I apologise for not posting for a week, but I have had a lot of trouble accessing my blog. I am not particularly computer literate and my blog has not been loading, although it appears to be all right now. I was beginning to think that the forces of darkness were trying to shut me down. Anyway, despite not being able to post, there has really not been much to inspire a post. On reflection however this in itself is a cause for alarm as the turmoil, bordering on insanity, that characterises both British and American government is beginning to appear normal, we're getting used to it. I am reluctant to regularly post on the same recurring themes and do not wish to bore you with theoretical discussion of political and social concepts but some issues are too important to ignore. My concern at the moment is the dangers to democracy that are looming in both the UK and the USA.
However, in Britain the incompetence and chaos of government is beginning to show what may just be a silver lining. More and more people are beginning to question if Britain will really exit the EU. We are over a year into a two year Brexit process and the British have not even passed the preliminary stages of the negotiations. If you watch events you will be aware I am not being anti-Tory and making this up, they really are that incompetent. The Europeans are scratching their heads in disbelief at the chaos within the pigsty over Brexit. In addition, all of their stated goals, their 'red lines' are crumbling with a speed that makes your head spin. Their negotiating strategies have been stopped in their tracks because they have not even begun to understand the process they themselves initiated. If you recall, they demanded that talks began immediately on trade deals and strategies with everything else being relegated until they got what they wanted, but the Europeans have patiently explained to them that invoking Article 50 is a detailed exit strategy and that A must be completed before you begin B etc. The Tories attempted to negotiate D before even considering A,B, or C. The EU is not being awkward or intransigent they are simply telling the UK that it was they who began what is a legal process, outlined in the Articles of EU law. If the British fail to follow a process that EU negotiators are bound to follow, or seek to subvert it, then there will be no negotiations and Britain will be out of the EU in 2019 with no deal and no way back. That is the disaster I have been warning about. Exiting the EU is a democratic process, and, true to form, the Tories think that such rules and democratic processes are for other people.
In addition, our external trade agreements after Brexit are being conducted by the most dangerous lunatic in Britain, Liam Fox. This man is completely indifferent to the rule of law and the well-being of the British people. He is unfortunately a Scot. When I contemplate the venomous Mr Fox, I am reminded of the epigram by Robert Burns on Edmund Burke and find it completely applicable to the said Fox. As Burns wrote
Oft I have wonder'd that on Irish ground
No poisonous Reptile ever has been found:
Revealed the secret stands of great Nature's work:
She preserved her poison to create a Burke!
Similar chaos is reigning in the US and I find that America has her Liam Fox in the person of Paul Ryan. Whilst America is being reduced to a laughing stock by its President and the coterie of psychopaths he has appointed in his White House team, Ryan stands back and does nothing. As I am writing this the news is coming through that the Donald has fired the Mooch, a man who has come straight out of the Sopranos, although the Sopranos were both more articulate and more intelligent. Trump is processing more turnover of staff than a call centre. He is being called to bluff by North Korea, a country with about 15 times less population and square miles because the North Koreans know that the American public are more scared of their president than they are from them. Returning to Paul Ryan, I remind you, alarmed by his candidacy for the Vice Presidency in 2012, the American Catholic Church published a ringing denunciation of this man's policy programme and his philosophy. I am tempted to think that Ryan views America's chaos as an opportunity of the type Naomi Klein warned is utilised by right-wing neoliberals to implement what she termed shock doctrines.
This post is getting too long, but we, on both sides of the Atlantic should be very scared of the creeping authoritarianism inherent in both our political systems at this time. Democracy is under attack and lunatics are indeed in charge of the asylum in both our unfortunate nations. You have been warned
Your Servant
Doktor Kommirat
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