AI Does SPAD (1)

 Asking ChatGPT...

Write a manifesto for the Conservative Party that is most likely to help them win the next General Election

Manifesto for a Strong and Prosperous Future: The Conservative Party Vision

Protecting Tradition, Empowering Progress

Introduction

In these critical times, the Conservative Party presents a vision that combines the enduring values of tradition with the dynamism of progress. Our manifesto is centered on fostering a strong and prosperous future for all, while preserving the foundations that have made our nation great. By embracing innovation, empowering individuals, and securing our nation's interests, we will lead the charge toward a brighter tomorrow.

1. Economic Growth and Fiscal Responsibility

We commit to a low-tax, pro-business environment that incentivizes investment, job creation, and economic growth. Our plan includes:

• Reducing the burden of unnecessary regulations on businesses, allowing them to thrive and innovate.
• Ensuring fiscal responsibility by carefully managing public spending, eliminating waste, and reducing the budget deficit.

2. Education and Skills Development

We recognize that a well-educated and skilled workforce is essential for our nation's success. Our pledges include:

• Investing in schools to ensure every child has access to a world-class education.
• Expanding vocational training and apprenticeship programs to equip individuals with practical skills for the modern job market.

3. Healthcare and Social Welfare

We are committed to a strong and sustainable healthcare system that leaves no one behind. Our proposals involve:

• Increasing funding for the National Health Service (NHS) to reduce waiting times and enhance patient care.
• Targeted welfare reforms that encourage self-sufficiency while protecting the most vulnerable members of society.

4. Infrastructure and Innovation

We recognize the importance of modern infrastructure for economic growth and connectivity. Our plan entails:

• Investing in transportation, broadband, and green energy projects to create jobs and enhance connectivity.
• Promoting research and development through tax incentives, fostering innovation across sectors.

5. Law and Order

We are dedicated to ensuring the safety and security of all citizens. Our approach includes:

• Supporting law enforcement agencies with the resources and training needed to maintain public safety.
• Strengthening laws to address emerging challenges such as cybercrime and domestic terrorism.

6. Immigration and National Identity

We believe in controlled and fair immigration that preserves our national identity. Our approach includes:

• Implementing an immigration system that prioritizes skills, contributions to the economy, and national security.
• Promoting English language proficiency and social integration for newcomers.

7. Environmental Stewardship

We acknowledge our responsibility to safeguard the environment for future generations. Our commitments include:

• Setting ambitious targets for reducing carbon emissions and transitioning to renewable energy sources.
• Encouraging responsible consumption, waste reduction, and sustainable practices across industries.

8. International Relations

We pledge to uphold our nation's interests on the global stage. Our strategy involves:

• Forging strong trade agreements that benefit our economy and maintain our sovereignty.
• Supporting international development efforts that promote stability and prosperity in less privileged regions.

Conclusion

In this manifesto, the Conservative Party embraces the essence of our values while embracing the opportunities of the future. We believe in a society where individuals are empowered, businesses flourish, and the nation prospers. By uniting tradition and progress, we will secure a stronger, more prosperous future for our citizens, and together, we will prevail in the next General Election.

FRIDAY MUSIC: The Boswell Sisters, by JD

"The Boswell Sisters, American jazz vocal trio noted for intricate harmonies and rhythmic experimentation; they were also a major influence on vocal artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and the Andrews Sisters. 

"The three sisters were Martha (b. June 9, 1905, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.—d. July 2, 1958, Peekskill, New York), Connee (original name Connie; b. December 3, 1907, Kansas City, Missouri—d. October 11, 1976, New York, New York), and Helvetia (also called Vet; b. May 20, 1909, Birmingham, Alabama—d. November 12, 1988, Peekskill, New York).

"For all their importance, innovation, and popularity, the Boswell Sisters were largely forgotten for many years. Their classic recordings began to be rereleased in the early 1980s (some reissues supervised by Vet Boswell), prompting a revival of interest in their work and an ever-growing cult following. Their influence on jazz singing was incalculable; Ella Fitzgerald often cited Connee Boswell as her only influence (and, on many of her early recordings with the Chick Webb band, Fitzgerald sounds uncannily like Boswell). Many critics today regard the Boswell Sisters (along with Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross) as one of the two greatest jazz vocal groups of all time."

https://www.bozzies.org/

Shout, Sister, Shout

Boswell Sisters: Sleepy Time Down South [1932]

WHY THE BOSWELL SISTERS MATTER: 

KYLA TITUS (December 8, 2012)

Close Farmony - The Boswell Sisters

The Boswell Sisters 

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing (1932).wmv

The Boswell Sisters

PUT THAT SUN BACK IN THE SKY

REPOST: A strange, subterranean battle... by A K Haart

Reposted from 5 April 2015 and more relevant than ever...

source

Every now and them something bright, clean and optimistic seems to show itself through the shifting fogs of repressive nonsense. Sometimes the ugly honking of professional liars dies down. For a while real life takes over. As it should of course.

