buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Neoliberal economics became fashionable in the 1980s. It was enthusiastically endorsed by the right-wing media. Cosseting the rich, euphemistically called “wealth creators”, was supposed to benefit everyone, as prosperity ‘trickled down’. Turned out this was self-serving BS. Didn’t happen. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 30/07/2026There is no such thing as a free market. All markets are controlled by someone, usually in their own interests. When the “invisible hand of the market” turns against the wealthy elite, they cheat. In a genuine free market, nobody would have to bribe politicians with donations. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 30/06/2026I find it extraordinary that Americans allow politicians to appoint judges, at any level, on the basis of their political affiliation. It’s asking for trouble; an open door to corruption. 020
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 27/06/2026Recently I’ve been watching YouTube videos by an American called Paul Lance. He sits in his garden and gives a moral take on Donald Trump and supporters. He’s very simple, very direct and very persuasive . 130
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 13/05/2026There are quite a few Americans on YouTube telling us what they like about the U.K. and Europe. It got me asking myself: ‘What do I like about America, outside of music and movies?’ Well, some amazing literature. And the civil rights movement and gay lib and women’s lib and even hippies. Huge steps. 020
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 01/03/2026“The Germans began this war under the rather childish delusion that they could bomb everyone but that no one would bomb them”. (Air Marshal Sir Arthur Harris 1942) 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 12/02/2026I’m reading websites of the British tabloid press about the terrible event in Canada. I’m sorry to say it but many right-wingers are pleased because they perceive it as confirming their prejudices about transgendered people. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 26/01/2026It feels wrong that an MP can get elected on one platform and then just... swap? 🤷♀️ I’ve signed this to demand a by-election when MPs cross the floor. Let's make sure our votes actually count. Add your name: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/re...you.38degrees.org.ukMPs shouldn't be able to switch parties without asking us first!I just signed a petition calling for mandatory by-elections when an MP changes their political party. We vote for a specific manifesto and set of values—if that changes, we should get to vote again. I... 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 25/01/2026Will any kind of truth emerge from the murder of Mr Pretti? The videos show an assault on a man who had threatened nobody and done nothing illegal. Followed by his murder, assassins pouring bullets into him as they held him on the ground. 011
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 12/01/2026Anyone read “I, Claudius”? Current events in America recall Robert Graves’ depiction of Rome’s descent into despotism and corruption. But is Trump Nero? Or is he Caligula? 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 15/12/2025Winston Churchill, on the difference between a politician and a statesman: “The politician is thinking about the next election, the statesman is thinking about the next generation.” 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 07/12/2025I don’t believe that American social problems can be solved by blowing up people in other countries, whether they are drug smugglers or not. The two-tap raid really does sound as if they didn’t want any survivors. Why doesn’t really bear thinking about. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 18/06/2025I saw the sad little Trump Birthday Parade. Looking at the sparsely populated bleachers, I considered, for the first time, the possibility that the election was somehow stolen. 020
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 11/05/2025Britain’s ‘Observer’ has a long article: “How the US President and his Clan Ushered in a New Golden Age of Corruption “ www.observer.co.uk There is no paywall. And it’s a great newspaper.observer.co.ukThe Observer | News, culture and styleIndependent journalism | News, culture & style | Investigations, analysis, features, ideas, recipes, newsletters & podcasts that make sense of the world 040
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 01/05/2025This cause is close to my heart - please sign: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/no...you.38degrees.org.ukDon't allow Trump's Turnberry golf course to host The Open ChampionshipThe Open Championship must not give in to the UK government's lobbying and allow Donald Trump to host one of the world's biggest, oldest and respected golf tournaments at any of the golf courses he ow... 062
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 30/04/2025Some people have convinced themselves that President Trump is playing 4D Chess. I’m thinking, ‘Hungry Hippos’. 040
