Day to Day Politics: With creepy friends like this.
Thursday 17 November 2017
1 The US elects in Donald Trump a deluded compulsive pathetic liar, racist, misogynist, sexist human being who is totality unsuitable for the highest office in the land.
Why then should people be surprised when he appoints in, Stephen Bannon, an anti-Semite, white nationalist, conspiracy theorist, propagandist, transphobic and racist as his Chief Strategist?
Donald Trump’s choice of Stephen Bannon has met a wave of outrage in the US. One would have thought that after a campaign filled with loathing hatred Trump might have reached out to minority groups and others who were concerned by the tenor of the campaign. You might ask yourself what sort of man would select such a person.
Well the answer is that only a deluded compulsive pathetic liar, racist, misogynist, sexist man would .
When outgoing president Obama was asked to comment on Trump’s appointment he tap danced around the invitation in his usual diplomatic way by saying little. “Gestures are important” he said, and then added “it’s important to send signals of unity”.
But in saying little the President, between the lines, made the crucial point that having the likes of Bannon so close to the Oval office was a bad call, even catastrophic.
Critics of his appointment say that it will empower white supremacists. Trump promised to empty the swamp but appointments like this suggest he is replacing it with a sewer.
Bannon has insinuated that African-Americans are “naturally aggressive and violent” and that “rape culture is inherent in Islam”. And “Planned Parenthood sells baby parts”.
All over the US White nationalist and neo-Nazi groups are celebrating Bannon’s appointment. As are the Ku Klux Klan.
And from what I have read the American media have greeted the appointment with all the nefarious subtlety of those sucking up to a new president.
Wikipedia tells us that Stephen Kevin ‘Steve’ Bannon is an American businessman and media executive. He is the executive chairman of Breitbart News, a politically ultra conservative American news, opinion and commentary website noted for its connection to the ultra-right. He became chief executive officer of the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump in August 2016.
“He is a vindictive, nasty figure, infamous for verbally abusing supposed friends and threatening enemies” said former editor of Breitbart Ben Shapiro.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations criticised Breitbart for peddling “misogynistic and racist stories targeting women, people of colour and immigrants”.
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, director of the Religious Action Centre of Reform Judaism was quoted as saying that Bannon “was responsible for the advancement of ideologies antithetical to our nation, including anti-Semitism, misogyny, racism and Islamophobia”.
In appointing Bannon as one of his first pics you would have to at least question Trump’s judgement. Or does the old saying, “you are only as good as those around you” still apply. Here are links published by the Sydney Morning Herald, to a selection of Breitbart’s more offensive offerings. You be the judge.
And let’s not forget that in Vice President Pence we have a man who says ”I’m a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order … The Trump-Pence administration will be dedicated to preserving the liberties of our people, including the freedom of religion that’s enshrined in our Bill of Rights.
As Trump said, “I will govern for all the people of America”. The exceptions are starting to roll in. First cab off the rank, LGBTQ rights will be first to go.
An observation
“In terms of social activism. The word wait should never mean never”.
Bill Kristol: Republican spoiler, renegade Jew
Lesbian bridezillas bully bridal shop owner over religious beliefs
Teenage boys with tits: Here’s my problem with Ghostbusters
Hoist it high and proud: The Confederate flag proclaims a glorious heritage
There’s no hiring bias against women in tech, they just suck at interviews
Pamela Geller’s Muhammad cartoon contest is no different from Selma
Sympathy for the devils: The plot against Roger Ailes
Gabby Giffords: The gun control movement’s human shield
Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy
Roger Stone: Clinton aide Huma Abedin ‘most likely a Saudi spy’
The solution to online ‘harassment’ is simple: Women should log off
2 Careful, ABC, if you criticise the appointment of an anti-Semite white supremacist you’ll be accused of bias.
3 Blaming the media for everything is a sure sign that the government is struggling and a prime minister unable to sell his message.
4 Did you know that under the terms of the TPP employers would have been able to recruit overseas workers without first offering the positions to local workers? Surely Australian workers need greater protection than that.
5 This week’s Essential Poll remains the same, 53/47 to Labor.
6 The latest Cedex report tells us that October had the biggest proportion of renewables of any month since data made available. In fact it 21.7% of electricity in the national electricity market came from renewables.
The report also showed that wholesale electricity prices have been effectively flat in real dollars terms for going on 20 years.
If wholesale prices are not responsible for the aggressive price rises in recent years what is.That meant the prices rises were not being pushed Retailers and the distribution networks. That’s who.
As I said yesterday:
“Change sometimes disregards opinion and becomes a phenomenon of its own making. With Its own inevitability”.
My thought for the day.
“The peoples of all the nations of the world increasingly seem to be having less to say about their destiny’”.
