LOL re Auntie Joan's joke! Though, IMHO, Pope Francis wouldn't be that way. But I *love* that it's a girl and a woman who have the sense and compassion!
A plane with 5 passengers on board -- Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Angela Merkel, the Pope and a 10-year-old schoolgirl -- is about to crash and there are only 4 parachutes. Trump says "I need one. I’m the smartest man in the USA and I'm needed to solve the pandemic!" He takes one parachute and jumps. Johnson says ‘I’m needed to sort out the COVID-19 mess in Britain’. He takes one and jumps. The Pope says, "The world's Catholics depend on me for comfort in a time of fear." He takes one and jumps. "You can have the last parachute," Merkel says to the 10-year-old. "I've lived my life. Yours is only just starting." The little girl replies: "Don’t worry, there are 2 parachutes left, the smartest man in the USA just took my school bag."
Five years ago the arrival of a wave of refugees caused much consternation and fueled support for Germany’s far-right. Now, the country is turning to its migrant community to plug an anticipated shortage of medical staff battling the coronavirus.
The tl;dr version is that a lot of the refugees Germany admitted five years ago are doctors, nurses, or have other medical training and are more than willing to pitch in and help the country that helped them.
Merkel's humanity towards refugees puts Australia to shame. That's why I love her. She reminds me of the compassion one of our conservative PMs showed to Vietnamese refugees following the end of the Vietnam War. The bits that I might not find so palatable, and that I don't examine for fear of tarnishing her halo, is Merkel's economic policies and her dealings within the EU. I wish to continue viewing her as a very angel sent from heaven, in part because it helps my own domestic political agenda concerning asylum seekers and other refugees.
Here, if you haven't seen it is the wickedly brilliant Tracey Ullman singing 99 luftballons as Merkel.
I read he was going to tune in via laptop, but not sure what church. No America is not open but some fools are having church anyway, because God will protect them.
Be afraid America, Be very afraid: your gallant President has decided now is the time for him to show all his powers of leadership, just in case anyone was in any doubt about what an opportunity the Covid-19 pandemic can present.
Just when you thought the man had gone as low as possible, he surprises us again.
There seem to be no limits to the depths of his madness.
I wonder how the Sensible Governors will react? Is the USA heading for another Civil War?
Perhaps a political one, I suppose, if the Sensible Governors simply rebel against the Emperor - is that a possibility? And how might it 'work', IYSWIM?
--There've been de facto civil wars here for a long time. (Not necessarily involving guns, though IMHO police mistreatment of people of color qualifies).
Those are bad enough. A civil war now, with all that's going on in the US and the world would be...less than desirable.
--Might be a good time to invoke Article 25, and somehow declare T unfit.
--I think Gavin Newsom, governor of my fair state of California, counts as one of the Sensible Governors. He thinks of Calif. as a "nation state". I think he can make deals with other states and countries to get through these times, regardless of what T and his minions get up to in DC.
--I think Gavin Newsom, governor of my fair state of California, counts as one of the Sensible Governors. He thinks of Calif. as a "nation state". I think he can make deals with other states and countries to get through these times, regardless of what T and his minions get up to in DC.
Now that's interesting. I didn't realise quite how much independent-of-DC powers governors might have.
Time for California, and other states with Sensible Governors, to secede from the Union, and declare UDI?
What if Article 25 was invoked to declare the Great Orange God-Emperor unfit, and was then invoked again to declare Mr Very Small Coins unfit?
Who would come next?
The next-in-line in the presidential order of succession is Nancy Pelosi, but the scenario you outline runs in to one big Constitutional roadblock, in addition to a practical roadblock. Section 4 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment reads:
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
The practical roadblock is the unlikelihood of Mike Pence and a majority of Trump's appointed cabinet agreeing that Trump is unfit for office. The Constitutional roadblock is that if Trump were removed from office for unfitness the vice presidency would be vacant and thus there would be no one in place to invoke the Twenty-Fifth Amendment against Mike Pence, at least until Pence appointed a new vice president who was then approved by both Houses of Congress.
It's an interesting premise for a political thriller. Posit a president who develops dangerously psychotic tendencies and a vice president who becomes aware of this and has to convince the rest of the cabinet. A cat-and-mouse dynamic develops once the president figures out what his vice president is up to and realizes that if the vice president can be forced to resign or dies that there will be no one to invoke the 25th Amendment.
Maybe I'll just put that one back in the ideas drawer until a less fraught time.
Tell the Democrat Governors that “Mutiny On The Bounty” was one of my all time favorite movies. A good old fashioned mutiny every now and then is an exciting and invigorating thing to watch, especially when the mutineers need so much from the Captain. Too easy!
Well my Governor ( California ) may not have called it mutiny but thankfully he has encouraged us to follow him to a life boat and now seems to be sailing it toward a safe harbor, along with the life boats of Oregon and Washington. If others follow, the orange captain may find himself trying to sail the big ship all alone with no crew on board.
His name can be anagrammed to "Lord Dampnut" in case anyone is interested, and if you're not, you are more mature than I am. I'm told this is 12 year old humour.
because WHO are not as perfect and intelligent and bigly and supreme and ... of course the fucktard would pull the plug on them because although they made mistakes early they had the brains to rectify them, while he's still inserting his narcissistic nose up his own sphincter ...
sorry ... I'm a bit cross with him today (and every fucking day)
He, his wife Melinda, and their Gates Foundation do a *lot* of health-related work in Africa. (Not sure about anyplace else.) Malaria, stopping epidemics (IIRC), etc.
