Archive for June, 2011

The lethal Nanny State

June 30th, 2011

Some time ago, I had an idea.

The idea was entirely original, but some of you may say you have seen it in print somewhere.  If you have seen it, it’s because some steaming cunt keeps robbing my ideas just before I think of them, which is not only unethical but is a blatant breach of intellectual copyright.

Plagiarism, I call it, and I wish the fucker would stop doing it.

Anyway….

That’s not what I am scribbling about today.

No.  What I am talking about is the theory that the Elf and Safety mob, in conjunction with the Nanny State are making our world one hell of a dangerous place in which to live.

“But,” I hear you cry, “isn’t the Nanny State there to protect us from ourselves?  All those nice laws are there so Little Diddums doesn’t stab his fucking toe or get a little scratch.  Don’t we all wear steel helmets and steel capped boots and wear our safety belts and don’t we drive slower than a fucking snail and don’t cyclists have to wear stupid looking bunches of fucking bananas on their heads?  How could any of that possibly be dangerous?”

I’ll tell you how it is not only dangerous, it is potentially fucking lethal.  I have the notches on my car bumper to prove it.

It’s like this.  I’m driving along minding my own business and I see old Granny O’Grady cycling down the the shops.  She is wearing a heavy overcoat and is sweating like a pig [though she usually does that anyway], but the point is that she doesn’t wear a bunch of bananas on her head.  She obviously has more pride that some of the Lycia clad wankers I have seen.  Now I don’t want to hurt Granny so I give her a wide berth and a cheerful beep on the horn [which usually causes her to fall off, but that’s not my fault].  On the other hand, if I see the aforementioned wanker with his shiny Lycra arse and his bunch of bananas, my immediate reaction is that he is very well protected, so I don’t need to give him a wide berth.  In fact more often than not, he’ll end up wrapped around my nearside headlight. 

So do you see my point?  By wrapping someone in cotton wool, we have the perception that they can’t be harmed, and therefore the chances of them being harmed increases enormously.  I would call that an Eureka Moment if ever..

I ran some tests using myself as a guinea pig.  I went for a drive around the county and didn’t bother with my seat belt.  It was a pleasant if tediously uneventful journey. I then drove the same route only this time I wore my belt.  I did the journey in half the time and only caused four major accidents [though only one was fatal].  This proved my point – I drove faster and slightly less carefully because I perceived myself to be safer.

The solution is incredibly simple.  Get rid of the Nanny State.  Lampposts and piano wire come to mind.  We will all start treating each other with a little more care because we will think everyone is more vulnerable.  Less cyclists will be hurt [I confess I will miss that bit].  Paddy Murphy will stop dropping monkey wrenches off the fourth floor scaffolding, trying to hit the hard hats below, because there won’t be any hard hats.

We will all live in a much safer world.

Do you know what? 

It will be just like The Good Old Days

Perchance to dream

June 29th, 2011

No sleep at all last night.

No forty winks.

Not even one wink.

No dreams of Sharon.

On the other hand, no nightmares about being back working in RTE.

I hate those nightmares.

No reason for the no sleeping.

Just one of those little kicks in the nuts that life throws occasionally.

I’m tired.

In fact, I am fucking knackered.

Excuse me while I shut my eyes for a moment.

Cutbacks

June 28th, 2011

Tallaght General Hospital

Dear Grandad,

Could you please report for your hip replacement surgery on the 23rd January 2065.

Due to financial cutbacks we would ask you to bring the following in addition to pyjamas, soap and toothbrush:

  • A penknife [how sharp is up to you].
  • Hacksaw.
  • One RS M10.  New is preferable, though second-hand will suffice.
  • One tube of water resistant, high impact adhesive.
  • Needle and thread.
  • Bottle of whiskey or other anaesthetic of your choice.

Your operation is booked in theatre 4, at 10AM.

Punctuality is appreciated.

Discharge from hospital will be at 1PM.

Yours faithfully,

AF

Admissions Clerk.

Leave us alone

June 27th, 2011

There is a wee question that has been bugging me for some time.

We are hearing a lot these days about the problem of too many old people.  Governments are worried that there will be a problem keeping all us old fold happy, and are introducing such measures as raising the retirement age and forcing pensions on younger people.  There is going to be a glut of old folk and not enough young folk to pay for ‘em all.

On the other hand, our governments are constantly whinging and wining about our health and are bringing in laws to control our smoking, eating and drinking so that we live longer.  Every day we hear of some insane new “study” or “research” that tells us that some everyday thing is drastically shortening our lives and that we have to stop doing it or they will bring in a new law to force us into line.

So therein lies my question.

Why?

Why the fuck are governments so desperate to get us to live longer when we are just going to be a problem when we get to old age?

There is a very simple solution to all of this. 

LEAVE US ALONE!

If our idea of heaven is to stuff our faces with greasy burgers then fine.  We’ll die young and we’ll die happy.  If we want to smoke then that’s fine too [though there is some evidence that that will make us live longer and there is fuck all evidence that it harms anyone else].  If we want to drink ourselves into a liver failure then that’s fine.

Darwin had the answer nearly two hundred years ago.  If we want to kill ourselves by some idiotic method, then so be it.

Ah, I hear you cry, but what about the families that are left behind?

Simple.  If a member of your family is quietly killing him [or her] self with pleasure then it’s up to you to point this out to them, NOT THE FUCKING GOVERNMENT.

The “authorities” seem to want to create a world where we all eat our five a day, interspersed with eating fucking soya beans and tofu and where we all run to work and totally abstain from drinking and smoking.  In other words, they are trying to create a miserable existence for us.

Which would you rather?

To die old and fucking miserable?

Or to enjoy life?

The sweet smell of success

June 26th, 2011

I did a bit of grass cutting yesterday.

I love the smell.

Very relaxing.

The neighbours can fuck off though.

If they want some they can damn well grow their own.

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