Category: Politics

We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1950

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn History, Music, People, PoliticsLeave a comment

Welcome to the latest instalment of my breakdown of Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire. The two previous entries in this strange franchise are We Didn’t Start the Fire: The Beginning and We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1948-1949.

This is where I’m attempting to talk about the historical references in the song and try to relate them to our contemporary society. I know this sounds like a terrible idea, but apparently, the group known as Beetroot Awareness Aotearoa sort of agrees. After publishing my blog post concerning 1948-1949, this New Zealand-based group released their own harsh review:

“Does this idiot know that the song came out in 1989, and since then, numerous people have already talked about the historical references? Can he not think of anything original or does he just steal other people’s ideas? What a buffoon!”

And with that positive and uplifting feedback, let’s check out the We Didn’t Start the Fire’s historic references for 1950.

Image from the We Didn’t Start the Fire music video

1950

Joseph McCarthy:

We briefly discussed Joseph McCarthy last time with 1949’s Walter Winchell, but we’ll expand it like a dog taking over your bed. McCarthy was a US senator for Wisconsin, who had a few issues that he liked to talk about. Early on in the Cold War, and during his Lincoln Day speech, McCarthy launched an anti-communist crusade.

He promoted the concept that Soviet Union and communist spies and sympathizers had infiltrated American society, through the federal and local governments, as well as in academic and entertainment circles. This led to the persecution and political repression of many people, based on being un-American and their opinions. It was during this period that the terms “The Second Red Scare” and “McCarthyism” were born.

For a modern equivalent to McCarthy, just think of everybody’s favourite twice impeached, four times criminally indicted, ex-US President, Donald Trump.

Credit: Biography.com

Richard Nixon:

Richard Nixon makes the list because in 1950, the future President of the United States of America was first elected to represent California, in the US Senate. If you’re a student of history, you’ll realise this will not be the last time Nixon makes the list. He will return.

For a modern version, I’m a bit stumped over this. I can’t compare Richard Nixon of 1950 to Richard Nixon of 1972, because they are two people with different life experiences. However, when comparing Nixon of 1950 to modern times, it would be any young politician moving up the ladder, to become a long-term politician. I’m sure every country has some. I’m looking at you Winston Peters, I’m looking at you.

Nixon in Yorba Linda, California, c. April 1950. Credit: Orange County Archives.

Studebaker:

Studebaker was an automobile manufacturer, which was based in the United States. For about 50 years, Studebaker was one of the leaders in the car industry and had built up a great reputation for their vehicles.

That changed around 1950 when Studebaker started having some major financial problems. In 1954, they merged with Packard, another automobile company to ease their financial difficulties. It didn’t work the way they thought it would, so in 1967, Studebaker ceased production and the company shut down.

Some modern equivalents would be Oldsmobile and Pontiac, or even some non-automobile companies like Kenner and Toys “R” Us.

Studebaker’s “Lazy S” logo, designed by Raymond Loewy, was used from the 1950s until 1966/1950 Studebaker Champion. Credit: Андрей Перцев/Classic Auto Mall.

Television:

Is there a greater icon for the 20th century other than television? I think not. Television or TV had been developed, improved and marketed for years before 1950, but it was slowly becoming an important household product. In the context of US history, TV was becoming an attractive way to transmit information to the public.

Data on sales of TV sets in the United States for 1950 varies. An estimated 9%-20% of households in the United States had at least one television set, but by the end of the decade, that figure had grown to nearly 90%. The age of television was upon us, and it changed the way people from around the world, consumed news and entertainment forever.

In the 21st century, the easiest and best example of a different communication network would be the Internet. You can watch your favourite team play live while riding on the train, watch your favourite TV show on your lunch break, or stream the latest news via your phone or laptop. Outrageous.

Credit: © Frank Martin/ Getty Images

North Korea, South Korea:

This is the first time that I need to discuss two references together, because in 1950, North and South Korea dominated the news around the planet. At the time, North and South Korea were two separate countries, having been divided at the 38th parallel north, by the Soviet Union and the United States, after the end of the Second World War.

On 25th June 1950, the North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. Given that the Cold War was the political climate at the time, this conflict slowly became a proxy war for democracy vs communism.

On one side, there was the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), and the People’s Republic of China (China), along with the unofficial support of the Soviet Union; against the Republic of Korea (South Korea), along with the United Nation Forces, which consisted of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Netherlands, Canada, France, New Zealand, Philippines, Turkey, Thailand, South Africa, Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ethiopia and Colombia; with many more countries supplying support through different means.

This conflict became known as the Korean War and was fought for three years, with the war ending in a stalemate in 1953, with the Korean Armistice Agreement. The war claimed an estimated 2.8 million military and civilian deaths. Much like the Chinese Civil War, the geo-political repercussions of the Korean War are still being felt in 2024.

Sadly, the Korean War will make another entry in the song.

Credit: Map Porn

Marilyn Monroe:

Born Norma Jeane Mortenson, Marilyn Monroe was a model and actress who became an international sex symbol, during the late 1940s-early 1960s. In 1950, Monroe landed some breakthrough roles in films and actually starred in five different films in that year. (A Ticket to Tomahawk, The Asphalt Jungle, All About Eve, The Fireball, and Right Cross). From there, Monroe’s career took off and she soon became a household name.

It’s hard to determine which contemporary model/actress would be like Marilyn Monroe of 1950, so I’ll let you decide on that one. Sorry.

Marilyn Monroe in All About Eve (1950). Credit: 20th Century-Fox

So in 1950, we have covered two US Senators, a failed automobile company, the explosion of television sales, the Korean War, and a model/actress. Like I said last time, this project is going to take some time, so I’ll try and cover 1951-1952 next time. Cool.

That’s it for another week. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, call for a ceasefire in Palestine, and I’ll see you next week because I’m going to be discussing a milestone. It could be interesting.

We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1948-1949

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn History, Music, People, Politics

There have been numerous terrible ideas throughout the history of our planet, and unfortunately, many of them have originated from this account. Despite this, we will carry on the tradition and introduce the latest addition to the family of bad ideas, which is Some Geek Told Me.

Last month, I ranted on about my love for We Didn’t Start the Fire, by Billy Joel. In that hot mess of literary foolishness, I explained that I was going to cover all of the historical references in the song; or at least try to, but also relate them to contemporary time. I’ll do this by producing one blog per month. Maybe.

The aim is to cover the 119 references from 1948-1989, so how long will this take me? You tell me and we’ll both know. The lyrics will be in bold and italics because we’re really fancy on this account!

Right, I’m not here to shag spiders, so without too much fanfare, let’s crack on and do this!

Credit: CBS

1948

Harry Truman:

Harry S. Truman was the Vice-President of the United States of America from January-April 1945, then became President after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Truman is a divisive figure in US and world history, much like Elon Musk or George W. Bush.

