Queens Drag Trump in The UK…

I read an article today that made me immensely happy. There are rumours that at least 1000 drag queens will sashay on down to London and looking their most fabulous will all join in with the wider protest at La Donald’s arrival in this country.

Basically, the sensible part of this country are shouting loud and clear that he is not welcome in this country and he never has been. He tried his best to ride roughshod over the people of North East Scotland with his vile excuse for a golf course and for a little while he got his way. Then he found out that there was a plan to erect a series of wind turbines to create a “wind farm” – akin to La Donald if you will. He’s a hot air farm. He stamped his feet and sulked and tried to get the plans for the wind farm overturned. I’m happy to say that he failed miserably and construction on the first turbines has already begun! How fabulous!

So, back to the queens and the reason for their protest against the fat Fanta faced cretin. They are voicing their disgust at the vile changes that La Donald is imposing. The most prevalent one being the issue of trans people serving in the armed forces. These people have as much right to serve their country as anybody else does! Trump has tried so hard to reinstate the ban on transgender people in the military.

Yet despite every attempt by La Donald and the bleating half wits he has in his cabinet to ban transgender people from the military, they just keep on failing. Every single time they try, the whole effort is quashed by a judge, and that is really pissing off Donny and his band of morons. Two federal courts have now ruled against the ban which is wonderful news. Let’s just hope that they keep is doing so. Trump is clearly not the LGBTQ ally that he claimed he would be.

With reference to the drag queen protest, there is an event page created on Facebook. So far, one thousand people are down as definitely coming. There are however, seven thousand people marked as “interested”. Oh please let that happen. 7-8 thousand queens in all their glory to show La Donald just what they think of him! That would be the best thing ever, it really would!

We can all learn from this though. We can all stand up and speak out against Trump’s hypocrisy no matter where you are. I urge you, if you are free on the 13th July, get down to London and stand shoulder to shoulder with all the protesters and say no to Trump and his hypocrisy!

Powerful Words…

via We Cannot Look Away

Wow. Just wow. The words in the above post have just moved me to tears. #notanotherone

An Open Letter To My Sons About Donald Trump…

A letter to my sons.
Hey boys. Your aged mother (well, I’m 44) needs to get this off her chest.
I’ve been a little bit upset since Wednesday. I’ve cried a lot and I’ve been very grumpy. Yes, I know. Grumpier than normal. That’s baaaaad right? There is a very serious reason for all of this. That cheese Dorito coloured asshat Donald Trump has been elected as President of the United States of America. That’s filled me with a sense of fear and disbelief.
Now, I’ll get a fair amount (if that many people read this) of abuse for telling you that I’m scared. Well tough. You are 18 and 16 so you are old enough to hear this and to cope with the occasional profanity that may come out of my mouth. You are my kids and I decide what I say to you, not some keyboard warrior with nothing better to do.
On the 9th November, we woke up to the unthinkable news that Donald J Trump had become the 45th president of the United States of America. I remember that I just went icy cold, started shaking and burst into tears. How could this happen? Everyone was so sure (myself included) that we would be waking up to the words “Madam President”. Yet against all the odds, the ever orange one with shares in L’Oreal hairspray had won.
Why did this happen? How could so many women, Hispanics, people of colour, Muslims, environmentalists and LGBTQ all vote for Trump? By their vote alone, Hillary should have romped home. She should have been tap dancing up the White House lawn. But this didn’t happen. Why didn’t it?
Here is one thing we know: Donald Trump, against all odds, will be the next President of the United States.

That’s a fact. How exactly it came to be is an open question. There will be dozens of books written about the real estate magnate’s path to the White House. From his trampling of the Republican primary field to a convincing electoral victory over Hillary Clinton after a shockingly nasty general election campaign, some could arrive in volumes.

1. He won because of Facebook and its inability or unwillingness to crack down on fake news

Via New York Magazine: The social network and others like it became a clearinghouse for fake news. Not simple partisan spin, but outright lies peddled as objective truth by shady actors both inside the US and abroad. 

2. Because of social media, generally

Via right-wing commentator Stefan Molyneux: The medium made the man — much as radio won the presidency for Franklin Roosevelt and television boosted John Kennedy, social media allowed Trump and his allies to drive the narrative.

3. Because of low voter turnout

Via multiple sources on social media: For a variety of reasons, from an enthusiasm gap to voter suppression, turnout in 2016 was lower across the board, but especially among Democrats. And it cost Clinton the election.

4. Because celebrity outlasts substance

Via Quartz: Trump’s name ID, celebrity and media-savvy overmatched Clinton’s policy acumen and data-driven turnout operation. 

5. Because of white women 

Via Slate: They were just as “racist” as their white male counterparts, with whom they identify more than women from minority groups. 

6. Because of white male resentment

Via The Nation: Forget economic anxiety — exit polls show people making the least money voted for Clinton — and focus on identity. The best evidence lies in Trump and his supporters’ calls to “take our country back.” 

7. Because of Russia after all?

Via The Washington Post: The Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said in an interview with state media that, contrary to Trump’s denials, “quite a few” people from his “entourage” have “been staying in touch with Russian representatives.”

