First I wrote about politics, then I wrote about politics again. However, it soon becomes clear when I write about politics, that I am just adding to an enormous pile of words on the Internet. If you were to sift the entire pile you would be hard pressed to find any wisdom. So I performed a self-edit – twice. This is my gift to you – two blogs about politics which you don’t need to read. Instead I had a fun ten minutes renaming things by writing on a map of the world. I don’t have any crayons, so I can’t give it the authentic Trump look, but it was fun for a while.
Cormorant at Arnot Hill
The “British Ocean” now stretches from Ireland to the USA and the “British Holiday Sea” has taken the place of the Mediterranean. I toyed with the idea of renaming the eastern states of the USA from New England down to Georgia as “We Used to Own This” but seeing the mess they’ve made of it in just 250 years I’m not sure we want to admit any responsibility.
Anyway, with New England, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, the Carolinas, the Virginias and Georgia, the British element is pretty well established – the names Delaware, Maine and Pennsylvania also have links to the UK. Even if you disbelieve the explanation given in the article, Maine in France was under British rule in the time of Henry II and Richard the Lionheart so there’s another link.
Cormorant at Budby Flash
It’s a wonder that Trump hasn’t tried to rename all these old colonial names, after all, he did rename Denali as soon as he got into power again.
Of course, this is all history rather than politics, so I don’t mind writing it.
Talking of history, of course, it’s very tempting to write about the Guano Islands Act of 1856, a law allowing citizens of the USA to claim previously unclaimed island which had guano deposits on them. I came across it while researching guano, a product that has been protected by various laws since Inca times. It’s a very interesting subject, honestly.
Cormorants at Clumber
However, the Act is very tempting as the basis of a comment that US Foreign Policy and mounds of fishy-smelling bird droppings have been linked for nearly 200 years – because that might be political, and I don’t do politics.
Time, I think, to make some phone calls. But first – pictures of cormorants – they are noted for their guano production.
Cormorant
It is tempting to add a juvenile comment about guano and life being absolute …. but I won’t do that.
There is a certain amusement in watching the president renaming things, but it is tempered by the fact that we ourselves trampled around the world uninvited for many years changing names of places which had previously been inconveniently named by natives with incomprehensible languages.
I’m glad you didn’t do that as I may have had a juvenile snigger, which would be unbecoming at my age.
You can call what you do anything you like
I see nothing in the world to contradict that. 🙂
I assumed you were joking about the Guano Islands Act, but I followed the link and discovered that – unless Wikipedia has developed a sense of humour, which seems a tad unlikely – you weren’t telling porkies at all. Just when I thought the world couldn’t get any crazier! I think I shall have to have a lie down in a darkened room for a while.
Incidentally, in my humble opinion, cormorants are much more interesting than politics. If I had the choice between voting for an orange guy in a MAGA hat or for a cormorant, the feathered candidate would get my vote every time.
Cormorants are definitely preferable to politicians. I must do an article on the wars that occurred because of guano.
Of course, I say that and it then takes months, so don’t hold your breath.