United States

The Republican Flatform

/ sandycharlton / Leave a comment

The big news this week in America was the Republican National Convention. If there’s one boon to the economy in Cleveland, strippers are raking it in, as Republicans are known to drop cash like crazy at strip clubs during the convention. So Trumps plan to stimulate the economy is already taking effect. Except for this poor girl.

I’d love to talk about what went down during the convention, as the hottest topic was the fact that Melania Trump’s speech was plagiarized. We’re not entirely sure who she plagiarized her speech from, as the debate rages whether it was first Lady Michelle Obama or My Little Pony’s Twilight Sparkle. I couldn’t actually make that up if I tried.

Twilight Sparkle speaks out against plagiarism.

We’ve finally gotten a look at the Republican platform, and it’s pretty vague and under whelming. Their website is still hosting the platform from 2012. Right now, the platform indicates stimulating the economy, tightening security, international trade, building a wall to deal with immigration from Mexico, and a return to the good ol’ fashioned values of the 1950’s nuclear family by having the most anti-LGBTQ platform to come from Republicans. We’ll go in order.

The republican economic platform has one of the usual tropes; lower taxes. Even of this has never worked to stimulate any economy, it’s still paraded out as the base of every conservative platform. No surprises here. Except Trump has flip flopped on this issue. At first he was going to cut taxes for everyone. Then he was going to raise taxes on the rich. He was musing to raise the minimum wage to $15 dollars across the nation. Then he’s going to let the states decide. The Republican platform doesn’t have a firm footing when it comes to wages and taxes.

What is something worth mentioning is the way the wave of self employed ‘gig workers’, like Uber drivers. While Hillary has mentioned that she’s completely against these so called entrepreneurs, the Republican platform has absolutely embraced them. Even though many civil servants have, from policy makers to mayors, have derided companies like Uber for being unsafe, unlicensed, and illegal, it’s really no surprise the republicans have embraced this unregulated new industry. The jury’s still our whether or not these new companies are actually good for the economy.

Now we get into one of the major points of the republican platform; security and safety. Even though violent crime has been falling for decades, the republican party still wants you to understand that you are not safe. Ever. Conservatives will decry crime is rampant in on streets, children are at risk, and that Satan himself is risen and is selling Meth for blowjobs. Even if this is statistically untrue. It’s always been one of my major concerns with most conservative platforms, the selling of fear in exchange for votes.

International Trade.

China.

Trump has made a point of wanting increased protectionism. He’s not a big fan of NAFTA or the TPP, and purportedly wants to create new trade deals. He’s been incredibly vocal about China, mentioning rampant piracy and intellectual property theft. His proposals so far are making a lot of nations nervous, as the world economy is already weak and the last thing it needs is Trump swaggering through and making an already poor situation worse.

Next up is the famous Trump wall. If you’re a contractor or civil engineer down south,  you’re probably salivating over the prospects of a massive wall that borders Mexico. The cost of this wall would be so absolutely staggering it could very well bankrupt the nation, especially one determined to lower taxes and take in less revenue. Even if Trump’s supporters are under the impression it might be an allegory for stricter border, the Donald is adamant it’s going to be a an actual, physical wall. If Trump is going to be elected, I’m suggesting that everyone buy shares in concrete and mortar suppliers, as that industry will explode.

Regarding the LGBTQ community, the Republicans have pretty much solidified their platform with these words; Fuck gay people. That pretty much sums up how they’re going about it.

Here’s the crazy thing. Trump doesn’t really need a platform to contend in this race The latest polls show he’s right behind Hillary after the convention. His supporters don’t care. The problem with that is if you implemented even half of what Trump is proposing, then you’d have an economic catastrophe.

Trump isn’t a politician or a leader. He’s a weasel in a suit. He wants to make America great again, but unless the Republicans shore up some better ideas, then the only thing that’s going to be great is the next depression.

Sincerely,

The Illustrious Mr. Charlton

p.s. This is going to be a crazy election year.

