Richard Bates

“For tens of millions of people, democratic life has been absent for decades as they endure precarious housing, inaccessible healthcare, unchecked policing powers, debt servitude, vanishing public goods, and near-total exclusion from meaningful formal political power.” 🎯

‘A very dangerous person’: alarm as Pete Hegseth revels in carnage of Iran war Critics say brash, bombastic Fox News host out of his depth to guide US military through murky new Middle East conflict

“Honestly, it’s embarrassing. We know this guy is incompetent. I wouldn’t feel safe leaving Pete Hegseth in charge of putting together a DoorDash order.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Yes, about the same time that Austerity became government policy.

And taking first place in others.
bsky.app/profile/gree...

For a fairer electoral system, we need #ProportionalRepresentation

You, Too, Can Have 'Mar-A-Lago Face' — For A Hefty Price Facelift, eyelid surgery, fillers, Botox, laser treatments, jaw implants ... the list goes on.

We know Nancy was deeply superficial. She “had a lot of work done” and will always be the pioneer of today’s #MarALagoFace
www.huffpost.com/entry/mar-a-...

Eisenhower said, "God help this country if someone sits at this desk who knows less about the military than I do."

Reminiscent of the #FischerSpooner track #WeNeedAWar
youtu.be/C9iSyTqk2Hk

Thanks – will remember this canvassing for county elections between now and May!

The most recent Census 2021 found that there are 5.8 million #UnpaidCarers in the UK.
1.7 million people in the UK are providing 50 or more hours of care per week.
Adult social care is heavily reliant on volunteers. A huge personal cost is attached to this.
www.carersuk.org/policy-and-r...

GP surgery notice board poster asks for VOLUNTEERS to help with #healthcare that professionals used to provide.

A year ago, the Labour government instructed Louise Casey to carry out an Independent Commission on Adult Social Care.

This is a major piece of work to fundamentally transform the care sector and will take a long time.

But Baroness Casey said she would feedback with any immediate actions...

1/3

Why Trump won’t clean up his own mess Chaos and instability are a feature, not a bug, of the US president’s approach to foreign policy

‘To many, it seems shameful to create a physical or moral “mess”. Not so in today’s White House.’
Gift 🎁 link to Gillian Tett’s article about a filthy administration.
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “This is arguably the first time that someone as senior, respected and independent as Baroness Casey has been prepared to tell the truth about the state of #SocialCare in our country.”

Adult #SocialCare: “Services had been cut during years of austerity, while provision was dependent on what she called the exploitation and underpayment of care workers. Social care was the poor relation of the NHS, and the two services often failed to work together.”
“It is a moment of reckoning.”

Millions of older people shivered through this winter at home alone again. My father-in-law ended up in hospital with pneumonia.

#Kakistocracy

Andy Burnham breaks silence after Labour by-election defeat with 3-word demand The Greater Manchester Mayor made the comments less than a week on from the Greens Hannah Spencer storming to victory in Gorton and Denton, with 14,980 votes - a majority of 4,402

If people no longer trust politicians to “fix the basics”, it could be because politicians have less power than corporate interests. Local government Councillors are constrained by policies set by Westminster. MPs are influenced by think tanks and lobbyists.
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Iran War Cost Tracker — Live Estimate of U.S. Taxpayer Spending Track the cost of the Iran war in real time. Live estimate of U.S. taxpayer spending on Operation Epic Fury — updated every second.

iran-cost-ticker.com

I don't know who needs to hear this, but South Koreans took 6 hours to stop their insurrection, 10 days to impeach the president behind it, and just 6 weeks to convict him. He was sentenced to life in prison 2 weeks ago. Their country's stock market shot up 10%.

Exactly 💯

“The Thought of Holding Thousands of Families in Massive Warehouses Should Challenge the Conscience of Every American,” Says Bishop Cahill Newly released details show how the Administration plans to double federal immigration detention capacity, spending an estimated $38.3 billion from last year...

“Aside from the internment camps used to incarcerate Japanese Americans in the 1940s, such facilities have no precedent in American history.”
#HolocaustUSA
www.usccb.org/news/2026/th...

Kegsbreath seen in his uniform

You can see that checks and balances are completely gone, along with the rule of law. Who could have seen this coming when the Department of Defence was renamed the Department of War? 🤚

Surely this needs a vote in UK Parliament, as we’re effectively going to war with Iran on behalf of the USA.

Just the one?

🏹..................🎯

How America Chose Not to Hold the Powerful to Account Our national project of elite impunity

Read @adamserwer.bsky.social on elite impunity. IMO this is the biggest issue in US politics, the one that underlies all others. It gets too little discussion, because discourse is so heavily governed by precisely the elites who favor the impunity, but beneath the surface, pressure is building.

This may not go down well – and won’t just affect USA.

Victorian sewers not to blame for England’s pollution, research shows Water company excuses for spills debunked by findings that most infrastructure was built in 20th century

#SewageScandal:
Viewers of #DirtyBusiness on @channel4.bsky.social may find this (gift) article of interest:
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Victorian sewers not to blame for England’s pollution, research shows

Breaking Down Big Numbers in the 2024 Election - Population Education At Population Education, we’re always looking for real-life examples that help students digest complex topics. And teaching big numbers is... Read more »

The real problem we face is getting out the vote! So many people don’t bother to vote for any candidate. In the 2024 USA general election, only 63% turned out to vote, an 36% did not.
populationeducation.org/breaking-dow...