Political Thread in memory of David Reid. (R.I.P.)

[sinkov]

No doubt following the Trump family's restoration, you can live on the estate, it’s categorizable as one of the world’s best homes – comprising a 20,000-square-foot ballroom (with $7 million gold leaf features) and Spanish revival-style arches and mosaics throughout the residence. It’s also the site of an exclusive private club, attracting the social elite from Clitheroe and across the globe.

If it wasn't for the regular hurricanes, we'd probably be living in Florida right now. That's the only reason we didn't move there years ago.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

If it wasn't for the regular hurricanes, we'd probably be living in Florida right now. That's the only reason we didn't move there years ago.

You would probably hop on the first plane back mon ami...

“There is no literature or poetry in this White House. No music. No Kennedy Center award celebrations.
There are no pets in this White House.
No loyal man’s best friend. No Socks the family cat.
No kids’ science fairs. No times when this president takes off his blue suit-red tie uniform and becomes human, except when he puts on his white shirt-khaki pants uniform and hides from Americans to play golf.
There are no images of the first family enjoying themselves together in a moment of relaxation.
No Obamas on the beach in Hawaii moments, or Bushes fishing in Kennebunkport, no Reagans on horseback, no Kennedys playing touch football on the Cape.
I was thinking the other day of the summer when George H couldn’t catch a fish and all the grandkids made signs and counted the fish-less days.
And somehow, even if you didn’t even like GHB, you got caught up in the joy of a family that loved each other and had fun.
Where did that country go?
Where did all of the fun and joy and expressions of love and happiness go?
We used to be a country that did the ice bucket challenge and raised millions for charity.
We used to have a president that calmed and soothed the nation instead dividing it.
And a First Lady that planted a garden instead of ripping one out.
We are rudderless and joyless.
We have lost the cultural aspects of society that make America great.
We have lost our mojo, our fun, our happiness.
The cheering on of others. Gone.
The shared experiences of humanity that makes it all worth it. Gone.
The challenges AND the triumphs that we shared and celebrated.
The unique can-do spirit Americans have always been known for. Gone.
We have lost so much in so short a time."
-- Elayne Griffin Baker

[sinkov]

You would probably hop on the first plane back mon ami...

“There is no literature or poetry in this White House. No music. No Kennedy Center award celebrations.
There are no pets in this White House.
No loyal man’s best friend. No Socks the family cat.
No kids’ science fairs. No times when this president takes off his blue suit-red tie uniform and becomes human, except when he puts on his white shirt-khaki pants uniform and hides from Americans to play golf.
There are no images of the first family enjoying themselves together in a moment of relaxation.
No Obamas on the beach in Hawaii moments, or Bushes fishing in Kennebunkport, no Reagans on horseback, no Kennedys playing touch football on the Cape.
I was thinking the other day of the summer when George H couldn’t catch a fish and all the grandkids made signs and counted the fish-less days.
And somehow, even if you didn’t even like GHB, you got caught up in the joy of a family that loved each other and had fun.
Where did that country go?
Where did all of the fun and joy and expressions of love and happiness go?
We used to be a country that did the ice bucket challenge and raised millions for charity.
We used to have a president that calmed and soothed the nation instead dividing it.
And a First Lady that planted a garden instead of ripping one out.
We are rudderless and joyless.
We have lost the cultural aspects of society that make America great.
We have lost our mojo, our fun, our happiness.
The cheering on of others. Gone.
The shared experiences of humanity that makes it all worth it. Gone.
The challenges AND the triumphs that we shared and celebrated.
The unique can-do spirit Americans have always been known for. Gone.
We have lost so much in so short a time."
-- Elayne Griffin Baker

What a load of sanctimonious tripe, pass me the sick bucket.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

What a load of sanctimonious tripe, pass me the sick bucket.

That's the trouble with Gammons, if it's not singing "It's Right to be White" it's a load of sanctimonious tripe.

[sinkov]

That's the trouble with Gammons, if it's not singing "It's Right to be White" it's a load of sanctimonious tripe.

I notice there's no mention of the Autopen and a dithering old fool in amongst that drivel. I wonder why not ?

[Supersub6]

You would probably hop on the first plane back mon ami...

