Politics Online: Blogs, Chatrooms and Discussion Groups in American Democracy
Left Foot Forward (Free subscription) | 2 hours ago
On the day of a crucial vote on electoral reform, David Miliband used a speech to the parliamentary press gallery to trail the idea of a manifesto commitment to a "reset referendum" on the whole political system. In a political speech, which focused on the Conservative's current weaknesses, the foreign secretary ...
The Red Rag (Free subscription) | 1 hour ago
Make up your own line. Here is my suggestion What's Browning Gordon off? Leave your suggestion in the comments and I will make you your own poster (subject to demand). Or, please feel free to help yourself to the template and make you own. Click image for full size.
Left Foot Forward (Free subscription) | 2 hours ago
Liberal Democrat schools spokesman David Laws has praised Labour's record on education - in particular the improvement of pupils' performance in the poorest schools, which he describes as "astonishing, dramatic, unbelievable". Mr Laws was speaking at the launch of Demos's "Politics of Fairness" policy proposals in Parliament today. He said: "There has ...
Guy Fawkes' blog (Free subscription) | 1 hour ago
“An academy designed to be the first fully wireless school has been blighted by computer problems since being opened by Gordon Brown more than two years ago” reported The Times today. Gordon was so proud of the opening the Bristol Brunel Acadamy that Downing Street made a whole video about the visit. The Curse of [...]
Alex Massie (Free subscription) | 2 hours ago
It's more than a year since I first scoffed at the notion that "third-hand smoke" was going to kill us all. And now I see that this nonsense is back. Over to you, Chris Snowdon : The respondents were not told that the idea of "tobacco toxins" being harmful at ultra-low levels was no more than a "possibility" (in the words of the final study), nor that the researchers...
Iain Dale's Diary (Free subscription) | 3 hours ago
Tim Worstall (Free subscription) | 3 hours ago
Any of my readers involved with AIM? Are perhaps a NOMAD? We’re in the throes of thinking that the time might be right to take the next step with the metals business. At present it’s tiny, but there have been a number of political and technological* developments meaning that this might be a very good time [...]
politicalbetting.com (Free subscription) | 3 hours ago
PoliticsHome Is a referendum promise really going to help them? The above is one of the findings from a PoliticsHome poll on Labour’s plan to legislate for a post general election referendum on the alternative vote system. Although I’m not totally convinced about the wording of the poll questions I think we can draw something from [...]
The Red Rag (Free subscription) | 3 hours ago
Well at last Labour have brought out a new campaign poster for me to spoof. The only thing is it is so bad I am almost embarrassed to mirror it. It doesn't come more negative. Vote Conservative and die of cancer! They do lead with their chins though, it didn't take long to come up with my alternative, Browned Off! * In the run up to the long awaited general election The Red Rag will be spoofing new...
Alex Massie (Free subscription) | 3 hours ago
Granted, it's not quite as memorable as the unsurpassable Demon Sheep , but this ad for John Oxendine, who's running to be the GOP gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, has a certain zany-yet-quaint charm to it. Gotta love the gratuitous, thrown-in-for-fun Frog-bashing too. And the line that the Ox is "strong enough to oppose the special interest, graceful enough to care for the people." Take...
Iain Dale's Diary (Free subscription) | 3 hours ago
Jack Straw has just announced he has added his name to an Opposition amendment aimed at forcing councils to hold election counts on the night itself. There will now be a vote and the vote will be a free one. This means that legislation is now likely to be amended. Electoral Registration officers had better take note. Well done to Jack Straw, and even more well done to Jonathan Isaby for launching the...
Dick Puddlecote (Free subscription) | 3 hours ago
The trouble with building up a house of cards based on lying for your supper is that the truth is always out there waiting to blow it all down . A review of hundreds of studies into smoking cessation has revealed that the overwhelming majority of ex-smokers gave up without resorting to nicotine replacement therapies. What is more, studies which extol the virtues of nicotine patches, gums and pills...
Alex Massie (Free subscription) | 4 hours ago
This is one of those things that I don't quite understand. Gordon Brown is obsessed with dividing lines and this is supposed to be upsetting us? Sure, this need to draw a contrast (often a false one, but never mind) between his Virtuous Labour party and the Callous Toffs & Cads at Tory head office is frequently petty, prickly and pointless. But what of it? Pete's the latest Spectator gentleman...
SUBROSA (Free subscription) | 4 hours ago
Don't try this at home because more than likely you will get caught. John Berry, 54, ( above ), a resident of Bristol and a serial litigant, has initiated actions against at least 60 businesses over three years even though he doesn't apply for the jobs. Mr Berry bombards employers with claims of ageism because they use the words 'school leaver' or 'recent graduate' in job advertisements. He uses the...
Left Foot Forward (Free subscription) | 4 hours ago
With all the talk about using new crowdsourcing platforms to improve policymaking, it’s easy to forget the millions of blogs, online newspapers, Wikis, and visual debate-mapping tools that already exist, and that can inform future debates. Billions of individual thoughts and personal experiences have been written about, from ...
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