Would The Answer Be 'Because The US Elected Trump!' Perchance..?

I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of the progressives currently losing their minds believed it!

No, 'Guardian', Once Again., You've Picked The Wrong Group To Fear...

I blame the Union Jack cushions. The problem with cushions is that they are inherently harmless and trivial. If you get upset about cushions, people will say, quite reasonably: “Why are you getting so upset? It’s only a cushion.” The harmlessness and triviality of cushions make them perversely important. They’re in our homes, on our sofas. Their innocuousness makes them a test of the very imagery and ideas we deem innocuous. And earlier this century the Union Jack became a very popular design.

*pedant hat on* It's the Union Flag. It's only the Union Jack when flying from a ship.

But why so terrified about the flag of your country?

The drive to make the flag literally huggable is terrifying. In becoming a home decor accessory, the Union Jack has been driven deep into the realm of kitsch. This should presumably delight those commentators who called for its reclamation (cushion accomplished!) but where is the liberal dividend?

Nationalism, in its least comfortable forms, is on the abundant rise everywhere we look, predictably accompanied by racism, division and hatred.

Really? I don't think it's the people who love their country's flag that we need to fear most...

...I think it's those for whom it represents something to loathe, and spit on, and set on fire, the instant they don't get their own way.

And that's true no matter what the pattern of red, white and blue it takes. And this 'Guardian' column spells it out even further:

From what I did overhear, they resented the very existence of the Republican party, and their scorn was reserved most for people who didn’t have the strength to stop this man from being even the nominee. Their banter contained the usual unfounded complaints about Republicans – we’re racists and misogynists – but also included comments about how truly weak they thought we were as people.

...

So I voted for Trump. I wanted to prove a point and vote against those types of people who had nothing good to say about us. But it also felt good to me to support the good people I know worked so hard in an election they were told was a losing cause from the very beginning. They fought for what’s right and treated me with a lot of respect even though I remained skeptical about our Republican nominee from the outset.

Ignore it at your peril, progressives.

And Off He Went With A Trumpity-Trump...

...Trump, Trump, Trump!

He takes Ohio North Carolina and Florida, and is ahead of Clinton at this point. It's looking good so far.

And....I'd just like to leave this here.

If The Answer Isn't 'Build An Android To Go Back In Time And Kill His Mother'...

...then you're asking the wrong question, Jonathan.

And the 'Guardian' always has such great solutions, too!

Sunday Funnies...

Well, whatever happens on Tuesday, history probably has something worse!

Looks Like The Democrats Have Lost Control Of Their Creation..

Steven Thrasher confides in the CiF reader:

I’ll admit it: I’m prejudiced.

Whenever I see a conflict between a gutsy protester who is trying to show how black lives matter by interrupting a powerful white politician who has a microphone, I’m always going to be rooting for the protester.

Well, I.... I never would have guessed! You hide it so well.

“Can I answer?” He asked the screaming crowd. “Here’s the thing, I like protesters. But the ones who won’t let you answer are afraid of the truth.”

Good for Bill! And who'd ever have thought I'd say that?

He bragged about adding police to the streets, making a case not for black liberation but for increased black surveillance, and he actually equated the Black Lives Matter activists to obstructionist Republicans in Congress.

That....that monster!

Then, he went nuclear: “I’ll tell you another story about a place where black lives matter: Africa,” before telling a charming tale about his white wife’s good deeds for dark-skinned folks. (Subtext: if y’all Negroes don’t like it here, go back to where you came from – and wait for Hillary to save you there if you’re lucky.)

It's amazing how you can spot the hidden racism in everything, Steven. It's a gift.

He was also happy to throw black people from the 1990s under the bus: “I don’t know how you would characterize the gang leaders who got 13-year-old kids hopped up on crack and sent them out into the street to murder other African American children. Maybe you thought they were good citizens – she didn’t.” This goes to the heart of the concerns of the Black Lives Matter movement, which ignited with the death of Mike Brown – “no angel” to the New York Times, but beloved by a new generation who see beyond the racist spin.

