OK, we don’t have to talk about Brexit. But I’m going to, so keep reading. Or don’t. I’m not your mom.
For those who’ve been without Internet or cable for the last three years, here’s a summary of Brexit, up until March 6, 2019.
Since then it’s gotten weirder. TLDR News has the latest, but to tl;dr TLDR:
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Parliament voted down May’s deal again.
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The Speaker of the House of Commons1 ruled she can’t present it a third time unless it’s “substantially” different.
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Parliament also voted not to leave the EU without a deal. (Which they will do anyway if they can’t agree before the deadline.)
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Parliament, sensibly, voted to ask the E.U. for an extension. May wants a short one until June; some MPs want a longer one to renegotiate.
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After May asked for an extension, the E.U. gave her an even shorter timeline:
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If Parliament accepts May’s Deal in the next week, she has until May 22 to work out the details.
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If Parliament rejects May’s (re-revised) Deal again, the UK has until April 12 to sort itself out and present some reasonable alternative. (Including calling the whole thing off.) If that happens, the EU might consider a longer extension.
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Subsequently, May made a televised speech essentially blaming Parliament for delaying Brexit. They’re willfully not voting for a deal the Government2 wants them to. How dare they!
I’ve been obsessed with Brexit for about the last year. Why?
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Being American, I have more emotional distance from Brexit than, for example, the Republican Occupation of D.C.
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May has handled Brexit the way I used to write a term paper: futz around with irrelevant crap, ignore all potential help, and then at the eleventh hour try to throw something together. Except I just screwed myself over; May’s taken repsonsibility for an entire country. (At least I seldom if ever applied for an extension.)
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Check it: An ill-educated electorate faces just two unpleasant choices. The underdog makes outrageous promises, and becomes increasingly popular. The party in power offers no rebuttals to these lies, or indeed any reason to vote for their favored alternative. Defying all pundits and polls, the “underdog” wins … propelled by a sophisticated social media campaign and dark money. The “winners” then proceed to screw up everything. Sound familiar?
Other Sources
Rather than repeat all my G+ posts on the subject, I’ll simply append interesting links. TLDR News covers the subject thoroughly, but checking other sources never hurts.
Speaker says May cannot have vote on same Brexit deal
Yes, I said this above, but Speaker John Berkow is becoming the hero of this whole debacle. Arguably he’s not the hero we need, but he’s the hero we deserve. Still, he’s more responsible than many of the MPs who can vote.
‘Leave’ voters are willing to give up access to the EU market to stop immigration.
This report dates from Jun 27, 2016, shortly after “the people” voted for Brexit. The reasons some Brits voted for Brexit are both fascinating and disheartening.
Re: Cambridge Analytica
In related news, many credit Cambridge Analytica for both Brexit and Trump:
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The Guardian: The great British Brexit robbery: how our democracy was hijacked
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The Guardian: Cambridge Analytica: how did it turn clinks into votes?
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Ars Technica: How Cambridge Analytica’s Facebook targeting model really worked
Last Week With John Oliver: Brexit I-III
A spoonfull of gallows humor helps the catastrophe go down.