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Today is election day in the United States of America.

Sparrow Chat has refrained from commenting recently on the candidates hoping to occupy the White House. It matters not one jot who eventually succeeds, both are equally bad for the people of America, and the rest of the world. Trump is a narcissist, who sees the presidency as the final pinnacle of all out power; Clinton is a corporate pawn enmeshed in the power-politics of big business. The people’s needs are not a part of either candidate’s remit.

The next occupant of the White House will merely be a mirror of the declining democratic society in the U.S.A. and the upsurge of corporate/military control (Eisenhower’s infamous ‘military-industrial complex’). As such, there’s little room for further logical analysis or comment.

There are few politicians in the world today worthy of praise, but one cannot overlook the Scottish Parliament’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, who is fighting both for her country (Scotland) and its people, over the concerted efforts of the British Prime minister and her cohorts to extricate the U.K. from the European Union.

It may not be generally realised outside Britain, but the vast majority of its people’s representatives (MPs) from both parties have always been in favour of remaining in the E.U.. The referendum decision to leave (Brexit), by the slim margin of 52% to 48% was a people’s decision based not on the merits, or otherwise, of its E.U. membership but as a protest vote against a British government that had long supported the wealthy and powerful, leaving the middle classes to flounder financially.

If this sounds a note of familiarity, it’s because the British government is following to the letter the antics of an American Congress steeped in corruption, allied to the lobbyists of the corporations, and hellbent on steam-rollering its way out of democracy and into the Super-capitalist corporate state.

For Theresa May and close colleagues like Liam Fox, David Davies, (and not to forget the newly appointed Lord Chancellor, Liz Truss, who is the third consecutive politician with no legal qualifications whatever, to hold office as head of the Ministry of Justice and Secretary of State for Justice!), Brexit has come as a welcome opening to further follow the U.S.A. down the slippery road to corporate control. Freed from the shackles of European legislation we can expect trade deals galore that, like the Trans Pacific Trade Partnership, will be heavily weighted in favour of big business.

Nicola Sturgeon, it seems, is not happy to oblige. Her Scottish people voted in favour of remaining in the E.U. by a whopping 62% to 38%, way more than the slim wedge of majority votes that decided the U.K.’s future. She’s already threatened another Scottish referendum for independence from the U.K. if the British (or should we say, “English”) parliament tries to force unacceptable measures on Scotland over Brexit. Sparrow Chat would be fully supportive of an independent Scotland. The, then, English/Welsh government would find itself much weaker without Scotland’s economy.

Given the recent ruling in the High Court preventing May from triggering Article 50 without a parliamentary vote, and May’s quick decision to appeal that decision in the Supreme Court, Nicola Sturgeon has seized the opportunity to demand that The Lord Advocate, Scotland’s most senior law officer, be heard in the case:

The Scottish government had legal representatives observing the case, and later said it was considering whether to become directly involved when the appeal is heard.
Confirming that it would seek to intervene, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she believed Scotland should be treated as an “equal partner” in the United Kingdom.
If the Supreme Court was to allow the Scottish government’s intervention and ruled against the UK government, it could mean there would have to be a vote on Article 50 in Holyrood as well as in Westminster.
Ms Sturgeon stressed that she was not attempting to veto the process of England and Wales leaving the EU. But she said the “democratic wishes of the people of Scotland and the national parliament of Scotland cannot be brushed aside as if they do not matter”…
…Ms Sturgeon has pledged to do all she can to protect Scotland’s place in Europe, and to maintain its membership of the single market. ^[1]

It would seem there’s at least one politician left on the world stage who is still prepared to represent the people, and not the huge conglomeration of big businesses lobbying U.S. and U.K. politicians for a major portion of a democratic process they’re determined to destroy.

As the voting for the 45th President of the United States finally draws to a close today we’re left with only one certainty: after this election the American people will not find in their new president someone who has the slightest interest in their welfare, or those of the generations who follow them, although in keeping with the present incumbent, a silver tongue and persuasive manner may well kid them into believing otherwise.

^{[1] “Scottish government seeks to intervene in Brexit case” BBC, November 8th 2016}

If there’s one thing we can thank Twitter for it’s how well it highlights just how many morons, loonies, and general hatemongers are out there, waiting to pounce on anyone who dares to hold opposing views to them.

But, can they be blamed, when certain public peddlers of lies and vitriol, which have the effrontery to still call themselves ‘newspapers’, emblazon their front pages with this sort of rubbish:

This was the front page output of two of these porno-pushers following a judgement by the U.K. High Court stating that Article 50, to commence withdrawal from the E.U., could only be triggered with the consent of parliament.

From the BBC:

Meanwhile, Gina Miller, the investment manager and philanthropist who led the legal campaign, has said she plans to report online trolls to police after receiving rape and death threats.
She told BBC Radio 5 live that other abuse included people telling her “I’m not even human, I’m a primate, I belong in a kitchen – that’s the nicest of some of them. It is unbelievable.
“I am really cross at the politicians and the media who are whipping this up because they are the ones inciting racism and violence and acrimony.”