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Sir ScotchMistery
Return to home pageThis is just a game that Trump is playing, the same game as he has always played. Appoint someone such as Bannon..what a hoot! Let ’em top that one! Trump gets his jollies by being as outrageous and defiant as is possible and for the sole purpose of pointing the rude finger to anyone/everyone he can think of. If the KKK and neo-Nazis think that they’ve got one of their own in the White House, don’t count on it, as he’ll do the same thing straight back to them..should the mood take him. And yes, he’s a psycho.
Tony Abbott was allowed out of his box again and is rejoicing in the win by Donald Trump. Among other things he said of climate change, on Sky:
“Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott says a Donald Trump Presidency will provide the world with ‘better perspective’ on climate change.
Mr Abbott says climate change is not the most serious moral, political and economic issue and the moral panic about it is ‘completely over the top’.
‘One of the encouraging things about the election of President Trump is that we should finally be able to see this issue in better perspective,’ Mr Abbott said.
Republican Trump, who has called climate change a hoax and is expected to favour the coal and oil industries, opposes last year’s Paris Agreement by almost 200 nations to combat global warming.”
Tin hats anyone !
Looking at the accompanying photo of those two I thought: like attracts like, and of course like minded Abbott would fit well in their company….
It also says a lot about us and USA that people like Trump and Abbott have a chance to get voted into the highest office of the country…
With Jonathan Green’s Sunday Extra on ABC RN being handed over to Tom Switzer, Adjunct Fellow of the IPA, the ABC have to be very careful who they are cuddling up to.
The IPA wishlist includes : Break up the ABC and put out to tender each individual function
Gradually people from the IPA are popping up on most current affairs programs on the ABC from the Drum to Q&A and their views are entirely predictable.
For a small rather narrowly focused conservative think-tank the IPA seem to have a disproportionate influence over our public broadcaster.
We elected a racist(both deny)sexist(both deny)divisive(both deny) inept(please explain) prime minister before the septics followed suit.
Why, Lord, is that we are having less to say than those who elected merkel, duterte, hawke or menzies?
Loved point five: bill’s silent tactics seem to be working.
Although I wouldn’t like to be an ill pensioner under susson everything.
Although it is going to be hard for school leavers to compete with low wage 457s or backpackers.
Although I wouldn’t like to be an Aborigine under current racism but wow when ‘Indian termination policy” is discovered.
Still, yesterday’s sayings and leads like clinton are so reassuring.
But I wonder if billy is up there with clinton? What extra is needed, in order to maintain that lead for twice as long???
A quote from Abbott says it all:
“He appreciates that it’s one thing to appeal to a certain constituency when you are the would-be, but when you are the Man your constituency is first and foremost the party room, and secondly the people who are going to vote for the Coalition, or who you want to vote for the Coalition at the next election,” Abbott said.”
The take home message is that the science “constituency” is wrong.
From:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/nov/16/tony-abbott-says-moral-panic-about-climate-change-is-over-the-top
Abbott, believes Trump will get it right in relation to climate change. Suggestions in the US indicate that Trump will dismantle as many Agencies as possible dealing with climate change.
Currently, some multi year ice is still being lost, atmospheric and ocean temperatures have been high. Sea ice extent is about 1.4 million square kilometres below the average sea ice extent of the 2000s decade; though it will not be till March/April when the maximum extent is reached that firm official data will be disclosed. What can be said is that Arctic ice extent is going in the wrong direction at present.
https://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=230.0;attach=38303;image
News eminating from Trump’s transition team indicate complete irresponsible reckless madness in relation to climate change.
The result of an undemocratic,flawed and illogical system: More people voted for Clinton,yet they ended up with the less votes of Trump.
The electoral college system has always been an undemocratic joke.
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/7/12315574/electoral-college-explained-presidential-elections-2016
Pity about Jonathan Green, I found him to be the fairest editor of the online Drum, of course that was one of the first things Ms Guthrie dropped…
What if climate change is a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing ?
@Wayne
Trump won 25 states with at least 50% of the vote. He won five states with less than 50% of the vote.
Clinton, by contrast, only won 15 states with 50% or more of the vote. Like Trump, she won five states with less than 50% of the vote.
When you break it out by states it turns out that Trump had more votes than Clinton with the exception of California.
The reason for the electoral college to ensure that large states cannot bully or disadvantage small states has been reinforced with this election. If this was just about getting majority votes then a candidate would focus on California, Florida, Texas and New York at the expense of the small population states. One consequence would be the unequal distribution of Federal resources, for example.
http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/79398/won-popular-vote-state-trump/
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/62f564ef54c682440e47a2e2ce670d459fb00d49e1894e1ab2e9113f735f615c.jpg?w=480&h=530
I’m looking forward to an end to the handwringing about the US election on this site and a return to Australian focussed news.
