A week is an awfully long time...

Hello.

I had promised myself that on the back of my last two articles I was going await events and see what  transpired.

But, sometimes it's hard to switch off from what you see building up. I was looking for comedy videos on you tube last night, funny memes, anything, to distract me from the frankly overwhelmingly negative vibes coming from the epicentre of the American political establishment. I found Russel Howard.

So, as someone once said, "A week is long time in politics".

With Pence's Trump fowling up the place its a lifetime. As of 18hrs ago this was the reckoning;- (Thank's to Kelly Tonks for the research) 

For those finding it difficult to keep up - here's a run down of the week so far
To recap:
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the DOJ’s Violence Against Women programs.* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.* On January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities.

January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Minority Business Development Agency.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Economic Development Administration.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the International Trade Administration.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Legal Services Corporation.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the DOJ.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Electricity Deliverability and Energy Reliability.

January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Fossil Energy.

January 20th, 2017, DT ordered all regulatory powers of all federal agencies frozen.

January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Minority Business Development Agency.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Economic Development Administration.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the International Trade Administration.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Legal Services Corporation.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the DOJ.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Electricity Deliverability and Energy Reliability.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
January 19th, 2017, DT said that he would cut funding for the Office of Fossil Energy.
January 20th, 2017, DT ordered all regulatory powers of all federal agencies frozen.

January 20th, 2017, DT ordered the National Parks Service to stop using social media after RTing factual, side by side photos of the crowds for the 2009 and 2017 inaugurations.
January 20th, 2017, roughly 230 protestors were arrested in DC and face unprecedented felony riot charges. Among them were legal observers, journalists, and medics.
January 20th, 2017, a member of the International Workers of the World was shot in the stomach at an anti-fascist protest in Seattle. He remains in critical condition.

January 21st, 2017, DT brought a group of 40 cheerleaders to a meeting with the CIA to cheer for him during a speech that consisted almost entirely of framing himself as the victim of dishonest press.

January 21st, 2017, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer held a press conference largely to attack the press for accurately reporting the size of attendance at the inaugural festivities, saying that the inauguration had the largest audience of any in history, “period.”

January 22nd, 2017, White House advisor Kellyann Conway defended Spicer’s lies as “alternative facts” on national television news.
January 22nd, 2017, DT appeared to blow a kiss to director James Comey during a meeting with the FBI, and then opened his arms in a gesture of strange, paternal affection, before hugging him with a pat on the back.
January 23rd, 2017, DT reinstated the global gag order, which defunds international organizations that even mention abortion as a medical option.
January 23rd, 2017, Spicer said that the US will not tolerate China’s expansion onto islands in the South China Sea, essentially threatening war with China.

January 23rd, 2017, DT repeated the lie that 3-5 million people voted “illegally” thus costing him the popular vote.
January 23rd, 2017, it was announced that the man who shot the anti-fascist protester in Seattle was released without charges, despite turning himself in.
January 23rd, 2017, it was announced that the man who shot the anti-fascist protester in Seattle was released without charges, despite turning himself in.
January 24th, 2017, Spicer reiterated the lie that 3-5 million people voted “illegally” thus costing DT the popular vote.
January 24th, 2017, DT tweeted a picture from his personal Twitter account of a photo he says depicts the crowd at his inauguration and will hang in the White House press room. The photo is curiously dated January 21st, 2017, the day AFTER the inauguration and the day of the Women’s March, the largest inauguration related protest in history.
January 24th, 2017, the EPA was ordered to stop communicating with the public through social media or the press and to freeze all grants and contracts.
January 24th, 2017, the USDA was ordered to stop communicating with the public through social media or the press and to stop publishing any papers or research. All communication with the press would also have to be authorized and vetted by the White House.

January 24th, 2017, HR7, a bill that would prohibit federal funding not only to abortion service providers, but to any insurance coverage, including Medicaid, that provides abortion coverage, went to the floor of the House for a vote.

January 24th, 2017, Director of the Department of Health and Human Service nominee Tom Price characterized federal guidelines on transgender equality as “absurd.”

January 24th, 2017, it was discovered that police officers had used confiscated cell phones to search the emails and messages of the 230 demonstrators now facing felony riot charges for protesting on January 20th, including lawyers and journalists whose email accounts contain privileged information of clients and sources.
And today: the wall and a ban on Muslims entering from a large number of countries and the end to accepting Syrian refugee

January 24th, 2017, DT ordered the resumption of construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline, while the North Dakota state congress considers a bill that would legalize hitting and killing protestors with cars if they are on roadways.

And now we have:

The USA to UN funding is to be revisited and a moratorium conducted under two presidential executive orders. A worrying development to be sure .. but I'll come back to this.

So. Where to begin? Objectivity. There are a number possible causes for the actions we see from the Whitehouse:

1) Trump is a self obsessed Liability, and nobody knew so we're flying blind here

2) Trump is a self obsessed Liability, Pence et al knew and colluded hoping to limit damage.

3) Trump is a self obsessed Liability, Pence et al knew and agree with what he's doing and/or the way its being done. 

Now the 4th option.

4) Trump is not an idiot and we've all missed something. 