These so-called “trolls”, who use their anonymity to vent hatred and spread fear, aren’t just a small band of right-wing, fascist, nutters. They’re a large section of the general populace who are incapable of thinking for themselves, or holding any opinion other than those they’ve gleaned from the gutter press, or the shadier parts of the internet.

That these people exist in such large numbers proves beyond doubt the ineffectuality of referenda as a method of determining a correct course of action in any political situation. This is why we elect political representatives to make these decisions for us. David Cameron’s decision not to allow the British parliament to decide whether the U.K. should remain in the E.U., was tantamount to Pontius Pilate washing his hands and letting the people decide the fate of Jesus of Nazareth – and we all know how that turned out!

The British parliament must realise that there are Brits so badly educated, so immature, and so politically ignorant, that they can’t be trusted to make any properly thought out decision on the future of the nation. It was their votes that swung the Brexit decision.

If Theresa May had any backbone at all she would allow a free vote in parliament and let MPs decide whether the result of the “advisory referendum” should be adhered to, or whether it was in Britain’s best interests to remain a part of the European Community.

Sadly, that won’t happen because May and her cronies have other, hidden, agendas. But given the collapse of the U.K. currency, forecasts of 4% inflation by next year, rising prices across the board, and numerous other negative factors in the pipeline, the ‘best interests’ question has already been fully answered.

^{“PM urged to calm the backlash against Brexit ruling” BBC, November 5th 2016}

I’m appalled, utterly – and mystified. Brits are walking around with smug grins on their faces. It’s the sort of, “I told you so” grin an elder sibling might wear when, as a kid, you’d try to walk along the top of a narrow wall just to prove you could do it, and the elder one would say, “Get down, you’ll fall off.” You did, and there was the grin, smug and knowing, while you picked the gravel out of your knee.

Brits can be a bit smug at the best of times. It comes from once having an empire and pretending it’s still there. But this is different. They now have proof they were right all along. Science has proved it, or so they think.

When I was a kid my mother was strict about teeth cleaning. Twice a day, morning and bedtime, my sister and I were marched to the bathroom for this ablutive ritual. It worked. All my life I’ve brushed religiously twice a day, happy in the knowledge I was doing the best I could for my teeth. Sadly, my pearlies never reciprocated. Toothache, painful dentist visits, cavities galore, even, one girlfriend eventually admitted, bad breath. How shaming!

This sad orthodontic plight persisted on and off for fifty years or so, until I eventually moved to the United States and married the present Mrs R J. I was surprised to find large quantities of dental floss in her bathroom cabinet.

“Do you really use that stuff?” I exclaimed, fingering the small round plastic pack, as one might if it had been labeled, ‘Nitroglycerine’.

“Of course, and you should too, darling. It would help with your tooth problem – and,” she smiled demurely, “your other little problem.”

“What tooth prob…and what other little problem?” I was becoming irate. Was this woman telling me I was less than perfect in her eyes? We’d just got married, for God’s sake!

“Well,” she took my hand, “you do sometimes have bad breath, you know…” I snatched my hand away, “…not always,” she continued hastily, “just sometimes…and it’s not really bad…just a little bit.”

That was how I began a regular flossing routine. Just once a day, in the morning after breakfast. I was also ‘persuaded’ to visit my wife’s dentist and have the ravages of fifty year’s Mars bars and chip suppers repaired. A couple of crowns and four ‘fillings’ later I was as good as new. Well, dentally, at least.

Fifteen years later, I can honestly say I’ve never had a problem with my teeth since. My wife doesn’t hesitate to kiss me any more, and as we can’t get decent dental floss in France, we import our favourite brand from America.

Well, okay, I’ll hold up my hand and admit the first sentence of that last paragraph isn’t quite accurate. A few months before we came to France I began to suffer pain from my back teeth. Fearful of molar decay, I visited an elderly dentist in our local town to be checked out. He took X-rays, poked around as dentists do, and finally concluded that I was fine. “It’s just a slight gum recession, inevitable at your age,” he said,”I have a similar problem myself. Try one of those toothpastes that deaden it. That works for me.” Then he added, “You have very good teeth for a man of your age. I see you floss regularly.”

I was surprised, “How can you tell?”

He smiled and showed me the X-ray of my mouth, “Look, between every tooth you have a clean gap. That’s the floss gap. People who don’t floss regularly don’t have such a well-defined gap. Plaque builds between the teeth and closes that gap leaving the side of the tooth vulnerable to disease. Most cavities we dentists see begin there, in the side of the tooth rather than the back or front.”

This was from a man who’d been a dentist all his working life, and he was seventy-two. He was right about my gums. The pain went away after a few day’s use with a deadening toothpaste.

