This post from Stephen is my vote for post of the week, concerning as it does the intellectual honesty of one of our employees, one Paul Flynn MP. As you will discover, Flynn goes beyond a breach of netiquette and into the realms of deceit. I resent paying the wages of a weasel like Flynn.
Postscript: I put a short comment below Stephen's post and Flynn's original. Flynn replied on his. It was not a very convincing reply, so I've asked for some clarification. It is rather in the nature of a very bad excuse.
In Wisden 2000 a team photograph appeared for Leicestershire with one of the players, in cricketing terms, exposing his middle stump. None of the subeditors had spotted it in time (which, if you think about it, might be construed as rather embarrassing for the player concerned). Said player got into hot water with his employer for this. Somewhat abashed, he pleaded 'it was just a misunderstanding'. Matthew Engel, then editor of Wisden, asked in reply: "what was the misunderstanding?"
I see something of a parallel with Mr Flynn MP's squirming. Still, he may reply again, and I will let you know if he does.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
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6 comments:
Oh Dear, Political Umpire. You are priceless. Perhaps I should encourage you to come on my site more often. You are delightfully priggish and pompous.
As you well know, some of your comments were deleted because I do not think that a political row about a child's disease was a suitable subject for an exchange of knockabout party insults.
You demand attention because I am an MP. I am not your MP and my blog is privately funded.
Your self - righteous patronising tone would be an entertaining ornament to my site and cause amusement to my readers who know me well. they will see ho off target you are.
Please drop in and entertain us all again.
That's telling you!
What is priceless is Paul Flynn's belief that this is a political row about a child's disease involving an exchange of knockabout party insults. It's a political row about his judgement in mentioning the 'disease' (Down's syndrome is not of course a disease at all).
Since Sarah Palin makes no secret of the fact that she has had a Down's baby all Paul's deletions are meaningless, unless his intention was simply to attempt to conceal his stupidity in unthinkingly endorsing wholesale the opinions of an immature girl.
I wondered at first if this comment was not actually posted by Flynn at all given that he used a different blogger account to leave his comment on my post, but both accounts were set up this month and there's enough content in the one here that makes me think that sadly it's the real McCoy.
I described him as shameless over on 'Rough Trade'. I think I somewhat underestimated by how much.
Dear Mr Flynn,
You call me "delightfully priggish and pompous". No real argument there, though I'd observe that they are amusing insults from a Member of Parliament, which sadly for many years now has had the decorum of a hoddies' tea party.
I put a comment regarding Mrs Palin which you deleted. At the time you said, both on the blog and in an email, that this was because the subject had been 'done to death'.
Subsequently you inferred that they were deleted for being 'boorish' (which in the light of your subsequent remarks is pretty rich!)
Now you claim "As you well know, some of your comments were deleted because I do not think that a political row about a child's disease was a suitable subject for an exchange of knockabout party insults."
Liar. (1) You gave a wholly different excuse, as set out above. (2) As Stephen has pointed out, it was nothing at all to do with 'a political row' about what is not in any event a disease. Everyone agreed that that silly girl you so brown-nosingly endorsed should never have mentioned that Mrs Palin's child had Down's Syndrome. The row was about your inexcusable failure to notice that fact, then your repeated and intellectually dishonest attempts to cover it up, which continue now with the aforementioned lie that it was some sort of exchange of party insults (it was, I repeat, nothing of the sort, and anyone in any doubt can read Stephen's post which is fortunately beyond the reach of your deleting tentacles).
I was expecting high standards from you because you are an MP. You are also a member of the executive. Like it or not (I don't) your wages are paid by my taxes. I expect certain standards from everyone in public life and higher still from public officials. You seem to think this is pomposity, I think it is manners.
I can't help feeling that a contribution from Paul Flynn should be making its way to the 'Quotes' list on your sidebar. His comment here provides a rich choice ;)
I might just do that!
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