On one hand, he helped steer the United States through to the end of the Second World War; authorised the Berlin Airlift; recognised the State of Israel; won re-election in 1948; and promoted civil rights. On the other hand, Truman deployed troops into the Korean War and authorised the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In saying that, George W. Bush would be the modern version of Truman.

Portrait of Harry S. Truman.
Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

Doris Day:

Born Doris Mary Kappelhoff, Doris Day was a major entertainment star in the United States. She was already a successful singer before she turned to acting. Over the years, she became a huge attraction to the television and movie industry.

Billy Joel mentioned her in the song, became her first feature film, Romance on the High Seas, was released in 1948. If you’re still unsure about her impact on pop culture, just think of Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, or Rihanna.

Doris Day in Romance on the High Seas (1948). Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

1949

Red China:

In 1949, the Chinese Civil War came to a close after causing the deaths of millions of people. Mao Zedong, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, succeeded in defeating the government led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang. As a result, the People’s Republic of China was established.

The Kuomintang, also known as Nationalists, fled mainland China to Taiwan, where they settled and took control. The geo-politics of 2024 concerning China and Taiwan, have their origins in the end of the Chinese Civil War.

The Chinese Civil War, 1949.
(Source: diverse-travel.com)

Johnnie Ray:

Johnnie Ray, a singer, songwriter, and pianist, was born in Oregon, USA. He was widely recognised as the Father of Rock and Roll due to his significant contributions to the genre. During the late 1940s and 1950s, he was one of the most famous singers in the world.

His music and dance moves reinvented the method singers could perform, and paved the way for others to follow him; notably Elvis Presley. When Ray signed to Okeh Records, music was going to be changed forever. For contemporary equivalents, the best people I can think of would be Michael Jackson and Madonna.

Credit: Johnnieray.com

South Pacific:

Not only is it the name of my location, but South Pacific was a Broadway musical, that opened in 1949. The musical was based on the World War Two book, Tales of the South Pacific, and the musical also inspired the 1958 film.

South Pacific is famous; at least to me, for mainly two reasons. The Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein production became one of the best musicals of all time since it was extremely financially and critically successful.

The other reason was that the musical was progressive for its time, as it tackled racism and prejudice. This was important because the United States was still in its segregation phase. If South Pacific opened in 2024, and not in 1949, you can bet your Black Lives Matter flag, that the musical would be labelled as woke. Very, very woke.

Original poster of South Pacific Credit: Majestic Theatre

Walter Winchell:

We’re going back to another US icon in the form of Walter Winchell. Winchell was primarily a radio news commentator and newspaper columnist, through the 1930’s-1950’s. His notoriety is that he had outspoken views on a variety of subjects, which included attacking the Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan; as well as denouncing communism.

This led Winchell to join the “McCarthyism” movement, in spreading misinformation about the Second Red Scare, supporting the idea that communists had infiltrated the US Government; in addition to destroying people’s careers and reputations.

If you’re having trouble understanding what I’m talking about with Winchell, just picture Alex Jones from InfoWars and you’re there.

Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc

Joe DiMaggio:

Born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, Joe DiMaggio was a famous US baseball player. He held multiple batting records and mainly played for the New York Yankees, during the 1940s-1950s. In the world of team sports, DiMaggio would have been Michael Jordan or Lionel Messi. DiMaggio was a star and hero to millions of people.

In 1949, DiMaggio signed a contract with the Yankees worth $100,000. This was a record-breaking contract for a professional sportsman at the time and helped to usher in a new wave of extremely well-paid players.

Credit: Associated Press archives

And with that, we have covered 1948-1949, in the form of a US President, a singer/actor, a civil war, another singer, a musical, a gossip columnist, and a baseball player.

My We Didn’t Start the Fire project is going to take some time, but we’ll get there. Eventually.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, eat a raw lemon, and I’ll see you next week, because we’re going to check in with my wife and her television shows. It’s going to be riveting.

100 Days of Chaos

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Politics

Allow me to take a momentary pause from my typical geek-related content to discuss the current status of the Coalition of Chaos in New Zealand. It has been well over 100 days since the ex-Air New Zealand CEO was elected to lead the country by 38.08% of the voting population. Furthermore, 8.64% of voters supported a party that believes National is not hardcore enough, while 6.08% voted for a party that’s notorious for its frequent changes in allegiances.

To my non-New Zealand followers and subscribers, this blog may be awkward and unrelatable, so I’m very sorry. Please give it a chance, because you probably know of similar politicians in your country.

As for my New Zealand followers and subscribers, I’m a box of birds, and we’re going to have a chin wag about some ginormous eggs.

After the 2023 New Zealand General Election, the parties of National, ACT, and NZ First formed an alliance, centred on a conservative coalition. They go by many names, like the Government, Lupesey, The Three-Headed Taniwha, the enemy of Maori, and my favourite, the Coalition of Chaos.

It’s been over 100 days since the Coalition of Chaos took the steering wheel of the 52nd-largest national economy in the world. In that time, they have been quite busy, because they have been dropping some brain-melting quotes.

In honour of the first 100 days of the Coalition of Chaos, may I present some awful quotes, from their finest members.

Credit: Newshub

The Honourable Chris Bishop MP: Minister for Sport and Recreation, Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Minister for Infrastructure, and Minister for Housing.

10th March 2024

When asked by a reporter about the government and Bishop’s accountability towards environmental damage in New Zealand because of new fast-tracked energy projects legislation, Bishop replied:

“Ultimately, the public will be able to judge the performance of the Government in late 2026.”

{Bishop means that the next New Zealand General Election is in late 2026, so that’s when the Government can face accountability, but not before that time}

In the same interview, when asked on whether fast-tracked consents incentivised lobbying, Bishop said:

“But you know, lobbying is not illegal and it’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

{Bishop is a former tobacco lobbyist for Phillip Morris, now known as Altria. This tobacco company is one of world’s largest producers and promoters of cigarettes, tobacco, and related products}

The Honourable David Seymour MP: Leader of ACT New Zealand Party, Minister for Regulation, Associate Minister of Education, Associate Minister of Finance, and Associate Minister of Health.

9th March 2024

Seymour made a post on X concerning the Hurricanes Poua rugby team’s haka, that criticised the government.

“More time practicing, less time on politics.”

{Seymour is a free speech advocate and opposes hate speech laws}

The Right Honourable Winston Peters MP: Leader of New Zealand First Party, Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister for Racing.

24th November 2023

At the press conference discussing the coalition agreement, Peters was pressed by reporters about the length of time it took for negotiations to happen. Peters responded by saying:

“Please don’t be mathematical morons…”

{Peters had a fragile relationship with the New Zealand Media}

17th March 2024

During his State of the Nation speech, Peters talked about co-governance.

“Some people’s DNA made them, sadly, according to these people and condoned by their cultural fellow travellers, their DNA made them somehow better than others. I’ve seen that sort of philosophy before. I saw it in Nazi Germany. We all did. We’ve seen it elsewhere around the world in the horrors of history.”

