My Picks for Top Tweets: 4 September 2017

by | Sep 4, 2017 | Tweets | 14 comments

I should be writing about North Korea. I haven’t even included any tweets about that. Maybe tomorrow. Today I’m going into homily mode. It’ll probably piss some of you off.

There’s a tweet in today’s Political Tweets section about the blow-back GOP politicians are facing in relation to healthcare when they go home. My comment asks why politicians can’t get together for the good of the people they represent. Many say that’s not possible. I disagree. All you have to do is get rid of the people who are creating the poisonous atmosphere. Donald Trump. Mitch McConnell. There are several others in both parties. However, a huge proportion of USians vote for whoever their party puts up as candidate, no matter what. What’s happening is the fault of voters and the system as much the politicians themselves. The politicians are never really held to account because of it.

In New Zealand, politics is pretty boring. And you know what? I’m proud of that. We have an election coming up on 23 September. There have been scandals involving most of the leaders of our leading political parties, and except in the notable case of the dreadful Winston Peters (leader, NZ First), politicians haven’t tried to take advantage of them. They rarely do for good reason – it doesn’t work here.

One of the Greens co-leaders had to resign over a major fraud case. None of the other parties talk about it. The leader of the Labour Party had to resign just weeks before the election. The other parties refer to it as an “internal matter for them to sort out”. The current prime minister (Bill English, National Party) was being hassled by the press about a cover-up and his supporters booed the press. English stuck up for the press, and the other parties haven’t taken advantage of the situation. It was discovered that Winston Peters had been over-paid his superannuation for seven years. None of the other parties have used it against him. He is trying to attack others by changing the focus to who leaked the information. It’s not working – his poll results are falling.

There’s a saying in politics that everyone hates dirty politics, but it works. Well, it doesn’t work here. Whenever any party uses dirty tactics, the public turns against them. As a NZer, I’m proud of that. There’s a lesson to be learned from this I think.

 

Cat Tweets

Don’t you just want to hug them? ????

 

Oh my goodness!

 

Remember that Star Trek episode where the aliens had half their faces a different colour?

 

That look that makes them so irresistible …

 

Well, it’s obvious. There’s snow on the ground, and a sheep’s back is warm! Smart kitteh!

Dog Tweets

A helping paw …

Other Animals Tweets

In real life I’m not a fan of goats. When I was working at the Ministry of Agriculture I once spent a day in a woolshed that had just had rutting goats in it for the previous few days. If you’ve ever been around that smell, you’ll know what I mean!

I also killed a kid in a car accident about thirty years ago. It wasn’t my fault but I still feel guilty every time I see a goat. However, there are lots of really cute tweets of kids, and here’s one!

 

A world first – film of doormice building a nest.

Bird Tweets

It’s amazing what birds will do for sex, and it gives us lots of beauty to enjoy.

 

Reptile Tweets

I don’t know what “the hard way” means. Perhaps someone can explain. Cool GIF though.

Marine Tweets

I’ve heard of things like this, but never seen one.
(Via Ann German.)

 

Ha ha!

Political Tweets

Some more on the plight of the Rohingya.
(Via SecularNZ)

 

Whether you were a supporter of Obama or not ( I mostly was), it’s undeniable he was a man of class, integrity, and dignity. Those three words cannot be applied to the current president.

 

You can see the full letter in the link in this tweet.

 

Here’s a good thread to check out re the EPA. Scott Pruitt, in his role as head of the EPA, is doing things like touring a Toyota factory!!!???

 

I’ve been saying this for weeks – I need to write another post about the state of healthcare in the US. The current situation isn’t perfect, but it’s a whole lot better than what was there before. Instead of playing political games, why can’t politicians get together and work for the people they’re supposed to represent?

Religion Tweets

The logic of people who pray for help in a disaster always makes me wonder.
(Via Ann German.)

Science Tweets

Star Trek’s universal translator is on the way! This is so cool!

