I tried very hard to comply with former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich’s call to boycott The US President’s State of the Union address this past week – but when the Al Jazeera prompt flashed up on my computer screen I caved.

The House Chamber was partially full, many Democrats heeded Reich’s call and refused to attend.

The President started with a boast: “Our country is winning so much we don’t know what to do about it.” Republicans began bobbing up and down like manic yo-yos. There was nothing spontaneous about these ‘standing ovations’ – Republicans were clearly under instruction. Every time Trump paused, which he did at the end of virtually........

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