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Category Archives: Op-eds

John Pugh MP writes … Twitter ye Not – why Frankie Howerd was right

By John Pugh | Fri 6th November 2009 - 11:25 am

I’m deeply wounded to hear that a website referred to me as an analogue MP after I attacked the over-use of BlackBerries and iPhones during the House of Commons proceedings.

Wounded – because I could be thought a techno-geek. I build my own PCs, maintain and set up my office networks, buy books on Linux, and hold endless, sad conversations about interoperability. I am not a technophobe.

I just notice that (1) sometimes people pay more attention to the virtual world in their hand than the real world around them; (2) sometimes it’s rude to do …

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Tagged twitter | 15 Comments

Cameron’s Euro line addresses all the wrong problems

By Alex Foster | Wed 4th November 2009 - 10:40 pm

I listened to BBC reports of David Cameron’s speech on Europe with increasing bafflement as it appeared that the Conservatives set out a complicated set of policies that to my mind addressed all the wrong problems.

Granted, by many standards, and certainly by Tory standards, I’m a rabid pro-European. But here are two obvious flaws in the Conservative position.

No more treaties without referendums

So for each new treaty, the Tories will make sure there’s a referendum. Awuga, wrong question alert. Ask people if they wanted the Lisbon treaty, and most often what you get in answer is why they don’t like …

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Also posted in Europe / International | 11 Comments

Ros Scott writes… Party President’s report to members, October ‘09

By Baroness Ros Scott | Wed 4th November 2009 - 5:15 pm

October was a month which began for me in India and ended in Cairo. I had been invited to India by the Indian High Commission along with a small delegation of Parliamentarians who are “Liberal Democrat Friends of India”. We were led by Lord John Alderdice through a week’s visit which was split between Delhi and Pune and included a number of meeting and visits to reflect India today, politically, socially and economically.

I was in Cairo for three days to attend the Congress of Liberal International, which is held every 18 months. The Lib Dem delegation is led by the Party President, but all the work is done by the Chair of the International Relations Committee, who is Robert Woodthorpe Brown. It’s a pretty humbling experience to hear from campaigners who risk their life and liberty for working to make democratic change in oppressive regimes, and certainly puts domestic politics into perspective.

In between the two, Parliament resumed after the summer recess, and I’ve been busy in the Lords with voting, select committee work and a few speeches. The expenses issue continues to rumble.

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Also posted in Party Presidency | Tagged bedford, chief officers group, dave hodgson, expenses, federal executive, federal policy committee, international relations committee, Parliament and robert woodthorpe brown | 1 Comment

LDV USA: No surprises in Nov 3rd US state and city elections – Obama gets a bloody nose

By Paul Elgood | Wed 4th November 2009 - 3:45 pm

In a followup piece to his preview of US Elections ’09, Paul Elgood updates us on the results of yesterdays voter ballots across America.

Somewhat predictably President Obama got a wake-up call last night in the 3rd November elections. Attention focused on a handful of contests, most notably for the Virginia and New Jersey Governor’s Mansions. Both unsurprisingly went to the Republicans – in Virginia by a wide margin, closer in New Jersey.

However, it wasn’t all bad news for the Democrats. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg got an unexpected tougher ride, with a far closer than anticipated …

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Also posted in LDVUSA | Tagged atlanta, barack obama, boston, gay marriage, john mchugh, maine, miami, michael bloomberg, new jersey, run off, thomas menino and virginia | 5 Comments

Opinion: The Nutt affair – or, the thin line between evidence and policy

By Prateek Buch | Wed 4th November 2009 - 2:35 pm

Firstly, a disclaimer: I am a scientist, who is also interested in governance and politics, so the following post may come across as somewhat heated. Apologies, but I do feel that the recent furore over Prof. David Nutt’s sacking as Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) goes right to the heart of why I took up both science and politics as profession and interest respectively.

