What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
I have to say that 2016 ended on a somewhat depressing note, but that note was trumped (if you'll pardon the ghastly pun ) by the start of 2017. Let's start, however with late 2016, a time when some people in America decided that they'd had more than enough of sanity, and elected an idiot to the post of the most powerful man in the western world. I know I once said he was no idiot, but - in typical Trump fashion - he's proved me wrong. Well done, that man.
Wasting not a second, he went about living up to his image of the most unpopular U.S. President of all time by pissing just about everyone off. The American Judiciary sharply reminded him that he was not above the law by declaring his ridiculous travel ban unlawful, and I daresay that Trump sacking his Attorney-General because she could not let him break the law probably did not help his cause, or endear him to the judges. There were mass protests, and they continue to this day.
There was also the small matter of alleged Russian involvement in the Presidential Election, and some easily-discovered porky-pies told by members of the Trump cabinet. There was more to come; Some of it came in the shape of Mrs Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to the President, and the woman who coined the somewhat euphemistic phrase "Alternative Facts" in order to make some of her more outrageous statements a little more palatable. Conway it was who defended Trump's immigration policy by citing the now-infamous 'Bowling Green Massacre', allegedly perpetrated by two Iraqi terrorists in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This incident did not, in fact, ever take place, the two Iraqis who were arrested in Bowling Green had been involved in acts of terrorism whilst in Iraq, but no evidence was ever presented to suggest that they were planning attacks in the U.S. The other anomaly, of course, is that in order to have a massacre people have to get killed; it is an absolutely essential part of the plan, and no-one did. Strike one.
In February of this year, Conway discussed Ivanka Trump's products, giving what appeared to be a "free advertisment" for them. This was too much, even for the Republicans. It was a clear breach of ethics that drew widespread condemnation. Strike two. Many Americans also find it somewhat strange that a woman who co-authored a book with the rather cumbersome title of 'What Women Really Want: How American Women Are Quietly Erasing Political, Class, and Religious Lines to Change the Way We Live' should choose to defend - at every turn, and using 'alternative facts if necessary - a man who is so blatantly both sexist and racist. Small wonder that many TV companies have dropped her from their interview list because of her questionable credibility. Strike three.
Then there was the unfortunate National Security Advisor Michael Flynn (who Conway had said "had the full confidence of the President") who promptly 'resigned' hours after that statement. It is strongly suspected by those who should know that Flynn was actually sacked by Trump, the man who, it was claimed, had such confidence in him!
Meanwhile Trump continues down the Road to Hell, showing little sign of applying the brakes or steering in the right direction. His much-vaunted White House 'Team' - Trump claimed he picked only the best - continues to fall apart at the seams, despite Trump's claim that everything is running "real smooth". I'd hate to see it running "real rough" then.
So there it is, folks; we have the most powerful government in the western world in disarray, a team of politicians who - to quote from 'Good Morning Vietnam' don't appear to know if they've been "shot, fucked, powder-burned, or snake-bit", Putin rubbing his hands, the rest of the world shaking it's head in despair, and a headstrong, ignorant, fool, with the nuclear codes.
What could possibly go wrong?
In February of this year, Conway discussed Ivanka Trump's products, giving what appeared to be a "free advertisment" for them. This was too much, even for the Republicans. It was a clear breach of ethics that drew widespread condemnation. Strike two. Many Americans also find it somewhat strange that a woman who co-authored a book with the rather cumbersome title of 'What Women Really Want: How American Women Are Quietly Erasing Political, Class, and Religious Lines to Change the Way We Live' should choose to defend - at every turn, and using 'alternative facts if necessary - a man who is so blatantly both sexist and racist. Small wonder that many TV companies have dropped her from their interview list because of her questionable credibility. Strike three.
Then there was the unfortunate National Security Advisor Michael Flynn (who Conway had said "had the full confidence of the President") who promptly 'resigned' hours after that statement. It is strongly suspected by those who should know that Flynn was actually sacked by Trump, the man who, it was claimed, had such confidence in him!
Meanwhile Trump continues down the Road to Hell, showing little sign of applying the brakes or steering in the right direction. His much-vaunted White House 'Team' - Trump claimed he picked only the best - continues to fall apart at the seams, despite Trump's claim that everything is running "real smooth". I'd hate to see it running "real rough" then.
So there it is, folks; we have the most powerful government in the western world in disarray, a team of politicians who - to quote from 'Good Morning Vietnam' don't appear to know if they've been "shot, fucked, powder-burned, or snake-bit", Putin rubbing his hands, the rest of the world shaking it's head in despair, and a headstrong, ignorant, fool, with the nuclear codes.
What could possibly go wrong?
