Britain’s on hold at the moment (“History-in-the-making is experiencing a high volume of calls right now…”), waiting to talk to someone who can resolve our Brexit problems. Whatever music we least want to hear is drilling its way down our ear canals and into our brains. That’s because parliament was sent home to sit on many scattered naughty steps so that our prime minister, Boris Johnson, can pursue Brexit without being bothered by the country’s primary governing body.
One of the things we’re waiting for is expected in a few days at most: The supreme court (no capital letters, apparently) is considering whether Johnson had the right to send parliament home without dessert. (Yes, I know I’ve changed images and it was the naughty step in the last paragraph. Indulge me. I just sat with friends talking about Brexit and feeling miserable, so I’m going to haul out every half-assed joke I’ve been schlepping around in my backpack, all at once. I doubt they’ll make me feel better but my backpack will at least be lighter.)
Experts in reading legal tea leaves expect the court to rule against Johnson, setting off a “constitutional eruption of volcanic proportions” according to an unnamed senior legal figure.
Johnson said he’d abide by the ruling, which is nice of him, given that it’ll come from his country’s highest court, but government figures have been strewing suggestions that he might abide by it and then send parliament home all over again but for a different reason. And stick his tongue out at them as they’re leaving.
If the tea-leaf experts are right and the court does rule against Johnson, what will matter is what grounds they base their ruling on. If they say he misled the queen, at least one expert says he’s had it.
Why? Because you can shut down your country’s legislative body, you can lie to the public, you can encourage bitter division among your people and bring your country to the brink of what many people think will be disaster, but you cannot get caught lying to the queen. Because she’s the queen.
Don’t expect me to explain this to you. I spent most of my life in the US. I’ll never really understand this queen business.
What’s Johnson doing while sit on hold and listen to music we hate?
He’s told us that, in the great game of Brexit, he holds a card that will allow the backstop* to be replaced with something better, newer, bigger, and, um, better. Now the European Union has called its bluff and asked to see the card.
In the meantime–or possibly in response; we can’t know because it’s secret–Britain has proposed something that we don’t know the contents of because the proposals are marked secret. Britain doesn’t even want them distributed to the Brexit representatives of the EU’s member states. They’re marked “Her Majesty’s government property.”
So are the capital letters in that quote, so don’t mess with them. Her Majesty’s government doesn’t have a sense of humor about capital letters. I’m pushing my luck leaving the U out of humor.
How are the EU member states supposed to evaluate them if they can’t read them?
That’s their problem.
This news came after the EU handed Johnson a two-week deadline to show its backstop card and the UK said it couldn’t meet an artificial deadline, it would need a year.
Britain’s supposed to leave the EU on October 31, though. What’s supposed to happen on the border between then and when the backstop card is turned face up?
I have no idea.
To show that he’s serious about the negotiations, Johnson compared himself to the Incredible Hulk, and demonstrators have been appearing in costume holding “incredible sulk” signs. Headline writers rubbed their hands in glee.
In the midst of all this, Johnson ducked out of a scheduled press conference in Luxembourg, where he’d planned on telling everyone how well the negotiations were going. That left Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, standing at one lectern and gesturing at the empty one, saying the EU needed “more than just words.”
The supreme court will hand down its ruling soon. Lawyers on both sides will be combing through every comma and semicolon. In the meantime, your call is important to us. We will be with you as soon as inhumanly possible.
* The backstop: Entirely too briefly, this is part of the treaty negotiated by our former prime minister, Theresa May, and rejected by her supporters and her opponents and even the extra-terrestrials circling the Earth invisibly and shaking their heads over the general incompetence of the human race. The idea of the backstop was to keep Brexit from creating a hard border, with border checks and so forth, between Ireland and Northern Ireland, for fear of restarting the Troubles between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. I’ll spare you the explanation of why it’s a hot button issue, but it is.
After following the issue misty in your post and somewhat on articles found on google, in others words, based on almost no facts and understanding other than reading a lot of English and European history, it seems to me that the UK should leave on October 31. Take the plunge and commit and work out the details later. Damn the torpedoes and full steam ahead. Let the lawyers work out all details.
