On the day of President Trump’s inauguration, let’s remind ourselves how many votes he and Clinton won
January 20th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Ii stayed up all night on the day of the US presidential election. By the morning, it was clear that Donald Trump had won a clear majority in the Electoral College, while Hillary Clinton had narrowly won more actual votes nationwide.
Over the days and weeks that follwed, the difference in the votes polled by the two candidates grew and grew. What are the final, official figures?
Trump took 62,979,636 636 votes, while Clinton secured 65,844,610 votes – a difference of 2,864,974 votes. So, in the end, almost 3 million more Americans supported Clinton rather than Trump.
Trump has declared that, if there had not been the Electoral College, he would have campaigned in a different way, allocating more resources to states with larger populations. But, of course, exactly the same is true for Clinton.
We cannot know the result of an election which from the start would have been determined by a simple nationwide majority and anyway this is not going to happen because there is inadequate support for the necessary constitutional change. What we do know is Trump and his agenda do not command the support of a majority of the American electorate and he would be wise to govern with that in mind, trying to craft some common ground between his supporters and opponents.
Some chance …
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
What is the greatest threat to the world from a Trump Presidency? It might just be his denial of climate change
January 19th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
“Trump is the president that corporate luddites have dreamed of: the man who will let them squeeze every last cent from their oil and coal reserves before they become worthless.
They need him because science, technology and people’s demands for a safe and stable world have left them stranded. There is no fair fight that they can win, so their last hope lies with a government that will rig the competition.
To this end, Trump has appointed to his cabinet some of those responsible for a universal crime: inflicted not on particular nations or groups, but on everyone.”
Posted in Environment | Comments (0)
Word of the day: xenodochial
January 17th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Somebody has just used this word in a communication to me. Apparently, xenodochial is an adjective describing something – such as a person, place or software application — that is friendly to strangers. “Xenos” is a Greek word for “strangers” and, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, xenodochial means “hospitable.”
All this makes me wonder whether the use of the word xenodochial is in itself, anti-xenodochial. Maybe Donald Trump will tweet about this one day. But, then again, maybe not. However, I would rather he tweeted about the English language than on the intelligence community or nuclear weapons or the Russians or immigration – or almost anything else.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
How long can a Trump presidency last?
January 11th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
The latest allegations about connections between Russia and Trump and his associates, if substantiated, are deeply worrying and come after a whole slew of concerns about conflicts of interests, character defects, political nominations, and flip-flopping policy announcement (often simply via Twitter). It is not just those who opposed the Trump candidacy who are worried; many independent observers – including American diplomats, military and intelligence personnel, campaign and pressure groups, and much of the media – are deeply concerned and rightly so.
The American political system is famous for its sophisticated mechanism of ‘checks and balances’ but, over the coming weeks, months, and maybe years, it is likely to be tested as never before. A series of constitutional crises seems inevitable and a resignation or impeachment by President Trump would hardly be a surprise. This is a terrible situation, not just for Americans, but for the world. We are all watching with bated breath …
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (3)
Meryl Streep trumps her previous performances
January 9th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
I have been a huge fan of Meryl Streep as an actress and a person since her role in “The Deer Hunter”. At the Gold Globe Awards, she spoke with characteristic grace and passion:
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)
A review of the Taiwanese film “The Assassin”
January 8th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
This work won the Best Director award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, but what did I think of it? You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
How to think critically
January 7th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Once again, I have just given permission for the use of my advice on how to think critically to the Maritime Advanced Warfighting School of the US Naval War College who will issue it to course students as a handout. If the advice is good enough for the American military, you might like to take a look here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
A review of the new sci-fi movie “Passengers”
January 6th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Guys, how would you like to be all alone with Jennifer Lawrence? Girls, how would you like to be all alone with Chris Pratt? The next best thing is to see the film “Passengers” which is absolutely carried by Pratt and Lawrence. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (2)
Think Christmas is well and truly over? – it’s not if you’re Italian
January 5th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
Today is the Feast of the Epiphany in Christian countries. My mother was Italian and Catholic and she introduced we three children to the character of Befana – the Good Witch who brings presents for children on the eve of the Epiphany. It made some sense; after all, the three kings did not bring gifts to the baby Jesus on the day of his birth which we celebrate as Christmas Day, but some time later on the day we mark as the Epiphany. You can learn more about Befana here.
It’s on a day like today that I particularly remember my mother who died in 1999. Of course, I still miss her very much. One my my short stories was inspired, not so much by the life she led (which was a tough one), as by the life I would like her to have experienced. You can read it here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
It’s Fat Cat Tuesday – a national disgrace
January 4th, 2017 by Roger Darlington
The UK’s top bosses will have made more money by lunchtime today than the typical UK worker will earn all year, according to an analysis that exposes the gulf between executives and the rest of the workforce. On “Fat Cat Wednesday” campaigners say that public anger with elites will intensify unless action is taken to tackle excess among executives at a time when pressures on household budgets are rising.
The High Pay Centre calculated that the average FTSE 100 boss now earns more than £1,000 an hour, meaning they will pass the UK average salary of £28,200 by around midday today. The think tank said that after enjoying rapid earnings growth in recent years, leading bosses now typically earn 129 times more than their employees.
More information on this story here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)