{Peters was born in April 1945, so he was still a baby when the Second World War was being fought. Also his comparison of Nazi Germany to co-governance in New Zealand has been criticised by Holocaust survivors}

The Right Honourable Christopher Luxon MP: Leader of the National Party, Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Minister for National Security and Intelligence.

18th December 2023

When speaking to reporters about scrapping the bonuses civil servants were receiving for being fluent in Te Reo Maori, Luxon said:

“In the real world outside of Wellington and outside the bubble of MPs, people who want to learn te reo or want to learn any other education actually pay for it themselves.”

{The irony is that Luxon used taxpayers money to pay for his Te Reo lessons. Luxon is the second wealthiest person to become Prime Minister of New Zealand, valued at over $21 million}

18th February 2024

During his State of the Nation speech, Luxon said:

“A justice system which had a deliberate strategy to empty New Zealand’s prisons, even as violent crime soared.

{Luxon was implying that Labour had a policy of releasing all of the prisoners in New Zealand. This was not true}

20th February 2024

On X, Luxon said:

“The days of taxpayers being treated like a bottomless ATM are over.“

{Just over a week later, Luxon was at the centre of the accommodation supplement scandal, where he was claiming the supplement of $1,000 per week, to live in his mortgage free apartment in Wellington}

I can’t forget to include Luxon’s 1st March interview about his accommodation supplement, where he repeated several times: “I’m entitled.”

I do realise Simeon Brown, Nicola Willis, and Brooke van Velden have said some awful quotes as well, but they are light-weights compared to Bishop, Seymour, Peters, and Luxon.

So, let’s look forward to the next 100 days of chaos, though my Spider-Sense is telling me that we need to buckle up because they’re probably going to be worse.

Did I miss any cringe-worthy or clueless quotes from the Coalition of Chaos? As always, please let me know. That’s it for another week because I’m off to watch Last Week Tonight for my weekly 30-minute lecture.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog; read a banned book; and praise Putin, since he won six more years. What a shock. I’ll see you next week because we’re going to revisit We Didn’t Start the Fire. Good times.

Te Reo for Lupesey

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Politics

I dabble here and there with politics on this blog, because I find it interesting and entertaining; yet it can be a flashpoint for some people. I’ve been following politics from around the world, especially the Republicans, One Nation, and the Tories, and laughing at their insanity for promoting climate change deniers, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theories, and book banning/burning. Sadly, in my hubris and arrogance, I now have to deal with the concept that homegrown clown school drop-outs, will be running my country.

That amazing and beautiful transition now brings us to Lupesey. Oh, Lupesey, Lupesey, Lupesey. We’ve had chaos, eye-rolling, repeals, conspiracy theories, media leaks, culture wars, rants, anti-wokeness, misogyny, rollbacks, shenanigans, along with nepotism, and it’s only been two weeks; and that’s not counting the six weeks of awful negotiation.

For all you wonderful people who have no idea or care who Lupesey is; and like I said last week, I envy you, we have a new conservative coalition government in New Zealand, which is like a three-headed mutant baby born from our general election on 14th October.

Our new government is made up of three right-wing conservative parties, National, ACT, and New Zealand First. The three leaders of these parties are our newly minted Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (National), Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters (New Zealand First), and Future Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour (ACT); which is the triumvirate of Lupesey.

Lupesey is upset for a great number of reasons, and one of them is that they are not too keen on the use of Te Reo Maori for the names of government departments. One idea floated by our new Prime Minister, suggested that having English and Te Reo names for government departments and agencies is too confusing for the average Kiwi. I find this hilarious, considering Te Reo Maori was the first language of our nation. Lupesey loves talking about Te Reo, just not actually using Te Reo.

Lupesey has already explained their contradictory positions over multiple policies, so I thought it would be nice to sit down and educate Lupesey on some Te Reo words that are relevant to New Zealanders now, as well as including words people are going to need to use because Lupesey wants to drag us back to the 1950s.

With me so far? Great! Let’s begin. Spoilers, if you’re a Lupesey supporter, you won’t enjoy this. Sorry, not sorry. Also with Te Reo, there can be several different words describing the same word.

Aotearoa: New Zealand

ariā kakai: conspiracy theory

aroha: love

hahoretanga: poverty

hamupaka: sham

hapanga: redundancy

heahea: idiot

hikareti: cigarettes

hori: lie

hunga kore mahi: unemployment

hunga pāpāho: media

huringa āhuarangi: climate change

kaiako: teacher

kaikaiwaiū: betrayal

kaituku: donor

kaituku rīhi: landlord

koranehe: fossil fuel

korekiko: ineffective

kōrero parau: to tell an untruth

korotake: incompetence

Kotahitanga o Ngā Iwi o te Ao: United Nations

kuīni whakarākei: drag queen

kutukutu ahi: nonsense

manapori: democracy

mate pukupuku: lung cancer

Minitatanga mō ngā Wāhine: Ministry of Women’s Affairs

nanakia: cruel

oati teka: false statement

parau: deceit

pātaka Kai: food bank

pēkerapu: bankruptcy

penihana: unemployment benefit

pōrewarewa: imbecile

pōrori: stupid

puhipuhi: smoking

pūtaiao: science

rongoā āraimate: vaccination

rorirori: halfwit

rūkahu: propaganda

rūpahu: mislead

Takatāpui: someone belonging to the rainbow community or LGBTQI+

tamariki: children

taupoki: cyclone

Te Aka Whai Ora: Māori Health Authority

Te Kāhui Tika Tangata: Human Rights Commission

Te Manatū Hauora: Ministry of Health

Te Manatū Māori: Ministry of Māori Affairs

Te Manatū mō Ngā Iwi o Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa: Ministry for Pacific Peoples

Te Manatū mō te Taiao: Ministry of the Environment

Te Manatū Pūtaiao: Ministry of Research, Science and Technology

Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga: Ministry of Education

Te Tari Pūreke: Firearms Safety Authority

teka: lying

tipatipa: erroneous

ture kore: chaos

waea pūkoro: mobile phone

waipuketanga: flooding

Waka Kotahi: NZ Transport Agency 

Whakahaere hauora o te ao: World Health Organization

whakahāweatanga: prejudice

whakapāha: apology

whakapikinga utu: inflation

whakapōhēhē: misinformation

whakatahe: abortion

whāwhāki: leaks

I’ll be checking in on Lupesey over the next three years because my Spidey-Sense is telling me that Lupesey’s nonsense will make them a one-term government. Is anyone having buyer’s remorse yet? Don’t worry, Lupesey will give you ample opportunity to experience it.

Alright, that’s it for another week. I’m sorry if this one was a bit weird, but I’m sick of Lupesey already. Thank you once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, and I’ll see you next week.

Also, please don’t ever tell your advertisers to go fuck themselves. Not the smartest move in the world, but what do I know; I have no advertisers.

Crazy Policies from the New Zealand General Election

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Politics

Voting in a general election can be difficult. You could vote for a political party for any number of reasons.

