doctorcdf

[doctorcdf]

Inflation: A Deadly Poison

After my Swedish grandmother died in 1996, my family and I sorted through some of her belongings.  We found a few German-language books among her personal effects.  Hidden in their dusty pages was a hastily printed Deutsche Mark; I was struck by how crude and jagged the text was.  It was my grandmother’s souvenir from Germany’s experience with hyperinflation. My grandmother went to Germany for…

[doctorcdf]

Sketches of the Future

Senator Raphael Warnock's victory in the Georgia run off may have drawn sketches of the future; has the GOP baked in failure? #GeorgiaRunoff

Perhaps it was inevitable that Reverend Warnock would win the Georgia runoff.  Reverend Warnock was by far the superior candidate.  Warnock did not discuss the relative merits of being a vampire or a werewolf on the campaign trail.  The stench of hypocrisy did not follow him.  He did not have the backing of Donald Trump. Whoever persuaded Trump to stay away from the Georgia runoff did the GOP a…

[doctorcdf]

The Era of Missed Opportunities

New Blog: the lockdown period has shown the incompetence and mendacity of the authorities. It's an era of missed opportunities. #BorisHasFailedUK #NotMovingOnTillDomIsGone

It could have been very simple.  Boris Johnson could have sacked Dominic Cummings as soon as he had evidence that his special advisor had broken lockdown rules.  Johnson would have strengthened his authority by the move: he could have come out to brief the press, stared at the camera, and looked straight down the lens with a clear gaze.  He could have said, “The rules apply to everyone, no matter…

[doctorcdf]

In Lockdown

New Blog: after #lockdown, what has changed and what will change due to the #coronavirus? #COVID19

In these days of lockdown, perhaps the most liberating moments occur on days when the sun is shining. I put the laundry on to wash, it finishes, the machine beeps loudly, and I take the wet clothes out to the washing line. I peg out the t-shirts and pyjama bottoms, I raise up the pole that supports the line, so the laundry catches the breeze. On a good day, the garments float and flutter on a…

[doctorcdf]

The View from My Sickbed

New Blog: what it's like to be on day 4 of being ill with #coronavirus #coronavirusupdate

The NHS believes I have the coronavirus. The pleasant GP on the other end of the phone ran through my symptoms while I lay in bed. She told me that there is no testing at this point in time. The focus, she said, is on treatment, not testing. Just rest, take paracetamol, drink plenty of liquids, stay away from everyone else, and hope for the best. When the UK government says that things are under…

[doctorcdf]

Defeating Trump

How to Defeat Trump (in my opinion) #FridayFeeling

At first glance, the Democrats are in a terrible state. The Iowa Caucus was a failure of both technology and organisation: the Republicans can and will use this example to suggest the Democrats couldn’t run a bath, let alone the country. Trump escaped punishment thanks to a compliant Senate, which decided that it was better to acquit him of things of which he was clearly guilty than to face into…

[doctorcdf]

On the Campaign Trail

New Blog: notes from the campaign trail as a @UKLabour candidate. #StandingUp

The dark clouds obscured the twilight. Rain was falling steadily, large drops bounced off the hood of my olive green jacket. I accidentally cut my finger: it didn’t hurt, but it was one of those irritating lacerations that wouldn’t stop bleeding. I covered it with my thumb as I grasped my stack of leaflets tightly. My colleague and I continued our steady pace up the street: folding the unbloodied…

[doctorcdf]

Bernie Sanders and the Half-Breed Blowhard

New Story: "Bernie Sanders & the Half-Breed Blowhard" #iacaucus #FeeltheBern #HarryPotter @jk_rowling

Author’s note: recent comments by Donald Trump’s spokesperson about other politicians being “half-breeds” reminded me of how the “Death Eaters” in the Harry Potter series focused on the necessity of having “pure blood”; apparently J.K. Rowling thought the same:   Ironically, Trump’s mother was born in Scotland, hence he’s also a “half-breed”. The following story arose from ruminating on this…

[doctorcdf]

Refugees Welcome

Today's Blog: the correct response ot the Syrian refugee crisis is to say #refugeeswelcome

