TIIRoaC

more caMoronics

matthew@matthewgoodsell.co.uk — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:29:21 +0000

Last night I managed to catch a programme on David CaMoron. J tried to watch it with an open mind, but I'm now more certain than ever that the guy is a numpty. Some of his ideas simply hold up to scrutiny: as one professor of politics they interviewed put it, if you actually unpack some of his ideas, you find them barren of substance. For example, unlike Thatcher, CaMoron says he believes in society, but that society isn't the same as the state. He wants things to be community oriented, but wants government to take a back seat. In other words, he wants things like charities to take over the responsibilities of the state...

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back to normal

matthew@matthewgoodsell.co.uk — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:54:55 +0000

Today has a rather anticlimactic feel to it after the excitement of yesterday. I woke up this morning very happy - things went so smoothly and it was great to see everyone. It felt as though it was a landmark event - the first time ever my parents came to visit me and my girlfriend, in the same sense that they might visit Luke and Yan or mark and Kat. In other words, it felt like a landmark in independence. The same applies for Charlie and holly - they were visiting me as they would any of our other friends...

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Parents and friend come to visit

matthew@matthewgoodsell.co.uk — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:11:08 +0000

Just a quick note to say what a truly great day today has been. This morning, my parents visited: our meeting want well, and we all got on like a house on fire. I think mum and dad really like Lyn, and she likes them very much. Shortly after, Charlie and holly came by - coincidence would have it that they visited on the same day, but my parent had left by thee time my friends got here. Marta had made a fantastic roast, so between both parties nothing went to waste...

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Is camoron simply stupid?

matthew@matthewgoodsell.co.uk — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 11:50:38 +0000

I know I said yesterday I was going to leave politics alone for a bit, but I was just watching CaMoron speaking in Wales, and it made me angry. I honestly think that, despite his eloquence, the guy is actually a bit stupid. He talks of spending more for less, but doesn't say how;; he says there are too many people on benefits, but doesn't understand that there are reasons for that other than sloth. CaMoron says he wants to cut beurocracy, criticising the number of checks and balances - how else do we establish whether what we are doing is right? Dad's a quality control manager; I picked up enough from him to know that these systems are necessary. In other words, I think CaMoron is criticising things because he simply doesn't understand them. The guy is thick. How can we possibly elect this moron?

more political philosophy

matthew@matthewgoodsell.co.uk — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:00:23 +0000

Thinking back on what I wrote yesterday, last night it struck me that I could be being a bit idealistic and arrogant in my politics. I was going on about people contributing to civilisation, and so on. That is to say, I was writing from a particular background, in a particular paradigm - writing as one brought up with a set of middle class values. Thus ii write about 'bigger pictures', civilisation', and so on. I sometimes forget that other people don't have those values; people to whom big ideas like the future of mankind doesn't matter as much as earning enough money to put food on the table. I can see their point. The thing is, last night I asked myself: who am I to impose my ideas of a socialist utopia on such people? if it were to be implemented, wouldn't it mean forcing a certain set of values on others, something which contradicts my belief in liberalism and democracy? Thus the very ideals which give birth to socialism - equality, freedom, liberalism - also mean it can never work. So much for that idea...

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my political philosophy

matthew@matthewgoodsell.co.uk — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:27:41 +0000

Last night on facebook a friend of mine asked me why I only criticise the Tories, as some of the accusations I make about them are just as valid to make of labour. This is, to be fair, true; but the difference is I don't have a problem with Labour's philosophy. I am what you might call a left winger, and I think this stems from my disability. I believe, firstly, that everyone is equal, regardless of gender, creed, colour or disability. This might lead one to conclude that if we are all equal, we should all be left to our own devices.. the best will rise to the top. This is more or less the Tory stance, and it is wrong. All it means is that wealth will be handed down from generation to generation; only the rich would get a decent education; and society will remain divided...

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article on facilitated communication

matthew@matthewgoodsell.co.uk — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:34:23 +0000

This morning I came across this article on facilitated communication. This is a technique where people help severely disabled people to communicate, for example by holding their hands as they point to a letter-board. The thing is, as the article points out, there is sometimes difficulty in establishing whether it is actually the disabled person talking. I am in two minds about this: it might well be that such communication is sometimes a mirage, and the facilitator, consciously or unconsciously, is the one producing the words. But if we say that, and condemn the technique, we automatically deny some severely disabled people the chance to communicate. Anyway, go read.

the cap

matthew@matthewgoodsell.co.uk — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:05:42 +0000

The oddest thought occurred to me today. You know when you just catch yourself thinking odd things. I was looking through my parents photos of their trip to Hamburg, and I thought: 'I miss Dad's cap'. Not 'I miss dad,' but 'I miss dad's cap'. I saw a picture of my father in his ccap, and this odd thought just arose. Of course, my dad's cap is now part of my dad's identity; he often collected me from university wearing it, so I associate that cap with a warm feeling...

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we are sailing

matthew@matthewgoodsell.co.uk — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:31:20 +0000

I have decided it's better to stay dirty, or ask Dan to do it. This morning I wanted a shower. Lyn has quite a cool set-up - she has a shower you step into, and close a vacuum-sealed door behind you. You sit in it and it fills up like a bath. I've seen Dan do it a few times, so today I decided to spend time by doing it myself. Big mistake. It was going well at first; my bath was filling up nicely and I was getting pleasingly warm. Then I heard something go bang. I thought nothing of it, until I noticed water leaking out of the tub. Oh crap! I was in trouble. I yelled 'DAN!!!' but he couldn't stem the flow. I mustn't have pressed the vacuum button for long enough...

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more ranting - but not about politics today

matthew@matthewgoodsell.co.uk — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:24:58 +0000

There are a couple of things I could write about today. I could write about the Tory party conference, and about how they're still trying to pretend brown failed us in the recession; but I fear my political rants have grown somewhat ad Hominem of late, so I think I'll give that subject a rest...

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