Ok. lets explore option 4: Sure Trump is a challenging character, brash, moneyed, uncultured and blunt. Not particularly likeable. He does however resonate with the presentation of a "get stuff done" vibe that strikes chords with the blue collar under belly of much of America. After all its often said "nice guys rarely win fire fights" So perhaps, just perhaps, his business acumen may lend him some currency in areas of government that he might have passing knowledge of. After all bankruptcy isn't un common in business. 

If that were true, and his differences aside from those of policy, were mainly ones of style when compared to the past presidents, democrat and republican alike, then many could look beyond his unpleasantness. (should?, no. but could? yes) waiting for him to prove his competance. One can after all separate the "man" from the "office", we are no stranger to unpleasant politicians in either side of the pond. 

However it is his Character that worries and frightens. Shown time and again demonstrably as a pathological liar prone to egomaniacal behavioural traits. Quick to make up spurious comment on the fly, fabricating facts to suit theories and presenting himself in a positive light at the expense of either fact or truth. When called out on the flagrant errors of these statements he attacks the credibility of those who argue against him rather than dealing with the accusations, refusing to take questions from specific reporters etc. 

In short the "Man" cannot be trusted. Thus the "office of the president of the USA" cannot at present be trusted. 

OK, taking that forward, what next? "The Office of the president of the USA" is more than one man. its a group effort. Press officers, Sean Spicer being one who has been on screen quite a bit. Even his reserve cracked with a rueful smile on one occasion when "defending the claim of 3 million illegal votes" that lost The Donald a majority electorate vote. His statement "That is what the president believes" being as close as any press officer can get to "i know its crap but i cant say that" in public.

Today the Entire state departments senior team resigned. Why? could that be a moral and ethical stand in refusing to serve an administration and by association government that does not value facts or truth? 

As I alluded to in my blog "Trump card" I cannot believe this all happened because the establishment was blind to Trump's faults. So option 1) is out. This leave options 2/3.

If someone or a group of someones planned this, then there must be an end goal in sight. What is that goal? How will it be achieved? Does Trump believe he will do it? Does the republican party and Pence think they can guide him sufficiently to neuter his worst faux par's? Do "The Donald" and "the  Republican party" Actually have the same goals? (see option 5)

Senior republicans have already told "The Donald" to knock it off regarding the 3 million illegal votes. Yet he has ordered some form of enquiry as yet to be determined. (mind you that could be yet another alternative fact to save face, one which never bears fruit)

"The Donald" seem to be governing as a CEO presently, expecting state and others to simply do as he wishes. Mexico could be a problem though since he doesn't run that, and I wouldn't want to be the white house staffer to explain that "inconvenient truth" to him. One gets the impression that "No" isn't a world he hears often, hence his incomprehension that someone might actually disagree with him and refuse to budge. Ego says 'wall will be built and paid for by Mexico". Thus The Donald believe it to be so. 

Time will ultimately tell if the republican party can direct their loose cannon, minimise collateral damage and hit their intended targets. For now much of "The Donald's" agenda and "the republicans" are aligned.  Once it is no longer so I would venture that an impeachment will happen between now and 2020. Which side of the house it comes from is anyones guess. 

There is however an option 5. This is the real scary one. The one where a "perceived fool" with unlimited resource fools us all, gains power and thus gets to reshape the world as we know it for many many years to come. 

5) Trump is an egomaniac, and a facist believing in breeding, racial superiority and a few other  choice "theories". One with whom the republican establishment knowlingly makes a bargain to get into power. Yet they under estimate the dragon they have unleashed. The dragon refuses to be constrained and having weakened the international checks and balances of a US funded U.N and NATO.... America can once more act Militarily independently and somewhat unchallenged.  All he needs is time....One single successful terror attack is the excuse the dragon need to set the fire.....just one....

And who then will stand in the way? Who then will tell "The Donald" to "knock it off" ? 

Were Pence and his ilk were looking inward, to their "'christian doctrine agenda, old skool right and  proper ideology" Bathroom bills etc with all its "great inclusivity" of marginalised peoples...?

Whilst The Donald was looking outward, to a global power base, unencumbered by accountability and the need to work with others... growth, expansion resource, redraw the map...

Will 2017-2020 be remembered as the 21st century's equivalent to the lead up in 1936-39? will fascism wear a suit and play its trump card? 

Will good honest people fact check, shake heads and then wonder how? 

It's happened before... 

Until next time, keep your eyes open and stay #stubbornlyoptimistic

Lows, Laughs and Legality.

Oh Dear.

I feel Golum's pain, truly.

Tonight I had hoped to write something that was a little more "uplifting" than my last article. After all it was, as one reader rather succinctly put it, "Bleak".

But.....

America's Trump continues to reverberate around the globe, and the smell doesn't get any sweeter.

Pipelines being built, environmental protections reversed. Climate change monitoring has its funding frozen. Suposedly "The Trump" has won awards for "Environmentalist Trump".... I'll just  leave this  here...

link to Trumps Environmental awards evidence.

Soon theres going to be line of merchandising dolls no doubt to go with the cinematic drama...

President Trump (Certified Free from vested interests)
Environmentalist Trump (Including awards certificate - missing from box)
Businessman Trump (with 6 certified bankruptcy proofs. Please send off the coupons enclosed for the tax returns..we'll get them back to you honest)
Making America great again Trump..(with free red hat)
Truthful Trump (production cancelled due to lack of ...well.... truth)
And of course not forgetting....
 LGBT Trump with free Mike pence Doll and & day pass to a reparative therapy Spa of your choice.