  • It could be because it’s a generational thing; your grandparents and parents voted for them, so you vote for them.
  • You could be a swing voter and only vote for parties that keep their promises.
  • You could have researched each party and studied them until you found the party that best aligns with your values.
  • Maybe your favourite celebrity or influencer told you to do it.
  • It could be because that party has the best logo or the most attractive candidates.

The reasons are like Destiny, Death, and Dream; endless.

But voting can be a double-edged sword. The party you support may have an amazing education policy, like every primary school child will have all of their stationery and uniforms paid for by the government. However, that same party could have a crazy immigration policy by demanding every immigrant, regardless of age, needs three PhDs, with $5 million to support them.

If you choose to vote for that party, you’re choosing to help and support the nation’s children, but at the same time, you’re supporting an inhumane immigration policy. Like I said, it’s a double-edged sword.

Credit: New Zealand Electoral Commission

This brings us to the New Zealand General Election. Our general election is being held on 14th October 2023, though advanced voting started on the 2nd October.

Before I go on, you could be thinking, “Well, I’m not a New Zealander, Scott, so why should I care about it?” That’s a fair question, so here’s a fair answer: you don’t have to care, it’s just nice to know things. Like going to a party and knowing the capital city of Brazil is not Rio de Janeiro, but Brasília; or the fact George Lucas did not direct The Empire Strikes Back, it was Irvin Kershner. It’s nice to drink and know things.

We have 17 parties to choose from, along with their candidates in this election. I’ll admit that I’m biased, but we have some good parties, some average parties, some bad parties, and some truly awful ones as well. We have parties ranging from left-wing, centre-left, centre, centre-right, right-wing, and the insane.

They have a range of policies that are truly amazing to the downright batshit crazy, and it’s these batshit policies I’d like to highlight. We have some conspiracy political parties now, which is equally terrifying and hilarious; so it’s not a surprise that I’ll discuss these. Also, I’m not mentioning all of the 17 parties, just the policies that are batshit crazy, in my humble opinion.

I’m apologising in advance if you think any of the below policies are…well, good.

All of these policies are linked through Policy NZ and through the websites of the political parties.

ACT Party

  • To abolish the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, the Ministry for Women, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, and the Ministry for Ethnic Communities.
  • To restrict access to permanent sickness benefits, if the person can work.
  • To increase the retirement age to 67.
  • To halt contributions to the New Zealand Super Fund, which is the sovereign wealth fund that supports the cost of superannuation.
  • To oppose laws against hate speech.
  • To ignore the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
  • To remove a public holiday.
  • Require annual leave to be calculated on a pro-rata basis.
  • To abolish the Fees Free tertiary education programme.
  • To repeal the Zero Carbon Act.
  • To abolish the Climate Change Commission, the Climate Emergency Response Fund, the Progressive Home Ownership Scheme, and the First Home Grant.
  • To sell public hospitals to private investors under leaseback arrangements.
  • To reduce government Kiwisaver contributions.
  • To hold a referendum on the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi.

New Conservatives

  • Our long-term problem of fatherlessness is not helped by telling men and boys that their masculinity is toxic and unwelcome. New Conservatives will be a voice for men and the value of masculinity.
  • To ban medical abortions and withdraw public funding for abortion services.
  • To ban gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapies for young people.
  • We affirm the biological reality that there are only two sexes, and oppose the lie that a person can be ‘born in the wrong body’, or can ‘change their gender’. 
  • To remove left-wing ideologies from the curriculum, including critical race theory, gender theory, decolonisation, and extremist “climate science” and sex “education”.
  • We believe that current climate policies are a distraction from real opportunities to protect and improve the environment. There is no climate emergency. We will end all climate-focused taxes, subsidies, and regulations.
  • Reducing New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions does not actually benefit the environment in any way – if anything only shifting high-emitting activities overseas.  
  • New Conservatives believe that is an inappropriate use of technology1 – we should not be playing God, altering the natural makeup of organisms for no real environmental benefit – and this shows there is no real case for change.
  • Fossil fuels are here to stay, and should be harnessed for the good of the country. We will restore orderly licensing for oil and gas exploration, and make sure that the players in this industry know they are welcome in New Zealand for the long term.

New Zealand First

  • Withdraw from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as it removes the rights of New Zealand citizens to write their own laws.
  • To stop using Te Reo Māori names for government departments.
  • To amend the Sport and Recreation New Zealand Act to remove public funding from bodies that allow non-biological women to be selected unequally against biological women.
  • Require a national interest test to stop us being dictated to by the United Nations and agencies like the W.H.O.
  • To remove gender ideology from the curriculum, and review the New Zealand curriculum to remove critical race theory and de-colonialism.
  • We will abolish the Māori Health Authority.
  • To create a Royal Commission of Inquiry into media independence in New Zealand.
  • To restore 90-day job trials to provide employer certainty.
  • We will prepare a bid to hold the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch.

Leighton Baker Party

  • To drop the carbon net-goals as they do not work and impoverish our nation.
  • There must be a full review of the harm caused by the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the effectiveness of the vaccine.

New Zealand Loyal

  • To end New Zealandʼs participation in the United Nations, World Economic Forum, and World Health Organisation.
  • To investigate the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and its past practices.
  • To investigate who has benefited by selling this country out to the “Green Agenda.”

Freedoms NZ

  • To remove UN driven campaigns to control our country and drive the Climate Change fraud, food production, and Health Control.
  • We believe we are already carbon negative.
  • To scrap the Resource Management Act.
  • To ensure there is no more school indoctrination with the Transgender Agenda + more.
  • To scrap all changes to New Zealand’s firearms legislation made since March 2019.2

New Nation Party

  • No state funding for media.
  • To leave the United Nations.
  • To launch a Commission of Inquiry into our country’s COVID-19 response.
  • Limit Significant Natural Areas (SNA) to public areas.
  • To reduce the number of Members of Parliament to 100.3

NewZeal Party

  • We stand on the side of biological and scientific reality when it comes to gender, and reject attempts to deny or erase the biological evidence of gender.
  • We will oppose proposed significant content regulations and limitations for media and online platforms. 
  • We will ensure that our media platforms and press can be independent and reliable, free from censorship and unnecessary restrictions.

Have I been too harsh on these parties, or not harsh enough? Have I missed out on any batshit crazy policies? Do you agree or disagree with any of them? As always, please let me know.

Hopefully this time next week, we will have a clear election result, but who knows, the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party may surprise us all!

This was my 149th blog post, so next week I’ll reach the milestone of 150, and I have no idea what to do about it.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, play Lego with some children, watch some Rugby World Cup games, and I’ll see you next week.

1 The technology stated is Genetic Engineering.

2 This refers to the Christchurch mosque shootings, where 51 people were killed and 40 people injured. Two AR-15-style rifles, one semi-automatic shotgun, one pump-action shotgun, and two other rifles were used in the massacre.

