Epitaph for the Wicked Witch of the West.

Elvis Costello Tramp The Dirt Down Lyrics

I saw a newspaper picture from the political campaign
A woman was kissing a child, who was obviously in pain
She spills with compassion, as that young childs
Face in her hands she grips
Can you imagine all that greed and avarice
Coming down on that childs lips

Well I hope I don’t die too soon
I pray the lord my soul to save
Oh I’ll be a good boy, Im trying so hard to behave
Because there’s one thing I know, I’d like to live
Long enough to savour
That’s when they finally put you in the ground
Ill stand on your grave and tramp the dirt down

When England was the whore of the world
Margaret was her madam
And the future looked as bright and as clear as
The black tarmacadam
Well I hope that she sleeps well at night, isnt
Haunted by every tiny detail
Cos when she held that lovely face in her hands
All she thought of was betrayal

And now the cynical ones say that it all ends the same in the long run
Try telling that to the desperate father who just squeezed the life from his only son
And how it’s only voices in your head and dreams you never dreamt
Try telling him the subtle difference between justice and contempt
Try telling me she isn’t angry with this pitiful discontent
When they flaunt it in your face as you line up for punishment
And then expect you to say thank you straighten up, look proud and pleased
Because youve only got the symptoms, you haven’t got the whole disease
Just like a schoolboy, whose heads like a tin-can
Filled up with dreams then poured down the drain
Try telling that to the boys on both sides, being blown to bits or beaten and maimed
Who takes all the glory and none of the shame

Well I hope you live long now, I pray the lord your soul to keep
I think I’ll be going before we fold our arms and start to weep
I never thought for a moment that human life could be so cheap
Cos when they finally put you in the ground
They’ll stand there laughing and tramp the dirt down

Is it customary in England to dance on the graves of your former leaders, even if they are despised? I can’t imagine this happening with a American President.

There were street parties in London and Glasgow, with hundreds attending.

guardian.co.uk/politics/2013 … on-glasgow

It is not customary, but then, Margaret Thatcher was quite exceptional.

From the very little I’ve since read, Margaret Thatcher gave England a new lease on life for another generation, which is largely up now.

Most of my information on modern English economics come from a clique of La Rouche Economists who were running for Nancy Pelosi’s office in San Francisco… I was never able to buy into the fear of the commonwealth, I figured remnants of the African holdings of the French empire was much worst… The guy running for her position lived in Niger, so he had a grasp on what I was saying. However, I couldn’t completely sway him. He was for breaking the white racial monopoly in the Democratic Party there, hence my only real interest.

I really can’t see why the British can’t grasp runaway socialist spending isn’t very smart in the long run, and that we’re at the short end of that long run now. The US dumped way too much on England and Europe in the bail outs. At least England makes a effort in NATO… the rest of the nations there I have very little tolerance for… It’s all a unearned system sucking the blood out of US, we have to provide the military, we pay for the bulk of the medical research, and in exchange we get cussed at and spit at, called all sorts of crazy shot because we don’t join them in the same. The overall system was never sound to begin with, we’ve been stupid enough to prop Europe up for generations, their system seems to collapse the more they struggle against us on one hand, and the more we become more like Europe socially in the inverse.

We can use a few clear headed thinkers like thatcher… All this talk of imperialism on her end, may be true, but I doubt it, England restarting a empire is a joke… and us most likely regurgitated soviet propaganda redressed by the left.

