Bannon batters Bush

There is a headline in the Daily Mail in the UK today which says "Brian Batters Britain". It's a great headline, referring to Storm Brian hitting the British coast with 70mph winds. I don't know who thought up Brian as a name for a wind but after Monty Python's Life of Brian movie, taking a satirical view of the life of Jesus, this name has wonderfully funny connotations. Apologies to everyone called Brian. But it also made me think of another potential alliterative headline, "Bannon Batters Bush". Steve Bannon is America's most right wing political commentator - a stab-in-the-face type of man who just says what he thinks, never mind the consequences. A bit like his erstwhile boss, Donald Trump. He hated what George W Bush had to say the other day which was basically pointing out, without naming Trump, that America was deeply divided and what a shame that was. Ok, so it was a bit hypocritical of Bush to say such a thing. After all, his politics, and, in particular, his invasion of Iraq in 2003, didn't exactly unite the country. But he was doing his best, as was Obama by coincidence, to emphasis the importance of moving away from extremist language and behaviour. There is no question that America HAS become more dividided, and more factional, and less tolerant under the current president. And people like Steve Bannon are also to blame. They are people who do not reason or placate or seek conciliation. They shout and bellow and point and denounce and condemn and insult. So, Steve Bannon, calm down, take a day off, be nice to someone.