Anything reported from media
I hope all my American friends know and will be involved in this
day. I’m looking forward to it enormously, and would give my back teeth to participate in it – anywhere !
Erasmus or Nostradamus ?
… what I’ve been occupied with.
Well, my American friends would be interested, and so would my friend Hev. But the rest of you couldn’t care less, I suspect, when told. And that’s not good, because what’s currently driving my rage is going to affect all of us.
I wish I could flood the Internet with it ! Obama became my all-life political hero when first I started reading about his candidature for the Presidency – that’s a fair span of years (even though a fraction in comparison with my total). He is readily acknowledged by everyone who is not a tRumper to be by far the best President in living memory. And the mad bad man, surrounded by lickspittles and followers-only-for-a-purpose (looking at you, JD) can simply remove the portrait because he hates Obama more than anyone, and not a soul in the White House raises an eyebrow.
I’m following two Substacks: one is by American historian of note Heather Cox Richardson and the other by Robert Reich, who has so many titles and past occupations – “Robert Bernard Reich is an American professor, author, lawyer, and political commentator. He worked in the administrations of presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and he served as secretary of labor in the cabinet of President Bill Clinton” – as to almost defy listing ’em. The former’s Substack lays out exactly what’s happening on a daily basis in terms that make you understand her being an historian; and the latter— well, his latest post is this. He posts all manner of things, all in some way positive.
And I’m commenting fairly often on both. (Yes, there have indeed been some blokes who decided they wanted to ‘befriend’ me; but they were easily put off and just went away. They all, btw, protested that my being 82 did not affect their desire to chat. I think there are lots of lonely people …) When I shut down the laptop to go to bed, I wonder how many likes and return comments there will be in the morning: that’s sort of fun.
tRump’s insane tariffs have already started affecting Oz, and they’re not going to improve trade any time soon.
But in truth, it’s America that’s breaking my heart: country of Obama’s 16-year stint as the President whose employment as such was mostly joyful. It was certainly filled with intelligence, grace, charm, humour, music and deep thinking. For that, so recent and so memorable (in spite of Mitch McConnell) to be now replaced with the police state that’s almost there … the anger, the cruelty, the carelessness of everything except power and money … I don’t have the words.
A bloke named Chip Franklin, who has a lengthy and successful history in various media, posts regularly on YouTube and I read his stuff.
The post that caused me to choke can be watched here (pretty sure I’m not meant to do this, but I honestly think the channeleers ( ! ) don’t care.
I did write in time (meaning, before they closed off comments) to the NYT to add my piece regarding the shutting down of Stephen Colbert’s late-night talk show, and am happy to see it there amongst all the others. The orange lunatic at his best.
The YouTube clip can be said to show him at his most typical – to say two-faced is to grossly flatter the fucker.
My mate over in my home town Perth is a serial emailer – of late they’re mostly political. He is conservative.
I am of late mostly apolitical; and were I to return to giving a rat’s arse about which party runs this country, I would very definitely not be voting the Coalition.
Be that as it may, Roger’s latest included an article written for The Australian (known for being right-wing) by none other than our not-very-recent Prime Minister of onion-chomping and budgie-smuggling fame, one Tony Abbott. Whom I have castigated and fulminated about more than once in this blog.
It nearly chokes me to say this, but the article actually makes sense to me …
They won’t be seen behaving like this with any other country’s leader, of course: they plotted to take advantage of Zelenskyy’s arrival to posture and froth, like the scumbags they are.
The reaction around the world was instantaneous – especially from Europe:
I don’t think I’m allowed to have Brian’s show appearing on my blog; but I doubt very much that he’s in a mood to stop anyone from sharing his opinions.
I follow Maddow with enthusiasm: she is knowledgeable, cogent and believable. She’ll be there telling it like it is when she’s as old as I am now.
This is a post on my friend Colorado’s blog, and I have stolen it because I feel it !
… to understand the pain.
California and the fires: all values are upended.
Look carefully and you will see how Phyllis is bursting with buds. I counted 15 ten minutes ago, and I’ll bet I missed some. She’s already had two blossoms.
This is amazing because before I came here (February 13th) and was finally able to position her with morning sun, she had sad, wrinkled leaves that looked as tired as I did. Not even a suggestion of a bloom: I was worried that all energy was spent.
But now … well, she’s showing you how I feel about being here; because if I could have blossoms on me in the right environment, they would be putting their beautiful heads out just like Phyllis’.
She’s a cactus orchid: an epiphyllum oxypetalum; and this is what she’s going to look like (only better, of course !):
Not only are her night-time blooms divine, they also smell divine !!!
Frankly, anyone who has any spot that gets morning sun and who hasn’t yet added a cactus orchid to it … well, yer bonkers. I have spoken.
And btw: this post is to stave off more whinges about my lack of The New Place info. I’ve been REALLY busy with setting it up; and on Friday morning both the Federal and the State Ministers for Housing are visiting us with entourage, and I shall be kind of pushed in their direction to welcome them and rabbit on about how terrific this place is. There will be media.
Can I do it ? – of course I can. Do I want to do it ? – I want to do anything at all that will be a gesture of thanks to the people here, who helped me in so many ways.
It is truly special. Just like Phyllis !
And I’ve been telling visitors to the city of my heart, where I now live forever (well for a few more years, anyway) that they’ve missed many construction deadlines !
If this latest report is true – and seeing as how those caustic comments of mine were also based on media reports, I may be forgiven for being a wee bit sceptical, I reckon – there is hope that I WILL live to see it !!!
My usual snide remark was along the lines of “Naah – it’s not going to happen in my lifetime !”, which fact I very much regretted.
Now, out of an orange-coloured sky, it seems FLASH ! – BAM ! – ALAKAZAM ! and it’s all happening, not only on time but (give me strength !) IN ADVANCE !!!
Must be the solitary occasion on which a huge government construction project has managed that.
Yes, I am indeed cynical about huge government construction projects. It is not possible to be otherwise, Downunder. And the worst place of all for them is my erstwhile abode, Sydney – a history of badly-planned, grossly over-spent and totally epic proportions of failure in such activity.
I can only hope that Oz is not alone in this aspect of its .. ahh .. development.
I was taken, this-morning, by online newspaper articles – that is, by their headlines. Mostly headlines simply pass me by as I peruse them with a distinct lack of enthusiasm; but today some seem to be pertickly .. ahh .. interesting (?).
Consider the following:
I am a coffeeholic, no doubt about it. This header causes me a little angst because it might – just might – mean that my hopeless habit is gumming up my works !! If coffee grounds make stronger concrete, isn’t constipation to be expected ?!
Then there’s this one:
Sighh .. What else is to be said ? – smaller pension pool available to more pensioners can only mean one thing ..
There are more ..
It’s gratifying – although far, far too late – that the USA recognises the arsehole’s intention of destroying its entire system. I said at almost the outset that tRump wanted to destroy the Presidency and what it stood for.
And, moving on with relief ..
Four ? – is that the best they could do ?? Hmph ! – pathetic ! Still, that an article is actually published about my favourite occupation is damned fine ! 🙂
I have saved the best till last ! [grin]
This headline combines possibly everything horrible into the one story, as you will immediately have to agree ..
That there could actually BE a tour group of a sewer, that it be a Moscow sewer, that the sewer is flooded ..
STOP PRESS ! (additional)
My friend Sue asked me why I didn’t include this one – and I was infuriated that the bloody ABC didn’t have it in the list at the time of my early morning posting. It’s absolutely a header I would’ve started with !!
DOWNUNDER WITH BOODZ 