September 6, 2022

A case of identity – Boris Johnson returns to his plow – Testimony from Trump for the investigation into Trump Organization – Evening statistics

The influx of social media certainly leads to odd situations on occasion.  Many people have been sending messages – either congratulatory or very much the reverse – to the Twitter account @liztruss, under the impression that they are contacting the new U.K. Prime Minister.  In actuality the messages are being sent to one Liz Trussell, who has no political position whatsoever.  Trussell has had a great deal of fun by responding to messages as if she were the new head of government in person, but in a tone that is anything but ministerial.  For example, when the Swedish Prime Minister tagged Trussell in a congratulatory tweet (which has since been deleted and reposted with the right tag) emphasizing cooperation between the two countries, Trussell’s reply was a breezy “Looking forward to a visit soon!”  When one critic tagged Trussell in a tweet slamming Truss for “refusing” to be interviewed by the BBC, her response included an emoji of a shrugging woman, along with the reply “No one asked me” – which was, strictly speaking, quite true.  .Caroline Lucas doubtless expressed the opinion of many of her compatriots when writing this week that she meant to direct a previous tweet about Tory leadership at Truss, not Trussell, “tho frankly she’d probably make a better job of it.”

This is not the first time that such a state of affairs has occurred.  People with similar names have spoken out about being confused for Hillary Clinton and Rep. John Lewis. Media Matters fellow Matthew Gertz has repeatedly reminded people on Twitter that he is not Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.  In 2017, Donald Trump meant to tag Theresa May in a tweet but instead tagged @theresamay, a British woman in her 40s with six Twitter followers and a protected account.  She was asleep when the message was transmitted, and only found out about it when she was subsequently bombarded with messages and interview requests.  But there can be no question that Trussell is displaying a joyous irreverence unmatched by the others mistaken for prominent politicians, and that her reaction is deservedly winning her many admirers (myself included).

Speaking of the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson – who, it may be remembered, was kicked out when his own party decided that they were fed up with his scandal-plagued regime – in his final speech remarked that “Like Cincinnatus, I am returning to my plow.”

Huh?  Boris Johnson as a modern-day Cincinnatus?  What on earth am I missing?  Does he seriously believe that, after vigorously campaigning for the position of Prime Minister and doggedly clinging to it despite numerous calls for his resignation over the course of three years, anyone can mistake him for a modern-day Cincinnatus?  I suppose he could be considered a lover of agriculture in one respect.  He certainly has distributed a great number of plums during his administration.

Moving on to this side of the Atlantic – Donald Trump may be undergoing some sort of penalty for his numerous defalcations at long last.  Today he completed his court-ordered testimony for the New York Attorney General’s office inquiry into alleged financial wrongdoing at the Trump Organization – pleading the Fifth Amendment, naturally, and determinedly not disclosing anything.  However, Letitia James, the Attorney General, has signaled that she will file a massive, long-threatened “enforcement action,” or lawsuit against the Trumps and his Manhattan-based business.  The lawsuit will seek steep financial penalties for an alleged decade-long pattern of playing fast and loose with the assessed values of Trump Organization properties.  Not only will it press for various fines and back taxes, but it may also seek the dissolution of the business itself under New York’s so-called corporate death penalty: a law that allows the AG to seek to dissolve businesses that operate “in a persistently fraudulent or illegal manner.”  If she succeeds in doing this, it will force him to divest himself of a major portion of his real-estate portfolio, including Trump Tower in Manhattan and all of his golf courses.  It does not appear that the outcome will go well for him because, as a well-known authority has told us:  “Only guilty people plead the Fifth.”  Actually, come to think of it, that well-known authority is  . . . Donald Trump.  

Today’s statistics as of 9:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 611,133,676; # of deaths worldwide: 6,506,548; # of cases U.S.: 96,708,430; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,073,273.