The British (and possibly the French as well, judging from the lack of good quality floss in their stores) have always shied away from flossing. It’s why so many of them suffer from bad breath. I know, I was one until I joined Halitosis Anonymous and elected Mrs R J as my mentor. It’s no myth that the British have always had more dental problems than the Americans, and U.S. dental treatment is even more expensive than in the U.K., with virtually no cover from standard medical insurance policies.

For reasons unfathomed, The Associated Press recently decided to wage war against tooth flossing. There’s no scientific evidence it does any good, they decided. This is quite true, but it’s also a fact that there’s no scientific evidence it doesn’t. They approached the U.S. government.

The federal government has recommended flossing since 1979, first in a surgeon general’s report and later in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans issued every five years. The guidelines must be based on scientific evidence, under the law. Last year, the Associated Press asked the departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture for their evidence, and followed up with written requests under the Freedom of Information Act…

Why would they do that? The “Freedom of Information Act?” Can dental floss be used to make a terrorist’s bomb?

When the federal government issued its latest dietary guidelines this year, the flossing recommendation had been removed, without notice. In a letter to the AP, the government acknowledged the effectiveness of flossing had never been researched, as required. [my bold] ^[1]

Okay, so any studies done have been unscientific and incomplete, but that’s no reason to condemn a product that’s been in use for over a century. Many, however, think it is, including one British dentist, Ollie Jupes, who wrote to the Guardian about it:

In Britain we’ve long known about the futility of floss, and now Americans have brushed up on their science, too. As a health measure, it simply doesn’t work. The fact is, the British dental profession gave floss a quiet burial years ago after sneaking it out the back and finishing it off humanely with a lump-hammer. Yes, in the UK we realised ages ago that – and if you still religiously floss daily, look away now – flossing simply doesn’t work as a health measure (or a fetish).

Let me say that again. FLOSS DOES NOT WORK. Not at all. There’s not a shred of evidence that it does any good whatsoever. I mean, it seemed a good idea at the time – 1882 to be precise – but modern evidence would demonstrate that it doesn’t improve gum health one jot (to use the scientific term).^[2]

Golly, Ollie(!), that’s a bit strong, isn’t it? Especially considering there’s no modern evidence to demonstrate anything. I think this is more a question of the British feeling a little smug that for once they may have got things right. Take Dave Bry, another contributor on the subject to the Guardian:

The federal government has removed daily flossing from its official Dietary Guidelines for Americans after admitting to the Associated Press that “the effectiveness of flossing had never been researched”…

…I had gone to a dentist for the first time in more than a decade. My mouth was a disaster site: my teeth hurt, my gums bled every time I brushed them. I had gum disease, the dental hygienist said, and she warned me about all sorts of more serious health problems that studies had shown might follow– loss of teeth, heart disease, even cancer! I would have to come back for cleanings twice a month for the next four months. And I’d have to floss.

We filled out a calendar of appointments, and I made them. But I struggled, and failed, to find a daily flossing routine. It was hard to remember. And even when I did, it was such a boring way to spend two minutes, so unrewarding. And it hurt. Just a little, but still. Every time I squeezed the waxy little string between two of my teeth, just at that first moment, when you penetrate and the floss hits the gum: ouch! Again, just a little ouch, but certainly enough to render the whole endeavor less than fun.

Here’s a guy who was obviously suffering from a lack of floss – decaying teeth, sore gums, etc – and who needed flossing to be FUN!

It never became any less boring. And I quit – as is my wont, I’ve always lacked self-discipline. It wasn’t an abrupt quitting. It was a gradual petering out. After almost a month.
So I was glad to read the news about the uncertainty of its effectiveness. Who knows whether flossing works? Who knows whether it’s healthy? One thing’s for sure, though. It is definitely boring. I’m happy not to do it, and to not feel guilty about it.^[3]

Well, that’s fine, Dave. So you’re happy to suffer painful teeth, bleeding gums, the possible outcomes of false teeth, heart disease, even cancer? And how about your halitosis problem, Dave? You never mentioned that, did you? No, better not to admit to that. In fact, better to not admit it to yourself. Bad breath? Huh, not me! Give us a kiss, Love.

The British may think they can be smug over flossing. Who needs it? We’re British, we know better. Well, guess what, so am I British and I know better than the AP or you smug bastards. My gnashers are living proof that flossing works. When all your rotting British teeth need to be pulled, I’m the one who’ll be walking around with all mine intact.

And don’t come complaining to me when your dentures keep falling out. I’ll just have a smug grin on my face.

^{[1] “Medical benefits of dental floss unproven” AP, August 2nd 2016}

^{[2] “Dentists have stopped being strung along by the great flossing yarn. About time. Guardian, August 3rd 2016}

^{[3] “Flossing is nonsense – and my laziness is vindicated” Guardian, August 4th 2016}