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[Entries are in reverse date order, latest at the top. Comments and contributions are welcome to the email address at the bottom.] |
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Saturday 15th March |
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Friday 14th March |
I've been mirroring this blog on Instagram for those who more readily go there than to a website. After I posted yesterday's moan about spending too much time on Trump, an Instagram user replied with the recommendation that I simply stop, pay no further attention. I'm considering the idea. It's hard, difficult for those of us who are fascinated by what's going on in the world to turn away. And, in my defence, Trump is having a big impact on all our lives at the moment, just as his monster ego demands. So for today at least I'm going risk even more scrutiny of the blob and his chief crony.
Elon Musk, recently tearful in a Fox News interview, admits to "great difficulty" in managing the Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside SpaceX, xAI and Tesla. Of course, I don't honestly know how he has felt about the tsunami of criticism and scorn that DOGE has generated, but I suspect he's a little taken aback. He thinks he's doing the right thing: "I'm just here trying to make government more efficient." He encourages us to take an look at what he's doing, openly: "We are actually trying to be as transparent as possible. All of our actions are maximally transparent. I don't know of a case where an organization has been more transparent than the DOGE organization." So, have you accepted his offer and taken a look at the DOGE website (link at bottom of post)? I've included screenshots of my own tour below. Click to enlarge any image, or zoom/pinch/squeeze/whatever (you will definitely need to for some of the detail). The site opens with "Latest Work", featuring items such as: ![]() That's the end of another piece of wokery ;-) The "Savings" menu gives the big picture. This is really what it's all about according to Musk and Trump. Others may argue that it's an assault on the needy and an intent to shrink the function of the state. ![]() This section includes: ![]() I don't fully understand the explanation here, but I guess it's an attempt to document with detail different areas of (curbed) expenditure ... ... like wasteful contracts ... ![]() ... and unnecessary property leases ... ![]() So it goes on, with a similar "Payments" section showing a summary of disbursements that will be discontinued. There are also pages intended to describe in broad terms the size and cost of federal investment. ![]() Bureaucracy is the number one target. Here's the "Unconstitutionality Index": "This is the number of agency rules created by unelected bureaucrats for each law passed by Congress in 2024." Here's an explanation of rules from Harvard Law School: "When Congress passes legislation, it often explicitly authorizes federal agencies to implement provisions of the law through rulemaking. While agency rulemaking authority comes from Congress, the president sets priorities for agencies, often through Executive Orders. An incoming administration decides which existing federal rules to target with recission or replacement and directs agencies on what new rulemakings to undertake. ![]() In short, DOGE is asserting that the federal government is needlessly and unpatriotically schlerotic. Right, enough, that's a taste of DOGE. I wonder if you're thinking the same as I am. I can't argue against the reduction of bureaucracy, waste and fraud. I grudgingly have to admire that they've taken on this challenge and applaud the presentation of results in the public domain. My two major concerns are approach and motive. Trump and Musk are both scattergun practitioners, they're prepared to shoot before working through all the angles. There is always a risk of collateral damage, often to the least wealthy and fortunate, who after all are not natural Trumpian buddies. You can also detect the wider political agenda in the targets of DOGE scrutiny, the wokerati and coastal elites, crooked Joe Biden's crowd. Finally, is the website reportage to be trusted? Is it true and accurate? Although MAGA has been preparing for years, as evidenced in the Project 2025 document, this presidential term is still very young. The speed of DOGE implementation is blistering; can DOGE really have instigated such a volume of cases in so short a period? Or is it another achievement to applaud, head firmly over sick bag? The DOGE website is here: ![]() ![]() |
Thursday 13th March |
I worry that I'm in danger of giving Trump what he most craves - attention. A red-top headline every day.