We begin with Prof. Nutt’s most recent criticism of the government’s drugs policy, which attracted headlines for claiming that alcohol, despite being legal and freely available, was more harmful than the Class A narcotic ecstasy (MDMA). At first sight this may seem like an outlandish statement to make, but the evidence, collated by Prof. Nutt, suggests otherwise; granted, the recent publication from Nutt’s The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (CCJS) at King’s College London wasn’t peer-reviewed, but the methodologies used to calculate his ‘harm index’ were so, and published in one of the most respected medical journals, The Lancet in 2007 (the full article is behind a paywall, contact me if you want the pdf…). Just to repeat this – using what seems to me to be a robust method, taking into account everything from physical harm to the user to social harms at large, ecstasy does indeed seem to be less dangerous than alcohol, and it’s using this tried and tested method of enquiry that Nutt used to conclude that cannabis should remain a class C drug.

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Tagged alan johnson, cannabis, david nutt, ecstacy, jacqui smith, lancet, MDMA, nature and nutt sacking | 9 Comments

Introducing the all-new LibDems.org.uk website

By David Loxton | Wed 4th November 2009 - 1:33 pm

If you’ve visited the Liberal Democrat party website in the last 24 hours, you’ll have noticed quite a dramatic change. Here, David Loxton, the party’s director of marketing, fundraising and members’ services explains the thinking behind the new site, and previews some of the other exciting new changes emerging within the party’s web strategy.

The new Liberal Democrat web strategy has been launched with a redesigned libdems.org.uk as its first stage. The new version is much more focused on setting out what the Liberal Democrats stand for, who we are and what visitors to the site can do to …

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Also posted in Online politics | Tagged featured and party website | 39 Comments

Opinion: Cast-iron Conservatism – brittle promises obtained from a flexible friend

By Ed Randall | Wed 4th November 2009 - 11:45 am

On 26th September 2007 David Cameron gave what he called a cast-iron guarantee. The guarantee appeared in a piece published under his name in Mr Murdoch’s Sun. Liberal Democrats, who set some store by their own political education and haven’t read the piece, really should take the opportunity to read it in its entirety.

The aspiring party leader explains that it is an article of faith for him that: “No treaty should be ratified without consulting the British people in a referendum.” And, because of that, he promises, any Conservative government led by him will “hold a referendum on any EU treaty.”

Mr Cameron explains, in the same piece, that his determination to hold a referendum isn’t simply a reflection of his deepest political beliefs but a practical matter too. It is integral to Conservative economic policy making. Why should that be? The explanation seems straightforward. It is vital because: “One of the great challenges rolling back the tide of bureaucracy.” And, Mr Cameron continues, “you can’t do that without targeting one of the main sources of this bureaucracy – Brussels.”

Without the referendum he’d promised Mr Cameron makes it clear it will not be possible to free UK businesses from red tape; the kind of European regulation which makes it impossible for the UK economy to succeed. Of course what most of us call regulation – and Mr Cameron calls red tape – isn’t quite the easy target that it once was. And Mr Cameron’s cast-iron guarantee has almost completely rusted away.

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Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged alex barker, bill cash, brussels, conservative party, david cameron, European referendum, european union, john eaglesham, lisbon treaty, rupert murdoch, the sun and tony blair | 3 Comments

Opinion: Why this is no time for “Savage Cuts”

By Bill le Breton | Mon 2nd November 2009 - 12:15 pm

Those concerned that the drive to lower the deficit by cutting government spending in the near term will stall recovery and lead to the so-called double dip recession have had their views strengthened by the publication of Slash and Grow? Spending cuts and economic recovery by liberal think-tank Centre Forum.

The big hint is in the little question mark of the title. After twenty-eight pages of detailed analysis, Centre Forum summarises i its news release:

Osborne’s plan for cuts imperils Britain’s recovery.

George Osborne’s determination to cut the deficit at all costs risks leaving the economy sluggish and the government still mired

…

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29 Comments

Opinion: Consumer Politics‏

By Andy Mayer | Sun 1st November 2009 - 2:48 pm

Working in public affairs means I get to travel outside the tribe and visit other Party Conferences, if exhausting after 3-4 weeks, it’s never a bad experience. In the main they are not dissimilar; set pieces in the conference halls, fringe meetings where the real debates happen, training sessions, social events with plenty of opportunity to end your career if you enjoy them too much, and halls full of exhibitors.

Within those halls one of highlights is the opportunity to engage in a little shopping. We have Lib Dem Image, Labour have their Campaign Shop, the Conservatives have Shop for Change… and as an innovation a mall of other suppliers from Harvey Nichols to Crombie, to novelty Christmas decorations.

