+Tributes are pouring in for outgoing Labour General Secretary David Evans (my erstwhile colleague a long time ago). I think that David can take the credit for what for many members became a toxic atmosphere in the party, in which undemocratic procedures were given free rein (particularly in parliamentary selections) where members suffered a one sided disciplinary process which systematically targeted pro-Palestinian voices and, let’s not forget, Labour‘s winning 600,000 fewer votes than in Labour’s ‘worst ever’ defeat in 2019. For all this and more David will I imagine be donning his ermine very soon. Hopefully as he makes his maiden speech in the Other Place he will give due credit to Nigel Fartage for Labour’s wipe out of the Tory scum.
+I’m still working through Joseph Stiglitz’s illuminating book The Road to Freedom. In his examination of how humans develop socialising norms—which make living together so much easier—he has this to say: ‘Donald Trump illustrates what happens when parents and teachers fail, and an individual does not become socialised. When norms, peer pressure, and tradition worked normally, we didn’t need strong laws to define what a president could ethically do. Almost every president acted within the constraints. But Trump, with his brazenness, may force us to define the presidential limits more precisely by putting them within laws and regulations.’ (p.153) I’m not sure I could agree that ‘almost every president acted within the constraints.’ I imagine Stiglitz might have in mind Nixon as one who didn’t in personal terms, but others had their unconstrained political behaviours too. As things stand, with the recent Supreme Court decision to place presidents above the law, we can’t even rely on the law to stop presidents acting outside social norms. When the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee described Trump as ’weird’ perhaps he hit on a greater truth, beyond Trump’s weird hair or his weirdly long neckties, or indeed his weird incoherent rambles. In the canine world, Trump would be considered to be unhouse trained. In this respect it must be fair to blame the parents, or at least the father who it seems was himself a nasty piece of work. Perhaps there should be a new test introduced for politicians—a measure of their socialisation competencies, starting with what they understand about respect. For people. For truth. +In a BBC interview last night, Tony Blair commented on the great danger that arises when a religion turns into a political ideology. Of course he was referring to Islam and Islamism. No mention of Zionism, but I’m sure he meant that too . . . Oh yes! +It pays to wait for the result—but hey, who’ll notice? Least of all in the Daily Mail. . .
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