(All made under license in China)

In short the uplifting article i was hoping to pen this evening has taken a battering.... However all is not lost.

In the face of what some might dress as outright lies, but other's recognise as bone fide "alternative facts". The day after this infant(ile) American administration began it's long 4 year march to ignominy and ridicule, we have a refreashing dose of law, order and good old fashioned common sense from the UK Supreme court.  

Due Process. Love or loathe Brexit, the proper process and legal frame works must be adhered to. A fact "The Trump" would be wise to pay heed to.  The UK parliament must now debate the issue and satisfy the UK constitutional requirements. Proof that, even now, no man, (or woman) is above democracy or the rule of law. 

I hope you'll forgive another Tolkien indulgence as i quote everyone's favourite Grey Wizard 

"There are other forces at work here besides the will of evil - and that is an encouraging thought" 

So. What to bring as a counter foil to the bleak and dreary? 

How about a tribute to a funny guy, whilst poking fun a the whole European "thing" circa 1939 style.

Allo Allo ran for a good number of years when i was a kid and even though some of the humor has dated a little, the cheeky take on the serious business of occupied France in the war complete with dodgy accents and terrible french from English agent come Police officer "crabtree" still makes me Chuckle...

But I'm gonna leave the final word to Ronnie Barker. When boxed in, be it figuratively or literally, there's three things to remember:

So it's goodnight from me...and its goodnight from him 

Till next time on #stubbornlyoptimistic

The Trump Card?

Hello Readers.

My last #stubbornlyoptimistic post was entitled the faithful navigator. In it I focused on the personal and professional challenges of one person, Moi, in a sea of ever changing possibilities, problems and persistent prejudices.

Having watched the rather momentous occurrences on the international political stage recently I have to say faithful navigation is something we all very much need at present.

But where to begin? The story starts, perhaps a little strangely in 1937. JRR Tolkien's "The hobbit" was published that year, though it was a more modern adaptation of that story by Peter Jackson that kept me entertained this evening and set me on the path to writing this piece. Specifically, "The battle of the Five Armies" For those not familiar with Tolkien's works, bear with me, the link will become apparent.

So what of real world events? We have over the course of this last 7 days seen the UK Prime Minister continuing her attempts to look for some area of provenance on the world stage, Martin McGuinness has resigned on health grounds leaving the Northern Ireland Stormont assembly somewhat precariously poised. And of course we have seen the Swearing in and Taking Office of now President Donald J Trump of America. Elections are forthcoming soon in continental Europe. France, Germany and Italy all have somewhat nationalistic parties gathering a head of steam in their respective political arena's. All seemingly unconnected, random and disparate events? Maybe.

There are those currently in the media and elsewhere who denigrate former president Obama for doing little on the world stage these last 8 yrs. Forgetting perhaps that a Democrat in the oval office  is often thwarted by Republican control over congress. Others want change from the status Quo here at home in the  UK and hence we now have Brexit with an overall rise in nationalistic rhetoric. Peace can be dull. Yet it was not always so. I am 42 years old. I can remember a time when UK forces did not openly wear uniform on home soil for fear of direct attack. Overall in the western world, since the the Demolition of the Berlin wall 1989 and the good Friday agreement of 1998, US and UK citizens have enjoyed quite the peaceful and benign experience. Continental Europe having had a broadly similar experience, save for a few basque bombings every now and then.

What's my point? My point is that years of broadly Quiet, Peaceful Democracy has bread an unconscious apathy along with discontent at the usual peacetime economic challenges. Politicians are "all the same", voting is "pointless" and "War" is something that happens "elsewhere" to "other countries" or "in the past". We can see live feeds on CNN or Sky/BBC of missiles going into Gaza/Lebanon/Iraq/Kuwait. "But" says the mass population in these western countries, "they are unlikely to drop en mass on to us, we're safe". (not withstanding 9/11, which of course is the major and cataclysmic terror act of our time. My point being it was not an every day occurrence to be bombed or shot at whilst crossing the street) Safe to spend more effort en masse voting on "the voice" than on governmental referendums or similar.

When this "apathy" happens to large enough groups of people  "Me" replaces "Us" in the group think mindset. The thirst for "change" based on "inequality" and the perception of being a "have not" starts to rise. What people vote for, or even if they vote, becomes a function of narrow self interest and nothing more.

President Trump and those behind him saw this. He is in power through a wave of promises to bring about just such a "change" and to gift power and prosperity to those whose perception is that they have none, whether that be fact or otherwise. BUT this administration gained office on a very focused agenda, with virtually no mention of wider foreign policy. The sheer malignant genius of managing to  gain to office by giving literally no details of future international intent is staggering. So in tune were Trumps team with the "me" mindset that they played it flawlessly. So great was the emphasis on the man himself as deplorable human being, - which frankly I doubt anyone of sense would argue - and his business type rhetoric of tough talk that the vacuum of foreign policy information was missed. Missed by an electorate guided by near sighted self interest and/or circumvented by archaic voting practices. That is until now.

The USA has for years been an intermediary in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine. Today the new President has signalled a major shift in foreign policy regarding the area. Israel announced it  was approving the building of new homes in the "occupied territory" a move long opposed by Obama's administration and UN security council resolutions, and there are overtones of the US embassy in Israel being moved to Jerusalem. That this announcement came after a phone call conversation between Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is suggestive to say the least.

