Actually existing news

Here's something you can save for people who insist the Royal Family are a harmless institution.

Both the Queen and the Prince of Wales are entitled to veto bills in parliament that might affect the property of the Crown or the Duchies of Lancaster or Cornwall. In recent years the monarch and monarch-to-be have been offered 39 bills for personal approval, one was vetoed (a 1999 bill proposing the transfer of war powers from the executive to parliament was blocked by the Queen). Other bills offered for approval, include the 2004 Civil Partnership Act, the 2004 European Union bill, the 2005 Work and Families bill and the 1997 Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act, to name but a few - the last one was because Prince Charles owns the harbours on the Isles of Scilly.

Madness, isn't it? It's an incredible affront to what little democracy we do have. Two very wealthy landowners are given extraordinary executive powers because nearly 1,000 years ago some French bandits won a battle in a Sussex field.

The Tory party - it's like a lottery that rewards stupidity...

It must be a slow week for the Daily Mail. There's clearly not enough immigrants-gets-free-porsche stories to go round, so they printed this:

Britain’s biggest trade union has set up a new wing – which can only be joined by the unemployed. Tory MPs said it was ‘scandalous’ that Unite, led by the hard-Left former docker Len McCluskey, was trying to exploit benefit claimants for political and financial purposes.

Outrageous! It's for Poundland and Tesco to exploit unemployed people! 

In return for £26 a year in ‘subs’,  the jobless members of Unite Community receive perks including discount designer glasses, advice on ‘claiming the right benefits’ and a  pre-paid debit card offering cashback in high street stores.

Exploited, to the tune of 50 pence a week... and they're going to tell the unemployed what their rights are? For shame! Also, why the scare quotes around subs? Sub is short for subscription fee. Don't they have those at the Daily Heil? Perhaps direct debits are an underhand form of communism? I don't know. But here's where it gets really silly:

Last night Tory deputy chairman Sarah Newton said: ‘It is scandalous that Labour’s largest donor, Unite – which backed Ed Miliband for the leadership – is looking to politically mobilise the unemployed and plug its falling membership subs.  

‘The public expects trade unions to protect the rights of their members in the workplace – not try to fill gaps in their funding off the back of the unemployed. Is  Ed Miliband really comfortable taking money from a union that  is acting in such a cynical way?

Cynical? Well, of course, Tories are experts on British trade union history, and are only to happy to respect the terms of collective bargaining. It's a shame then that somebody who knows so much about trade unionism and only has it's best interests at heart (you shouldn't be filling any gaps in funding off the backs of h the unemployed, oh no) could have forgotten about The National Unemployed Workers Movement of the 1920s and 30s. What was Sarah Newton MP thinking, eh?

Another fine mess

A plan by the education secretary, Michael Gove, to send a copy of the King James Bible to every school in the country – each including a personal inscription from him – has run into trouble after government sources reported he has been told to find private funding for the project.

Sources said David Cameron told Gove that while he supported the idea, the education secretary should avoid using taxpayers' money for it. But Gove has yet to find a private philanthropic sponsor for the enterprise, and some Whitehall sources said he has been told he cannot distribute the book until he does so, leaving thousands of copies in a warehouse abroad.

It's the idea of a personal inscription that really makes it funny... funny until you realise that this particular loony has taken over the asylum... This is what he occupies his time with, Michael Gove; yachts, bibles and Jamie Oliver novelty schools. This is, of course, lunacy with a purpose. The government are more than just upper-class twits. They are bent on destroying the Labour Party's base (that's you and me, folks, not the Labour Party itself) in the organised working class and the welfare state. By wrecking as much chaos, destruction and folly Michael Gove makes it that much harder for anyone to rebuild a progressive education system. The Tories, unopposed, will make lunacy the new logic.

But, let it not be said we are just bitter, carping critics. No. Let's run with this idea. Those books must be bought and brought to our chidren because... well... because! Let's get some sponsorship going. We (who's 'we'?) at TtSD have wracked our brains and can come up with no more appropriate sponsor than Quickquid.com, the online loanshark, bringing you religion and exploitative usery in a neat, post-modern package. Rejoice!

A CiF post that ACTUALLY suggests we should "let the racists march"

For some reason Deborah Orr has stuck in my mind. Ever since, years and years ago, I saw her on BBC Breakfast News in a small panel discussion debating the sexualisation of children. Forgetting, for a moment, that it wasn't Newsnight Review, Orr opined:

"There are some children's clothes being made with words like 'fuck' printed on them".

It was quite a while ago, I am communicating the gist of what she said. Oh the presenters were sorry for the unforeseen profanity. What they forgot was to ask: Really? Are there actually children's clothes out there with the word (or words like) 'fuck' printed on them? Really? Actually? Are you sure?

Anyway, preamble over, Deborah Orr doesn't like lefty marches but doesn't seem to mind far right ones. Why?

I had given up by the time of the million-strong march against Iraq in February 2003, having become too cheesed off on previous marches. That's a shame, I guess, because by all accounts that march was different in character, the concerned citizens greatly outnumbering the usual suspects. But, on my last anti-war march, I'd been stuck behind a group of young men who appeared passionately to believe that 9/11 had been engineered by "the Jews".

Really? That's pretty serious (although you have to admit [two] million-strong political manifestations by their very nature attract all kinds of people). Who were these people?

A "broad church" is one thing.

No, seriously, who were they? Any idea?

A conspiracy-theorist lunatic fringe is another.

It would be good to know. As a serious journalist you wouldn't just want to be casting wild aspersions here. Did you stop to find out who these young men were?

It was all so unpleasant that I peeled off, and marched over Lambeth Bridge to Chez Gerard, and steak frites instead.

So, no idea, no need to have an idea, lefties tolerate unidentified racist conspiracy nuts but not Deborah Orr. Shame on them!

Meanwhile:

I was relieved too, when a huge police presence stopped Saturday's "static protest" by the English Defence League from developing into another kind of confrontation, this time against those who abhor the EDL. Viewing protest as a way to confront the state, and the police, is not constructive. Viewing protest as a way to challenge other citizens, whose mainstream views you do not agree with, is even less so.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, actively opposing the EDL is as bad as supporting them; and when the Normandy landings happened I bet there were people tutting at the Allied invasion too! Also, it makes you wonder what organised protest is for. You can't challenge the state, you can't challenge civil society; since it was taken off the air you can't even Challenge Anneka (there's a reference for you). So, got the message? Deborah Orr doesn't want you to oppose fascist manifestations.

Yet, I was still appalled that the EDL march was banned.

Let the racists march through your neighbourhood because:

Banning groups or their activities, without evidence that they are conspiring to break the law, or encourage others to do so, just feeds the group's feeling that what they have to say is so important...

Could you make Tommy Robinson more self-important? I doubt it. Besides, it's not as if there isn't weighty evidence showing the EDL are about bringing racist violence to our streets. They attack mosques, and have done so and threatened to do so on numerous occasions. This is not exactly inconsistent with their ideology. Numerous of their members are also in the fascist BNP. They frequently attack members of the public, usually but not exclusively brown skinned people. They attack Hindu temples, trade union demonstrations and public meetings.

I could go on. The point is wisemen and fools knows the EDL didn't want to come to Tower Hamlets to go shopping in Canary Wharf, dine out in Brick Lane or go clubbing at 93 Feet East.

Never mind anti-war demos, Comment Is Free is definitely a broad church.