I'm also daily becoming more fearful of the "orange bullet", the prospect of a Trumpian fix to two of the most intractable problems of today's world. There's a kind of ceasefire in Gaza. Zelensky has agreed to at least the US concept of a pause with Russia. All since Trump reclaimed the top job. I'm baffled by how things appear to fall for him, if that's how we can begin to view those events. How he would crow if we had resolution, vomit inducing. [Just so you know, I'm clearly not against an end to the strife and loss, only mortified that the blob should be its architect or catalyst.] From a man who seems to have no proper grasp of how a good relationship looks. He tells us how well he gets on with despot X, how great is tyrant Y. I can only see these friendships as a figment, a puff of self-delusion. ![]() I really can't say that I understand. Any of it. Are the world leaders who have knelt before the throne in the Oval Office different? I swear I see rabbit-shock in their eyes. "What's going to happen here? What will he say next? How can I respond? Help!" |
Wednesday 12th March |
Here's a post that unites the personal and the public.
As I've mentioned before in these pages, we attend a vigil for Gaza every Friday evening at 6pm in front of the Stroud Subscription Rooms. ![]() As a spin-off from this we attended a history talk two weeks ago at the Nailsworth Quaker Meeting House titled "From Balfour to Gaza". I took my seat, looked at the speaker, into whom I had also bumped moments before outside the toilets, and thought, "I think I know this man." Indeed, I did; it became clear when he introduced himself ... my friend Mike Scott-Baumann from St. John's College, Cambridge, last encountered 50-odd years ago. In the intervening decades Mike has taught history (for a long period only just down the road at Wycliffe in Stonehouse; I never knew) and is currently chair of the Executive Committee of the Balfour Project, an organisation which acknowledges "Britain's historic and continuing responsibilities, we work through education and advocacy to advance equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis". You can visit its website here: ![]() The History Press, headquartered in Cheltenham, released his book in 2021, since updated: ![]() We met for lunch yesterday and agreed that this publication could not have been better timed. I personally - that's why I was at his talk - have been trying hard to understand more of the background of the present conflict. I've read the first few pages of the copy Mike gave me and already feel better equipped. Broadcaster Jon Snow has commented: "This book is both necessary and accessible. So many people are mystified by this never-ending Middle East conflict. Here at last is a concise and readable account of a fundamental international issue of our time, one that has implications far beyond the region where it is set." |
Tuesday 11th March |
Reasons to be cheerful.
Well, at least some humour out of grim times. I noticed the main story on the front page of the Daily Star on the Waitrose newspaper rack: ![]() Says it all, doesn't it? Really gets to the heart of what drives the orange man-child in the White House. Miffed at Zelensky nipping in for the royal treatment before he gets his state visit. He just wants to feel chosen, ahead of all the rest, actually said the words in a TV interview, an instinctive moan. Now he suspects that Starmer and the King were just pulling his wire. Then I find out that the lovely Lee Anderson is being tested as Chief Whip of Reform. The Ashfield thug struggles to maintain order among his single-digit band of colleagues. ![]() Finally, Musk has taken a hit since the start of March. ![]() I know, he's still not poor, and this may be a blip. Analysts say it might in part be due to a move from "automotive 'pure play' to diversification into AI and robotics" and suggest that this drop is "creating an attractive entry point for investors". But for the moment, most of us have enjoyed the graph trajectory. |
Sunday 9th March |
I couldn't let this pass by without a mention, as it's where this blog started nearly five years ago.
Today is (among other things): ![]() The GOV.UK website explains here: ![]() ![]() I don't have to go far for my memories - because they're all here in these pages. I spent some time earlier running through what I wrote. Very weird - and of course tragic for many - times. Here's one distressing observation. At certain points I've consigned Donald Trump to history. Now look where we are. |
Friday 7th March |
I find the news particularly overwhelming at the moment. Perhaps I watch, listen to and read too much of it, although I'd be at a loss were I not informed.
One contributing factor is the relentless output of the Orange Buffoon. Inevitable given his desire to be noticed, to make a headline every day. So it was with pleasure and relief that I yesterday stumbled upon an Instagram feed of Private Eye cartoons. I'll share one with you. It made me chuckle, lightly. It had nothing to do with any of the world's bad guys. ![]() No Trump. No Vance. No Musk. Just funny. |
Thursday 6th March |
Governance by social media ... and press conference, TV soundbite, photo opportunity. Check out Trump's blast of last night. An explicit existential threat - "if you don't do as I say" - to the "People of Gaza", direct from the leader of a distant, overwhelmingly more powerful country, delivered via his "truth" platform.