8. Because the left and coastal elites shamed Trump supporters

Via The New York Times: The left has pressed on with an “ideology of shame” directed at the right, most notably now Trump supporters. 

In short: “The racism, sexism and xenophobia used by Mr. Trump to advance his candidacy does not reveal an inherent malice in the majority of Americans.”

9. Because rural Midwesterners don’t get out of the house enough

Via Patrick Thornton of Roll Call: It’s not just that elites are abandoning or ignoring Middle America — the “rural midwest” is doing the same, becoming more isolated and resistant to the diversity (of identity and thought) on the coasts.

10. Because the Democratic Party establishment didn’t push Bernie Sanders

Via The Huffington Post: By raising up Clinton over Sanders, the Democratic Party establishment (and its voters?) showed they favored the company and support of comfortable professionals over those beset by economic injustice. 

11. Because Reagan Democrats surged in Michigan and Midwest

Via former U.N. ambassador John Bolton: The so-called “Reagan Democrats” — white, working class voters who tend to lean Democrat but bend right for special candidates like Ronald Reagan and, now, Trump — are the story of this election. 

12. Not because of millennials

Via the Boston Globe: But do blame the media for focusing too much on them and not enough on the older white males who were the great, underreported story of 2016.

13. Because of Gary Johnson and Jill Stein

Via Vanity Fair: Clinton lost for lots of reasons, most notably the millions of voters who turned out for Johnson and Stein, thus denying the Democratic support she might have received in narrowly lost states like Pennsylvania. 

14. Because political correctness set off a nasty backlash

Via Reason: Trump’s promise to “destroy” political correctness, which has run rampant on college campuses and other more liberal enclaves, won him the culture war and, thus, the presidency.

15. Because he simply listened to the American people

Via right radio host John Cardillo: The political class (on the coasts) did not listen to or care enough for Middle America. Trump did. So he won.

16. Because college educated Americans are out of touch

Via the Alaska Dispatch News: Trump spoke to working-class voters, here mostly defined as those without college degrees, about the things they cared about: religion, liberty, marriage, sexuality, abortion and gun rights. And because “professorial sorts” who have spent time at universities drift into an “insular political culture,” their candidate was doomed to lose.

17. Because Americans are biased — but not against any race, ethnicity or gender

Via The Resurgent: The election was, simply, a referendum on the ruling class in Washington, D.C. None of the other issues, be they cultural or racial, came close to mattering as much.

18. Because voters believed the system was corrupt

Via The (UK) Daily Telegraph: Voters believed their political apparatus was corrupt and Trump was the only one who reliably affirmed that belief and promised to fix it.

19. Because he remembered ‘forgotten men, women’ of America

Via FirstPost: While Hillary Clinton held campaign rallies with Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Trump was out talking about the “forgotten” working class, which in turn exacted a “revenge” on the political elite by voting for him. 

20. Because Democrats focused more on turning out supporters than growing the base

Via In These Times: The party and the left “have given up/abandoned/lost touch with the working class” — as evidenced by their lame effort to persuade people outside their base. By focusing on them, Democrats ceded all else. 

21. Because the Democratic National Committee selected the less competitive candidate 

Via WikiLeaks on Twitter: The party tipped the scales for Clinton, thus “defeating the purpose of running a primary” and in turn denying Sanders, a better candidate, the chance to win.

22. Not because of racism

Via Bloomberg View: Never mind the backlash to the country’s first African-American president, this wasn’t about race in the slightest. If race were an issue, then Obama wouldn’t have won two terms and many of the states Trump himself prevailed in on Tuesday.

23. Because of Comey

Via USA Today: The FBI director’s decision to revive the Clinton email circus with a letter to Congress two weeks before Election Day killed the Democrat’s momentum and derailed her plans to finish the campaign with a more uplifting message. It also distracted from things like Trump’s comments in the “Access Hollywood” tape.

24. Not because of Comey

Via The Washington Post: Clinton lost because exit polls showed more than half of voters believed she was “corrupt.” And that was her own fault, not Comey’s.

Any one of these suggestions could be the reason that he won. It could be a combination of some or all of them. Whatever the reasons, I am sickened by the fact he won. Each and every person who voted for him ought to hang their heads in shame and disgust.

What we are saying by a Trump vote is that it is OK to verbally or physically attack someone because of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. Bullshit! Fuck that!!! It is so NOT ok! It is not OK to yell racist taunts or touch a woman without her consent. It is not OK to put your hands on another person without their consent. Ever.

People tell me I have no right to be scared of Trump because I’m Scottish. Well excuse me for being afraid of a psychopath with the nuclear codes in his pocket. World peace is EVERYBODY’S business, it really is!

Why have I written this letter? I want you to know that it is OK to say HELL NO!!! It is OK to rage against the dying of the light. It is OK to fight back!!!

As I write this, people across the USA are protesting against Trump and his presidency. They are fighting back. What we have to do is stand with them. We have to speak out against Trump and do it globally!

If he builds that wall, then we have to be ready to tear it down.

I want you to read this and know that we will never stop fighting. All it takes for evil to prosper is that good men do nothing.

