Tuesday
From our special correspondent:
"Party boss Ed "bulging eyes" Balls told a respectful yet cheerful gathering of tractor workers in Omsk that the 10-year plan to increase tractor production by 1000% between now and 2018 was achievable. "Men," he said, his voice quavering slightly as the chill Siberian wind blasted through, "we can and will produce more tractors, of higher quality, over the next 10 years. Britain needs tractors. Tractors need Britain. It is true that despite our heroic efforts, and the massive, Soviet resources spent by Comrade Gordon, that tractor production continues to lag. But let us not be downhearted. We know that tractor production in the past has been held up by the capitalist sympathisers, wreckers and revisionists working for the late traitor, A. Blair. We can and will do better over the next 10 years."
At least, that is what I thought he said. Maybe it was education instead.......
For some sanity on how to get the state out of education, check out this website.
Update: related thoughts on home schooling and education by David Friedman (son of the great Milton).
Another update: Fabian Tassano has been a tireless campaigner against the odious idea of keeping people in school until the age of 18. His new book is also very good.
This ten year plan (and all the other targets / plans / goals / solemn commitments / etc.) will go the same way as the thousand year Reich. Of course, that won't mean freedom and justice, merely a different bunch of patriaphobic progressive megastatists in charge. In the long run the whole thing (welfare state, EU, etc..) will come down round our ears rather like the Soviet Block did. But by then I'll be old and it will be my children and grandchildren's generations to pick up the pieces.
Posted by Otto at December 11, 2007 10:25 AM
It doesn't matter if this plan works or not. It will be replaced with a new plan at some point in the near future, and in readiness for when that one falters there will be yet another plan waiting. They may however need to be disguised as an Initiative or a Target, but plans for the renaming of plans are in place as we speak.
Socialism and the Big State always plans for things going wrong and works tirelessly towards that aim.
Posted by watcher in the dark at December 11, 2007 10:57 AM
Mr Balls was born in Norwich and supports the local football team. I know this 'cos I too am a 'local buh'. In a sea of blue there are two dots of red in East Anglia - Norwich city centre and IpXXits centre. The last two unreconstructed socialist paradises in an otherwise sensible region.
On behalf of all Norfolk I apologise for this man and what he has done to the country as a whole.
Posted by JezB at December 11, 2007 01:02 PM
Blinking Balls supports the Canaries?? Then I like him even less!
Posted by nostalgic at December 11, 2007 01:34 PM
nostaligic, me too.
Now, if only Ipswich could sort out their away form....
Posted by Johnathan Pearce at December 11, 2007 02:28 PM
A good post, and comments that refuse to take this regime too seriously.
"But they are wrecking the education of children" - it is already wrecked.
It was bad enough when I went to school (I was taught to read by a old lady in a village near here, as for such things as spelling - I am still no good) and it is much worse now.
This is not Bavaria where state education can still be said to be of some value, this is Britain - where the Progressives have already messed everything up.
Therefore the antics of Brown, Balls and the rest are long past the damaging stage - and well into the farce stage.
And we might as well enjoy the farce.
Posted by Paul Marks at December 11, 2007 11:14 PM
Yes you are absolutely right Paul. It is already too late.
Mine was the last generation to sit the Eleven Plus in S Wales.
Now the pros and cons of the exam are for another time. But what 11+ did rather well, was concentrate the minds of teachers on teaching the basic 3 Rs rather thoroughly.
My Junior school was streamed. A and B. The As were expected to pass and the Bs fail. Which, with a few exceptions, occured. The thing is though, there was not one child in my school who could not read.
The B stream may not of been smart enough to pass but they could certainly read the questions.
When my Grammar finally went Comprehensive in my final year, the usual cock up ensued. We were swamped with so many 11 yr olds that they suddenly realised they didn't have enough teachers to cope. So We Sixth formers were dragooned in to actually take lessons.
To cut a long story short, I quickly found that a quarter of the 11 yr olds couldn't read. How the hell are they expected to cope with 12 subjects , some foreign languages, when nobody had bothered to teach you how to read.
They had managed to fuck our educational sytem in 8 short years.
I was, and am still, astonished at the stupidity of it.
Posted by RAB at December 12, 2007 04:01 PM