“There is no literature or poetry in this White House. No music. No Kennedy Center award celebrations.
There are no pets in this White House.
No loyal man’s best friend. No Socks the family cat.
No kids’ science fairs. No times when this president takes off his blue suit-red tie uniform and becomes human, except when he puts on his white shirt-khaki pants uniform and hides from Americans to play golf.
There are no images of the first family enjoying themselves together in a moment of relaxation.
No Obamas on the beach in Hawaii moments, or Bushes fishing in Kennebunkport, no Reagans on horseback, no Kennedys playing touch football on the Cape.
I was thinking the other day of the summer when George H couldn’t catch a fish and all the grandkids made signs and counted the fish-less days.
And somehow, even if you didn’t even like GHB, you got caught up in the joy of a family that loved each other and had fun.
Where did that country go?
Where did all of the fun and joy and expressions of love and happiness go?
We used to be a country that did the ice bucket challenge and raised millions for charity.
We used to have a president that calmed and soothed the nation instead dividing it.
And a First Lady that planted a garden instead of ripping one out.
We are rudderless and joyless.
We have lost the cultural aspects of society that make America great.
We have lost our mojo, our fun, our happiness.
The cheering on of others. Gone.
The shared experiences of humanity that makes it all worth it. Gone.
The challenges AND the triumphs that we shared and celebrated.
The unique can-do spirit Americans have always been known for. Gone.
We have lost so much in so short a time."
-- Elayne Griffin Baker

What a load of sanctimonious tripe, pass me the sick bucket.

I notice there's no mention of the Autopen and a dithering old fool in amongst that drivel. I wonder why not ?

Not only is it sanctimonious tripe, it is old sanctimonious tripe written when Trump was serving his first spell as POUS.
Consequently, there is no mention of the Autopen etc. because dear old Joe was not in 'power' at the time.

AT least BT's submission was not begging for money so that is always a bonus.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

I notice there's no mention of the Autopen and a dithering old fool in amongst that drivel. I wonder why not ?

Don't talk about your idol like that mon ami. It's not nice.

[sinkov]

"Negative arguments against removing monarchs, however powerful, are not sufficient. There are weighty positive reasons for preferring monarchies. They are so familiar that I will not weary readers by laboured exposition. The most obvious is continuity. Heredity, which the eigh****th-century republican Thomas Paine thought irrational (”as absurd as a hereditary doctor or mathematician”) gives certainty, and limits constant jockeying for power. Having the occasional idiot or criminal long seemed a price worth paying.

In today’s world, monarchies are generally the best (or least badly) governed states. The Arab monarchies, warts and all, are far preferable to theocracies or military dictatorships. In democratically governed monarchies such as ours, the Crown can provide a non-partisan focus of loyalty for crucial institutions such as armed forces and police.

The Crown keeps important powers out of politicians’ hands, including the prestige of representing the nation at home and abroad. It provides a backstop in case of real emergency, such as war. The Royal family is also an important galvaniser of civil society through its extensive involvement in charitable work, and simply by its presence at so many collective events. Republics realise this power, which is why so many try to transform themselves into quasi-monarchies, using family members in political functions and even trying to found political dynasties – the antithesis of republican principle.

Above all, the Crown symbolises the nation – the nation of Britain, and its constituent nations too. We are a monarchy because that is what our history, in its triumphs and disasters, has made us. We have not in any simple sense chosen it. It is the product, and the token, of what the Irish political thinker Edmund Burke termed the partnership between the living, the dead and the yet unborn. He warned against tearing up this partnership, because without it government would increasingly rely on compulsion.

Some readers will think we have passed that point already, with confidence, trust, freedoms and pride collapsing. All the more reason to strengthen the barriers against dissolution, of which the Crown is one. It labours for unity and continuity in an age of tribalism and disruption.

I suspect that those who attack monarchy do so for this very reason: as part of a general assault on our history and identity. They reject all that gives us distinctiveness, even uniqueness. Their preference is to become “citizens of nowhere” in “an island of strangers”. The Crown, on the contrary, is a perpetual reminder of place, history and common loyalty. This is a struggle the King was born to fight."


Or as the blessed St Margaret used to say,

"Better keep a hold of nurse,
For fear of finding something worse."