I didn’t put this video up when it came out a month ago, mainly because I forgot, but in it Maher lists the things about Trump’s Presidency that he really can’t stand (the degradation of the EPA, loss of healthcare, etc.), but also mentions issues he can’t be bothered to worry about (making Canada the 51st state, taking over Greenland, etc.—stuff that ain’t gonna happen anyway).
No doubt Maher will get flak for not being upset about everything that Trump does, and once again Maher mentions his much-maligned dinner with Trump (.
I’m even less engaged this way than is Maher, as I realize that there’s almost nothing I can do to curb Trump’s narcissism and attacks on almost everything. So I can be amused by stuff like the (temporary) renaming the “Gulf of Mexico”, but hearing incessant attacks on Trump’s real missteps makes me depressed, for I detest the same things that Maher detests, but am powerless to change them. I vote for Democrats, and write stuff here when I can, but stopping the extrajudicial deportation of immigrants, or the blackmailing of universities, well, I’m impotent. I’ll probably be dead in a decade, and I don’t want to spend much of that decade stewing in anger about issues I can’t affect.
Good piece by Maher. I liked the clouds passing by. Very creative!
Many of Trump’s outrages won’t be much more than short-term press frenzies. More serious infractions will be slowed or stopped by lawsuits. Decorating the Oval Office with gold leaf? Fugget about it. Messing with the Federal Reserve? Speak out and vote. Destroying the lives of immigrants without court hearings? Push back. Extinguishing Iran’s nuclear capacity? Celebrate and support. One needs to choose what to be outraged about and what to let pass as a momentary distraction.
They’re not “immigrants”, they are illegal aliens – that is the legal term. People in the country illegally are not the same as legal immigrants and unlike the latter, are subject to deportation under the law. Which a majority of even Democrats supports, though not necessarily the ways Trump is going about it.
We all get it Jerry. You do what you can. After that, go enjoy the new ducks.
Cue Huey Lewis:
🎶🎶
I want a new duck
One that won’t fly away
…
A great piece by Maher. He’s right, Trump lives rent-free in too many people’s heads. We all know about the idiocy that is going on, but it can’t consume every waking moment!
I’m not so optimistic about Trump as you. If taking over Canada and Greenland are 100% not serious he shouldn’t bring them up.
And don’t expect the “Gulf of America” to be restored to its former name any time soon.
If Dems take control in 2028 they’d better be more energetic than Biden was (who, for example, left tariffs on).
Actually “Gulf of America” makes sense: it is almost completely surrounded by America. What is irritating is Trump’s thoughtless assumption, along with so many of his co-citizens, that “America” = “USA”.
+1
“America” is synonymous with “USA” here in Canada.
So Canada is part of North USA? Might as well apply for statehood….
Where do you live that you find this irritating? The United States is the only country in the world that has “America” in its official name. Why shouldn’t it call itself “America” for short? Everyone in the world knows that “America” = the United States of America, and “Americans” refers to, well, Americans. The only national group that ever takes offence about this are Canadians, just because, I guess, Mercator falsely makes Canada look like this huge country that ought to dominate North America despite being mostly empty, frozen, and uninhabitable.
There is no basis for Canada to claim “America” any more than for Guatemala or Paraguay to. The Colonial Office once called us, loosely, British North America but the colonies all had their own official names with no “America” in them. In any case I don’t see that sobriquet ever coming back. America has “America” all to itself.
I’m not “claiming America” and I don’t really care about it. But I can’t stand Trump and he clearly did this to throw something to his base while he really cares mostly about billionaires.
I wasn’t replying to you, FK, but I appreciate the correction. I should have said there is no basis for Canada to resent America’s (and the world’s) appropriation of “America” to itself uniquely, not that Canada “claims” the America appellation. I really don’t understand why it annoys Canadians so much, though.
I will say that I don’t think President Trump cares a whit that you can’t stand him. He’s not your President; you didn’t vote him into office. National leaders don’t make it a priority to be liked by foreigners. Feared, rather.
I got a message that someone replied to my comment. I guess it wasn’t you. Your comment makes no sense unless the original commenter is also Canadian. Is that even true?
No, absolutely Trump doesn’t care what I think, or even what a lot of Americans think. I view him sort of academically, a case study in authoritarianism.
Interesting read by an American now living in Poland:
https://anneapplebaum.substack.com/p/autocracy-inc-415
Not just more energetic; the Dems if they win should keep the border closed to illegal immigration, continue deporting the illegals already there (prioritizing those who committed crimes beyond simply illegal entry), support Israel wholeheartedly in their effort to eliminate Hamas, and shun Iran as a pariah state. But they won’t, which is why I – a lifelong Dem voter until recently – will not be voting for them in 2028.