Wow, didn't even know Caro was still alive, let alone working on Vol 5! I'd be more a 30 page a day guy with weighty tomes like these so more like a minimum 6 month project for me. Probably why I've put it off so many times before.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 8:38amCaro's bio of LBJ—one more volume to come; no idea when it's expected to be completed—is the gold standard for political biography. Just remarkable in scope and depth. He's literally been working on it for almost fifty years. It's a huge undertaking for us to read it—even at like 50 pages a day, that's still at least two months worth—but Caro has dedicated more than half his life to researching and writing it. It's not crazy to call Caro a martyr to this project.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 8:13amThat old phrase about campaigning in poetry and governing in prose has taken a real battering in recent years, hasn't it? Starmer has tweaked it to campaigning in prose and (hopefully) govern in prose too. Reminds me i have that 4 volume LBJ biography sitting on my shelf for god knows how long and will be my first big reading project for 2023.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 8:02amThere is a weird faith that those further to the right on the spectrum will be better in government than they are while campaigning or in opposition. No, no, don't worry, once Trump is in office he'll find out he can't be so outlandish. Boris Johnson will realize the job requires maturity. It's a rare bird who proves to be more welfare-oriented in government than before (Lyndon Johnson comes to mind; in the 50s he was seen as a conservative Democrat, but as president he tried to outdo FDR).Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 7:55amAnother thing i see is a lot of liberal remainers cheerleading Starmer on the assumption he'll start to reverse brexit and deliver a referendum on pr voting, even though he has explicitly ruled out doing any of those things. Seems like they are deluding themselves into believing Starmer doesn't really mean those things when he says them, he's just being "grown up" and pragmatic, but if there's one thing i can promise them, Starmer might be lying about many things, but that is not one of them. Unlike Roger Daltrey, i think people really are willing to be fooled over and over and over again!
Hey limeys
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Low Down Low
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Given his age, it has to be even odds at best that he lives to complete it. Plus he claims he wants to then release a single-volume distilled version. Crazy. But I hear you about how daunting books that long are. Anything more than 300 pp these days raises an eyebrow, just knowing how long it’ll take to complete.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 11:00amWow, didn't even know Caro was still alive, let alone working on Vol 5! I'd be more a 30 page a day guy with weighty tomes like these so more like a minimum 6 month project for me. Probably why I've put it off so many times before.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 8:38amCaro's bio of LBJ—one more volume to come; no idea when it's expected to be completed—is the gold standard for political biography. Just remarkable in scope and depth. He's literally been working on it for almost fifty years. It's a huge undertaking for us to read it—even at like 50 pages a day, that's still at least two months worth—but Caro has dedicated more than half his life to researching and writing it. It's not crazy to call Caro a martyr to this project.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 8:13amThat old phrase about campaigning in poetry and governing in prose has taken a real battering in recent years, hasn't it? Starmer has tweaked it to campaigning in prose and (hopefully) govern in prose too. Reminds me i have that 4 volume LBJ biography sitting on my shelf for god knows how long and will be my first big reading project for 2023.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 8:02amThere is a weird faith that those further to the right on the spectrum will be better in government than they are while campaigning or in opposition. No, no, don't worry, once Trump is in office he'll find out he can't be so outlandish. Boris Johnson will realize the job requires maturity. It's a rare bird who proves to be more welfare-oriented in government than before (Lyndon Johnson comes to mind; in the 50s he was seen as a conservative Democrat, but as president he tried to outdo FDR).Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 7:55am
Another thing i see is a lot of liberal remainers cheerleading Starmer on the assumption he'll start to reverse brexit and deliver a referendum on pr voting, even though he has explicitly ruled out doing any of those things. Seems like they are deluding themselves into believing Starmer doesn't really mean those things when he says them, he's just being "grown up" and pragmatic, but if there's one thing i can promise them, Starmer might be lying about many things, but that is not one of them. Unlike Roger Daltrey, i think people really are willing to be fooled over and over and over again!
"Grab some wood, bub.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Low Down Low
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Re: Hey limeys
Last few years I've developed what i think - for me - is a good reading habit which is i routinely tackle one particularly heavy tome per calendar month and take it in 30 page chunks first thing in the morning when, for reasons i don't fully comprehend, i actually find - hangovers apart - I'm at my mental peak for the day, such as that is! Seems to work anyway. But it can't feel like a chore or else, as marky hints at earlier, I'm better off listening to some nice music instead.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 11:05amGiven his age, it has to be even odds at best that he lives to complete it. Plus he claims he wants to then release a single-volume distilled version. Crazy. But I hear you about how daunting books that long are. Anything more than 300 pp these days raises an eyebrow, just knowing how long it’ll take to complete.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 11:00amWow, didn't even know Caro was still alive, let alone working on Vol 5! I'd be more a 30 page a day guy with weighty tomes like these so more like a minimum 6 month project for me. Probably why I've put it off so many times before.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 8:38amCaro's bio of LBJ—one more volume to come; no idea when it's expected to be completed—is the gold standard for political biography. Just remarkable in scope and depth. He's literally been working on it for almost fifty years. It's a huge undertaking for us to read it—even at like 50 pages a day, that's still at least two months worth—but Caro has dedicated more than half his life to researching and writing it. It's not crazy to call Caro a martyr to this project.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 8:13amThat old phrase about campaigning in poetry and governing in prose has taken a real battering in recent years, hasn't it? Starmer has tweaked it to campaigning in prose and (hopefully) govern in prose too. Reminds me i have that 4 volume LBJ biography sitting on my shelf for god knows how long and will be my first big reading project for 2023.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 8:02am
There is a weird faith that those further to the right on the spectrum will be better in government than they are while campaigning or in opposition. No, no, don't worry, once Trump is in office he'll find out he can't be so outlandish. Boris Johnson will realize the job requires maturity. It's a rare bird who proves to be more welfare-oriented in government than before (Lyndon Johnson comes to mind; in the 50s he was seen as a conservative Democrat, but as president he tried to outdo FDR).
- Marky Dread
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Re: Hey limeys
.
Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty
We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.
"Without the common people you're nothing"
Nos Sumus Una Familia
- Dr. Medulla
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Re: Hey limeys
As much as anything, for me my eyes get tired more easily. Which sucks given how much reading I have to do in my job. Audiobooks have been salvation for making sure I’m still crunching thru books steadily.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 11:51amLast few years I've developed what i think - for me - is a good reading habit which is i routinely tackle one particularly heavy tome per calendar month and take it in 30 page chunks first thing in the morning when, for reasons i don't fully comprehend, i actually find - hangovers apart - I'm at my mental peak for the day, such as that is! Seems to work anyway. But it can't feel like a chore or else, as marky hints at earlier, I'm better off listening to some nice music instead.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 11:05amGiven his age, it has to be even odds at best that he lives to complete it. Plus he claims he wants to then release a single-volume distilled version. Crazy. But I hear you about how daunting books that long are. Anything more than 300 pp these days raises an eyebrow, just knowing how long it’ll take to complete.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 11:00amWow, didn't even know Caro was still alive, let alone working on Vol 5! I'd be more a 30 page a day guy with weighty tomes like these so more like a minimum 6 month project for me. Probably why I've put it off so many times before.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 8:38amCaro's bio of LBJ—one more volume to come; no idea when it's expected to be completed—is the gold standard for political biography. Just remarkable in scope and depth. He's literally been working on it for almost fifty years. It's a huge undertaking for us to read it—even at like 50 pages a day, that's still at least two months worth—but Caro has dedicated more than half his life to researching and writing it. It's not crazy to call Caro a martyr to this project.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 8:13am
That old phrase about campaigning in poetry and governing in prose has taken a real battering in recent years, hasn't it? Starmer has tweaked it to campaigning in prose and (hopefully) govern in prose too. Reminds me i have that 4 volume LBJ biography sitting on my shelf for god knows how long and will be my first big reading project for 2023.
"Grab some wood, bub.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
- Dr. Medulla
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Re: Hey limeys
"Grab some wood, bub.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Low Down Low
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Re: Hey limeys
The last 8-10 weeks: erase them completely from your brain. Never happened. Doesn't seem right, though, that Mr A Whip got to nominate twice here.
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Re: Hey limeys
Oh my fucking god, if they brought back Johnson the Tories should just rebrand as one of Python’s Silly Parties.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 4:58pmThe last 8-10 weeks: erase them completely from your brain. Never happened. Doesn't seem right, though, that Mr A Whip got to nominate twice here.
"Grab some wood, bub.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Low Down Low
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Monster Raving Loony Party being totally upstaged here. It seems so utterly mindbogglingly silly that it almost feels the logical thing to do.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 5:31pmOh my fucking god, if they brought back Johnson the Tories should just rebrand as one of Python’s Silly Parties.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 4:58pmThe last 8-10 weeks: erase them completely from your brain. Never happened. Doesn't seem right, though, that Mr A Whip got to nominate twice here.
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Re: Hey limeys
John Major's still alive. All told, he seems the most respectable of the options.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 5:58pmMonster Raving Loony Party being totally upstaged here. It seems so utterly mindbogglingly silly that it almost feels the logical thing to do.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 5:31pmOh my fucking god, if they brought back Johnson the Tories should just rebrand as one of Python’s Silly Parties.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 4:58pmThe last 8-10 weeks: erase them completely from your brain. Never happened. Doesn't seem right, though, that Mr A Whip got to nominate twice here.
