Tag: Joe Biden

Adios Muthafucka

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

It’s about bloody time but according to various news outlets Biden has finally been declared the winner. It has only been about an hour but the internet has gone wild in celebration; memes flying out left, right and centre. The laughter has begun. After four years of jokes tinged with an air of war about them they already feel more fun. People need to let off steam after four years of political bewilderment and horror. The war goes on though. Not only with Trump in the short term as he contests the election but when he refuses to concede. Trump will never concede. He might walk out but he’ll never concede, and likely there will be subtle elements of force at play when he does finally vacate the building. Even then the fight goes on. His legions of fanboys hanging on his every tweet. Waiting on the order to go out and embarrass themselves further in public. It will be interesting to see how quickly people start deserting him though. He’s going to die an embittered lonely old man.

Yet the fight goes on. In America, you now have to deal with the tyranny of centrism. The empty beliefs of people who like everything very much as it is and will withstand any attempts at change. Those foolish enough to not learn the lessons of Trump and what led to him coming to power in the first place. In Britain we won’t stop Brexit but we have to somehow deal with our own version of a government that just does as it feels, one never really held to account despite the glaringly obvious. We have to deal with an entire media incapable of upholding even the most basic tenets of journalism. And we have to deal with an opposition in the image of a centrist like Biden, one also likely unwilling or incapable of dealing with the issues which have allowed for events like Brexit and the extreme fringe wing of a political party now running a country.

This same situation seems to be repeated across the western world. When Emmanuel Macron came to power in France at the expense of the far-right Marie Le Pen, it felt like another short term sticky plaster with nothing to offer but empty charm and words. The sticky plaster can never heal the wounds of a people being left behind by an economic and social ideology that relies on them being behind. All bubbles must burst. Trump was no fluke. Brexit is no accident. Marie Le Pen will return. And then what? More sticky plasters? We celebrate tonight but the evidence will be in what comes next. That’s what it comes down to. With all that in mind though let’s enjoy this moment, that orange prick is finally gone or at least he’s not in power anymore. You know how it goes; “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap…”.

Where Did We Go Wrong?

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Is it possible to talk about anything else right now? Covid-19…Palestine…god forbid people remember Brexit is just around the corner…the spectre of climate change looming around the other. Our newsfeeds have been taken over by the finals of some political sports tournament which has forgotten to include a referee in the rules. The people have been given the honour apparently but we all know the fallacy behind that. It’s ticking along though. Georgia has just swung for Sleepy Joe, others will likely follow. This was always going to happen as the Democratic heavy postal vote count was done. It feeds into The Donald’s narrative but nobody except his support take that or him seriously. Unfortunately his support is seventy million people but lets not think about that. Actually we probably should.

It’s good to start on the point that even though Biden is on something like seventy-three million it doesn’t mean the country is split fifty – fifty. It’s not even my country but it has such a reaching influence we treat it as such in these moments. Of course not everyone with a political opinion votes and voter suppression is very real. Trump himself has been quoted as saying that if the entire country voted it would likely be the end of the Republican party. That doesn’t say much for conservative values, in fact it suggests these values are held by an active minority. The same accusation applies to the UK as we endure our own version of Trump with our departure from the EU. An unknown future of extreme neoliberalism, not that the EU isn’t neoliberal because it very much is, and tax haven UK. Not paying taxes sounds great until public services become underfunded and it’s never the lower or middle earners who ever really benefit from tax cuts.

But seventy million people believe he has done well. That is serious. To break it down some will just not like Biden, some the Democrats, a large number who have simply voted Republican for generations, some through economic hardship are desperate and of course those who see The Donald as some cult like demi-god. Regardless of their reasons, they’re still willing to vote for someone who is perplexing in his corrupt self-serving lies. I don’t think highly of centrist politics, of Democrats like Biden or Clinton, but Trump? How do you get in the head of people willing to support him to understand where the left have gone wrong. Because ultimately it comes down to that. Biden scraping over the line against someone like Trump isn’t a success, it should be the bare minimum. Has it got so bad we’re willing to celebrate the bare minimum as some kind of great success. Is that all we have left?

In the UK working class Labour heartlands are switching to a Conservative party that will only ever look after it’s own. Where have the left gone wrong, because they have. We have Trump and Brexit as proof of that. Yes the media are corrupt and capable of manipulating, think Sanders and Corbyn, and while they have the money to get their message further, maybe we just need a better and new message to counteract that. Something is not working. We need to find out what this is otherwise it will just repeat itself, or likely next time be far worse.

