Westministenders: Johnson defends his President whilst we try to defend Britain

[RedToothBrush]

Theresa and Donald
Sitting in a tree
K-I-S-S-I-N-G
First come Brexit
Then comes the Ban
Then comes the
Removal of Human Rights
… Damn

(Shamelessly stolen from a protest sign)

A couple of weeks ago people were still asking why we were talking about Trump on a Brexit thread. I think the answer has made itself all together too apparent.

What is happening in the US is not going to stop. It’s not going to get any better any time soon. The situation is grave with suggestions there has been a coup. What happens next is not going to be pretty. American institutions are struggling. The rule of law has been undermined. We are not talking about a developing country. We are talking about the country which has stood for freedom and democracy.

Our leadership looks weak in the face of this. We look like we are not only appeasing but endorsing. For what? A trade deal that he could revoke in 30 days?

We have but one question. How many of our ‘British Values’ will have to be sacrifice for the special relationship?

Make no bones about this: Cosying up to Trump threatens our national security. It threatens our democracy. It ruins what little moral authority we have left. It threatens our ties with Europe who we DO still need to have a relationship even if we are outside the EU. This is not world leadership. This is appeasement. This is cowardly weak and downright desperate.

Let us also not forget ‘Good old Boris’ pretending to be Churchill and calling the EU Nazis and Hitler during the Referendum and on several occasions since. He has now had the bare faced audicity to stand in the House of Commons and call MPs out repeatedly for ‘trivalising the holocaust’ or for making comparisons with the 1930s when they saying they have been told this by survivors of the holocaust. It is SHAMEFUL. I also note how many times Johnson referred to Trump being democratically elected as if this makes all the difference and he can’t possibly be a dictator if elected.

Why do they want to use the parallel themselves and HATE it when its used for things they use? Fascists hate being pointed out as fascists.

What would happen if you put it to the public? You have a choice, The EU or Trump? What would they say. At its most basic this is what Brexit is now. You can not hide it or disguise it any longer.

Get used to this. Be prepared to protest, to keep challenging, to keep calling things as they are. Fatigue might set in, but we need to keep on. This is for the long haul.

Today the a50 Bill starts in parliament. It’s not looking good, as it looks like MPs will completely fail in their DUTY to hold the government to account and will not have the balls to add amendments to the bill.

If it passes without any, get worried. It is not just about the EU.

It never was.

Thanks for that blog post, Cecile, I liked it very much too.

As to why it seem easier to protest against Trump than Brexit, Trump's policies are so viscerally abhorrent and obviously dangerous that taking to the streets seems like an obvious and necessary response. And the fact that he lost the popular vote helps too. On the other hand the fact that Brexit is a long drawn-out affair with the shock to be felt in the future, and a complex range of possible strategies and outcomes makes a unified response much harder to achieve. What to focus on? Even the question of the single market is hopelessly muddied, with "access" and "membership" used interchangeably. The issues are so many and the responsibility so diffuse it's like punching sand. Maybe Labour could have stopped it yesterday - were it not for Corbyn's bid to become the next leader of UKIP - but here we are.

I'm open to all ideas.

Interesting!

www.libdems.org.uk/7000_labour_members_quit_party_as_senior_councillor_defects_to_lib_dems

Not sorry to see Labour shedding members. Perhaps the Lib Dems really will find themselves in a position to do something useful soon.

Looks like President Bannon's going for the full Handmaid's Tale production.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-executive-order-christian-pre-marital-sex-same-sex-marriage-abortion-wrong-religious-a7558691.html

"It also says reaching an early deal on the rights of EU nationals in the UK and British expats in Europe has "not proven possible", saying the government wants to secure an agreement with European countries "at the earliest opportunity" during the formal talks."

Nice.

How about a passionate march for the rights of EU citizen currently living and settled in the UK to remain if the so wish? Maybe they are not disadvantaged enough to spark people's wrath?

Will the government ask EU citizens who are settled here to leave the country? What if they own businesses, property? What if their spouse or children are British?

My Leave ex-friend said "it will never come to that" I am not so sure.

Brave new England.

There's the Unite for Europe march on 25th March, remember.

Facebook page here www.facebook.com/events/1812530828971846/

"How about a passionate march for the rights of EU citizen currently living and settled in the UK to remain if the so wish? "

I thought this was happening on 20th Feb with the One Day Without Us thing. I fixed up a day off work in expectation of a protest, but I can't see that much has actually been organised for it. 25th March seems a bit late in the current circumstances but I'll be there.

