I'm actually feeling quite positive about politics today. No particular reason, just a general realisation that, actually, things aren't looking as bad as everyone is constantly saying. Yes, big problems, as ever, but I think things are heading in the right direction overall.
Now I'm not hugely confident about either Boris or Hunt as PM, though I would prefer Boris. However, I certainly don't hate either by any stretch of the imagination. They both seem like decent blokes. Likewise I don't fear Corbyn the way many do. Firstly, I think it's highly unlikely he'll ever become PM anyway. Secondly, for all his leftism, I don't think he'd do too much damage in a single term. Certainly not quite as much damage as people are imagining. Sure, you can whack up taxes etc, but you certainly can't just nationalise everything in a few years. That's just not gonna happen whoever is in charge. Plus, the party is so split and out of his control he'd struggle to get anything done anyhow.
The Brexit Party are a force for good, and give British voters another option. Which is a great plus. And the Greens, Lib Dems and SNP - for all the disagreements I have with those parties - are not that bad really. Ultimately they are all for the most part decent people with good intentions.
So democracy in this country is quite healthy really when you step back and take a broader view.
Sunday, July 7, 2019
Saturday, July 6, 2019
"At Least Five Days A Week"
Definitely something to mention today. Easy. In fact, posting on here may save me annoying people on Twitter. Yesterday, the MP Jess Phillips took her child to the steps of Downing Street to complain about schools cutting their hours. Apparently some schools are now dropping lessons on Friday afternoon because of financial constraints.
I don't know if this is true or not, but you'd have thought if this was happening it would be more well known by now. I don't ever recall hearing a normal person complain about this either in real life or on social media. So this political stunt, complete with its well funded campaign (see the slickly designed t-shirt she's wearing), is the first I've heard about it.
A few months ago we had politicians and media figures encouraging children to skip school on a Friday to protest climate change.
Now we have a campaign complaining that children aren't getting access to education on a Friday. Again using children as political props.
Go figure.
As with the Greta Thunberg campaign no one ever seems to ask how these things are funded and organised. Nor how they manage to get mainstream media coverage so readily. The obvious question with Greta Thunberg is how a young girl with Asperger's manages to travel the world of her own accord. Organising protest events and meetings with major politicians along the way.
People just seem to accept it on face value and then proceed to argue about how great/bad she is depending on what side of the argument they find themselves on. Never once questioning the adults that are putting her in that spotlight to begin with.
Similarly with this latest Jess Phillips stunt. People will debate the school funding issue, or the actions of Jess Phillips in general, but will never ask where the impetus for all this is coming from.
Who designed the campaign slogans?
Who printed the t-shirts?
Who runs the various dedicated Twitter accounts?
Why are we only finding out about this now via the mainstream media and not via standard word of mouth?
If Jess Phillips has only just discovered her child's school will be cutting Friday lessons how come she has a very slick campaign ready to roll straight away?
Alternately, if she found out about these cuts much earlier then why hasn't she mentioned them before? She has such a high media profile it's not like she hasn't had the opportunity to raise the issue.
Is it not a little bit odd that one of the 250 schools cutting hours just happens to be one that Jess Phillips has a child going to?
It was only back in May that Jess Phillips was arguing with school protesters who were complaining about sex education being taught to their children. It's odd how there always seems to be funding for things like that. Regardless how much parents do or don't agree with it.
On a side note education is an interesting topic for me, as it's my belief that parents should have much more control over their children's education. Aside from choosing whether or not children take part in sex education classes and the like I also believe that parents should actually be able to choose their child's school hours. The school days and weeks are far too long in my opinion and I believe parents should have the option to lessen the amount of time their child spends at school.
Children would be much happier if they had more time to just be children. Plus parents would be able to opt for a combination of school and home schooling. Rather than the situation we have at the moment where it's either all or nothing. Either you completely remove your child from school and home school them - if you even have that option. Which most people for practical reasons don't. Or you just surrender your child to the full force of the state and to state education.
I say give parents options.
#GiveMe5
When Jess Phillips was interviewed regarding the school cuts she actually said; "the government has a responsibility to be looking after our children for at least five days a week". At least five. Perhaps this was just a slip of the tongue. Either way though it sounds pretty bad, and suggests a desire to have even more state control over children.
