What interests Politically Homeless
Articles, videos and more that I have consumed this week
28th October 2024
Another week starts and the clocks have gone back - boo. Here are some of the articles and videos I have been reading / watching this week.
Video: Comedian mocks how the Democratic party is losing male voters
Duration: 1 minute
Bridget Phetasy absolutely nails the Democratic party’s hypocritical panic as polling shows that men after being derided, attacked and even mocked by them over the last few years as being in someway less than are voting with their feet and moving to the Republican party. I suspect you will begin to see the same effect in the UK shortly as Labour has done exactly the same and many men are rightly over it.
Article: Kemi Badenoch says parenting is a two person job
This is a subject which is close to my heart as my parents divorced when I was 4. My father moved away to find job and so it was effectively a single parent household. My mother raised 3 kids and worked - she is my absolute hero and best friend in the world. She is also always the first to say that everything is easier and better for families if parents do stay together where possible. This is backed up by the statistics as well. The fact that the chattering classes struggle to speak this basic truth because they don’t want to upset anyone underlines how country got to where it is.
Read it here: Badenoch upsets GMB by speaking the truth
Article: SurreyLive talks about the blackhole in the county councils budget and how it compares
I have been warning for several years that the councils were going under slowly but surely after the Tories forced them to financially own adult social care and care for children with disabilities. This process has shown through in the degrading state of the public realm with roads not repaired or cleaned etc as more and more money has been diverted from core functions. This process is now entering its final stage as it is turning systemic across whole swaths of the country. Westminster will not be able to ignore it for long and with it the question of adult social care etc.
Read it here: Surrey country councils financial blackhole
Article: Cambridge News reports on the latest proposals by the council to save money
Another council is in trouble and is looking at options to save money to close a short fall over the next five years. With everything else cut to the bone they are now looking at options which will further erode the quality of life in the town from CCTV reductions to even less basic maintenance through to even closing toilets. It simply can’t go on - this crisis is going mainstream shortly.
Read it here: Cambridge looking at further cuts
Article: Telegraph reports that the Chancellor is looking at an ‘Amazon tax’
The Chancellor is allegedly looking at an online tax to help pay for reform to business rates which have helped to kill town centres. I have a lot of sympathy with this idea as the large digital companies avoid tax on an industrial scale. However the truth is the UK is now over shopped in terms of total units due to changing habits and more needs to be done to rationalise down the high street via redevelopment whilst doing more attract people back via changes to parking. None of this will be possible until the adult social care question has been answered as councils have neither the money or the expertise to do this.
Read it here: Reeve plots an Amazon tax
Article: The Telegraph writes on the impact of parking charges on town centres
The Telegraph details the impact of revenue raising efforts by councils on town centres as they increase parking charges and how in the end it ricochets back on their bottom line. It is a story we have seen again and again across the country and yet the political class refuse to discuss it. You see the difference in my local town which has a supermarket in the middle where you can park for 2 hours for free which means that footfall continues to be strong and the town centre successful.
Read it here: Impact on parking charges on local economies
Article: The Guardian reports that Goldman Sachs believes interests could drop fast in the UK
Goldman Sachs has forecast that interest rates in the UK could drop to 2.75% "(2.25% lower) by November 2025. They come up with a series of technical reasons but this would infer a massive reduction in inflation and thus growth over the coming period which is already starting to be priced in by markets globally as central banks panic cut around the world. I still believe that interest rates will go sub 2% during the next cycle and if we go into deflation (falling prices) they could hit the zero bound again (0%). Whatever happens central banks are not going to bankrupt their own sovereigns - see the final picture.
Read it here: Guardian on interest rates in the UK
Video: Comedian attacks the media and Democrats for their hypocrisy
Duration: 1 minute
Bridget Phetasy beats the Democratic party and chunks of the media into the ground for their sheer hypocrisy over misinformation and more. It is a great video as it really encapsulates how many of us feel about things after the wall of lies the political establishment and its friends in the media have delivered over the last 10 years or more. The media especially deserves every unpleasant epithet you can think of - a good part of the reason why we are here is because they have refused to do their jobs for years. Instead of reporting the news and informing the public they have lied, cheated and acted as propagandists for the liberal elite.
Article: Andrew Doyle outlines the shift within the Democratic party away from free speech
In a fascinating and worrying article Andrew shows how the lefts view on free speech has slowly but surely shifted in the US over the decades. The movement no longer supports free speech as the best way to defend minorities and the weak but as a system which propagates hate. This appears to have gone mainstream since Trump and is now reflected in the senior ranks of the Democratic party.
