This is a great idea, and the Labour Party should stop being a rag tag leftie party and split into Socialists and Social Democrats. But it ain't going to happen without PR.
They already did that back in the 80's though. Guaranteed that the Tories would be in power for the next 15 years.
Well blow me down it's those Hippies, The suggestion that hippies have turned into the Tea Party is an interesting sociological theory. I'm a 65 year old Hippie and pleased to report that I still believe in love and peace. My memory of the late 60s, and yes I do remember them, was that Hippies, although a well publicised grouping, was a minority of my generation. I would suggest that most members of the Tea Party in the States came from the 'Straight Community' as do most baby boomers on the far right in Europe.
Ah, but you forgot my condition. We need PR. Otherwise each of the major parties is an unholy alliance.
I agree, PR is the only way people can vote positively for what they want, rather than the best of a bad lot.
I agree, Tigger. It'd be those stuck-up, repressed generation or the inbred morons of the Mid West states .....
Nope. The yokels get on TV, but Tea Party is mostly 50+, white, and slightly above average in terms of education and income. And mainly in the South, though a huge portion are not originally from the South. Which makes sense as that is where old retirees move. Not sure how many hippies themselves did a 180, but the Tea Party is that generation. One that has become increasingly conservative as they age. Although Moe Tucker of Velvet Underground is a Tea Partier. She disappeared out of the public eye and then one day a news station was interviewing people at a Tea Party rally and there she was. They didn't know it was her, it was just a random interview. But people saw it on the news with her being identified as "Maureen Tucker," and we're like...it can't be, can it? So then some other sources reached out and she confirmed it was her. And went on a charming rant about how liberals were spending this country into doom while simultaneously complaining about her social security being too low.
Agreed...Trump is potentially a huge problem, but he's a symptom, not the disease itself. Even Congress is probably secondary compared to the damage being done at the state level; from Bobby Jindal to Scott Walker to Sam Brownback, and many yahoos in the state legislatures beyond them, there's a substantial population of crazies who have imbibed the Kool Aid, and unlike the first generation of such (who were mostly pandering and still had some interest in good governance) the current crop seem to be true believers by and large, with all the zeal that comes with. And unlike the political left, they vote for everything...in primaries, state elections, school boards, judges (elected judiciary is such a bad idea, heh), they turn out. I agree that it'll probably get significantly better in a decade or two, but it could be a very ugly ride to get to that point. The subtext to Trump's rise is that the same demographic changes that will ultimately make things better is also causing them to crank the crazy up to 11. Their political power is being diluted at the same time that there's understandable economic anxiety as the jobs market becomes less secure, and those two things have gotten conflated. What genuinely worries me more than the politicians who are capitalizing on this angst is the rise of militia/sovereign citizen nuts/hate groups of various stripes; they aren't going to accept change quietly, I don't think, even if politicians cease egging them on. .
http://news.sky.com/story/1656080/osborne-facing-defeat-on-sunday-trading-laws Can I just say I am not in favour of this bill as means retail workers having to work even more at the weekend and spend less time with their families. What is annoying me is the SNP sticking their oar in and trying to make out it might affect Scotland who already have extended hours. Wouldn't be at all surprised if this was just them trying to get one over on the government. I really don't see why a party I can't vote for should be having any say over matters which do not affect the constituencies they represent.
I listened to an SNP member/MP (maybe) on the radio earlier. She couldn't really justify their reasons for wanting to vote, having said they wouldn't vote on "England only" matters. If they vote on this just to screw things up (and I am indifferent either way on the vote), then I will be putting pen to paper to their leader.
As I understand it, SNP will vote to protect their Sunday workers, who receive Sunday premiums for the hours they work. They recognise that, under this Government, Sunday workers in England will probably be working for flat rate, or just above, but less than in Scotland, and have stated that it could impact on the rates paid north of the border, leaving Scottish shop workers worse off. Having been a newsagent, for 12 years, and spent a further 10 years with a major supermarket, working Sunday's became the norm for me. Sunday pay, with the supermarket started off as double time, then was reduced to a "premium payment" that was less than double time. Haven't a clue what it is now, but probably more beneficial to the employer than the employee. Allowing longer working hours would benefit those who can only work Sunday's, however, I can't help but think that those that want extended trading hours, or who don't give a toss, are probably those with 9-5, Monday to Friday jobs, who won't have their home life affected by this. Like the MPs that will be deciding this.
As I said, I am indifferent here. I am a mile away from a 9-5 job (my wife gave me a bollocking last week for agreeing to an important meeting when I have a week off ) I just feel that this is going to be the first of many where they find a reason for "playing" with their votes. I don't understand the rule of the land with the Scottish Government and how much power they have, but if they are concerned so much about their Sunday workers, can't they introduce some law there to protect their current levels of pay? The flip side to this is that it could create more work for those that need it; there is always two sides to a coin.
Thou shalt keep the sabbath day holy. Worked for 3,000 years, and as far as I can see, everybody benefited. No room for such sentimentality in these materialistic times though - let every day be given over to the worship of mammon.
Agree with a lot of what you are saying except you're wrong about MP's working hours. They do more hours than you think. http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/apr/23/who-works-most-teachers-or-mps
