From The Mind of Merc - The Cummings Conspiracy

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about the effect that Dominic Cummings still appears to have on UK politics.

What I mean by this is that, although he is longer a member of parliament it is still painfully evident that they continue to dance to whatever tune he cares to play.

Tbh, I really wouldn’t surprised to see him become PM in the future. To be clear, this is not something I want or would relish – it just seems to me that a man who holds as much sway in and over the UK government as he does and is capable of using that to his own ends must surely only have one destination in mind.

To explain what I mean about his clear and continuing influence, I present these 3 examples.

Example 1 – The Durham Debacle
He flagrantly and unapologetically broke the lockdown rules by driving to Durham with his family. What repercussions did he suffer for his lawbreaking? Absolutely none. Clear proof of the power he held as it Boris wouldn’t dare evict his loyal and experienced advisor.

Example 2 – Gone But For How Long?
Cummings’s enforced resignation coincided with a change in leadership in the USA. The new POTUS brought about a change in Boris and his strategies (particularly COVID) – a heavy suggestion both what Cummings’s influence had been and that it had (for now) been removed. 

Example 3 – Hancock’s H-exit
Last month Cummings emerged from the woodwork to take aim at Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, who was forced to resign after footage of an affair (which had to have been going on before this) subsequently surfaced – the government is still subject to Cummings’s machinations.

Clearly, Cummings is not finished messing with politics and, ultimately, I believe the main question is who will he take aim at next? And how long before the Tories to decide he’d be a good replacement for Boris? Remember: we do not need to elect him – he only needs his own party to choose him to be their leader. And when there’s little to no effective opposition within his own or from other parties…

From The Mind of Merc - A Change For The Better?

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about the effect of the recent US election on UK politics.

Has anyone else noticed the change in Boris Johnson’s approach to (in effect) his job since his best buddy Donald Trump was ousted from the Presidency following November's vote?

Prior to this he seemed to be following the example of the sexist, racist bigot the US were unfortunate enough to have to call their Commander-in-chief; evidently believing that if the POTUS could get away with God knows what and still stay in power then so could he. Then along comes the US election which Trump undeniably (despite what he’d like to think) and humiliatingly loses and suddenly the truth hits home and Johnson is left buddy-less, example-less and the only and worst remaining demonstrable failure on the political stage – especially when it comes to COVID. Surely now is the time he needs to pull his finger out and I think there are clear signs that there has been a definite change in his approach.

For example, let’s start with COVID:

Johnson has gone from ‘Herd Immunity’ and ‘It’s not that bad’ to ‘We must act now’ and ‘We will be following data, not dates’. While this could be said to be the approach he should have had a year ago, I think the main thing to take out of this is that he does appear to be actually trying to do his job – we can only hope and pray this is the start of a long-term policy.

Also, the departure of Dominic Cummings from his team hopefully shows that just as he is no longer committed to playing follow my leader with Trump and his policies, he is now less inclined to blindly and foolishly follow the advice of people he likes, has previously trusted or possibly have leverage over him. True he is still not practising accountability for himself or his cohorts – as demonstrated by the fact that Cummings faced no repercussions for any of his transgressions and likewise Matt Hancock has now evaded censure for his unlawful actions regarding COVID contracts – but it is a definite step in the right direction.

I’m not saying he’s perfect – there's still a long way to go before he even gets close to that and there are still a lot of dismissive policies and borderline comical U-Turns to sort out, get past or prevent from happening ever again.

Overall, I believe judgement should be reserved on this newfound ‘dedication’ until we have sufficient time to judge the success and also longevity of his apparent epiphany but it is hopefully I sign that we are at last truly on the road to recovery. We can only hope that the UK finally gets the leader we so desperately need and that Johnson apparently desperately believes he is.

From The Mind of Merc - New President

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today, possibly inspired by a certain announcement, I was thinking about the recent transition of power in the White House. Can't help but think it might be a bit like this:

I Became VP - !!!NEW!!!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! The day has come and he's finally gone. What better way to celebrate that with a parody in honour of the new second-in-command. 
Given her appointment can effectively be said to be thanks to the inspiration for this song's original focus, I figured it was rather apt.

I Sat On A Bus I Became VP not from Horrible Histories

I’m K Harris, Rosa’s heiress
I picked up on her old fight
Sexist bigot in charge, racist killers at large
It just was not all right
What could I do to attempt a reprieve?     
Why have you heard of me?
What could one little woman achieve?
We-e-e-ell

I became VP
(You became VP?)
I became VP
(You became VP?)
You want to know how?
(Go ahead, tell me)
I became VP
(You became VP)

Since Year ‘16, when Trump took over
We faced a grim outlook
(It’s sad to see)
Black blood was spilled, and innocents killed
Yet no one brought to book
(How can it be?)
Even though I am a mixed race girl
Joe picked me as his partner
(Filled us with glee)      
Trump tried to shout it’s not allowed
You’d think that he would be smarter
(No, not really)
He failed in this, still wouldn’t desist
Yet he could not beat me
Was here to stay - would persist
And so I

Became VP
(She became VP)
I became VP
(She became VP)
For all folks to see
(She won it you see)
So I was made VP
(She was made VP) 

We started up a campaign to ensure a correction
To bring round all of the voters and to win the next election
The USA I’m sad to say
Was suff’ring from dejection
Cause decency was gone and prejudice was strong
(Oh, our poor nation)

We faced libel, lies and slander
Yet we kept soldiering on
Fought for the soul, to evict the troll
Just wanted Trump gone
It all came down to one big day
November the third
(Democracy)       
The vote was tight even so
We had the final word
(Majority)
Our time’s come we’ve finally won
Biden now leads the country
He is the forty sixth US president 

And I’m the new VP
(She became VP)
I became VP
(She became VP)
I became VP
(For you and me)
I became VP
(She became VP)
I am, I am
(Our country will see
A woman VP)
I am, I am, I’m the new VP
(We’re glad you see
She’s our new VP)
I’m VP
(She became VP
For you and me
I became VP
She became VP
She became VP)

Bye Bye Bigot - !!!NEW!!!

A little parody song to celebrate the result of the US Presidential Election.

Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye Bigot not by Bay City Rollers

We still you hate you for all that you say
Can't stand that stuff any longer
So gonna tell you go away 

Bye bye bigot, bigot goodbye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)
Bye bye bigot, your time is nigh (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)

You're the one man we never wanted
We were determined and were undaunted                 
We’d see you ousted
Couldn’t stand you you’re just so racist
With your Twitter you would not desist
Took so long but now you’re gone so

Bye bye bigot, bigot goodbye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)
Bye bye bigot, your time is nigh (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)

Wish we could forget that you were here
When you leave town we all will cheer
Gee, how good it will be for we
Shouldn’t have got in last time so true
But now you’re done so won’t feel blue
You lost see and now we’re free so

Bye bye bigot, bigot goodbye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)
Bye bye bigot, your time is nigh (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)

Bigot, bye bye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)
Bigot, bye bye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)
Bigot, bye bye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)
Bigot, bye bye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)
Bigot, bye bye (bye bigot, bigot bye bye)