Epiphany

I've had an epiphany. Religion is a tool of political control. It doesn't matter whether the religion teaches truth, or not, and the user of the tool doesn't have to believe any of it. In fact, it's probably easier if he doesn't. This is not a new revelation to me, I've always believed this. Here's the new bit; once you renounce all religion and declare yourself an atheist, you forfeit your ability to use the tool. By way of an example, I strongly suspect that Tony Blair is an atheist, but he won't publicly admit that because he recognises the power of religion as a political tool. Mrs. Thatcher was the same.

This is why you should be able to trust an atheist politician. He has sacrificed the use of this very powerful tool of manipulation for ethical reasons. That's not to say that you can't trust a politician who claims to have faith. Just claiming to have faith is no indication that it will be used in a cynical way of course. But one who has renounced faith has put himself above the possibility of using religion to control the masses. Now, can you think of any openly atheist politicians? Funny, neither can I.

The Met Chief, Sir Ian Blair has come under fire once again, this time from the Independent Police Complaints Commission. They have claimed he attempted to hamper the investigation that was held as a result of the Stockwell shooting. Blair has refused once again to step down. The Telegraph this morning is reporting that the PM is coming under increasing pressure to sack the guy. Technically the PM can't actually sack him in fact, only the Home Secretary can do that. He could however put pressure on the Home Secretary, and he could replace her with someone that would be prepared to sack the guy. I honestly can't see how the guy is still in a job.

The cost of id cards appears to have gone up by £71 million in the last 6 months. That means the total cost for the implementation and running costs for the first 10 years is now creeping towards £6 billion. Yes, that's almost £1 for every living person on the planet, or £100 for everyone in Britain. And we have to pay for it. There are rumours that Gordon is planning to scrap the idea, but it has been denied. I don't think the queen mentioned it in her speech the other day though. That would be a humiliating climb down also.