The Donald’s Migration

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Nothing conclusive as of yet, we’re still stuck on a variety of results. The BBC says it’s 253 – 214, CNN 253 – 213 and both The Guardian and Fox News 264 – 214. Why they vary I’m unsure but I assume it comes down to whether a challenge or recount is expected, with the latter two happy to count votes despite the inevitable recount. This delay is no surprise though as we’ve been warned for days prior to the election that it was unlikely to be resolved at the usual speed. None of it is actually a surprise, we knew in states that were close they were always going to be recounted if possible and Trump has always gone on about the prospect of voter fraud that we knew his tactics in advance. It shows how much faith he had in winning that his back up plan was shouted louder than his main one. In the end the polls were not quite accurate and he gained more support than expected but with polls so far off the previous time this was also expected.

It is remarkable to think though that he is ready to sue because of supposed fraud and throw into doubt the legitimacy of a political system the entire country is established upon. In moments like this we need to try and understand what his end game is, and that is something less clear. Clearly he won’t win the election by the votes cast. If he can contest it enough maybe he intends to drag it to the Supreme Court and hopes they’re willing to delegitimise themselves by favouring him on some call we would normally expect of a kangaroo court. If this happens the entire system and the pretence of legitimacy it is built upon will likely come crashing down. The country is so polarised already that something like this could be generationally defining.

Failing all of that we enter other conjectural territory. Is he hoping he can convince his supporters enough of the existence of some heinous injustice that they’ll stand with him in his next move. To suggest he’ll lead a violent uprising, while not impossible, is a little excitable and in reality highly unlikely. He is and always will be an establishment figure despite his lies and protestations. That isn’t to say some of his hardcore support won’t act on his dangerously irresponsible words and commit something unforgivable. Maybe he’s planning on running again in 2024 or on using this supposed wrong in the hope it’ll propel his son Donald Duck Jr or someone else in his inner circle he holds influence over.

It’s all a little excitable I admit but I’m trying to look at this rationally and what ever it is he hopes to achieve by calling fraud on events, beyond salvation in the Supreme Court, is unclear. Maybe he doesn’t expect anything after that or maybe he plans to let future Donald worry about it it when he gets to that point. Expecting a highly irrational man to think rationally is itself slightly irrational. We can assume then he’s just a big baby who can’t accept defeat and is willing to throw the almightiest of tantrums before he’s forced out. If you thought his Twitter was entertaining already, I suspect we’ve only seen the calm before the storm. And one thing is clear, there’s likely a hell of a lot of ‘You’re Fired’ memes in production right now.

Biden And The Trumpet

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When we – the Brits – had our General Election last December I got excited. I even got caught up in it a little. Deep down I don’t think I ever really expected Corbyn to win, there were just too many things against him such as half his own party, all the other MP’s and the entirety of the mainstream media. But I had hope. He was a man offering something different to this neoliberal shit show we as a people have been enduring since before I was born with the election of Margaret Thatcher. He seemed to actually give a shit about people and that it turns out is an extremely rare quality in a politician, at least a successful one anyway.

I watched some of the debates between him and the Conservative candidate Boris Johnson. There were moments the whole thing frustrated me, mainly Johnson being his buffoonish self but I was also frustrated with Corbyn for not just turning round and calling him a total lying prick. He didn’t even call him a buffoon. Corbyn it turns out was a man of integrity, he refused, even when it could have benefited him. Last night, Joe Biden had no such problems.

I didn’t watch the whole debate because I’m on Greek time and have better things to do than rise at whatever ridiculous time it would have been. I did watch the highlights and I know that makes it seem even more exciting than it really was, but wow, it was exciting and offensive. Trump behaved as everyone expected him to. He behaved as he always has. Biden didn’t seem to expose his aging mind, which is the main accusation levied against him. He also didn’t get a chance to with the constant interruptions, and constant may even be an understatement. That was no debate, it wasn’t even an argument, it was two men shouting at each other.

Trump was clearly bullied when young, probably by his father, about being dumb. His response to the smart jibe was classic “I’m like the smartest President in the history of Presidents” as he convinces nobody but himself. His “Stand back and stand by” message to the far right Proud Boys was concerning. It definitely seemed like an order to mobilise and be ready. But then Biden is awful too, it would be like voting for Keir Starmer and the only thing worse than that would be voting for Boris Johnson.

