Category: Politics

November Poetry Competition.

OK, lets see if I can get this done before I lose my internet connection.

We are well into the season of mellow mists and fruitfulness, so it’s too late for that.   There is however considerable disgruntlement about political happenings just about everywhere.  In spades here because of the thankfully soon to be over presidential election and elsewhere pertaining to potential acts of northern British secession, attack dog behaviour of ex-pat. Welsh antipodean prime ministers, or even the fare dodging antics of Chancellors.

So how about “A modern Guy Fawkes”  any length or scheme (but as always, extra points for rumpy pumpy)

By the time judgement day comes around  (no not November 5 or  6,  let’s make it November 30)  at least we here in the US will be free of the pols. until January, when hopefully a freezing cold Washington inaugural may take out some of the weaklings.

West, West, you’re the best

I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore, is the rallying cry of a group of Conservative Eurosceptics. An emergency meeting of Tory party heavyweights have declared that the European Union is past its sell-by date. The sprouting of measures from Brussels that infringe on national sovereignty has grown too far, too fast and too furious for the right-wingers in this country. We should close our eyes and go West, say the Atlanticists. America and not Europe is where it is at.

In a startling pamphlet issued by the separatist group, “Withering Europe, a non-starter” (WEANS), they have proposed various ways of becoming closer to the United States of America. Post codes are to be replaced by the zingier method of posting known as ZIP codes. The advantages of this change are bountiful. Britons would take great delight in being asked by cold callers “What is your ZIP?”.
“She asked about my ZIP, heh, heh.”

In ZIP’s there are no letters to be remembered, only numbers, which makes it easier for this cell phone generation to take in. ZIP is faster to say than post code. And the struggling post code lottery that exists in this country would be replaced by the more snazzier titled ZIP lottery. Having a matching ZIP as someone else would be a novelty that would never wear off. Think about it. Even in ten years time, “We’ve got the same ZIP” is a good line.

Right, we should definitely look to the West as all good things are on the left hand side of the map. The land of the Free is home to Giant Redwoods and is there anything in this world better than a Hershey Bar? However, too many Hershey Bars can give you trouble fastening your zip.

One’s right to meddle

Let One explain. One was born fantastically superior to, well, anyone else One can think of. No, except Mama and Papa and Nanny and Spike Milligan; oh, and that Dutch-sounding guru chappie I knew for a while, who would be a teeny bit miffed if One didn’t recognise their status. Goodness knows what Nanny would have done to me. But One digresses, as so often. The thing is, One gets rather bored with all this waiting for kingship. Unlike the rest of you ordinary mortals, One has done Oneself out of so many actual things to do Oneself – like dressing, shopping, driving, digging holes for plants, visiting the cash-machine – that One has had to write letters, longhand – yes, Oneself! – to some of Mama’s ministers about things that really, really matter. One thinks immediately of architecture. It’s obvious to any man of unparallelled culture like Oneself that Britain should be exclusively populated by buildings in the neo-Tudor style. Get rid of everything else. And One has told them so. It’s not political, is it? It’s sound advice from the High Ground Highgrove perspective. And what’s more, it’s a salutary experience for those ministers to spend their time responding to One. And that Judge chappie had the affrontery to suggest that One’s correspondence with them was training for One to become King. On the contrary, One is training ministers in preparation for One’s accession. But the Judge did get something right in this case: One’s private letters are none of the plebs lower classes One’s subjects’ damn business. And when One accedes, One will rule. Rule, One says! (sounds of smashing china, screaming and soothing words from minions) 

Homes under the Hammer

The Conservative Chancellor of the coalition, George Osborne, has delighted the Tory Party faithful by ruling out wealth and mansion taxes. “This Party of home ownership will have no truck with it” he said. High value property owners that have never set foot in a truck breathed a sigh of relief. Mr Osborne is in charge of the purse strings of this country and he can play any melody he wants with them. This time it’s music to the ears of the wealthy.

Into the chamber enters the spectral figure that is the government’s Business Secretary, Vince Cable. This latter-day Robin Hood is promoting a petition for a fairer tax system. “I want a new ‘mansion tax’ on the most valuable properties – we propose 1% of the value of over £2million. This will be paid by the wealthiest 0.16% of property owners. If you agree, add your name to our campaign now.” This juggernaut statement struck a discord with the better off while those in the poor seats clapped approvingly. Continue reading “Homes under the Hammer”

The Royal hunt of The Spectator

There was only one copy of The Spectator magazine left on the shelf. And it was in a crumpled state. It was obvious that it had been leafed through many times. The browsers that had violently flipped through the magazine had no consideration for the eventual buyer, if there were to be one, of said magazine. The pages were deformed and the cover had a huge fold mark on it.

Two choices were left to me. Buy this unsold second-hand copy or walk to the other side of town to purchase The Spectator in the only other shop that stocked it. There was a queue at the counter. I don’t like queues. I walked. Continue reading “The Royal hunt of The Spectator”

I wish I was making this up.

But I am not.

Representative Paul Broun (R) Georgia came out recently with this gem “All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and Big Bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of Hell”  he is running UNOPPOSED for re-election.  Better yet he is a medical doctor and to cap it all he sits on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2012/10/06/paul-broun-evolution-big-bang-theory-lies-straight-from-pit-of-hell/?cxntfid=blogs_jay_bookman_blog

Believe it or not Broun is joined on that committee by Todd Akin (R) Missouri, his most recent claim to fame is that he is telling people that doctors are performing abortions on women who are NOT pregnant.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/02/todd-akin-abortion-providers_n_1934305.html

Where do we find these people?

Why do others vote for them?

But most of all why are THEY put in positions of authority over science and technology?

States and morals

Yes, this is the Chariot’s Law Week! And this time, Auntie Beeb is getting it in the neck! She’s paying some staff via their own private companies rather than direct, which means they can pay substantially less income tax. The Public Accounts Committee reckons that’s morally, if not legally wrong, having already forced a couple of thousand civil servants to give up a similar arrangement.

Now this strikes me a something of a conundrum. Either it is legal to employ people in this way (as I have been during one of my incarnations) or it isn’t. The Gordian Knot is the gubmint’s to cut, but what it cannot do,  imho, is to play the morality card whenever they suffer PR problems. It would be like giving special tax breaks to, say, married couples and then implying that such couples were exploiting the system.

Of course the Dept. of Envy is quick to point out that some of the Beeb’s beneficiaries are famous names. So what? Does that somehow validate their gripe?

What do you think?  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9587937/BBC-complicit-in-tax-avoidance-for-household-names-say-MPs.html

The housing market will rise from the bunker

The party conference season gives MP’s a chance to play rough and have a swing at existing arrangements. At last week’s excellent Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton, Vince Cable, business secretary in the coalition government, made proposals to increase the stock of social housing. As well as introducing regulated Mortgage Rescue Schemes to allow families struggling with repayments to sell all or part of the equity in their house and rent it back from a housing association or private firm to help keep them in their homes, Mr Cable said.

“After years of this Government’s apathy, which allowed the housing market to boom hopelessly out of control, millions are now feeling the painful consequences of a market in freefall.
Now is also the time to allow councils and Registered Social Landlords to borrow against their assets to buy up unsold properties and sites from building companies in order to replenish the social housing stock, to deal with the current 1.67 million households on social housing waiting lists.” Continue reading “The housing market will rise from the bunker”