Day 73 of MUC and day 26 of MOC, and the bromancer turns up, whining in a high pitched voice ...

Actually the pond doesn't need to talk about the Donald, there's nothing the pond can say or do about the Donald, except the sort of heated air that's only useful to power balloons ...

But the reptiles of Oz seem determined to make the Donald a respectable part of the conversation, a man with whom one can have sensible policy discussions, and never mind the accumulated back flips, flip flops, lies, slurs, calumnies and outrageous snake oil showbiz schtick ...

Yes, there were lickspittle grovellers, fellow travellers, quislings and abject forelock tuggers in Il Duce's times too ...

And now, as if Dame Slap wasn't more than enough for the weeks' entertainment, we have the bromancer piling on to the Donald's band-wagon ... 

But then the bromancer was a bro of the wall-punching onion-muncher, so he can relate to the Donald ...

Now the pond has only one comment to make on all this.

The pond is searching for a serious tone on the reptiles of Oz. 

Both Dame Slap and the bromancer need to settle down. Their voices go all silly high pitch, giving away their bias ...

What's that you say? Steady, what have their voices got to do with it, you cry? Sure Dame Slap's voice quavers like an out of tune fiddle, and Sheridan has all the personality on the telly of a warm lettuce leaf, but there's no need for personal abuse.

Oh yes, the pond can already hear the indignant howls. 

First serious breaches of Godwin's Law and now a descent in common, sordid, pathetic personal abuse ... how low can the pond go?

Relax, only as low as Dame Slap, and certainly no lower ...

Oh dear, where were we?

That's right, wringing the paws with that high-pitched whining bromancer ...

Pathetic self-serving, tragically obvious, if self-defeating self-interest, moi?

Well of course, that goes without saying, the reptiles are always good at pandering to themselves.

But is the tone familiar?

Well yes, how about this letter?

Oh indeed, indeed, and what about this poignant plea?

The apostle of peace... write it up boys, let the News Corp News Department help ...

Okay class, put away your Bembrick ...

And head off to Britain's National Archives here ...for a discussion of the effects and tremendous outcomes of appeasement ...

... because apparently Malware's government remains determined to degut Trove, and so we'll have to look for our national memory and awareness elsewhere ...

Never mind, it should be clear enough by now that the pond is deeply bored with the forelock tugging of the quisling, and so it takes a considerable effort to contemplate this last gobbet, especially without benefit of a handy Latin crib nearby ...

Cannot the opinion makers at the lizard Oz help?

Of course they can ...

Yep, humour the man, join his camp, join the carpetbaggers and the nutters, join the bromancer, persuade Asian governments to persuade the Mexican government to pay to build the wall,  and so on and so forth ...

Some might remember when the scurrilous, eccentric Titanic-building Clive Palmer swept on to the scene, the reptiles vigorously opposed him, stood firm and did everything to wreck him and his party.

The pond didn't mind. Palmer was a wild card loon, and the pond was only recently reminded of that and of Tony Jones completely disreputable attempts to make the man mainstream when Jones had the Clive back on Lateline last month, here, as if there was still some relevant juice to be discovered in the Clive ... as opposed to more of the dissembling same ...

Yet when it comes to the Donald, the reptiles just stand around forelock tugging, and suggesting how now might be the right time to get on board with the Donald ...

And so the bromancer's imitation of Neville Chamberlain - or perhaps the toad Chris Christie - is complete, and if or when the shit hits the fan, his words will be remembered ...

And now,  for a little light relief, the pond is pleased to report that The Canberra Times seems to have sorted out its Pope gallery, here, and so it's time for a papal visit and some humour ...