@Piglet And so say all of us.
Meanwhile, how appropriate that as we look forward to the Inauguration on Monday, the Psalm set for tomorrow is 36:
"My heart sheweth me the wickedness of the ungodly: that there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flattereth himself in his own sight: until his abominable sin be found out. The words of his mouth are unrighteous, and full of deceit: he hath left off to behave himself wisely, and to do good. He imagineth mischief upon his bed, and hath set himself in no good way: neither doth he abhor any thing that is evil."
I suspect some of us will sing it with particular relish ... 😈
If he's inside he can't see the flag poles. Does that mean they keep those flags at a respectful half mast?
A number of states will be raising their flags for inauguration day. Even some blue states: Washington and California among them.
CBS reported the DC people are expecting 200,000 visitors in DC this weekend. This includes both well-wishers and protesters. Far cry from the 1 million that attended the second inauguration of Barack Obama and the 1.8 mil at the first inauguration of Obama.
Various organizations are saying a good way to protest the inauguration of Trump is not to watch it at all: turn to a channel or streaming service not showing the inauguration. Turn to the Animal Planet Channel or National Geographic--anything but the inauguration. We know Trump lives on tv ratings. If the Nelson ratings are down, so much the better.
Our TV will likely go dark for the inauguration that should not be happening.
I grew up in D.C. and often went to see the inauguration. If I did not go in person, I would watch it on TV and continued to do so once I left the area. For the first time, I will skip this one. @Gramps49 I like the idea of tuning into something else for ratings.
Wouldn't you need to be participating in one of the viewer diary (or newer monitoring systems) for your choice to affect ratings?
I wonder if anyone really knows the full audience for things like the inauguration where there are multiple ways to see it. The broadcast networks will all be measured, but increasing numbers of people don't watch TV that way - we stream almost everything at home, including some live events. For instance, we watched the Democratic National Convention on the DNC's YouTube channel. There will be multiple YouTube channels streaming the inauguration, networks streaming, and regular broadcasts.
I'd have expected it to be the other way round, streaming services would all require someone to send a request to view the livestream and hence these could be readily counted but how would you know if someone's tuning into a broadcast? I always thought the viewing figures were based on a sample of viewers saying what they watched.
I have been keeping my distance from all this - it's too distressing entirely. I simply hope that now today's public obscenity in Washington is over it's not too soon for certain Republicans to be planning to pull the 25th Amendment on the pig. It would not surprise me if Vance were already working on it.
... it's not too soon for certain Republicans to be planning to pull the 25th Amendment on the pig ...
I really do wish people wouldn't refer to Mango Mussolini as a pig; pigs are noble, useful and rather appealing creatures, none of which epithets could rightly be applied to Tr*mp.
I have been keeping my distance from all this - it's too distressing entirely. I simply hope that now today's public obscenity in Washington is over it's not too soon for certain Republicans to be planning to pull the 25th Amendment on the pig. It would not surprise me if Vance were already working on it.
But that would mean we get Vance as president. I would not consider that an improvement.
But that would mean we get Vance as president. I would not consider that an improvement.
This. The problem is not Mr. Trump per se - whilst I consider him to be a pretty disgusting human being, he gets bored easily and wanders off to play golf. The problem is that he has surrounded himself with a coterie of nasty bigots, and they're the ones following through with Trump's outbursts of cruelty. And most of his gang of followers are more efficiently bigoted.
The question of whether Trump’s malevolence combined with incompetence is worse than someone else’s malevolence combined with more competence is complicated. On the one hand, someone other than Trump could be able to make certain things stick that Trump might not be able to because they would know how to actually accomplish it. That would be bad, of course. On the other hand, though, there are the basic things about running a government and dealing with crises that even a malevolent person would want to try to handle well. Incompetence might protect us to some degree from horrible things, by being ultimately ineffective—but in a crisis situation, it could also be very damaging. There’s also the question of someone basically just out for himself vs. an actual sincere ideologue—there could be very different problems, depending on the situation. I’m not sure where Vance really falls on all of that, or how much he has meant what he has said (how much might have been a ploy to cozy up to Trump, etc.).
