I’m listening to Trump’s address to the troops announcing “his” plan for Afghanistan as I write this. Is it normal for there to be a fanfare before the president speaks like that? If a New Zealand prime minister’s speech had something like that preceding it, he’d be laughed out of office for his pretentiousness!

He’s having to make excuses for changing his mind once again. It’s no surprise he’s doing a turnaround – this is what I thought would happen. I suspect part of the reason the announcement has taken a few days is he had to think of a way to make himself sound good.

The decision, as usual, shows he’s echoing the words of the last person he spoke to. In this case, it wasn’t Steve Bannon this time. The generals have their way, and the US is staying in Afghanistan. This is not a surprise to me. Besides, an abrupt withdrawal would be a mistake in my opinion.

The joke is that Trump is trying to present himself as someone who doesn’t make snap decisions – that he consults all sides and comes to a sound judgment. Before the election he said he’d remove all troops immediately. Now he’s blaming the need to stay in Afghanistan on previous presidents and telling us he’s a “problem solver”. This man has created more problems for his country in eight months than George W. Bush did in eight years. Seriously, the man is pathetic.

Trump cartoon

 

Tweets About Readers

Many will know Ann German for her Impeach Pussy Grabber stickers, her Wanker Justice website, and all the tweets she directs my way. But of course there’s more to her than that. Here she is with a blues performer she sponsored at a festival in her hometown of Libby, Montana.

 

Cat Tweets

Well? What else would you do with a cat?

 

It’s a cat. It doesn’t feel guilt.

 

Even when they’re being bad-ass, they’re cute!

Adorable!

Dog Tweets

In this section on 20 August, the first tweet was of a dog trying to get through a small gap carrying a long stick. Reader Federico Bär in Argentina sent me this great cartoon in response …

Clever Dog cartoon

 

Just playin’ in the bath!

 

I hope someone can explain this to me …

 

Bird Tweets

Kiss it better …

 

Very cool dance moves …
(From Ann German.)

 

Other Animals Tweets

I wonder if this woman began her career playing a tree in the school play?

 

Hoglet causing trouble …

 

Some more of the great work by the SWCC Hedgehog Hospital …

 

Marine Tweets

One of the most beautiful pictures I’ve ever seen …

 

Stunning photos …

 

Science Tweets

Ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away. We study this problem in other countries too Mr Trump.

 

This is the sort of thing Trump doesn’t want to know about …

 

History Tweets

Wow! Now that’s a library! (It looks a bit like that one in Dr Who – look out for the shadows!)

 

This is very moving, especially in the wake of recent events.

 

Political Tweets

The first three of these are from Ann German – I didn’t need to do much today!

 

This is a really long thread of hilarious tweets that start with this one, and it’s worth clicking through to check out the rest:

 

There are several tweets in this thread too if you click through. There’s no need to though as they’ve been put together to make this hilarious video …

This is what I’ve been saying …

 

Human Rights Tweets

Nor will I …

 

This was going to happen sooner or later …

 

Eclipse Tweets

(The first two of these tweets are from Ann German.)

I suspect far too many would believe this!

 

 

This is more like it!

 

Funny Tweets

This is from 2015, but it’s fantastic so I’m including it. You have to click through to Twitter to read the list – it’s genius! I promise you will enjoy it. I’ll give a couple of examples of the “terms”. (Via Ann German.)


 

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