Full of courage, a real man's man?

I have spent some time reading the words of the conservative government on two separate, but related issues.  Firstly on Sunday 19th June David Cameroon personally delivered a father’s day message to absent fathers.  This is what he said:

"I also think we need to make Britain a genuinely hostile place for fathers who go AWOL.  It’s high time runaway dads were stigmatised, and the full force of shame was heaped upon them.  They should be looked at like drink drivers, people who are beyond the pale. They need the message rammed home to them, from every part of our culture, that what they’re doing is wrong"

Leaving aside the fairly obvious point that if the courts gave more fathers custody of their children (it’s called equality you know) there would be fewer absent fathers and rather more absent mothers.  Cameroon really should apologies to the tens of thousands of absent fathers trying to maintain contact with their children.  They heroically battle not just against their ex-wives and girl-friends but against a legal system that is heavily biased against them.

Cameron clearly either knows nothing of or cares not a jot for the pain, heartache and abuse heaped on absent fathers trying to obtain and enforce contact orders.  Shame on him for delivering such a cheap shot on what for so many fathers is one of the saddest days of the year.

Turning now to a rather different type of absent father; I refer to service men returning from military service in Afghanistan - no not those marching proudly down the high street - but those who currently return via Royal Wooten Bassett.  They have become rather an embarrassment to this government so in future aircraft bearing the mortal remains of Britain’s finest will be routed via RAF Brize Norton instead of RAF Lyneham; where rather than leaving by the main gates, hearses will be ushered out of a side entrance and via back roads away from towns and villages  to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Andrew Robathan, government minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans explains.

"The side gate was seen by the Ministry of Defence and the police as the most appropriate way to take out future corteges.  I am not sure taking coffins in hearses past schools, past families, past married quarters is necessarily the thing that everybody would wish to see .  .  . the focus must be on the families of the dead service personnel.  They are the people who care most. That is where our focus is."

What a pathetic excuse for a government.
Best Wishes
Will

Sometimes it's good to be wrong

I admit to being wrong on two out of the three most significant political issues in the past two or three years now I pray that I will also be wrong about the third and most significant issue.  My score card reads -

1. MP's expenses: I seriously believed that there would be a day of reckoning.  But due to the widespread level of fraud and deceit, it is hard to imagine how retribution and reform could have been less harsh or less effective.  (Score, zero out of one.)
2. A reforming conservative government: I felt certain that given the sheer scale of Blair and Brown's failures that the country would elect a conservative government which would reverse the growth in public sector spending, curb the excesses of the welfare state, reform health and education and look after our armed services. Wrong, no conservative government but instead a coalition government, pathetic or non existent reforms and higher taxes.  (Score, zero out of two.)
3. Bloody unrest in Europe: I fear the current euro crisis will  lead to bloody unrest, possibly civil war or God forbid out right international war on mainland Europe.  (Score, the jury is still out.)

I was wrong on the first two counts due to over optimism for a satisfactory outcome.  I pray that I will now be wrong on the third count due to rather to much pessimism.

Best Wishes
Will

By way of contrast

Daniel Hannan speaking at a debate at the Royal Geographic Society on 17th May 2011.  The motion was  ‘Germany no longer needs Europe: the dream is over’; I regret to say the motion was defeated but just compare the quality of the debate with yesterdays post.

Best Wishes

Will

And they wonder why so many British citizens dislike the EU

I have nothing further to say.  Mr Guy Verhofstadt ex prime minister of Belgium speaking at the european parliament says it all for me...

Best Wishes
Will

Drinking themselves (and us) into oblivion

The political elite of Europe are behaving like immature youngsters at a late night party.  They are drunk and know they will have a hangover in the morning.  The only question is do they stop drinking now and have a moderate to bad hangover or do they carry on drinking?  If they carry on drinking the onset of the hangover will be delayed but when it comes it will be so much worse.

The euro party is over so why are they still drinking? 
Best Wishes
Will

Nightmare continues but eurozone leaders still refuse to wake up

Greece is rapidly approaching a national debt of €300 billion, the population of Greece is just 10 million meaning that every person (Men, Women and children) living in Greece is supporting a debt of €30,000.  If we consider not the entire population of 10 million but only those working in the wealth generating part of the economy ie excluding pensioners, children, those employed by the public sector, the sick and infirm; then the debt is going to be in excess of €90,000 per wealth generator.

Eurozone leaders are determined to protect the euro and European banks whilst condemning tax payers to a generation of poverty.  There is no easy solution it is going to hurt, but the longer they delay the worse it is going to be.  The nightmare is not going to go away until Europe's leaders wake up.

Best Wishes
Will

Theft is Theft and Raid is Raid

As I blogged exactly one year ago, Ian Duncan Smith has a difficult but essential role to play in the coalition government. As part of his departments drive against benefit fraud his department recently released a list of the ten most bizarre excuses benefit fraudster have used.

1. I wasn’t using the ladders to clean windows. I carried them as therapy for my bad back.
2. We don’t live together, he just comes each morning to fill up his flask.
3. I had no idea my wife was working! I never noticed her leaving the house twice a day in a fluorescent jacket with a “Stop Children” sign.
4. My wallet was stolen so someone must have been using my identity. I haven’t been working.
5. I didn’t know I was still on benefit.
6. I didn’t declare my savings because I didn’t save them. They were given to me.
7. He lives in a caravan in the drive. We’re not together.
8. He does come here every night and leaves in the morning and, although he has no other address, I don’t regard him as living here.
9. It wasn’t me working. It was my identical twin.
10. I wasn’t aware my wife was working because her hours of work coincided with the times I spent in the garden shed.

Releasing these pathetic excuses, would under normal circumstances have played an important role in convincing the public that a crack down on benefit fraud was long overdue; even if it means some inconvenience to genuine claimants who may have to be assessed.

However, the job of driving through these changes is made more difficult by the government’s failure to act in a number of other areas.

1. MP’s Expenses
2. Bankers Bonuses
3. Tax avoidance
4. The wasteful European Union

The Internet is full of postings about duck houses, moat cleaning, and second homes allowances; not all of them relating to events over two year ago, here is just one example...

"All those excuses seem better than that offered by multi millionaire David Laws MP who has helped himself to the best part of 100K.

Just hiding my gay lover whilst paying him mega bucks of public money as rent' 

Some people believe whats good for the goose....  

If you are a lying cheating politician or one of the elite - its sorry, oops, won't do it again, a 'mistake'."

Meanwhile bankers who, when the gambling pays off keep the profits for themselves but expect the tax payers to bail them out when their gambling fails are back paying themselves eye wateringly large bonuses despite owing us all billions of pounds.

In the Alice in Wonderland world of European finance tens of billions is 'lent' to countries who have no hope of ever repaying the money.  The EU is now well into it's second decade of auditors refusing to sign their annual accounts and details emerge of the euro elite chartering private jets, funding luxury holidays, hosting lavish parties and buying expense gifts all at our expense.

It takes a rare skill to make the public feel sympathy for benefits cheats but I do believe this government has succeeded.  I leave you with one final thought posted on the Internet.

"All I can say is:

Don't ever put me on a jury involved in theft because I'm not going to find ordinary people guilty of a crime our elite can walk away from. 

One law for all. No exceptions."

Best Wishes
Will