"Grab some wood, bub.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Low Down Low
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Could well boil down to a 3 way run off between Major, Johnson and Theresa May with Pigman positioning himself as a compromise option if none of the 3 get a consensus. Tony Blair being mentioned in dispatches as a possible dark horse.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 6:57pmJohn Major's still alive. All told, he seems the most respectable of the options.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 5:58pmMonster Raving Loony Party being totally upstaged here. It seems so utterly mindbogglingly silly that it almost feels the logical thing to do.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 5:31pmOh my fucking god, if they brought back Johnson the Tories should just rebrand as one of Python’s Silly Parties.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 4:58pmThe last 8-10 weeks: erase them completely from your brain. Never happened. Doesn't seem right, though, that Mr A Whip got to nominate twice here.
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Yes, Blair! Confirmation of his ratfucker status needs to happen before he's finally drawn and quartered (why the hell have you people let that tradition fall away?).Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 7:22pmCould well boil down to a 3 way run off between Major, Johnson and Theresa May with Pigman positioning himself as a compromise option if none of the 3 get a consensus. Tony Blair being mentioned in dispatches as a possible dark horse.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 6:57pmJohn Major's still alive. All told, he seems the most respectable of the options.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 5:58pmMonster Raving Loony Party being totally upstaged here. It seems so utterly mindbogglingly silly that it almost feels the logical thing to do.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 5:31pmOh my fucking god, if they brought back Johnson the Tories should just rebrand as one of Python’s Silly Parties.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 4:58pmThe last 8-10 weeks: erase them completely from your brain. Never happened. Doesn't seem right, though, that Mr A Whip got to nominate twice here.
"Grab some wood, bub.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Low Down Low
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Re: wRe: Hey limeys
I do think Blair would be ideal as his choosing to join Labour was such a blatant act of opportunism and career advancement that becoming a full blown tory would represent both a spiritual homecoming and an important step in setting the record straight.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 7:40pmYes, Blair! Confirmation of his ratfucker status needs to happen before he's finally drawn and quartered (why the hell have you people let that tradition fall away?).Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 7:22pmCould well boil down to a 3 way run off between Major, Johnson and Theresa May with Pigman positioning himself as a compromise option if none of the 3 get a consensus. Tony Blair being mentioned in dispatches as a possible dark horse.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 6:57pmJohn Major's still alive. All told, he seems the most respectable of the options.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 5:58pmMonster Raving Loony Party being totally upstaged here. It seems so utterly mindbogglingly silly that it almost feels the logical thing to do.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 5:31pm
Oh my fucking god, if they brought back Johnson the Tories should just rebrand as one of Python’s Silly Parties.
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Re: Hey limeys
It's far from an original thought, but Thatcher's and Reagan's greatest achievements, respectively, were Blair and Clinton. Getting the opposition to sell out their base and validate their ideology is the ultimate power move. The 80s were shit; the 90s confirmed it.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 7:56pmI do think Blair would be ideal as his choosing to join Labour was such a blatant act of opportunism and career advancement that becoming a full blown tory would represent both a spiritual homecoming and an important step in setting the record straight.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 7:40pmYes, Blair! Confirmation of his ratfucker status needs to happen before he's finally drawn and quartered (why the hell have you people let that tradition fall away?).Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 7:22pmCould well boil down to a 3 way run off between Major, Johnson and Theresa May with Pigman positioning himself as a compromise option if none of the 3 get a consensus. Tony Blair being mentioned in dispatches as a possible dark horse.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 6:57pmJohn Major's still alive. All told, he seems the most respectable of the options.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 5:58pm
Monster Raving Loony Party being totally upstaged here. It seems so utterly mindbogglingly silly that it almost feels the logical thing to do.
"Grab some wood, bub.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Low Down Low
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Re: wRe: Hey limeys
Asked once what her greatest achievement in politics was, Thatcher instantly replied "Tony Blair and New Labour." Michael Gove once described Blair as his favourite politician. Even with a massive commons majority, they never saw him as a threat but more of a seamless continuation of the monetary policies that were sacrosanct to them.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 8:09pmIt's far from an original thought, but Thatcher's and Reagan's greatest achievements, respectively, were Blair and Clinton. Getting the opposition to sell out their base and validate their ideology is the ultimate power move. The 80s were shit; the 90s confirmed it.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 7:56pmI do think Blair would be ideal as his choosing to join Labour was such a blatant act of opportunism and career advancement that becoming a full blown tory would represent both a spiritual homecoming and an important step in setting the record straight.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 7:40pmYes, Blair! Confirmation of his ratfucker status needs to happen before he's finally drawn and quartered (why the hell have you people let that tradition fall away?).Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 7:22pmCould well boil down to a 3 way run off between Major, Johnson and Theresa May with Pigman positioning himself as a compromise option if none of the 3 get a consensus. Tony Blair being mentioned in dispatches as a possible dark horse.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Oct 2022, 6:57pm
John Major's still alive. All told, he seems the most respectable of the options.