 

The Three Amigos Bro Out

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In the wake of all the world political gaffs lately, it’s nice to see some pleasantries being exchanged for once. The three leaders of the nations representing North America met yesterday, in what was dubbed the ‘Three Amigos Summit’. This meeting included Barack Obama, the President of the United States, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, and of course, our own Justin Trudeau. They took photos, shook hands, made small talk, and talked about the three nations.

Three-Amigos

‘Alright, now I want you both to spin me around’¹

They talked about a number of issues, most of the issues were things they could all agree on, relatively. First was climate change. They all want to push for 50 percent of electrical energy to come from clean sources, and they’ve set the target date for 2025, which is less than a decade away. Trade was another hot topic. As the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) is currently stalled, they are continuing to renegotiate the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), mostly to adjust for current economic instability. Border control is going to change as well, as the three countries are working on the NEXUS (I can’t actually find what this acronym stands for, or even if it is an acronym) system, which would allow frequent, low risk travellers privileges to cross the borders. A big topic was human rights, most notably towards the LGBTQ community, as well as indigenous women in all three countries.

So I’m awfully glad they sat down to have a yap over whatever they happened to be serving at Parliament Hill. Some big topics came up, Obama gave a nice speech calling Canadians his besties, I’m certain there was a couple of fist bumps and high fives, and maybe, behind the scenes, they had a couple of beers and tequila shots and lamented about how being the leader of the nation was a pretty difficult job.

Does this meeting and what they discussed actually matter, though?

One of the major problems with this meeting is that Obama is going to be leaving the White House pretty soon, and the following establishment might not agree to the same terns that Obama has. It’s hard to say what Hillary will do. She gone quiet in regards to NAFTA, a trade agreement her husband and former US President Bill Clinton championed. She’s decided against the TPP, even though she was behind it during her tenure as Secretary of State. Understanding the fact that it’s a poisonous topic at the moment, she may be turning her back on the idea due to politics, and pull a 180 if elected. Trump, on the other hand, would nullify most of the ideas laid out, especially in regards to climate change, the TPP, and the NEXUX system. All this talk might be just that. Talk.

In a world where building connections and bridges between nations would benefit everyone and make the world a smaller place, Brexit has shown us that many still want to build walls. Hell, that’s one of the reasons that Trump became so popular in the first place, and he’s suggesting a literal wall, not just a metaphoric one. Free trade is akin to a four letter word among both left and right wing demagogues. A war still rages in Mexico over a fail drug policy that’s been in affect for decades. Income inequality still rises in the United States.

Saying yes to change is difficult. It means challenging laws, it means reconfiguring systems of thought, it requires ideals to malleable, it needs research and discussion and planning. On the other hand, saying no is easy. It means there’s no need to grow, to learn, to evolve. Building a bridge is difficult, especially if you’re going to be bringing a lot of people over it. You need engineers, and planners, and lawyers, and construction experts. Building a wall is easier. You need steel and concrete and time to build a bridge that would allow a car to pass over it. If you want to stop a car with a wall, all you need to do is put some shit in front of it.

Brick_wall_close-up_view.jpg

All I had to do was put up some bricks and some mortar, and BOOM, car problem solved.²

Maybe that’s my issue with the meeting of the Three Amigos. They’re talking about how to build bridges, when the discussion that should be taking place is this; why does everyone want to start building walls?

Walls don’t work. Walls are meant to keep baddies out, and they rarely succeed. And in the process of trying to keep the baddies out, you end up stifling the flow of information. In a world where information is power, it’s strange to see everyone give that up for a sense of false security.

Sincerely,

The Illustrious Mr. Charlton

p.s.In a perfect world, they would have all taken time to have an old fashioned wrastle

¹ © Reuters/Chris Wattie

² Image taken from Wikimages

The Kingdom, the Trump, and the Footy

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The fallout from the exiting of the United Kingdom from the European Union is still being felt across the globe. Investors are still scrambling, with many investors, banks, and insurers trying their damndest to get off of the ship. Trump landed in Scotland and in his usual deafness to the current state of affairs tweeted congratulations to the country for the Brexit vote, even though the majority of the Scottish people voted to stay.