 

This is the future of education in many areas.

 

Not a problem I’ll be having … (I don’t do illegal drugs!)

Flora Tweets

Very cool!
(Via SecularNZ)

 

I love time lapse photography.

Scenic Tweets

The latest Air New Zealand ad.

 

 

Architecture Tweets

They’re right – it’s ghastly!

 

This is more like it!

 

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14 Comments

  1. rickflick
    rickflick on 4th September 2017 at 2:25 pm

    Delightful! We have exactly the same taste in everything. 😎

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 5th September 2017 at 7:27 am

      That makes you a man of taste and discernment! 😀

      Reply
  2. Diane G.
    Diane G. on 4th September 2017 at 6:08 pm

    The one on constituents nailing their Republican congressmen in town hall meetings over healthcare was as important as it was hard to watch. Sadly this same discussion has been going on all across the country. My own Michigan Representative, a Republican, is one of the many who’ve been dodging town hall meetings altogether.

    The good news is that public approval of Obamacare has been rising in many areas since the election, many of them “red.” And, of course, that the Prez & his minions have been unable to pass anything either repealing or replacing it.

    Reply
    • Trevor
      Trevor on 4th September 2017 at 6:22 pm

      You just know they’ll keep trying whenever it looks like they have a sniff of success. One whole side of the political dialog in your country is unhinged from reality.

      Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 5th September 2017 at 7:36 am

      It must be such a relief for so many people that the GOP are unable to get their act together over healthcare. On Fox, a lot is being made of the Menendez trial keeping him away and therefore unable to vote. If that were to happen here the other main party would keep a member out of the chamber during voting time as a matter of honour. The same would happen in GB. If Menendez is convicted, Chris Christie gets to nominate someone who would vote with the Republicans even though the voters chose a Democrat. That wouldn’t happen here either.

      Reply
  3. Linda Calhoun
    Linda Calhoun on 5th September 2017 at 12:03 am

    “Instead of playing political games, why can’t politicians get together and work for the people they’re supposed to represent?”

    The answer to that is easy. Democrats, or most of them, anyway, represent their districts or states. No matter what they may say, Republicans represent the people who bought the election for them, the 1%.

    The 1% expect a return on their investment. Take “tax reform”. Americans overwhelmingly don’t see any need for it, according to latest polling from both Pew and Gallup. Most people see their tax rates as acceptable. But, this will be THE major item on the agenda after the return of Congress to Washington.

    Ditto healthcare. Most Americans would like to see Congress fix the problems with the ACA, not just repeal it and replace it with nothing. But the Republican “healthcare bills” are not in fact healthcare bills. They are tax bills. They want to take everyone’s healthcare away so that they can give a massive tax cut to the 1%.

    There are many other examples. Most Americans want clean air and clean water. But, the current Republican regime wants to drop environmental regulations because they are “burdensome” to the 1%. I know someone in Oklahoma whose house has been severely damaged by the fracking earthquakes. The oil industry won’t pay for repairs. Her insurance company won’t either; they say that earthquakes are “acts of god”, so they’re not covered. So, she is basically screwed.

    Before I go, please allow me a small defense of goats. They are my passion and my life, and I’ve spent the last 37 years raising them. They are intelligent, loving, and productive creatures. They are the most common meat consumed in the world. They also provide wonderful milk and fiber. But, they are the victims of a lot of very inaccurate bad press. Just two days ago I had someone offer me some moldy hay for my goats, in the mistaken belief that “goats will eat anything”. These are the same people who also believe that goat milk tastes bad. Well, if you feed cows garbage, cow milk will also taste bad. People drink my milk and they can’t believe how great it is.

    Yes, bucks in rut smell bad. But, there are ways of managing that. When you talk about being in a shed where rutting bucks were, I thought to myself that whoever put them there should have had them out in open air instead of cooping them up in a shed.

    So, I hereby issue an invitation. If you ever get to the US for a visit, you are invited to spend several days at my farm. I’ll prove you wrong, I can guarantee it.