Well the White Paper is somewhat less informative than I'd have hoped for. It appears to have been cobbled together from a couple of old speeches with some graphs to make it look pretty.

"We aim to...", "we are confident that...", "...global UK...", blather, blather, blather.

"We aim to have our cake and eat it in a truly global UK".

Kaja and Patty. I will be there on 25th March. Didn't know about 20 Feb. Feeling really down since yesterday and have been tearful and a tad hopeless about the future. I don't believe the protests will achieve much (I went to the women's march) but will be there. This is a revolution of sorts, isn't it? Life as we know it is going to change. So much uncertainty. Very bleak.

Prettybird, "I take particular exception to TM's intro" "The essential ingredient of our success. The strength and support of 65 million people willing us to make it happen.

It is rubbish. The current wisdom as trotted out by the Con's is that the UK has to leave because 17,410,742 million voters of the UK went out and voted to leave in an advisory referendum which gave no idea or guide as to what in particular that entailed. Don't try and blame any crap on the roughly remaining 47,589,248 million people in the UK. Nothing to do with this path. Only the leave voters and government. Unbelieveable they are trying to pin anything on other people already. Can't even take responsibility for what they are doing as the party of government.

Jeez, the worst thing is we are now having to listen to the geniuses like Peter Bone and Redwood and all those other assailants on the rational senses who have been hiding their lights under the bushels of the back benches for decades. They are suddenly popping up and getting air time.

Grumpy I think a number of EU citizens have already been asked to leave.

I particularly hate the way the referendum is portrayed as some sort of revolution instigated by the people. No, an internal party fight was palmed off on them. The government chose the timing and the question. This time 12 months ago, or 18 months ago, Who here honestly cared about the EU.

Oh and Peter Bone is an advocate for the privatisation of the NHS. He has said it wouldn't be out of place on the Soviet Union. What a ridiculous thing for a British person to say. I had a blood test today and I must say a very nice Comrade did my bloods.

Cecile I know it's disgusting isn't it? I know that the people who were told to prepare to leave had failed to submit the requested documents when applying for the leave to remain card but it is still an outrage that these persons were threatened by the home office. They are entitled to stay here as EU citizens until the final day of Brexit.

They really are nasty aren't they?

Faisal Islam ‏*@faisalislam*

"This statement says nothing" says @keir_starmer - "a white paper produced too late in the day to ask meaningful questions"

Dear Keir

What exactly were you expecting it to say? You sound like it being a shower of shit comes as a surprise to you and this was in no way a predictable scenario that was designed to make the Labour Party look like a bunch of incompetent fools. Are you really that much of a complete tool? The whole thing is doublespeak to cover up true intent and doing the exact same thing that it going on in the US, just in a British style.

Lots of love from

Redtoothbrush

P.S Make sure you really do Diane what for.
P.P.S You just lost whatever hope you had in Stoke as well as Copeland. Remain swingers who would have voted for you to keep UKIP out, just jumped ship.
P.P.P.S. I've not read it yet. My feeling is that I don't really need to, do I?

This time 12 months ago, or 18 months ago, Who here honestly cared about the EU.

Me.
And many, many more like me.

Maastricht, then Lisbon.
Lisbon was the final nail for me.

Don't make the mistake of lumping the Leave movement/vote into a brainless mass of sheep who didn't give it a moments thought beforehand.

I was a bit hopeful about Keir Starmer. At first. Having this Labour party taking up the place of what could be a proper opposition is the worst thing. Things could not be better aligned for the Con's. Unopposed slam dunk.

Just got sight of the White Paper. Bloody hell.

Are White Papers normally introduced with a page and a half of Pythonesque jingoism?

Me too Semi

Weren't we all cailleach.

Its all gone a little W1A.

I'm not sure that it's sophisticated enough to constitute doublespeak, it's basically just bollocks.

Hey who is looking forward to the 14 weeks holiday until Brexit?

Looks FAB!

Is this cos we are all doing 2 day weeks as there is no work.

That isn't what I was saying, please, please can we all stop putting words into each other's mouths. I should have been clearer though, and less rhetorical. Yes, some people cared deeply, I more meant which problems in your day to day life did you honestly think would be solved just by leaving the EU?

Red I know. You couldn't make it up. But they obviously did.