España jumps aboard the bigotry express

It feels like every second day we awake to yet another European country making an attempt to teleport to 1939, you know, a time when bigotry was the in-thing. Spain, a country that last saw far-right fanaticism during the civil war has sadly taken a turn for the worst. In Sunday's general election, the political party Vox (mission statement: hatred towards feminism, multiculturalism and migration) gained 10.3% of the vote, good for 24 seats. This led to them becoming the first far-right party since 1975 to enter parliament. On the flip-side there was a shining light to balance the hatred, Luc André Diouf (fluent in six languages) became the first person of Senegalese decent to be elected. The Socialists held on to win their third election in four years, although not enough to govern outright as per European tradition. Current Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez will most probably end up cobbling together another coalition.

In 2019 there are way too many European nations giving voice to ideals that should have been cleansed from European souls at the end of WWII. Just one seat in parliament for a party promoting hared is one too many. This is an epidemic infecting even the more open-minded parts of Europe, from Sweden's decent into darkness (see 9/1/18 post) recent elections that saw True Finns (aka diversity is a disease) coming second in Finland and EKRE (nationalist Estonian party) being part of the ruling coalition. Spain is the recent inductee into this sad club, long known as being the most immigrant friendly of the southern Europeans is now trying to undo its reputation.

The irony of this situation is that whenever Islam is mention these European bigots are the first to denounce the backward views that they believe Islam impresses on their followers, yet they themselves advertise their xenophobic credentials to appease voters. Yo all my European readers, next time you enter a voting booth make sure you vote against hypocrisy, do you really want to vote for parties that spew hatred towards the LGBT community, then in the next breath they harp on about Islam being not allowing freedom of expression.

Spain has always been a diverse nation, 17 relatively autonomous regions all united by a Kingdom. My apologies to Catalonia and Basque Country, I understand the monarchy is an utter disgrace and the nation should be broken up to represent the distinct regions. It's because of this that Spaniards as a whole have been more open to difference than many other Europeans, let's hope Spain gets back to be known as a bastion for openness to go with their other claim to fame (no, not great weather and olive oil), life expectancy for both sexes among the highest in the world.

Europeans are making a mess of being an inclusive society, in other words, they're making Americans look good. To my fellow earthlings of the European variety: stop losing sleep over U.S. politics and start opening your minds to your continent taking a deep dive into medieval times, and I'm not referring to architecture.

A nation the size of West Virginia coming-of-age

In case my readers have been hiding under a rock, on 3/30/2019 Slovakia officially become the most liberal nation in Central Europe, you can blame the election of Zuzana Čaputová as President. (No, this isn't some kind of April Fools joke, I know how sensitive we geopolitical geeks can get). Being surrounded by nations all lurching to the loony right (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland) has fueled Slovakia to own liberalism. This is just the start of the journey, Slovakia has been mired by corruption and a hatred towards the press (refer to the horrific slaying of Ján Kuciak). First female (and youngest-ever) President that has no qualms praising immigration and equality for all (not just pasty white folk) is what you call a good start.

Could Slovakia be the new Estonia? A question to pose at any gathering, fun way to ensure rigorous geopolitical debate, I digress. Estonia broke away from its 'stuck in the time warp' neighbors Latvia and Lithuania by adopting openness and a tech savvy outlook rather than obsessing over German, Polish, Russian hegemony. Slovakia might just do likewise, in its case be a beacon for liberalism in Central Europe.

Having had the pleasure of visiting both Estonia and Slovakia, I can tell you that they both share magnificent old towns and a smart small populace, but they differ greatly in acceptance and openness. Estonia is proud of its secular roots and does not fear immigrant invasions, whereas Slovakia still has a white nationalist and organized crime underbelly. One look at the Corruption Perceptions Index (2018) tells you everything: Estonia is the world's 18th least corrupt nation, Slovakia ranks 57th. Personally, I give Slovakia extra brownie points for being a hockey mad nation (host of the 2019 IIHF World Championships, which inspired me to don the the Team Slovakia jersey) that has given us the likes of ageless wonder, Zdeno Chara. Estonia, while not as hockey-centric gets a massive tick for inventing the first video chat platform, Skype).

