It's Friday!

Here's something from The Fall, originally sung in the '60s by The Other Half:

Harriet Harman Claims Labour Voters Are Stupid!

Labour voter-too thick to fill in a form!

For the first time ever I'm in complete agreement with Harriett Harperson, Labour voters are indeed stupid.

The Coalition are planning to change the system of registering to vote from the head of the household registering all voters, to each individual registering themselves.

This seems eminently sensible to me, but Harriet thinks this is a kind of IQ test that masses of Labour voters will fail as they are too thick to work out how to do it!

So, the next time I accuse Labour voters of being mongs don't take my word for it, Harriet knows them better than most and she thinks so too.

Peter Oborne And EU Idiots!

Very occasionally somebody does something and you really wish it had been you. Last night, watching Newsnight, I had one of those moments. What would I give to have been able to do what Peter Oborne did?

Kicking Christians Again-Mike Weatherley MP

Mike Weatherley, so-called Conservative MP for Hove, has written to David Cameron demanding that Christian churches be forced to marry gay people when the Coalition makes gay marriages legal. Yet another assault on religious freedom in this country.

We had Catholic adoption agencies having to close a few years ago under the last government, who refused to tolerate our views on adoption. It's interesting that if you go in one shop and they don't have what you want you just go to another one, the government doesn't force shops to all sell the same items. But now Catholic people who may want to put a child up for adoption probably won't because they don't want the child adopted by a gay couple.

How soon before churches are again forced underground as the state attacks our right to religious freedom? Was there really a change of government last year?

Pete Maclaine and The Clan

Yesterday I was working as an extra on a TV show in Manchester and met this fella called Pete. It was a long day with a fair few hours sat around with the other extras in the Green Room. Pete kept us all amused with his daft jokes, some hilarious jokes and a fair amount of time reminiscing about old clubs and cheap curry houses in Manchester. He was also plugging (at least once every five minutes!) his book, The Man Who Turned Down The Beatles (click on the lick to buy the book).

So Pete, with thanks for making yesterday such a great laugh I've plugged your book and have decided, after all your arm twisting, to buy a copy myself which I expect you to sign next time we tread the cobbles together. And as I've done the book here's a plug for your band Pete Maclaine and The Clan too:

It's A Mad World

I was at the SPUC national conference this weekend, an island of sanity in a sea of madness. If you don't know SPUC is a campaigning organisation trying to save human beings from abortion and euthanasia. It's a sad sign of the moral collapse in this country that 200,000 unborn babies a year are being aborted. What other animal on this planet slaughters its own infants?

As if the slaughter of innocents wasn't bad enough, if you survive through to birth the merchants of death are now trying to move in on you in later years, especially if you become a drain on our glorious NHS by being ill. This type of slaughter is known as euthanasia or assisted suicide. There is a worrying number of groups popping up who seem to think that the old, infirm or plain fed up should be given a quick injection and got rid of. When did human life become so worthless to these people? I doubt that slaughtering the sick to free up hospital beds was in the thoughts of the founders of the NHS, but this is 21st century Britain.

Then a few days ago I read that Labour peer Robert Winston had been attacked as a racist for questioning the use of doctors and nurses in the NHS who can't speak English. I would have thought communicating with patients was the most fundamental thing in dealing with people who are ill. If he'd claimed that all black doctors are useless then he could reasonably be accused of racism, but calling for health professionals to speak English? Of course the European Union won't allow us to test either the language or professional competence of doctors and nurses from within the EU because it puts the furtherance of its warped political ambition before human life.

Then there is the ludicrous waste of millions on the illegal gypsy site in Essex. The site should have been cleared years ago when it was illegally occupied. Listening to the media it seems that most of the people are Irish, certainly I've only heard Irish accents when residents of the site have been interviewed. It seems that Ireland has sorted its gypsy problem by exporting it to here. Remember Sangatte?

Then the UN have been sticking their noses in by claming we are trampling on the rights of the gypsies by clearing them from their illegal site. When I heard that gypsies on several legal sites in the UK had been imprisoning slaves I waited to hear the UN condemn them. I'm still waiting.

It truly is a mad world.

Pete Reidy-I Can't Turn The Pages

I only met Pete briefly when we were working on a popular TV series in Manchester, it was more a quick hello, Pete was on his way home as I'd arrived to do my bit. I knew he was a musician so looked him up on t'internet and loved what I found. So here's one for you, have a great weekend:

Trade Unions-Let's Do The Timewarp Again!

