gdp's Comments

Dizzy Thinks : Damn you Tom Harris MP!

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:22:20 +0000

Guest - beautiful sentiments, by the way. I assume you're getting me mixed up with my blogging colleague, Tom Watson MP - not because you called me a "fat disgusting cunt" which, arguably, might indeed be an accurate description of me, but because you refer to the phone-tapping controversy, on which i have only rarely commented and on which the other Tom has focussed very consistently and effectively.

And another thing... : Person the barricades!

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:15:44 +0000

Yes, you're right, dammit! Too many "nots". Fixed now.

And another thing... : Person the barricades!

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:23:28 +0000

True, but instead we're not discussing the issue of how HE can be funded - we're discussing whether direct violent action is ever justified. Even in Penny's original article, the issue barely rates a mention, except wrapped up in some over-dramatic non-specific nonsense about stolen dreams or such. That's hardly helpful, is it?

And another thing... : Person the barricades!

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:45:08 +0000

Really? All those logical fallacies, ad hominems, appeals to ridicule, bandwagon arguments, misrepresentation, guilt by association.... and the only thing you can specify is a spelling mistake?

And another thing... : The New Politics, Part 27

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:44:30 +0000

It's not about the number of votes - it's about whether or not you end up in government, which we didn't and the LibDems did. Had we been in government and had broken election promises, we would deserve to pay the electoral price. I think the same rule should apply to the LibDems, don't you?

And another thing... : A miserable little electoral system

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:05:05 +0000

And did the leader of the Labour Party describe AV as a "miserable little compromise"?

And another thing... : Honesty about immigration

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:50:06 +0000

No.

And another thing... : Honesty about immigration

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 15:45:26 +0000

Yeah, yeah, Stewart, you've been banging on about this for a while. So do I take it that you're now inclined to take the word of all former special adviser to Labour ministers? Or just the ones you already agree with?

And another thing... : In praise of Tim Loughton

Mon, 8 Nov 2010 09:26:53 +0000

Timbone, I am offended. I have never - never - used "would of" or "could of". In fact I deliberately corrected a commenter earlier on in this thread who had committed exactly that crime.

And another thing... : In praise of Tim Loughton

Mon, 8 Nov 2010 09:24:31 +0000

"Were that the case with every agency, why the need for the government to get all authoritarian about it? Why not just let them be?" I'm surprised you don't rmember all of this, Stewart. What happened was that civil partnerships came into being. Catholic adoption agencies can still - and presumably do - place children with "single" male adoptive parents who aren't in a formal legal relationship with their partners. But since civil partnerships came in, those same agencies have decided not to allow children to be placed with them, given the publicly declared nature of that relationship.

And another thing... : In praise of Tim Loughton

Sun, 7 Nov 2010 19:44:54 +0000

"The fact that some agencies have closed over this maybe tells a different story?" No, the story is that the agencies can no longer turn a blind eye to the fact that they are placing children with gay couples.

And another thing... : In praise of Tim Loughton

Sun, 7 Nov 2010 18:09:56 +0000

"Would forcing Catholic adoption agencies to choose between placing children with homosexual pairings and closing also be on your massive list?" No. What do you think, Stewart, of the fact that before that legislation was passed, Catholic adoption agencies would regularly place children with homosexual couples, on the basis that, since there was no legal relationship between them, the adoption was being applied for by a "single" man, on an "ask no questions, tell no lies" basis?

And another thing... : In praise of Tim Loughton

Sun, 7 Nov 2010 11:46:41 +0000

Sorry, but I can't stay silent on this any longer: "...would of been good"?! Nay, nay and thrice nay! "Would have been good" - would have, not "would of"...

And another thing... : Vote 'yes to AV' to keep the coalition in power

Sun, 7 Nov 2010 09:59:20 +0000

"supporters of AV make the point that its a first step towards millions of votes going from meaningless to actually having some importance..." The point is that that is precisely not the point that supporters of AV will be making, although you're right that that is the truth. If the AV campaign were honest enough to make clear that AV is simply a half-way house, a stepping stone to further reform, I doubt if voters would indulge them.

And another thing... : Vote 'yes to AV' to keep the coalition in power

Sat, 6 Nov 2010 22:56:36 +0000

Because he genuinely thinks it's a better system.

And another thing... : 'What would they say if we had done this?' Part 1

Thu, 4 Nov 2010 23:52:51 +0000

"BUT IT IS LABOUR'S FAULT!!! " Uh-huh. So why did Cameron and Osborne support Labour's spending plans right up until 18 months before the general election?

And another thing... : No room for fudge in the fight against terror

Thu, 4 Nov 2010 18:34:37 +0000

"If you were serious about it we'd have checks at the entrance to all Tube and train stations to ensure people don't get on carriages with bombs, but you're not and we don't." So, because we can't do everything, we should do nothing? Genius. And you should visit Stewart's website. I have a feeling you two will agree on an awful lot. PS. You do know that you don't win arguments just by writing "End of", don't you?

And another thing... : No room for fudge in the fight against terror

Thu, 4 Nov 2010 18:00:51 +0000

"I don't want my freedom restricted." I know.

And another thing... : Behold! The perfect argument against votes for prisoners

Wed, 3 Nov 2010 16:02:05 +0000

"New Labour massively increased the prison population as well as greatly increasing the number of things that you can now go to prison for. Is it any wonder they don't want prisoners to vote?" What a silly little imaginary world you live in, where everything is Labour's fault. Precisely how many people, in the catregories you've nmentioned, have been jailed? You think that the increase in the jail population is down entirely to to people being convicted for these new offences? You have actual statistics on this? And you do realise, don't you, that the PM today expressed, in very robust terms, his opposition to allowing any porisoners te vote? Or is David Cameron's opinion Labour's fault too?

And another thing... : LibDem manifesto negotiations: order your popcorn now

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 13:39:31 +0000

Indeed so. What's your point, caller?