Glittering Gordon.

Yes folks today was the Prime Minister’s make or break day with a key speech to the Labour party conference. What was his big idea? what was his rallying call to the troops? what was that killer line that would galvanise support and get the government and his leadership back on track?

Here it is.

Are you ready?

“What happened with 10p stung me because it really hurt that suddenly people felt I wasn’t on the side of people on middle and modest incomes – because on the side of hardworking families is the only place I’ve ever wanted it to be,”

‘Hardworking families’ is the most hackneyed glittering generality in politics. Politicians use the phrase in a vague manner, with the intent that the listeners, by dint of the positive connotations, perceive the politician to be referring to them; and with the intent that listeners agree that anything to the benefit of “hardworking families” is right and anything to the detriment of “hardworking families” is wrong.

Brown’s fucked. He’s just proved it.

The TV Evangelists (3) Ted Haggard

The latest in the series taglined ‘you just couldn’t make it up’

Ted Arthur Haggard (June 27, 1956) is a former American evangelical preacher. Known as Pastor Ted to the congregations he served, he is the founder and former pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado; a founder of the Association of Life-Giving Churches; and was leader of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) from 2003 until November 2006.
In November 2006, he resigned or was removed from all of his leadership positions after he admitted patronizing prostitute Mike Jones for homosexual sex and methamphetamine. Initially Haggard denied even knowing Mike Jones, but as a media investigation proceeded he acknowledged that some allegations, such as his purchase of methamphetamine, were true. He later added “sexual immorality” to his list of confessions.
After the scandal was publicised, Haggard entered three weeks of intensive counseling, overseen by four ministers. On February 6, 2007 one of those ministers, Tim Ralph, stated that Haggard “is completely heterosexual.” Ralph later said he meant to say that therapy “gave Ted the tools to help to embrace his heterosexual side.”

Haggard is a strong supporter of George W Bush and claimed to speak to the president every Monday. He is credited with having delivered the evangelical vote to secure Bush’s victory in the last US presidential election. Here (before the inevitable scandal) Richard Dawkins asks him some questions.

Here is Haggard’s view on himself homosexuality.

And here is his Jimmy Swaggart moment…..