Unpopular (adj.)

Consider the scene; you're the President of the United States of America and you're throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the first game at Washington's new baseball stadium. The nation's capital has gone without major league baseball for 35 years, so it's a huge day for the capital of one of the world's most fiercely patriotic nations.

And as you walk out onto the field on this day of celebration in the seat of your power, this happens;



I'm guessing the 217 days to polling can't come soon enough...

The Strange Case Of The Rebels In The Night-Time

It's strange how the different threads of your life can converge in such surprising ways.

Take tonight's list of Labour rebels on the Post Offices debate (courtesy of BBC News and the Abbotts). Now, in my recent quiet period (has it really been a month since I blogged!) I've spent much time helping with the Facebook campaign to save Jodrell Bank observatory, as part of which I've been monitoring the three Early Day Motions supporting it.

Between the level of cross-pollination in the signatures and my quizzer's memory, I've come to know many of the signatories quite well. So imagine my sense of deja vu in finding that about a third of the Labour signatories of the EDMs were also among the rebels. I mean, it was only a few weeks ago we were told that the Labour Party had dispensed with the Mandelsonian Pagers of legend; do you get the feeling that there are plenty of Labour MPs who are still only capable of something so mundane as signing an EDM when told by the men at Millbank?


PS: While we're on the subject of Jodrell Bank plugs, sign the petition. Do it now.