But this is politics now. Trump is a star of reality television and politics nearly everywhere has already gone down the cult of personality route, why not take it further and turn it into a reality television series. It’s great entertainment though, that is the truth. He get’s good ratings. American politics is going to have to completely reinvent itself after he’s gone because they can’t try and make it even more exciting but it can’t become boring either. Some middle ground respectability just to give everyone a break and a chance to breathe. It even makes our politics and politicians seem credible, and they’re not, not even in the slightest. There are five weeks until the election, the game has now really begun and it’s going to get messy(er).

The Wrong Herd

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There are times we must question whether we are right. Nobody is ever one hundred percent right of course but let’s say more right than wrong. Someone who goes through life always believing themselves to be right in everything may not end up with many friends but could likely have successes in other respects. If someone goes through life always believing themselves wrong, would it be the opposite outcome? Probably unlikely. It must be important to be aware that we may just be wrong though. Is that humility? Maybe self-awareness?

I was thinking of discussing something in the news. One of those fallback pieces in which I decide to deride some politicians for their ineptitude, or an evolution in something on a geopolitical level that arouses some dissatisfaction within me. Usually a complaint of some sort. We’re less likely to be drawn to stories that have a positive and happy narrative remember. Maybe there’s something in that we could learn from. We’re drawn to stories of misery while living lives of misery. Like creates like as they say. Perhaps I should do a new ten day challenge and only write about happy positive things. I’ll probably pass on that one.

Usually the political stories I’m drawn to involve ones bashing the current government in the UK or the US, and commonly the opposition to both governments too. As you can imagine I’m not full of much belief in the political legitimacies of these two countries. Other people though must be. I say must be because not only did enough people vote in the two buffoons holding power but it also appears enough people want to vote in the establishment representatives who will most likely replace them at the next opportunity. When we see a large group of other people doing things we’re inclined to believe they may just be right and we may just be wrong. Herd mentally amongst many other names. It is easy to dismiss these people voting for these two sides as adherents of such a mental state but it’s likely I’m just swayed by another herd that I want to be part of. It’s likely a much smaller herd and one that feeds certain things in my fearful sense of survival but it’s a herd none the less.

With all this then we must all admit we’re being played one way or another. This huge game of power is rattling away as different groups battle it out for moral superiority and likely financial gain one way or another. Money corrupts, power corrupts, everything seems to corrupt, especially morality. Perhaps we’re just a corrupt species and we need to accept it. Or maybe we just need to stop worrying about whatever wrongs are happening in the world and focus on life as it unfolds before us. One extreme to the other yet again. It’s just exhausting that these arseholes continually manage to win power. More so when they’re clearly morally bankrupt and doing a bad job. It’s even possible to imagine things like this could finally defeat me and I stop giving a shit about the world. Maybe just give a shit in a different way. A detached way perhaps, or one that doesn’t get caught up in the hyperbolic nature of power. Or even my own perceived role within all this power. There’s got to be an answer somewhere. I’m sure we’ll see it too when we can finally figure out what it is that has been in front of our eyes all this time.

The Big D Show

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Donald Trump is great. Well he’s not, he’s awful, but his press conferences certainly are. I skimmed through last nights reality television take on politics and regretted the fact it was so late and I couldn’t just sit there and watch the full film length episode in it’s entirety. In fact I think there may be another one on tonight but in about ten minutes as I write these exact words which means by the time I write the last words I’ll have probably missed the first half hour. To describe it as a car crash does a disservice to similes. It is more of a motorway pileup and one that despite being on an incredibly serious, life and death topic, is gleefully compelling viewing. My favourite bit is when he does the slightly camp pointing gesture with his podgy little hands while describing the recipient as a disgrace and describing their question as disgraceful in turn. I wonder what adjective he’ll use tonight. Shameless would be great and not just because he would undoubtedly miss the irony in the accusation. He spends over an hour blindly arguing with reporters. Even as I write this now, I’m unsure if I imagined it. Even Boris Johnson’s buffoonery cannot compete.

I think to all discerning people it is pretty clear Trump is a charlatan. He is a renowned conman who made his name in what has gone down as the tackiest decade for businessmen, think of the yuppie if you’re in any doubt. He runs the country as if he’s head of a mafia family demanding people recognise his absolute authority. Again missing the point that those with absolute authorities very rarely have to tell people of it, especially while arguing with reporters. What is clear from watching these reality shows he’s currently staring in is that he’s not used to people challenging him and he can’t deal with it when they do, especially when god forbid a woman does it. The man manages to both maintain his composure and have a breakdown all in the same moment, repeatedly. A well known Pseudoephedrine dependency, yes that would be a large component of amphetamines, perhaps makes it more explicable but never forgivable, although certainly more entertaining.