Liberal Democrat Image was set up by the party in 2000 to supply a range of branded campaign goods. It’s a franchise operation run by Stuart and Leola Card, and the arrangement requires them to provide activist essentials but with the option to broaden the range should they wish.

This they do. Around 75% of the expanded product range has come from member suggestions, and some come from third parties like Bob Russell’s MP playing cards and Clegg and Cables Credit Crunch Chocolate. The only time LDI have hesitated to sell a product was a proposed range of party underwear “for reasons of good taste”*.

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Tagged lib dem image | 8 Comments

The plans to cut election expenses may be dead but there are still lessons to learn

By Mark Pack | Sun 1st November 2009 - 1:49 pm

Blink and you might have missed it: first details of a discussion about ways to cut the costs of running elections are leaked and then Jack Straw promptly disowns them and kills off the discussion.

Given how weak the proposals were – and the relatively small sums involved – I think that was the right decision by Straw and, although he and Liberal Democrats are usually not the best of friends, I think there’ll be widespread agreement in the Lib Dems with his comment, “Democracy has to be paid for”. Ideas such as replacing the general election freepost leaflets with one booklet would go quite against the current appetitie from the public to hear more from individual candidates about what the believe and what they want to do.

There are, though, three lessons to learn from the ideas that were floated.

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Also posted in Election law | Tagged electoral commission, jack straw, robin cook and turnout | 8 Comments

David Nutt: why was he sacked?

By Mark Pack | Fri 30th October 2009 - 6:13 pm

Earlier today Home Secretary asked the Government’s chief drugs advisor, Professor David Nutt, to resign. The government line is that he was “asked” to resign but, outside the world of pedantic spin doctors who watch too much of The Thick of It, being “asked” to resign is the same as being sacked.

But what’s more concerning is the reason for him being removed. The Home Secretary has said the reason for sacking him is that, “I cannot have public confusion between scientific advice and policy”.

But David Nutt isn’t being accused of getting evidence wrong (even though some of it gets into …

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Tagged alan johnson, chris huhne and david nutt | 53 Comments

More power for cities over skills budgets

By The Voice | Thu 29th October 2009 - 9:20 am

This week The Voice is running a four part series from the Centre for Cities, a think tank that works on analysis and policy to boost city economies. They launched their ‘Cities Manifesto’ at the Bournemouth Lib Dem Conference and this series looks in more detail at its main planks. You can also find out more at http://www.citiesmanifesto.org.

UK business leaders have become so fed-up with our skills system that they’re now refusing even to discuss it. Asked what the priorities for skills reform should be over the next five years …

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Also posted in Local government and The Independent View | Tagged centre for cities | 2 Comments

Opinion: Campaigning for F1

By Andy Darley | Thu 29th October 2009 - 9:18 am

Somewhere around 2003, after almost 20 years of ALDC-approved campaigning and concentrated Rennardism, I burned out and resigned from every bit of Libdemmery I was involved in bar party membership.

Goodbye campaigning, I thought, and went off to do quieter things, like setting up a motorsports website supporting British drivers, www.BritsOnPole.com.

All went well until a chancer named Simon Gillett met a bigger chancer named Bernie Ecclestone and won a deal to take the Formula One British Grand Prix to cosy old Donington Park. Quite how the necessary redevelopment work would be paid for was unclear.

Since then, the slow, painful, but wholly predictable collapse of Gillett’s plans have led to worried fans of British motorsport arriving in droves at our site in search of news and reassurance.

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Also posted in News and Online politics | Tagged bernie ecclestone, caron lindsay, chris rennard, donington, donington park, duncan stephen, featured, formula 1, grand prix, jenson button, silverstone and simon gillett | 11 Comments

Opinion: Here comes the giant ‘house-swap’

By Susan Gaszczak | Wed 28th October 2009 - 4:40 pm

This morning I wake to news that MPs will be banned from paying mortgages under the new rules that will be suggested by Sir Christopher Kelly. My first reaction was ‘great’ – but how do poor people who do not live within commuting distance become MPs?