The campaign slogan for all this is #GiveMe5 - again quite a slickly contrived piece of promotion, and it appears children, adults and celebrities have all been mobilised to promote this demand at protests and in online videos. The use of children as a political tool is once again highly reminiscent of the climate protests. These people seem to have no concern whatsoever about putting small children front and centre of political campaigns. In fact, the use of the "high five" as a marketing campaign suggests a very deliberate attempt to engage children.
Basic common sense and experience tells us that children generally don't like going to school. Everyone loves a day off. It's a joyous feeling to have that freedom. Even for just an afternoon. So putting these words in the mouths of children is dishonest to say the least in my opinion.
I don't know if this is true or not, but you'd have thought if this was happening it would be more well known by now. I don't ever recall hearing a normal person complain about this either in real life or on social media. So this political stunt, complete with its well funded campaign (see the slickly designed t-shirt she's wearing), is the first I've heard about it.
(Jess Phillips outside No. 10)
A few months ago we had politicians and media figures encouraging children to skip school on a Friday to protest climate change.
Now we have a campaign complaining that children aren't getting access to education on a Friday. Again using children as political props.
Go figure.
As with the Greta Thunberg campaign no one ever seems to ask how these things are funded and organised. Nor how they manage to get mainstream media coverage so readily. The obvious question with Greta Thunberg is how a young girl with Asperger's manages to travel the world of her own accord. Organising protest events and meetings with major politicians along the way.
People just seem to accept it on face value and then proceed to argue about how great/bad she is depending on what side of the argument they find themselves on. Never once questioning the adults that are putting her in that spotlight to begin with.
Similarly with this latest Jess Phillips stunt. People will debate the school funding issue, or the actions of Jess Phillips in general, but will never ask where the impetus for all this is coming from.
Who designed the campaign slogans?
Who printed the t-shirts?
Who runs the various dedicated Twitter accounts?
Why are we only finding out about this now via the mainstream media and not via standard word of mouth?
If Jess Phillips has only just discovered her child's school will be cutting Friday lessons how come she has a very slick campaign ready to roll straight away?
Alternately, if she found out about these cuts much earlier then why hasn't she mentioned them before? She has such a high media profile it's not like she hasn't had the opportunity to raise the issue.
Is it not a little bit odd that one of the 250 schools cutting hours just happens to be one that Jess Phillips has a child going to?
It was only back in May that Jess Phillips was arguing with school protesters who were complaining about sex education being taught to their children. It's odd how there always seems to be funding for things like that. Regardless how much parents do or don't agree with it.
(Jess Phillips arguing with Muslim protesters back in May
- check out the guy in the prototype Brexit hat.)
On a side note education is an interesting topic for me, as it's my belief that parents should have much more control over their children's education. Aside from choosing whether or not children take part in sex education classes and the like I also believe that parents should actually be able to choose their child's school hours. The school days and weeks are far too long in my opinion and I believe parents should have the option to lessen the amount of time their child spends at school.
Children would be much happier if they had more time to just be children. Plus parents would be able to opt for a combination of school and home schooling. Rather than the situation we have at the moment where it's either all or nothing. Either you completely remove your child from school and home school them - if you even have that option. Which most people for practical reasons don't. Or you just surrender your child to the full force of the state and to state education.
I say give parents options.
#GiveMe5
When Jess Phillips was interviewed regarding the school cuts she actually said; "the government has a responsibility to be looking after our children for at least five days a week". At least five. Perhaps this was just a slip of the tongue. Either way though it sounds pretty bad, and suggests a desire to have even more state control over children.
The campaign slogan for all this is #GiveMe5 - again quite a slickly contrived piece of promotion, and it appears children, adults and celebrities have all been mobilised to promote this demand at protests and in online videos. The use of children as a political tool is once again highly reminiscent of the climate protests. These people seem to have no concern whatsoever about putting small children front and centre of political campaigns. In fact, the use of the "high five" as a marketing campaign suggests a very deliberate attempt to engage children.
Basic common sense and experience tells us that children generally don't like going to school. Everyone loves a day off. It's a joyous feeling to have that freedom. Even for just an afternoon. So putting these words in the mouths of children is dishonest to say the least in my opinion.
