Why is Daniel Hannan Writing A Letter of Warning to America? (Sometimes Politicians get too wrapped up in trying to teach and decide they no longer need to learn.)

Good and Bad from Mr Hannan's Interview

Mr Hannan made very good points about the positives of the USA and its ideology. We have all been lucky enough to prosper under the protective shadow of U.S. domination or influence. The world would be a sorry place without the USA. Many of us should realise that fact. The U.S gets scant recognition for this, but many of us outside of the U.S. are lucky for her existence.

Some things are hard to stomach, but much of what Daniel Hannan said is true concerning work ethics. I'm unsure about some of what he implies about governments in Europe. I cursed and cussed in my younger years while working under Thatcher's leadership. However, today I have what I have because of reluctantly doing my hard work (or what I thought was hard.) So I know I've been wrong with some of my more left wing views in the past. In this area, I must concede some ground to Mr Hannan's logic about work out put. 

He did, however, go on to mention something that made me pause with puzzlement. He said three Americans produce what four Germans would produce. Germany is a powerhouse economy in the EU and is prosperous? Maybe Germans enjoy a better standard of living from the work place. They are also renowned for quality production and a good national economy. Therefore a four German crew must be doing something right as well as the three man American crew. Perhaps he meant Europeans in general.

National Health Service

Today I'm different in my outlook of younger years and find much of what Mr Hannan mentions to be very stimulating. I do enjoy soaking up what he says, but I then have to sit back and think. I'm not in agreement with him about the U.K. National Health service. It is flawed, but we must try to continue and maintain it. I'm not a left wing person or socialist today. I would say I'm slightly right of centre concerning mass migration issues and benefits, but some things are worth keeping and paying for. Our National Health Service is one such thing.

I do think a American National Health service might be a good thing for a large number of U.S. citizens. I just can't agree with Mr Hannan's more negative reason concerning UK national health.

Such a U.S. Health Service will be flawed and open to abuse by peoples who do not contribute via National Insurance tax. (i.e. people outside U.S. trying to come into country and gain free health service) The U.S. would need to look at protocols to stop such abuse. There will be many problems reported. Look at the negatives of the UK Health system and make a better one. When Mr Hannan talks about British people complaining of trolleys in corridors, he is right on many occasions, but I can point out the millions of good things the British National Health Service does for its citizens. The good far out weighs the bad. If Mr Hannan only reports the problems and not the benefits we get an economical truth, and I'm afraid Mr Hannan is presenting a very economical truth on this national health service issue.

I think what I'm trying to say is that no one ideology is complete right or wrong. There will always be good and bad policies. I think he is right that the EU is full of its own self importance but can't deal with things collectively - yet. It makes lots of mistakes, but also gets lots of things right. Its evolving and making mistakes as opposed to remaining the same old, same old. The world has lots of options and lots of paths. The U.S. and the EU and the world will continue to adapt and evolve. The UK might be better off outside the EU and it will do well inside long term. I don't think either path will be catastrophic.

I don't think Daniel Hannan's book should be a letter of warning to America. The EU might find its way with some good ideas yet, but there will be a lot of bad ones too. Anyone looking in can decide for themselves. 

Mr Hannan also went on to say about care in the community and its draw back on certain issues concerning the lack of watching out for ones elderly neighbours and so forth. He complained that such things were put upon government and social services. Surely better government should be doing these things at local level answerable at higher level? Is this not what our better evolving society should be about? It is true that we have created such institutions that he might like to call bureaucratic bodies. These bureaucratic bodies have been formed with good reason, but people or neighbours still keep a look out too. He act as though this has suddenly stopped and we have all become automated and uncaring citizens. He neglects some of the old complaints about nosey Parkers taking too much of an interest in other people's business and so forth. I know this sounds pathetic and weak, but we do complain about unqualified people sometimes - don't we? I feel he is always giving just half a presentation wrapped up as a whole circumstance and then these are only the bits he wants us to see in order to win his point of view.

There are so many swing and roundabout issues and to claim the moral high ground on rather economic truths will always be around for development of political ideology. It sells books too, but if Mr Hannan wants people to vote for him, he needs to know he is the servant of his electors. Sometimes politicians get too wrapped up in trying to teach and decide; they no longer need to learn.

My One Big Brit say is this:

A national health Service can be a very good thing for millions of people, but big institutions will always have problems. Complaints about a trolley bed in an over crowded corridor can be made to look bad and immense. People should be held accountable in any Health system's failing for such things. However, (and this is a very BIG 'however') The amount of health care that the people of the UK's health system receive is extremely good. It is a little too easy to make it look bad, but the UK electorate rightly cherish it.

On this one fundamental note of National Health Care, I could never allow myself to vote for anything led by Daniel Hannan. He has a lot of very good ideas and views that he skillfully puts across. His notion of a failing British NHS is not one of them.

Doctor Who Trip Down Memory Lane.

On a complete whim, I bought the Doctor Who story; Face of Evil on Wednesday. I had taken my Dad to the hospital and went for a walk about the town centre in Romford, Essex. It has changed so much since I last went there.

Anyway, in one of the large DVD and CD outlets, I found myself wondering around the display area. I don't buy many DVDs now days because I watch so much on Netflicks. However, I do like British dramas. I think its the one thing we are rather lucky with. 

Old retro Doctor Who is one of my favourites because it takes me back to my childhood and youth. I suppose it has a nostalgic feel for me. I'm not too fond of modern day Doctor Who because I find the stories too fast paced. Even though the special effects are so much better.

To my surprise I found a huge horde of old retro Doctor Who. There were so many there - even ones like the Tenth Planet and The Moonbase. From Willaim Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and, of course Tom Baker. It was about this time that I lost touch with the show. It was during the Tom Baker and Leela times. I started work and was going out with mates - a coming of age time when TV watching was no longer too high on my list of priorities. 

I do remember liking the Leela stories though, because I thought she was one of his best companions and I remember, most of all; her first story - The Face of Evil. It was a continuation of another story known as Planet of Evil, which featured Sarah Jane Smith (Elizabeth Sladen) as the Doctors companion. 

In the Sarah Jane Smith story the Doctor and his companion come across a group of human space travellers who have crash landed upon a planet. I don't remember too much about the story because I watched it some time ago now. In the second story with Leela (Face of Evil) the Doctor visits the planet several hundred years in the future. In this time the shipwrecked off spring of the original story have fallen back into primitive and tribal ways. The descendants of the survey team are a tribe known as the Severtean (corruption of survey team etc) Their enemies live in a barriered realm where the wrecked space ship is. These enemies are called the Tesh (Corruption of Technicians.) All have become primitive and they worship a God called Zohannon. 

Zohannon is the computer who is riddled with phsycological problems from the passed when the Doctor tried to reprogramme the computer during the Planet of Evil story hundreds of years prior. All this makes for a good mystery for the Doctor to solve with the help of Leela, the outcast Severtean warrior.

I think Leela was a big hit with Who fans because Doctor Who came on after the football results when there was a large young male audience watching the weekly British religion of football. Then Doctor Who follows with the dashing Leela skimily dressed as a leather clad, primitive warrior woman, while male testosterone is already bubbling away because of the national tribal obligation.

The scifi story stirred a few memories and so I bought it - watched it - and thoroughly enjoyed the story and the great ending as Leela decides to join the Doctor in his Tardis and go upon more made adventures, gallivanting around the universe in various times and dimensions etc. Well worth a watch.

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