Olympic Mascots

The 2012 Olympic mascots have been unveiled. Unsurprising, like so much produced by the state, they are terrible. However, I am less concerned with their artistic message than with the process of arriving at these designs.

When you look back at the mascots of other countries, you have Amik, the beaver to represent Canada. Greece named 2 after their gods, and referenced some archeological drawings. Barcelona took a catalan sheepdog and styled him after a Picassa painting which is just too smart by half. China picked 5 which were inspired by various native creatures.

In every case, they either took something of their culture and history.

Yet every part of these Olympics, from the closing ceremony in Beijing to the logo to the mascots is the establishment showing just how much the establishment want to disassociate Britain from its normal or historic culture. The result is something abstract and banal that says nothing about being British.

Stephen Fry on The Catholic Church

Stephen Fry gets completely badass on the Catholic Church. One of the best speeches you'll see this year.

A Disgraceful Statement

From The Times:-

Liam Byrne, the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, last week wrote a letter for his successor - the Liberal Democrat David Laws - stating: "I’m afraid to tell you there’s no money left.”

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mr Laws said: "When I arrived at my desk on the very first day as Chief Secretary, I found a letter from the previous chief secretary to give me some advice, I assumed, on how I conduct myself over the months ahead.

"Unfortunately, when I opened it, it was a one-sentence letter which simply said ’Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid to tell you there’s no money left’, which was honest but slightly less helpful advice than I had been expecting." 

I don't know what to say about that. At what point in Labour's election campaign did Liam Byrne not know that was happening? Did he, a couple of days before the election look in the computer and say "oh shit, there was loads in here yesterday, where's it all gone?".

The man and his party are a disgrace. They've presided over terrible economic mismanagement that means they deserve to be out of office for another generation.

OK - I'm officially a Liberal

From Peter Hitchens: 

But how many times do I have to explain that market worship is not the same thing as conservatism? It's liberals who elevate the market to the position which ought to be occupied by God (socialists do the same with 'History' which in their case means the inevitability of the socialist Utopia). I've been making this point now for more than a decade, and some people are still surprised by it.

The problem here is that for too long, I've been using the word "conservative" in the American, Barry Goldwater, small government position (look him up). Which really equates to what used to be called "classic liberal". So, I'm going to say it loud and say it proud: I'm a liberal. I believe that the state should get out of my wallet and my bedroom.

Back to Hitchens' point: What's interesting, I think he's right. But it doesn't really say much for socialists and conservatives, does it? One believes in something that can't be proven to exit. The other is dealing with yesterday's problems.

I mostly despise the use of the word "progressive" because it's such a catch-all. As well as being a liberal, I also declare myself as a progressive in the true sense of the word. To retry failed social experiments that brought about poverty is in no way progressive. To elevate manufacturing in a world where we've replaced CDs with MP3s is not progressive.

And as for Hitchens believing that God should be where the market is, well, that's just fine. I presume he has his own holy grail for when he gets sick and that winged angels carry him to where he goes. Personally, I have to use products created by men.

UKIP Power

Conservatives like Daniel Hannan and Conservative Home are suggesting that UKIP "lost" seats for the Conservatives. And enough seats that they don't get a majority.

Mathematically, if you add UKIP votes and Conservative votes then this is probably true. However, that's very simplistic. UKIP voters aren't necessarily inclined to vote Conservative. Personally, if there wasn't a UKIP candidate I'd probably have been more inclined to vote Lib Dem. There's very little in it between the 3 main parties but at least things like electoral reform are more likely to happen.

Seriously, there's huge gaps in policy between UKIP and the Conservatives. Yes, the Conservatives might be slightly smaller government than the Conservatives, but not by much. Over Europe, they're basically pro-EU whatever meally-mouthed things they say.

And seriously? You're blaming UKIP? In 2005 you had a leader who was likened to Nosferatu fighting against a charismatic politician in the middle of a boom, and you got 32.3% share of the vote. Fighting a terrible PM in one of the worst recessions ever, and you got 36.1% of the vote. Maybe you should look in the mirror and ask why you couldn't get people to vote for you.

A Mixed Night

So, another election over, and with the current chaotic horse-trading going on, I suspect that we may end up with one before 5 years are up.

Overall, I'm very mixed on the night. With regards to my own outcome, my UKIP vote didn't get in the way of booting out the dreadful Labour MP to bring in a Conservative who is at least a little better (and I believe a better "local" MP). So, the UKIP share goes up at least. That's the 2nd best outcome (to UKIP winning which wasn't likely to happen).

It doesn't appear that UKIP did particularly well, and my feelings are that we didn't run a strong media campaign. UKIP have the best policies, but we need to get the message out more.

The interesting message from last night's polls was about the personality of candidates. Gisela Stuart stayed in power in Edgbaston because she wasn't afraid to be her own person, and local people trust when their candidates do that. Perhaps we can hope that parties will realise that they can't just parachute in candidates who've been carefully selected to represent the wishes of the party - they are to be the representative of the people first.

Election Night Drinking Game

OK, just for a bit of fun (and I know I'm going to be up), here's the election night drinking game.

1. Exit polls show Labour are beat and the first results show this as likely and a Labour panellist in the studio says "it's a bit early to say that". Take a drink.
2. Exit polls and early results show that Conservatives aren't going to get a majority and Conservative panellist in the studio says "it's a bit early to say that". Take a drink.
3. Minister/former minister gets their arse kicked in a seat. Take a drink.
4. It's Jacqui Smith. Take another.
5. She comes third. One more.
6. Jacqui Smith loses her deposit. Empty the bottle.
7. The Monster Raving Loony party appears. Take a drink.
8. Esther Rantzen appears. Take a drink.
9. Mandelson loses his shit. Take a drink.
10. Jeremy Vine says "just for a bit of fun". Take a drink.
11. The BBC come up with a graphic for who is going to win that makes The Day Today look subtle. Take a drink.
12. Nigel Farage wins in Buckingham. Open your best bottle of champagne.