This title came to me in the middle of the night: it’s a hint, for sure.
If Donald Trump thinks that the Mueller investigation is a ‘witch hunt’ then the image of two witches brewing a cauldron full of trouble seems quite appropriate.
The Russian money may be symbolic of something that could be at the centre of this situation. Perhaps, Putin lent him money and doesn’t expect it to be repaid. But the implied obligation will always be there.
Double T’rouble, for sure.
Debate implies that there are two legitimate sides to every conflict: no right, no wrong.
But what if you come up against an ‘enemy’ that chooses to shut down the debate by insisting that any ‘anti’ behaviour is the same as being the ‘enemy of the people’. That sounds suspiciously like Fascism.
That’s like saying, “My way or the highway…”
America tried to stay out of WWII by declaring that the world conflict had nothing to do with Americans. That’s effectively trying to be neutral like Switzerland, whose population was made up of German, Italian and French speaking citizens. But the Swiss didn’t have a Pacific Fleet that the Japanese could bomb, which meant that they could remain neutral throughout the war.
Then the States became the world’s policemen. And that situation remained until Trump became President. Suddenly the shutters came down, the drawbridges were pulled up and the country closed its borders.
Trump wanted to “Make America Great Again”. So the question should have been: when was America never great? And his reply would have been: under all the Presidents who came before me.
Slavery is a provocative word, and so is the concept. Subjugating some people to do your ‘will’ is considered unjust, according to most moral principles. But slavery can hide behind political ideology that most people would not recognize it even if it bit them in the ass. I’ve discussed this idea before, but it’s way too close to the bone for the masses to see what’s happening.
You see, the American Dream is a fantasy that enchants the world. And the hope of a New Life is sometimes too enticing to resist. So immigrants from everywhere want to move to the USA for the chance of a better way to live.
Until they get there. It’s even more difficult to enter America now that Trump wants to build his “Wall”. So people try to claim asylum, but even that has become a non-starter.
Why even try? You’ll only work for less than minimum wage, and have to live in substandard housing because you can’t afford anything better. And the resident population will be abusive and deadly. You cannot win.
If one side of the political divide wants ‘open borders’ and the other side wants a wall, the people will spend the rest of their lives fighting among themselves. Then what happens? The government (of whatever stripe) keeps the people busy over nothing.
The “Deep State” then gets to do what it wants without debate.
Kensington Wine Rooms, Mayfair, London heritage plaque
The CBC produced a timeline for the Mueller investigation and broadcast it during last night’s The National.
You decide.
I’m reading David Icke’s latest book (which I will review after I’ve finished reading it, I’m halfway through). He brings up a very touchy issue about racism: only white males are considered truly racist. When the reverse is perpetrated, it cannot be, in fact, racism!
Now, think on that a bit.
I’m white, male and supposedly privileged, and if I side with a minority, I’m just trying to seem to be a nice person, but I’m actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Now, who is pushing this agenda?
I have previously bought into this line of thinking: for example, that only guns in the hands of white men cause the horrendous mass murders of recent times; and that advertising needs to be more multi-cultural to show diversity on television.
But now I’m beginning to wonder what’s really going on.
The driving force behind this strange situation is PC (political correctness). The ‘progressives’ are trying to appear to be ‘liberal’ when in fact they’re actually ‘conservative’ in disguise. The first time I came across the term PC was when I was a child: our Prime Minister at the time was John Diefenbaker, the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in Canada. It sounded like the Conservatives were actually Progressive in their thinking, but it was actually just a way of saying they were slightly ‘right-of-centre’ in the political spectrum. It has made me wary of PC ever since.
If we keep going this way, the world will be ‘oppressing’ a whole swathe of people, just because of the colour of their skin and the accident of birth as a male.
Now, honestly, isn’t that racist, too?
Well, the magic I believe in is not prestidigitation.
Shin Lim is definitely a smoke and mirrors type of magician, one who makes you wonder ‘how did he do that?’ Of all the (worldwide) Got Talent alumni, his work is the most impressive. But it’s such a strange thing that the most deceptive individual is the winner of this talent contest. That says a lot, doesn’t it?
No, the magic I believe in comes from the heart: love.
With love in your heart, you can perform miracles.
I know this seems a bit of a stretch, but I suspect that the idea of a God Account on Facebook in the hit TV show God Friended Me may have been inspired by this Twitter account.
Over the years, I’ve had a few laughs reading these posts, because the creator seems to suggest that God doesn’t really exist, while, at the same time, letting us hear God’s real thoughts and commentary on today’s news headlines. It’s a kind of anti-Trump Twitter account in the same vein as @realDonaldTrump. Call them thunder bolts from on high, if you like.
However, there is a serious point to this ironic humour: God may be a man-made image to account for what is happening in the world.
Well, actually, no. It’s not meant to be. It’s turning the rom-com concept on its head, and that makes it a lot more fun to watch.
Rebel Wilson is taking the idea of a bump on the head to its logical conclusion: she ‘knows’ it’s not real when she wakes up in hospital to a gorgeous doctor (played by Tom Ellis of “Lucifer” fame). Even New York smells different. So she takes the events that follow with a huge pinch of salt, and she expects the viewer to do the same.
But it’s a hoot, anyway. The romantic clichés come thick and fast, along with the music interludes, so it becomes a romantic comedy that keeps winking an eye at you. The end result is an interesting mix of ‘knowing it’s not real’ with not knowing how she’s going to get out of it. It’s a tightrope walk that the movie succeeds in spite of itself.
Amy Schumer did a similar transformation in her movie “I Feel Pretty” last year, but she is a more charismatic person on screen than Rebel Wilson. But if you want to have a laugh or two, spend some time with this one. It had me at “hello’copter”.
Does Junior want to say the same? “Just watch me…”
I think it’s the most natural of instincts. Anarchy is the enemy of Government. People want to be free, to do whatever they want, whenever they want to do it. Those in control want to maintain the right (‘Maintiens le droit’ is the motto of the RCMP) to govern, by the will of the people. That is why we have general elections every four years.
But in the lead up to an election, everyone’s worst behaviour starts to find expression.
Have you ever wondered why?
It really doesn’t matter which political party wins, there will be someone, somewhere who will feel hard done by. It’s the nature of the political divide. “The party on the left is now the party on the right.” (paraphrasing The Who)
The final words of the song are: “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” In other words, nothing changes. This song is over 50 years old. Smoke a joint, you’ll feel better.
He was killed this day in 269 AD… that’s 1,750 years ago!
