Guess what November 15th is?

As over-consumerism sweeps the Western world, it is no better evidenced than in America where they actually have a day – November 15 – to rid the household of their excessive lifestyles.

Nov 15 is clean out your refrigerator day.

I just can’t get round my brain the need to remind the house-husbands of America that in the run up to Christmas, they have to clean out the cold storage facility? I say house-husbands, as I cannot imagine any woman in the world would need to be reminded of this.

This post comes courtesy of 123 greetings.com

Preacher admits.. "Yes I'm queer"

After bending over backwards all week claiming he was straight, a family man and that gay relationships were sinful, Ted Haggard the leader of the Evangelical Church in America has indeed been bending forward and touching his toes for the boyz for most of his life.

Whereas confession is normally accepted as being good for the soul, Ted Haggard has found out the hard way that truth can destroy your career if you spend your whole life lying.

• “I am guilty of sexual immorality,” said Ted Haggard, a confession with potential political ramifications far beyond his church in the conservative bastion of Colorado Springs (comments the UK Times).
  “I am a deceiver and a liar. There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I’ve been warring against it all of my adult life.”

Just imagine for one moment that this man, who shapes Christian thinking to millions of conservative leaning Americans, had been honest about his sexuality. A lot of pain and suffering in the church would not have occured.

If only Ted could embrace his sexuality, and dedicate the rest of his ministry to saving the church from the filth it preaches of hatred and pity to gay people... more souls could be saved.

Keep your pecker up Pastor Ted

Our prayers are with Pastor Haggard.

We want to urge on the coming of the Lord, not the indulgencies of Ted with a gay prostitute.

• Extract from the Guardian: Mr Jones [a male prostitue from Colorado] told reporters he went public because of his anger at Mr Haggard for preaching against homosexuality and gay marriage while pursuing a clandestine relationship with him for three years.
  
  He said that the pastor paid to have sex nearly once a month, and that he snorted methamphetamines to heighten the experience.

If Ted confesses his sin and stops persecuting gay people for their life-choices, then I see no reason why he should not return to the Republican sponsored Evangelical Church of America.

God moves in mysterious ways. This is HIS way of healing the Church in these troubled times of rampant hatred being carried out in the name of the Lord.

The filth in American Politics - yea the candidates

Lib Dem Welsh MP Peter Black has a great little TV ad video from across the pond on his website.

Politics in America is mired in filth. When desperate men want to win the vote, they will resort to almost anything.

Republican Congressman John Doolittle is fighting for his life to hold his seat on Congress - principally due to his support of the War on Terror. He has done little else in office, so the Democrats are whipping his arse!

Doolitle states Democrat candidate Charlie Brown supports the North American Man Boy Love Association through his membership of the American Civil Liberties Union, and since the ACLU has in the past defended Nambla's free-speech rights, he is tainted by association.

"It is astounding," Mr Doolittle said in a recent press release, "that anyone could defend a group dedicated to aiding and abetting paedophiles."

So I guess the crap thrown back at Doolittle by the Brown campaign in the video on Peter's blog is therefore quite lame in comparison!

With Tory taxation you can have your cake and eat it

I am confused by the Conservatives when they talk about tax.

One influential wing of the Tories, in the Economic Competitiveness Review, call for flat taxes.

• FLAT TAX = taxes are set at the same low rate for everyone, making them easy to understand and difficult to avoid, and eliminating the need for complex exemptions.
  

The other in the guise of the Tax Reform Commission says flat taxes are a bad thing as they may initially boost economic growth, but don’t pay for themselves. This ultimately leads to public spending reductions or increased government debt.

That’s the problem for policy-lite Dave Cameron and his henchman Mr Osbourne: When they have the bravado to publish policy, it’s contradicted by knowledgeable colleagues.

And we, the long-suffering voting public, are left more confused as we are stretched in both directions in this policy tug of war.

Oh no, Mark Oaten is at it again... confessing that is

Just when the shame was almost gone, Mark Oaten is at it again.

The confessions of an MP who does a rent-boy has now reached Women’s Hour as the honourable member for Winchester and his wife confess all (again) to the media.

This time the story takes on love, marriage and forgiveness in their first joint interview. But whilst a BBC journalist wonders how to pick up a marriage and carry on after such a bombshell, I am left pondering how does a political party pick itself up after such a carry-on?

There is something very Catholic about seeking forgiveness, but I’m getting rather bored with hearing this story of lust that does not speak its name.

Still at least the media has stopped blaming Oaten’s hair-loss, Charles Kennedy’s drink problem or indeed that Mark may, just may, have been interested in having (or was it watching?) sex with men?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/01/2006_42_tue.shtml

Star Wars comes to Swindon

Just home from seeing Canadian actor Charles Ross single-handledly play all the characters, sing the tunes, fly the ships, fight the battles (on both sides) and save the universe in the One Mans’ Star Wars Trilogy.

