P J Posted April 25, 2015 Report Share Posted April 25, 2015 Do these help or hinder? Here are some of the celebrity Tubthumpers. Labour have Martin Freeman, JK Rowling and Alan Sugar. The Tories have Simon Cowell, Andrew Lloyd Webber and national treasure (thief) Gary Barlow. The Greens have Joanna Lumley, Thom Yorke and David Attenborough while the Lib Dems have Colin Firth and Daniel Ratcliffe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted April 25, 2015 Report Share Posted April 25, 2015 ... and who has your endorsement ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted April 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2015 Well your lot has his http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/inside-twisted-ian-bradys-warped-5584576 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 Doubt they really make any difference although must admit I have a bit of a crush on Gary Barlow so I'd vote for him if he was standing regardless of party Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 Thought Ed was the new heart throb ? ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted April 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 Dizzy, I would like him a little better if he and his two take that pals paid back the £20 million they owe the country. That said he is a far better tub thumper to have than Ian Brady. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 It is because of the political classes in this country that Brady wasn't dangling from the end of a rope back in the sixties.... Prsonally I'd vote for anyone who could bring that to the table As for Lord Sugar and JK Rowling supporting Labour; strikes me as a bit like turkeys voting for Christmas And didn't Colin Firth play Tony Blair in a film? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted April 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 Even I wouldn't go as far as hanging kippers Baz, on here I just catch 'em and put 'em back 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted April 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 As for Lord Sugar and JK Rowling supporting Labour; strikes me as a bit like turkeys voting for Christmas So a bit like a non millionaire voting Tory then Baz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted April 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 On celebrity endorsements I think the opposite has more effect, when Katie Hopkins stated she would leave the country if Labour got in it certainly did Miliband no harm at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 well i will vote for the first politician that says they will take a 50% pay cut and if they don't when elected then they will resign their mp position............... but i won't be holding my breath until one comes along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 Brady seems to share some of your views PJ................................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 So a bit like a non millionaire voting Tory then Baz? well lots of them do so maybe there must be something to it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted April 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 Ah, stereotypical nonsense should only be levelled at Labour. Got it now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 Ah, stereotypical nonsense should only be levelled at Labour. Got it now You're catching on fast PJ :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted April 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 You're catching on fast PJ :smile: In your dreams pal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stallard12 Posted April 28, 2015 Report Share Posted April 28, 2015 In my opinion, which isn't usally smiled on here Who to vote for comes down to two things, with minor exceptions. If you are desparate for ' free stuff', vote Labor / Democrat. If you are desparate for oppotunity and a job, vote Tory / Republican. I know it's simplified, but if you think about it, those are the driviing forces of the two groups. I'll start ducking now ......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted April 28, 2015 Report Share Posted April 28, 2015 Slight amendment Tex; nothing is "free"., it all has to be paid for by someone; question is therefore by whom? Opportunity and jobs? Never been much sign of that in the inner City black gettoes of the US. with 20% of the US population living below the poverty line, in the richest country on earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stallard12 Posted April 29, 2015 Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 Exactly, 60% of the people in the US pay no income tax at all, so guess who is paying? The problem for the last 7 years has been the Dipstick in the Whitehouse. Since he was elected, everything has gone to sh.. Middle class earnings are down 20%, black unemployment is up 10%, there are 40 million more people on food stamps than when he took over, thousands of people are fixing to lose their jobs in the coal industry due to his stupid fixation on global warming, business has been strangled by the deluge of restrctions and regulations imposed during his tenure. He has given away over three trillion dollars (all added to the National Debt), more than the total Presidents combined since Washington and it changes nothing. Smothering the job producers and trying to make the government the sole provider doesn't work and has been proved a disaster over and over again, but it gets people too dependent to think of voting for someone else and he