As is my global citizen duty, I hereby pledge allegiance to these two great nations.

Grassalkovich Palace, Bratislava (Feb 22, 2018)

Presidential Palace, Tallinn (March 10, 2019)

Hei/Tere from the lands of Suomi and Eesti!

The two magnificent nations of Finland and Estonia are best described by eyes not words. I'll let the glorious winter scenery speak for itself.

PS. Don't be fooled by my boyish looks on the edge of the Baltic sea, as of today, I'm officially an old codger. 

365 sleeps till Dems go gaga over the Hawkeye State

This time next year, Americans will finally detox from their addiction to a thrice married maniac and focus on the circus that is the Democratic Primaries. That's right people, the Iowa Caucuses kicks-off the election season on Feb 3, 2020. The following is my early form guide for the Natural born citizens of these Unites States wanting to follow in the footsteps of Georgie 'my passion is slaughtering woman and children', Barry 'I dabble with war crimes via drones' Obama and Donny 'my racism and adultery is a winner with Christian conservatives'. Here is your succinct "idiots" guide to the twelve early favorites, brace yourself to start yawning over the hopefuls...

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., Delaware (November 20, 1942) - 47th Vice President (2009-2017)

Good ol' Joe allowed Clinton a free pass to run in 2016, now he's desperate to be the default choice. Not only is he too old, but his past views on criminal justice are unforgivable. Like William Jefferson Clinton, he to was a big fan of imprisonments, you wonder why mass incarceration is a massive noose hanging around America's neck. Personally, I've lived in the great state of Delaware and have seen first hand his popularity, especially when he takes the Amtrak from Wilmington to DC. A first family from the first state would have a nice ring to it.

Cory Anthony Booker, New Jersey (April 27, 1969) - Senator (since 2013)

The consensus candidate, if he was white he'd be odds on favorite for the nomination. Due to having the wrong pigmentation conservatives target him as an angry black man. as we know being an angry white man gets you elected as America's 45th President. He is a big fan of bipartisanship at a time when it's a dirty word, his fluency in Spanish won't hurt either. No doubt he'll lock down the hipster vote, as he aims to become America's first vegan President.

Sherrod Campbell Brown, Ohio (November 9, 1952) - Senator (since 2007)

even though he is considered one of the more liberal members of Congress, his classic Midwestern persona might just trick rednecks that he's not as scary as those "socialist" California type Dems. If you want to win an election he could be your go-to candidate, after all, Ohio is the lifeblood of this great nation. Home to seven Presidents and the largest contingent of soldiers fighting for the Union army.

Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg, Indiana (January 19, 1982) - Mayor of South Bend (since 2012)

Would become America's first openly gay leader, which shouldn't be massive news as the rest of the world has already beaten us to the punch. Catholic Ireland is run by one and if you're looking to show-off at trivia, drop the name Ana Brnabić (first woman and openly gay Prime Minister of Serbia). Fellow Hoosier and gay conversion enthusiast, Mike Pence is not happy even accounting for the fact Buttigieg is an Afghanistan war vet. He will also become the first polyglot and Maltese-American to hold the highest office in the land - not too shabby!

Julian Castro, Texas (September 16, 1974) - Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (2014-2017)

Another Ivy League educated lawyer, what we need less of in politics. He will get some interest due to be the grandchild of undocumented migrants and an identical twin to Congressman Joaquin Castro. Bizarrely doesn't speak Spanish, which is a no-no for someone from Texas, even our hillbilly 43rd President knows Spanish.

Tulsi Gabbard, Hawaii (April 12, 1981) - Representative 2nd Congressional District (since 2013)

One word: homophobe. That's right, who said a Millennial from Hawaii couldn't be a bigot. Time will tell if her ethnicity (first Samoan and Hindi elected to Congress) and military experience will benefit her in getting away with Saudi views on sexuality.

Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand, New York (December 9, 1966) - Senator (since 2009)

Stay clear of this racist. Her resume as a politician include, boasting about getting an A-rating from the NRA and having no compassion towards the undocumented. Now she's doing the rounds on talk shows (refer to her appearance on Colbert, a love-in between two hypocrites) trying to advertise her liberal credentials, won't work, upstate NY Dems have a history of being stuck in the 1950's.

Kamala Devi Harris, California (October 20, 1964) - Senator (since 2017)

Having an Indian and Caribbean ancestry shouldn't be news in this melting pot of the United states, but you know as a married woman without children they'll make a big deal out of everything. She also spent her formative years in Canada. Will she finally become out first Tamil-Jamaican-Canuck President? She gets an F-rating from the NRA, which alone should ensure she loses middle America but gains all the urbanistas support. One major negative: was a little too incarceration ahppy as a prosecutor, will stain her empathy credentials. Vegas odds have her as the early favorite (4/1) to clinch the nomination.

Amy Jean Klobuchar, Minnesota (May 25, 1960) - Senator (since 2007)

This mild mannered descendant of Slovene immigrants was outstanding during the Kavanaugh hearings (in case you forgot, lunatic chauvinist promote to the Supreme Court). She was a critical of the Iraq war from day one (unlike war crimes sell-out, Hilary Clinton) and promotes liberalism in a way that won't offend backward Americans, there's a reason why they call it 'Minnesota nice'. One concerning aspect is that if you look at her voting record, some 32% of the time her views are in align with Donny.

Robert Francis O'Rourke, Texas (September 26, 1972) - Representative 16th Congressional District (2013-2019)

Beto (as he's affectionately known in Texas) mania is rampant across the nation, blame is Kennedyesque good looks. anyone who loses against Ted Cruz shouldn't be taken seriously, but luckily for him he ran in Texas, where losing a tight race as progressive gets you kudos. Having gown up in on the border town of El Paso and being fluent in Spanish don't hurt, what hurts is being too cute trying to be a hipster on the campaign trail changing your pinions to fit in with trends. Also, do we really want a future President who live streams his dental visits on Facebook?

Bernard Sanders, Vermont (September 8, 1941) - Senator (since 2007)

Bernie will go down kicking and screaming, ensuring it's not the last time we hear that America needs to be more Scandinavian. He paved the way for Democrats to own liberalism rather than market themselves as Republican lite, but is that enough for Dems to reward for his 2016 run, we'll know by his 79 birthday if he's the one.

Elizabeth Ann Warren, Massachusetts (June 22, 1949) - Senator (since 2013)

Now that she's confirmed her Native American ancestry, it's safe to say she has the nomination clinched. Using a DNA test for political purposes aside, she's the feisty character hell-bent on winning the states needed to swing the Presidency back to the Dems, namely Michigan and Pennsylvania. The problem is a law professor from Boston lecturing working class folk is a tough sell, then again a billionaire con artist out of touch with 99% of the populace managed to brainwash middle America.

My early prediction: Buttigieg/Klobuchar ticket. I understand that Americans are uneasy about handing over the nuclear codes to someone not conforming to heterosexual norms or the fairer sex, but if we're okay with racist adulterers throwing tantrums in the Oval Office, then why not take a risk on a level headed openly gay female duo - what's the worst that could happen? We could raise taxes to increase our military mite to murder 500,000 earthlings. A straight male Republican President already did that, and he got himself a library in Dallas.

May MMXIX be the year of vlogging!

MLK Day is as good as time as any to fire up another vlog. Warning: the following commentary will take up 279 seconds of your life, should you wish to listen to an earthling tell-it-like-it-is!

If you're having audio issues, in a nutshell I'm going off tangent on all things geopolitics and posing the following question: is our current Führer inherently more evil than a racist Founding Father* (credentials: enslaving 600 humans that didn't share his pasty skin tone) who happened to have great penmanship?

*Jefferson's Monticello: Paradox of Liberty exhibit got me thinking...

African American Museum of Dallas - 1/19/2019