We the People?

In three days time, Americans go to the polls to choose who their next President will be, Trump or Biden. And regardless of the usual media hype that accompany these events, this is a moment of history. Both Republicans and Democrats, though obviously disagreeing on most everything else, know that a win means everything. It is one of those times when being in the losers camp is too horrid to contemplate. Such has been the impact of Trump's Presidency. Whatever your opinion of the man (I personally like him and would vote for him if I was American), President Trump has singlehandedly made politics a much more exciting place, even for people who would normally sooner watch paint dry. One thing Ive noticed is how much the Democrats have been hammering the fact that this is a choice that 'We the People' must make to turn the tides and make right what for them the Republicans have been doing wrong under Trump. Of course being on the opposite side of the political fence (some would call it a canyon these days), I am pointing out the obvious but I do wonder what the liberals will think should Trump triumph on Tuesday like he did four years ago? Will they still believe in, 'We the People' and accept the decision? Certainly they didn't accept it in 2016 and have been sour ever since. And listen, I don't wish to doubt anyone, I realise folk will be upset/angry if Trump gets another term in office but if Democrats truly have faith in 'We the People' and hold it precious to democracy, they ought honour the decision with dignity and not think it is the end of the world because it really won't be. It must be the same if Republicans lose also. If having a vote is priceless, and democracy is the soul of a free nation, treat it as such.

EU: Stick or Twist

In 20 minutes time the voting will be closed. Will we be In or Out and who will be shaking it all about (apologies, couldn't resist). Whatever happens I don't believe qw wsome commentators do, that nothing will be the same again. Of course if it is said to add a touch of drama then I understand but if they genuinely believe it, then no.
Sure things will be icy between the two camps in the immediate aftermath but we are British and have been around a looong time, (hell we could teach history about history) and we are beyond tantrums, these ages forge a wiser bond.

Young Heels

Here come the girls. Girls, girls. Girl power! This is the face of the Prime Ministers cabinet reshuffle, and if he thinks its going to win him more votes, and another crack at running the country after the next General Election, he needs his bumps felt. Preferably with a mallet. Its a PR stunt and its as transparent as the lacy negligee I'd like to see Est
Well yes...ahem, nearly got carried away there but you get the picture. This reshuffle is simply a wheeze by the Conservatives, a paper attempt to make them look like hip young Dons of equality.
Trouble is, after reading comments under the news articles and hearing radio callers all morning, this political caper is dead in its feet. Its newly high heeled feet. When will Cameron and his type realise that for the most part we Brits DON'T CARE about gender, as long as the person in the job is capable? You can tick all the 'populist' boxes you want but truth is, skill and experience are a winning combination and should always be put before something trivial as gender. And replacing a warhorse with a pretty, young filly to appeal to voters is pure folly, and will be sussed out in a flash. A half baked stunt which is doomed to failure.
We don't need this. Good lord, the Conservative party is the first party to give Britain its first ever female Prime Minister in Margaret Thatcher. A woman who as history knows as the Iron Lady, was respected (and feared) by all. One of our greatest leaders (of course being politics, this will be debated ad ininitum). And we still remember Boudicca too. She might have kicked ass hundreds of years ago but time's keen wand cannot fade the names of great and fearsome leaders.
We Brits KNOW about girl power. Proper girl power and we shouldnt be conned by the governments latest trick.

A Britain for Britons

Having listened to the politicians conferences (and again shaken my head at their obvious lies) and heard all of the "a better Britain" spiel, I just want to ask: a better Britain for whom exactly? We, Britons need a Britain for Britons. Never mind about Cameron giving tax breaks to his wealthy cronies and opening the gates to all and sundry. We need a Britain for US, the hardworking folk who make this country GREAT. A country where we are not spied on 24/7 with CCTV, a place we can fly our flags with pride, somewhere we are not interfered at every turn by an aggressive bureaucracy and told what we can and cannot do (within the law). What we need is a Britain of old, a Britain of the ages.
Too long we have put the needs of others before our own, too long been told to respect others while having to hide our own beliefs and pride for fear of offending those others. Walking on eggshells in the country of our birth! This my friends is an abominable truth, and change must come before our beloved Great Britain disappears in a vomit fog of alien hues and an entire culture lies dead, defeated. Oh such unbearable crime that would be! Eternal cries within the bones of a fallen kingdom. Such a fate must be averted! We must have a Britain for Britons!
Now the doubters and yoghurt knitters will say this is bigoted and even racist, but I ask; how is it racist to want a country putting its peoples first? This is all I want. I am not suggesting the UK pull up the draw bridge and keeping foreigners out. Really, I am not. I am more than aware of the contributions from others who come here to work and make a better life for themselves. The Filipino nurses, Ghurkha soldiers who fought bravely, the doctors from India, the many others who arrive because they believe in Great Britain. I have no issue with these people in the slightest, rejoice! Let us celebrate this glorious country together.
It is the spongers and thieves who come to take, take, take that boil my blood. People who, even though when discovered and proved to be 'on the game', are hardly ever punished sufficiently, and worse never sent back to whence they came! Mind boggling. Frustrating. Of course we also have the enemy within to deal with, those groups of do-gooders who are never happier when interfering with everything, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they make most peoples lives a bloody misery. We all know who they are, the types who order schools to pull down Christmas trees in case it offended those of different faiths, or fretting that nursery rhymes contain politically incorrect words. (These types can do more harm than any lawbreaker). This madness must end, or we shall pay a dear price. A much much too dear a price.