I know all that John.But,Clinton still got more votes than Trump.What the undemocratic electoral college instead does is give far too much power to “swing” and “smaller” states who by proportion get too many electoral college votes compared to population,and bigger states should get more.Forget all the state borders,and just imagine if 1 vote = 1 vote,and it counted as a national vote.Where you live then wouldn’t matter.Every vote would matter,no matter where you live.
The electoral college is flawed,and based on the “appeal to tradition” fallacy,and too much of American’s view that the forefathers could do no wrong.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/11/electoral-college-donald-trump-2016-214455
“When you break it out by states it turns out that Trump had more votes than Clinton with the exception of California."
LOL. Numeracy- it’s important.
California’s population is nearly 40 million!
That’s about 12.5% of the entire US population.
As to small states “being bullied” -mate, it’s the other way around -and has been the other way around for over two centuries.
Yes, numeracy. Take a look at this analysis of the popular vote.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6mLpCEIGEYGYl9RZWFRcmpsZk0/view?pref=2&pli=1
Terry2,
there is no point in getting tangled up in silly questions such as yours, part of which is the assumption that climate change is a “big hoax”. Even many of the “deniers” start with the assumption that climate change is real, but question how much we need to address it (usually because they are linked to fossil fuels). They set out merely to muddy the water. What is your proof the Climate Change is a “big hoax”? Meanwhile, what is wrong with cleaning up the planet (a question which makes the second half of your question look rather redundant)
And more widely:
Then we come to the matter of the election of Trump to the Presidency. Like putting the fox in charge of the hen-house.
And so much excitement here in Oz on the Right. One Notion has cracked open the champagne. The foreign interloper Murdoch press is falling over itself that they knew all along that Trump would win – and how much he is like their man Abbott, the worst PM we ever had. And they are rather ambivalent about Abbott’s executor, Turnbull, who is far less outrageous in his performance than Trump – instead, stuttering and mumbling something which he hopes will sound like a policy.
So we have a billionaire President in one place and a millionaire PM in the other, with voters hoping like mad that foreigners will go away and the government will produce jobs out of the hat by providing enough infrastructure and military might or by reducing tax a la Reaganomics and hanging on to Trump’s coat-tails and relying on foreign investment manna from heaven.
guest
the question “What if climate change is a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing ?” is, of course, tongue in cheek.
John:
Computerised voting using touch screens (no paper ballots) and central tabulators with proprietary software that cannot be openly audited or challenged in court- even where gross statistical anomalies exist are an affront to the very notion of democracy.
Widespread voter suppression, intimidation purging of voter roles and voter caging also routinely occurs in many if not most Republican controlled states, which was certainly a factor in the November election (as it has been in past elections). This can at least be overcome to an extent, whereas systemic fraud cannot.
My point above was that you can look to other smaller states (like Oregon or Washington) and also see large margins in Clinton’s favor (or margins in Trump’s favor, in larger states like Texas). However, since California contains more people than the 21 least populous states combined, it’s always easy to point the finger there.
Terry2, of course it was tongue in cheek, but I have observed that there is not much room for that on AIMN, also not much possibility for humour …
I tend to stick to John Ward’s articles, there’s more creativity and freedom of expression allowed here, and hardly any discord…..
Terry2,
why play silly pretend troll games when there are too many people playing the same game seriously.? It is not humour, even if you think you are funny. Nor is it “creativity and freedom of expression”, helvetyni. It is a waste of space and time.
John.
I’m looking forward to an end to the handwringing about the US election on this site and a return to Australian focussed news.
I think their will be a marriage of the two for some time to come.
Terry2, I thought your question was very witty. It amused me.
Oops, so sorry, I’m of course referring to John LORD, not Ward…
Smug bed fellows is the term that comes to my mind from the top picture.
Tony is now feeling happily vindicated. His hero Donald knows doing something about climate change is bad for business. It could take many months or even a year or two for the effects of the Trumpocene to be felt and Tony is just stocked to be doing his bit to make our planet unliveable.
Guest (@4.02pm 17/11)
You did read Terry2’s comment of 7.28am yesterday?
If so, why would you deliberately misread and comment so negatively on his subsequent (and related) comment:
“What if climate change is a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing?”
(I have automatically ruled out “ignorance” as a silent answer to that rhetorical question)
I thought “we create a better world for nothing” was the clue to the comment being irony, which is apparently, “the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.”
Even more deep and meaningfully, it could have been Socratic irony, which, as you know is “a pose of ignorance assumed in order to entice others into making statements that can then be challenged”.
This, of course, raises the possibility that your response was Socratic irony?
@Guest –
Nothing in space/time is ever wasted.
That’s why we refer to it as a continuum.
But you knew that before I even knew I was going to say it.
So I will cross out this post and not send it