The story could have had a different outcome. With a different set of policies and priorities, 3 year old Aylan Kurdi might have lived. He could have settled in Bedford or Peterborough, gone to school, torn holes in his navy blue jumper, gotten scrapes on his knees after falling off his bike, done well on his GCSE’s while his parents worked in a local hospital or supermarket. He could have become…

[doctorcdf]

The Very Model of a Modern Labour Candidate

New Blog: I hope to be the Very Model of a Modern @UKLabour Candidate

My black suit was clean and pressed. My white shirt with a herringbone pattern embedded into its weave had been ironed. A silk maroon tie was neatly tucked underneath my stiff collar, tied into a Windsor knot. The head of fresh red rose was pinned to my lapel. I had shaved around my beard that morning and I still felt the slight sting of the lotion I applied afterward. I was nervous, I was…

[doctorcdf]

A Death in the Family

Today's Blog: the tragic passing of my cat Amelia is a death in the family.

I was probably the last human being to see my cat Amelia alive. It was a bright August morning: the coffee maker was gurgling away as it pushed hot water through the freshly ground beans. The kitchen was imbued with the scent of banana flavoured porridge which was fresh out of the microwave. The sun was shining: I looked out the kitchen window and could see blossoms of magenta, white and blue in…

[doctorcdf]

Standing

Today's Blog: about the #LabourHustings and standing for principles and office. #LabourLeadership

Democracy, contrary to what some may think, is not just about mentions in the press, appearances on television or cleverly contrived advertising campaigns. Often, its processes take place in humble locations among relatively small groups of people: just so, otherwise supposedly representative government would become solely a product of the media, who would spoon feed us their perspective along…

[doctorcdf]

A Time of Chaos

New Blog: the height of summer is also proving to be a time of chaos #Greece #Grexit #Tunisia #Sousse

East Anglia’s summer is at its height. The flat land doesn’t readily retain its temperature, so the evenings are generally cool: the moment the sun tucks in over the horizon, the heat left over from the day rises up from the lawn and the fields full of growing sugar beets. An open window lets in fresh breezes and the sounds of cars traversing a nearby country road. In contrast, when morning…

[doctorcdf]

Yvette & Tom

New Blog: For #Labourleadership, I'm backing @YvetteforLabour & @tom_watson - here's why - #YvetteForLabour

The nominations for the Labour leadership and deputy leadership elections are now closed. As much as one may wish for more contenders to enter the race, rules are rules: one can’t write in “Keir Starmer” or “Dan Jarvis” on the ballot. Despite the many reservations which I’ve articulated previously, I’ve had time to think about for whom I will be voting. I don’t believe Andy Burnham is the answer…

[doctorcdf]

The Beige Flag of Neutrality

New Blog: the #Labourleadership contest and US presidential race are making me hoist the Beige Flag of Neutrality -http://wp.me/pgXzW-OT

If the summer of 2015 has a motif, it is apparently leadership, or the lack thereof. Labour’s leadership campaign tediously malingers. It’s already clear that the candidates don’t yet inspire any great enthusiasm from the British public. Andy Burnham presents himself as being a world apart from the elite, but his career has been solely in politics: there’s no dash of real world experience (a la…

[doctorcdf]

Eastern Promise

New Blog: a move to the East of England is full of promise -

Two weeks ago, my fiancée and I piled our remaining belongings and our grumpy cats into our aged French car; we then left Bradford. A fortnight is a stutter in time, barely a blink of an eye in the context of a year: yet Yorkshire seems a lifetime ago, shaken out of memory like a shifting pattern in a kaleidoscope. Now when I wake up in the morning, it feels like the large bedroom window, the…

[doctorcdf]

Forever Bradford

New Blog: though I'm moving out of Bradford soon, it will be with me forever -

In a few days time, and after three and a half eventful years, I will no longer be living in Bradford. As I type this, the sun is shining and the skies are blue on a lovely May afternoon that is beginning to fade into evening. Given such a scene, it’s difficult to contemplate leaving: but I know that very soon I will have embarked on a new life in rural Cambridgeshire.

The reason for my move is…