The sixty-minute show was fun-packed from start to end, and lets face who wouldn't want to save the universe fighting with a lightsaber and sounding the hooommmmzzzzshhhh schzzzchhh schzzchh cry as you swosh your lightsaber in a galactic battle far, far away?

I would recommend this show to anyone who is mildly amused by Star Wars, or the avid fan obsessed with the original movies…
· Charles Ross is Darth Vader
· Charles Ross is Luke Skywalker
· Charles Ross is Princess Leia !!!
If this show does not ignite your inner Jedi – nothing will

Is Greenpeace losing the plot?

Apart from buying property abroad and driving my Mercedes-Benz all over the place, I still keep a keen eye on the news over the internet.

Okay so I have not blogged for most of the summer, but that's cos I woz watchin' Big Brother. And from what I have read on-line, not many others were blogging anything of real interest.

Talking of Big Brother - there is an increasingly growing campaign against the car-driving individual with loud calls for government to punish motorists not just through their pockets, but to restrict their movement as well. It seems owners of off-roaders, Chelsea Tractors, Death Machines - whatever your name for them - they are all getting a bad press. The Alliance Against Urban 4x4s have an interesting website with quotes from Mayor Ken Livingstone "When you see someone trying to maneuver it round the school gates, you have to think, you are a complete idiot."
...and Jeremy Clarkson (the king of drivers doing it badly) "I do have to say that the drivers of these things in cities must be clinically insane." Maybe it is time to think again?

I support the polluter pays - and those who drive a lot, do pay through the excessive tax on petrol and diesel. In the Netherlands campaigners are demanding City & Town Councils deny vehicles over a certain weight and size permission to park in public car parks or along shopping streets.

Greenpeace is one of my favourites organisations. I used to be a subscribing member, and was very proud of their campaigns to halt the explosion of Nuclear (that wasn't meant to be a pun). But Greenpeace have stepped up their campaign against the motorist. I often feel a tinge of guilt when they moan about big-badge cars (although my Merc is only a baby A Class). Me thinks they have gone too too far over the top this time.

Is Greenpeace losing the plot?

They have a new video promo which has not received very much positive publicity. It's an attempt to encourage people not to drive 4x4s. I think there are many ways to push this argument... and the excessively polluting the environment argument through wasted fuel consumption is the best route.

In reality this video campaign is an offensive load of tosh. And if anything, could encourage school-playground bulling of kids who's Mums drop them off at school in a 4x4. Most adults would I hope not revert to this sort of nonsense bullying. There has to be a more effective way of pursuading people to change their lifestyles.

Detention then for the media girls and boys at Greenpeace?

Now, has anybody seen my cup of tea?

My Lib Dem councillor has got himself a blogging!

After a couple of months berating my local councillor that I wanted to hear more of his news and read more of his views than his quarterly FOCUS leaflet that hits my door mat, my councillor has got himself a blog.

And about time to!!

There is so much going on in Swindon at this time, and the town centre (where I live) is going through a most fantastic regeneration, that I could fill a political blog easily with news, views and stories.

Sadly my time of being party-political is over. Did I hear you cheer?

How very dare you

As a Policy and Partnership Officer at the challenging Swindon Borough Council, I dare not speak of party politics. Especially as those in charge are of a Blue persuasion. But hand on my heart, I think they are doing a decent job. And the Leader of the Council is head and shoulders better than any we have had for a good few years now... Very visionary.

But hey, I said I would not be party political - so shut my mouth.

As for Cllr Dave Wood and the Eastcott Focus Team - keep up the good work with the blog... I will be watching closely. http://eastcott.blogspot.com/

What a wonderful summer

Well the summer has been great.

A holiday to Portugal in July saw us studying Estate Agents windows. Like you do! The next thing we knew we were driving to a rural part of Faro and viewing a brand new apartment.

We were determined not to jump in with both feet, but our hearts did a double beat as we drew up the dusty lane and into the carpark of the block.

Our new property, a very large one-bed unit on the outskirts of the town where my partner Jose grew up. This new venture is all very exciting. Video camera security entry, luxury bathroom furniture with power-shower, marble flooring and granite work-tops in the state-of-art designer kitchen. Our next challenge is kiting out the living room and bedroom.

I like to think of myself as a environmentally sound, but have to confess that I want to install Air Conditioning...Should I do it when I will only visit for five weeks holiday a year?

Maybe all I need to do is open windows at either end of the unit and hope for a thru-draft... But have you ever been to Portugal in the summer - just taking a deep breath in the month of August can burn your lungs.

I'm taking my Dad over for a viewing in late September, which means I will miss the Lib Dem conference this year... But some things are even more satisfying than party politics.