Love you boys.

Mum.x

For Crying Out Loud – NO MEANS NO!!!

I got myself properly cross tonight. My boys are both autistic and one of their big obsessions is Top Gear. They absolutely LOVE it and will watch their fill of it on a daily basis via Dave or Netflix. Now this seriously makes my teeth itch for many reasons, but the main one being the rampant sexism/misogyny that is always on show in the programme.

There are so many examples, but the one that particularly boils my piss is this clip right here:

No means I’m ready!
Now in this clip, Jeremy, James and Richard all act like misogynistic twatwaffles and proclaim their epic skill for getting a girl’s knickers off and her legs open simply by throwing a handbrake turn. Then when said girls all look at them like the hoofwangling bunglecunts that they truly are, the trio proclaim that what the girls are really saying is “I’m ready!”

NO NO NO!!! No means no and if a girl says no or looks at you like you just won the cunt of the year show, then her answer is still fucking no you hateful twatbadgers!

I’m lucky that my boys do not see girls as dating material yet, nor are  they ever likely to. But I still make damned sure that I explain to them just how wrong this is, and how every single one of us, man or woman has the right to say no if we don’t want something to happen to our bodies.

Whether you are male or female, you must accept that prejudice and sexism is wrong. Listen to your partner. Respect their wishes and for fuck’s sake accept that NO MEANS NO!!!

THINK before you donate…

I have always been an ardent supporter of charity. Even if I don’t have a lot of money, I will always stop to drop some coins into a charity collecting tin. I donate to the National Autistic Society on a monthly basis on behalf of my boys.
But I don’t give to other charities. I have stopped giving to oxfam, save the children and amnesty international. Why? You may or not know this, so if you do, apologies if I am repeating information that you are already in possession of.
The pay for senior level executives of charities has continued to rise, despite a campaign to curb that rise. Going back to February, 32 out of the top 150 charities’ executives were paid over £200000 which is up from 30 in 2013.
The number of charity leaders paid over £300000 has also increased from nine to twelve in the exact same two year period.
The highest paid of all was the executive at an independent hospital, the London Clinic. The person is unnamed and earns between £850000 and £860000 a year! That really sticks in my craw!
Nuffield Health, a hospital and fitness centre provider came in with the second highest salary, paying between £770000 and £780000!
The third highest payer was St Andrew’s healthcare, another medical charity who’s former chief executive, Philip Sugarman was paid £750000-£760000 in his final year with the charity.
Nuffield Health claimed their figure included redundancy payments and their chief exec, David Mobbs, was paid £640000-£650000 a year for his role.
However, I am more concerned in writing this post with regard to well known charities. With a little digging around, it was easy enough to find out Oxfam’s CEO’s wages. Lady Stocking was paid £119560 for the year 2012-2013.
Let’s now look at Save the Children. Justin Forsyth, the Chief Executive was paid £167000 last year.
Nine (yes, nine) of the executives at Cancer Research UK earn more than the prime minister! That included the chief executive Harpal Kumar who pockets £240000 a year!
The CEO of the NSPCC, Peter Wanless earns £162000 a year, which is £40000 more than the guy before him got!
Here are some more for you. Amnesty’s Salil Shetty gets £210000 and Age UK’s Tom Wright gets £190000. Marie Stopes refused to reveal Simon Cook’s wage, but his predecessor got £263000! Christian Aid’s Loretta Minghella gets £162072. The RSPCA’s Gavin Grant gets £160000.
I can go on and on about the astronomical sums that these people are getting. It makes my blood boil. If all the money that these people made was put into the charity, just imagine what could be achieved!
Call me whacky, but I thought the whole point of charity work was to give your time freely for the benefit of others? Not to bleed a charity dry of its profits to line all of your greedy pockets!

Horrified…

I’ve just been on Facebook, and whilst scrolling through my news feed, came across a video that a friend had shared. Nothing to do with the friend in question, they were simply asking for an opinion on the issue. However, I got treated to a bird’s eye view of said video thanks to the automatic playback facility that Facebook has for videos now.

Allow me to digress for a moment. In order to understand this, I need to explain that I was a victim of domestic violence for a lot of years. I am free now, but suffer from severe PTSD. Viewing this video caused an almighty flashback and I’m feeling so vulnerable and afraid right now, I really am.

The video in question? Surely it couldn’t be that bad? Erm, yes it was actually. It was a video of a gang of men violently holding down and beating a woman while one of them shaved her head. Her crime, according to the video’s caption, was that she had cheated on her boyfriend.

Now I have blogged before that I loathe cheaters, and I still hold that opinion. But how do we know that it’s true? We only have the poster of the video’s word for that. Believe me, I know only too well that violent men will use any bullshit excuse to try and rationalise what they are doing to another human being. If they actually admitted to themselves that they were at fault for their brutality, then their tiny little heads would explode.

The answer? Well in my view it is simple. Facebook needs to remove the automatic playback facility that it has currently. Then people will be safe from traumatising experiences like this. I have reported said video. But for now, my thoughts are with that poor girl. I hope with all of my heart that she is OK.