Thursday, April 27, 2006

What in the World is Going on in British Politics?

My apologies for the delayed posts, but hopefully this one will more than make up for it.

It seems that maybe (hopefully) new Labour, the British ruling party at the moment, may be in the proverbial foul smelling creek without means of propulsion. With the NHS (National Health Service) in crisis, and in many cases rationing care, criminals being released instead of deported due to their immigration status, and now the Deputy Prime Minister has revealed he's been sleeping with his secretary. To be fair, the affair ended in 2004, but not after going on for 2 years, which started at a work Christmas party (does anyone else besides me think that those things re nothing but trouble?).

Firstly, we have the NHS, which is in deep trouble now, completely out of cash. This is a real problem, that could impact the lives of millions. Anyone else out there think that having such a massive government program closely linked to the very life of its people is a bad idea? This is why I am so opposed to the idea of a nationalized health care system. Not because I want to deny people the chance to live a long and healthy life, but because everyone loses. The government loses badly needed funds for other uses, the people get poor coverage (my wife has been dealing with an illness going on 4 years now that has finally been diagnosed, and is still taking months to get treatment for, and the treatment is a prescription), and the workers get taxed heavily. Furthermore, I get so sick of hearing the excuse: "that it's free" Is that why I pay a huge amount of my income to the NHS? Far more than my insurance premium was when I worked in California? And I get poorer service? The response by the health secretary to try and deal with the issue of nursing shortages was so terse she was booed off stage. Seems like Blair picked a winner there.

Secondly, it's also emerged that 1,023 criminals were released from prison, including rapists, murderers, and pedophiles, and instead of deporting them, it let them roam free. Where are they now? Nobody knows. That's what's scary. Where Britain is already reeling with serious crime issues, mounting teenage crime rates, and police hamstrung by PC policies and paperwork, and the citizens hamstrung by an inability to defend themselves, the criminals have a very serious and deadly advantage. Then this happens. Seems like we've got a great home secretary who's got things under control.

Thirdly, we have the Deputy Prime Minister, basically the VP, sleeping with his secretary for 2 years. Now, I know that's probably not a huge revelation, as it seems to happen everyday, and hey our own Presidents have done it. The thing that concerns me is that he most likely was on the job when some or many of their goings on happened. A CEO would get fired for something like that. That's where I get annoyed, when it happens when we're supposed to be worrying about the running of the country.

So, it seems Blair can really pick 'em. Now, Blair, while I never really liked the guy, has generally got a very impressive ability to spin things on its head when he needs to. He hasn't said much that's impressed me this time, adding that the last time government had such a massive failure, people had 'lost homes and jobs", in reference to the economic failures that happened in 1992 under the conservative watch. Ok, Mr. Blair, true, but when I'm reading that murderers and rapists are leaving our prisons instead of being deported, I'm watching my wife suffer while she waits to get evaluated for her prescription, (something that should take a week or two, not months), and I watched my Wife's grandfather die prematurely because of simple errors made at the hospital because someone couldn't be bothered to look at a damn X-Ray. We're dealing with far more than jobs and homes, we're dealing with life and death. I'm sorry Tony, but the time has come for you to either dump your ministers and get things taken care of properly, quickly, and without the added cost to the taxpayer, or step aside. The nation of Great Britain has gone further and further downhill, and you have appointed bungling morons to do the job of running the country. You may not have created all the messes yourself, but good grief man, you're supposed to at least make them better, not worse and make more. Bring the Great back in to Great Britain.