Monthly Archives: March 2010

I learned today that the American “Pledge of Allegiance” was both: 1) Written by a Socialist (though not a godless one) 2) Developed as part of a marketing strategy to sell flags and magazine subscriptions. I am sure that one day … Continued

Sigh. efficiency savings, eh? Could they really think of nothing better than that to pay for it? They’ve had four months, after all*. Anyway, a quick pop quiz. Which leader of a major political party said the following just under … Continued

It’s been a bit wordy round here lately. So I have reduced what I learned about Conservative fiscal policy this week to a four line meme. It fits pretty well. 1. Say you’ll reduce taxes. 2. Don’t say you’ll cut … Continued

I was surprised last night. I read a Phillip Blond article in Prospect, and it was less asinine than I expected. Rather than being mouth achingly stupid, it was merely utterly unrealistic and impossible as a platform for governing, which … Continued

I keep saying about the polls, “look at the trends, not the individual data points”.  Trends is where its at. So I’m quite chuffed to have made the Orwell Prize longlist for the second year.   Apart from anything else, it’s … Continued

This was a good budget. Perhaps unsusually, I thought the best bits were the bits that will probably get the least attention. While the stamp duty holiday will  benefit me personally and (given the age and salary profile of most journalists … Continued

I’m becoming convinced that there are not one, but two General Elections that could be fought over the next few weeks. The first General Election we could have would be about the interests of politicians. It would be about corrupt … Continued

Excellent post here by Novocastrian Rob here about his faith and politics and people’s perceptions of same. I should probably out myself as the cocktail sipping blogger mentioned in the text. As a humanist, I am immensely cheered when I … Continued

 The Conservative party was thrown into chaos today when their plans for future “attack websites” to be used to focus online campaigns against Gordon Brown were leaked online. Following the Conservatives previous “Crash Gordon” and “Cash Gordon” campaigns, the planned … Continued

Tom Harris tags me to force me to name the celebrity I loathe the most.  One name came to mind straight away. Giles Coren. I hate the snivelling little status conscious self obsessed literary poseur with a passion.    But … Continued