Trump-tweet-001

The man is pure satire fodder.¹

No games is right Mr. Trump. Not only did Britain fail the UK in the Brexit vote and is now leaving the EU, but they also lost the football match against Iceland and have to leave Euro 2016. Just like David Cameron decided it was time to step down as the Prime Minister of the country, manager Roy Hogdson of the British team called it quits and stepped down after their humiliating defeat. They say time flows like a river, but this is history repeating itself so quickly it might as well be the tail end of a catheter stuck in the mouth.

There is a growing rise of dissatisfaction in the western world at the moment, in both the United States and the United Kingdom, with striking parallels. Both countries are unhappy with the status quo, and they want change, real drastic change. For the UK, they were sending £350 million to the European Union every week. Every week! Those are pounds, people. This isn’t the colorful fun money we have here in Canadiana. The Leave campaign promised that £350 million would go back into the National Health Services. They even advertised it on buses.

Leave-bus-NHS

It was on the side of a bus, so that means it has to be true.²

They voted to leave. Great, I am now on board. We’ve got another 350 million kilograms of sweet cheddar to grease the mighty wheels of public health services. Right? What do you mean, you can’t actually do that and that you never made that claim? You had it on buses and it was all over your website. Why did you wipe almost all of your website clean of the promises you made?

Real talk for a second. The people in charge of the Brexit movement, guys like Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson, have flat out lied to the British public. Not did the movement lie about what they were going to do with the money, they also didn’t mention all the money the UK got in return. I’m not talking about money that would trickle back in through the economic boon of open borders with the rest of the EU. I’m talking about cold hard cash they got back as a rebate. They manipulated numbers to scare people into voting to leave.

At least they had the decency to manipulate the numbers that existed, because when you compare this to Trump, he’s pulling numbers out of thin air like a magician who pulls cards out of his ass. There is simply no feasible way Trump can actually accomplish any of the tasks that he’s proposing. Great Wall of America? Not feasible. Banning Muslims from the US? Again, not even remotely feasible. Making America great again? Unless Trump decides to tax everyone like they did during the 1960’s, which strangely enough coincided with the highest economic growth decade in the last century, then you’re going to be getting more of the same not feasibleness.

I understand why people are angry and upset. I can fully appreciate it. The numbers don’t lie though. Economic prosperity is always correlated with high taxes on the rich. If you didn’t bother to click on any of the links that I provided, I’ll just flat out tell you; In the 1960’s, when the US truly became the juggernaut powerhouse it is, the income tax on the wealthy was at roughly 90%. The US didn’t crumble, investors didn’t leave, and the four horsemen of the Apocalypse didn’t come riding in to start the rapture. Instead, medical breakthroughs exploded, the US became the cultural hub of the world, and they even had time to stick a man on the moon.

Maybe you’re worried high taxes will affect you. Maybe you’re concerned people won’t work as hard if they have access to services. To be frank, if you’re reading this, you are not in that category, and you will never will be. You do not have hundreds of millions of assets strewn across the globe. You do not own a mega yacht with two helipads. But if you’re reading this and you happen to have a matching Ferrari for every outfit you own, maybe it’s time you started paying your fair share, because the roads you’re driving on were paid with taxes, and right now, they’re crumbling.

Sincerely, the Illustrious Mr. Charlton

p.s. Yes, I’m flat out stating that taxes are a good thing. It’s why we have public schools and hospitals and running water.

p.s.s. New logo! Thanks to the wonderful K.A.

¹ Image taken from Donald Trump’s Twitter feed.

² Image taken from leftfootforward.org

America: Taking it in the Trumper

/ sandycharlton / Leave a comment

“It’s always good to be underestimated.”

Donald Trump

On June 15th, 2015, Donald J. Trump announced he would be throwing in his hat into the presidential race. People laughed, believing the idea to be ludicrous. Never in a million years would Donald Trump be the representative of the Republican party, people said. He’s been played off as a joke by Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brian, and a smattering of other late night talk show hosts. He was not taken seriously as a contender.

As of May 3rd, 2016, Donald J. Trump has more or less secured the Republican nomination. Talk show hosts will continue to parade him as a clown. People will continue to laugh. Pollsters are already speculating whether or not he would win in a showdown against Hillary Clinton, while she continues to face Bernie Sanders. Most are leaning towards a victory for Hillary. He’s not taken seriously as a contender.

