Tag Archives: America First

Donald Trump declares war on the media, Muslims and Mexicans

24th February 2017 Katy Went Leave a comment

Donald Trump’s CPAC Speech

OK, so that was a somewhat clickbait title, one hopes it’s no more than a war of words but the decision to block the BBC, CNN, NYT and more from a press briefing on Friday marks an escalation in this media war. Since Donald Trump‘s speeches can make as much logical or grammatical sense as Yoda but without the wisdom or the Force, it can be hard to ascertain what is true or false, or even meant.

He often says something forwards, pausing part way through to rinse, repeat, recycle a few words, then repeat it in reverse. His favourite words at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) speech included “great” (x33), “America/n” (x31), “very” (x26), “the people” (x18), “fake” (x13), and “bad” (x11).

Using ill-thought language and policy acts as an accelerant to the incendiary nature of xenophobia and may have already resulted in the shooting of two men from India in Kansas. It may too early to say or a connective leap too far but surely incidents such as this are similar to the post-Brexit rise in hate crime. The difference is that American hate crime is armed with guns.

Winning the war

The US President says he’s not about the words, but about the actions, he is going to win a war, against the media, Muslims, and Mexicans. Whilst the was against the media is only a metaphor he has nonetheless come out guns blazing. To top his monosyllabic rhetoric against the press his Press Secretary has just barred the BBC, CNN, the New York Times, and others from a White House briefing.

At the same time, Nigel Farage has endorsed Trump’s attitude towards mainstream media, telling Fox News:

“They are simply not prepared to accept that … that Trump happened, they kind of want to turn the clock back. And what they don’t realise is they are losing viewers, they are losing listeners, they are losing this battle big time and I’m pleased the president is not afraid to stand up to them.”

Trump has also said that he will “obliterate ISIS” and his language sometimes sounds like he could quite possibly go after Iran and North Korea at this rate. He uses the language of a sports team that has not won a match for seasons – it’s not a game Donald!

“We don’t win anymore. When was the last time we won? Did we win a war? Did we win anything? Do we win anything? Do we win anything? We’re going to win. We’re going to win big, folks. We’re going to start winning again.” – Donald Trump, CPAC

How? By “putting in a massive budget request for our beloved military.”

“We will be substantially upgrading all of our military, all of our military, offensive, defensive, everything. Bigger and better and stronger than ever before, and hopefully we’ll never have to use it, but nobody’s going to mess with us, folks. Nobody. It will be one of the greatest military buildups in American history. No one will dare question, as they have been, because we’re very depleted, very, very depleted sequester. Sequester. Nobody will question our military might again.” – Donald Trump, CPAC

If you can make sense of the “very depleted, very, very depleted sequester. Sequester.” – well done, you speak Trump! I clearly don’t

Fake News and Phoney Sources

The Donald decries fake news but seems to be the source of much of it. When challenged at a Press briefing about his allegedly best electoral college margin claim (not true, Obama and others were bigger) he replied to NBC’s Peter Alexander with:

“I was given that information, I don’t know. I was just given that information. It was a very, very big margin. Well I don’t know, I was given that information. Actually, I’ve seen that information around…”

It was actually only the 46th largest electoral college margin in history.

“we are fighting the fake news. It’s fake. Phony. Fake. A few days ago I called the fake news the enemy of the people, and they are. They are the enemy of the people. Because they have no sources, they just make them up when there are none.” – Donald Trump, CPAC

He went on to say that journalists should reveal their sources, perhaps presidents should too…

Like BBC fact checking sites, the Pulitzer prizewinning US PolitiFact website maintains a truthometer scorecard on Obama and Trump. Well, so far, he is speaking about 30% truth – and that’s generous including the half-truths. Blatantly false or lies account for 50% of his statements and a further 19% are mostly-false.

And he’s still reiterating his Sweden claim!

“Take a look at what happened in Sweden. I love Sweden. Great country, great people, I love Sweden. They understand I’m right. The people there understand I’m right. Take a look at what’s happening in Sweden.” – Donald Trump, CPAC

This is a week after everyone including the Swedes ridiculed the claim. Earlier, at CPAC, Kellyanne Conway said of Donald Trump that “He’s a man who just absorbs information”!

White House Correspondents’ Dinner

President Obama attended all 8 of his Correspondents’ Dinners for the annual comedic roasting and celebration of a free press. Not just a few times Obama poked fun at “the Donald” (2011, 2016). So it comes as no surprise then that Trump turned down the invite in 2016 and has already indicated as sitting president that he will not attend in 2017. It should be a media field day, except perhaps for Fox News. Obama celebrated a free press as joint partners in their common goal to:

“Root our public discourse in the truth. To open the doors of this democracy. To do whatever we can to make our country and our world more free and more just.” – Barack Obama

Mass Spell to Bind Donald Trump

His less than spellbinding performance at CPAC coincides with an attempt by thousands of witches and magic/raised consciousness believers to initiate a mass binding of Donald Trump in a spell until he leaves office. You couldn’t make this up!

