Odyssean obsecrations...

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Dominic Cummings has been in the news lately, indeed he is making it. He was Michael Gove's main adviser for most of September 2007 – January 2014 and is really making Clegg look bad (yes, I know!). Babble in the Bubble is well worth the read (including/ especially the updates); who would have thought free school meals could be so amusing (you have to laugh otherwise you'll cry)?



Dominic has some interesting things to say: "Courses such as Politics, Philosophy and Economics (and economics in general) [Remember Old Oxfordian Overseers? And follow-up] do not train political leaders well. They encourage superficial bluffing, misplaced confidence... ...and they do not train people to make decisions in complex organisations. Ministers are selected from MPs but MPs are not selected for their ability to devise policy, prioritise, manage complex organisations, or admit and fix errors. In the absence of effective training, many default to gimmicks and attempts to manipulate the media. In the choice between ‘to be’ or ‘to do’, insiders tend to choose the former because the system incentivises behaviour that is contrary to the public interest."



Now who could argue with that! (well, S for one).  Essay on 'Odyssean' Education and 'integrative thinking' is HERE (pdf file). Hat-tips: Raewald and Guido.

Odyssean obsecrations...

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Dominic Cummings has been in the news lately, indeed he is making it. He was Michael Gove's main adviser for most of September 2007 – January 2014 and is really making Clegg look bad (yes, I know!). Babble in the Bubble is well worth the read (including/ especially the updates); who would have thought free school meals could be so amusing (you have to laugh otherwise you'll cry)?

Dominic has some interesting things to say: "Courses such as Politics, Philosophy and Economics (and economics in general) [Remember Old Oxfordian Overseers? And follow-up] do not train political leaders well. They encourage superficial bluffing, misplaced confidence... ...and they do not train people to make decisions in complex organisations. Ministers are selected from MPs but MPs are not selected for their ability to devise policy, prioritise, manage complex organisations, or admit and fix errors. In the absence of effective training, many default to gimmicks and attempts to manipulate the media. In the choice between ‘to be’ or ‘to do’, insiders tend to choose the former because the system incentivises behaviour that is contrary to the public interest."

Now who could argue with that! (well, S for one).  Essay on 'Odyssean' Education and 'integrative thinking' is HERE (pdf file). Hat-tips: Raewald and Guido.

Odds-on options...

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I would say the Eastleigh householder with this notice on his door has it down about right. The town was home to Benny Hill (Rennard's kin, surely!); imagine the hustings chase! The image (click to enlarge) from The Slog where one comment suggests that out of 14 "useless" candidates, eventually it came down (for them) to a hard decision between Elvis Loves Pets Party and Beer, Baccy and Crumpet Party. Anyway, not sure how things will go but James Landale has some thoughts, among them: "The Lib Dems are totally bedded in. One Tory MP who knows the patch very well told me that the Lib Dems not only hold all the council seats in the constituency, they also hold all the parish councils. Chris Rennard - to pluck a name from nowhere [snigger] - whipped the party into shape for the 1994 by-election and council elections and they have dug in hard ever since".

Odds-on options...

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I would say the Eastleigh householder with this notice on his door has it down about right. The town was home to Benny Hill (Rennard's kin, surely!); imagine the hustings chase! The image (click to enlarge) from The Slog where one comment suggests that out of 14 "useless" candidates, eventually it came down (for them) to a hard decision between Elvis Loves Pets Party and Beer, Baccy and Crumpet Party. Anyway, not sure how things will go but James Landale has some thoughts, among them: "The Lib Dems are totally bedded in. One Tory MP who knows the patch very well told me that the Lib Dems not only hold all the council seats in the constituency, they also hold all the parish councils. Chris Rennard - to pluck a name from nowhere [snigger] - whipped the party into shape for the 1994 by-election and council elections and they have dug in hard ever since".

Oakeshott on Osborne...

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Interesting article by Brian Wheeler related to the post below about politicians' U-turns and how the public perceives them (and very encouraging to read the largely sensible comments, clearly the usual suspects haven't found the thread yet!). Some - as usual unnamed - Conservative backbenchers 'have told the BBC' that Britain needed a "full-time chancellor"; "Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott said that Chancellor George Osborne needs to "focus on the day job" instead of trying to do two jobs at once" [Link]. I agree but am convinced all Osborne and Danny Alexander need do is read and think about the shit that snide EU-loving treasury civil servants seem to keep pushing to the fore; then shove it back in their faces and tell them to fuck off.

Oakeshott on Osborne...

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Interesting article by Brian Wheeler related to the post below about politicians' U-turns and how the public perceives them (and very encouraging to read the largely sensible comments, clearly the usual suspects haven't found the thread yet!). Some - as usual unnamed - Conservative backbenchers 'have told the BBC' that Britain needed a "full-time chancellor"; "Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott said that Chancellor George Osborne needs to "focus on the day job" instead of trying to do two jobs at once" [Link]. I agree but am convinced all Osborne and Danny Alexander need do is read and think about the shit that snide EU-loving treasury civil servants seem to keep pushing to the fore; then shove it back in their faces and tell them to fuck off.

Oenothera option...

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I've cheated a bit with the blog title: Oenothera genus is really evening primrose whereas the picture is a primrose: today is Primrose Day (named for the "favourite flower" of Benjamin Disraeli who died on 19th April [edit]1881). Similarly, the Primrose League - whose membership in the decade following Disraeli's death reached over 1 million! - was an organisation for spreading Conservative principles in Great Britain. It was founded in 1883 and 'was finally wound up in December 2004'. Its declared aims were:
To Uphold and support God, Queen, and Country, and the Conservative cause;
To provide an effective voice to represent the interests of our members and to bring the experience of the Leaders to bear on the conduct of public affairs for the common good;
To encourage and help our members to improve their professional competence as leaders;
To fight for free enterprise [Wiki]. No wonder it came to an end: today's career politicians don't give a shit about any of that; what a coincidence, it's blue with a yellow centre.



Primrose photo credit: Algerina Perna / Baltimore Sun.



 

Oenothera option...

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I've cheated a bit with the blog title: Oenothera genus is really evening primrose whereas the picture is a primrose: today is Primrose Day (named for the "favourite flower" of Benjamin Disraeli who died on 19th April [edit]1881). Similarly, the Primrose League - whose membership in the decade following Disraeli's death reached over 1 million! - was an organisation for spreading Conservative principles in Great Britain. It was founded in 1883 and 'was finally wound up in December 2004'. Its declared aims were: To Uphold and support God, Queen, and Country, and the Conservative cause; To provide an effective voice to represent the interests of our members and to bring the experience of the Leaders to bear on the conduct of public affairs for the common good; To encourage and help our members to improve their professional competence as leaders; To fight for free enterprise [Wiki]. No wonder it came to an end: today's career politicians don't give a shit about any of that; what a coincidence, it's blue with a yellow centre.

Primrose photo credit: Algerina Perna / Baltimore Sun.