Seriously? bear with me on this point. Extremists usurping the name of Islam and religion are already doing a great job of the odd terror attack on foreign shores. (like I said above anyone remember 9/11? or the London bus and tube bombings?) Today most Arabs are Muslim, thus the extremist factions purporting to speak for Muslims, however misguided, are not going to take kindly to this perceived slight against the Arab vision of a Palestinian state.

Ok. back to 1937. This time not Erabor of Tolkien's world, but Germany. Hitler's Germany. March 1938 and Austria is annexed. October of the same year Hitler takes the Sudetenland. That portion of the Czechoslovakia border area that is predominantly German speaking. During this time the popularity of Hitler at home was huge. He had brought back pride and postive change to the people of  Germany who had very demonstrably lost it all in the recent war. History of course, now tells us his Foreign policy was any thing but positive.

Now I'm not suggesting Trump is about to annex New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, as i don't think even he would dream that up. But bear in mind it was Hitlers actions in Poland that kicked off WW2.  Germany invaded Poland and caused France and Britain to get involved. We currently have the Syrian conflict being a show of strength between Russian and American ideology by proxy.  Kicking over the previously dormant hornets nest of the Gaza strip could very well be akin to lighting a slow burn fuse that begins a war not between the countries of the "western world" but between those erroneously usurping the "Muslim"/Arab banner and the western military machines. And we know Trumps thoughts on "Muslims" don't we? Anyone else think it's reminiscent of the scapegoated Jews? Subtly different but still eerily worrisome.

Far fetched? Consider that Trump has already mentioned beefing up the American military. Consider that the world has already seen one war that was fought on false pretence. (Iraq 2.0 anyone?) Hitler didn't need to invade Poland. He merely needed an excuse to invade Poland. Austria and the Sudetenland were pretty much historically German thus the international community had little reason to oppose his goals there. But once he went for Poland, well France and Britain had the "reason" for  "justifiable" action. Note I put justifiable in quotes. This does not mean the war against hitler was wrong in my view, far from it. However it serves to highlight that before a country can act there must be political will for a given intervention. Hence Chamberlain's repeated meetings with hitler before the declaration of war, and Tony Blairs WMD's

So back to Trump's decision on the Gaza strip. Why? Either he's very stupid or very clever. Stupid because he fails to see that overturning decades old political stability is dangerous, or clever because that's exactly what he and his team does see and want to create. Light the fuse, create the reason for  intervention and you justify the creation of large military machinery to counter the threat that wasn't there until it was made so. Drag others into the conflict by proxy and you have pretty much a prelude to a large scale conflagration.

Ok ok. I can hear you all going "oh come on.. really .. is that actually gonna happen?" Sure it might not. But consider the timing. Inherent instability of Brexit/stormont/European politics and the growing nationalistic feelings across the world and ask yourself how stable do you think it is? With the right levers even the heaviest of rocks can be moved with but a single push. The American President is on record saying NATO is obsolete. The safety net that held together the threads of 67 years of peace is slowly being removed or undermined.

So what of Tolkien, and the dwarves of Erabor? Erabor was a Dwarven kingdom of untold riches, lost long ago to a brooding dragon who hoarded all the gold and treasures for his own. After the dragon was defeated the Dwarven king was for a time possessed of a sickness. A sickness where anyone who came near the gates of Erabor was perceived as a threat to the riches and a potential Thief. So taken was he by ownership of his kingdom's wealth that he broke all bonds of honesty, loyalty and friendship before he recovered his mind. However by that time many lay dead, entreaties from other civilisations of middle earth had fallen on deaf ears, and an entirely avoidable series of battles had taken place costing millions of lives.

Tolkien himself denied any allegorical context of his writings. But in this instance i think he'd forgive a likening to nationalistic greed. Fair trade, individual rights and freedoms. Bonds of friendship and honour. These are all things that cross borders and bind humanity together despite cultural differences.

If we close our borders, our hearts and our minds, barring our gates, we do so at our own peril. Now more than ever our politicians need to be mindful of the small actions. The seemingly insignificant little occurrences that may, if unchecked, lead the world down a very very dark path. I hope I am proven wrong. I hope this is nothing more than a period of peaceful change in the ever spinning tale of the human race. But will not assume it to be so.

The "alternative facts" that are being espoused from Trump's Whitehouse sow seeds of division, dissent & distrust. In so doing they "muddy the swamp" of truth verses propaganda or spin. Even the words "alternative facts" speak of a regime in love with its own image of itself. The twitter accounts of dissenting departments of the US government being shutdown over trivialities like the numbers of supporters at the inaugurations. This is deeply, deeply troubling. The information itself is banal, but the draconic control measures are quite the cause for alarm.

Lastly, there is now a Federal challenge to Donald J Trump for possible impeachment as he has  repeatedly failed to divest himself fully of his business assets and interests. Something it would not have taken the intellect of Sir Ian McKellen's Gandalf to foresee. Keep in mind that the shadow of extremism stands behind Trump. Not Muslim. but Christian. Mike Pence. Vice President to an administration that is seemingly intent on destabilising the Arab/Israeli situation.

Ask yourself "Why" ?

We are one nation -- We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny

"We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power.

We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world -- but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first.

We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones -- and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth.

There should be no fear -- we are protected, and we will always be protected.

