As Low As It Gets

[john riddle]

Can't use the council's pest control department as by the time everyone has declared an interest, the solicitors have given the ok, well the mouse droppings will have completely knackered the rice. But Confucius says "A man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it - is committing another mistake".
and Sun Tzu adds "If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by."
My own thoughts now are "You take on one of us - you take on us all".

[Vincent]

Welcome back perseus

[rabbit]

New Man?

Terminator 2 is on the box tonight- Arnie`s reincarnation.

Excellent come back.

[rabbit]

Welcome back, Perseus.

[Lucy Lass-Tick]

News spreads ...

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/local/teesvalley/hartlepool/10281958.Councillor_calls_teacher_s_boss_after_he_raised_questions_over_contract/

[mk1]

Barclay has a letter in the Mail tonight that claims the reason questions have been curtailed is because the people asking them are being duped and used by third parties for political ends. Given this was the fat*ty  Belchers excuse and Hall uses it in The Echo them we know the Labour line on the issue.
This harps back  Carl's old lie  about 'out-of-town old-age-pensioner troublemakers' hijacking the hospital issue.
It seems they are in paranoid mode and enemies are everywhere-even within the Party. A very turbulent few weeks ahead as Marj and the Fat*ties fight for allowances control.

[mk1]

DAVID Riddle's letter (Mail, March 5) about the meaning of democracy is somewhat mischievous. Basically he is trying to justify why Hartlepool Borough Council should keep the current format that the public should be able to ask supplementary questions during council meetings and then frighten everyone into thinking that it would be a step towards tyranny if they don't. He gives the impression that supplementary questions is the norm but I can assure you that it isn't and what the council is proposing is in line with the vast majority of councils. What he does not tell you is the alternative proposal by the council. Its proposal is that members of the public will be able to ask two questions instead of the current one, and that the time be extended to 45 minutes from the current 30 minutes. Surely that has to be more democratic? As for dropping the supplementary questions I can understand his frustration as he is one of those persons that likes asking them. However, council meetings are for conducting council business and they are time-constrained. By no means is this stop- ping residents who wish to question councillors because they are free to contact them by phone, email, text, via the council, at council surgeries, residents' meetings, at the north and south forums, at committees or even Royal Mail. So dropping supplementary questions is hardly a step towards tyranny! The chairman of the council (Mail, March 1) was correct when he stated that in the past there have been cases where questions have been abused by people.
    It is often the case that a member of the public is duped by unscrupulous politician(s) to ask supplementary questions to try and catch their opponents out. This can often be dangerous and at times breach the laws of defamation. Dropping supplementary questions will therefore prevent this from happening and will protect the public, and that alone justifies this action. Lastly he complains about the dominance of the Labour Party in one breath and then i the lack of democracy in another as though they are somehow related. Surely democracy is the ballot box and whoever governs this local authority will have been duly elected by the people of Hartlepool. That is democracy, not supplementary questions designed to try and embarrass and undermine the people's representatives!

Allan Barclay, Leyburn Street, 

[danny_boy]

What is it about Northern Echo links that completely f**k* up the layout of the forum 

[Inspector Knacker]

Do we have party politics in Hartlepool anymore? It appears that when reading the views on a range of topics,  that they've all just morphed into one big claggy tapioca pudding, except the said pudding would be more charismatic.
Voting in this town would to all intents and purposes appear to be redundant, as it appears there are no discernable differences between parties.

[The Great Dictator]

Its a tricky one Riddler, we had party politics up till 2002 until Dumbo arrived. Before that we had plenty of politics and arguments but Harry Blackwood give it the wrong kind of publicity to the point where the public said NO MORE !

Soon after that we had a mayoral referendum and politics lost in straight sets and the Mail were still unhappy.

In May we will have a change for the better, those in the Civic will be more accountable to our future and it won't come soon enough 

[steveL]

You are clearly on some sort of chemical.......

[Inspector Knacker]

Pre Drummond,  we did not have party politics, we had drive by shoutings.
Post Drummond, the politicians have realised there's no Drummond to hide behind, suddenly the ball is well and truly in their court and it appears they're filling the sand bags at a furious rate .......... it'll be all down to them....... and I'm definitely not expecting a brave new world of political enlightenment and debate.

[The Great Dictator]

Steve L, kindly take your large head from out of your backside, if you listen you might learn something useful.

[mk1]

we had party politics up till 2002 until Dumbo arrived. Before that we had plenty of politics and arguments but Harry Blackwood give it the wrong kind of publicity to the point where the public said NO MORE !

The Dark Lord went to the papers owners and got Blackwood the sack. This  was because Blackwood refused to kneel and kiss his ring.
There was no 'public' demand for Blackwood's scalp.
I am no great fan of Blackwood. Clearly he is a right-wing nutter in the  Bushnall/Littlejohn/Gaunt   mould but he kept Mandy on his toes. A man forced out of office twice for corrupt actions needs a kick up the ar** now and again.

Soon after that we had a mayoral referendum and politics lost in straight sets and the Mail were still unhappy.

At the start Labour were very unhappy with the situation but as soon as they realised how thick and compliant Dumbo was then the just let him think he was in charge whilst they made him dance to their tune. The  simpleton only came unstuck when he tried to impose his own  agenda on the council. Look where it got him!

In May we will have a change for the better, those in the Civic will be more accountable to our future and it won't come soon enough 

The very first actions of the  mob was to remove the public's right to question them face to face.
Only the deluded (or a faithful party member) could possibly think the change is for the better.

Are you another ex-Army Labour stalwart who  never bothered wearing a helmet?

[DRiddle]

In May we will have a change for the better, those in the Civic will be more accountable to our future and it won't come soon enough

As with any public message forum of whatever kind, ridiculous statements are obviously common place. However, if one were to hand out awards for ridiculous statments, that particular one above would likely win an oscar, the eurovision song contest and the nobel peace prize all rolled into one.

May will change nothing, aside from the fact that the Mayor's wages will be split umpteen different ways via special responsibility allowances.

Nobody will be truely held accountable for anything as all decisions will most likely be justified and/or applauded by the ruling majority no matter how ridiculous the decision may actually be.

We now have a constitution which the council openly admits is like no other in the country, and describes such a set up as 'trailblazing'.

We now have a council that has voted to restrict the publics ability to ask questions, yet calls it an increase in democracy.

The only thing that "won't come soon enough" are the May 2014 elections.