There’s a fifty percent chance the next President of the United States will be Donald J. Trump. The joke stopped being funny months ago.

“If you get good ratings, they’ll cover you even though you have nothing to say.”

Donald Trump

He mused over the deportation of muslims. His numbers went up. He thought outloud about building a wall between the United States and Mexico, a feat that is logistically impossible. His numbers went up. He stated that women who have abortions should be punished. His numbers went up.

The media, on both the left and the right side of the spectrum, want you to believe Donald Trump is an incompetent buffoon, that he’s a spoiled rich rich who grew up with daddy’s money. What people need to understand in that Trump is incredibly smart, and terribly savvy. Few people on planet Earth are as good at selling themselves as Trump. His fortune was made in Real Estate. He wrote a book, ‘The Art of the Deal’. He’s had numerous holdings, many of which were filed for bankruptcy, yet he’d still get most of his investment back. He’s an artist when it comes to manipulating the system so he ends up on top. Every product he owns bears his name, and all of them are labeled as luxury items, for the elite like Trump.

Trump isn’t terrifying because of what he says. The comments regarding muslims, the Mexican wall, the abortion issues; he’s only saying these things to keep the camera pointed on him. It’s questionable as to whether or not he actually believes what he says. Trump is terrifying because he’s not interested in getting involved in politics. He interested on getting his name on the presidency.

“I’ve got the hottest brand in the world”

Donald Trump

As terrifying as the prospect of a president whose interest in politics is to further his product line, there’s something more insidious in the mix. Donald Trump has taken advantage of the republican base, a base that has gone further and further right in the last decade. For years, the leaders of the republican party has been cultivating a pride in ignorance, a hatred in those who are different, not part of ‘our’ group. They’ve been fed on a steady diet of Fox News, where emotions trump facts. Trump saw this wedge, and hit it with a sledgehammer. The other republican leaders have been scrambling for a year now, trying to make sense, and counter, a man who will say anything to stay in the spotlight.

The republican party has been poking at the hornets nest for a while now. Donald Trump threw a rock at it.

That box has been opened wide, and there’s going to be no way to close it now. If you think Donald Trump as president would be a disaster, you have more to fear if he doesn’t. Donald Trump says a lot of terrible things, but it’s to simply leverage his position. Make no mistake, Trump isn’t going to be the next Hitler. He’s not going to round up muslims and throw them in camps. He’s not going to outlaw abortions. He’s not going to build a wall between two countries and make the other country pay for it. His base, the one he’s been pandering too, certainly wants him to. The United States has been slowly descending into a state of authoritative control. A nation that willingly trades it’s freedoms for the illusion of safety. For the promise that a ruler will step in and protect the flock. The NSA has been given resources to spy on Americans. The police in America have become increasingly militarized. The idea of deporting a group of people based on their religion was hailed as ‘someone finally talking sense’.

The future republican candidates will be less subtle than Donald. They’ll want to round up dissenters, they’ll want corporal punishment, they’ll want to limit the choices a woman have other their own bodies. They’ll have no qualms over separating ‘us’ and ‘them’.

“My whole life is about winning. I don’t lose often. I almost never lose.”

Donald Trump

Am I scared if Donald Trump becomes president? Well, no. I’m not sure how well he understands the role of the presidency, and I have a feeling that he’ll be sorely disappointed to find out politics requires a ridiculous amount of diplomacy and compromise. There isn’t a lot winning in politics. You win once every four years, and the time spent in between is arguing over which municipalities will get road repairs. Compared to the life Donald Trump lives now, I think he’ll find it boring , frustrating and tiring.

 

“As long as you’re going to be thinking anyway, think big.”

Donald Trump

Hey, a loud mouth asshole with too much money can be right every once and a while, right?

Sincerely,

The Illustrious Mr. Charlton

p.s. I’m coming after Hillary next week. She’s no better.

p.s.s. Tomorrow I talk about Alpha Go, and I welcome our future robot overlords.