We really need some strong leaders of sound mind. I’m not opposed to the disabled getting care, or the very poor, but its very clear now it’s not possible to have a full blown socialist system… at best, a few small parasitical states can pull it off, but not everyone. Maybe someday it will be different. I wish Margaret thatcher and Regan was here to fix this train wreck… I see more and more people loosing their homes, becoming homeless, and there haven’t been any new jobs anywhere for years. Europe seems to be turning for the scarier, given the EU back thefts of Russian accounts there… I don’t think the socialists there grasp the long term implications of endorsing such criminal behavior will be in bond markets over the next few hundred years… It seems minor now, but Europe will always be able to fall back on this devestating tactic hundreds of years from now. We’re seeing the beginnings if a continental state starting to emerge where the individual no longer has rights or a say. Doesn’t sound like a safe place to raise children and then grandchildren in…

Right now, it’s a time to watch the autumn leaves of old systems falls. Socialism is dying, and propaganda alone won’t keep it alive… No amount of screaming or intimidation or false claims of bigotry will keep it from going. Socialism is the sick man of Europe… And it shows every evidence of wanting to take everyone with it when it finally goes.

We really need the grown ups back to put everything back into operational order. Reagan for America, and it appears Margaret Thatcher for Europe, the last independent voice of the English.

It’s telling that while most polite people avoid speaking ill of the recently deceased, so many have made exceptions for this particular ignorant bitch. Well justified exceptions, if you ask me. The world is really better off without her.

Contra-Nietzsche

True in some contexts, but then again social housing made benefits cheap i.e. virtually zero ~ as socialist housing is built and paid for, capitalist housing is rented or mortgaged endlessly, the same product over and over again. Now [in Britain anyways ~ i don’t know what it’s like in America?] the govt [via national debt/the deficit] has to pay for people on benefits who rent £3-400,000 houses which most workers cannot afford.
Then that the previously nationalised industries e.g. electricity, now gains around a 50% profit which formerly didn’t exist i.e. costs much more. Everything cost more via capitalism; it made more sense to have a mixture of the two.
Sounds more like to me that the capitalists philosophy can’t take much of a hit ~ and so is weak.

Publicly run organisation can world very well when the people are not bombarded by messages of greed.
After WW2, Britain was at its poorest since 1750. It had to borrow its way to victory and that debt was paid back to the US took 30 years. Thsi helped the US economy, but put the UK into a potentially serious decline.
How did the UK get out of that problem?
It spent money on its people; it build homes for the returning soldiers; roads, schools. It borrowed more to invest in the future of the UK. Utilities were publicly owned and did not squeeze people for profits, but provided, phone, electricity, gas and water at cost.
This is how the UK got back on its feet from the rubble left by German bombers.
My water bill used to be £80 per year in 1980, now it is £1200. Inflation cannot account for that difference. The difference is due to the water companies drawing huge profits. Is the water different? Yes, you can taste more chlorine in it.
In the same time there have been a range of other privatizations, which have all resulted in huge increases in price, along with massive hikes in salaries for the top execs.
The gap between rich and poor has never been greater; the differential between CEO salary and average pay has never been greater - oh and what else is also greater, yes the balance of payments, national debt, and the financial crisis is the greatest in history.

Capitalism has proved just how weak it is time and time again, this latest recession caused by greedy American bankers, for example, who somehow have the power to destroy the world economy.

“American Bankers”???

Hahaha… Geeez…

Yes, they were all Americans.

I bet you it does. What happened when Reagan died?

I bet you it does. What happened when Reagan died?

All American, why not all British?

I came into this thread because of my exchanges with you about being proud of a country. So I thought to myself, “what would be her opinion on other issues?”

Well done James

They were, in fact, all American though. Mainly because American banks are the most powerful in the world. So my statement was correct.

The Barclays is British.

The banks maybe based in the USA but, foreign investing is neck deep in those banks. USA people are not solely responsible. Thatcher may have screwed up but, she gave young girls around the world hope.

The crash was caused by subprime lending by American banks in the American market. Barclays was not one of those.

This highlights just how fragile capitalism really is, being able to plunge the world into crisis simply by the actions of a few greedy men.

Young girls hope with regard to what? She did nothing to remove any of the sexist laws still on the statute book at that time, such as unequal marriage and immigration rights. She also never appointed another woman to her cabinet. It is said by some because she wanted no rivals.

What crash? A recession is different from a crash.

hear, hear