We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement and, most importantly, we are protected by God.

Donald J Trump. 45th President of the USA.

The "Trump Card" a modern day Trojan Horse? 

As for the Trump/Pence domestic agenda I'll leave that for another time. Until then stay #stubbornlyoptimistic, for it is needed now more than ever. I'll leave you with yet another Gandalf/Ian McKellen Quote:

"All we can do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us"

T'ill next time... 

The faithful Navigator....

Hello! Tis Sunday again.

What a busy week! Family stuff saw me buzzing unexpectedly down and back up the A1 a few times,  and other stuff just keeps happening in life's usual random way.

It's those random things that I'm thinking of as I write this. For the usual mundane reasons of keeping a roof over my head etc I'm applying for various jobs whilst simultaneously completing my management diploma, and embarking on an NVQ assessors award. Being a few decades old, and having been and done a couple of things, plus holding a fistful of papers that detail my skill set, one would think that this isn't such a big issue. I'm not looking for rocket science jobs, just something that enables me to do the other stuff I've set myself as goals. The usual time/money equation.

So. I recently went for a job at a well known retailer. They deal in bikes amongst other things. Online process? check. Telephone interview? check. Store chat and interview? check.

"It'll take around 2 weeks for a decision so we will let you know"

24 hours later an email arrives in my inbox.

"Blah blah .....other candidates more closely match the skill set were looking for.....blah blah..."

Hmm. ok.

Fine we've all been unsuccessful in interviews, I get that, but in this instance given the yawning gap between what they required and my qualifications and abilities, with the later very much being in the more accomplished end of the scale, I took issue on a number of points.

Of course after a brief escalation it just gets farmed up to a level where Goliath looks at David and just goes. .."yeah? whatever, what you gonna do about it anyhow?"

Now I'm not really fussed. The job was there, it was a possible earner short term, I've not lost anything. Or so I thought.

It occurred to me that this has happened before. Military, Nurse, National retail competitor. All have made subjective decisions regarding me, and thus I find myself at this point in my life, very much on the "have not" side of the afluence and resource see/saw. Seemingly where I've been, what I've done and what I can do, being outweighed by other more nefarious consideration of "what I am"

Now, I'm not about to subscribe to the "woe is me" mantra and blame the world for where my life has arrived at this point. It MY life, thus it's mine to live, as are the consequence of any decisions. In life, action and reaction are ever present, and just because the reaction is perhaps "wrong" does not infer any fault on the action. It does however require one to learn. If you continue to take that action then one must expect a reaction similar to those that have gone before, and develop a way to deal with it. (Societal change is of course another response but that aint exactly a 5 minute job now is it?)

Of course, I'm alluding to the fact that all these circumstances occurred AFTER I came out to various people as trans. Interviewing as a trans person is ...interesting. Before that point I found doors opened, opportunities were presented, and to an extent I was taken at face value for what my resume and life experience indicated. After all, an eloquent white, middle class, male, former soldier is often a positive first impression.

However an eloquent white, middle class, formerly male soldier, not so much. So what am I to do?

Option one ... get angry at the world and curl up into a ball ..screaming you're all fuckers ...
Option two ... revert back to denying myself and fitting in with inherent risks of a depressive return to a very dark mental space
Option three ... Own that shit.... say ok, so you want me to re prove what I've already proven? ...fine its your funeral fuckers... accept it's gonna be a rough ride and roll with it.

Those of you who've read my trans centric posts may know already that I don't purport to understand all this trans stuff, just some of it. What I can say is that despite the slings and arrows of, shall we say,  "discriminatory" behaviour  I find myself smiling. Smiling on the walk back from the village shop cos the sky was burning orange at sunset, Smiling at the thought that for today at least, I can put the heating on. Enjoying a contented feeling as I listen to the rain outside and grinning at a soggy office cat as he comes back home most disgruntled at being soggy. All this despite the situation in which I find myself. Why is that?

Because I realised something after this latest rejection

I thought I'd lost my confidence. For a time the fear of rejection staying my hand in applying for other jobs that I know I can do. For a while i didnt apply for any after this incident. Then it hit me on that walk back from the shop, I still believe in me for I have something the detractors and nay sayers and discriminatory types don't.....

40 years of living as myself through some interesting times. They don't have that knowledge of who, what, and why I am where I am. They don't "know" me and thus the rejection is a reflection on their lack of insight rather than any meaningful reflection on myself as either a person or a professional. Not applying because they may not like what they see is the wrong mindset, trying to second guess them rather than confirming where I myself stand. So let them choose, for the choice is their's to make, nothing more or less than that.

Of course any sane individual will reflect on a process and learn from it. Honest reflection is a key skill in anyone purporting to be self aware. It is fair to say I am not blameless in my current circumstance, and on reflection it perhaps wasn't my best interview ever. But regardless, other's judgments of me are not my burden to bear. They are however rocks in the sea of trepidation through which we all sail. They must be navigated through, just like any other, so that we arrive where we intend. Curling up into a ball and letting go of the tiller will result in a shipwreck more surely than anything else.

But what of option two? cant you just "fit in"? Well the short answer is "been there done that" and it lead here....So no. I'm not gonna try and "fit in" I know innately because of my little smiles, and quiet contentment in life that this path is "a good thing". The old version of me, faced with the these challenges, would - and did - get very confrontational, a personality trait I was never fond of.  These days, even though I still have a temper (who doesn't?) I'm much more chilled out, & maybe a little wiser .. perhaps. This is a Good Thing.

