Cream of the Crap

This past week has all fused together into one long heat haze.  Dehydrated by day and sleep deprived by night, on account of this unnatural heat, I, like everyone else, have been left exhausted.  But don't worry - man made climate change is just a myth, it's all part of a natural rhythm the earth's climate goes through every few thousand years.  Bollocks.  If I hear anyone trotting that cobblers out again after this last week, I'm liable to throttle them.  But, weather notwithstanding, this has been a pretty good week here at Sleaze Diary, with three pretty substantive posts.  After what feels like weeks of having no inspiration, I seem to have hit a creative streak again.  So much so that I was tempted not to write anything today - how could I follow those three earlier posts?  But, as in other areas of my life, I like to stay regular.  So here we are.  Of course, the elephant in the room which has gone unmentioned all week is Boris Johnson in Downing Street.  The fact is, though, that political developments have been just too depressing to think about, let alone write about. Consequently, I've been avoiding the news, although I have taken a look at the make up of the new cabinet.  What can I say?  All the shit bags who were sacked or resigned in disgrace because of their reprehensible antics are back: Esther McVey, Priti Patel, Gavin Williamson, even Grant Shapps.  That's right Grant Shapps.  Well, Johnson's certainly got the cream of the crap there, hasn't he?

Just as depressing has been watching all the middle class pseudo lefties on social media going into a frenzy over the week's political events, trying to apportion blame for Johnson's ascension.  It's the media's fault.  It's the fault of Have I Got News For You for having him as either panellist or guest host so many times - it 'normalised' and legitimised him.  Or it's the fault of those evil 'centrists' (they've finally accepted that the term 'Blairite' is now meaningless) for criticising that nice Mr Corbyn, thereby undermining his stunning effectiveness in opposing the forces of fascism in the UK.  Personally, I lay the blame for the rise of right-wing  populists like Johnson on this whole 'anti-politics' movement which has been raging since the Iraq war, whipped up by the press and bought into by supporters of left and right alike, which rejected professional mainstream politicians as being corrupt and self-serving.  That's worked out well, hasn't it?  On the one hand, we now have a cabinet of hard right-wingers and an ineffective opposition led by another 'anti-politics' figure who quite clearly isn't up to the job.  Corbyn's inability to make decisions on issues as crucial as anti-Semitism and Brexit has left the Labour Party vulnerable and floundering.  Politics is a fight, whether he likes it or not.  Right now, it's a stand up, bare knuckle street fight, but Corbyn and his ilk continually shy away from the fight by refusing to engage in proper politics, handing the extreme right victory by default.