It has become so easy to ignore the liars and find things out for ourselves. Or at least identify those many areas of uncertainty which the liars claim to be certain. Isn’t it easy to find worthwhile comment on virtually any issue? Isn’t it noticeable how rarely many of us go to the mainstream media for worthwhile comment?

So what does it all mean?

I don’t know.

Then what is the point of this post?

Simple – you can go elsewhere can’t you? Click. I am not a guru and neither are you. We don’t need them do we - you and I?

That’s the point – we are breeding vast numbers of savvy people, far more than we ever had before. Folk who don’t always have the facts and the arguments at their fingertips, but in one sense they know far more than most people knew only twenty years ago. Not only that, but they know how to flesh out anything of interest with a click or two.

This quiet upheaval seems to have upset the old paternalistic way of doing things, the assumptions about managing people, about politics, democracy, who tells and who listens. Who tells these days? Who listens?

Old style class rule with its unidirectional media cannot deal with it. Millions of savvy people are now collectively smarter than the elites because they are connected, interested, experienced and capable. The elites don’t have time to be interested or capable. They only have time to suck the teat of their sponsors. They think savvy can be dealt with by opinion surveys.

They muddle through by listening to a host of special advisers who do have the time to become passably savvy, but there are only a few of them while there are vast numbers of savvy folk out there – a host of virtual polymaths unrestricted by national boundaries.

Out there on the web are millions of years of personal experience. Think about that for a moment – millions of years of personal experience all available for sharing.

The old ways are creaking and the elites and their sponsors are furiously attempting to wind back the clock with a plethora of prohibitions, narratives, entertainments and controlling policies. Anything to keep the virtual polymaths at bay. It’s a strange, subterranean battle.

WEEKENDER: And so it Begins… (ULEZ) by Wiggia

               

The London dictator under the guise of Mayor is not exactly someone I would trust with a zebra crossing never mind a metropolis.

His ULEZ scheme is actually a continuation of the one Boris put in motion some years ago when he had the same job and it is as useful now as then as an indication of the way things are going.

Using children's health as a reason for restricting the use of petrol and diesel cars and vans on London’s roads makes a good sound bite, but falls under the same banner as the ‘if it saves one life’ the cry that went up in support of various useless claims for protection during the Covid pandemic. Life is not without risk, the 4000 deaths as continually repeated by Khan has never been proved or facts produced.

But all that is a smokescreen for the control of travel and the elimination of motor vehicles from our roads; an over simplification of a short term problem? I think not.

The fact that Khan has been caught out discussing further restrictions and charges to shore up his failed policies in the capital tells a tale of betrayal of the people who live there, and not only in London as already other cities are following the ULEZ model in an attempt to replenish falling government grants. Either way it is our money.

The saying 'never trust a politician' has become ever more justified in this age of social media and electronic technology. Khan has been caught out discussing the future and the inevitable drop in ULEZ fees when EVs eventually make up the majority of road vehicles. 

He has voiced this before under a ‘fairer’ way to charge motorists, but it would involve variable charges for type of vehicle and miles covered. You can bet your life that costs will be more than the soon to be imposed ULEZ ones.

In a country with such poor and expensive public transport any authority imposing these sorts of charges needs a shield to justify them. Climate Change aka air quality is the current one.

As with everything else these days even if these measures could be justified, and the signs are weak in the case of ULEZ, it is a case of cart before the horse. Once again our appalling lack of infrastructure which in so many cases is not fit for purpose is being used as the solution to a problem dreamed up in the fiscal corridors of county hall; again those that pay taxes and those that use vehicles to ply their trades within the city are being clobbered on the altar of eco-ideologues and greedy cash-strapped authorities.

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/1887823-london-mayor-wants-new-pay-per-mile-road-pricing-to-cut-car-journeys

As with all these measures once installed prices will rise, it’s a cash cow that is too good to ignore. The clean air excuse will not be a viable reason to see such increases or even the original charge when a critical vehicle mass in EVs is reached so what will the reason for the charges then be? We already know the reason for that.

Don’t kid yourself that this is only a London centric problem: other cities as mentioned above are already installing their own ULEZ schemes, with city centres shrinking because in part the business rates are crippling, footfall is falling and in these austere times with less money to spend authorities everywhere are looking to make up the difference. The motor car once the symbol of freedom has become conveniently the ‘evil one’ to be vilified and fleeced.

All EVs are dependant on efficient charging points for any lengthy journeys. Although charging times have shortened and are still improving, once a certain mass of EVs has been reached the problems multiply. Not only are there currently and for the foreseeable future a huge deficit in charging points meaning waiting times that make EVs largely pointless, but high speed chargers are dependent on grid supply which means the high speed chargers are only high speed when one or two are being used concurrently. If all 16 are in use they become low speed chargers and your estimated 1 hour charging time suddenly becomes 4 hours.

