Another spectacular week of Trump train wrecks

It’s so easy for me to find material with Trump and Co. moving from crisis to crisis. Whether it’s his supporters, his lawyer or Trump himself being neck deep in shit, he’s the gift that keeps on giving. And he topped off the week beautifully with a call in interview to Fox and Friends that got so bad, the hosts themselves ended up cutting him off mid sentence.

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Australia’s Banking Royal Commission and ANZAC Day controversy

It’s somewhere between fun and bizarre to watch the conservative LNP government act like they wanted a Royal Commission into the finance sector now that the scale of malfeasance in that industry is becoming apparent.

Also, with ANZAC Day approaching that means it’s time to get ready for the relatively recent national sport of people who call anyone who disagrees with them a snowflake losing their tiny little minds if anyone’s response to ANZAC Day deviates one iota from their declared orthodoxy.

Malcolm Turnbull loses 30 Newspolls in a row

Malcolm Turnbull and his supporters are trying to argue (with some merit) that him losing 30 Newspolls in a row is meaningless in and of itself. But it was one of the key metrics he used to justify knifing then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott and so now Turnbull’s detractors will use it against him.

And the though of more infighting within the conservatives fills my dark heart with glee.

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation tearing itself apart

There’s an old political trope that says left wing parties can’t hold power for long before they start turning on each other and right wingers are much more disciplined and balanced. This is clearly bullshit as conservatives and especially extreme right wingers continue to eat themselves around the world.

The latest to provide me with some joy on this front is Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party here in Australia. They appear to be proving yet again if you get a group of fringe extremists together they’ll find reasons to turn on each other as much as they turn on others.

Centrelink’s “debt recovery” is a disaster and must be stopped

Here’s a story that’s an ugly combination of a conservative government waging war on the most vulnerable and the worst sort of bureaucratic fuck up. Centrelink, the government agency responsible for pensions and unemployment benefits embarked on a debt recovery plan which sounds fine in theory but their system is so deeply flawed that they have been demanding money from people who owe them nothing.

So far the government is acting as though they’re doing nothing wrong even though they’re driving people to the brink of suicide. This programme is fundamentally flawed – it can’t be fixed and it needs to be cancelled.

As an aside, here’s some advice if you happen to get one of these debt letters.

Predictions for 2017

I spent some of today hanging out with some local YouTubers, socialising and talking about plans for the year. One of the things I’m really bad at is self promotion and marketing. What I have learned is that working with other people makes things easier.

It was also my first opportunity this year to make a video with my regular collaborator, AIDzee. We took the opportunity to use one of Melbourne’s colourful art alleys (in this case, Croft Alley) as a backdrop to talk about how we’re looking forward to seeing the extreme right eat each other.

St Patrick’s Day green Poitin cocktail

I celebrated St Patrick’s Day this year with some traditional Irish potato spirit – poitin/poteen. I even coloured it green with the help of some limes.

Jeremy Clarkson sacked by the BBC

Jeremy Clarkson is a hideously privileged prat. It isn’t like I hate him but he really is an arsehole. And I am deeply fucking disturbed by people who think he shouldn’t face repercussions for a violent assault just because he’s popular.

AIDzee and I explore how far you could take this theory (particularly with Rupert Murdoch).

How to Maximize Your Facebook Reach — Without Paying for It

People are worried about not reaching people who “liked” their page on Facebook now that the Zuckborg wants to charge you for it. I saw an article on this topic that made one ridiculously obvious point. AIDzee and I take it on.

Australia’s metadata laws – a terrible idea

AIDzee joins me in the Angry Studio to talk about the death of former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and the terrible plans for metadata retention in Australia.