3 Currently, the number is 120.

Things that Donald Trump has taught me

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn People, Politics2 Comments

I want to talk about Donald Trump. Why? Where do I begin? I honestly can’t remember when or how I first heard of Donald Trump. Maybe it was at primary school, intermediate or high school, but that piece of information has been lost to the sands of time, like someone’s PIN code.

I’m not going to sit in my cold and dark little room, and give a brief introduction of Trump. I mean, why would I?! If you haven’t heard of the 45th President of the United States of America, then I’m quite envious of you.

I’ve been thinking of writing a blog about Trump for a long time now. Not as long as Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet, because nothing is longer than that, but still a long time. However after his indictment last week, I thought now’s a good time to bust a blog out.

Image by Tibor Janosi Mozes from Pixabay

Over the years, many people with more literary talent and qualifications than myself, have written countless articles, reports, lawsuits and books about Trump. Because of this, I have some easy options open to me over what to write about.

  • Trump’s lawsuits.
  • Trump’s childhood.
  • Trump’s allies and friends.
  • Trump’s marriages.
  • Trump’s businesses.
  • Trump’s political career.
  • Trump’s tv and film performances.
  • Trump’s social media.
  • Trump’s two impeachments.
  • Trump’s indictment.

Even with these easy topics to discuss, here’s my Mum’s description of me to explain what I’m doing to do.

“If there’s an easy way and a complicated way of doing something, he will chose the complicated way, every single time.”

Sorry about that, Mum.

If you’re a sharp and clever person; like I know you must be, because you’re reading this blog, you would have noticed the title: Things that Donald Trump has taught me. I’m not talking about being a contestant on The Apprentice or having worked with him; no, I’m talking about living over 14,000 km away, while watching and reading about him. This concerns learning about people and life lessons; that I’ve learnt either directly or indirectly from Trump, that I will pass onto UMC1 and UMC2.

I’ve listed them in no particular order, however I did fight the urge to list them alphabetically or chronologically.

And with that, let’s do it.

People

News:

Thanks to Trump, I now know the names and faces of many reporters, anchors, talk show hosts, and journalists, across the media spectrum. I didn’t know these people existed before Trump, but I do now. This includes:

  • Fox News: Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, Brian Kilmeade, Kayleigh McEnany, Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, Bret Baier, Jeanine Pirro, and Peter Doocy.
  • CNN: Don Lemon, Jim Acosta, John Berman, Victor Blackwell, Erin Burnett, Kate Bolduan, Alisyn Camerota, S. E. Cupp, Van Jones, and Abby Phillip.
  • MSNBC: Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist, Katy Tur, Nicolle Wallace, Chris Hayes, Ari Melber, Joy Reid, Hallie Jackson, Lawrence O’Donnell, and Stephanie Ruhle.
  • Talk Show Hosts: Bill Maher, Trevor Noah, Seth Meyers, Wendy Williams, Chelsea Handler, and Samantha Bee. And I can’t forget, Sean Spicer, Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos.

Politics:

Once again, I have to thank Trump, because now I know the names and faces of many politicians across the political spectrum. Again, I didn’t know these people existed before Trump, but I do now. This includes:

Republicans: Paul Ryan, Mike Pence, John Bolton, Devin Nunes, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, Lindsey Graham, Mike Lee, Chuck Grassley, John Barrasso, Tom Cotton, Rick Scott, Adam Kinzinger, Ron DeSantis, Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Nikki Haley, J.D. Vance, Tim Scott, Ron Johnson, Marsha Blackburn, John Cornyn, Kay Ivey, Brian Kemp, Mike DeWine, Kristi Noem, Brad Raffensperger, Greg Abbott, Liz Cheney, Kevin McCarthy, Ryan Zinke, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, George Santos, Jim Jordan, Ronny Jackson, and of course, Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Democrats: Kamala Harris, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Murphy, Chris Coons, Jon Ossoff, Raphael Warnock, Dick Durbin, Tammy Duckworth, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, John Fetterman, Tim Kaine, Joe Manchin, Nancy Pelosi, Eric Swalwell, Stacey Abrams, Ilhan Omar, Hakeem Jeffries, Jerry Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Pete Buttigieg.

This also covers Bernie Sanders, Kyrsten Sinema and Angus King.

Others: Allen Weisselberg, Melania Trump, Tiffany Trump, Barron Trump, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Lara Trump, E. Jean Carroll, Samantha Holvey, Billy Bush, Jeffrey Epstein, Michael Cohen, Michael Avenatti, Herschel Walker, Joe Tacopina, Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell, Michael Flynn, George Papadopoulos, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Robert Mueller, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, William Barr, Jeff Sessions, Alvin Bragg, Fani Willis, and lastly, Stormy Daniels.

Every single one of these people, I know now because of Trump. I’m sorry if I’ve missed anybody out, but Trump’s been busy.

Life Lessons

  • Don’t open an university and name it after yourself.
  • A 76 year old male will never change, but its not too late for you to change.
  • Make sure you understand what the words “gaslighting” and “nepotism” mean.
  • During an eclipse, only look directly at the Sun with the correct eye protection.
  • Muslims are real people; but they are not coming to get you.
  • It’s possible to get a job that you’re not qualified to do.
  • Detonating a nuclear weapon inside a hurricane, is not a good idea.
  • Never name a brand of steaks after yourself.
  • You should never inject yourself with bleach.
  • You can only give someone a nickname, if you’re prepared to receive one; or if you’re 8 years old.
  • Even though you can hate it, it’s important to pay your taxes.
  • Always proof read and edit your social media posts.
  • It’s legal to make hush money payments in the State of New York, but it’s illegal to cover it up.
  • Members of the LGBTQ+ community are real people; but they are not coming to get you.
  • It’s not a great look if you’re on a social media rant, at 4.30 am when you’re the President of the United States of America.
  • If people quote or record what you’ve said, you can’t deny it happened when there is physical evidence.
  • Claiming you’ve never met a particular person, before photos being released of you meeting said person, is quite hilarious.
  • Take the time to learn about your country’s history; especially if there was a Civil War and the causes behind it.
  • If a Neo-Nazi or the Ku Klux Klan agrees with your views of society, you’re doing something wrong.
  • Reading is fun.
  • If someone is writing a book about you with your consent, and they’re following you around, please remember they are actually there.
  • Don’t call your favourite media talk show, to decry the media.
  • It’s important to learn world geography.
  • Vaccines are some of greatest achievements in the history of humanity.
  • Just because someone disagrees with you, doesn’t make them wrong or evil.
  • If you’re going to create a new word like bigly or covfefe, you can’t just use it once; you need to use it multiple times for it to catch on.
  • A Sharpie is a quality marker.
  • Children being killed at school through gun violence, should never be acceptable.
  • Understanding how the impeachment of a president works. (Twice).
  • Never conduct interviews, with a helicopter in the background.
  • Just because you don’t like what someone else says, doesn’t make it fake news.

