My Picks for Top Tweets: 24 August 2017

by | Aug 24, 2017 | Tweets | 8 comments

The high pressure system is still in place so it’s another glorious day at my place! We’ve had a great week so far. At the moment I’m expecting it to start raining again on the weekend. I always feel guilty when that happens – a fine week followed by a wet weekend – because I got to enjoy the sun and the workers didn’t. It’s why I’m more likely to write at the weekend, no matter how I’m feeling.

I started watching Donald Trump’s rally in Phoenix yesterday, and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I suppose by now it should be par for the course. But he continues to shock me with his rhetoric. CNN said it was a “77-minute presidential therapy session” and though I didn’t watch all of it, that’s true of what I saw.

One of the worst things was his floating the idea that he’s going to pardon former Sheriff Joe Arpaio. I think talking about it to his base is Trump’s idea of a focus group. If they like it, which they did, he’s likely to go ahead with it. He doesn’t care what the rest of the country thinks. When he’s gone from this job, a quarter of the country is tens of millions of people he can extort money from via Trump TV.

Also, whether he sees it or not, admits it or not, it’s another nod to the white supremacists he insists he doesn’t support. Arpaio’s policies in relation to Mexicans in particular was widely seen as racist, but Trump says he was “just doing his job.” It’s also a kick in the teeth for the legal system. Arpaio’s conviction is for criminal contempt, but Trump is saying that’s okay.

All leaders have to grow into the job, and this is a much tougher job than most. However, I despair of Trump ever making it. He doesn’t have even the basic skills needed. He says he will bring his country together. However, in many ways he’s made deeper the rifts that were already there. He has shown no indication that he’s got what it takes.

Trump cartoon

 

Cat Tweets

If it strokes me, I’ll be its friend …

Aren’t they sweet?

 

Now that’s a cat showing what’s on its mind …

 

I hate to think what happened here …

 

Poor kitty …

Dog Tweets

This is pretty cool. There are no cats who have this honour, but my guess is they don’t care!
(Via Ann German.)

 

There are several people I know who regularly strike the same pose …

 

Who could resist?

 

Marine Tweets

Cool photo bomb!

 

Other Animals Tweets

I love red pandas. I am not a cuddly toy person, but I have one of a red panda cub from Auckland Zoo, Amber, from several years ago.

 

Peek-a-bunny …

 

Scenic Tweets

Beauty in Belgium …

 

The lovely island of Mykonos.

 

Morocco is stunning too …


 

History Tweets

On 23 August 1305 Sir William Wallace was hung, drawn and quartered. I saw the movie, and although it was a fairly good movie, the inaccuracies in the history drove me nuts, so I’ve never watched it again.

 

And more …

 

I wonder when this story was made up – you can be sure it wasn’t until well over a millennium later …

 

I’m not sure how they know it’s the oldest, but for you soccer fans, the world’s oldest football has a new display at The Stirling Smith museum in Scotland.

 

Political Tweets

Trump said there weren’t many people protesting at his Phoenix rally …

 

It’s not just in the US that Trump’s reputation is going down.
(Via Ann German.)

 

I want this t-shirt!
(Via Ann German.)

 

Art Tweets

How’s this for a stage for a play? What’s the bet the play’s about religion?

 

Watercolours by Korean artist Sunga Park.

 

Lovely work!


 

Eclipse Tweets

Best photo-bomb ever! I thought the video of the eclipse from a plane window I put up yesterday was pretty good, but this is even better!
(Via Ann German.)

 

Here it comes …

 

Funny Tweets

Don’t blame me, blame Ann German. Okay, so it made me burst out laughing, but who wouldn’t?

We have Oreos in NZ, but they’re not a big thing. I think I’ve only eaten a couple in my life, and I can’t remember whether I liked them. I understand that those of you who are USians have a bit of a relationship with these biscuits though. Or should I be calling them cookies?
(Via Ann German.)

 

Human Rights Tweets

Good on this brave woman!

 

Perhaps dancing in the middle of the road isn’t the best idea, but to arrest a 14 year old boy for having fun is why Saudi Arabia needs to take a good hard look at itself.

 

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8 Comments

  1. HaggisForBrains
    HaggisForBrains on 24th August 2017 at 8:38 pm

    I had never heard of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, so had to look him up in Wikipedia. What a total arsehole! And the current POTUS thinks that pardoning him is a good idea – unbelievable! The T shirt says it all, and Der Stern is right.

    Reply
  2. Trevor
    Trevor on 25th August 2017 at 12:41 am

    he’s just an Incompetent Orange Fruitloop

    Somebody needs to catalogue all the mocking titles – it would be the greatest list ever, just the best.

    After the r.e.s.i.s.t. resignation letter last week, there was an i.m.p.e.a.c.h. resignation letter yesterday. Who wants to run a sweepstake on what the next one will be?

    Reply
  3. Robert Ladley
    Robert Ladley on 25th August 2017 at 1:01 am

    Heather wonderful as always.

    You know what is said about that awful Mel Gibson movie “Braveheart” and its historical inaccuracies regarding William Wallace.
    “Five hundred years too late for woad and five hundred years too early for the kilt”
    Not sure about the accuracy of this statement either but sounds about correct, I should verify it!
    The Scottish Nationalists loved the movie however for boosting their following.

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 25th August 2017 at 7:23 am

      Edward II wasn’t physically weak – he’s portrayed that way because he was gay. Both he and his lover Piers Gaveston were big, tall, handsome men. Edward II was not a good general, but he was a brave one. Wallace never met Edward II’s wife, who was just a young child at the time of his execution.

      I could’ve lived with the woad and the kilt, but those character things were integral to the plot.

      Reply
  4. Lee Knuth
    Lee Knuth on 25th August 2017 at 4:33 am

    Glad you’re getting some sun. Absolutely spectacular weather here on Long Island. The Germsn magazines, Stern, Spiegel, have Trump’s number. Too bad there are still so many in the US don’t. Great tweets as usual.

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 25th August 2017 at 7:35 am

      Thanks Lee. I’m glad it’s still nice so far north!

      Reply
  5. nicky
    nicky on 25th August 2017 at 6:46 am

    The winter has kicked in here. Last Sunday we had ‘bergwind’ and sun, giving an agreeable 30 degrees C. Curiously enough there was some snow on the mountain, adiabatic compression is the mechanism, of course.
    But now it is rainy and cold since Monday. We need rain here, since we are experiencing quite a serious drought (the worst since 2008), but still I can’t wait for the spring.

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 25th August 2017 at 7:41 am

      We’ve been having more droughts than usual the last few years too. We rely on getting plenty of rain in spring when it’s also warm.

      30 C is too hot here because it’s much more humid, especially away from the coast where I am.

      Reply

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