It’s Time To Look On The Bright Side Of Trump
This was the title of a comment by Matt Ridley in The Times yesterday.
He may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I have read a couple of his books; Genome and Nature via Nurture and found they added to my knowledge.
This is a precis of his comment.
He starts like this.
So here, after a few days of talking to people in America’s two biggest economies, California and Texas, are ten reasons why I think a Trump residency may not be as awful as many think, even if, like me, you heard of the news of his victory with a sinking feeling.
The article has ten main sections.
- Just as after Brexit, the markets went up, not down. Despite the predictions of analysts.
- He is already watering down his more outlandish threats.
- The Presidency is nothing like as powerful a job as it seems.
- The Democratic Party will soon be back and hounding Mr. Trump, if only in the Courts.
- Mr. Trump is already surrounding himself with reasonably sensible people.
- Some of his policies are not so bad.
- His adviser on climate and energy, Myron Ebell, is right that climate change policy has become a gravy train for the rich that hurts the poor.
- The promised “swamp draining” – in the unlikely event Mr. Trump pulls it off – will be cathartic.
- His reprehensible attitude to women, minorities and the disabled, though setting a terrible example, is fortunately unlikely to result in actual persecution by the government.
- The idea that this is the end of democracy or the start of fascism, as some hyperventilating luvvies are saying, is nonsense.
Ridley finishes with.
If he really does kill the North American Free Trade Agreement, as well as the transpacific and transatlantic trade treaties, he will assuredly cause a recession that hurts blue-collar workers in the rust belt more than free trade ever did. And he might craqsh the world economy.
I can see few silver linings there.
Here are some quotes from the article I can agree with.
- Mr. Pence is a creationist and religious conservative, which is not my cup of tea.
- The House Speaker, Paul Ryan, is a formidable figure who will effectively decide how much of Trump’s programme will happen.
- Steven Mnuchin, the likely Treasury Secretary, is from Goldman Sachs, for goodness sake.
- If Mr. Trump unleashes more gas production, that will cut emissions and drive out coal faster than renewable energy ever could.
- Compared with many Republicans, Mr. Trump is positively liberal on matters such as abortion and religion.
- If Mr. Trump makes a mess of things, he will be gone in four years – or sooner.
If you get a chance to read the whole article, you should.
Mobile Signals
When I was on the excursion on Gran Canaria, that I wrote about in A Tour Of Gran Canaria, I was getting an excellent mobile signal all the way, despite at times being amongst mountains that were nearly two thousand metres high.
Yesterday, I was in Victoria station and I was trying to use the Internet to find out, where my train left. The Internet signal was like one of Donald Trump’s speeches – utter tripe!
I think for reasons of safety, that all train stations and bus stops, should have a top-rated mobile signal.
Some years ago, the office at my stud in Newmarket had a dreadful signal. So I pointed a parabolic aerial at the nearest mast and rebroadcast it in the office.
Problem solved!
If I was an MP, who won the right to put a Private Members Bill through Parliament, I would make it the law, that all bus stops and train stations had a mobile signal, of the same quality, I was receiving high up in the mountains of Gran Canaria.
Or are the Elite waiting until a fourteen-year-old girl is raped and murdered because she couldn’t phone her parents for a lift, after getting lost on her bicycle?
Where Will Madame Tussards Put Their Donald Trump?
The BBC in London are reporting, that Madame Tussards are creating a new waxwork of Donald Trump.
I was wondering, where they would put it!
Vote Early! Vote Often!
Leaving Las Palmas
I took these pictures, as I rode to the airport at Las Palmas.
I was in a free shuttle from the hotel.
Wikipedia has a section in their entry for Las Palmas, which is entitled Train Under Construction.
This is said.
Tren de Gran Canaria (TG) is a rail project initially proposed as an alternative way to get from Las Palmas to Maspalomas[44] but was later raised to Agaete extension.
Another project is the Tramway Palmas (Gran Canaria), which would cover the same journey as the bus line 1, with an average frequency of 5 minutes and a journey time of 35 minutes.
As the pictures indicate a train will be more interesting.
Las Palmas Wakes Up
I rose early and took these pictures along the the promenade by Las Canteras Beach.
I always get up early and it was good to walk along the promenade.
Note the three restaurants where I had a good gluten–free meal.
- Kitchen Lovers
- Balalaika
- Restaurante Molinet
I also had a good tuna salad at Max Bread, so if you’re coeliac or gluten-free, you shouldn’t starve, unless you’re exceedimgly fussy.
Other points to note.
- The Hotel Reina Isabel looked to be a good place to stay because of its location.
- The beach was very clean.
- The promenade was a good place to walk, with no pavement problems.
- There were plenty of places serving good coffee and ices.
I would certainly return, but try the Hotel Reina Isabel next time.
A Tour Of Gran Canaria
I don’t usually take tours, but I took this one around the island of Gran Canaria.
Note.
- It was a good tour, even if a bit cold.
- But then we were 2,000 metres up.
- We all visited a restaurant on the way down. I think, I was mildly glutened.
Next time, I go, I’ll go with someone who can drive and a quality road map, as there are lots of worhwhile places to visit.
A Walk Around Las Palmas
I took a long walk in the sun to up my vitamin D levels.
Las Palmas is a typical Spanish city, like say Bilbao, Barcelona or Valencia, with the added feature of one of the best beaches in Europe.
Swimming Pool Panorama
I took these pictures from the rooftop swimming pool of the hotel.
At least I got some time sitting in the sun.
Exploring The Historic Centre Of Las Palmas
I took a 30 bus from the port to the bus station at San Telmo and walked to the cathedral and back.
There is a lot to see as the pictures show.
Could The Brexit Ruling Be Beneficial To All?
This article on the BBC is entitled PM urged to calm the backlash against Brexit ruling.
It is all getting very nasty out there.
The judges were asked for their opinion and they gave it.
Some reaction is like that of a heavy smoker, who has just asked his doctor, if smoking will cause lung cancer and he hasn’t liked the reply.
I am by training a Control Engineer, who in his time has modelled very complex systems.
I can remember a couple of difficult problems, where to find a working solution, some form of delay had to be introduced.
After that, everything was hunky-dory!
The biggest effect of the Brexit ruling, will be to introduce a delay in the calling of Article 50, which will now hang like a Sword of Damacles over everybody, be they a politician, captain of industry or just an ordinary Jack or Jill like me.
So as Doctor Johnson said about hanging concentrating the mind, could we see the ultimate British solution; a compromise?
Thank the Devil for lawyers!
The Anonymous Widower 