I am told Trump never placed his hand on the Bible. Melania had one, along with what appeared to be a copy of the Constitution. No hand on either. I know placing a hand on the Bible is not required anywhere, it just became a tradition.
After being sworn in, I am also told Trump bent over to kiss Melania, but her hat prevented him from touching her lips.
All I can say to the people of the USA is 'Lord forgive them for they know not what they do.'
Why do you think that the majority of those who voted in the US Elections, know not what they do ?
This is a serious question. Even if they have always voted Republican, they still had to make a choice. Do they like him as a person or just agree with most of his policies ?
How can a country that prides itself on its Democracy have a system that allows a single individual to just issue a whole bunch of executive orders without having them scrutinised by either of the Houses or by law?
Mind you, I guess we had Boris Johnson, who prorogued Parliament: that was judged to be illegal, so Parliament reopened for business.
Parliament has passed a shedload of delegated legislation that allows Ministers to order certain things as and when they please.
The PM exercises the royal prerogative, which is still substantial.
We should not kid ourselves that everything done in the UK is based on detailed statutes passed through Parliament and that nothing else is legal. Blair's government passed some quite sweeping emergency powers which as far as I know have never been repealed. In an emergency, which they define, the government can pretty much do as it wishes.
Trump is reported as having claimed in his inaugural address, that the splitting of the atom was a great American achievement. A lie: as enny fule kno, this feat was achieved bt Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealander, at the Rutherford Laboratory in England, UK. The mayor of Nelson, Rutherford's birthplace, has already protested.
Trump is reported as having claimed in his inaugural address, that the splitting of the atom was a great American achievement. A lie: as enny fule kno, this feat was achieved bt Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealander, at the Rutherford Laboratory in England, UK. The mayor of Nelson, Rutherford's birthplace, has already protested.
I suspect it's ignorance rather than lying - he equates splitting the atom with nuclear weapons because bigly explosion = great achievement in his mind.
I'm afraid that the Noos here is so full of the God-Emperor and his iniquities that I've buried my head in the sand by deleting my shortcut to the Guardian website - not that that august organ is any friend of Trump's, but the bloody man is going to dominate headlines for weeks.
I shall replace the link with one to the Guardian's crossword page - much more civilised IMHO, and from which I can easily access cartoons, columnists etc., along with any UK news items that catch my eye.
BTW, my Pilates instructor told me this morning that the very sight of Trump on TV, or elsewhere online, makes her feel physically sick. How much worse it must be for those in the US...
How can a country that prides itself on its Democracy have a system that allows a single individual to just issue a whole bunch of executive orders without having them scrutinised by either of the Houses or by law?
Mind you, I guess we had Boris Johnson, who prorogued Parliament: that was judged to be illegal, so Parliament reopened for business.
Just because he signs them does not mean they will all be carried out. They could end up in the courts for years and go nowhere. He is just making a show of it all for his fans.
I had lunch with a friend who has been a lifelong Republican, as are most of her family. She was sick to death of Trump and his wicked, crazy promises.
I'm so glad my Dad didn't live to see today. He's another life-long Republican, and Trump horrified him.
How can a country that prides itself on its Democracy have a system that allows a single individual to just issue a whole bunch of executive orders without having them scrutinised by either of the Houses or by law?
Mind you, I guess we had Boris Johnson, who prorogued Parliament: that was judged to be illegal, so Parliament reopened for business.
Just because he signs them does not mean they will all be carried out. They could end up in the courts for years and go nowhere. He is just making a show of it all for his fans.
I think the worry is that it will empower bigots on the ground to harass and abuse people. And it doesn't take a lot to draw a line from defining trans women to be men, to defining using the "wrong" bathroom as a sex offence, to locking trans women up with men to v-coding (don't google that unless you want to feel nauseous).