“If the Democrats are triumphant in the election, Americans will be governed by an administration that does not believe the First Amendment is fit for purpose.”
Read it here: Doyle on the Democratic plan to censor America
Article: Andrew Doyle attacks the sentencing of Lucy Connolly for 31 months
This case I suspect is going to go mainstream as more and more people hear about it. The idea that a woman should be sent to prison for 31 months for a tweet which no one can link to any real world outcomes is both shocking and it underlines the collapsed state of freedom within the UK. People don’t need to agree with the contents of the tweet to be furious, worried and staggered that this has happened. This government like the Tories is becoming ever more authoritarian as it has no first principles to hang decisions from. It underlines that the left globally is becoming ever more anti free speech and a danger to our basic freedoms.
Read it here: Doyle on the Connolly case
Article: The Disinformation chronicle unravels the history and objectives of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH)
Another story which underlines the state of the modern left which relies ever more on censoring free speech rather than winning debates. The CCDH which was co-founded by Morgan McSweeney has been exposed as campaigning to destroy Twitter by Matt Taibi and Paul Thacker. This in itself is bad but it has also been found to be advising the Kamala Harris campaign which is a breach of US law and is potentially lethal for relations between the Labour government and the Republicans.
Read it here: Paul D. Thacker and Matt Taibbi expose the CCDH
From Twitter: Andrew Collingwood breaks down the CCDH leak
Andrew Collingwood from the Multipolarity podcasts gets into the detail of the CCDH leak and the questions that need to be answered. It is clear that the organisation needs more exposure due to its closeness to Downing Street. But also due to the damage that it may have done to the long term interests of the UK. I really can’t recommend this enough.
See it here: Detailed breakdown of the CCDH leak
Article: Tom McTague for Unherd sketches out the challenges for Starmer when it comes to Trump
It has been a bad week for Starmer’s efforts to reset the relationship with the Trump camp. There have been revelations about Labour supporters campaigning for Harris, high level support for her campaign and finally the leak on the CCDH’s efforts to attack Musk a key Trump supporter. Tom McTague lays this out in context and shows how Trump will exploit any weakness to his advantage including using expose’s like seen this week.
Read it here: McTague on the Trump, Starmer and power
Article: Professor Philip Cunliffe argues that it is time to leave the Commonwealth
Professor Cunliffe makes the timely argument that it is time for the UK to leave the Commonwealth which is used along with the EU, ECHR and more as an excuse by elites to not respond to popular demands.
“Membership of international organisations has been one of the key means by which governing elites have sought to repress domestic demands and popular expectations, citing permanent commitments to allies and institutions in place of old-fashioned diplomacy based on the national interest.”
He concludes with a rallying cry.
“It would be entirely appropriate for us to continue this glorious British tradition by Brexiting from the decrepit globalist legacy of the British Empire itself.”
I find myself in complete agreement.
Read it here: Time to Brexit the Commonwealth
Article: Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan agree to accelerate the Global Combat Air Program
This article caught my attention as I am a massive fan of joint military projects which help to diversify the UK away from the US and NATO but also as they can have important spill over effects into the economy via technological development. Beyond that I am also in favour of deepening the relations with both partners as there are plenty of other opportunities for future cooperation including on ship building, nuclear power and space. I think this should be our niche moving into the 21st century - bringing together middle level powers for set objectives.
Read it here: Tempest development accelerates
Video: JOG ON hike to the remotest pub in the UK
Duration: 15 minutes
I absolutely loved this and it has kindled in me a wish to see more of my country. It is easy to forget living in the south east of England how many stunning places we have in the British isles. Especially when you have a French wife who wants to fly somewhere hot whenever we are due a holiday!
Article: Gareth Roberts in Spiked Online on David Gauke’s reappearance as an advisor
Gareth bitchily slaps David Gauke around for like so many former MPs not having the good grace to exit left when giving their marching orders by the British public. It is a funny piece but underlines a big problem with our politics which is that politicians simply refuse to be flushed and instead constantly hang around like a smelly turd as advisors or get pushed into the Lords. No wonder the public is so angry at a system which fails them and rewards the idiots who brought us here.
See it here: Spiked Online slaps David Gauke
From Twitter: How humans compare to some places
A thread which shows the size of certain places and objects - some of them truly are awe inspiring.
See it here: The sheer size of some things and places
Picture of the week: The US is now spending over $1.6 trillion a year on debt interest only - something is going to break unless rates fall soon
That is everything for this week
Enjoy your week y’all - don’t forget to leave feedback and also share if you like