So far, I’ve not really stayed in touch…

My, how time flies when you’re busy existing. Here we are in the middle of July already. 2009 is hurtling along with a relentless pace and unless I do something soon I won’t have published a single word to my modest blog in nearly a year. I attempted to rectify this situation back in April – I have two posts sat at Draft status to attest to this – but I made the mistake of trying to summarise my thoughts on the major events since I last wrote something in September 2008, ending up with a rambling, pointless missive of no use to anyone, least of all me.

So it becomes a vicious circle: the desire to write is crushed by the uncertainty of where to begin. I would sit there staring at a blank screen, desperately thinking of a way to resurrect the blogging bug and each time just giving up and doing something pointless like updating my status on Facebook (probably the biggest collective waste of time in human history, yet, like scratching an itchy arse, irresistible), or clicking idly through BBC News or even Comment Is Free for inspiration. After an hour of this I would just give up completely.

Mrs Sane (now an official moniker, as we got married last October) would constantly encourage me to write again, as would the (very) few other people who somehow enjoy my witterings. But it just wasn’t happening.

Then I had an epiphany. It was a simple, yet transformative revelation: I would just… write. Never mind what’s happened over the last ten months, I would just publish and be damned. So that’s what I’m going to do.

Cretinism. Creationism.

There are many reasons to dislike Sarah Palin but, for me, one in particular stands out. She is a creationist, which makes her thicker than the primordial soup from which all life developed and, therefore, about as suitable a candidate for the office of Vice President as, say, Harpo Marx. Harpo, of course, never spoke and only communicated through whistling or blowing a horn, so that’s a pretty good analogy for a candidate who has not actually been allowed to speak directly with the press about any matters of import. Not until she’s learnt her script, anyway. A month and still no press conference? What are they afraid of?

Anyway… Depressingly, creationism has been something of a hot topic here in the UK of late too, with debate about its suitability for inclusion in science classes. This is an open and shut case, of course. Nothing that lacks any basis in scientific fact and demonstrates none of the discipline of rigorous scientific enquiry should be allowed anywhere near the subject. It is as preposterous as teaching Klingon alongside real languages or flat earth theory in a geography class. Creationist theory already has its correct place on the UK syllabus – in the Religious Education classes. And there it will – and must – stay. To even entertain the notion of it being taught as science alongside evolution is an insult to academia.

I’ve written about this subject several times before and at greater length than here but the argument has to be maintained every time this silly proposition rears its ugly head. The universe in which we live is a remarkable and fascinating place and we should teach our children what we know about it, not fill their heads will infantile explanations about an ethereal being creating it in six days. Nor should we fall for creationism’s more sophisticated relative “intelligent design”.

Palin comparison

I can’t recall the last time a speech generated such a lot of excitement and hullaballoo. Least of all a speech by somebody, who, little over a week ago, was pretty much unheard of. So McCain’s picked a running mate who can appeal to all the people that he can’t – i.e. the core Republican base – and all of a sudden people are slobbering in wonder because she’s also capable of delivering somebody else’s words from a podium and knows where to stick the knife in and twist it.

She’s Dick Cheney minus the dick.

The whole spectacle was downright bizarre. The words were straight from the GOP Random Speech Generator:

“Family. Family. Family. Hard working patriots. Family. America. Opportunity. Religion. Guns. Oil. The media elite. Serve the people of this country. Ethics. Values. Tax burden. Spending. Drilling. Big government. Family. Taxes. Did I mention family?”

Meanwhile, the reaction of the audience bordered on the sinister. Wide eyed with enthusiasm because a woman is standing on a stage delivering well chosen and carefully considered words and she’s just like one of them! Rejoice! Never mind the fact that most of the speech was written before she was even selected – it could have been anybody up there delivering the exact same words. And that’s all they are – words. Stage managed, polished and well presented words.

Mission accomplished for the McCain camp then – she’s connecting with people that he could never hope to and that, obviously, is exactly why she was selected. But I find it astonishing to read all the reports of how she has personally resurrected the Republican campaign when all she did was turn up, bellow the script like a good Thespian (to an audience that was always going to lap it up like thirsty goats), flaunt her family, then bow and wait for the plaudits. I guess that’s modern politics for you – more like an episode of The X Factor than a serious discussion of policy. How depressing.

Much, much more of this to come of course.

The Return Of The Native

Um, hello.

More reasons not to vote for Ken

Tariq Ali seems to think that we should vote for Ken Livingstone on the basis that Ken has consistently opposed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

According to the official Mayor of London website the mayor’s role is to:

promote economic development and wealth creation, social development, and the improvement of the environment. The Mayor also has a number of other duties in relation to culture and tourism, including responsibility for Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square.

It goes on to say that:

The Mayor has a range of specific powers and duties, and a general power to do anything that will promote economic and social development, and environmental improvement, in London. Before using many of his powers the Mayor must consult with Londoners, and in all cases, the Mayor must promote equality of opportunity.

Note the distinct lack of any foreign policy remit. On this basis, regardless of whether one agrees with Ken’s position on these matters (and I do not), it is of no consequence when deciding whether or not to vote for him. Ironically, if Ken had spent all his time focusing purely on the issues that matter to Londoners and no time at all pontificating on foreign affairs that are of no relevance to his job or cavorting with extremist Muslim clerics I wouldn’t actually be quite so opposed to voting for him.

