Monday, May 31, 2010

David Laws and Commonsense

What a stupid thing to do!

David Laws MP  had it all, fabulous education, well compared to the rest of us, fabulous wealth, well compared to the rest of us, a successful business career where he could retire at an early age and pursue  his political ambitions and go on to achieve great power, prestige and influence and then to  lose it all through failure of just plain commonsense.

Why on earth did he do it anyway? £40,000 to him seems peanuts. Ripping off the taxpayer may have been the thing to do when Laws first entered parliament but when the new restrictions regarding partners came in that was the moment when he should have stopped. It was just plain commonsense.

What ever Law's motifs  about being 'found out'   that was the moment he should have stopped paying his partner but he couldn't resist the thrill of getting something that one shouldn't really have. As Eve found  out, forbidden fruit is so much nicer and look where that got humanity.

Laws knows now and he probably knew it then.  He has lost his reputation and for a politician that is devastating for £40,000.

His next mistake was to hide the facts during the expenses scandal but I suppose he knew if he owned up he would be a goner anyway so he practiced a bit of 'masterly inactivity' and hoped it would all go away. His convoluted reasoning of why he did it looks pathetic under the circumstances. As a Catholic Laws should have known better.

When you chose to enter public life you have to realise that  your life becomes public and you can't complain. Your whole life is open to public scrutiny. Even children at ballet schools are told that. Once on the stage of life as a public participant your life is no longer your own. If you want a true private life then stay out of the public arena.

All Laws expensive education and some of it  was a Catholic education failed to teach him commonsense. All fans of Faith Schools take note. That is what is so embarrassing not his being gay but that he is a Catholic and Catholics ought to know the difference between right and wrong.

I wonder what he was given as a penance? Three 'Hail Mary's and a firm purpose of amendment' seems hardly appropriate on this occasion!

Sunday, May 30, 2010

My First Blog Sunday 30 May 2010

Kiaora!

Always one to try something new! Today a friend told me about Wolfram Alpha! If you haven't heard of it have a look at the introduction.

http://www.wolframalpha.com/screencast/introducingwolframalpha.html

It is truly amazing. Why didn't I have this when I was struggling with first form maths. I cna never remember formulas and this would have made life so easy.

I tried my own name 'Janette' only to find it seems to be consigned to oblivion while the unloved name of Chloe in 1976 is now in the top ten in USA! My daughter who I shall seldom mention here again, has never forgiven me.

I suppose there is a use for knowing that Mt Everest is exactly three times as high as the Golden Gate Bridge is long. Obviously you have to work out what works for you.

I have already added it to my toolbar.

So what will you find here? To my friends it will be a sort of personal diary so you can keep up with what I do. I have lots of passions and I flit between them. At the moment it is Garageband and singing.

I never liked my voice when I was young but thanks to Garagband where I have control over every aspect of my performance I am beginning to quite like it. It is amazing what a bit of electronic 'sweetening' can do.

The TV is so bad at the moment although there are a few good documentaries on Sky that this blog will occupy me during the dull winter evenings.

So for a few days please forgive me while I try all the buttons and templates out. Playing about is the only way.

Culture is learned and shared. I have some very odd passions it seems, opera/ballet/IT/stamps/gardening/ religion ( I am passionate about this!) and many others.

That's enough. Short & snappy is what is required I think!