I don’t understand the Queen business either. I thought her job was to maintain the palaces, smile and waive. The idea that she had any real power is scary. Partly because if she does it would go up her oldest son Charles when she dies. UK should get over that. I guess having said that I should not visit the UK. But I did not plan to anyway.
Thanks for the update and have a good week.
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And as always, thanks for reading.I disagree completely about leaving. The rhetoric’s great, but that’s as far as I can go with you on it.
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It has been all sorts of emotions as I have watched Trump attempt to take down the USA and now you as a transplant have your own nightmare in Johnson. You absolutely cannot make up these absurdly ridiculous situations. Who had charge of the key that unlocked the asylum doors and let these two free…
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Good question. When I find the answer, I promise I’ll let you know.
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I love the sulk. Too true.
Thanks for the update. I’ve been awaiting it.
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Good to know. I’ve said this before, but it remains true: I’m always a little apologetic about posting the Brexit stuff.
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I love it for it keeps me informed
💕🕯🌟
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On simple resolution to your backstop problem would be to just abandon Ireland entirely to the Irish. Or, maybe it’s not simple, but it would be easier than creating hard borders again.
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It would indeed, and I find myself wondering sometimes when the Northern Irish Protestants will decide that it looks like a good idea. Not yet, apparently
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The hardest thought to change is, “It’s always been that/this way.”
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I arrive at Gatwick from California on October 8th. Two nights near Alfriston and then to Kensington for seven. Hmmm. Wonder what I’ll be on scene for, depending upon this supreme court ruling.
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I wish I knew.
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The backstop was proposed by the EU to prevent smuggling of goods from a potentially low tariff U.K. to a high tariff E.U. Republic of Ireland.
A sort of Continental Blockade in reverse.
Thus the E.U. set up an obstacle to fulfilment of the Good Friday Agreement and are busy blaming the U.K. for not finding a solution, which is, of course, to let the Irish continue smuggling to maintain a cultural tradition.
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Cornwall has a long tradition of it too. We might feel left out.
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Quick! A backstop at the Tamar Bridge…choruses of ‘And shall Trelawney live’….wreckers mobilised…
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It’s not going to be so simple. There’s more than one crossing on the Tamar. “And shall Trelawney live?” at the bridge near Saltash. “Cousin Jack” further north.
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Blow the bridges and introduce me to Cousin Jack.
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Cousin Jack and Cousin Jenny are what the Cornish traditionally call each other. Or themselves. Or–well, you know. The song’s haunting. I’m hoping this is a good version–I can’t listen to it right now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM11lnNekYI
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Super…thank you.
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V minor point, but please? You say capital letters are taken seriously and maybe far too seriously, but the Queen here, who you refer to a few times here, is the Queen and not the queen. A queen is a queen, but the Queen of The United Kingdom, when talking about her in the United Kingdom, is very much the Queen.
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Fair question, especially since I worked as an editor and copy editor. Capitalization styles vary, but in most styles you’re right. And parliament, when you’re talking about a specific one, would be capped. In Britain, capitalization has gone wild–people cap whatever they think is important. When I’ve had a choice, which I often didn’t, I preferred a heavily lower case style.
On the other hand, I’m retired, so fuck it all. When I was working, consistency was what mattered. If you dig around a bit, you’ll notice a lot of inconsistencies in style here. It’s a luxury I allow myself. There’s a certain pleasure in not capitalizing the queen. She’ll live.
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Didn’t mention her madge.
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I generally don’t.
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Don’t think they should do that. Think of the possible disruptions in medical supplies that keep people alive and well. Think of the food supply chain. Think of the multinational corporations that employ people. Damn the torpedoes never works to the advantage of the people and should be left to second rate movies starring actors of limited intelligence like Ronald Reagan. Trump would love your suggestion so US corporations could move in and destroy the NHS, tax strand benefit system that made post-World War II UK a decent place to live. I’m sure Trump is licking his lips thinking about how he could make one of his disastrous attempts to actually be among the filthy rich that always result in failure, bankruptcy and harm to employees and communities. So, no, not a good idea.
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Thank you for making the argument that I should have made but was too tired to take on.
