Trump Likely To Be Acquitted. Now What?

In 2015 I predicted that, given a choice between Hillary "Business as usual" Clinton and Donald Trump, she would win and the GOP would implode and reboot. I was wrong. Now that Trump is likely to be acquitted following his impeachment, what will happen next, bearing in mind that he's facing an election in November?

New Year, New Fear(s)

Well, that's another year gone, and what a crazy one it was. RE: the image: we've become increasingly isolated from each other, preferring the company of those who agree with us and becoming more hostile to those who do not. I expect this to get worse.

Many of my predictions for 2019 were off but I was right about a couple of things. Let's take a look at what happened.

Here Comes 2019, Hang On To Your Hats!

2018 was a funny old year. I finally got a bit of a pay rise but my blogging output plummeted to a grand total of 18 posts. Let's take a look at them.

Will Trumpism Destroy America?

You may have heard some variant of “When fascism comes to America, it will come wrapped in the flag and waving a cross,” at some point in your lifetime. I'm seeing it now in real time. The question is, can we stop it before it's too late?

What Will It Take For America To Turn Against Trump's GOP?

Donald Trump has been subverting norms of policy and practice since he took office in January. His behaviour has consistently degraded the office of president. What will it take for America to finally say, "Enough!"?

Trump's Missile Strikes On Syria: Are The Neocons Creeping Back Into Power?

The neocons are a horrible lot. Reality-averse faith-driven ideologues who believe the end justifies the means, they believe that they and they alone have the answers to the world's problems despite the fact that they've only made them worse when they get involved. Trump voters voted against them; now it looks as though, in an effort to get away from the pointing and laughing, Trump is permitting them to set policy on Syria. This is the state of play.

The Republican Party Is Starting To Wake Up: Will The Political Axis Reset?

As the Trump administration flails about, mocked worldwide for its incompetence, the moderate members, who had been pushed to the fringe by the loons, are starting to see an opportunity to reset the party and make it relevant again. Will they succeed? This is the state of play.

UK, USA Going to Hell In A Handbasket

What do Brexit and the clown-car pileup better known as the Trump administration have in common? Anyone? It's all at the behest of a nasty-minded bunch of xenophobic paranoiacs. Well we're reaping what we've sown, the chickens are coming home to roost, people. This is the state of play.

How Exceptionalism Destroys Democracy

Exceptionalism is the overarching theme of the week so far. It's the engine that drives the hubris of the political pillocks whose misbegotten ideologies are making our lives a misery. It's gone into overdrive lately and I think it's time we had a look at it, then called it out for what it is. This is why.

Donald Trump Is The 45th President Of America. What Happens Now?

Yesterday Donald Trump became the 45th president of the USA. Unpopular before he even starts, and already working on rolling back the Affordable Care Act, he's hit the ground running. Let's take a look at what's happening now.

2017 - Fear, Uncertainty, And Doubt

The way we see each other

I wish you all a happy new year. May it be a prosperous one for all of us. Such sentiments are expected but already 2017 is turning into a nightmare, hence the photo. This is the view that many of us have of each other due to divisive see-saw politics and slanted news reports. Expect it to get worse. If 2016 is any kind of indicator, people are going to work harder for less and hate each other more. I'm hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel but I can't see it yet. Let's take a look back at 2016 to get an idea of where we're going this year.

Go Home, Uncle Sam, You're Drunk

How Partisan Politics Wrecked America's Reputation

You can almost hear the sound of a can being crumpled and dropped to the floor, followed by a burp and a fart as Uncle Sam scratches his bum, rising from his battered sofa to stagger to the fridge for another beer. Whatever happened to the leader of the free world? And what will happen next?

How Identity Politics And Fake News Killed Conservatism

American conservatism has died, killed by identity politics, fake news, echo chambers, and the shaming of dissenters. What remains is an alt-right cartoon parody that mocks the values we conservatives have always held dear. This is what happened.

Trump Won. But Did He?

Can Donald Trump keep the promises he made to the people who voted for him? What will happen if he doesn’t?

The last time the USA experienced an electoral upset was when Barack Obama took the White House under the banner “Hope and change.” What we got was “Congressional gridlock and more of the same.” The gains made in social justice and the recovering economy are likely to be reversed by the alt-right members of the cabinet Trump is trying to put together — assuming he will be able to. He’s discovering the hard way that you actually can’t govern a country the way you run a business and that he is bound by rules and procedures he can’t just ignore or bulldoze over. I predict he’ll crash and burn, handing both Houses over to the Democrats during the mid-term elections in two years’ time — if he can last that long, given the court cases pending against him. Let’s take a look at the state of play.

Trumpy McTrumpface: How Donald Trump Became The US President

The 2016 presidential elections in the United States of America are over and Donald Trump has won. He'll be taking the Oath of Office some time next year. Let that sink in. Okay, let's ask ourselves how the hell it happened and what we can do about it.

After the US Elections, What Will Happen To Conservatism?

Conservatism is becoming a comical parody of itself, as is evidenced in a Twitter exchange I had tonight with this chap why calls himself a "liberal republican." The echo chamber has done its job, then, pushing alt-right ideology to the front and centre of conservative thought to the point where the so-called Reformicons are not what we want them to be; they're just pushing a polished version of the current, Trump-shaped turd. Win or lose, then, what will happen to conservatism? Will the alt-right burn itself out or will it continue to dominate political discourse?

Could Petty Partisanship Compromise Democracy?

Whenever I see Americans deny that their country is a democracy it freaks me out a little; the right to have a say in how one's country, state, or local district should not be blithely cast aside as if it didn't matter. As the US presidential election looms I'm discovering that the battle between the progressive/centre right alliance and the alt-right isn't just a clown-car pileup being staged for our amusement, it's the stage on which the meaning of freedom will be debated. I'm not even joking.

Can the US Electoral System Survive Trump?

The world's news media and global social media is all a-froth about the latest Trump video leak. Apparently he's a mega perve with a foul mouth. Needless to say, many upstanding gentlemen on the right and right-on chaps on the progressive side are falling over themselves to distance themselves from Trump and his comments. That is not the fascinating part.

Prominent Republicans Turn On Trump

The US media is presenting the presidential campaign as a close race. I remember the last time they did this and the truth is it was a shoo-in for Obama Administration, Part II. Now that it looks as though Trump the Chump might actually win, all sorts of people are wriggling out of the woodwork to try to stem support for the outsider.

Falling From Grace: Does Trump Still Stand A Chance Of Winning?

Donald Trump has been popular among disaffected members of the American public for one reason alone: he promised them hope and change. They are willing to overlook his many faults on the grounds that they believe he can and will deliver on his promises. Now the tide is turning, but could he still win?