iVote

Barack Obama has won a second term in the White House, congrats Mr President.
I only wish that Britons would be as excited about voting on our own shores as they were about the US election. Our youth especially rarely vote, certainly not in any significant numbers but in America to not vote is unthinkable. People all over wear badges that proudly claim “I voted”.
We need to be like that and get everyone to be more enthusiastic about voting and politics, afterall they will affect each of our lives in some way or other so we should care, even if just a tiny bit.
So how is it that the Obama/Romney circus managed to capture the imaginations of many in the UK (if Twitter was any judge) but folks are instantly bored with Prime Minister Cameron and co? I'll tell you in one word: razzamataz. When it comes to elections, America has it in spades while in Britain its sorely lacking, even sterile compared to the glitz and 'showmanship' we see in the United States. We are the best at pomp, ceremony and Royal pageants but dead in the water when it comes to stuffy old politics. Sure Big Ben and Houses of Parliment are iconic landmarks and stand tall as historic buildings but most of us couldn't care less what goes on inside.
It needs to change because as the world witnessed last night, this election buisness can be quite exciting if packaged right.

In It Together?

Trust me!

At his speech yesterday about Welfare cuts I wasn't suprised the Prime Minister didn't refer to the tragic case of Karen Sherlock. Karen was a patient awaiting a kidney transplant and was still deemed 'fit for work' by Atos. She spent two years fighting for benefits which were rightfully due to her, only two to die two weeks after a successful appeal.
Tell me, what kind of a nation subjects the dying to such treatment? A pretty bloody heartless one, and one im increasingly falling out of love with with every twist of our governments knife. Im all for cracking down on the the workshy who falsely claim sickness benefits in order to sit on their lazy backsides all day but attacking the genuine claimants, (some like Karen Sherlock on deaths door), is not the actions of a government who declare we are all 'in it together' (and if believe that, you'll believe anything).
There must be changes but not on the backs of the truly sick and disabled who have enough to deal with without worrying themselves into the grave. And this is whats happening. But then the vulnerable will always be an easy target for popmous politicians who are for the most part only in it to make a name for themselves in the history books.
Do you really think Lord Snooty and his Eton crew care about the average person, struggling to cope with the insecurities of jobs and money? Not on their silver spoons. This coalition has been a shambles from the beginning and far from helping those at their wits end, they are driving people like poor Karen Sherlock to despair. Caring? Don't dare believe a word of it. And the frightening thing is I cannot see Labour, UKIP, etc being any better.

Ouch!

The Conservatives got a drubbing from Labour in Wales (indeed all over the UK) after the local elections yesterday. (The less said about the LibDems the better but Nick Clegg has just said he is "very sad" at the news. Here Nick, have a hanky.) We here at Dai Jake's Book believe it was the humble pastie that did it. That was a prod too far and one should never under estimate the power of savoury snacks. The UK needs a major change in political parties because folk are getting tired of the ConLab Two Headed Beast and I dont see them taking much more. Lets give other parties an opportunity to shine so that we may have a real chance at change.
Anything is better than the current mess Britain is in. We don't want a country that has to ask Brussels' permission to deport suspected terrorists. Is Great Britain, this once proud and noble land, not better than that? I dread to think what Churchill would say of us were he to come back today. The Land of Hope and Glory no longer rules the waves but is almost sinking beneath them and this makes Mr Jakes sad. We could do with a fresh new political party to guide us back on the right track, a party for Britain, a party that is truly for Briatin. The ConLab Beast is dying.

Calcutta - Red, White and Blue

So the tories pledge to spend more on the armed forces and cut child benefit from 18 to 16? Along with other cuts and 'savings'. And as is the way of political parties the Conservatives blame other parties for the mess Britain is now in.
It never occurs to them (ALL parties) that the United Kingdom has been in decline for YEARS, and the fault is on the greedy plates of the lot of them, no matter what their allegiances. Nevermind about daft sounding things like 'The Big Society' and promising a brighter future (don't they all?) Lets get this country FIXED once again, not rolling along on soundbites and dunderheaded gimmicks.
Cutting help from those who need it and building fantastical (and fairytale) schemes is not any long term help to anyone. We have had these schemes since I finished school over twenty years ago and a lot are in the same place. Britain is quick becoming a mess of a country where we employ yoghurt knitters to censor nursery rhymes and pound the drum of political correct while not doing very much for the core of society.
Crime, as I have written elsewhere, is at an alarming high and the ridiculous sentences are only ever going to make the numbers RISE, never lower. Education is a shambles; have you tried getting children today into classic literature? Or ask them to point where Oman is on the map? Even try showing them a picture of Margaret Thatcher and watch the bewilderment in their eyes. Lets be honest here (and I know politicians struggle with that word), if the face you are showing youngsters today hasn't been on dire rubbish like the X Factor or adorned the side of a MacDonalds carton then they will struggle to recognise them.
So never mind with cuts and gimmicks, there are people who genuinely need help in this country and taking from them is the easy way, which in the end solves NOTHING. Crime and education ought to be the first fixed but of course they're much too hard a problem for politicians who are only in their profession to get what they can from it. They serve THEMSELVES, certainly nobody else. Blinding the population with smoke and mirrors, and all that achieves is suffocation and blood.