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I’m on a roll today while house sitting by the sea in marvelous little Los Osos CA. Two energetic Australian Shepherds, three lovely cats in the house, all rescues, one likes to wash the faces of the dogs and wrestle a bit with them, and one wonderful rescued calico cat living in the shed because she doesn’t like other cats. Despite all the walks, food and water distribution, poop scooping and pet hair everywhere management, I have time to read email and sound off on Brexit. Do not be apologetic about giving us your take on Brexit. I eagerly await every word because you have a unique perspective and I’ve come to respect your thoughts and integrity. Now off to give food and love to cat in shed.
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Thank you for that. And give those beasts a cuddle from me, would you?
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Another erudite commentary on the entire mess … keep ’em coming. :)
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I’m very much afraid I will.
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In the unlikely event that it has not already been circularly defined:
The BackStop Is The BackStop!
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Why didn’t I think of that?
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Boris Johnson in green face a la incredible Hulk would be a nice complement to Canada’s PM Trudeau in brown or blackface, which is the latest bombshell in our current federal election campaign. (Not nearly as bad a scene as Brexit, though.)
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I’ve been following that as best I can from this distance. What was he thinking? (Actually, I suspect I can answer that. He thought he was cute. And not in the slightest bit racist. Idiot.)
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I’m getting dizzy.
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Then you’re somewhere in the neighborhood of understanding the situation.
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LOL!
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An article appeared yesterday saying that many “leave” in Wales, were actually English incomers and most of the Welsh-speaking areas voted to stay in the EU. Well, I am an English incomer and I certainly did not vote to leave but I do know a couple of Welsh remain voters whose parents voted leave, so it may be a generational thing.
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I do think the generational thing is part of it. What the rest of the divides are is beyond me. I have a hunch that a lot of the reporting is falling into stereotypes, but really, what do I know?
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You live here, you notice things, that’s enough!
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It seems the U.K. is as bitterly divided over Brexit as Americans are about everything else. From across the pond, it seems you have more to lose than gain and no one has a plan for how to deal with it once it’s done. Welcome to modern politics.
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Plan? Did you say plan? What a great idea. Why didn’t we think of that?
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Poor Boris.He finally got his dream job and it’s turning into a nightmare. It seems that it would be embarrassing to be found lying to the Queen
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Probably. It’s clearly not a good career move. Of course, he’s made a career out of lying, so why should anyone be surprised?
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Wow.
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While I have been closely following all of these Brexit posts, with this one I am completely lost. They must have Rudi Giuliani helping out over there.
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That could be a problem with the writing–I put it together quickly–or it could be a problem with reality. Or both. Either way–well, I was about to apologize for both of them, but I’m really only responsible for the one.
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Problems are universal. The real culprit is, of course, human beings. I often wonder what the Creator was thinking. In a million years humanity has managed to evolve technologically but is now regressing rapidly back to barbarism. You have my empathy.
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We are a problematic species, but I do think we could do better than we’re doing. A little more emphasis on community and a lot less on more, more, more and me, me, me and things would, I believe, be looking better.
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Absolutely
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Exactly. Community, consideration for others, planning for the long term is what we need to get back. It is especially hard here in the US when you have powerful interest groups and individuals who have come together to do the opposite with one group doing their best to acquire and keep all wealth for themselves and the other group determined to destroy civil society so they can hasten their journey back to their maker in some fantasy they call the rapture. Add in climate change, crop fails, desertification all leading to desperate migration plus all the marketing that gave us Trump as a TV star and then President. We are in a bad spot. This is the worst of times in human behavior. Right now I’m waiting to see what your Boris is going to do in response to that supreme court ruling. While waiting, I have to continue writing the disaster plan for my mobile home park that doesn’t include any plans for all of the above.
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It’s all gotten very lively here today. Stay tuned. (Of course, I keep saying that. We’d all like to turn the TV off for a while.)
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Even with the TV off and Bobby Darin warbling softly in the background I’m still stuck in this mess. Pretty bad when writing a disaster plan feels like an escape. More escape: filling refrigerator/freezer with bottled water in case PG&E, our for-profit power provider, turns off the juice to avoid their lines causing a fire on this windy 98 F day. Crazy! I’d best finish this plan. We may need it.
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I’m actually impressed that you’re doing this.
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I keep trying to decide which country is in more trouble – America or England. It seems to be a dead heat.
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I’m inclined to think it’s the U.S., but it’s something sane people could debate.
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