I've been looking around some of my Witanagemot liked-minded blogs. There are some good posts on the lacklustre approach of Speaker Martin to the Damian Green Affair, as some are calling it.
Cynical Chatter From The Underworld says that Gordon Brown's declared confidence in the Speaker "is the kiss of death for him, and it isn’t as if anyone else is backing up Gordon Brown by openly stating their confidence in the Speaker." No, it's more a case of the New Priggery Party seeking to suggest they would never make use of leaks.
A Very British Dude has some excellent points on civil liberties I noticed. It's not just the Left that cares for civil liberties, and this is well put in this line - "Many on the left point to Damian Green and David Davis' views on Homosexuality as evidence that they have no deep love of civil Liberties, and they are therefore Hypocrites. In Green's case in particular, this is scraping the barrel. Part of this is Because in Left-wing mythology, no Tory can ever be concerned with anything except tax and Europe, without being called a hypocrite." It's just such times when the New Priggery Party gets all uppity because their pereceived territory is being invaded!
Archbishop Cranmer has uncovered something that the BBC and other missed! That the Queen was apparently reading about her demise as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Again, the New priggery party is up to its tricks. The Archbishop reveals - "The Bill potentially spells the end of the privileges of the Church of England, the elimination of prayers in Parliament, the end of the Head of State being Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the end of Christian acts of collective worship in schools, the end of restrictive Sunday opening hours, and the embracing of national holidays around non-Christian religious festivals." Is this what we really want? It will mean dismantling the parishes, and the rights of the Church of England to make its own laws (canons). This could mean some tough times ahead for traditionalists, who may find themselves in prison for disobeying the New Priggery Party's diktats!
Man in a Shed - "We should all weep for our country and its misfortune at having the bunch of self interested selfish and ignorant charlatans who current lead Her Majesty's government." Very true. He quotes an economist speaking on the Today Programme. Read it and weep! Or listen and weep! The curse is upon us, the Lady of Chalot.....
And Wonko has a few things to say about the Queen's Speech. I get worked up sometimes about this lot. I know how he feels!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Big brother's helpmate!
I don't like racism. I don't like people being verbally degraded. However, I dislike intensely holier-than-thou people with a jobsworth mentality to political correctness. It's happened again. Some nosepoker from the Penwith Housing Association went round to a pensioner's flat and asked for a questionnaire to be filled in. Tony Stafford wrote a few comments which were not very tasteful about the subject of immigration. He then got a jobsworth popping round to say he had broken his tenancy agreement.
Penwith Housing Association has a Respect and Anti Social Behaviour Policy. Fair do's, but this is not carte blanche for 1984-style tactics. What these silly people who police these policies never get into their thick heads is that people like Mr. Stafford are only antagonised and are fuel for further propogation of such views.
If the people running this housing association have any sense at all, they would explain to Mr.Stafford that such views may cause offence when read by another person. A friendly discussion would suffice. If he persisted in ventilating his views then that's another matter. Also, if they had prior knowledge of his views and were trying to entrap him by suggesting he could say anything he liked, then they are just as morally guilty.
Political correctness has no place in our society. Both sides here should learn a lesson.
Penwith Housing Association has a Respect and Anti Social Behaviour Policy. Fair do's, but this is not carte blanche for 1984-style tactics. What these silly people who police these policies never get into their thick heads is that people like Mr. Stafford are only antagonised and are fuel for further propogation of such views.
If the people running this housing association have any sense at all, they would explain to Mr.Stafford that such views may cause offence when read by another person. A friendly discussion would suffice. If he persisted in ventilating his views then that's another matter. Also, if they had prior knowledge of his views and were trying to entrap him by suggesting he could say anything he liked, then they are just as morally guilty.
Political correctness has no place in our society. Both sides here should learn a lesson.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Councillor quits over IRA link
I've just seen that a Conservative councillor in Croydon has quit her cabinet post over links with the IRA in the 70's. A Croydon council spokesman said Councillor Maria Gatland confirmed that she is the author of To Take Arms - My Year with the Provisional IRA. She is now being asked to quit as a councillor altogether.
My reaction to this is has it in anyway affected her work as a councillor on this council? It appears she has gone simply because of this link with the IRA 36 years ago. I take it Mrs Gatland's politics have changed radically otherwise she would not be a Conservative. People change. Opinions change. Heaven help us all if we cannot redeem ourselves over past mistakes.
I think those on Croydon council should ask themselves why they are seeking to have her resign from the council. After all, those with a far more serious background with regard to IRA activity are in government in Northern Ireland. These former IRA members are deemed satisfactory and they haven't changed their spots.
Mrs Gatland is on the receiving end of something rather nasty. It's called self-righteousness and it should be rooted out of politics. She has resigned from her cabinet post but that should be the only scalp her rather sour-minded colleagues get!
It doesn't do what it says on the tin!
