made poorer as a nation by administration attempts to sell title or lease to all or part of significant national properties (national parks/monuments, wildlife reserves, etc.), the most recent being part of an Arctic wildlife refuge that is, in effect, being traded for an oil lease.
⦁ Been witness to corruption in the form of relaxation of regulations and sale of public property, benefiting the recipients thereof, in exchange for political support and contributions.
⦁ Been witness to wasting of public funds on construction of a wall between the USA and Mexico, also to the endangerment of wildlife by said wall’s blocking migration corridors. (I myself would have preferred building a wall around the entire Middle East, always a troublesome area.)
⦁ Been financially harmed by taxpayer funds being wasted on many specious lawsuits claiming voting fraud/irregularities, some 50 or so having so far been promptly dismissed by the courts.
⦁ Been, quite possibly, physically endangered by mishandling of Coronavirus countermeasures.
⦁ Been affronted by the spectacle of The Only President We’ve Got encouraging a mob of hooligans to violently storm the US Capitol.
There’s more, of course, but why go on? In the interest of fairness, the Orange One has also managed to do some good things. One of the best, from my point of view, is that his cries of “fraud” have led to our voting system being scrutinized thoroughly enough – with recounts and audits galore – to reassure us that, even though the system may not be perfect, it is at least honest.
He may have held himself out to be a champion of the poorer working classes but the truth is that most of what he has done seems calculated to benefit the rich, whom he no doubt expects to show their gratitude by taking membership at Mar-a-Lago or one of his other exclusive clubs.
Now that his time in office is nearly at an end, it seems that everyone is out to get him. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, even though she did not lead the way in calling for impeachment, has now climbed on board. Now that they can no longer be bullied, many Republican supporters are opposing him as well. His financial supporters – banks and Wall Street firms – have also turned against him. Even his social media accounts, that he used to address the masses, have now been withdrawn from him. Well, whatever did he expect?
Sorry, all, but all that boiling blood takes its toll on one and I’m just about worn out now. Not only that, but it’s also nearly lunchtime, which should be infinitely more pleasant than this political carry-on (carrion?).
On a complete different matter, it grieves me to note the departure from this group of Colin Berry. I was not acquainted with him until just recently but quickly came to see him as one of our best and brightest. Not knowing his inner reasons for leaving, I cannot share them but only regret them.
Thanks for your final mention of my self , Cog’
Have re-activated a long-neglected site of mine with this new comment onto the end of a very late posting:
http://dreams-and-daemons.blogspot.com/2019/
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Have updated the title of this site a few minutes ago.
Why?
Profound dissatisfaction with the way the internet currently operates is the main reason (I’ll spare you the reasons for now).
Suffice it to say that I’m rooting around for a new way of allowing ordinary folk (we retired science bods especially) a means of getting their voices heard (despite the BBC and other MSM, gripe gripe, despite so-called social media, gripe gripe, despite defensive Government spokepeople, gripe gripe)
We urgently need a new 21st century channel of communication, one that bypasses the clogged-up status quo.
See the consistently properly-focused “Boadicea Chariot” site – albeit a little quirky from time to time – for a breathe of fresh air…
https://charioteers.org/
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Credit where credit is due…
Oh dear, according to reports President Trump is to be impeached. And this on top of earlier reports that the FBI fears civil unrest on inauguration day. Perhaps the timing of the impeachment announcement was not appropriate and will only add fuel to the flames.
I hope you and Christina enjoyed your lunch in spite of everything. I’m just off to cut some smoked salmon (Scottish of course) sandwiches for our lunch.