Yup. Loathing the people that prey on their own kind is so bourgeois, isn't it? In such enlightened times, championing the right for your fellows to sell drugs to your kids unmolested by the law is key to success for your movement, clearly.

Black Lives Matter is not interested in a world where black children must be made “to heel” and where fear-mongering is achieved by mentioning the racist trope of “13-year-old kids hopped up on crack”.

Yeah! Your people deserve to act like animals and never be called on it by .... well, anyone! Even America's 'first black President'.

To me, this movement demands a reimagining of American society – thinking not in terms of how to punish a black child in a gang, but of how to undo what has kept black people from having equal access to education, employment, wealth and opportunity in the first place, so that our families and communities aren’t destroyed and so we don’t literally lead shorter lives.

Who knew that the modern day US was like 1960s South Africa? Well, Steven knew. Obviously.

All hail the protesters, who keep forcing the conversation with cowards who’d be happy to get back into the White House without wrestling with the ongoing scourge of structural racism.

Wait, has this overtaken 'institutional racism' now?

It Seems Abraham Lincolm Was Wrong....

....you don't need to 'fool all of the people all of the time'.

It seems they are quite happy to fool themselves in great enough numbers.

"I'm going to tell you something really outrageous. I'm going to tell you the truth."

Wealthy Wall Street financiers and other business figures provided crucial support for Mr Obama during the election, backing him over the Republican candidate John McCain as the right leader to rescue the collapsing US economy.

But it is now dawning on many among them that Mr Obama was serious about his campaign trail promises to bring root and branch reform to corporate America - and that they were more than just election rhetoric.

Ooops! Looks like you voted a fox into the henhouse, on account of you thought it was really another one of the chickens.

Sucks to be you guys....

Going Ape II…

The cartoon in Wednesday's edition of the tabloid New York Post, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, links two prominent US news stories – controversy over Mr Obama's economic stimulus proposals and a recent incident in which Connecticut police had to shoot dead a pet chimp that went berserk and mauled a woman.

In the cartoon, drawn by Sean Delonas, a regular Post cartoonist, two officers are staring gloomily at the blood spattered chimp's corpse after one of them has shot it.

"They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill," says the other officer.

Which is pretty amusing, unless you are a race-baiting demagogue who can rely on your followers being too dumb to understand the legislative procedure in their own country.

Unluckily, there’s too many of those around:

The cartoon drew immediate criticism from Al Sharpton, the black activist and community leader.

In a statement, Mr Sharpton said the cartoon was "troubling at best given the historic racist attacks of African-Americans as being synonymous with monkeys".
He said that it could be asked whether the cartoonist was "making a less than casual reference to this" and could be "inferring that a monkey wrote the last bill".

Except….the President of the United States doesn’t write bills. Congress does. True, some of them are black, but most are not.

Still, the bandwagon’s rolling, so ‘All aboard!’:

David Patterson, the black governor of New York state, later joined Mr Sharpton in asking for an "explanation" from the newspaper.

Hopefully, that explanation was along the lines of ‘You’re too stupid to be attempting to read newspapers. Put them down, before you hurt yourself…’

Col Allan, editor-in-chief of the Post, said: "The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut.

"It broadly mocks Washington's efforts to revive the economy.

"Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist."

Indeed…

NTTAWWT…

The man charged with providing the President-Elect with information about the US media regulator spends his spare time fighting monsters and completing quests on the fictional planet of Azeroth.

Well, his boss seems to base most of his policy decisions on fantasy rather than reality, so he’ll be well prepared.

And at least it’ll be a far cry from the West Wing portrayal of White House staffers as technological incompetents.

He has invested so many hours in the game that his "Tauren Shaman" character has reached Level 70, one of the higher ranks.

Pfft! You can tell the ‘Telegraph’ chap is a bit of a dud at reporting – it’s a level 80 cap now, noob!

The Wisdom Of Crowds…?

Well, it seems that the popular vote is behind an amateur who has never achieved anything in his newly-chosen field, but seems to have the support of an unprecedented number of people, despite the wise words of the experts who are warning that he is dangerously inexperienced and will make the country a laughing-stock should he take the crown.

But enough about Obama’s win (and so far fruitless attempts to secure a competent Treasury Secretary).

