Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts
the stars to flight.

And, lo, the hunter of the east has caught the sultan’s turret in a noose of light.

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable – Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain’.

Cosas de España/Galiza

Mark Stücklin writes here on the hit to non-EU buyers of Spanish properties, Highly visible, but economically marginal in the bigger picture, these are declining in absolute terms. Says, MS: If the goal was to address Spain’s housing crisis, this has changed nothing. [Except in the minds of voters. Quite possibly what it is all about. Always a good move to hit the rich, politically-unpopular low-hanging fruit. Perception is again reality for the electorate].

Spanish influencers have been accused of helping to ‘Benidormandize’ less-crowded regions of Spain. At least Spanish holidaymakers will only come en masse, in July and August. It’s the bloddy multi-month guiris who are unwelcome. To me at least. A Spanish columnist reports that: The inhabitants of Cantabria, the Basque Country, Asturias and Galicia are beginning to see the adverse sides of the Atlantic coast’s growing popularity – Menus in English, house prices rising. The north of Spain is ‘Benidormisanding’.

My tuppenceworth . . . Both yesterday and today, there was a large group of very old (US) Americans spending 2-or 3 hours in Pv’s old quarter. One of these – and possibly the other – was then returning to a coach, bound for Barcelona. And, today, I had to weave my way through a group of 40+ Spaniards being given a guided tour of the old quarter and blocking 3 of the exits from Plaza de 5 Calles. And it’s only bloody April!

Something you almost never see in Spain – cars on the inside of a 2-lane roundabout – i.e. those that aren’t leaving at the first exit.

Despite years of the Tráfico urging drivers to use the inner lane, the vast majority don’t, always staying in the outside lane, regardless of their planned exit. One huge reason – as I see every day – is that they are still being taught to do something not done in any other country. Even in next-door Portugal.

We occasionally have strong winds. Years ago, one pulled a large bougainvillea from its moorings on my back wall. And, last night, one wrenched the fence holding up a good-sized wisteria tree from a wall in the front garden.

The UK

I read of a US chap living in the UK who’d said he wouldn’t fit back home, as he’d ‘acquired a level of banter that enabled him to have a laugh with his British mates and hold his own in social situations’. Definitions:-

• Banter: Good humoured, playful, or teasing conversation. Raillery. Typically spontaneous.
• Raillery: Good-natured teasing or banter, often involving friendly jokes about someone. It typically suggests a light-hearted and affectionate form of mockery.

As I’ve found over the decades, this typical feature of British life – especially on Merseyside – doesn’t go down well in other countries apart from the USA. Where mock insults are taken seriously and personally.

The Middle East War

The latest update from Naked Capitalism.

Stock market myopia? . . . Investors seem to be suffering from a bad case of muscle memory. They’re sitting at comfortable desks in New York and London, assuming that the administration will eventually experience what investors have been calling a TACO moment. They expect the president to look at the upcoming midterm elections, look at the rising price of gasoline, and simply walk away from the conflict, much like he did when he retreated on his liberation day tariffs last year. The fatal flaw in this assumption is that a trade war is fought with administrative inc. You can cancel a tariff with a weekend post on Truth Social. A shooting war in the straight of Hormuz is fought with drones, naval barricades, and anti-ship missiles. You cannot unilaterally back down from a conflict where the other side has their own agenda. The Iranian regime has survived the initial strikes and discovered that holding the global economy hostage is an incredibly powerful piece of leverage. And unlike a nuclear weapon, it’s one that they can actually use. As I’ve said before, it takes two to TACO. And right now, the other side of the table is busy seizing container ships. For the commercial ships currently trapped in the Persian Gulf, the situation has devolved into something resembling a high stakes maritime prison break.

The United States of Trump America

See my earlier post on THE INCIDENT.

Quotes:-

• Trump: We live in a crazy world. [Well, in the USA bit of it at least. Thanks, in large part, to the man himself. By the way, there are 600 ‘mass shootings’ a year in the USA]
• Trump’s personality drives everyone to extremes.