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 30/04/2025Briefly, just for a day, Bezos allowed Americans to see, in stark figures, the effect of one of their President’s policies. Obviously this could not be allowed to continue. So Bezos, like senior Republicans in the past, is whipped back into line. 010
Reposted by @buntyrarebit23.bsky.socialblueforthought.bsky.social @blueforthought.bsky.social · 16/04/2025 982081400
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 12/04/2025NDAs can silence victims of abuse & harassment. Let's change this! Sign the petition to ensure the Employment Rights Bill bans NDAs in cases of misconduct. #StopAbusiveNDAs #EmploymentRightsBill you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...you.38degrees.org.ukStop employers covering up abuseHey! Do you remember the Harvey Weinstein case? Non Disclosure Agreements silenced victims of abuse - and it's not just happening in Hollywood. They're used in the UK to cover up all kinds of miscondu... 030
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 04/04/2025I recommend a YouTube clip where Prof Richard Murphy explains that British Conservative Party policies from the early 1960s would now be regarded as ‘Hard Left’ policies. Fascinating. I think it could have some relevance for Americans also. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 24/03/2025Remember that moment, years ago, when Donald Trump said: “We’ll build a wall and Mexico will pay for it”? A claim so outrageous than anyone with an IQ in three figures should have realised the sort of conscience-free liar he was. And the sort of President he would become. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 04/03/2025If Donald Trump didn’t exist, in all likelihood there would be unanimous agreement that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a violation of international law and wholly immoral.And the Western Alliance would be united in encouraging Putin to withdraw. But Trump does exist, so everything is tucked up. 020
Reposted by @buntyrarebit23.bsky.socialProtect Kamala Harris ✊ @disavowtrump20.bsky.social · 23/02/2025Former Capitol police officer Michael Fanone when confronting Proud Boys insurrectionist Enrique Tarrio: “You are a traitor to this country.” RETWEET if you stand with Officer Fanone! 5503369612237
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 24/02/2025I cannot resist recommending again the work of Professor Richard J. Murphy on YouTube. This time he’s thinking of ways to make our U.K. tax system fairer while providing additional billions to strengthen our Armed Forces. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 20/02/2025Now Zelensky has TWO evil tyrants to stand up to. Trump is an extraordinary liar. How can he assert that Ukraine started the war? And Zelensky’s popularity rating, at 57%, is considerably better than his own. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 05/02/2025Will the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip be before or after the annexation of Canada and Greenland or during the Panama Canal War? Meanwhile, tariffs all over the place and the dismantling of the US government. Is this really happening? Is this an elaborate subterfuge or has he actually gone mad? 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 26/01/2025All the various persecution campaigns by right-wingers are there to distract from the fact that their economic policies are not just unfair but also counter-productive. The happiest nations are high-tax with first-rate public services. 020
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 24/01/2025Undocumented immigrants in the USA are doing for Trump what the Jews did for the little Austrian with the tiny moustache. So many of the country’s problems can be blamed on them. And they’re a great focus for stupid people to hate. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 24/01/2025The current minimum wage in the United Kingdom is the equivalent of just over 14 dollars per hour. Lower if you’re 18-20. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 23/01/2025In July 2024. the U.K. voted out our worst government in living memory (Truman was President when I was born). Corrupt, elitist, utterly dishonest and with a set of policies which left the majority poorer than when they began in 2010. Those they deceived are furious at those who were not deceived. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 22/01/2025DARVO. Deny, attack, reverse roles of victim and offender. Part of the narcissist’s armoury. She’s nasty, she’s hard left. I’m the victim, apology please. Trump uses it again and again. Every time he cries: “Witch hunt!” 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 22/01/2025At the moment, the world seems to have many ‘anti-woke’ people who have never bothered to look up what ‘woke’ really means. And of course people who can spot ‘Marxists’ without ever having read a word written by Karl Marx. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 21/01/2025I’ve been on social media enough to know that the United States has an abundance of intelligent, educated, kind people. But they’re up against it at the moment. The bad guys have told a more exciting story than the good. It was the same in the U.K. in the runup to Brexit. