The Sunday Rumble: 9.6.19

Poor Thomas, his end is approaching:   I refer, of course, to Thomas Cromwell; a man, I am finally learning, who was a truly great Englishman.  My sincere thanks are due to John Schofield, the historian, who wrote the book I am reading: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell: Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servant.  He lived in dangerously tricky times as Lutherism gathered strength from the dissatisfaction with 'Popery' but his 'murderous' boss, Henry VIII, never quite committed himself one way or another.  Given the nature of the religious dispute, I can understand that opinions on Cromwell have divided historians, however, Mr. Schofield is an admirer of whom I approve because, by and large, I am not an admirer of 'Popery'!

 

Politicians are lying, hypocritical ratbags!   So nothing new there, then!  I can't say I was too surprised to see Michael Gove 'outed' as a coke-sniffing lying-liar given his despicable 'stabbing' of Boris at the last Tory party leadership election.  As so often on drug-related matters, I take my lead from the estimable Peter Hitchens: 

Mr Gove was Secretary of State for Justice from 2015 to 2016. If proposals for proper enforcement of drug laws had come before the Cabinet he would have known as he studied them that he had, as an adult, committed the offence of possession of a Class A drug. For this crime he would have been open to a sentence of up to seven years in one of the prisons for which he was responsible. Knowing that, how could he have enthusiastically supported any initiative that would have genuinely made it more likely that drug abusers would go to prison?

In addition, 'Guido' chucks in another handgrenade with my emphasis:

The hypocrisy charge is already hitting Gove over his writing of an article for The Times arguing against the hypocrisy of journalists using cocaine and arguing for drug liberalisation. An article written during the period he was using cocaine. The hypocrisy charge will be turbo-charged when it hits the headlines tomorrow that when he was Secretary of State for Education he brought in legislation that bans teachers for life from teaching if they are convicted of cocaine possession. 

 

We're in trouble but so are the 'Cousins':   I have watched with increasing dismay the deepening and widening gulf opening up inside America.  Yes, of course, there have always been political and social divisions in their society but during most of my lifetime they have been contained within, so to speak, a 'large tent' providing room for manoeuvre in which relatively moderate people can agree to disagree and await their turn on the tiller.  From way 'over here' that seems to be disappearing and subsumed by vitriolic hatred and detestation which will bode no compromise.  I confess that one of my thermometers on American politics is the blog of Mr. 'Phil' Carpenter which I still follow even when, in a typical spat, he threw me out!  He claims to abhor what he considers to be the extremism of the ultra-Lefties in the Democratic party but in doing so he comes across as froth-foamed as the 'ranters and ravers' he abhors.  Needless to say, when it comes to Donald Trump, he and his commenters go into full on frenzy!  And he and they consider themselves to be, er, 'moderates!

 

Why don't 'skools' just teach maths, English and history?   Instead, I gather from the current 'kerfuffle' outside a 'skool' in Birmingham, they are finding the time to teach our 'likkle kiddie-winkies' the finer points of homosexuality, lesbianism and, er, well, anything else you might fancy in the sexual stable!  Needless to say, the local Muslims have kicked off in protest and now they are seeing the hard face of all those 'Leftie-poseurs' who assured them that their religious and social rights would be protected.  Well, they would be just so long as the 'Lefties' approve!  Frankly, I went through 'skool' without a single sex lesson of any kind and finding out the, er, hard way was quite good fun!

 

I knew it would be depressing but . . .    My Kindle needed recharging and so I have given Master Cromwell a rest and instead I started to get into Antony Beevor's history of "Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges 1944".  It was a very British 'cock-up' and Montgomery stands accused of blind, obstinate stupidity of the sort he detested from his Generals during WWI.  I haven't even reached the airborne landings but already you can forsee the disaster approaching.  Deeply depressing!

 

If Boris wins, he should 'nick' some of Goves' ideas:   Everyone, by which I mean the journalistic 'know-alls', seems to think that Michael Gove is a very intelligent fellow, apart from his earlier drug taking, and he seems to have some good ideas on changing our antique tax system.  Perhaps, if Boris wins, he should forget old slights and get Gove on board.  The Tory party desperately needs some intelligent and original thinking to catch the imagination of the dreaded 'Peeps'!