Friday, July 5, 2019
Americans Do Irony Now
It was 4th of July yesterday, and what struck me most was the banter on Twitter between Anglos and Americans. Good spirited stuff. Mainly tongue-in-cheek, but sometimes descending into genuine debate about who was really to blame for the War of Independence. I think this is one of the biggest changes in America over the last few decades. At least looking at things as an outsider. Americans do irony now. It's like they've rejoined the commonwealth banter family. We can have a bit of craic with them the same way we do with the Irish or the Australians.
I'm guessing it's mainly down to the Internet. That cross-fertilisation that comes from all the instant communication it allows. The Trump election seemed like the first American election where humour played a huge role. Though again, as an outsider, that might just be a perception thing. Satire has always been a part of politics of course, but it does seem that meme war is a whole 'nother level.
A similar thing worth mentioning is perhaps the cultural shift that followed 9/11. It seemed like America, this time in TV and pop culture, opened up to Britain much more following the 9/11 attacks. It felt like all of a sunder Americans were watching British TV shows. Whether it was borrowing British formats like Pop Idol, or actually watching outright British TV like the Office. We even started seeing standard TV personalities such as Gordon Ramsey become famous on that side of the Atlantic. Something truly unthinkable when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s. When all British television just seemed lame in comparison to the glamour and excitement of America.
Even in music, the one realm where Britain perhaps had the edge on America, it was still difficult for UK bands to break the US market.
So I wonder if 9/11 shook American self-confidence, which in turn then led to some unconscious reach for the comfort of the mother culture. Saying that, I was going to mention the show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire as a similar example. However, having looked this reached America pre-9/11. So perhaps it's all just purely coincidental, and I'm just confounding things needlessly. Maybe things were just heading that way in general.
Either way I think it's great to see a re-synthesis of of these divergent cultures.
Happy Traitors' Day ..belatedly.
I'm guessing it's mainly down to the Internet. That cross-fertilisation that comes from all the instant communication it allows. The Trump election seemed like the first American election where humour played a huge role. Though again, as an outsider, that might just be a perception thing. Satire has always been a part of politics of course, but it does seem that meme war is a whole 'nother level.
A similar thing worth mentioning is perhaps the cultural shift that followed 9/11. It seemed like America, this time in TV and pop culture, opened up to Britain much more following the 9/11 attacks. It felt like all of a sunder Americans were watching British TV shows. Whether it was borrowing British formats like Pop Idol, or actually watching outright British TV like the Office. We even started seeing standard TV personalities such as Gordon Ramsey become famous on that side of the Atlantic. Something truly unthinkable when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s. When all British television just seemed lame in comparison to the glamour and excitement of America.
Even in music, the one realm where Britain perhaps had the edge on America, it was still difficult for UK bands to break the US market.
So I wonder if 9/11 shook American self-confidence, which in turn then led to some unconscious reach for the comfort of the mother culture. Saying that, I was going to mention the show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire as a similar example. However, having looked this reached America pre-9/11. So perhaps it's all just purely coincidental, and I'm just confounding things needlessly. Maybe things were just heading that way in general.
Either way I think it's great to see a re-synthesis of of these divergent cultures.
Happy Traitors' Day ..belatedly.
Thursday, July 4, 2019
Ann Widdecombe EU Parliament Speech
Nothing to say today. So why am I posting? Because I'm determined to post daily ..no matter what. Imagine the actual news was like this.
I have just watched Ann Widdecombe's speech at the EU parliament though. Quite a sight to behold. Certainly worth mentioning.
It's really going to be fascinating to watch how things unfold over there going forward.
I have just watched Ann Widdecombe's speech at the EU parliament though. Quite a sight to behold. Certainly worth mentioning.
It's really going to be fascinating to watch how things unfold over there going forward.
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Civilisation Brexit?
I was a little bit annoyed yesterday. Seeing the Brexit Party MEPs turn their backs on the national anthem was one of those "awwh God why?!" moments. It seems like such a self-defeating move. I'm a little more forgiving today. Having heard the full story it seems at first they refused to stand for the anthem, then when implored, chose to stand but with their backs turned. Still very childish though. Terrible optics too.
With the Liberal Democrats turning up in "Bollocks to Brexit" T-shirts the cynical side of me is now wondering if it's all just a game. A pantomime Punch and Judy show. Used to distract and divert the anger and rage coming from both sides.