Chris Grayling, Shadow work and pensions secretary, has a very good take on the dodgy characters sitting opposite him in the Commons. He has said he hoped the banking bill, due in today's Queen's Speech, offered a "sensible path" to help the flow of lending and small businesses. He noted however, "I think we have to be very careful and read the small print. The government has a track record in using occasions like today to grab headlines, to bring forward pieces of legislation to catch the attention of the nation but when you actually look at the small print it really doesn't do what it said on the tin at all. We've got to be careful that these are real measures that are actually going to make a difference and that they are not just an exercise in public relations."
That's what we need to do. Study the small print, make sure we are not being hoodwinked, and protest strongly if we are. Gordon Brown will be on our TV screens with all the avunculur sweetness of a man trying to sell stair lifts, but we should not be taken in that easily. This is still a government that takes no responsibility, blames "systems" they thought were "robust", and generally desires catchall legislation to further their control freakery.
We will be watching!
That's what we need to do. Study the small print, make sure we are not being hoodwinked, and protest strongly if we are. Gordon Brown will be on our TV screens with all the avunculur sweetness of a man trying to sell stair lifts, but we should not be taken in that easily. This is still a government that takes no responsibility, blames "systems" they thought were "robust", and generally desires catchall legislation to further their control freakery.
We will be watching!
Leaking the truth?
If Damian Green is being accused of leaking government "secrets" by the New Labour outfit, there's been past history when a cocky young politician was ever so proud of his Best Leaker of the Year title.
Here he is, with slightly longer hair!
Here he is, with slightly longer hair!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Balkanising England?
John Redwood was quite right to get up in the House of Commons and denounce Harriet Harman's English regions committees idea. Nobody apart from New Labour apparatchiks, the European Commission and the quango merchants want them.
What Ms Harman is trying to do is stuff a few Labour backwoodsmen onto these committees to run things in defiance of the electorate's wishes. In the "South-West" there is a Conservative and LibDem ascendancy. Labour is the minnow party. In the "South-East", the ridiculous region that goes from Oxford to Dover, the Conservatives overwhelm all other parties. However, just like New Labour say they "won" the last election (with 20% of the total electorate's support!), they are gearing up to run these two regions with gusto.
I hope none of this nonsense comes to pass. We already have ministers for the regions. The one dumped on the West Midlands is Ian Austin. He describes himself as “the West Midlands' man in the government”, but I doubt if he will be terribly effective.
The people of England don't want fake regions. They don't want to be controlled or cajoled. What they want is fairness in government and for England to be one country with its counties, its heritage and its culture. New Labour wants something radically different.
What Ms Harman is trying to do is stuff a few Labour backwoodsmen onto these committees to run things in defiance of the electorate's wishes. In the "South-West" there is a Conservative and LibDem ascendancy. Labour is the minnow party. In the "South-East", the ridiculous region that goes from Oxford to Dover, the Conservatives overwhelm all other parties. However, just like New Labour say they "won" the last election (with 20% of the total electorate's support!), they are gearing up to run these two regions with gusto.
I hope none of this nonsense comes to pass. We already have ministers for the regions. The one dumped on the West Midlands is Ian Austin. He describes himself as “the West Midlands' man in the government”, but I doubt if he will be terribly effective.
The people of England don't want fake regions. They don't want to be controlled or cajoled. What they want is fairness in government and for England to be one country with its counties, its heritage and its culture. New Labour wants something radically different.
A battering for Bombay in the nomenclature stakes!
The Times is starting it's first Mumbai day, having succumbed to the merciless pressure to resist describing the Indian city as Bombay. It's all rather sad I think. It's just pandering to the rather noxious sentiments of the PC brigade.
This modern righteousness of the "liberal elite" tells us what we should be doing and thinking. I cannot for the life of me see why it is so. The BBC tried saying Myanmar for Burma, but were told that the regime there was despotic and evil, so they desisted. They do not consider it an affront to fellow European countries to continue with anglicised versions of their place names. In fact, each European country has a different name for London. I don't hear the BBC rebuking the French for Londres!
No, it is all a parody of the facts. Most Indians who speak English in Bombay do not describe Bombay as Mumbai. They are not shaken to the core if they hear the word. Neither is it disrespect.
When all this has died down I am fairly certain it will be the case that Bombay remains the name that most Britons think of when that city comes to mind. Anyway, I've said my piece, probably too much, but I am glad that blogging does allow us a few pin pricks against the pomposity and puffed-up importance of those claiming that they know best!
This modern righteousness of the "liberal elite" tells us what we should be doing and thinking. I cannot for the life of me see why it is so. The BBC tried saying Myanmar for Burma, but were told that the regime there was despotic and evil, so they desisted. They do not consider it an affront to fellow European countries to continue with anglicised versions of their place names. In fact, each European country has a different name for London. I don't hear the BBC rebuking the French for Londres!
No, it is all a parody of the facts. Most Indians who speak English in Bombay do not describe Bombay as Mumbai. They are not shaken to the core if they hear the word. Neither is it disrespect.
When all this has died down I am fairly certain it will be the case that Bombay remains the name that most Britons think of when that city comes to mind. Anyway, I've said my piece, probably too much, but I am glad that blogging does allow us a few pin pricks against the pomposity and puffed-up importance of those claiming that they know best!
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