 

Another book recommendation:  God I'm good to y'all!  I refer to:

The Europe Illusion: Britain, France, Germany and the Long History of European Integration by Stuart Sweeney

I have a copy, courtesy of 'SoD' because the author, Stuart Sweeney, is the brother of one of SoD's old university friends from way back.  I haven't read it yet because I am otherwise engaged with Master Cromwell and Gen. Montgomery but I have just received an 'e-advert' for it from the publisher and it jogged me into giving it a punt.

 

(Sir) Lewis wins, er, on a technicality:  Sorry, Herr Vettel, but rules are rules and you would be demanding their application if the roles were reversed. Anyway, (Sir) Lewis was only 2 secs behind you when you finished 'first' but, alas, you were carrying a 5 second penalty from an earlier error.  What's the German for 'ohdearwhatapitynevermind'?

 

No more rumbles 

 

 

 

Comments

[Timbo]

Must say that the current occupant of the Vatican is certainly not helping to persuade you to change your opinion.

[Whitewall]

So Cromwell has been argued over by "obstinate historians" as well? I have recently read that the only dates that matter to English history are 55 BC and 1066 AD. If Cromwell could have seen the current Pope, well, present day historians wouldn't be so obstinate.

[Whitewall]

Every Western nation has this same problem to one degree or another with the two sides being widely divided. The Left sees injustice every where and so it wants more power to remedy it. The Right sees loss of liberty all around and needs more power to stop it. Social media has become fuel on the fire with Twitter mobs howling after anyone who dares speak anything they don't approve of.

Then came Trump. He is not only a first rate counter puncher but a fair hand at throwing the first punch. This has thrown Democrats of all stripes into bouts of slobbering mindlessness.

A good summary: http://malcolmpollack.com/2019/06/05/a-reminder/

[Loz]

At least Michael "The Bastard" Gove, of this Manor, was competent enough to snort cocaine.

Your hero, BoJo, couldn't even manage that - he sneezed and blew his stash out of his nose and all over his fellow cokers! ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SISt4znN2tQ

What did we do to deserve this? Oh yes ...

SoD

[Bob]

David,

Carpenter isn't a moderate. He's a radical centrist. If 'moderate' has any real meaning, which is doubtful, most US moderates are currently former Republicans driven away by Trumpism. If you're interested this is one of their outlets:

https://thebulwark.com/

[David Duff]

Hmmmn! Not sure if I can work out what "radical centrist' means, Bob, it sounds like an oxymoron to me! However, I have bookmarked 'The Bulwark' and will read it later.

[Loz]

It's Gove, btw, not Grove, type in your post.

SoD

[David Duff]

Thanks, SoD, for the correction and for managing a comment of only one sentence!

[Whitewall]

Did Britain already exit the EU on March 29th and no one really noticed?

https://www.samizdata.net/2019/06/have-we-vanished-into-the-night/

[Bob]

David,

Radical centrism is a real thing:

"Radical centrists typically borrow ideas from the left, the right, and elsewhere, often melding them together."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_centrism

It's an attempt to avoid having an honest political conversation and be everything to everyone.

[Loz]

I've just started reading my copy of "The Europe Illusion". Looking good so far.

He's neither Brexit nor Remain, btw. Just an academic shaping and shaving the forcers and forms, colouring in, rounding out, highlighting, shading, deepening.

In other words, striving to grasp at those truths and forms that are unformulateable and unprovable in a logical system, but that are neverthelessare well-formed and true, as proven in a logical system by dear old Godel.

Pure artwork, the greater truth and form, accessible to a mind but not a machine. Not a hint of a whiff of stenchy Marxism, yay!

Feeling nervous, like when someone you know has hit the big time and is competing on the highest stage and you're screaming your lungs out from the touchline.

Let's see how Stuey has done ...

SoD