Bill Jamieson has been having some fun with the ghastly nonsense that is Government-Speak. Some favourites: BENCHMARKING – Clipboard activity suggesting that measuring a problem is the same as doing something about it. Gives illusion of purposeful action, as in David Milliband: “A diversity of approach allows us to spread risks, to test out different
One of the most kenspeckled British political anecdotes of the last half century recounts the occasion when it was said of Herbert Morrison that he was “his own worst enemy”, his great rival Ernie Bevin was quick to interject: “Not while I’m alive, he ain’t!”. So when, courtesy of Art Goldhammer, I read that Pierre
The Clinton campaign appears to be staffed by morons. To wit: Mark Penn: “Could we possibly have a nominee who hasn’t won any of the significant states — outside of Illinois?” Chief Strategist Mark Penn said. “That raises some serious questions about Sen. Obama.” Oh dear. This is so obviously absurd that it scarcely requires
Foreign Policy on a splendid Greek sex scandal: Now, it’s Greece’s turn, and it may be the most fascinating one yet. Here’s the story: A young woman slept with the general secretary of the culture ministry in the hopes of obtaining a permanent job (judging by his photo, left, that had to be the only
Like the redoubtable Mr Eugenides (from whom I pilfer this item), I find myself outraged by this. Alas, merely chucking out the cretins in charge is unlikely to be enough since the Tories will find ways of being just as appallingly intrusive and idiotic. A commuter was arrested at gunpoint and had his DNA and
The best argument against Barack Obama? Have we learned nothing from the tragic events of 1998, when, under the watch of President Morgan Freeman, this nation was plunged into chaos, and hundreds of millions of people died at the hands of the deadly Wolf-Beiderman space rock? The mere fact that this country is even considering
On Christmas day 2007 in Washington DC I participated in a “Who will be contesting the presidential election?” parlour game and said that Barack Obama would beat John McCain. Admittedly the sole American had retreated to have a nap while half a dozen Brits confidently prognosticated upon all this… But still… Nonetheless, here’s young Yglesias:
At last! A new TV “reality” show worth watching: Move over American Idol and make room for Rockstar Curling, a reality television show
Dan Drezner asks whether the Clinton campaign’s arguments can be reconciled logically: Over the past few days, the Clinton campaign has made the following two arguments: a) Caucuses don’t really count as much as primaries because, “the caucus system is undemocratic and caters mostly to party activists.” b) The superdelegates — which consist only of
Good grief: THE Scottish Government is preparing to take on supermarkets and off-licences in the battle against alcohol abuse, forcing them to pay a levy under new plans to make retailers meet the social cost of the country’s “bevvy culture”. Proposals for a “polluter pays” charge have been extended from pubs and clubs to include
I agree with Ezra that it would be grand if all politicians asked themselves these sorts of question: I want a Democrat willing to say that the question is, “what are we paying for? And what do we need to pay for?”… The Republicans have succeeded in moving the tax debate onto grounds of “who
John McCain secures the Orange vote: (Thanks to loyal pal RD.)
Should Berwick leave England and return to Scotland? An unofficial vote is taking place in the English borders town asking locals whether they want to switch from England to being part of Scotland. The town, which is near the Scottish border, has changed hands between the two countries at least 13 times… A television debate
Jonah Goldberg: One thing I would like to know is what it says about Matthew Dowd (a perfectly likable fellow) that he eagerly signed up to work for Bush but now thinks the man’s a moron. Makes you wonder about the guy’s judgment, to say the least. OK. I was, perhaps mistakenly, somewhat impressed by
Matt Yglesias calls it like it is: Back in October 2007, Clinton was beating Obama in Maine by a hilarious 47 to 10 margin, but it seems he’s carried the state today, once again by a large margin. My understanding, though, is that this doesn’t really count because it’s a small state, much as Utah
If I could bring myself to contemplate the wreckage – nay, the horror – of Scotland’s Six Nations campaign I might blog about it. Meanwhile, here’s a picture taken today of boys playing on the back fields at Selkirk rugby club on a misty Borders morning:
Radley, Radley… Please. This isn’t the “British Olympic soccer team” giving the Nazi salute in 1938, it’s the English soccer team. You may think this a minor matter, but I assure you it makes all the difference in the world. But yes, it’s rotten that the British Olympic Association should be wanting to gag athletes
Caucuses really are a pretty loopy way to choose a Presidential candidate. At least, caucuses run the way they are across the USA are. On the other hand, that permits entertaining pieces such as this one by Paul Campos, who reports for The New Republic on his experience in Colorado: February 1: I email Barack
Alan Jacobs at the always-splendid American Scene: Here’s my Little Surprise of the Day: I was reading this blog post about the proposed Microsoft purchase of Yahoo, and saw in the chart at the bottom of the post that Yahoo Mail has over fifty percent of the American email market while Gmail has less than
Since the British press have been having all sorts of fun over the “snub”* Gordon Brown thanks to a canceled meeting with John McCain it’s worth noting that press sillyness is not confined to the anglosphere by any means. Art Goldhammer has the details: Le Figaro has a perfidious piece on Ségolène Royal’s visit to