Politics and Other Views

[RonJeremy]

You're not capable of humour. Hopefully Santa will bring you a dictionary.

 

Nasty. My bad on a cut and paste. I'll stand in the corner and think about what I've done.

[L00b]

Tories tend to look down on other people, stupid chavs.

Whilst we're on about broad-brushed throwaway stereotypes...so does the intellectually- and morally-superior Left

[Jonny5]

Whilst we're on about broad-brushed throwaway stereotypes...so does the intellectually- and morally-superior Left

Both sides have sneery know-it-alls. There have been plenty of pragmatic and reasonable lefties in the past although there aren't many around at the moment.

[unbeliever]

Both sides have sneery know-it-alls. There have been plenty of pragmatic and reasonable lefties in the past although there aren't many around at the moment.

 

I think they're still around. Although the lunatic left has risen to dominance, and there's nothing they hate more than a socialists who insists on tempering ideology with sense. Look at how they attacked Hilary Benn.

[sgtkate]

And why should we concern ourselves with the opinions as to who should be in government, of those too stupid, ignorant or idle to put a cross in a box once every 5 years?

 

---------- Post added 23-12-2015 at 07:43 ----------

 

 

I don't have a problem with any of the things in your list, but the chance of me voting for anybody other than UKIP or the Conservatives in the foreseeable future is very close to zero.

 

I'm extremely distrustful of the modern green movement. I'm quite convinced of the validity of the CO2 global warming effect but wholly unconvinced of the catastrophic anthropogenic global warming hypothesis (or climate change). I hate alternative energy with a passion as it drives up energy prices, impoverishing the nation as a whole and hitting hardest those who can least afford it. I'm a big supported of "fracking". More importantly I wholeheartedly support research into genuine alternatives which in my view consist primarily of nuclear power of various kinds and better batteries.

The aggressive mandate from international technocrats of various kinds to cut CO2 output extremely quickly forces us to use technology that on balance is complete rubbish and will be seen by future generations as one of history's great follies.

 

I think we need to urgently withdraw from the EU. Once this is done, we should have a Canadian style immigration system which treats people from all parts of the world equally and fairly.

 

Islam is highly prescriptive on the nature and rules of the state in a way that most religions are not. In principle it is wholly incompatible with secular democracy. That doesn't really matter when dealing with most western Muslims as far as I can tell because they accept that the prescription for government in the Quran is from a different era and cannot be applied directly to the modern world. However in the world as a whole, there are a very great many puritanical muslims who don't see this.

Christianity has been through this process in the west and to an extent in the wider world. It's still going on after hundreds of years. We need to be patient with Islam which is a little behind. Unfortunately this sometimes means stopping the puritanical Muslims with force when they use force to try and reverse the process.

It would have been far better if the god of Abraham had never been thought up, but that ship has sailed. It will likely be centuries before this most destructive of deities falls out of fashion.

 

I have zero problem with cyclists. Public transport has its place, but that place is rapidly shrinking.

 

The big domestic issue for me is redistribution. It is highly counter-productive for the benefits system to provide perverse incentives. Such incentives include avoiding work, taking on minimal paying work at minimal hours to qualify for tax credits when one is capable of better, having children one can't independently support.

The current government approach of offering maximum opportunity for training, cautiously forcing up wages, minimising the tax burden on the working poor and withdrawing benefits from those who are not earnestly seeking work has my strong support. Although there are some serious flaws in places with its implementation which need to be addressed with great urgency.

I know a lot of people get very upset when well intentioned innocent people are hurt by these things. I would remind you that people are being hurt all the time as a result of money being taken from those who earned it and handed out to people who play the system. That money is then not available for providing public services and benefits for those who are truly deserving.

 

Heavy direct redistribution is an admission of failure. We've failed to train lots of people to support themselves and therefore consigned them to a dependent sub-class. It's in everybody's best interests to keep that to an absolute minimum.

Redistribution damages real growth. Real growth comes from private sector businesses employing people in the UK to supply things that have true value in the international market. Other kinds of "growth" are an illusion. It's necessary to protect the least amongst us, but it should be done with great care.

When you tax the productive part of your population to support the unproductive part, you damage your economy and make the next generation poorer.

 

Thank you for that post. Well written and explained. I agree with most of your sentiments, but I am a Labour supporter primarily. Funny how people with the same end goal can support totally different ideologies of getting there.

[Vague_Boy]

Lefties are often Anti:

....Guns

Are you pro-guns then?

[L00b]

Are you pro-guns then?

Why does anything or anyone has to be pro- or anti-?

 

These opposed positions suggest extremes to me, why can a person or poster not simply be in support of carefully-vetted and highly-prescriptive firearm ownership (such as the current UK system)?

 

Why can a driver not simply be tolerant of cyclists, taxis and public transports when they follow the ROTR courteously and without problems, but have a pop at one or some of them when they behave like tools on public highways?

 

Why can a poster not simply be supportive of political measures and government decisions, current or past, in the name of rationality and empathy, outside any belonging or other allegiance to a particular political group?

[RonJeremy]

Are you pro-guns then?

 

I'm "pro" me having a gun. I'm anti some people having a gun.

I have a nice policeman come round to see me and my house. He checks that I'm not an undesirable person. He checks into my criminal history and asks some quite searching questions. He then lets me keep my guns at home in a safe place. Then 5 years later he comes round to do it all over again.

I have to pay a reasonable fee for the renewal.

I don't think all people should be allowed to have a gun.

[El Cid]

 

Is there something wrong with valuing education?

I have a problem with people who don't vote, then complain about the government. Does that seem unreasonable to you?

 

Although the lunatic left has risen to dominance, and there's nothing they hate more than a socialists who insists on tempering ideology with sense.

 

Its quite acceptable to call someone uneducated, but calling them stupid and lunatic is insulting.

Edited December 23, 2015 by El Cid

[unbeliever]

Its quite acceptable to call someone uneducated, but calling them stupid and lunatic is insulting.

 

If somebody chooses to be uneducated, then they are not doing their part for society and I am disinclined to be nice to them. If somebody does their best and still falls short, then that's a completely different matter. Failing to show up twice a decade to put a cross in a box is not uneducated, it's stupid.

 

If somebody rejects all pragmatism, wisdom and logic, and pursues a purist idealogical goal. If they ignore all evidence of history and science, and pursue a fantasy. If they insist on performing high risk social experiments which are far more likely to hurt my fellow citizens than help them. They're a lunatic.

If on the other hand they have weighed up the evidence, considered what should be moral priorities, and come to the conclusion that the country can and should have a bigger state with more taxes, more redistribution of wealth and higher spending on public services, then that's fair enough.

I respect thoughtful moderates. Which ever side of the mainstream political divide they are on.