I’ve been waiting to see when this US show with Geena Davies as an accidental President will make it to the UK. I got all excited when there were ads in Heat this week (yeah, I know - long train journey, in my defence) saying it would be on next Tuesday on ABC1 at 9pm, conveniently forgetting that ABC1 is only on Freeview until 6pm or thereabouts. Oh well. Digital Spy say it’s coming to More4 in the West Wing’s slot later this year, so that will be more evenings in front of the telly, then.

Update: interesting article in today’s Times about the show.

Good to see that the UK Life League’s nasty tactics against anyone who advocates access to SRE and abortion services have been exposed in the Guardian.

In other abortion related news, via Dragonballyee, the president of the Oglala Sioux tribe, Cecilia Fire Thunder, a former nurse, has announced:

To me, it is now a question of sovereignty… I will personally establish a Planned Parenthood clinic on my own land which is within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Reservation where the State of South Dakota has absolutely no jurisdiction.

The last refuge of the blogger with nothing to post about is to tell you about the funny search terms that led visitors to their site. Well, unsuprisingly people come here to look for teenage pregnancy info, father4justice, abortion and the west wing season 7. But, looking at my stats just now, it seems someone also came here looking for “socialist wankers party” - for which I am the second result in Google after the BNP’s Redwatch site, thanks to a comment not written by me. So far, so not funny - except that the fourth result in Google for “socialist wankers party” is conservatives.com. Now how did that happen?

Anyone else see this letter in the Guardian earlier this week?

I’m delighted that Michael Levy managed to lift £14m out of a few rich blokes’ pockets. Money and the advertising it buys influences middle-class swing voters who decide the outcome of our elections, not sour-faced constituency activists knocking on doors and reminding the punters what old Labour looks like. When Gordon takes over he will also need a heavy-duty fundraiser like Levy, or he will lose the next election.
Martin Bell
Port Isaac, Cornwall

Yeah - cos billboards are really effective at getting our core vote out, seeing as how they’re nimble on their feet, able to respond to local concerns on the doorstep and - crucially - keep going back until those Labour firms have voted. Numpty.

It’s 42 days to the local elections in Oxford, and I’m in the middle of a big project at work. I can’t see blogging frequency picking up much until after the election and after mine and Jo’s well-deserved holiday to Kefalonia immediately after. Sorry.

Just a quickie - normal service resumes soon.

Those of you who work in politics will be aware of De Havilland, the government affairs monitoring people. We get their alerts at work: my office enjoyed this blooper in their Budget briefing.

Turning to defence, law and order, Mr Brown allocated funds to a memorial for the victims’ of the terror taxes, as well as a fund for citizens injured or affected by terror attacks.

I can see the Adam Smith Institute, Tax Payers’ Alliance or maybe Tim Worstall going for a memorial to all those afflicted by terror taxes…

Can’t remember the last time I had such a long break between blogs. Hopefully the crazy work period is coming to an end after tomorrow (for a while, until local election fever hits in earnest), so, enthusiastic commenters, I may then be able to favour you with my opinions on funding of political parties, and when Blair should go…

Are available here. Not too subtle are they?

Posting from a wifi hotspot in a hotel somewhere in the Midlands. I’m away at a conference for the next few days, so there will be little activity on the blogging front.

Of course I’m disappointed that we missed the target of getting children out of poverty. Of course we should have hit it, and would have hit it if we’d paid more attention to lifting families with disabled children and large families out of poverty. From CPAG:

in 2004/05:

2.4 million GB children lived in poverty on a ‘before housing costs’ basis – a fall of 700,000 or 23 per cent since 1998/99 (100,000 short of the 25 per cent target).

3.4 million GB children lived in poverty on an ‘after housing costs’ basis – a fall of 700,000 or 17 per cent since 1998/99 (300,000 short of the 25 per cent target).

But how dare the Lib Dems and Tories come along and start wagging the finger - have they forgotten their opposition to rises to the minimum wage and the extension of tax credits, the very policies getting some - not all, not enough - families off the breadline?