The expense of charging will itself go up to pay for green energy subsidies that make it possible. As with all else all governments can’t resist an open goal to launch new tax measures and the replacement of falling petrol taxes must be a worry for them, but don’t fear they will - whilst reducing all traffic movements as not really necessary - still manage to tax the living daylights out of those still in a position to afford to run a car.

This brings us to the 15 minute cities: 'no need to go anywhere, all will be provided within walking distance, even holidays that will necessitate transport will become a thing of the past.' This is the path many with their grubby fingers on the levers of power believe we are destined to take.

This of course is a rather bleak take on our future. Will it happen or will there be a backlash of note to change the government's direction? At the moment especially as regards private transport the runes have been cast.

Naturally any of this will only apply to the plebs. Khan's pristine metropolis with its mountain air will only be sullied by the Mayor's appearance in his Range Rover and supporting cast and we will all be grateful.

FRIDAY MUSIC: White Horse Guitar Club

You will like this happy band..........................

Eleven Irishmen with eleven guitars and all singing together in a pub called The White Horse: welcome to the White Horse Guitar Club!

"Formed in early 2012, the band evolved from an open club environment into a fully fledged musical touring group of 11 friends in that relatively short space of time. The music we choose to play is deeply rooted in the fine tradition of songwriting that flourishes in the southern states of America, particularly in Kentucky & Tennessee where the Scots/Irish influence was strong. We proudly sing the songs of John Prine, Darrell Scott, Tim O'Brien, Buddy Miller, Townes Van Zandt, Tim O'Brien, Willie Nelson and more.

The WHGC has performed all over Ireland & beyond in the last 3 years, in concert settings and cosy pub corners, as street musicians and as festival favorites.

All good stories are shaped by the twists and turns of the road and the adventure of The White Horse Guitar Club is very much still being written. Keep your ears tuned and your heart open."

https://www.whitehorseguitarclub.com/about

If I Needed You - The White Horse Guitar Club

The White Horse Guitar Club Documentary Ft. David Syme

Revival - The White Horse Guitar Club

I'll Fly Away - The White Horse Guitar Club

Brother Wind - The White Horse Guitar Club with Tim O'Brien and Jan Fabricius

Cash on the Barrel Head - The White Horse Guitar Club

White Horse Guitar Club

... and here's the pub!

https://whitehorse.ie/about/

Tripadvisor Review

FRIDAY MUSIC: Robert Dehlinger's Alpha Rhythm Kings

Established in 2017, the Alpha Rhythm Kings have created quite a stir with music fans, having crafted an exciting, King Size California sound, with what Roots Music Magazine No Depression calls "the badge of authenticity".

The band's top quality musicians, with Robert Dehlinger's “exhilarating” trumpet and "magnetic" singing (Jazz Corner) leading the way, are a favorite with swing dancers, as well as with audiences in nightclubs, festivals and concert halls.

https://www.alpharhythmkings.com/

Alpha Rhythm Kings: California Boogie

https://youtu.be/NmixdisisB4

Alpha Rhythm Kings: Choo Choo Ch’Boogie (feat. Miss Tammi Savoy)

Alpha Rhythm Kings: Oh Marie

Vaccinate Me, Baby - by the Alpha Rhythm Kings

Alpha Rhythm Kings: Fools Are Getting Scarcer

Alpha Rhythm Kings! King Sized Sounds!

Julian Assange: a letter to the Home Secretary

Peter Hitchens has urged a write-in to the Home Secretary. Here is my letter; I hope you can send one also - and urge others to do so.
__________________________

Dear Home Secretary

Request to Halt the Extradition of Julian Assange

I appeal to you to decline the extradition to the USA of Mr Julian Assange, for several reasons.

Firstly, it is widely suspected that the espionage charges levelled against him are an inappropriate or even improper use of US law and arise from political purposes. There are also question marks over the motivation and conduct of the authorities in Sweden in pursuing longstanding investigations that were discontinued in 2019 following his removal from the Ecuadorian Embassy and being placed under arrest here. Further, doubts have been expressed about some aspects of the proceedings in Westminster Magistrates Court and the extent to which they may have been influenced by external considerations and agencies. In a globally high-profile case such as this it is especially important that Britain should be seen to uphold its traditional commitment to justice and the liberty of the individual.

Secondly, some worry that Mr Assange may not face a fair trial if extradited, given that his case is cast in terms of a threat to US national security at a time when public feelings are febrile. Moreover, bearing in mind his fragile and apparently declining physical and mental health there is unease over the treatment he may receive in jail before, during and after trial. Notwithstanding assurances given by US authorities, there may still be, as there has previously been, a failure by them to safeguard a potentially suicidal prisoner.

Finally, the Assange affair has far wider implications for the principles of freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the protection of whistleblowers worldwide. It is essential to recognize the potential chilling effect that his extradition could have on investigative journalism and the critical role it plays in a democratic society. By declining the extradition request, you can reaffirm Britain’s commitment to these fundamental values.

I humbly request that you call a halt to these proceedings and release Mr Assange.