Sunday 29 March 2009

Breath of Fresh Air, contd


Chapter two. In which our hero discusses the NHS and small government with a (admittedly) right wing news channel in America.

What I like about Hannan is his uncomplicated philosophy. He does not attempt to dress his views up in political terms, either to make them sound more centrist, or to help his own advancement. He is honest. I'm thinking of inviting him to become Patron of my nascent political movement, the No Nonsense Party.

15 comments:

Bill Quango MP said...

Sometimes I retune the laptop to Fox News.
Its a guilty pleasure.
but after weeks of radio 4's sagacity and preachiness, radio 5's earnest pleading fr 'something to be done' it can be refreshing to switch to an unashamedly right wing blast of
'CHILDREN BORN TO WELFARE MOTHERS ARE FOUR TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE ON WELFARE THEMSELVES. WELL THERE YOU HAVE IT. UNDENIABLE PROOF THAT WE SHOULD END WELFARE.'

It a bit like Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven in its uncomplicated directness to difficult problems.

"YOU JUST KILLED AN UNARMED MAN"
"THEN HE SHOULD OF ARMED HIMSELF "

Electro-Kevin said...

There needs to be a serious 4th party option for voters.

apricotfox said...

Get's my vote. Clarity and candour. Has anyone read his books, especially the latest one? I expect there's quite a waiting list for it now on Amazon..it was 1 - 3 weeks this am...

rvi said...

"should of" Mr Q????

I was unaware that you too were the product of Nulab edificatory systems... Maybe this is the new reality and us older properly educated types have lost the plot somewhere along the way. Sigh.

You had better double check your application for membership of Mr Idle's new party - he won't stand for any nonsense you know!

idle said...

Don't be too harsh, rvi. I suspect that our Bill might have been attempting (successfully) the correct quote, as per the screenplay. It's the way clint's character would have written it.

Alceste said...

"Us" older properly educated types, RVI?

Hoist by your own petard, I think.

apricotfox said...

I was so tempted to correct the 'of' but restrained myself. When I taught, I made the children write the following in the front of their English books at the start of each new year:
a) I will NEVER write or say 'could OF/should OF/would OF' as I know it should be HAVE..
b)I will not make 'fun' into an adjective.
c)I will not say or write 'THIS' when I mean 'a' (as in 'There was this man...'
d)I will not say or write 'me and my...' or 'my x and me'
I understand that if I do do any of these things, I will be submitted to humiliation and/or pain.'
They loved it and were diligent monitors of compliance! This included picking their parents up on any breaches. Not bad for 9 - 11 year olds!

idle said...

I meant this blog to be a school for scoundrels, yet I've got Alceste Crocker-Harris and Miss Apricotfox Brodie turning it into the sort of finishing school where one would expect to run into Joan Greenwood or Dorothy Tutin.

Alceste said...

Touche.

Crocker-Harris would indeed have deplored the confusion of the nominative and the accusative. But then he was a bit uptight and not getting any sex.

Brodie wouldn't have cared much, just so long as Mussolini was in charge.

Interesting to think who would be the bastard love child of the two of them. The one cerebral, repressed, reviled. The other authoritarian, Scottish and a pain in the arse. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

idle said...

Brilliant, alceste. I really did laugh out loud.

Thud said...

One can only hope the 'boy' takes note of the effect decent conservative principles clearly expressed can have.

rvi said...

Oh rats! Me should never of said nuffink.

apricotfox said...

Hang on a minute!This Brodie/ Crocker- Harris stuff is well out of order!
Alceste and Fox would clearly produce a child genius who would take our language to a level of sophistication and beauty never before seen/read or heard on this earth. Or maybe they'd have a nerd.........

idle said...

The spawn of Alceste?

aesthete
ascetic
athletic

Two out of the three, I think. Dunno about foxy, never having met her.

Alceste said...

The Spawn of Alceste. Starring Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasance. It has a great ring to it.

Sadly I can't be rude about the spawn of Idle,as I know they are outstanding. Mind you, they did hide in my wardrobe once, when I was about to disrobe. No-one would have believed my side of the story if it had all gone pear-shaped.

Rumour has it that the spawn of Apricot Fox (the Boy Genius) is also somewhat outstanding; so sadly my DNA has little contribute.