So yes, I think it's possible. He's also been quite vocal about COVID and what's needed to slow it down, save lives, etc.
Maybe there should be a major overhaul of taxation to pay for it all?
Federal expenditures were a little over $1.4 trillion in 2019. $400 million is barely a rounding error in that number (0.028%), hardly justification for "a major overhaul of taxation". This is just Trump being an asshole and trying to shift blame for his quarter-assed COVID-19 response.
The taxation response was about Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates having all of this money. There's obviously money to be obtained if all the corporate and off shore tax schemes are reined in, if the very wealthy pay more, and in some countries if they buy less military equipment, i.e., spend tax money differently.
Paying for it all means: health care, damage to the world economy, compensating individuals.
When the gov't of Canada found some $100 billion right off the hop, and others appear to have found similar, I think the world economy never has needed the austerity plan, and only has this because of an ideology of greed and people who can influence policy have done so, so as to enrich themselves. There appears to be enough money to support everyone with minimum income for example. I also suspect that we could have health care and food for the whole world population as well. All of which belies the existence of Christian wealthy nations and calls into question of anything Christian in practice (works) about our countries.
Comments
Nicked
The tl;dr version is that a lot of the refugees Germany admitted five years ago are doctors, nurses, or have other medical training and are more than willing to pitch in and help the country that helped them.
Merkel's humanity towards refugees puts Australia to shame. That's why I love her. She reminds me of the compassion one of our conservative PMs showed to Vietnamese refugees following the end of the Vietnam War. The bits that I might not find so palatable, and that I don't examine for fear of tarnishing her halo, is Merkel's economic policies and her dealings within the EU. I wish to continue viewing her as a very angel sent from heaven, in part because it helps my own domestic political agenda concerning asylum seekers and other refugees.
Here, if you haven't seen it is the wickedly brilliant Tracey Ullman singing 99 luftballons as Merkel.
Is America now Open again?
If not, why not? Was his faith not firm enough? Or did he fail to fess his fuck-ups?
The same does not seem to apply to the peddlers of the prosperity 'gospel', judgement on Covid-19, and all the other shite they come out with.
Not that I wish them ill - TIACW.
Just when you thought the man had gone as low as possible, he surprises us again.
I wonder how the Sensible Governors will react? Is the USA heading for another Civil War?
Perhaps a political one, I suppose, if the Sensible Governors simply rebel against the Emperor - is that a possibility? And how might it 'work', IYSWIM?
BF--
Various:
--There've been de facto civil wars here for a long time. (Not necessarily involving guns, though IMHO police mistreatment of people of color qualifies).
Those are bad enough. A civil war now, with all that's going on in the US and the world would be...less than desirable.
--Might be a good time to invoke Article 25, and somehow declare T unfit.
--I think Gavin Newsom, governor of my fair state of California, counts as one of the Sensible Governors. He thinks of Calif. as a "nation state". I think he can make deals with other states and countries to get through these times, regardless of what T and his minions get up to in DC.
Anyway, if they did, you'd get Pence, who seems to be almost as barmy, but with added religion ...
Who would come next?
Now that's interesting. I didn't realise quite how much independent-of-DC powers governors might have.
Time for California, and other states with Sensible Governors, to secede from the Union, and declare UDI?
The next-in-line in the presidential order of succession is Nancy Pelosi, but the scenario you outline runs in to one big Constitutional roadblock, in addition to a practical roadblock. Section 4 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment reads:
The practical roadblock is the unlikelihood of Mike Pence and a majority of Trump's appointed cabinet agreeing that Trump is unfit for office. The Constitutional roadblock is that if Trump were removed from office for unfitness the vice presidency would be vacant and thus there would be no one in place to invoke the Twenty-Fifth Amendment against Mike Pence, at least until Pence appointed a new vice president who was then approved by both Houses of Congress.
I appreciate that it is indeed a difficult situation, which hopefully (if there is a God/god or gods) will be rectified in November.
Maybe I'll just put that one back in the ideas drawer until a less fraught time.
The thought of the Great Orange God-Emperor developing psychotic tendencies is truly frightening...if he hasn't developed them already...
His Numptiness strikes again...
In the middle of a pandemic.
sorry ... I'm a bit cross with him today (and every fucking day)
I was thinking the same - and let the billionaire philanthropists step forward.
Please.
As for Bezos: "Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos donates $100 million to Feeding America" (Q13Fox). And he recently donated $10 billion to fight climate change.
So yes, I think it's possible. He's also been quite vocal about COVID and what's needed to slow it down, save lives, etc.
*Well, perhaps Uncle Joe Stalin, or Adolf Wossname, could...
I'm pretty sure they do.
Federal expenditures were a little over $1.4 trillion in 2019. $400 million is barely a rounding error in that number (0.028%), hardly justification for "a major overhaul of taxation". This is just Trump being an asshole and trying to shift blame for his quarter-assed COVID-19 response.
Paying for it all means: health care, damage to the world economy, compensating individuals.
When the gov't of Canada found some $100 billion right off the hop, and others appear to have found similar, I think the world economy never has needed the austerity plan, and only has this because of an ideology of greed and people who can influence policy have done so, so as to enrich themselves. There appears to be enough money to support everyone with minimum income for example. I also suspect that we could have health care and food for the whole world population as well. All of which belies the existence of Christian wealthy nations and calls into question of anything Christian in practice (works) about our countries.