A brief foray into football

It’s been quite a dramatic year for us Arsenal fans. Written off at the start of the season, Wenger’s youngsters were supposed to struggle all year and even lose their place among the “Big Four“. Instead, they topped the table for two-thirds of the season, playing on the way some of the most exciting football ever to grace the Premiership. Of course, it’s all amounted to nothing. As has so often been the case with Wenger’s teams over the last couple of years, they crashed and burned. Having first thrown away a generous lead courtesy of the worst spell of form in living memory they then proceeded to be knocked out of the Champions League by (yawn) Liverpool last week under quite hideous circumstances.

I mean, what justice is there in this universe when your team can create a goal like this in the 84th minute and still lose to a team as interminably dull as Liverpool?

Then, yesterday, losing 2-1 to Man Utd ended any slight hope there might have been of still challenging for the Championship. Yet again Arsenal took a lead and spectacularly failed to hold onto it.

Their profligacy is reckless and extremely frustrating, but it’s still preferable to the turgid, machine-like predictability of Chelsea or (again) Liverpool, who are to the Beautiful Game what King Herod was to infant welfare in the first century.

It is therefore with great reluctance that I hope Man Utd go on to win the title. I despise them and their purple-faced windbag of a manager, of course, but at least they play decent football and are not an empty shell of a team with no culture, no history and no soul like Chelsea – little more than a Russian oligarch’s concubine. As for the Champions League, I’m backing Barcelona all the way.

But next season? Please, Mr Wenger, can we have a little less potential and a little more… actual?

All you can do is step back in time

By using a rather nifty tool in WordPress I have been able to import all the posts and comments from Liberal Elite (RIP) into the Citizen Sane blog, therefore housing all of my various witterings (and even those of The Realist) in one place. Which I rather like. So if you look at the archive list on the right it now stretches all the way back to March 2005, when it all began…

Choosing from this lot is a night mayor

I have yet to vote in the London Mayoral elections. For the first one, in 2000, I wasn’t on the electoral register. Then, in 2004, although I had every intention of voting, I went out drinking after work with my future best man and came home too late and too drunk to participate. (This was particularly unfortunate as, earlier that day, I had delivered an impassioned plea to Lady Sane to use her vote – she had said that she wasn’t going to bother – on the grounds that we should not take our participatory rights for granted and that we have a responsibility to take part in the democratic process at all times. Ahem. So when I rolled in at around midnight slightly worse the wear having imbibed too many beers and – if I recall correctly – Long Island Iced Teas she wasn’t too impressed and has never let me forget it.)

Now, with fresh elections imminent on May 1st I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll take part in this one either, but this time because of something altogether more fundamental: I just don’t know who I could vote for. Realistically, it’s a two horse race between Ken and Boris (or the “Conservative candidate” as the Labour Party have been ordered to call him); I don’t think I’d even recognise any of the others.

Last time, I probably would have pinched my nose and voted for Ken, if only because the only other serious candidate was Steve Norris and I was never going to support him. But four years later this isn’t going to happen. I find a great deal of Livingstone’s politics offensive: his love-in with Hugo Chavez was revolting but even worse was the way he embraced – literally – the homophobic praiser of suicide bombers, Muslim extremist Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, then claimed that anyone critical of this was “anti-Islam”. Ken represents everything about the old left that I cannot stand – he has to go.

Which leaves Boris Johnson. It’s difficult not to like Boris isn’t it? He certainly amuses – see his appearances on Have I Got News For You – but do we really want a clown being mayor of London? Is this really my choice: quasi-communist or amiable Tory chump? Can I really bring myself to vote for a Conservative candidate?

Meanwhile, according to this website, my vote is best matched to the policies of Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick.

I’ve no idea what I’m going to do on May 1st.

Reissue! Repackage! Repackage!

I’m back from yet another hiatus with a new look and everything. Oh, the excitement!

So… what is there to talk about? Blogging ain’t what it used to be is it? Perusing my blogroll it seems posting is an increasingly sporadic activity for many of the bloggers I read. I guess the novelty wore off sometime ago for most of us, but I’ll still plough on.

Personally, I’ve been focusing mainly on my impending marriage in October and the details associated with it (although I will readily confess that Lady Sane has been responsible for most of the planning so far). Other than that I haven’t really been up to a great deal besides working and hoping the crisis which is currently gripping the industry I work in does not get any worse than it is already. We live in interesting times.

Farewell, Fidel

So Fidel Castro has gone, if not yet physically then politically.

As you would expect, mouthpieces of the far left have trotted out to praise this dictator and his failed state that has endured nearly fifty years of dictatorship. Somehow the lack of democracy, human rights abuses and widespread poverty are always offset against the observation that Cuba supposedly has an excellent health and education system. We’re compelled to believe that this qualifies as a ’success’ over half a century of autocracy.

Dependable as ever, George Galloway was invited to debate Castro’s legacy on Newsnight. With a predictability you could set Greenwich Mean Time to, he proclaimed Castro as a hero to all of Latin America, compared George Bush to Hitler and argued that the communist revolution in Cuba would have been a success were it not for that nasty, bullying USA and their trade embargo.

And there lies the almost beautiful contradiction inherent in the arguments set out by those sympathetic to the Castro regime. On the one hand they admire a state that refuses to bend with the winds of global capitalism, yet on the other they blame the United States for condemning Cuba to poverty by refusing to trade with it.

In other words, the communist revolution in Cuba would have been a great success if only they had been able to engage economically with the world’s most powerful capitalist nation.

Joseph Heller could not have come up with a more perfect piece of circular reasoning.