Tag: Post-Fact
-
Rowing in the Wrong Direction
Psycho-federalist keyboard warrior Guy Verhofstadt is in the boat rowing for migrants this week. Purportedly. Pithily, he reminded us that migration has been central to human history, and wryly noted that, ‘reportedly, even Nigel Farage’s ancestors once fled to England to make a better life.’ As barbs go, that wasn’t bad for a bloke who…
-
Debbie ‘Nam
A conference call and off you pop. It may be the end if an era, but the demise of Debenhams should not perturb the cognoscenti. Yet at one time, they were rocking. Great products with modern designers and all-round accessibility. So what went awry? Well, this is not a COVID horror story per se. Yes,…
-
Lying Low
The UK Education Secretary Gavin Williamson foreshadowed the latest Government debacle with a warning on the danger that school students might be over-promoted into jobs that are beyond their competence. I can only admire his steadfast ability to deadpan that message. That’s weapons-grade irony, right there. This is a man who probably hides a spare…
-
Get Dawn on It
Dawn Butler has been in the news again, which is always a nailed-on opportunity for absurdity and a good giggle. This time it’s some stop-and-search shenanigans. If you need a good laugh, just get Dawn on it. Whatever has occurred, it will doubtless be a matter for some up-and-coming cop to unravel while maintaining his…
-
Why? Because.
The current mask debate has come to epitomise the woeful society we now inhabit. Now, ever since the COVID question arose, there have been pro-maskers. After all, it is a natural response to don items of clothing for the purposes of protection against an environmental threat. A coat, a hat, a pair of gloves. Masking…
-
First-Degree Burns
‘I am pleased to announce that I have graduated from High Street University with a first-class honours degree in [insert any lamentable toss here]…… Such announcements are popping up all over the shop on social media. LinkedIn degree-result fanfaronade appears to be today’s must-have accessory for the me-me-me gang. ‘I’m so grateful to my lecturers…
-
Building a Fence
I’m offended. Well, I’m not, but it seems that wherever you look, somebody is. Many whip out the offence card in an attempt to magic up come sort of legitimate censorship. Nobody has a right not to be offended and if they genuinely are, it doesn’t mean that they are either right or have the…
-
Meddle Ceremony
I am a fan of etymology and the origins of words, but I have always known that they might sometimes be susceptible to the incorporation of urban legends. This false etymology, as linguists term it, sometimes takes the form of outwardly reasonable explanations that are essentially flawed or backronyms (acronyms that are contrived to provide…
-
24/7
On 23 June, the Government offered up a perspective on masks: ‘the evidence of the benefit of using a face covering to protect others is weak and the effect is likely to be small’. As we now know, the world can change very quickly. The new norm dictates that the same goes for science. Not…
-
New Flack City
It looks like a fraught debate about cancel culture is raging. Now I’m sufficiently sage to appreciate the apocryphal source of the term, having watched New Jack City back in the day. I say back in the day; it was actually around 2008, when I had a penchant for the 4 ex-rental DVDs for £10…
maxfrances.com 