As I read the further detail of the suggestions given to the press I realised that, yet again, we are facing a sticking plaster solution to cover up a rotten system. Sir Christopher Kelly is said to be recommending that no MP should be able to claim for a mortgage for their second home …

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Tagged mps expenses | 16 Comments

Building the houses we need in Britain’s cities

By The Voice | Wed 28th October 2009 - 9:20 am

This week The Voice is running a four part series from the Centre for Cities, a think tank that works on analysis and policy to boost city economies. They launched their ‘Cities Manifesto’ at the Bournemouth Lib Dem Conference and this series looks in more detail at its main planks. You can also find out more at http://www.citiesmanifesto.org.

In our cities, some of the most visible effects of the credit crunch are the housebuilding projects and plans that have ground to a halt. The regeneration of York Northwest …

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Also posted in Local government and The Independent View | Tagged centre for cities | 14 Comments

More financial power for cities

By The Voice | Tue 27th October 2009 - 9:20 am

This week The Voice is running a four part series from the Centre for Cities, a think tank that works on analysis and policy to boost city economies. They launched their ‘Cities Manifesto’ at the Bournemouth Lib Dem Conference and this series looks in more detail at its main planks. You can also find out more at http://www.citiesmanifesto.org.

All the major parties spent party conference season trying to advance their localist credentials. However, there’s more the Liberal Democrats could do to reassert their radical localist credentials – most significantly, by …

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Also posted in Local government and The Independent View | Tagged centre for cities | 3 Comments

Opinion: Metro Mayors for UK’s largest cities

By The Voice | Mon 26th October 2009 - 9:20 am

This week The Voice is running a four part series from the Centre for Cities, a think tank that works on analysis and policy to boost city economies. They launched their ‘Cities Manifesto’ at the Bournemouth Lib Dem Conference and this series looks in more detail at its main planks. You can also find out more at http://www.citiesmanifesto.org.

At party conference last month, I was struck by just how many of the UK’s biggest cities are run by the Lib Dems. You now control virtually every big city outside London – that means that, taken together, 25 million people …

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Also posted in Local government and The Independent View | Tagged centre for cities | 12 Comments

Opinion: Why vote Liberal?

By Adam Gillett | Sat 24th October 2009 - 3:30 pm

There is an election approaching and, as ever, the British electorate will make a binary decision when it arrives at the ballot box.

But what decision will it be? This is something of a lateral thinking test, and the wrong answers include several schools: the Marxist ‘people vs. elite’ and the Old School Tie ‘posh anarchy vs. taxation’. Both views are simplistic and dated, but will inevitably dominate the debate.

Those taking a more modern approach will face a different choice – one between progression and decay. This is more difficult to qualify, but the nature of the main parties makes for a clear choice – Labour and the Conservatives on one side, the Liberals on the other.

This is not a rash delineation. It is the vastly different and advocative nature of the Liberal Democrats which places them, with consummate ease, onto an entirely different plane from their larger cousins. And it is this advocative heart which must be the focus of the thinking voters. It is a heart which is, frighteningly, missing from the two largest political parties in Britain.

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24 Comments

Opinion: A Liberal Line on Immigration

By Patrick Murray | Fri 23rd October 2009 - 12:30 pm

For me one of the key tenets of liberalism is our commitment to human rights and fairness. This is why I think fighting the fight on immigration is so important.

On last night’s Question Time, a member of the audience asked whether the rise of the BNP had been down to Labour’s failure on immigration. I think there is an element of truth in that, but perhaps not the element of truth that our home affairs spokesman, Chris Huhne, thought.

Over the last ten years we have been subjected to Home Office and Immigration policy made to please the xenophobic, right wing agenda of papers such as the Daily Mail.

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Tagged bbc question time, bnp, chris huhne, featured and immigration | 61 Comments

What did you make of Chris Huhne’s Question Time performance? #bbcqt

By Stephen Tall | Fri 23rd October 2009 - 10:39 am

So that was the Question Time that was. There is copious assessment of Nick Griffin’s performance, linked to here on LDV.

My views are straightforward. First, Nick Griffin came over badly, but that is immaterial: those who are BNP-inclined will likely have seen him as the victim of a liberal, metropolitan, media stitch-up; and those who despise the BNP will have had their view confirmed.

Secondly, my over-riding sense was of relief that the BNP don’t have a more slick, plausible leader. The moment is ripe for a truly charismatic, attractive, anti-politician to play the demagogue: Nick Griffin is decidedly not that person, thankfully.

Such are my thoughts on Mr Griffin – but what about Chris Huhne’s performance?

