advertisement


Monarchy and Royalty

droodzilla said:
I expect I'm being dim but why isn't one possible answer to "But what would replace the monarchy?", "Nothing".

I mean, do we need a head of state?
Click to expand...

A Head of State is only needed to establish a separation of powers. As we already have a separate body of (limited) power in parliament, we do not need an additional (limited) Head of State sitting outside it.
 
droodzilla said:
I expect I'm being dim but why isn't one possible answer to "But what would replace the monarchy?", "Nothing".

I mean, do we need a head of state?
Click to expand...

I was just reading up about this. It's difficult to not have, at least, a ceremonial head of state - someone who meets other heads of state for example. Where I live (the Swiss Confederation) the presidency rotates every year for this purpose.
 
We should have a head of State selected by lot. Once a year a citizen is chosen at random to be head of State. They will be given a nice uniform with lots of bling to wear, access to a Palace for posh dinners etc, all the advisers they need to tell them what to say to other Heads of State and carry the honorary title of ex Head of State for the rest of their life.
 
ks.234 said:
Rather struck by the headline about mourning a great countryman next to a photo of Philip with shotgun and hunting dog. Is the measure of a great countryman the extent that he blasts as much fauna from the countryside as possible?
Click to expand...

Great photo. Beautiful dog, similar to mine. Lovely side by side as well. Purdey I suspect, somewhat finer than mine.
 
Christopher Hitchens - do people "prefer invented tradition, sanitised history, prettified literature, state-sponsored superstition, and media-dominated pulses of cheering and jeering?"
 
Ponty said:
Great photo. Beautiful dog, similar to mine. Lovely side by side as well. Purdey I suspect, somewhat finer than mine.
Click to expand...

Only used a Purdey once; normally a hopeless shot but i won that day and seriously p####d off a few professionals.

The only comment i heard about Philip shooting recently was that he was more about being there in the wild than any blood lust.

Charles is a bit the same, there have been times when the monarchy seemed more in touch than our glorious elected leaders.

I'd like to see a country less controlled by Murdochs and Zuckerburgs. They steer democracy.
 
k90tour said:
Did anyone hear the previous Duke of Westminster's answer on radio as to how his family acquired their wealth? He was very honest about.
"Basically, the Duke of Normandy (whose great great grandfather pillaged France to such an extent that the Holy Roman Emperor gave him Normandy to sate his appetite), invaded the country, took everything as his own, gave some to the church and some to his mates who helped his conquest. And my ancestor was such a mate. And we've invested very wisely since. "
Click to expand...
A minor point, but the Holy Roman Emperor had nothing to do with it. The Duke’s talking through his hat (not for the first time). Why would he make up something like that?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Saint-Clair-sur-Epte
 
ks.234 said:
We should have a head of State selected by lot. Once a year a citizen is chosen at random to be head of State. They will be given a nice uniform with lots of bling to wear, access to a Palace for posh dinners etc, all the advisers they need to tell them what to say to other Heads of State and carry the honorary title of ex Head of State for the rest of their life.
Click to expand...
Can you tell them to sod off if selected?
 
dweezil said:
Only used a Purdey once; normally a hopeless shot but i won that day and seriously p####d off a few professionals.

The only comment i heard about Philip shooting recently was that he was more about being there in the wild than any blood lust.

Charles is a bit the same, there have been times when the monarchy seemed more in touch than our glorious elected leaders.

I'd like to see a country less controlled by Murdochs and Zuckerburgs. They steer democracy.
Click to expand...

Good work! Never shot a Purdey. Quite happy with my trusty Beretta (good job really...). It’s quite odd how people’s perceptions can get so distorted over the subject of shooting.
 
notaclue said:
But if we look at history and the rest of the world, we see it's not that easy to create a better system.

I mean, some people (naming no names... :D) think Venezuela is a model to follow. Look at the state of it.

Don't forget that the Scandinavian countries, which always score highly for being well-run and happy countries, almost all keep their monarchies.

And even Donald Trump sort of knew his place with Her Majesty. Not a bad thing. Imagine if someone like Trump thought he was the actual king?
Click to expand...
Trump knew his place?
Hardly.
He breached protocol on several occasions.

https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2018/07/204423/trump-queen-england-royal-protocol-breach
 
I don’t outright hate the Royal Family but feel is old fashioned institution. At best it needs to be reduced in size or at best gotten rid of. It’s outdated and a financial burden to the tax payer. A common rebuttal is that they bring a lot of money into the country which is true but without them their property would be opened up for tourists and an equal amount, if not more cash would come in. One thing against becoming an outright republic is the the politicians would then want even more handouts as they are the new royals.
 
droodzilla said:
Looks like some mass gatherings are allowed to take place without police in riot gear storming in:

https://twitter.com/CrimeLdn/status/1380575727389659137

I trust PFM's resident Tories will condemn this flagrant breach of lockdown rules? For clarity, I'm quite cool with it.

On a positive note, it's great to see Spike Milligan making a comeback.
Click to expand...

Of course, the key difference being the mourners are highly unlikely to damage property, start throwing bottles around or set fire to vehicles with people in them.
 
Ponty said:
Of course, the key difference being the mourners are highly unlikely to damage property, start throwing bottles around or set fire to vehicles with people in them.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I'm not having that. Some people on the other thread (can't remember if you were one of them) specifically said that the demos needed to be broken up even if they were peaceful because of the COVID risk.

I am being consistent here. I am equally comfortable with peaceful demos and people paying communal public tribute to Prince Philip. I'm wondering if Tories have the same intellectual integrity.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top