Anyone know how John Sergeant’s doing in ‘Celebrity Come Dancing’…?

The BBC: Contemplating The Important Issues…

US President-elect Barack Obama is still working on the make-up of his cabinet. A far more important decision - for his daughters at least - will be choosing the puppy that accompanies the new First Family to the White House.

According to Tamar Geller, a California-based celebrity dog "life coach" (yes, really!!), things may not be rosy in the new Messiah’s White House:

"We need to make sure that the dog is not afraid of loud noises because he may hear loud arguments in the Oval Office, and he mustn't be afraid of people with beards and turbans and so on because he is going to meet a lot of foreign dignitaries."

Say it ain’t so, Tamara! Surely Obama will simply charm all comers…?

The priority, she says, is that the pet the Obamas pick is comfortable with children and impeccably behaved at all times, particularly with visitors.

"Can you imagine the dog jumping on Putin, or lifting his leg and peeing on the curtains, or nipping at Gordon Brown?" she says.

Oh, yeah. I’m imagining it right now… ;)

'Diversity' Grudge Match in 3...2...1

Oh, dear. It seems in their haste to elect the Messiah, a cherished policy for the Dems has been thrown under the bus:

Although the president-elect opposed the gay marriage ban, it appears his supporters may have helped pass the measure that was vociferously opposed by many white Democrats.

Ooops! Still, there's hope, and change too, possibly on the way:

But gay rights campaigners, who spend tens of millions of dollars fighting to oppose Proposition 8, have vowed not to admit to defeat. A petition to dismiss the measure on the grounds that decision of such importance should be taken by state legislatures rather than voters has already been filed to the Supreme Court.

That's going to be an interesting argument to make:

"Your honour, the people weren't important enough to make a decision on Prop 8!"

"Hmm, yet they were important enough to vote for Obama, eh...?"

God Bless Help America...

I give the honeymoon period about two, three weeks tops, after Obama is sworn in in January.

Then, it’s payback time – there’ll be political revenge, consolidation of power and normalisation of political harassment, and a ‘punish the rich’ (or more likely, the middle-income earners) effort the likes of which the USA has never seen before, even in the dark days of the Carter administration.

Or....will he turn out to be another Tony Blair, and disappoint his hard-left followers by moving immediately to the centre to hold power?

It’s going to be an interesting four years...

Someone Gets It....

At 'CiF', Terry Mancour bewails the state of US politics, caused, naturally, entirely by those mean conservatives. No, there's no proof. You don't need proof for something like this, apparently.

Commentator 'oncealiberal' notes:

If obama loses there would probably be no car left to key.

Must Have Been The T-Shirt....

...I mean, what other reason would a racist thug have for assaulting Mr Egwuatu?

Song For Obama...

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemies eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing:
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"

One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt, and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
Once you know there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world
(Ohhh)

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in.
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People could not believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries Wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
And that was when I ruled the world
(Ohhhhh Ohhh Ohhh)

Hear Jerusalem bells are ringings
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
I know Saint Peter will call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
Oooooh Oooooh Oooooh

Sarah Palin's Speech

In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.
...
I guess that a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organiser', except that you have actual responsibilities.
...
I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening."
...
We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.

Nicely done.

Nicely Played, Sir...

So now we know - VP pick for John McCain is the young, pretty, female, economically-conservative governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin. What a sly old fox he is...

A very political pick, to be sure, but a very interesting one all the same.

Nicely hamstrung Obama already, who came out on the attack claiming she lacked experience. That's not going to play well when turned back on him...

Obama: "Whoa! Hold On..! Even I Don't Believe This Stuff I'm Coming Out With...!"

Barack Obama feels like he is carrying the hopes and dreams of people around the world on his shoulders – a burden his aides believe has created unrealistic expectations of what he can achieve if he becomes the first black president.

Heh. Yeah, who the hell gave them 'hopes' and 'dreams'..? Now it's "Look, I'm just a politician, I can't guarantee anything...what promises?...look, gotta run, thanks for voting!"

The wingnutosphere must be going into meltdown right about now... ;)