But that’s it isn’t it. The man is such unadulterated entertainment and you know I can admit I’ll miss him a little when he’s gone. I don’t get caught up on hating him and ranting about him like many do but let’s be honest he’s not a cause of the worlds ills he’s merely a symptom. The same system that brought us Barack Obama also brought Donald Trump. By getting caught up in this obsession with identity all we do is fail to realise he is there to distract us, he’s the ultimate magician. Don’t look at the hand he’s waving around, it’s the other one down his side you need to keep an eye on. Puff, a cloud of smoke, and out steps his challenger but it’s pretty clear Joe Biden is never going to defeat him in an election. When they go head to head in a debate The Donald is going to annihilate him and no matter how badly he handles this virus nothing will change that. The Democrats seem to be more interested in having one of their own run than anyone who could actual defeat him and enact change. They seem intent on mirroring the British Labour party who prefer to sabotage their own elections than allow an actual left winger to get into power and change things. Get rid of Big D and you’ll change the face, certainly the soundbite but not the politics. Don’t be naive. Without him what are we going to feel self-righteous about then. And who else can hold a room in the most abhorrent and compelling way that keeps us coming back for more and more and more. Speaking of which, I can probably catch the second half if I hurry.

Corrupt Politicians

Hamar WilliamsLeave a comment

I have just been listening to a podcast on which the subject of the American Democratic candidates were discussed. I try not to talk too much about another countries politics because I am not from that country and there’s a chance I may miss some nuance I would otherwise get were I from there. There is one element of politics though that we can freely talk about no matter which country is the subject of discussion. The issue is corruption. Now I accept politics is not unique in suffering from this ailment, all countries have corruption in different forms. I’ve heard since Tuesday that the World Championship Scotch Pie Awards are fixed, not blatantly but there’s a reason the same few bakers seem to win everything. That is corruption. When people profess to being good moral honourable people though, they should be held up to higher standards. I will often criticise charities more than companies when they both do the same thing; there is no pretence with capitalism once you scrape below it’s wafer thin veil but the aid sector pretends something different.

The same situation exists with politicians and I can see why people like Trump because he doesn’t pretend to be a good guy, his whole act is about being a prick and that must be refreshing. People are tired of politicians, they don’t trust them and rightly the establishment is being called out and challenged. Trump of course is the establishment, just as Boris Johnson is, which shows the con job that has been pulled in both countries. However it’s when people like Elizabeth Warren come out with things like this absurd claim that Bernie Sanders told her in a private conversation that he didn’t believe a woman could be President. After giving it the whole good person who cares about people act for months, it is a legitimate response to want to tell her to go fuck herself. The mainstream media have jumped on the story claiming it to be fact, half of the supposed witnesses where not even there. It’s a hatchet job because he is threatening to upset the Democrats and actually get the nomination. It’s like Britain, the Neoliberals in the Labour party actively tried to sabotage the party and prevent it winning rather than see Jeremy Corbyn be elected Prime Minister. Elizabeth Warren has exposed herself as a dirty liar, she is corrupt and after playing the saint who cares card for so long she deserves the inevitable fallout. She doesn’t stand a chance of beating Trump, neither does Joe Biden, who is also corrupt as this Ukraine investigation exposed. Who knows about Bloomberg, but just ask Trump, you don’t get to become a New York real estate billionaire without embracing a little corruption along the way.

Yet we still follow these people. We accept them as our leaders, allow them to take all they want, subject us to a life of servility while not even leaving us with our dignity. Are we scared to stop and say we’ve had enough? Are we so scared of losing our lousy lot in life? Do we fear those below us taking our position? Has the old carrot lie of one day being them really deceived us that much? We vote for laws to protect billionaires but not poor people. That is fucked up. We will never become billionaires, it just won’t happen, we are not voting to protect our future selves. Let’s stop accepting and being complicit in their raping of society and the hurt that causes. Look after your neighbour and your neighbour will look after you, it’s time to come back together as a community. Having looked after politicians and billionaires all these years it seems there’s a distinct lack of them watching our back. Yet despite there being no genuine prospect of change we carry on making the same choice and expecting a different outcome. We continue to imagine that it will be all fine with this new one, he looks like the kind of guy who could lead this country and give us the life he’s promising. He’s definitely not like that other fella…what’s his name again?