![]() This has gone viral. Some doubt about origin and attribution, looks like Banksy, signed Loretto. Valid nonetheless. ![]() |
Wednesday 5th March |
The commentators and columnists are struggling, the podcasters too. When I'm lost for words, I often turn to the cartoonists for help, post a handful of their takes. But there are simply too many after this last week.
I'll restrict myself to a couple. Megan Herbert of Australia's The Age and Sydney Morning Herald has some handy detail in summary (click to enlarge): ![]() David Sipress of The New Yorker shares the gloom of his professional colleagues and (at least some of) his compatriots: ![]() |
Sunday 2nd March |
The Mail on Sunday condemns Trump? Starmer gets a pat on the back? In the new world order, there's a surprise every day ...
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Saturday 1st March |
What would you expect from Truth Social?
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Friday 28th February |
You've probably seen this video, as it was shown on the BBC national news two nights ago (fact-checked by BBC Verify), The Guardian ran a piece yesterday, otherwise ... viral everywhere. I'm posting it here for the record.
Did Trump really put this out? I searched on Truth Social. Yes, it was there under his profile. On how many levels is it wrong? Surely no sane person can think like this. The President of the United States? Apart from anything else, would you really want to display pictures of your podgy self on a sun lounger? You'd be justified in asking why I have any truck with X and Truth Social; I admit ... I have accounts with both. My defence is that I want to hear without filter from the horses' mouths, however bad their breath. I never post, just observe ... and let my jaw drop. The outpourings of Trump on his platform stretch beyond the outer reaches of my imagination. Over-the-top praise of his cabinet appointees, blunt dismissal of opponents. Copious self-congratulation. A deluge of "wins" in his first month, more than any previous president, he claims. ![]() ![]() Of course, our Labour party could do with success stories, and we'd like to hear about them. Starmer's team appears to have none of Trump's knack of doing what he says, picking off low-hanging fruit, choosing targets that resonate with the electorate, and then telling us what he's done. |
Thursday 27th February |
Everybody's beating a path to Trump, to the Court of the Orange King. I don't envy them. It's a difficult act both to grovel and stand tall.
"I do deals. My whole life is deals. That's all I know, is deals." If you're trying to get inside Trump's head, understanding the above is clearly one of the keys, particularly as he says it himself. Plus we should heed the old advice: "Follow the money" ... or real estate ... or rare earth. He always needs something in return, hates the idea of anybody getting the better of him, of being ripped off: Europe not paying its way in NATO (as he sees it), Ukraine sucking money out of Uncle Sam. Yet weirdly, and crucially, he only affords respect to those with power enough to take something from him too. Part of the turn-on of a deal is that it is by definition reciprocal. It's a both-way handshake. Big bad boys rubbing up against each other. I've written in these pages about the "silver bullet" needed to resolve some of the world's intractable problems. In recent days, a shiver has passed through my body as I imagine a variant - the "orange bullet". What if Trump did unlock some world stalemates, do what many previous US presidents have failed to do? It's a primary part of the legacy he would like to build. He has certainly got people's attention and leaders are hopping to impress. But what a thought. Indigestible. I've mentioned Orwell in earlier posts. Can you think of a novel more prescient than 1984? The current Trump-Putin mini-entente doesn't quite fit, but the presence of three superpowers holds good. Driven by self-interest. The idea of global co-operation dashed, international institutions and altruism scorned. Subjective truth. ![]() |
Thursday 6th February |
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Saturday 1st February |
After the shock of Trump's first days as 47th president - four more years of this madness, really? - let me turn to another source of rage, the word that can still not be spoken in UK government quarters. Five years ago yesterday we left.
