Dawn

Dawn

Wednesday, November 09, 2016

Pontevedra Pensées: 9.11.16

06.54 CET

The Good News is that it's my birthday. Physically, I'm now in my very late 50s. Mentally, I've finally reached 29.

The Bad News is that - across the pond - the louse has beaten the flea and the USA now has a bad case of the DTs.

It's turned out to be not a case of an unpopular Donald Trump being the only Republican candidate who couldn't beat Hillary Clinton but rather a case of even-more-unpopular Hillary Clinton being the only Democrat candidate who couldn't beat Donald Trump. Which - I have to admit - my old US friend, Rick, correctly called in the face of my incredulity.

Assuming there's no assassination, the question now is whether Donald Trump has a better chance of delivering on his promises/threats than Obama had when he was elected amidst ludicrously unconstrained optimism 8 years ago. I'm guessing that he doesn't. And that he won't be delivering all those jobs he's promised to restore, for example. Or building that infamous wall. But, hey, what do I know? I forecast that Mrs C would win by 5-7 percentage points.

So, there'll be a loose cannon nominally in charge of the world's only superstate. It's the best example I can recall of that famous Chinese curse - interesting times.

And it's certainly the most noteworthy of my birthdays. So far. With Trump in power, it might not be for very long . . .

Meanwhile, the rest of today's news and views inevitably seem not merely anodyne but almost irrelevant. So, I'll keep it short. And then go back to bed, ahead of what I expect to be a memorable lunch set up for me by the lovely owners of my favourite watering hole. Life goes on. The fundamentals remain the same. As I think I've quoted before:- In life, nothing matters very much and quite a lot doesn't matter at all.

SOME SPANISH SITES TO CHECK OUT when you've recovered from the shock:-
Normal service will be resumed tomorrow. 

Footnote: In Canada, the government's website crashed after it was inundated with visitors apparently researching how to become a Canadian citizen. 

Sign off . . . .  Someone has just suggested it might be a dead heat, with 269 votes for each candidate. God forbid.


STOPPRESS

This is how my day has begun:-
  • Trump elected.
  • No TV channels whatsoever via my satellite dish. Totally unprecedented.
  • No audio in a Skype link with my daughter and granddaughter.
  • No cash in my wallet
  • First ATM inoperative, at my bank
  • Second ATM being repaired
  • Third ATM charged me 2%
Just a coincidence? I think not! Someone is upset with me . . . 

No comments: