Common Endeavour » Chris Paul

Morning roundup, Monday 30th March 2009: EXPRESS EDITION

Sadie Smith — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:07:10 +0000

My computer's on a go-slow and Wordpress isn't co-operating with me this morning, so you'll have to make do with a roundup that's a touch on the scanty side:

And that's where we start: the reaction of the MSM and the blogosphere over the revelation that Jacqui Smith's husband spent a tenner on porn which was accidentally charged to the taxpayer is as apocolyptic as you might expect. The Sun gets extra Misogyny Points for asking, rhetorically, why the husband of a "Blair babe" would need to watch porn (answer: because they're all mingers innit? Hur hur hur!);

Pay attention, all middle class trustafarians! The G20 is on, which is your cue to go around smashing up shit in order to "protest against inequalities caused by capitalism" thus making the lives of the working classes who try to make ends meet by working in awfully capitalist places like Starbucks and McDonalds just that little bit more difficult. Don't worry though: it's actually ALL ABOUT YOU;
The Liberal Conspiracy report on the absolutely-impartial-no-way-Conservative think-tank the Policy Exchange and how they've had to apologise for making stuff up about Muslims. Who'd a thunk it?
The Liberal Conspiracy also have this YouTube starring Nick Cohen at the Orwell Awards, whom the chaps at LibCon have euphemistically described as "incoherent";
... and Chris Paul fisks Donal Blaney over his misunderstanding of how inheritance tax works.

Morning roundup, Tuesday 3rd March 2009

Sadie Smith — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:51:22 +0000

The Today Programme this morning had a wonderful piece of juxtaposition: the BMA chairman teetering on the brink of howling that the reason for the data sharing proposed in the Coroners and Justice Bill was down to the evil machinations of the police state, followed afterwards by a report that local authorities are having difficulty recruiting social workers following Baby P, where the lack of communication between agencies resulted in tragic consequences. Why, one might almost say the two stories are connected, eh?

The Gord heads stateside to meet with St Barack;
John Mann on LabourList explores the latest twists and turns in the ongoing saga that is Fred the Shred's pension entitlement (via Chris Paul);
Don Paskini has two examples of Proper Labour;
Conor's Commentary asks why a pad in a leafy suburb right next to a desirable school's gates is a fairer determinant of whether the child contained therein should get in than, well, a lottery;
The ComRes poll for the Independent has us a mere 16 points behind the Bullingdon Massif. A mere 16 points!
... and the Daily Quail reports on the worrying news that red wine both causes and cures cancer. Dangerous times, comrades, dangerous times.

Morning roundup, Monday 23rd February 2009

Sadie Smith — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 09:21:40 +0000

Like the Taxpayers' Alliance, we at Common Endeavour were really relieved when Lord Ashcroft hoved into view to save the Conservative Party from having to rely on the vastly increased wads of Short Money (TAXPAYERZ MONEY!!11!!!) that the evil Labour Party granted them in order to prevent them from going bankrupt following the 1997 election. Triumph of democracy, innit? But it appears that the man that many within the Tories almost certainly refer to as "the good Lord" might be facing some tasty questions about some of his companies (Chris Paul has an excellent roundup here). Ho hum. Whilst we wait for the Electoral Commission to investigate, why doesn't the Taxpayers' Allowance investigate the estimated £4.5m the Tories received from the beleaguered public in Short Money in this year alone? No, thought not;

If I miss a story like this again, will someone shoot me please? It seems that the Member of Parliament for Haltemprice and Self-Effacing Modesty has coined the term "the Davis Agenda" What, we all ask, in the name of Alan Partridge is that all about? The Spectator breathlessly explains that the Davis Agenda "is instantly understood by a significant chunk of the population." Dear oh dear. Are all politicians destined to start believing their own press releases in the end?
Tom Harris questions the merit of accepting on face value the views of "an embittered quitter who chose the cushy life of academia over the hard slog of opposition (and subsequent government)". You go girlfriend!
The Daily Quail on the Mail's horrific dilemma;
Lack of affordable housing and the rise of the BNP? Don Paskini quotes a view from the stump, whilst various charities call on the Government to begin a major programme of construction;
... and help a comrade out: Paulie has got a rather excellent article over at the Liberal Conspiracy on how we need to protect politics and representative democracy (with a couple of crafty ones directed at the Convention on Henry Porter to boot). Don your tinfoil had and head over there and post something hilariously incisive about how he's an agent of the Police State, or alternatively you could attempt to engage intelligently with the madness. Your call.