I Think I Know Why I’m Here

8 Replies

Another confession: my eldest son hopes to enter Parliament some day.  We try not to feel ashamed of him even though he could have chosen a more respectable profession, like burglary.

Now the reason for this post: I was trawling my old notebooks and I came across a couple of jottings which I thought you might find amusing.

The first one is from the Manchester Evening News letters Page in 2008:

When brain transplants become possible, government ministers should not be allowed to ‘opt out’ as donors – after all, theirs have hardly been used.

Brian Christley, Abergele.

The second is a quote from American journalist H.L. Mencken:

It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.

I like it so much, I found some more by Mencken at Brainy Quote:

Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage.

Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.

If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would promise them missionaries for dinner.

They say every blog finds its own reason for existing and, two posts in, it looks like mine has hers – politician bashing.

Sorry, son.

Food Banks Are Bad

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Image from the BBC

Some Advice From Edwina Currie, Former MP

Don’t give thanks
for local food banks
they encourage
the feckless
the greedy
the emotionally needy
the reckless
the addicts
the idle-by-habits
the drunkards
the hopeless
the gormless
the homeless
the wasters
the smokers
the cheaters
the faceless
the indigent
the immigrants
the lazy
the crazy
the tattooed dog owners
the debtors
the sanctioned
the punished
the poor

*

Let me declare an interest: I voted for half of this government.  I am an instinctive Conservative: I believe in working hard; in looking after yourself and your family; I believe in small government.

I am also on benefits.  As a family, we had a comparatively well-off lifestyle until bad health, bad luck and bad timing reversed our fortunes.  I don’t complain about it: that’s life.  There’s always someone worse off.

I believe the benefits system needs reforming.  I was prepared to do my bit; I’m grateful for what we receive.  What I was not prepared for was the way in which this government has attacked the weakest and most vulnerable sections of society; for the way in which everyone on benefits is harangued for being feckless, dishonest and determined to live the high life at taxpayers’ expense.  This government and a complicit media blame the poor for being poor because they’re poor.

Newsflash, Ms Currie: not everyone on benefits smokes and drinks and spends their dole money on body art.

But I do confess to two dogs.  I’d like to use the money I spend on their food on designer gear but emaciated pooches aren’t my style.   Or do you also believe that people on welfare should not be allowed to keep pets?

I thank God every day that I have not had to ask for help from a food bank.  I budget; I use cheap cuts; I buy from the pound shop and discount stores and supermarket mark downs; I use fresh food and avoid processed goods where possible.  Most people on low incomes do.

I agree with one thing Ms Currie said: the existence of food banks is bad.  It is disgraceful that in the 21st Century, people are forced to ask for help because they have been made redundant; spent what little savings they have from their low-paying jobs to cover the rent or mortgage; and have nothing to fall back on.  It is outrageous that many people are in work but don’t earn enough to cover rising costs.  It is shocking that charities in a country as wealthy as ours have had to set up food banks to help such people.   Anyone accessing the food banks is given three days’ worth of food.  Three days: hardly a drug dealer’s dream customer.

This government should be ashamed of itself.  And so should Ms Currie.

*

Here’s the article which got me so riled, I had to set up this blog to reply: MEN