    L

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 5th September 2017 at 7:50 am

      I actually agree with what you say about goats. My feelings about them say more about me than the goats, and relate mostly to my own bad experiences. The goats had been in the shed for a particular purpose – I can’t remember what it was. Goats aren’t cooped up here, you’ll be pleased to know, but treated as well as your own. Not many people farm them here, though they’re becoming more common.

      Reply
  4. Craig Reges
    Craig Reges on 5th September 2017 at 7:03 am

    One dictionary definition: ​If you learn something the hard way, you learn from unpleasant experiences rather than by being taught:

    Reply
  5. Greenpoisonfrog
    Greenpoisonfrog on 5th September 2017 at 7:03 am

    One dictionary definition: ​If you learn something the hard way, you learn from unpleasant experiences rather than by being taught:

    Reply
  6. Mark R.
    Mark R. on 5th September 2017 at 7:26 am

    Ah, what cute kittehs and hounds. Our male dog cocks his head to the side when you talk to him with enthusiasm; it’s cute when dogs or cats do it, but I wonder why that behavior evolved.

    Re. the stoned sperm: more to the point, it’s not a problem you’ll be having because you don’t have sperm. 😉 I used to do illegal drugs, but now pot is legal in my state, so I too don’t do illegal drugs. My wife and I don’t want kids, so loopy sperm is fine by me. But I seriously doubt heavy pot usage would inhibit conception. Every pot smoker I know who wanted to have kids has kids.

    Re. those who talk to non-existent super-beings in hopes of gaining direct favor or help (intercessory prayer): I have the same reaction when they thank their non-existent super-being for curing their cancer (or any other affliction). Not only do you have to ask, “why did the super-being give you cancer in the first place?” But more importantly, you have to understand that without modern medicine, your super-being would not be able to cure you and you’d die…why? Because it doesn’t exist.

    And it’s so typical of Trump to thank Obama for the nice letter, and then acts like an immature brat: “and we won’t even let the press know what’s in the letter.” I mean seriously, can this guy ever come off as anything but a complete asshole? I haven’t seen it…even the most superficial acts are twisted into whiny bits of childish absurdity. You can bet Trump won’t leave a letter to the next POTUS…or if he does, someone else will write it. (What kind of advice could he even give? Make sure to help Putin?) It also goes without saying that Trump hasn’t and won’t take any of the advice…perhaps that’s the reason why he didn’t want the press to see it. Wouldn’t want sound advice to get in the way of his bullshit reality.

    I think the “hard way” of cobra spitting is releasing the venom without biting. I know the act of biting in snakes squeezes their venom glands, releasing venom from their fangs. Without the biting action, most snakes can’t release their venom.

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 5th September 2017 at 8:04 am

      My sperm comment was a weak attempt at a joke. Perhaps I should have put a smiley face to alert people!

      Thanking God etc for recovery etc from illness, accident etc really drives me nuts too. I’ve got a pic somewhere of theatre staff praying together before an operation. The attached comment is something like, “If you see this, you’re in the wrong hospital.” If I remember I’ll find it and tweet it so I can use it here!

      Reply
  7. j.a.m.
    j.a.m. on 5th September 2017 at 2:23 pm

    If politics is boring, there are three possible explanations: (a) the stakes are very low; (b) the range of acceptable opinion is very narrow; or (c) apathy.

    I’ve noticed that the people who complain loudest about what a dirty business politics is, are often the same people advocating to give politicians more and more power.

    Reply
    • Trevor
      Trevor on 5th September 2017 at 3:17 pm

      But as we’ve seen, your powers of observation are very poor. Using only one eye will do that to you.

      Reply
      • j.a.m.
        j.a.m. on 5th September 2017 at 7:31 pm

        Perhaps, but that would hardly make me unusual in these parts, would it? What exactly about this particular observation is inaccurate?

        Reply

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