I could go on, but UMC1 and UMC2 would have fallen asleep by now. But seriously, the biggest life lesson Trump has taught me, is this: Never lie about something, that can be fact checked by a person using their phone, during their toilet break.

Has Trump taught you anything? Please let me know. Anyway, I’m done with Trump tonight, but not forever. I need to sleep, because Daylight Savings has finished, and my body is rebelling against it. Thanks once again for reading, following and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me; it means a lot. Remember to walk your dog; watch a banned movie; stay away from variant comic book covers; and I’ll see you next week.

How do we help Türkiye and Syria?

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography, Politics

I’m sorry, but I had another post lined up for the blog. Because of what’s happened, I’ve posted a different one for obvious reasons and it has serious tones. Again, I’m very sorry.

I want to talk about Türkiye and Syria. Why? Well you don’t have to be a torpedo technician, to figure this out. On 6th February, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the neighbouring countries of Türkiye and Syria, across various regions. At the time of writing, the earthquake had killed 34,870 people, with 94,770 injuries and over 1.3 million people have been displaced.

Images by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay.

You’ve probably seen the photos and read about the devastation across the countries, and it’s heartbreaking. Families are broken, lives have been lost and homes destroyed. There’s also the historic and cultural impacts to consider, like the 2,000 year old Gaziantep Castle, the Yeni Mosque and the Latin Catholic Church in Türkiye, as well as Syria’s Aleppo citadel being damaged and ruined.

People are scared and fearful. Their loved ones are dead, missing or trapped; their homes and schools are gone; while food, shelter and water are in short supply. Aftershocks, hunger, disease, and the cold, will be stalking the survivors; but also the thousands of people working to help. Another heartbreaking thing to think of, are the thousands of pets like cats and dogs, that are now homeless and ownerless.

I’ve said this before, but watching and reading about a disaster such as this, can give people the impression that there’s nothing they can do to help. That’s a lie. Even witnessing this catastrophe from different places around the world, you can still actually help and make a difference. I promise you that you can.

Right now, the fastest way to help the people of Türkiye and Syria is to donate. Yes, I know times are tough with the economy and inflation. We’re an one income family, so I get it. But please consider what money can do in the modern world: you can buy a PS5, the latest phone, season tickets to your favourite team or maybe Twitter Blue. Money is great and we all would like some, but it can also save lives.

A donation of any amount, can go towards buying blankets, first aid kits, torches, food, water, clothes, medicine, shelter, books or even toys. Whatever the amount of money you can spare, it will make a huge difference to the people of Türkiye and Syria. Case in point, and although we’re a small country, the New Zealand government has donated $1.5 million in humanitarian aid.

If you would like to donate, here are some international NGOs and charities that are working on earthquake relief in Türkiye and Syria:

ActionAid

Disaster Emergency Committee

Doctors Without Borders

International Committee of the Red Cross

International Rescue Committee

Oxfam International

Save the Children

UNICEF

UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

World Vision

I really don’t know what else to say about this, except the regions are decimated; but just like everything, there is always hope. Hope that people can be found and rescued, houses and schools can be rebuilt, and families will be reunited. If you think you can donate, any amount would be amazing. And speaking of amazing, let’s give it up for the thousands of rescue and first aid workers from Türkiye and Syria; but also from around the world, working to help the people Türkiye and Syria.

And with that, I’m done. I’m back next week with the first stop on our Tour of the Solar System, which will be The Sun. It should be blazing. Look after yourselves and I’ll see you next week.

U.S. Elections: Exporting ideas to the World

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography, Politics2 Comments

I want to talk about the U.S. elections. Why? That’s a very interesting question, considering I’m not a U.S. citizen and not able to vote in their elections. So that being the case, why would I have an opinion or have anything at all to say about another nation’s democratic elections? 

That is another great question. Wow, I’m full of them today, aren’t I? 

The dust is still settling after the U.S. midterm elections, with the Democrats retaining the Senate and the Republicans taking the House, while Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock will be involved in a run off on 6th December, for the Georgia Senate race. Though if Walker does lose, it appears he has a back up job as a vampire-hunting werewolf.

I find the whole American election process quite fascinating, however this blog is looking at how the United States of America and their elections, actually exports ideas.

For context, I live in the South Island of New Zealand. If you don’t know where we are, find a world map and look down in the South Pacific Ocean. Though to be fair, we are getting missed off maps recently, so that doesn’t help. Anyway, with just a hop, skip and a jump to the North East and across the Pacific Ocean, is the United States.

Image by Mary Pahlke from Pixabay

Living in New Zealand is quite odd, because of how much American culture has been actually being incorporated into our own culture.

We have an abundance of American culture here. Some easy food examples of these would be McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Dominos, Pizza Hut, KFC, Subway, and recently Taco Bell; which I have to be perfectly honest, I really want to try. Not that I’m expecting too much of the food, but it’s just the fact that we have Taco Bell now, so I just want to tick that box off my list.

We also have a steady diet of American literature in the form of magazines, comics, newspapers and of course, books. A whole lot of books.

There’s also television and streaming services, where the majority of content on our limited amount of channels is American, with a dash of British, Australian, and New Zealand shows. It would also be pretty remissive of me, not to also mention the massive impact American cinema and social media has had on this country.

The uncountable information about U.S. movies that are locked in my head, serve absolutely no purpose to humanity other than, “Oh cool, that’s a nice fact. Thanks for sharing, Scott!” is quite astounding.

Another way American culture has influenced us is fashion; which let’s be honest, I’ve only had two blogs about that, so I need to up the ante on social media fashion trends. Though I feel old every time I have to ask my wife about the new trend.

Of course all of this babbling, is steering towards politics. America is a superpower in the world. It’s a global leader, whether you like that or not, it just is. America influences the world with it’s choices and ideas, but also food, literature, cinema, fashion, and the list goes on and on.

America export ideas. Now you can debate about which ideas are positive or negative, but that’s up to the individual or each nation’s government. It doesn’t matter, but what does matter is that America is a trendsetter; the world looks to America.

If America started a campaign to ban Sour Cream and Chives crackers for some good reason, you only have to start looking at other countries to see whether they would follow suit or not. I’m not a big fan of that flavour; as you all know, so if there was a campaign to ban them, I would probably be alright with that.

Even though America is not the world, the choices and policy decisions their local and federal governments make, ripple across the world; they really do. Whether these ripples are social reforms, book banning, tax cuts, abortion, military spending; it doesn’t matter, America is the world’s leader and the world takes notice of what they’re doing.  

Because they export ideas, you would have to talk to every country to determine whether they like those ideas as well or if they will reject them. Some of these ideas are not exclusive to America, just like the fight against climate change.

You’ll probably thinking, “That’s all well and good, Scott, but what’s your point?”

