Weed (his legal name) and I got back into email contact around the turn of the century. We both lived in the hippie squat/commune in the abandoned Eel Pie Island Hotel circa 1969. I find his political commentary very insightful, perhaps because he's got a broader perspective from across the pond. Comments from my initial email in italics.
hi Chris,
> Congrats to the UK Labour Party for finally driving the godawful
> Tories out of power
> Do you think they’ll make any major positive changes in the UK
the opportunity is there! i don't agree with some of Keir Starmer's policies but i recognise and appreciate that we now have a relatively stable Government after 10 years of instability which at times has been close to chaos -- it's early days and i think the Government will be cautious in not biting off more than it can chew, but it gives out a vibe of being serious about trying to solve the country's problems and i'm hopeful that we can avoid a swing to the right at the next election
> Maybe with the possibility of another Trump era, [amerikan parties's]
> politiks aren’t so T and T
i heaved a sigh of relief when Joe Biden announced he was stepping down from being a candidate -- i've been following US politics closely over the last few weeks, watching the speeches, reading the analyses, following the polls etc -- two weeks ago it seemed like the Republicans had everything under control and the Democrats were panicking -- now they're back in the race
i assume that if Donald Trump were to win, then the Replican Party, which seems to be firmly under his control, would most likely win both Houses of Congress -- he's already got the Supreme Court aligned, and though he hasn't got any obvious military backing, he has the enthusiastic support of many evangelical groups, some of them armed -- Trump seems onboard with the wholesale removal of civil servants, replacing them with his own people, and if he then went ahead with plans to lock up his political oppponents the only thing left to do would be to change the constitution so a President could serve more than two terms -- and hey presto, the USA becomes a bona fide dictatorship
Kamala Harris is probably as good a candidate to oppose Trump as the Democrats have available -- (first impressions are that she's likeable, positive, smart and competent, and has a sense of humour) -- though even if she wins, her troubles may not be over -- many of Trump's supporters will regard him as the real President regardless of the election result -- she needs to win big to have a trouble-free accession, and that means whipping up enough enthusiasm to overcome the general cynicism and negativity amongst floating voters, who may decide to stay at home or vote for RFK Jnr
i've read that Biden's withdrawal from the race may have been delayed until the Republicans had selected a VP candidate -- whatever, JD Vance is a way different character from Mike Pence!
next up presumably is the Democrats' Conference and the announcement of their VP candidate -- however for many people (including me) the big question is, will Donald Trump agree to take part in another Presidential debate? -- he bullied Hillary Clinton in 2016 and won -- he had a hard time holding his own against Joe Biden in 2020 and lost -- will he dare risk the possibility of being cut to pieces by Harris? sure, she laughs a lot and seems a fun person, but you don't get to be Attorney General of California just by being nice to people
anyway, enough of all that for now lol
> I had a “crazy” experience three weeks ago at a local spiritual site.
> pain in both my shins... disappeared after the blessing.
wow! i just read your blog posts - what an amazing experience! i can understand why it's taking time to process -- i guess when all's said and done, a blessing is a blessing, and all we can do is be grateful -- it's kind of reassuring that the world still continues to surprise us :)
> I’m continuing to do volunteer work at Callaghan’s Rapids
> Conservation Area
definitely good for mind and body, though a 7am start sounds daunting -- fortunately our work parties are in the afternoon -- my weekly butterfly counts continue though it's hard not to get distracted -- the more i look, the more i find (though my sightings tend to be flowers and insects rather than those big birds and large mammals you come across on your hykes - see attached pics -- it's been a lot easier taking photos since discovering the macro facility on my phone camera!) -- so much mimicry goes on in the insect world: moths looking like wasps, wasps looking like flies, flies looking like bees etc - very confusing, which i suppose is the intention
all the best for the rest of the Summer -- it's now finally starting to warm up here -- i'm envious of your ability to thrive in sub-tropical conditions!
Weed x
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