The snake-oil salesman’s Golden Visa scheme is off to a poor start. Against forecasts of 200+ x $1m, only one has been issued so far. It’s claimed that the 200 are in process but many will find that hard to believe – as with everything this (increasingly desperate and always-mendacious) administration says. We’ll know for sure it’s a lie when Karoline Levitt repeats the claim.

Oh, and not one of the many thousands of suckers who paid upfront for a knock-off Trump phone has received one.

The Democrats are widely expected to win the House of Representatives in November but the Senate is a different matter. Even with the utterly discredited, extremely-low-approval Trump at the helm of a crew of fools and a hold full of spineless Republican Congress members, few of the 33-35 (gerrymandered) Senate seats will be truly competitive. So, it’s possible the Republicans – without the support of the majority of Americans – could well retain the Senate.  It compels one to wonder whether election of the head of state and the members of a second chamber are a good thing.* That said, other states with this system might have fewer problems than the USA. If so, that would mean the problem is wider than the US election system. * For those few with an interest in this issue, there’s an (unchanged) AI comment on it at the end of this post.

If there’s anyone more stupid and depraved than Trump in the USA, it must be Alex Jones. This is the MAGA mouthpiece who claimed a mass shooting of kids was fake and was then successfully sued by devastated parents and compelled to sell his businesses to meet the humongous amount awarded to them. But is still mouthing off, though now against Trump.

Relevant podcasts/YouTube videos

• The Daily Beast Podcast/Video
• Inside Trump’s Head Podcast/Video
• The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent Podcast
• The Rest is Politics US Podcast/Video
• The DSR Network Podcast
• The Politics Girl Video. Amusing
• The Daily Show Video. Very amusing

Spanish

• Homicidio imprudente: Negligent/reckless killing. Manslaughter.
• Mirlo: Blackbird
• Hacinar: To cram (into). To mow

Did you know?/English

The word gerrymander comes from a political cartoon in 1812 that mocked a strangely salamander-shaped electoral district in Massachusetts created under Governor Gerry. Hence the blend “Gerry” + “salamander.” The term quickly spread as a way to ridicule his district‑shaping tactics, and by the 1820s “to gerrymander” had become common as a verb meaning to manipulate district boundaries for partisan advantage. This is now shorthand for any deliberate distortion of electoral maps to benefit one party or group

You Have to Laugh

The commentator on a football match: The Liverpool players are pleasuring each other with the ball.

Finally . . .

You see some strange things on T-shirts these days. I assume the wearer of this one did know what it meant:

FUCK YOU, YOU FUCKING FUCK!

To which some might just take offence . . .

Finally . . . Finally . . .

Arguments against electing members to a second chamber

These often focus on the potential for institutional conflict and the erosion of a chamber’s unique deliberative function. These concerns frequently center on how electoral mandates alter the power dynamics within a bicameral system

Institutional Conflict

A primary concern is that an elected second chamber would possess a stronger claim to democratic legitimacy, potentially leading it to assert its powers more aggressively. This newfound confidence could result in the chamber challenging the primacy of the lower house, creating legislative gridlock or frequent clashes between the two bodies. Critics argue that if both houses claim a mandate from the public, resolving disputes becomes significantly harder, as neither would be clearly subordinate to the other.

Loss of Deliberative Character

Another significant argument is that elections would fundamentally transform the nature of the second chamber’s work. Historically, many appointed or indirectly selected upper houses have functioned as revising or deliberative bodies, focused on long-term scrutiny rather than immediate political popularity. Opponents argue that elections would force members to prioritize constituent interests and partisan campaigning, which are often at odds with the reflective, expertise-driven, and less partisan role typically intended for a second chamber.

Duplication and Representation

Some critics point out that an elected second chamber risks simply becoming a “clone” of the first, especially if the electoral systems are similar. This duplication would fail to add value to the legislative process and might crowd out independent experts or representatives of specific interest groups whose perspectives are not purely defined by partisan affiliation. Furthermore, there is a recurring debate regarding whether introducing the elective principle on a large scale would undermine the established balance of powers that has historically maintained the stability of the parliamentary system.