![]() Gloom, anger and bewilderment have filled these pages on the topic in all that time (and more, nearly a decade), and yes, the damage has been immense, but I'm inclined to be more positive today. Here's what YouGov (sort of a horse's mouth) says: ![]() It's maddening only to be reclaiming ground that we gave up voluntarily (that's right, 5% of GDP), but hey, at least we're heading back in the right direction, and some of the other half are coming to their senses. Starmer still can't say the word, but he clearly knows he has to be closer to Europe, or he can kiss goodbye to growth. How far might he go in another five years? Of course, that's a whole other debate, whether floundering Labour can pull themselves together enough to secure another term. ![]() Here's the link to explore more detail on the YouGov site: ![]() |
Thursday 29th January |
I'm chuffed that cartoonist Guy Venables has echoed my comments about Trump's take on opportunities in Gaza:
![]() In yesterday's The Rest is Politics podcast, Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart debated whether Trump could be called a fascist. Campbell drew our attention to a document, a poster allegedly once sold in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum shop in Washington DC, based on an article written by Laurence W. Britt in the bimonthly secular humanist journal Free Inquiry Magazine (Vol 22 no 2, 15 July 2003) titled "Fascism Anyone?". Britt had identified 14 common themes in seven regimes he examined: Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal, Papadopoulos's Greece, Pinochet's Chile and Suharto's Indonesia. ![]() Campbell asked Stewart - and the listener - to match and grade each of these assertions against Trump's MAGA-unleashed USA, where 1 = 'not at all' and 10 = 'completely'. What do you think? Useful in some, but not all, respects. I get that Campbell was trying to highlight unpleasant and dangerous aspects of Trump's intentions, but I'm not convinced that fascism is the right term, or that the 14 themes properly define fascism. Narcissism would be a more appropriate label for Trump himself, along with all his "art of the deal" transactional approach, the "look out for number one" or "what's in it for me?" instinct (both for Trump personally and the USA as a whole). He's too chaotic and obsessed with self to be defined by any -ism or recognised for any specific political ideology. He does however run counter to and distrusts most of the rule-of-law beliefs and institutions that the USA has developed and supported over many decades, the UN, WHO, ICJ and more, in all their wokeness. What most scares those of us brought up in the liberal tradition is the rejection and dismantling of forces for good, the collaborative stuff of a better world. And, of course, he is quite simply just horrid, creepy and repulsive. |
Monday 27th January |
![]() Yes, like most, I'm reeling from the Trump inaugural onslaught, the MAGA tsunami. Four years of getting ready to go on day one of his return, celebrated on the White House website ![]() ![]() From the hours of news bulletin and podcast, from yards of print coverage in the last week, one observation that has stood out for me came from Rory Stewart on The Rest is Politics. He suggested that Trump was aiming to build a stronghold in the Americas (with the inclusion of the Panama Canal, Canada ... and Greenland). Xi Jinping can do what he wants in the South China Sea and with Taiwan, Putin can re-colonise Eastern Europe and restore the Russia of his youth. A map imagined in 1949 comes to mind: ![]() Although Trump is not advocating the Oceania-Eurasia-Eastasia perpetual war (he doesn't like to pay for it), dystopian days nonetheless. Magaspeak instead of Newspeak, objective truth banished. As long as Trump's home patch is unaffected or benefits, the post-WWII concerns of the rule of law, international agreements that foster whole-world health and safety (WHO, Paris, NATO) can go hang. The rest of the planet interests him only where he can make a dime, strike a deal. He was asked last Monday if he thought the Gaza ceasefire would hold and commented that beautiful things could be done there, it's on the sea, great weather ... you could see him imagining the development of Trump hotels and golf courses, after he's moved everybody out to Egypt and Jordan. Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. How appropriate of inaugural buddy Elon Musk to tweet this response to accusations of a fascist salute: ![]() ![]() On Saturday Musk made a surprise video appearance at Germany's far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) election campaign rally. |
Friday 24th January |
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Monday 20th January |
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Thursday 2nd January |
I said on Tuesday that I no longer need to make those hardcore resolutions, as alcohol and tobacco are things of the past. I can dream a bit more, lightly, accentuate the positive. Here's a sample of my non-exhaustive, unordered list:
Others may have different plans (click to enlarge): ![]() That's the tricky part, isn't it? We have to put up with all of those above. |
Wednesday 1st January |
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© Charlie Lewis 2025
Email: charlie_c_lewis@hotmail.com |