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 20/01/2025Today reminds me of the U.K. in 2016. Right-wingers jumping for joy and looking forward to a Golden Age. Well, we know how that turned out. I’m hoping that Trump in office will galvanise progressives everywhere. Losing is no big deal; it’s part of living in a democracy. This too will pass. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 15/01/2025Jacob Rees Mogg had, at one time, a reputation for being honest. I predicted that it would not long survive his elevation to a government appointment and so it proved. But posting doctored pictures of Labour ministers, now that he is no longer an elected politician, is profoundly ungentlemanly. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 13/01/2025If you’re British and interested in economics, check out Richard J. Murphy on YouTube. Hear how rich people are damaging the economy and should be taxed more. Or how farmers should not be eliciting our sympathy. Also more technical stuff. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 13/01/2025Again watching Bernie Sanders, US Senator from Vermont ,on YouTube. This man is sharper than a whole bag of tacks and sums up America’s injustices and anomalies with clinical precision. But the Democrats fear his reputation as a ‘socialist’. 020
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 09/01/2025Acting as the little sock puppets of Elon Musk will avail the Tories nothing. Starmer played an heroic role when the grooming scandal blew up. Jess Philips has spent most of her adult life supporting abused women. He does no research before opening his mouth. He himself supports Tate and Robinson. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 04/01/2025Supporters of the Hard Right have few champions and very little chance of wielding power. So somebody like Musk, who can be influential without the bother of getting anyone to vote for him, must seem like a Godsend. But experiments with extreme right-wing politics never end well. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 03/01/2025Elon Musk keeps mounting verbal assaults on the British Prime Minister. In the absence of an effective Opposition party in the U.K., we have delegated the job to a foreign nepo baby, who has not been elected to anything by anyone. Interesting times. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 02/01/2025British Conservatism has been akin to a Ponzi scheme. They funded tax cuts, which mainly benefited the rich, by selling everything that we owned: utilities, natural resources, transport, social housing, mail service. Now we own fewer and those we do, healthcare and education, have deteriorated. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 02/01/2025So much of present-day Right-wing politics depends on convincing people that they have a grievance against people of different races or countries. Both Farage and Trump push this agenda. It’s to distract from the failure or their economic policies to help ordinary people or address wealth inequality 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 01/01/2025Happy New Year, especially to those for whom 2024 was horrible. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 30/12/2024Trump has fans in the U.K. But so did Stalin, Mao, Mussolini and the Austrian chap with the little moustache. Some, in all seriousness, wish he was in charge here. I think they are what George Orwell called: “Power worshippers”. 020
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 28/12/2024I once showed Zeffirelli’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to a class of Yr9s. When Ms Hussey made her first appearance, one of the boys jumped up excitedly and shouted, “YES!!” I knew what he meant. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 26/12/2024I think that what Trump is doing is called “dead catting.” If you’re getting a lot of bad publicity, you “throw a dead cat on the table” i.e. something to take over the front pages. The fuss about Canada etc is to distract from Gaetz, the humiliation of the finance proposal and the weird cabinet. 030
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 24/12/2024It’s time for both the U.K. and the USA to take a serious look at political funding. Enormously wealthy people are taking the view that the voters can be bought if you spend enough money. And there’s plenty of time to recoup your outlay, once your sponsored party is in power. 010
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 24/12/2024I’ve been watching Bernie Sanders, the US Senator for Vermont, on YouTube. He talks more sense in ten minutes than most US politicians do in a month of Sundays. 020
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 23/12/2024Stop calling it ‘Woke’ and give it its real name: Progress. Now try stopping it. 031
buntyrarebit23.bsky.social @buntyrarebit23.bsky.social · 23/12/2024In 2010, as soon as they attained power, Conservatives cut the annual rise in NHS funding from 3.6% to 1.5%, way below inflation. A 20% cut in the prisons budget and up to 40% off council funds. The seeds of our present crises. Remember this when they are slagging Labour. 030