Paxman on Brand. I don’t have much time for either of these two, but the article says it all, really.
At the next election we shall have a choice between the people who’ve given us five years of austerity, the people who left us this mess, and the people who signed public pledges that they wouldn’t raise student fees, and then did so – the most blatant lie in recent political history.
That, frankly, says what I’ve said for a while. The political classes are out of touch with the people they are supposed to represent. They do not represent them at all, they represent their party and themselves, not us. They only take notice of us when soliciting our votes – other times we are either ignored or lied to. They piss our money up the wall, indulging themselves and their hangers-on and sit on the green benches spewing a larva flow of binge legislation making the minutia of our lives illegal. And that which isn’t illegal is to be spied upon – all to protect the children or to prevent terrorists, of course.
They haven’t done a real day’s work in their lives yet set themselves up to dictate to the rest of us. They provide nothing of value yet demand (and steal) over half of our worth in taxes to fund them. I do not share Jackart’s charitable view of these charlatans. If they “cannot” tell the truth for fear of upsetting one or other vested interest or the media, then they are in the wrong job and should get out. I have no sympathy with the dilemma they face. They took the job and the perks that went with it. A roasting in the media is just part of the downside.
And Paxman?
It won’t be a bombshell if very large numbers of the electorate simply don’t bother to vote. People are sick of the tawdry pretences.
Looks to me as if he has only just started paying attention. This has been going on for ages. I for one have no intention of giving these venal bastards my vote. I am not their slave and will not give them the benefit of my endorsement. They are scum, all of them and I treat them with the disdain, derision and contempt they deserve, just as I do with any other criminal who steals my money and treats me with contempt. So, no, I will not grant any one of them my vote.
By the time the polls had closed and it was too late to take part, I was feeling really uncomfortable: the person who chooses not to vote – cannot even be bothered to write ‘none of the above’ on a ballot paper – disqualifies himself from passing any comment at all.
No, he doesn’t. We are not bound by their rules. I comment freely and will continue to do so.
“the person who chooses not to vote – cannot even be bothered to write ‘none of the above’ on a ballot paper – disqualifies himself from passing any comment at all.”
Nope, the person who plays a rigged game, knowing it’s rigged is the person who has no right to complain.
I don’t vote because I don’t want to legitimize the state and I don’t want to force my beliefs on others.
Yes, that too.
XX If they “cannot” tell the truth for fear of upsetting one or other vested interest or the media, then they are in the wrong job and should get out. XX
Any politician that does not cotrol the media for his own aims, but is afraid of it, is NO real politician.
Ask Göbells!
I think “none of the above” should be an option for all our elections. Any candidate failing to secure more votes than “none of the above” should be barred from standing again for a suitable period. I’d suggest 5 years. That should be long enough to find out what it’s like to have a proper job. And if “none of the above” gets the most votes it should trigger a new election with a new field of candidates.
I’m one of those politicians. I got elected and all – six times so far. We are all, of course, absolutely self-interested caring little for the poor proles who struggle to the village hall on a wet and windy Thursday to scrawl an X in a box next to our names.
Until of course those folk want our help. Then we make phone calls, write letters, arrange meetings…repeatedly. We doorstep officials, collect signatures for petitions and try to make the lives of those folk just a little better. And mostly we don’t expect gratitude.
I hate government – it’s a ghastly necessity. But we’ve a choice between the big man who runs the world with Mao’s dictum – power grows out of the barrel of a gun – or us flawed, self-serving and pretty sad sort of democrats. If we’re to have government I’d rather it was the dull, selfish thing we have in England than the sort of brutish authoritarianism that clever wordsmiths like Russell Brand would visit upon us.
“But we’ve a choice between the big man who runs the world with Mao’s dictum – power grows out of the barrel of a gun – or us flawed, self-serving and pretty sad sort of democrats.”
So you’re saying your power doesn’t come from the barrel of a gun?
Is this how little you think of us? That we’re going to be fooled by your self-deprecating humour and will just overlook your lies (and hopefully not pick up your false dichotomy)?
And you call Brand a “clever wordsmith”…
Quite.
Until their employers ask them to do the job they are paying them for – there, fixed that for you. MPs are not a charity doing good works, they are well paid employees doing what they are employed to do – so you will get no sympathy from me on that one.
I have learned the hard way that communicating with MPs is a waste of time and effort. My erstwhile Labour MP still actively voted to restrict my liberty despite my writing to him on a number of occasions explaining why he should vote against – not least, voting “aye” would actively cause me personal damage. Still he went with the party line and that, frankly, is one of the most despicable and corrupt principles in our system. That parties can whip MPs to vote for a policy even when it is against the will of constituents. The sooner the party system is crushed cannot be soon enough.
I wrote to his Conservative successor about eighteen months ago in the vain hope that he might be able to assist me. I am still awaiting the reply. I’m sure it will arrive any day soon.
Nothing in what Brand said suggests a brutal dictatorship. What we currently have is not “flawed” it is broken in a thousand pieces. We have a party system that actively works against the interests of the individual. We have career politicians spewing out liberty restricting legislation, imposing ever more punitive taxes and treating us like children. And then they have the fucking cheek to swarm around us like flies on shit come election time and expect us to endorse them? Fuck right off!
My mother once asked for help from her MP, the first time she has asked for help after 40+ years of looking after my disabled brother.
She would never bother again!!, self serving bar-stewards the lot of you!!
Say No to the Big 3.