Cicero's Songs

On the eve of the US Mid terms, it may be a bit perverse to turn away from the travails of America, but this is what I propose to do. Regular readers will know that I am generally pretty critical of the regime in charge of Russia. In my view the gradual erosion of freedom and the spectacular accumulation of ill gotten wealth in the hands of a mere handful of individuals marks Russia out as an increasingly nasty place to live. I also believe that the aggressive use of military force to challenge democratic forces in any area that the regime considers within its "sphere of influence" is dangerous for the entire international system. Yet the Putinistas are not having it all their own way. There has been a steady increase in the visible opposition, with protests on subjects as diverse as car import duties, press freedom and freedom of assembly becoming routine. In honour of this last, every month that has a thirty-first day has become the occasion of regular demonstrations. Th...

There is no getting around it, the British really love to moan. In fact they are famous for it, as the old Australian joke goes: -How can you tell when the plane from London has just landed in Sydney? -Because when they switch the engines off, the whining still continues. Just recently, though the political negativity has reached almost unbearable proportions. The sense of gloom, pessimism and defeat about almost any subject is practically tangible. Yet, come on! Those who live on this island enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world, we are amongst the most competitive economies in the world. We need to protect our freedoms, but we are (mostly) a free country. We are respected, even admired, by our European allies and across the world. However, to listen to our political leaders, we live in a "broken" society, where things are little better than anarchy- where the majority of children are growing up illiterate and feral, and usually drug crazed or drunk. Howe...

Today is the sixtieth birthday of the great American satirist and Libertarian, PJ O'Rourke . One could hardly let the day go by without quoting my current top ten all time great PJ quotes: 10. I'm a registered Republican and consider socialism a violation of the American principle that you shouldn't stick your nose in other people's business except to make a buck. 9. The larger the German body, the smaller the German bathing suit and the louder the German voice issuing German demands and German orders to everybody who doesn't speak German. For this, and several other reasons, Germany is known as 'the land where Israelis learned their manners'. 8. The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then get elected and prove it. 7. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage ...

"There's a difference between information and knowledge. It's the difference between Christy Turlington's phone number and Christy Turlington ." P.J. O'Rourke This week The BBC Radio "Today Programme" is examining the results of the large increase in Health expenditure that was initiated in 2000 when Tony Blair committed his government to match the average spend across the European Union. As they note, over the past seven years total health spending across the UK has increased by 2% of GDP ans is now approximately 9.3% of GDP, while cash spend by the NHS alone has more than doubled - by around £55 billion. Unfortunately, this has not resulted in a dramatic increase in the speed or quality of patient care. Examining how the money is spent: They show a detailed breakdown of the £19 billion cash increase in spending for the hospital and community health services part of the English NHS from 2004/5 to 2007/8. It is not possible to put together nati...

An occasional poster to this blog, "Lepidus" made the following comment: "many Lib Dems will likely be elected on the back of "Tory Votes" as was John Leech, so you are wise to seek out Labour held seats, as they will be far the easier pickings. You have I think adopted the classic Lib Dem obsession with the Tories at the point when the easier pickings are elsewhere even if some like Gidley weren't hammering the final nail into their political careers themselves, hence your strident tones. Excuse my cynicism but if the Tories were more "ideological" in your view you would be lambasting them equally hard for being "extreme", come to think of it that makes you a perfect Lib Dem MP Consul! I look forward your new Philippics in the HoC." Essentially, if I can paraphrase: basically "don't get hung up on Tories, it will be easier to beat Labour". I think to answer the point, I have to step back and reiterate why I support th...

As the last few results come in from the United States mid-term elections, there are plenty of people who are poring over the entrails to divine what changes these results may portend. The expected gains for the Democrats in the House of Representatives leave the Speakership in the hands of Rep. Nancy Pelosi- a rather polarising figure, to say the least. Meanwhile, as I write, control of the Senate rests in the hands of Montana and Virginia, and by margins that are extremely tight. The Republicans need only hold on to one in order for their control over the Upper House of Congress to be preserved. The extraordinarily small margin- less than twenty thousand votes for the two states, after nearly 80 million votes have been cast, should give some of the more enthusiastic Democrat boosters some pause for thought. Despite the litany of corruption, pork barrel politics, the disaster of Iraq, the incompetence of the Republican administration, it is hard to hide the fact that US politics remai...

The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it. P. J. O'Rourke The American political class may have gerrymandered its democracy to impotence. George W. Bush may be the most incompetent president in modern American history. The United States may be trapped in Iraq and hobbled in the war against terror. But, with only a week to go before the US mid term elections it does look as though the American people, united in disgust for the sleazy and useless leadership of (primarily) the Republican Party, might actually do something radical. Throw the B**tards OUT!!