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Tagged bbc question time, bnp, chris huhne, immigration and nick griffin | 31 Comments

Rennard’s expenses clearance: Party needs to learn some lessons in transparency

By Stephen Tall | Wed 21st October 2009 - 2:25 pm

What’s the correct response to the news that Lord (Chris) Rennard has been cleared by the Clerk of the Parliaments of any wrong-doing over his allowances claims? I ask because I think there are some important issues at play here for how we, the Lib Dems, as a party can help restore trust in democracy.

First, we need to separate the personal from the political (and, incidentally, this applies just as much to Chris’s critics). Most of us who have met, or in some way know, Chris will be pleased for him on a personal level. The allegations that he’d somehow fiddled the system has dogged him since April, and brought about a more-hasty-than-planned exit to his time as the party’s chief executive.

Above all, though, Chris’s friends and the wider party will be relieved. The allegations against him have hung like a dark cloud over the Lib Dems’ pronouncements on expenses for several months now.

To be blunt, it’s been an embarrassment, and one which the party has handled poorly – precisely because we’ve failed to separate the personal from the political.

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Tagged chris rennard, federal executive, mps expenses and thomas legg | 29 Comments

Where are the the think tank bloggers?

By Stephen Tall | Tue 20th October 2009 - 7:15 pm

Yesterday saw the annual Prospect Think Tank of the Year awards ceremony, an occasion the glittery red-carpetness of which those of us on the outside can only dare to dream. Congrats are due at the outset to the UK’s only liberal think tank, Centre Forum, for winning Pamphlet of the Year for Giles Wilkes’ report, A balancing act: fair solutions to a modern debt crisis, about which he wrote here on LDV.

Awards are usually a moment to take stock, which is what I’ve done today. Because one of the points that has struck me over …

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Also posted in Online politics | Tagged centreforum, free think blog, giles wilkes, prospect magazine and think tanks | 8 Comments

US elections ’09 – a preview

By Paul Elgood | Sun 18th October 2009 - 4:25 pm

In electoral terms, 2009 is supposed to be an off year in American politics, but there are still a number of intriguing races worth taking a look at ahead of the Nov 3rd elections.

Top of the list is the Governor’s race in Virginia. State Democrat Creigh Deeds faces Republican Bob McDonnell, in an increasingly heated, if not plain nasty race. McDonnell is ahead in a state Obama picked up last year. Interestingly, Deeds beat Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe in the primary, but his campaign is yet to shine in the run-up to election day. As they head into the final weeks, the GOP looking increasingly likely to win.

The New Jersey Governor’s race sees a similar pattern, except the Democrats might have hoped to fair better in the state as Democratic incumbent Jim Corzine is running for a second term.

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Also posted in LDVUSA | 7 Comments

Opinion: Why we should all be 40% taxpayers!

By Joe Bourke | Sun 18th October 2009 - 11:10 am

With the Liberal Democrats now committed to raising the annual tax personal allowance to £10,000, thoughts must turn to ways and means of following through on this pledge.

As I see it, there are three principal areas to be fleshed out.

1. Should the benefit of this proposed £700 per person tax reduction be extended across the board or restricted to the approximately 4 million taxpayers earning below the level of the minimum wage?
2. Should we seek to eliminate both tax and national insurance payments for the taxpayers earning below the level of the minimum wage?
3. In light of a continuing projected structural budget deficit of circa 80 to 90 billion per year, how is the cost of this tax measure best absorbed while simultaneously seeking both tax increases and spending cuts?

National insurance is now purely an additional tax. There is no insurance scheme in the accepted sense. Only around one-half of social security and health service costs are financed by national insurance contributions.

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8 Comments

Chris Huhne writes … Geert Wilders is best ignored

By Chris Huhne MP | Sat 17th October 2009 - 10:45 am

Back in February, the Home Office’s decision to ban Dutch MP Geert Wilders provoked controversy – not least here on Lib Dem Voice, after the party’s shadow home secretary Chris Huhne backed the government’s decision. This week an immigration tribunal overturned the government ban, so we invited Chris to set out his views …

The Home Secretary’s decision to block Geert Wilders from entering the country was controversial for all sorts of reasons. For libertarians, it was appalling to deprive anyone of freedom of speech. For many Moslems, it was astonishing that anyone could fail to see the need …

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24 Comments

Opinion: Après les conférences

By David Lawson | Fri 16th October 2009 - 10:55 am

I doubt if the conference season has changed the political landscape. The Liberal Democrats were ill-disciplined; Labour was defiant in face of expectations of defeat; and the Conservatives were trying not to be overconfident — with only partial success.

