The Afterword

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Trump Senate Trial II

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I was riveted, to be honest, & really looking forward to today.

The House Managers were slick, organised, focussed and well prepared. Trump’s were a shambles. Still, lots of Republicans seem to think the trial is unconstitutional and a conviction remains unlikely. Mitch McConnel will have to stick his neck out and give his colleagues permission to vote Yay. Closer to the actual event, that seemed a possibility but not now.

Today, the prosecution starts in earnest. It should be a harrowing watch. The Managers have one hell of a story to tell, dating back months, and they strike me as excellent story tellers. It’s very difficult to imagine how the defence lawyers are going to respond.

Of course, it’s all theatre for watching Americans and the world. It will be fascinating to see how the Republicans will justify a Nay vote. They must be delighted there are no cameras on the jurors and they all have to wear masks. Still, if Mitch shifts his approach, he might take another ten with him, enough to convict. A long shot, but a shot nonetheless.

Stay tuned. This is no white collar crime. Trump’s character is under the spotlight & it’s » Continue Reading.

Trump Derangement Syndrome

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Trumpistas like to snark that criticisms of Dim Don are indications of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” (TDS). This seems to me to be complete projection, as it is Trump that seems to take reason away from persons who get drawn into his orbit. Unless all the posters on the various “below the line” comments on many news websites (apart from The Guardian, of course) are all Russian, his apologists seem to be impervious to argument based on evidence; they still, for example, seem to have a rather blithe attitude to coronavirus. Is that all he and his appeal is: trolling liberals to appease his ego?

He is, I will concede, great at winding people up and getting people to feed his ego, but as a way of life, it doesn’t go very far, and it looks like everyone unaffected by TDS will vote against him. Seems to me most are now bored and tired of him, and he is desperately trying to get them back. Where will his supporters go when he loses? Will they say “we never supported him”? Will someone ever say “Every thought you’ve been had?”, and people realise he was, well, shit?

Are You Changing Your Carbon Footprint?

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Davos depressed me. Too little, too late. But, on reflection, I’ve managed to find a glimmer of hope.

Most millenials I know are environmentally savvy. As consumers, they seem to be moving away from high carbon products to low. If more consumers follow suit, businesses will have to follow. In addition, as employees they are looking to avoid companies who contribute more to climate change. In America, Microsoft have announced itself as a green company that will pay back all the carbon it has generated since coming into being. Investors are also beginning to make a stand. BlackRock, also a U.S. firm, manages $7.4 trillion of funds and it is saying it will move away from ‘high sustainability risk’. Some businesses are at risk of future regulation or the introduction of a carbon tax, others because of extremes in the weather. BlackRock is divesting companies whose revenues are more than 25% dependent on coal. Trump’s Treasury Secretary, Steve Munchin, might have called on Greta Thunberg to take lessons in economics, but it looks increasingly as though he’s the one behind the curve. If I was a businessman, I’d be looking Green. Things might be beginning to move in the » Continue Reading.

A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing?

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During my annual summer binge on Bob Marley and the Wailers, I had cause to listen to Exodus in the car. It’s a beautiful album that confirmed Bob Marley’s status as a global superstar, shifting truckloads all over the world.

When it was released in 1977, I felt a little let down by it. After the radical militancy of his previous albums, Exodus sounded embarrassingly commercial to my less-than-tolerant teenage ears. It wasn’t reggae as I recognised it. I felt certain that the people of Jamaica thought so too. It was a shiny album with rhythms that purr like a finely tuned Bentley, produced by Bob himself, full of soppy love songs. In the year of peak Punk, Bob Marley and the Wailers had become a frivolous Pop group.

Of course, these days I view it differently. Yes, Exodus is packed with infectious, bouncy tunes designed to brighten day-time mainstream radio, but side one is as subversive a collection of songs as any Bob has written. Side One is a manifesto for insurrection. Natural Mystic sets the scene of a world in turmoil that is still relevant today. The sequence of So Much Things To Say/Guiltiness/Heathen eviscerates those in power » Continue Reading.

The Trump Album Report please

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The Trump Book Report is trending all over the shop which describes various works of literature in the style of the Donald. You know where this is going, #trumpalbumreport please – loosely around 140 characters.

Lovely Rita. In 10 years I’m gonna be dating her – and not when she’s 64 know what I’m saying. I made it with only #alittlehelpfrommydad. Hillary had 30 years to fix those holes. #letsmakeBlackburngreatagain.

Inappropriate co option of music by politicians

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This may seem somewhat trivial compared to his other crimes against decency and respect for others, but, bloody hell, seeing Donald Trump use Free’s ‘Alright Now’ and The Stones ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ (though perhaps there’s a message there?) as he bounds up to the podium on his election rallies is thoroughly nausea-inducing. Other past or present examples?