Another amazing question asked, thanks for that. After the U.S. 2020 general election, sometime in late December, I saw something that, I’ll be honest with you, completely stunned me. As I was driving to my local discount supermarket, I looked over and I saw a Trump 2020 flag flying in someone’s front yard. I’d never seen that before. The Trump flag didn’t offend me, it was more the fact that it’s a campaign flag from another country over 10,000 km away. It’s around the same distance from New Zealand to China for comparison.

For me, I’m a little bit nervous. Next year is our general election which we hold every three years. I’m worried because there’s a possibility that next year, whether it’s a political party or an individual candidate that has lost fairly, will now have a back up plan. They just need to start saying that the election was rigged, or it was stolen. I find it hilarious and horrifying that’s a real possibility now, but I think the general public would call them out.

I care about America and their elections, because America is a global leader. Whatever positive or negative policies that are introduced and supported through their law makers, the repercussions of those policies vertebrate through each country in the world. They look at them and decide whether they are going to implement similar policies or if they are going to reject them. This includes us, through discussions at work, home, gyms, parliament, schools, and social media; especially social media.

If I was a better writer, I would have done a far greater job at conveying my point, so I’m sorry about that. I’d love to visit the United States of America one day, because I have a mental list of the things I would love to do. However, I do need to check their policies on Sour Cream and Chives and save a whole lot of money.

This is my 101st blog post, which over two years is quite pathetic; however this ridiculous project does keep me off the streets and away from sports bars, just so my wife can watch me. She’s doing it right now, sitting in the same room as me, pretending to read one of the Outlander books, but I know the truth.

With Christmas less than a month away, take it easy on yourself. Thanks for following, walk your dog, read a banned book, and I’ll see you next Monday.

Remember, remember, the 5th of November

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn History, People, Politics

I want to talk about the 5th of November. Why? Failure is something we all have to live with. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve failed just this week alone. The point is, my failures have not changed the world; well, not yet anyway. But can you imagine failing at something, and 417 years later, people still celebrate that failure?

Guy Fawkes is synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot of 1605; along with a Alan Moore comic book, a Hollywood movie, a famous poem and fireworks. Lots of fireworks. But that’s not the whole story; it was a team effort. It’s complicated, but I’ve always thought that the 5th of November was akin to Dunkirk; victory from the jaws of defeat. You’re probably scratching your head thinking, ”Oh no, what in the hell is he ranting about now?”

Don’t worry, I’ll try to explain this as painlessly as I can, but no promises!

Remember, remember, the 5th of November,

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason

Why gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, ’twas his intent

To blow up the King and the Parliament

Three score barrels of powder below

Poor old England to overthrow

By God’s providence he was catch’d

With a dark lantern and burning match

Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring

Holler boys, holler boys

God save the King!

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

You and I haven’t done this in awhile, but let’s sit inside our heads and travel back in time to England, at the turn of the 17th century. This is a time before Brexit, reality television and three prime ministers in two months. This is the time of Shakespeare, the British colonization of the Americas and the First Polish–Swedish War.

Sitting on the English throne was the OG herself, Elizabeth I, from the House of Tudor. She reigned from 1558 to her death in 1603, aged 69. There are two major things to remember about Elizabeth; when she died, she had no children. Therefore, there was no direct line for the succession for the throne. The other part was that Elizabeth was Protestant. Remember that.

At the time, Catholics and Protestants worshipped the same God; they just argued about how do it. A lot. The main problem was that the English monarch determined what the main religion would be for the country; basically you could be punished for the worshipping in the wrong religion. This was an issue across Europe, and Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, made things worse by telling Pope Clement VII to stick it, and created his own religion; the Church of England, so he could divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

This feud between the two denominations, has been passed on for centuries. Some of the best/worst examples of this feud, is currently in Northern Ireland, but also in Scottish Football, of all places, with Celtic FC traditionally supported by Catholics, while Rangers FC were supported by the Protestants.

Anyway, Elizabeth was succeeded by a distant relative, King James VI and I (VI of Scotland and I of England) from the House of Stuart. James was a Protestant, but he was quite tolerant towards Catholics. However, over the next two years and for various reasons; but mainly persecution, some Catholics were feeling it would be better if the Throne of England belonged to a Catholic monarch, and not a Protestant.

This is the part of the story where Guy Fawkes enters, but he’s not alone. The original group of the five conspirators were Guy Fawkes of course, Thomas Wintour, John Wright, Thomas Percy, and the true mastermind behind the whole project, Robert Catesby. This group later recruited other members like Robert Wintour, Christopher Wright, Francis Tresham, Robert Keyes, John Grant, Thomas Bates, Ambrose Rookwood, and Sir Everard Digby.

The Gunpowder Plot Conspirators. Source: Crispijn van de Passe the Elder, Wikipedia

Their plan involved two different stages:

1.) To kill King James, his wife and eldest son, along with Lords, Judges, members of Parliament, and other targets. They would do this by blowing up the Houses of Parliament, at the State opening on 5th November, 1605.

2.) To kidnap the nine year old Elizabeth Stuart; King James’ daughter, through a revolt in the Midlands. The idea was to place her on the Throne of England, Scotland and Ireland, as a Catholic Queen. This was provided her father and brother were killed.

To destroy the Houses of Parliament, dozens of gunpowder barrels would be used for the explosion. They would be positioned in a cellar, underneath Parliament. It was decided that Fawkes would light the fuse and detonate the gunpowder, then escape across the River Thames.

Everything was going well with the plot, but the truth is stranger than fiction, because a group of betrayers and plotters, were in turn, betrayed themselves. Tragic irony or poetic justice? At this point, does it matter?

On the 26th October 1605, a letter was delivered to William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle; which has famously been known as the Monteagle Letter. This letter was a warning about the conspiracy, but the author has remained a mystery. A suspect is Tresham, because he was Parker’s brother-in-law, however Parker was a suspect also. Regardless of the author’s identity, the letter was shown to several people, before making its way to King James on the 1st November, and well, he was not happy.

James ordered the Houses of Parliament to be searched for any shenanigans on the 4th November; though at the same time, the conspirators were finalising the last details about the plan. Fawkes was going to light the fuse at an agreed time, while others were getting ready to kidnap Princess Elizabeth. What could go wrong?

After the first search of the buildings, Fawkes was discovered with firewood, within the undercroft. Mixing lies with the truth, Fawkes explained that the firewood belonged to Thomas Percy. Fawkes was let go and the report was given to the King James, whom demanded the buildings be searched for a second time.

The second search proved to be more successful, because Fawkes was discovered again in the undercroft, later that night. He had a lantern, coal, firewood, and the barrels of gunpowder; so he was quickly arrested and on the morning of 5th November, he was brought before the King. The rest of the conspirators heard of Fawkes’ arrest fled and regrouped outside of London.

Having going by the alias of “John Johnson,” Fawkes was interrogated and eventually tortured. He had insisted that he was working alone, but after being tortured, Fawkes confessed to the entire plot. The authorities had already a few leads on the conspirators and armed with Fawkes’ confession, they started to seek them out as fast as possible.

