Welcome to my day: 6 August 2018 – the land of the free, the home of the brave?

Today, Liberal Democrat Voice is brought to you from Boston, Massachusetts, home of the mighty(ish) Red Sox, and the heartland of the American forces in the 1776 Rebellion against all that was good and decent. Or, in other words, where plucky freedom fighters liberated their nation from the colonial oppressors. You pays your money, you takes your choice…

The United States is an odd place. For all the talk of freedom, you often need to present proof of age to buy beer at a ballpark or in a supermarket, albeit that this depends on the state you’re in. Maine seems to be pretty relaxed, whereas Massachusetts seems to be more hung up. On the other hand, you can drink at your seat in Fenway Park, and despite this, and a lack of fan segregation, trouble is almost unknown. I wouldn’t try this at a football match at home…

Unfortunately, we’ve not got much material for you. And, drafting this at about 3 a.m. your time, I’m not expecting that to change much before I turn in. If anyone has any ideas, do let me have them before I wake up at about noon your time.

However, I can offer you some thoughts on immigration and asylum policy, or at least what should underpin it in terms of administration. For all policy is only as good as the resource you put into it, and we can see all around us the impact of under-resourced policy making.

We also have news of the refurbishment of the Palace of Westminster, as another step along the way towards salvaging the building for the nation has been taken almost without anyone noticing.

So, keep cool and enjoy the weather. And if you’re struggling (and I know that some of you are), be consoled that it’s expected to reach 97 degrees here today. And yes, I’ll be getting my 10,000 steps regardless…

* Mark Valladares is the Monday Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice. He has a supply of Jolly Ranchers

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7 Comments

  • John Marriott 6th Aug '18 - 9:20am

    Baseball? That’s rounders for grown ups, isn’t it?

  • John Marriott 6th Aug ’18 – 9:20am………………..Baseball? That’s rounders for grown ups, isn’t it?……………….
    No! Cricket is rounders for grown-ups; baseball is just commercialised ’rounders’

  • Richard O'Neill 6th Aug '18 - 6:29pm

    Great city Boston. It is my counter argument to anybody who says America doesn’t have any history or culture.

    Just to be a pedant however, Boston’s rebellion heyday was actually in 1775 before the Declaration on Independence. And it was none too liberal: shutting down theatres as dens of vice and suppressing Christmas celebrations when they invaded Canada. For a city that became famous for producing the Kennedy’s it was ironcally anti-catholic for it’s first three centuries.

  • Simon Banks 11th Oct '18 - 5:34pm

    According to the excellent Seattle Cricket website, baseball was cricket for kids before the American Revolution.

    As for the opening remarks, someone (it might have been the Smothers Brothers) offered two political biographies, which more or less went like this: “This long-haired, pot-smoking radical led an armed rebellion against the legally-constituted government of his day” (George Washington) and “He overcame a disfunctional family, spells of poverty and wounds while fighting for his country to become a noted public speaker with a special emphasis on youth and health” (Adolf Hitler).

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