knows it. With his hand on the wheel, or maybe it's no hand on the wheel, he has personally created 90% of the mess in the middle east and terrorism has flourished. His father was a Muslim and he was educated up to college level in Islam schools. He claims that he is not a Muslim, but he has ordered his staff to refuse to use the words 'Radical Islamaic terrorist', he just won't say it, yet he gave a speech recently lambasting the Crusades !!!! Just a little politcal update on US politics. You would be amazed at what 'living below the poverty line' actually means here. Welfare provides an EBT (electronic bank transaction) card to all people on welfare. This can be used to pay all bills and there is no law against using it in liqour stores, casinos, brotthels where available and 'pot' shops where legal. They also get food stamps with which they can and do buy lobster, steak and beer. They get completely free medical care and if you don't have a cell phone you get one free. With fast food as cheap as 50 cents an item, it's hard to go hungry. If you are anywhere near a Welfare Office, you will find that every single visitor drives up in a car, somtimes Mercs and Lexuses. There is class of unfortunates, mainly drug addicts and the like who you will see stumbling around the inner city in dirty clothes, but they get all of the above, they just choose to spend it on narcotics and booze, of course, these are the people that 'documentary' makers seek out to prove what a terrible place America is. Funny, cos there are millions trying to get in and very few trying to leave. Take it from me and I have lived both places, Europe and Texas and life here is the best I have ever witnessed. By the way, on the medical front, Obamacare has almost destroyed the best medical system in the world. Before Obamacare, there was always Medicaid, the governments free basic medical scheme amd all retirees over 65 have Medicare, which is 90% free, plus the charity hospitals. Now they can get a free insurance policy, but it does nobody any good, cos everyone has to go the the hospitals listed in their plan and they can be fifty miles away, so they don't go at all now. Phew !!!! That was an epistle, missed my breakfast, got to go now. Who said "Thank God...........?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted April 29, 2015 Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 Actually Tex, your description sounds very similar to the situation over here; only our "President" resides in Brussels ! I certainly don't condone a dependency culture, far from it; any benefits should imo, be in kind, not in cash; so it can't be spent on drugs, fags and booze. But it's clear that poverty and deprivation are directly related to wealth differentials, so it's a no brainer to suggest that wealth is redistribute through the tax system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stallard12 Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Obs, as I have said before, I do not believe there can ever be a good reason to forcibly steal legally earned money from someone just because they are 'rich'. Voluntary donations can be 'expected' or incentives offered, but direct stealing is morally wrong, however noble the motives. However, I do not think that money is the main issue in the fight against poverty, it can be short term bandaid, but it will never solve the problem. Obama has thrown three trillion dollars at social engineering over his tenure and things are worse than ever for everyone, especially minorities. The first issue that has to be addressed is education, here, the trade unions, who control the Democratic party, have a stranglehold on the education system. They will not allow any teacher to be fired for any reason, including sex crimes. The result is that 40% of the teachers can hardly read and write and have failed every simple test put to them - guess were those teachers ply their useless trade - that's rifgt the poor schools. This taken with the break-up of the family, with single mothers raising unruly teenagers - the out of wedlock birth rate in the minority precincts is currently at 69%, to women who do not even know where the father is, means that the kids rarely go to school anyway. So it doesn't matter how many jobs are available, the kids living in these conditions couldn't do them anyway, so they are doomed to poverty and so it continues. The Republicans have tried for years to get school vouchers passed, where parents can use the money that the government gives to public schools, to pay towards the better private schools, but the Democrats, under union pressure, won't pass it, because they need the kids to stay put, to keep the bad teachers employed. The only thing that will dramitacally reduce poverty is education, strong families employing discipline and job opportunities and it's no use saying that 'until then, give them a government check', because you know from the UK, that once that free money drops through the letterbox, incentive to get off your ass, flies out of the window. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Tex, believe it or not, I don't dispute much of what your saying; it seems to be reflected over here too. Benefit dependency they call it. However, it doesn't undermine the basic argument in support of wealth redistribution, which I believe has a strong economic rational. The question is, how best to redistribute resources in a way that promotes self reliance and aspiration, rather than dependency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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