My Picks for Top Tweets: 22 August 2017

by | Aug 22, 2017 | Tweets | 10 comments

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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10 Comments

  1. rickflick
    rickflick on 22nd August 2017 at 11:42 pm

    The amazing birds of paradise are so amazing they can hardly be believed. I checked out Cornell’s site on this species and there we have a bit better view of it’s dance steps:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O139mm3yl3E

    Reply
  2. Mark R.
    Mark R. on 23rd August 2017 at 7:09 am

    The contrast between Obama and Trump is starkly black and white. 🙂

    Re. tax cuts for the wealthy…

    Think if scientists acted like politicians. They create an experiment, let it run for over a decade, and conclude that all their findings were false because they didn’t like what the data revealed. Eight years pass with the experiment no longer in place; what the scientists thought was going to happen with their original experiment is starting to happen when the opposite of their experiment is implemented. They don’t like this. After 8 years, they implement the experiment again. This time, it’s even worse; the entire experiment blows up, millions of people are harmed and it reveals unequivocally that the experiment will not yield the results they desire. Again, eight years pass with the experiment no longer in place; what the scientists thought was going to happen with their original experiment is starting to happen when the opposite of their experiment is implemented. They don’t like this. So they are going to try the experiment again, because they really, really want it to work. And here we are.
    The End.

    Moral of the story; it’s a really, really good thing that scientists don’t learn from politicians.

    Thanks for the entertainment and food for thought and chuckles Heather!!!

    Reply
    • nicky
      nicky on 25th August 2017 at 1:41 pm

      Great tweets, Heather.

      That library vaguely reminds us of a Jorge Luis Borges one.

      I like the Bruce Bartlett one, succinct. Mark R’s ‘elaboratoriation’ thereof is pertinent too. Our greatest blessing -and in this case hope- is that Mr Trump is so incompetent as to hardly achieve anything.

      Moreover, slightly off topic, he’s kinda guarded by generals in order to prevent war (who would have thought generals were useful for that?). For the time being:
      “The world and US
      are more or less safe
      from the Moron in Chief.”

      Reply
  3. j.a.m.
    j.a.m. on 23rd August 2017 at 8:36 am

    Playing “Hail to the Chief” at public functions is a long-standing tradition. You’re right, it wouldn’t be appropriate for a mere prime minister, since that office is neither head of state nor commander in chief.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail_to_the_Chief

    Reply
    • Mark R.
      Mark R. on 23rd August 2017 at 1:57 pm

      Keep drinking the Kool-Aide j.a.m. This is not a strategy, it is a political act. The “strategy” is to keep the war going ad infinitum. The political act is to make people (like you) think he is within striking distance to ending this longest war in American history. But Trump is simply giving another blank check to the military industrial complex, and at the same time acts like it was a really tough and deliberate decision (thus he can blame the generals when and if things go south…but he leaves himself an out if it is a success). Though a success is just not in the cards. Right now the word on the street is +4,000 troops to ensure total victory. hahahahahaha If dipshit in chief were playing for keepsies, he’d need upwards of 200,000 troops…probably many more for many many years. And even then? There is no military strategy here, just like North Korea.

      I know personally two ex-Trumpsters (both vets) who have finally seen through his bluster and bullshit and utter incompetence; they’ve swallowed their pride and admitted they were hoodwinked. I have respect for ex-Trumpsters because I know it is difficult to admit being had. I would have thought you’d be there by now. At least you know how to write complete sentences, so I thought there might be a glimmer of hope (based on seeming intelligence). But no, you’re still obsessed with 3-year-old Obama tweets and keep holding out a fool’s hope that your prez ain’t a fool. Keep clinging to your diminishing life-raft and good luck. But please remember, there is a chasm between intelligence and wisdom. I know many intelligent conservatives (my father being one of them); the problem with some smart people is they think wisdom is tethered naturally with smarts. It isn’t. Usually it’s pride that unfortunately tethers with smarts.

      Reply
      • j.a.m.
        j.a.m. on 23rd August 2017 at 8:30 pm

        I thought the perspective of a 29-year foreign service officer, with nearly six years experience on the ground in Afghanistan under both Bush and Obama, was worth considering. Sorry.

        Reply
        • nicky
          nicky on 25th August 2017 at 1:53 pm

          If a 29-year foreign service officer with a six year on the ground experience in Afghanistan thinks that 4000 extra troops will do the trick, he’s obviously -how shall I put it nicely- not the sharpest knife in the drawer?

          Reply
          • nicky
            nicky on 25th August 2017 at 2:13 pm

            However, I do agree that nothing will be achieved if the policy does not include Pakistan and a clear addressing of it’s duplicity…

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