Taking option three however does require something that is at times a little tricky to maintain in the face of such blatant "no platforming" of a frankly pretty decent skill set. Faith. I don't mean the kneeling chanting praying kind. I mean the kind of faith that lets you believe that somewhere behind all those rocks is a safe port. A place where you can again be all you can be, and where others see that for what it is. Faith that your direction is true, your professional compass calibrated, and that you will, if you remain #stubbornlyoptimistic, eventually find that which you seek.

So, my fellow Seafaring readers, be you Trans, black, Hispanic short tall, Male, Female, NB, LGB or Pirate, whatever "it" is that people judge in you, just navigate past that shit, for in the end rocks are worn down by the sea, and that results in safe, smooth waters for all.


Your faithfully...
;-)

The difference between Weeds and Grass.

Today I'm sat at my desk surrounded by candlelight. Its pitch black outside and the pasta is bubbling away on the stove for tea. The weather is pretty grim, with the remains of the latest storm blowing through the UK. All in all a cosy winters evening, with a roof, 4 walls, some heat and some food. Very much the metaphorical billionaire if ever there was one.

Like many people this week I've been watching. Watching the world come to terms with events, and a population come to terms with its choices.

Of course most eyes are pointed towards the Western horizon. What will the new president elect do? and what will the consequences be?

However. Rather than watch him, I've been paying attention to the reaction of those who both agree and disagree with some of the things that have been said over the past few months.

The most notable was the full page advert from the ACLU calling out the president elect and warning that if he try's to enact much of his rhetoric, they're gonna be waiting in the law courts.

ACLU twitter here...

Of course he has chosen rather less than liberal law makers for his new government, but that's really just what one would expect. Over here in the UK Brexit was assumed in some quarters to be a done deal with merely a signature and a rubber stamp required to seal its activation via article 50. However the rule of law and the weight of legal proceedings and precedent came to bear, and thus parliament must now debate the issue. 

Ironically therefore it is "the system" that may yet scupper the march of the right wing agenda, and other less savoury opinions of the human race, into a place of prominence and influence. It's been said that with a Trump America we now more than ever need a Corbyn UK. Or to put it another way, some left wing international politics to buffer the right wing leanings from across the pond. Balance. This would be a good thing perhaps?

Can we hope the media would be an ally in this effort for balance? offering a voice of reason and calm? objective discussion and observation? Here's something that popped up 

See the full video and a write up in the Independent 

Many people took issue with the lower third strap line as inappropriate. However I'd suggest it was wholly in keeping to highlight just how wildly idiotic some of these alt right types are. There's the argument that to give them air time gives them oxygen, for an example from history,  just look at the UK government's years of banning audio from interviews of Shinn Fien leader Jerry Adams. But theres also the simple fact that these hate groups breed on ignorance. Shining the bright light of mass media onto their idiocy and highlighting it as such, as the news anchor did, is the only way the these unsavoury ideas can be brought out into the light of comment decency to shrivel and die upon the alter of reasonable discussion.

The world of entertainment is arguably more influential than the news and main media outlets. We all follow people on twitter etc and thus there are some in that industy who are taking it upon themselves to register opinion on this argument. 

See Liams twitter here ....

World leaders too, they all had some very thinly coded messages for the present elect and those who would seek to roll back the clock to a more oppressive era. However France does have its own national backlash happening at the present. something I'm sure the EU is rightly worried about. 

I don't want to be a naysayer here, but its fairly obvious to see that should France eventually be under the rule of a nationalist government, whilst America pulls its horns in become somewhat isolationist as simultaneously the UK leaves the EU, then foreign policy depts across the globe have their work cut out. It could even be the end of the EU as we have known it for quite some years to come.

However its fair to say that there are other voices at work within these countries, organisations, media and entertainment. "The trump" was fond of using the slogan "drain the swamp". For my part I'd say we now need to "keep the conversation alive" about and with those who dwell at the lower regions of that and other swamps. To not do so is to court disaster, thereby allowing this pond life the status of underdog - and as we all know everyone loves an underdog. That is of course, until it bites. 

I started this "stubbornlyoptimistic" blog title more for personal reasons than anything else. Having lost my job, status, direction, income, influence and motivation, I merely felt it would be nice to have some vehicle for arranging my thoughts. Sharing with the world should it care to glance in my direction, the views of one person amongst many, one blade of grass in a vast field. It serves as a reminder that I will not give in to personal despair. However the more I look at current events and present day changes, the more I realise that an over all stubbornly optimistic approach is needed now more than ever. 

WE need to be that field of grass. One blade can accomplish little but a whole field can support an entire eco system. Every field will have weeds, but that's no reason to cultivate them. We do however need to expose them, "weed them out" and ultimately educate ourselves to produce a better yield from the boundless possibility our human race has to offer. 

So, for now lets keep making our feelings known. Show these "alt right" types that no, they ultimately don't have anything like a valid argument, and above all remain #stubbornlyoptimistic that in the end calmer, saner minds will prevail. 

".......there are other forces at work in this world besides the will of evil, and that is an encouraging thought...." 

Gandalf the Grey. 

On armistice day of all days. ....Sorry America

Ok.

So that happened.

It's taken me two whole days to form the thoughts needed to write this....Sorry America we've dropped the ball.

We now have the type of person chosen as president elect of the American nation that, frankly, were he not born into privilege, opportunity and wealth would be recognised for what he is. Namely a cretinous, misogynistic, self indulgent and narcissistic arse swipe of a human being.

We are familiar with politicians being flawed individuals. That is old hat. But this guy got elected on the strength of bragging about it. Let that sink in for a second. Thousands of ordinary people voted for a person, knowing that he wilfully and gleefully has broken - and will again break - the most basic rules of civilised behaviour.

There's a court case pending of the alleged rape of a then 13yr old girl, now grown. Multiple accounts of inappropriate and frankly disgusting comments towards women. The violent rape of his ex wife.... and other more business related stuff... Just. Digest that. For a moment.

13. Years. Old. Thats not just rape that is fucking near peadophylia for pity's sake!!!!

Now. laying aside the asinine policies of the individual in question for a second, just ask yourself how did we, the human race, get to a point so devoid of the common sense of logic and morality that someone of that character type could get within 100 yrs of the Whitehouse lawn, let alone, with all this as a known quantity, be given the keys to the Oval Office?

Apathy. thats how. The vast majority simply refused to believe it would actually happen, and did not treat the growing threat with the measure of concern it warranted. I count myself amongst that number. It wasn't until the night before that the truth dawned, and I knew he was gonna get in to power.

History will judge his election on many points. His right wing views, his policies and the undoing of all that progressive thinkers have attempted over the last two terms. 8 yrs of work.. gone .. in a single blow struck by the skillful manipulation of the disenfranchised and under informed,  even wilfully ignorant masses.

But that's like arguing which way the horse went after it bolted out the stable, without considering who left the door unbolted to begin with.

Humanity lost the fight long ago, when this creature was deemed worthy of even the merest thought of public office. Our standards have risen to new depths as we mine the rich vein of political capital that can be had from the thirst for change. Not real change of course. Perceived change. Mere shadows and dust, smoke and mirrors. The ever changing bright lights of big telly screens spouting the latest version of the truth that people want to hear. Facebook feeds become tuned to be a mirror of our tastes, reflecting back to ourselves that which we want to see. Government news agencies that cherry pick story after story, edit them and muddy the perception of truth ... and lets not mention the newspaper editors...I mean really?

What's really sad is the vast majority just don't care. As long as big brother, strictly come dancing and the NFL super bowl keep airing on prime time its all just fine and dandy.

Work, home, eat sleep repeat. live in the bubble of self sufficiency .. or at least the perception of it.

America has made a stupid decision, and one based on fear, misinformation and bigotry of that there is no doubt. Perhaps it is true to say Clinton would have been worse, as her husband wasn't great. But that's also a symptom of the issue here isn't it? Women get judged by those who'd vote for a bigot like trump. They get judged in part on their husbands actions & not their own. Wake the fuck up middle America, 1950 called and wants your theology back so they can update it.

Of course the whole issue is much more complex than simple sexism but you get the point. Voting is something of an impassioned activity. You have to care enough to put in the effort to vote. People on the ends of the political spectrum are often the ones that care most, will espouse their views the loudest and thus will be the first to the polls. Therefore if those of us who are more moderate don't bother....... well ultimately.... you get a "Trump like" bad smell in the Whitehouse.

But the story didn't begin with trump. Turkey has seen university lecturers - the educated and educators of society - arrested for disagreement with the government of the day.

Othering of European peoples in their own countries because they look different, or sound vaguely "foreign"... thats happening too and is a symptom of the very wave of opinion that trump has ridden to his current elevated position.

Many decry the likening of these event and systems to pre war Europe as fanciful talk. Safe in the knowledge that the world has "moved on', and that ww2 could "never happen again were all too smart for that"

Well Surprise wankers! look what y'all just did. The oh shit moment was written on many faces. Much like post Brexit. People actually said afterwards, "oh I didn't think it would cause us to leave.... well bugger me what did you think you were voting for?

So there we have it. The smell of America's big trump is gonna pervade it's noxious way around the globe. I only hope we can hold our breath collectively for the 4 yrs. its gonna take to flush the toilet. Cleaning and redecorating the bathroom however,  will take considerably longer.

The guy who's going out of office puts it rather well. He defines the central premise of #stubbornlyoptimistic in his speech on learning of the new president elect.

President Obama's speech, like those of a number of other world leaders on hearing the news, contained messages of unity, of respect. Themes of togetherness and co operation. All things woefully absent in the new president elect and his view of the world as it pertains to him. (I doubt he has a wider view, as I said, too much of a narcissist) 

So, when the dust settles from whatever is to befall us as species from this point onward. I have a proposal. Maybe if we wish to expect the best policies from our elected representatives and leaders, we should ask of them the basic principles of a decent human being first. If we wish to keep thinking people in office, and mitigate the dafter fringes of our species from causing harm, we need to care enough to vote.

Sure disagree on semantics like marriage rights, healthcare or what colour to paint a bathroom door. But healthy disagreement breeds reasonble discussion, discussion leads to decision and action. For this to work one has to assume both parties to be rational decent human beings with a certain respect for others and themselves. ...something this trump is very much isn't. Nor are some of those who support him.