Some of the conspirators had fled, while others were held up at Holbeche House, Staffordshire. It was there where someone had the smart idea to dry some of the wet gunpowder they had, in front of an open fire. You can guess what happened, because the gunpowder exploded. After that apocalyptic clown show, more conspirators fled. There was only Thomas Wintour, Grant, Rookwood, Percy, Catesby and the Wright brothers left now.

On the morning of 8th November, 200 men surrounded the house and opened fire. According to the report, several conspirators were killed, with Thomas Wintour, Rookwood, Grant being arrested. Eventually the remaining conspirators were found, arrested and put on trial.

These are the fates of the 13 Gunpowder Plot conspirators:

Thomas Bates: Died on 30th January 1606, after being hanged, drawn and quartered in London.

Sir Everard Digby: Died on 30th January 1606, after being hanged, drawn and quartered in London.

John Grant: Died on 30th January 1606, after being hanged, drawn and quartered in London.

Robert Keyes: Died on 31st January 1606, after being hanged, drawn and quartered in London.

Thomas Percy: Killed on 8th November 1605, after being shot at Holbeche House. His body was later exhumed and decapitated. with his head put on a spike outside Parliament.

Ambrose Rookwood: Died on 31st January 1606, after being hanged, drawn and quartered in London.

Francis Tresham: Died from natural causes, on 23th December 1605, in the Tower of London.

Robert Wintour: Died on 30th January 1606, after being hanged, drawn and quartered in London.

Thomas Wintour: Died on 31st January 1606, after being hanged, drawn and quartered in London.

Christopher Wright: Killed on 8th November 1605, after being shot at Holbeche House.

John Wright: Killed on 8th November 1605, after being shot at Holbeche House.

So what happened to the most famous of all the Gunpowder Plot conspirators, Guy Fawkes?

Guy Fawkes: Died on 31st January 1606 in London, after breaking his neck, right before the execution. His body was still drawn and quartered though.

And that just leaves the mastermind behind it all; what happened to Robert Catesby?

Robert Catesby: Killed on 8th November 1605, after being shot at Holbeche House. His body was later exhumed and decapitated. with his head put on a spike outside Parliament.

Their legacy is Fireworks Night, Bonfire Night, or just Guy Fawkes Night; which is celebrated in various countries around the world, including here in New Zealand. But going back to the beginning of this blog, this is the victory I was talking about. Even though the 13 Gunpowder Plot conspirators tried to commit regicide and failed, they did end up changing the world. 417 years later and we still remember their names.

Thanks for sticking with me and subscribing to my weekly editions of verbal diarrhea, I appreciate it. Alright that’s it for me, go and walk your dog, read some banned books, and I’ll see you next week.

What does living in a Post-COVID society look like?

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Parents, People, Politics, Science, Social Media

I want to talk about living in a society that has moved past COVID-19 and what it looks like. This could have been achieved through the use of magic, time travel, or just good old science. There are many countries that have come out of the other side of COVID-19, while others are still battling and fighting to keep their country afloat.

On 13th September 2022, the New Zealand Government scrapped the COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic lights system), and on 28th September 2022, the last government vaccine mandates ended for health and disability workers.

It’s only been a few weeks, but what is life like now in Aotearoa New Zealand? Having given COVID-19 a flying kick in the face, along with an atomic elbow, how is our society responding to the lifting of vaccine and mask mandates? How are we progressing on getting back to normality?

My incoherent and insane observations are based on things that I have seen, hear, or read about in the last few weeks, whether it’s local or national. Whether this information is positive, negative, or in the middle…I’ll let you be the judge for that.

So without further ado, I will get straight to the matter. I will not be farting around discussing matters that are not important to the topic. Delaying this message will not help anybody; there will no procrastination here. I want to be direct with my information, so there will be no ambiguity or vagueness. Dithering, prolonging, or dawdling with this content, would be extremely unproductive and inefficient. I will not be dragging my feet, giving the you runaround, or shilly-shallying; there’s no way I would ever do that to you. No way; I would never waste your time…wait, what was I talking about?!

Image by Jeyaratnam Caniceus from Pixabay

How Aotearoa New Zealand is adjusting to Post-COVID life

  • The Anti-Vaxxers are still proclaiming the pandemic was fake, because a.) they never were infected or b.) they were infected, but they had little to no symptoms.
  • Children’s illnesses like chicken pox; measles; hand, foot and mouth; and school sores have returned. This is because after two years, the public have forgotten every single lesson COVID-19 taught us.
  • Some candidates in local regional council elections are promoting their anti-vaxx, anti-mask and climate change denying beliefs; while some are trying to hide these beliefs.
  • Interest rates, supply chain issues, food and petrol prices are increasing; but house prices, community health measures, and the public’s support of the All Blacks are decreasing.
  • Since the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the concept of New Zealand becoming a republic, has been an increasing topic of conversation at the water cooler, dinner table, and at the pub.
  • Wearing a face mask in public has gone from being viewed as idiotic, to heroic, and back to being idiotic again.
  • Some businesses and companies have removed their plastic barriers, centred on interactions with the public; while others are committed to keeping them, to protect their staff.
  • Many extroverts across the country are now having a “livin’ la vida loca” lifestyle, while many introverts are remaining home, because they feel unsafe.
  • Regardless of gender, ages, and codes, some team sports are finding it difficult to field players, because people don’t want to be around other people. However individual sports are booming, especially hiking, surfing, biking, running, swimming, tennis, and golf.
  • Jehovah’s Witness are back knocking on doors. When I met the two guys at my house, they were so excited to be back talking to the public, that I talked to them for 15 minutes before letting them down.
  • And this is not even diving into the unemployment, domestic violence, youth suicide, crime, or mental health statistics.

On a brighter note, we are hosting the 2021 Rugby World Cup, from 8th October to 12th November. It features the 12 best women’s rugby teams on the planet…but because of COVID-19, the tournament was delayed a year, and the games are only being played in three stadiums; two in Auckland and one in Whangarei, which are all near the top of the country. It would take me some time to hitchhike there.

I’m not sure what else to say about this; somehow New Zealand is better off, and equally, worse off because of surviving COVID-19. The biggest change for me is the number of conspiracy groups that were on the fringe of society, are now nearly mainstream. It’s the realisation that a family friend is an Anti-Vaxxer, or your barber is an Anti-Masker.

There are some deep lines of division in this odd little country, that I fear will we never really be able reconcile. It’s a hell of a thing to listen to people that you admire and respect, start discussing conspiracy theories about climate change, vaccines, masks, and anything else. Somehow, I think COVID-19 has emboldened them, like taken away their fear of sounding crazy. But that could be another blog for another day.

The new House of the Dragon episode is up, so I need to watch it before I read spoilers. I’m stupid and read too many things I shouldn’t. Thanks for reading my little project, walk your dog, read some banned books and I’ll see you next week.