So those lumbering old dinosaurs in charge of the UK's last remaining self-interested, self-seeking, stuff the rest of you cowboy outfits known as trade unions are limbering up for a display of industrial muscle. Although I must say, looking at most of the muppets at the TUC this week I wouldn't regard many of them as muscular, rather camp I thought especially that Dave Prentis character. No real hard men any more I suppose since Scargill finished off the mining industry. Which reminds me of the old one about Scargill; 'the man who started out in a small house with a big union and ended up in a big house with a small union'. The militant eqivalent to the NUM these days seem to be teaching assistants, occupational therapists and diversity officers. I'm quaking in my boots!

My family have a great and proud history of sticking two fingers up at trade unions. My grandfather was sent to Coventry for a number of years after the war when he was a steelworker and refused to be forced, against his will, into  a closed shop. I copped for similar treatment in the 1980s for refusing to join an unconstitutional strike and then refusing to strike in support of the miners, who I didn't support. What the fools who were sending death threats to me and my parents at that time never bothered to find out was that, unbeknown to them, I was also breaking the closed shop by not paying my union fees and they could have had me sacked quite easily. They weren't very bright.

What made me smile this week was the unions screeching that they would negotiate as long as the government didn't give them ultimatums. Then said that they themselves would negotiate but would strike on November 30th if they didn't get their own selfish way. I suppose if we had a proper right wing government they would allow the public sector unions to strike, then sack them all and offer their jobs to the unemployed, or to Poles. But instead we have government by Nick and Dave.

The most foul of the current batch of union militants are those in the NHS. They consistently hide their selfish motives in a quite callous and sickening way, by claiming that their demands are in the interests of patients. Bull! Health service employees, in my experience, are some of the worst, only interested in grabbing better pay, conditions and perks for themselves, stuff the patients and resources that should be going into healthcare. The sooner people wake up to what is actually going on in the NHS the sooner we can put right all that is currently wrong.

I remember in the '80s an old friend of mine telling me about a local government strike he had led. Towards the end of the strike he was taken to one side by the boss who had been robustly negotiating. He then told my friend that he needed to realise that they were happy for the strike to continue, the council was skint and it was saving them a fortune in wages while the staff were on strike.

I was once in a hotel lift in London with a colleague, it must have been around '86 or '87, and on the way down the lift doors opened and Mick McGahey, then one of the miners' leaders, got into the lift. My colleague turned to him, asked to shake his hand, which made McGahey beam with pride. While shaking his hand my colleague said: "I'd just like to thank you Mr McGahey. Without you, Arthur Scargill and the NUM we wouldn't today have Mrs Thatcher, a wonderful Prime Minister whose party I am proud to have voted for".

Funny the memories the TUC evoked this week.

A Catholic Political Party For England? Part II

There have been some interesting comments on this blog and on Stuart's eChurch Blog which is also running with this idea.

Our hashtag on Twitter is #CatholicParty but I don't imagine the name actually being 'Catholic Party' if it did gain enough traction to become a reality. I would hope more to see a party with core principles that would attract those who are currently disenfranchised. A party for those of us who have core moral principles that we are not prepared to compromise any longer by voting for parties that advocate/support abortion and euthanasia for example.

I know many people, including atheists, who oppose abortion and euthanasia. They should not be excluded from a new political party because of their belief or lack of belief. Similarly there are other Christian groups and people of other faiths who hold dear our core beliefs and they too should be welcomed.

A commentator on eChurch Blog has suggested that this would be a vanity project, a chance for Catholics to wave a flag about how righteous we are. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am only floating this idea but would prefer not to waste time using a political party to 'show off' my religious beliefs. Politics is hard work and anybody spending time seriously involved needs to be aware that the electorate do not vote for mavericks or obsessives. Any new party needs to appeal to a broad range of people while adhering and refusing to compromise its core principles.

Nor is there any question of compromising the seperation of church and state. I do not imagine a party rising to power (if only!) that could disestablish the Church of England and replace it with another religion. That is not what this idea is about. It is solely about offering those of us with views that are disregarded or even scorned by current political parties a political home.

We may never replace the Coalition in government but at least we would have a party that we could vote for. Voting for the current parties, who despise the values and principles of  millions of us, is probably worse than abstaining. If we never won an election at least we could vote and have a clear conscience.

The Party of Conscience maybe?

A Catholic Political Party For England?

I see little to appeal to me in most UK political parties, especially the big three. As we've seen with Nadine Dorries those who are pro-life and stick their heads above the parapet are likely to have it shot at in the most extreme and abusive manner. The message being keep your morals to yourself thank you. You only have to dip into the internet to find the kind of vile abuse hurled at Christians, especially Catholics, from enlightened progressives on a daily basis.

Somebody commented on another post that maybe a Catholic political party in Britain might be a way forward. I admit it was something I hadn't previously considered, but it might be an idea worth floating. So that's the aim of this post.

Setting up a political party takes work but a few enthusiastic people can do it. With the internet raising awareness of a new party is easier than it has ever been.