Is it possible that all these adult politicians are really so childish?
I was going to copy the cool kids in the Brexit Gang and put a blue hat on my little Twitter avatar, but this has soured it for me. Am I just being dragged along for a fake-outrage ride while all along the real grown-ups behind the scenes are just continuing full steam ahead with their beloved EU project?
Also looking at the wider political picture it does seem to be the case that politicians are throwing an awful lot of money around at the moment. The Brexit Party with their Brexit dividend and all the various Conservative candidates with their promises of more spending.
Perhaps the short term plan is just to buy the voters off in the hope that in a few years time, when things are much better, they won't be so miffed, and will be more willing to embrace globalism in all its centralised glory.
I'm getting very cynical now. I promised myself I'd stay away from conspiracy theories. So for the time being I better put my Brexit cap back on and just hope for the best.
..Sort it out Nigel
With the Liberal Democrats turning up in "Bollocks to Brexit" T-shirts the cynical side of me is now wondering if it's all just a game. A pantomime Punch and Judy show. Used to distract and divert the anger and rage coming from both sides.
Is it possible that all these adult politicians are really so childish?
I was going to copy the cool kids in the Brexit Gang and put a blue hat on my little Twitter avatar, but this has soured it for me. Am I just being dragged along for a fake-outrage ride while all along the real grown-ups behind the scenes are just continuing full steam ahead with their beloved EU project?
Also looking at the wider political picture it does seem to be the case that politicians are throwing an awful lot of money around at the moment. The Brexit Party with their Brexit dividend and all the various Conservative candidates with their promises of more spending.
Perhaps the short term plan is just to buy the voters off in the hope that in a few years time, when things are much better, they won't be so miffed, and will be more willing to embrace globalism in all its centralised glory.
I'm getting very cynical now. I promised myself I'd stay away from conspiracy theories. So for the time being I better put my Brexit cap back on and just hope for the best.
..Sort it out Nigel
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Brexit - The Cringe Wars
I was going to post about the Brexit Party rally, having now watched it. However, today events at the EU parliament have overshadowed it.
It seems the Liberal Democrats have turned up in "bollocks to Brexit" shirts and then to top it off the Brexit Party MEPs turned their backs when the EU anthem was played.
It's difficult to know which is more embarrassing. Turning your back on a national anthem, whatever the circumstances, is just rude and childish. It's quite frightening that they all seemed to deem it a good idea. Did not a single one of them have the sense to point out a) how rude it would be, and b) how bad it would look?
It's easy fodder for Brexit critics that's for sure.
All they had to do was turn up, act dignified and vote in our interests. They're effectively just placeholders really until Brexit gets resolved. To be fair the writing was on the wall already looking at some of the social media output from Brexit Party MEPs. They're basically going over there and nitpicking every little thing. Like they're on that Channel Four programme Four In A Bed. I'm surprised they haven't complained about finding pubes in the shower or dust on the curtain rails.
It just doesn't feel serious.
It seems the Liberal Democrats have turned up in "bollocks to Brexit" shirts and then to top it off the Brexit Party MEPs turned their backs when the EU anthem was played.
It's difficult to know which is more embarrassing. Turning your back on a national anthem, whatever the circumstances, is just rude and childish. It's quite frightening that they all seemed to deem it a good idea. Did not a single one of them have the sense to point out a) how rude it would be, and b) how bad it would look?
It's easy fodder for Brexit critics that's for sure.
All they had to do was turn up, act dignified and vote in our interests. They're effectively just placeholders really until Brexit gets resolved. To be fair the writing was on the wall already looking at some of the social media output from Brexit Party MEPs. They're basically going over there and nitpicking every little thing. Like they're on that Channel Four programme Four In A Bed. I'm surprised they haven't complained about finding pubes in the shower or dust on the curtain rails.
It just doesn't feel serious.
Monday, July 1, 2019
Rock Stars of Brexit
The Brexit Party had their Big Vision Rally yesterday. I haven't had a chance to watch it or even really catch up that much. However, from what I've seen on Twitter the response seems very positive. Certainly from the base anyway. People putting Brexit hats on their Twitter profile pics. All very exciting. I'll post in more detail and give my thoughts once I've sat down and watched it all.
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