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
And from an older translation of the Bible:
Proverbs 16:18
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
I'm not the only one ignoring the news then. My radio is currently tuned strictly to music only (and if necessary turned down during the news bulletins).
Small point of information: Trump did not receive the majority of votes in the last election. In reality, he won 49.9 percent of the vote. Harris won 48.3 percent. This does not include the estimated 36% of eligible Americans who did not vote.
The breakdown would be as follows
There are 240 million eligible voters in the US
154 million voted
of the ones that voted, Trump got 79 million
That would mean he got only 33% of all eligible voters
IOW, the vast majority of American voters either voted for Harris or voted for a third party or did not vote. He did not get a clear mandate.
Please do not imply Americans are stupid or greedy or ignorant. Many of those who did not vote did not feel they could commit to any candidate. For instance, I know of a lot of Muslims who could not vote for Trump because of his Islamophobia or Harris because of the Biden administration's support of Israel over the Gaza situation.
I think the implication was that committed Trumpistas are stupid, greedy and deluded, and that certainly doesn't account for all those who voted for him, or those who abstained from voting at all.
The breakdown of votes is interesting, and rather belies the impression given in some quarters that he won a clear majority of the popular vote. To many of us on this side of the Pond, US elections are a byzantine mystery, and not really explained by reference to our own system.
I'm not the only one ignoring the news then. My radio is currently tuned strictly to music only (and if necessary turned down during the news bulletins).
It's reassuring I'm not the only one not watching or listening to any news outlets. As for the comfort of Scripture, Sunday's psalm was (as has been pointed out on this thread earlier) 36.
Most apposite.
To our prayers ....
Groups have already filed suits against the president's Elon Musk-led "Department of Government Efficiency", his attempt to end birthright citizenship and his suspension of the asylum appointment program.
Parliament has passed a shedload of delegated legislation that allows Ministers to order certain things as and when they please.
The PM exercises the royal prerogative, which is still substantial.
We should not kid ourselves that everything done in the UK is based on detailed statutes passed through Parliament and that nothing else is legal. Blair's government passed some quite sweeping emergency powers which as far as I know have never been repealed. In an emergency, which they define, the government can pretty much do as it wishes.
Fair enough, I wasn't so consciously aware of that in comparison with what I'm currently noticing in the US.
People have noted that Trump says we are now entering a new Gilded Age. He is comparing himself to McKinley. He wants to rename Denali to Mt McKinley. Turns out McKinley was a very corrupt president. He was friends with the Robber Barons of his day. The Teapot Dome scandal was during his administration.
What can I say?
Of note: his pardon of those who have been convicted of January 6 and his pardon of any one of future crimes related to January 6 effectively gives a pardon to himself. And he has also unleashed a private army of his own. This means if ever the Proud Boys and their kind ever act up in his name, they know he will pardon them again.
Comments
Meanwhile, how appropriate that as we look forward to the Inauguration on Monday, the Psalm set for tomorrow is 36:
"My heart sheweth me the wickedness of the ungodly: that there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flattereth himself in his own sight: until his abominable sin be found out. The words of his mouth are unrighteous, and full of deceit: he hath left off to behave himself wisely, and to do good. He imagineth mischief upon his bed, and hath set himself in no good way: neither doth he abhor any thing that is evil."
I suspect some of us will sing it with particular relish ... 😈
A number of states will be raising their flags for inauguration day. Even some blue states: Washington and California among them.
CBS reported the DC people are expecting 200,000 visitors in DC this weekend. This includes both well-wishers and protesters. Far cry from the 1 million that attended the second inauguration of Barack Obama and the 1.8 mil at the first inauguration of Obama.
https://www.axios.com/2025/01/19/donald-trump-crypto-billionaire
Our TV will likely go dark for the inauguration that should not be happening.
There are already some pretty dire news items appearing in the Meeja on this side of the Pond. As the next few days pass, no doubt there will be more.
God help America - and the rest of the world, for that matter.
Including his own family.
The whitehouse website currently redirects has this video as a splash screen (with a musical ambience best summed up as 'The Empire in Star Wars')
https://bsky.app/profile/kenklippenstein.bsky.social/post/3lg6uuxhfuc24
As the Garth Marenghi said "I know writers who use subtext and they are all cowards".
This. The problem is not Mr. Trump per se - whilst I consider him to be a pretty disgusting human being, he gets bored easily and wanders off to play golf. The problem is that he has surrounded himself with a coterie of nasty bigots, and they're the ones following through with Trump's outbursts of cruelty. And most of his gang of followers are more efficiently bigoted.
A good day.
After being sworn in, I am also told Trump bent over to kiss Melania, but her hat prevented him from touching her lips.
Why do you think that the majority of those who voted in the US Elections, know not what they do ?
This is a serious question. Even if they have always voted Republican, they still had to make a choice. Do they like him as a person or just agree with most of his policies ?
Mind you, I guess we had Boris Johnson, who prorogued Parliament: that was judged to be illegal, so Parliament reopened for business.
A serious answer: all three.
They are about to find out just how stupid they've been, I fear.
The PM exercises the royal prerogative, which is still substantial.
We should not kid ourselves that everything done in the UK is based on detailed statutes passed through Parliament and that nothing else is legal. Blair's government passed some quite sweeping emergency powers which as far as I know have never been repealed. In an emergency, which they define, the government can pretty much do as it wishes.
I suspect it's ignorance rather than lying - he equates splitting the atom with nuclear weapons because bigly explosion = great achievement in his mind.
I shall replace the link with one to the Guardian's crossword page - much more civilised IMHO, and from which I can easily access cartoons, columnists etc., along with any UK news items that catch my eye.
BTW, my Pilates instructor told me this morning that the very sight of Trump on TV, or elsewhere online, makes her feel physically sick. How much worse it must be for those in the US...
Just because he signs them does not mean they will all be carried out. They could end up in the courts for years and go nowhere. He is just making a show of it all for his fans.
I'm so glad my Dad didn't live to see today. He's another life-long Republican, and Trump horrified him.
I think the worry is that it will empower bigots on the ground to harass and abuse people. And it doesn't take a lot to draw a line from defining trans women to be men, to defining using the "wrong" bathroom as a sex offence, to locking trans women up with men to v-coding (don't google that unless you want to feel nauseous).
Galatians 6:7-8 (New International Version)
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
And from an older translation of the Bible:
Proverbs 16:18
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
The breakdown would be as follows
There are 240 million eligible voters in the US
154 million voted
of the ones that voted, Trump got 79 million
That would mean he got only 33% of all eligible voters
IOW, the vast majority of American voters either voted for Harris or voted for a third party or did not vote. He did not get a clear mandate.
Please do not imply Americans are stupid or greedy or ignorant. Many of those who did not vote did not feel they could commit to any candidate. For instance, I know of a lot of Muslims who could not vote for Trump because of his Islamophobia or Harris because of the Biden administration's support of Israel over the Gaza situation.
The breakdown of votes is interesting, and rather belies the impression given in some quarters that he won a clear majority of the popular vote. To many of us on this side of the Pond, US elections are a byzantine mystery, and not really explained by reference to our own system.
No news here yesterday. I just can't stomach it.
Most apposite.
To our prayers ....
Fair enough, I wasn't so consciously aware of that in comparison with what I'm currently noticing in the US.
What can I say?
Of note: his pardon of those who have been convicted of January 6 and his pardon of any one of future crimes related to January 6 effectively gives a pardon to himself. And he has also unleashed a private army of his own. This means if ever the Proud Boys and their kind ever act up in his name, they know he will pardon them again.
Interesting times.