Any party would have to be open to members who were not necessarily practising Catholics but, as Catholic moral teaching would form the core principles those who disagree would be unlikely to join.

Then there is the question of negotiating realistic policies. When a group of people come together with something in common that is fine, but compromise in many policy areas would be essential if coherent policies were to be developed.

With no existing parties offering a moral position that I find acceptable maybe a Catholic party is the way forward. Or is it? I don't know. But I'd be interested in hearing what people, especially Roman Catholics or those sympathetic to the position of the Roman Catholic church on a range of current issues think about the idea.

Thank you to 'Anonymous' for raising the idea in a comment on this earlier post.

Heaven

Today is so wet, dreary and 'orrible, it put me in mind of Everyday Is Like Sunday by Morrissey. But then Heaven by Talking Heads popped into my head and refused to go. I've posted the following video on this blog before, but you can't have too much of a good thing. In my humble opinion if this song doesn't move you I would check your pulse. The only time it won't move me is when it is played at my funeral. If the mourners don't weep for me this will bring a lump to their throats at least:



Now then. If that didn't move you and you reckon you have still got a pulse try the following from the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. If this one doesn't work either then I can only assume you have the sensitivity of Bernard Manning:

Twitter-Is It Really Worth It?

I admit I enjoy using Twitter and have become acquainted with some great people through it. People who I enjoy communicating with about sport, politics, entertainment, religion or whatever. You name it there are people on Twitter who have something to say and they often link to interesting blogs or websites.

But then there are people who are just downright ignorant and foul. A Twitter acquaintance of mine, a follower who I also follow, was in a terrible state yesterday and was considering deleting her Twitter account. The reason being that she was receiving the most vile and hate filled venom from militant atheists and pro-abortionists. I'm no prude, and I don't object to 'industrial language', but what she was receiving was truly disgusting and beyond what you would expect in a civilised society. The reason for this bile was that she writes from a Roman Catholic perspective and, like me, opposes abortion.

It's almost a year now since the Pope visited this country. This time last year I was receiving pretty vile Tweets myself from militant atheists, although nothing as bad as mentioned above. I remember wondering at the time why these people, who claim to be enlightened and progressive, have to spout such foul mouthed venom at those of us they disagree with? I expect people to challenge those of us who are practising christians, pro-life or whatever, but why the need to be personally abusive and vile?

Having never experienced face-to-face the abuse that I and others have on Twitter, and sometimes on blogs, I can only think that there are a lot of hypocrites out there who hide behind the anonymity and isolation of the internet to show their true selves, their true selves being not very pleasant but they hide it in 'real life'.

The other option is that they are so socially inadequate that we thankfully don't come across them in traditional social situations, only via the internet. Just think, that anti-social oddball in the corner, often referred to as 'Billy No Mates', spending all night with half a shandy and his mobile, could be spouting foul mouthed venom on Twitter while you're having a laugh and a good time with your friends. But he wouldn't say boo to a goose to real people in the same room.

My advice yesterday was to be ruthless but don't walk away from Twitter. In the last twelve months I have ruthlessly blocked the idiots who are incapable of communicating like civilised humans. I don't block atheists, why should I? I enjoy debate and it would be tedious if we all protected ourselves from people with other views. But those who are abusive I block. To my mind it's plain rude and bad manners, it is actually possible to disagree with somebody but respect them. I wouldn't choose to socialise with abusive and vile mouthed slobs so I choose not to have anything to do with them on the internet. In fact I've blocked one on Twitter this morning.

Interestingly a reasonable proportion of people I follow are from the USA. But I rarely see foul mouthed abuse, even when there are heated debates on highly emotive issues from Americans on Twitter. It seems to be a very British thing, maybe a symptom of our decline as a civilised, decent nation, a physical symptom of which was the recent riots.

The Smiths, Divine Comedy and Sir Viv Richards

What links The Smiths, Divine Comedy and Sir Viv Richards?

Tonight I'm off to Lancashire County Cricket Club's Old Trafford home for a Sportsman's Dinner. Sir Viv Richards, one of the greatest ever cricketers is the guest speaker and proceeds go to the LCC Youth Development Section to support the next generation of young world class Lancastrian cricketers.

In 2002 I was at Old Trafford, the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club to see David Bowie. Supporting Bowie that day were Suede and Divine Comedy.

In 2004 I saw Morrissey doing one of his legendary performances at Old Trafford. Half a mile from where he grew up on King's Road, and slap bang next to what is now a B&Q. When Morrissey and I were kids the B&Q was the Hardrock/Village, an interchangeable disco/concert venue.

So linking my bash tonight at Old Trafford with The Smiths and Divine Comedy is the following Divine Comedy cover version of a classic Smiths song. Hope you like it Sean but I'm not holding my breath!

Why Nick Clegg's A Clown-He's A Lib Dem In A Nutshell!