And after whatever we said couldn't happen again is finished, don't leave the shouting and discussion to others. The reasonable human mind often baulks at confrontation. But if we do so collectively the less reasonable take our place. Those people are quicker to shout, to confront, blame and accuse. They are less adverse to breaking laws that shouldn't be broken so will happily break those that should be. (seeing no distinction between) and once the mob is sated and the rabble gone...what then ? 

Would we have made a difference? 

who knows... but by then it'll be too late and a new generation, our sons and daughters, and their kids, will have to pay the price for our collective apathy, lack of wisdom and sheer human stupidity. This world is a beautiful place. I pray this latest and gravest form of humanities' many and varied pollutions doesn't destroy it along with us. 

Today is the 11th of November. A day which those who have been in uniform having perhaps seen the very ugly realities and awful choices of warfare often spend in quite reflection. Oddly and somewhat paradoxically few soldiers who've seen it first hand actualy want war. 

As one who very much shares that view, I look towards America,  observing the things that have been allowed to happen, bringing them as a country to this very point in history.

I'm worried. Are you? 

Grown ups being children being grown ups being children.

Hey internet. Hows it going?

I am in a thoughtful and introspective mood today as I sit here a little after three in the afternoon. A wet somewhat dull Northeastern November day broods outside the windows, still deciding between whether to actually rain or just sulk in a misty kinda foreboding vibe.

Last night I was at our regular D&D game. Some readers may know I've recently gotten into the Dungeons and Dragons 5e games, playing as a result of joining long time friends who played, one of whom is the dungeon master.

For those of you not familiar with the game it basically boils down to each person having a written character on sheets of paper with a number of abilities, and as a group of people we meet the challenges set by the dungeon master, rolling dice and moving through a fantasy world very much like the one Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee inhabit in Tolkien's Lord of the rings.

Now Role playing in a group is funny, as you may have a character with very different traits to you yourself.. loud/quiet/reserved/brash etc etc...so as you can imagine it makes for some funny and amusing interactions, and thus over all creates a communal story telling experience. Escapism if you will.

However. Social interaction between players can often begin to mirror the social interaction in game between characters, or vice verse. And so it was last night. In a nutshell my character was annoyed with another for doing something stupid and putting the whole party needlessly in harms way....(think Gandalf and Peregrine Took in the mines of moria....you'll get the idea...)

Fool of a took

The reaction of the other party to this event was not great, as the impending retaliation reaction was, to put it mildly, as stupidly self serving as their original action that caused the original incident. If you will it became a "pretend dick waving contest" and thus ensued a brief group wide argument though mercifully settled quickly by our party's senior character member and defacto leader.

So... It set me thinking. (what doesn't?) A bunch of grown adults are sat round playing fantasy games, "pretend" stuff. That then gets imbued with real world rules like "thought" "action 'and "emotion" With "consequence" as a result. Very matrix ish in that you then by virtue of the character having been created by real people, some of whom are very highly invested in their characters survival, get a blurring of real person verse character reactions. 

Add in a Human tendency to create character traits in game that we would like in ourselves, strength honour, bravery whatever, and you get a situation where in some cases the characters can do stuff that the real person would like to but can't. Be empathic for example, or stand down a bully, lead or challenge, all this sort of stuff. 

So much is made of the D&D role play and improvisation being a good thing for learning social skills, creating a team ethos and developing a critical thinking mindset. However in this case its been, through no fault of the game, a detrimental influence. 

In real life I am shy of many forms confrontation, always have been. I have been subjected to corporate bullying and a number of unpleasant real world scenarios. (yeah weird huh? a 6 foot former Military type & Former bloke being bullied pre and post social transition.. well yes that happened) It took quite a lot for me to allow the small piece of plastic on the table to act out exactly what I thought she might do. As a person I'm usually the peace maker of sorts. The huge wave of negativity as a result has not only ensured for the time being that the small plastic model doesn't use quite as many of its imaginary abilities in such a group friendly way, but it also dented my real world confidence, since it would appear I miss judged the other player, leading me to second guess my participation and enjoyment levels within the current game. 

Sure it's "just" bits of plastic on a table, its "Just" numbers on a paper But it's also hours of imagination, and pouring through books to find obscure rules. That little bit of plastic and those dice roles begin to mean quite a lot. But isn't that the point? after all if they didn't we wouldn't play would we? Just watch this video from critical role episode 62. At 2hrs:42mins where Laura Bailey playing Vex'halia gets quite irate about her broom...a flying broom that doesn't even exist! Soooo pent up in fact that her real life hubby Travis (bearded large chap top right) looks really really worried he's on the couch again... (apparently when he almost killed her imaginary bear that happened too...) 

So in an effort to try and bring my inane ramblings to a coherent point. We are all in some way the product of our characters, and them of us. The games we play and the things we "pretend" often bleed into our perceived reality.

For the philosophical mindset, where all creation takes place in the mind first before anything physical even gets done, one could say some of those characters are as real as any other that we watch on the big screen. Frodo and Sam, Luke Skywalker, Micheal knight, Luke an Bo, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Merlin, or even Tyrian Lannister. Thinking about them and being invested in their story makes it so. 

So whatever you're playing, watching or doing, be it "real" or "imaginary" Remember the cardinal rule. 

"Don't be a Dick" 

You'll just piss off the DM, and thats reeeeeaally bad....

#Stubbornlyoptimistic