No more bad dudes

When he’s not brandishing Muslims and Mexicans as terrorists, illegals and criminal aliens, they are just “bad dudes”. This is like Bart Simpson running America – do people not realise that programme was satire?

“And remember, we are getting the bad ones out. These are bad dudes. We’re getting the bad ones out. Okay? We’re getting the bad — if you watch these people, it’s like oh, gee, that’s so sad. We were getting bad people out of this country. People who shouldn’t be, whether it’s drugs or murder. We’re getting bad ones out. They’re the ones that go first.” – Donald Trump, CPAC

The bad ones “go first”, does that mean the good ones will follow? Is this reminiscent of anything?

We’re going to build a wall…way soon

“we’re going to build a wall, don’t worry about it. We’re building the wall. We’re building the wall. In fact, it’s going to start soon. Way ahead of schedule. Way ahead of schedule. Way, way, way ahead of schedule.” – Donald Trump, CPAC

For the full “way out” text of President Trump‘s speech at CPAC see the transcript here.

Anniversaries, Books & Literature, Confidence & Motivation, Quotes & Sayings

Happy Birthday to you Dr Seuss, his best guidance for life Quotes

2nd March 2016 Katy 1 Comment

Happy Birthday to you, Dr Seuss

Dr Seuss seated at desk covered with his books, World Telegram and Sun photo by Al Ravenna — Dr Seuss seated at desk covered with his books, World Telegram & Sun photo by Al Ravenna, 1957

Dr. Seuss would be 112 today, and certainly the non-conforming characters in his books never felt like acting their age, or following conventional wisdom, instead they offered sage advice for breaking out of the box, and being yourself, without limits.

The Cat in the Hat, among others, I read to a foster child in my care and took inspiration from it, myself.

Theodor Seuss Geisel wrote some 60 books, selling over 600 million copies, whose challenging quotes still resonate today. His birthday, March 2, has become the annual date for National Read Across America Day and comes the day before World Book Day.

“The more that you read, The more things you will know.
The more that you learn, The more places you’ll go.”
I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! (1978)

Theodor Seuss Geisel, author, illustrator, cartoonist

Geisel said he was saving the name ‘Geisel’ for the Great American Novel, instead he began to use his pen name ‘Dr. Seuss’ during his time studying at Dartmouth College and continued whilst studying for a PhD in English Literature at the University of Oxford (which he did not finish, though in 1956 Dartmouth awarded him an honorary doctorate). It was at Dartmouth, as editor of a humour magazine, that he was caught drinking gin with friends in his room, during the time of Prohibition, and so with encouragement from his Professor of Rhetoric he continued clandestinely under his nom de plume. He once described himself as “subversive as hell”.

From 1927 he worked as an illustrator and cartoonist for Vanity Fair, Life, and other publications, including as chief political cartoonist for the New York newspaper, 1941-43. At the latter newspaper, he produced some 400 political cartoons such as this one:

America First, “and the wolf chewed up the children and spit out their bones but those were foreign children and it really didn’t matter”.

Perhaps, as relevant now under Donald Trump’s presidency as during the 1940s.

Dr Seuss at work on a drawing of The Grinch for How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 1957

During World War II, he joined the Army in 1943 as a Captain and was made commander of the Animation Department of the First Motion Picture Unit of the United States Army Air Forces.

His first children’s book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street did not appear until 1937 and his most famous, The Cat in the Hat, only came out in 1957.

Top 12 Best Dr Seuss Life Lessons Quotes

Or perhaps just 8, given that some are of uncertain attribution, even though they are Seuss-ian in nature and intent.

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” – Happy Birthday to You! (1959)

If I ran the Zoo, Dr Seuss, 1950

“Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.”

“‎Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen Hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regrets. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.”

If I ran the Circus, Dr Seuss, 1956

“You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose.” – Oh, The Places You’ll Go! (1990)

“And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed!” – Oh, The Places You’ll Go! (1990)

“Don’t give up! I believe in you all
A person’s a person, no matter how small!
And you very small persons will not have to die
If you make yourselves heard! So come on, now, and TRY!” – Horton Hears a Who! (1954)

The Cat in the Hat, Dr Seuss, 1957

“It’s not about what it is, it’s about what it can become.” – The Lorax (1971)

“Only you can control your future.”

“We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.” – actually Robert Fulghum, True Love (1997)

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out” – of doubtful attribution

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” – of doubtful attribution

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – of doubtful attribution

Oh the Thinks you can Think, Dr Seuss, 1975

Dr Seuss (originally pronounced Soice) wrote and illustrated subversively to open minds, encourage liberal reading and adventurous lives. Horton hears a Who! was allegedly an allegory of the Hiroshima bombing. Thomas Fensch describes its ideas as “universal, multinational, multi-ethnic. In a word: Equality.” – Fensch, Thomas, The Man Who Was Dr. Seuss, (2001).

He even wrote under a female pen name, Rosetta Stone, Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo!! (1975). He remains loved and controversial to this day, but with some books still achieving half-million-a year book sales, he can definitely rest assured that he encouraged millions to read.

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