Three Little Piggies 2017

Three Little Piggies 2017

[Only the president's name has been changed]

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Across Europe houses are built of brick, stone, concrete and other durable materials.

Mediaeval houses had the stoutest of timber frames with solid infills. The timbers were connected with simple push fit joints and held in place with wooden pegs.

Even in the changing climate, at least for now, Europe does not suffer destructive typhoons and hurricanes.

Yet, in almost every photo of the aftermath of a seriously destructive storm in the USA I see a pile of wood, a bank, a pile of wood, maybe a hotel, a pile of wood, a gas station, a pile of wood etc..

I suspect even Donald Trump could be explained to that it isn’t just when big bad wolves huff and puff that houses of sticks and straw offer little protection.

Surely it is cheaper for the taxpayer to subsidise the building of strong houses that will last for generations, even in such vulnerable areas, than it is to deal with emergency evacuations and the constant rebuilding of homes just as fragile as those they must replace.

© John Barrow (Po) 2007 & 2017

Trump Meets Obama

From watching the brief photo shoot held after Trump met Obama I am given to think Trump has no real idea of what to do now he has won the election, that he had little or no understanding of what the President's job he fought so hard for actually involves and is now daunted by the prospect of taking it on.

As CEO of all the States of America Trump will no longer have the option of bankruptcy law to fall back on if his grand plans fail, he will not have the personal safety net he relied upon so famously in business.

As round-the-clock front man for the whole USA Trump will no longer have the option to re-shoot or to edit out mistakes, as he could when his personal brand of Reality had TV appended to it and came in short episodes.

For the first time in his life Trump will be just as responsible for the wellbeing of the fired as of the hired and that responsibility will be absolute, as will be his ultimate responsibility for everything else happening in America, too.

So, Citizens of America, be grateful there exist Congress and the Senate to temper any madnesses that might arise from Trump's total lack of experience in the hugely frustrating game of politics he is now elected to play. Even if he avoids meltdown, he will become visibly stressed, he will lose weight and even his hair will suffer.

Meanwhile, don't waste the next four years of your time and energy on fighting amongst yourselves or on just praying for a better world. Instead, get together to use those same hours and that same effort to make genuine improvements to it.