Peter Riddell, The Times, 9 October 2009

It is easier to write from a position of ignorance rather than knowledge. Unlike Riddell this was the first time I have been to a party conference but that may leave the view clearer. The general opinion is that Lib Dems and Tories missed a chance and Labour avoided disaster by ignoring reality.

The Liberal Democrat and Conservative leadership made the same strategic judgment to tackle head-on the problems raised by the blooming budget deficit and both offered at least some practical indications of where the pain might be felt.

Why was the Liberal Democrat conference perceived to be worse? Partly, because the Lib Dems do not have the same practical need to face up to the budget crisis, but was it “ill-discipline”?

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Also posted in Conference | Tagged bournemouth 2009 conference | 6 Comments

Do university tuition fees deter the poorest?

By Stephen Tall | Thu 15th October 2009 - 7:20 pm

The issue of tuition fees exploded into the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth, when Nick Clegg appeared to suggest he was rowing-back on the party’s long-established commitment to abolish them.

I’ll state clearly my position: I support tuition fees, and believe they are the only possible way of funding world-class higher education for UK students. As and when extra public money is available, I believe it would be much better invested in early years and adult education programmes if we are serious about combating the real causes of social inequality. I am equally clear that I’m in a small minority in the party, and that bulk of opinion is with our existing policy.

I noticed this article in today’s Independent, Universities finally open their doors to the poor. This shows that, over the past decade – and therefore since the introduction of tuition fees, and then top-up fees – the proportion of young adults reaching university from the poorest backgrounds has increased significantly:

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Tagged education, higher education, nick clegg, tuition fees and universities | 22 Comments

Haggis, Neeps and Liberalism #10

By Callum Leslie | Thu 15th October 2009 - 9:55 am

Last month – in Haggis, Neeps and Liberalism #8 – Ruaraidh Dobson wrote about the upcoming Freshers’ season, and how it was an exciting time to be in student politics. He wasn’t disappointed.

Liberal Youth Scotland and university societies across the country signed up droves of new party members, and vastly increased our university presence. St Andrews in particular, a society which had been in the doldrums for many years and has only recently been re-started, is now the largest political society at the University.

Aberdeen, who only re-started in January, signed up 60 new members to their society, making them one of the biggest university societies in the country. Glasgow University Lib Dems signed up 57 new party members, more than any other society in the UK in 2008.

These societies were all supported in their efforts by Liberal Youth Scotland, providing materials and manpower to help achieve these phenomenal successes. However, the work does not stop here.

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Also posted in Scotland | Tagged edinburgh south, featured, george lyon, glasgow north, katy gordon, liberal youth and tavish scott | Leave a comment

Millennium’s Credit Crunch Diary… September: Party Games

By Millennium Elephant | Wed 14th October 2009 - 5:30 pm

Well, the recession is nearly over just in time for the economy to become the BATTLEFIELD for the forthcoming General Election. So we’ve had the Party Conference season now, and we’ve seen the three large Westminster Parties draw up their battle-lines.

What is INTERESTING is how each of the three has a very different DIAGNOSIS of the cause of the credit crunch, and that very much decides what their POLICIES are going to be.

So, if I might rather dramatically summarise, what the three economic spokespersons had to say (presented in the order that they said it) was:

Mr …

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Tagged recession and vince cable | 7 Comments

Opinion: Our public services are overburdened with pointless regulation

By Jamie Bartlett | Tue 13th October 2009 - 10:20 am

It is well acknowledged that our public services are overburdened with pointless and counter productive regulation, that there is too much wastage and bureaucracy which stops police officers, teachers and social workers getting on with the job, and front line staff are treated like teenagers who can’t be trusted. Much of the blame lies with obsessive control driven from Whitehall.

Every party – indeed every party for the last 30 years – has promised to remedy this by slashing bureaucracy and “re-empowering” the front line, but none have succeeded. Tony Blair made it a key priority, but made matters worse. The …

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Also posted in The Independent View | 31 Comments