Another Monday morning and more patronising pap from Comrade Clegg and his ever dwindling band of Lib Dems. You know him, the useless failure who managed to lose the Lib Dems seats at the general election but ended up as Deputy PM. I suppose that's what he calls equal opportunities in practice.

Today he's whingeing about free schools and profit. He thinks profit is socially divisive. He doesn't seem to understand that the only reason government has money is because people, somewhere, somehow make a profit. Then up pops the likes of Clegg to steal a chunk of it. How divisive is that? And what they can't thieve off us they go out and borrow, from other people who make money.

There's a difference between equality of opportunity and uniformity. Comprehensive education is sameness. The old system of selection was true equality of opportunity. Every child sat an exam at eleven and went to the school most suited to his/her talents, regardless of social background. Let's face it we're not all academic and we aren't all budding mathematicians. Fact. So why pretend we are all the same when it comes to education?

Let's take Clegg and his Lib Dems nonsense about equality to the logical conclusion. There should be at least one fat bald fifty year old playing for Manchester United, a sixteen year old girl and somebody with a disability.

But let's face it, Premier League football clubs are probably the most elitist employers in the country. Which is why it's the best league in the world. That's just logic.

Ethnic Cleansing In The UK?

According to the emotionally incontinent pinko-liberals gypsies are being ethnically cleansed in Essex. Essex, the new Rwanda/Kosovo/Romania. I first came across this on Twitter and thought it was just one mad loony Tweeting crap. I became slightly concerened when a Lib Dem member of the House of Lords retweeted the original without challenging the obvious nonsense of the claim.

If you don't know then an illegal gypsy site is soon to be cleared in Essex. They will be forced off the land and asked to move on. They will not be attacked in the middle of the night, their children bayonetted and their caravans torched. Nor will they be imprisoned in camps in the countryside to be systematically starved to death.

Now Vanessa Redgrave is fighting their corner, a sure sign that the gypsies are a lost cause and that evicting them is the right thing to do. Remember Vanessa Redgrave's Workers Revolutionary Party? The party that is widely believed to have received funding from Colonel Ghaddafi and still seems to support him. Another socialist lost cause.

But the worst thing is that those who claim that clearing an illegal gypsy camp is ethnic cleansing, are insulting in the most dire, amoral and irresponsible way, the true victims of ethnic cleansing in many parts of the world. They are belittling the vile actions of tyrants around the world in their ruish to attack anything that we in Brtitain do or believe in.

Beauty In A Mad, Sad, Grey World

Increasingly I can't see Europe as anything but a giant Eastbourne, God's waiting room on a continental scale. It's grey and bland, epitomised by the EU President van Rompuy, probably the most bland, colourless and tedious nonentity of a politician that the world has ever seen. He is ably supported by Baroness Ashton the most boring woman to emerge from the Labour ranks since..., since..., well since every other female Labour politician.

The Eurofanatics think all we have to do is pour more money we haven't got into the EU black hole and Europe will rule the world again. Well we won't. We're knackered and the EU is just a huge bureaucratic slag heap that holds those economies that could rebuild back.

We used to hear about 'ethical foreign policy'. Well I don't think bombing the crap out of anybody we happen to dislike is particularly ethical. I can only assume that Blair, Cameron and our other bland politicos have no problem with nutters like Mugabe or the loonies who slaughtered a few million in Rwanda. Or maybe they think it's OK for them because they think that's what black Africans do to each other.

It's perhaps a sign of the times that if you Google Zimbabwe the biggest concern at the moment seems to be the slaughter of elephants and rhinos rather than humans. A bit like the vile hatred being currently directed at Nadine Dorries for having the temerity to suggest that independent counselling for pregnant women, rather than counselling by abortion clinics, could be helpful. I dread to think what kind of hatred somebody with her profile would attract if, like me, she opposed any form of abortion. It seems in our glorious secular society respecting human life makes you a dangerous fanatic in the eyes of the truly 'liberated'.

Then you look at the UK government. Are Cameron and Clegg really the best we've got? If so then we are even deeper in the shit than I feared. Where are the big ideas? Where are the imaginative policies? Where's the vision?

That's why I'm finding it increasingly difficult to blog. All there is in the news is Libya and the 'Arab Spring', which seems to me to be one bunch of nutters ousting another bunch of nutters. We've predictably achieved sweet Felicity Arkwright in Afghanistan and Iraq, and I suspect our grandchildren and great grandchildren will still be wondering how come the Middle East is so full of nutters when Gadaffi, Mubarak and Assad are footnotes in history.

But in a sea of madness I've discovered a vessel of beauty and sanity. I was looking on YouTube for Heavenly Arms from Lou Reed's Blue Mask album. But I found an even better version than the original. A real joy to behold by El Perro del Mar: