Michael Shaw

concerned about things. progressive. supporter of equal justice for everyone. especially tfg

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@carlawalworth Jimini! I’m trying to de-carb over here…

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@KevinCharron61 @thejackhopkins No. Putin needs to be completely defeated. By an intl coalition

[Republicans against Trump @RpsAgainstTrump]

This is a reminder that under the direction of Donald Trump, Republicans blocked the strongest border security bill in decades, crafted by Republican Senator James Lankford and endorsed by the acting chief of U.S. Customs and the Border Patrol Union, because they fear it will help Biden politicly.

They repeatedly talk about a "wide open border" and an "Invasion" but chose to do nothing (at least) until February 2025. This is why so many Americans are sick and tired of politicians.

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@RealRogerMayhem @MarioNawfal @donlemon You’re not good at grammar.

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@lanechanged Same

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@dancindoti @LeftyNavySeal No. He knows he is lying. It is tactical.

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

A British writer penned the best description of Donald Trump I’ve ever read:

“Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?”

A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.

Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.

There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.

And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.

So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:

• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.

• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.

This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.

God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.

And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish: ‘My God… what… have… I… created?' If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.”

-Nate White

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@hiba_says @CalltoActivism He captures not just his shortcomings, but indeed the horrible person himself. His shortcomings are him. There are literally no positive qualities to offset the ugly wretched soul.

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@The_Most_True @TheRickWilson In this instance, we cannot. Which is Rick’s point.

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@murti_bing @BaddCompani Also, Mitch. Also Jim Jordan. Also MTG. Also Comer. Also Ron Johnson. Also … well, you get it. All of MAGA. Shun them. Ridicule them. Write their place in history. But mostly, VOTE. THEM. OUT.

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@OneBadDude_ @krassenstein You a bad dude

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@LibertyPositive @JoshEakle brb. Going to get you some tin foil.

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@JoshEakle Nor few forces more evil than understanding, but still twisting the facts out of populist rage.

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

Science is indeed hard.

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@carlawalworth Grandson (and grammom) made a special request vanilla bundt cake from scratch for my birthday. #65.

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@LaneZane1 @TomJChicago Have you ever tried taking the car keys from an elderly parent?

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@LeftyNavySeal @UROCKlive1 Yes. And yes.

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@WalshFreedom “And then I’ll have a shot of tequila”

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@thejackhopkins It’s almost like the collective soul of this country is under a spell that makes it acceptable to get behind any premise to keep from removing Donald from his dangerous perch from which he will certainly dismantle our democracy and render our constitution inoperable.

[Michael Shaw @shawmi]

@TheRickWilson Hannity Hannity bo bannity fu fe fi fo fannity fu fe fi fo cannity Hannity