Afore ye go!

Let's just get a few things out of the way: no, this is not the beginning of a new decade. 2010 will be the last year of the first decade of the twenty-first century, no matter what the media-beguiled people keep saying. There is no such thing as a year nought only year one.

For all of that, of course, we are about to enter into a new year for which I make no resolutions though there are a few plans in the offing, many of which have to do with this blog.

So, having got that off my chest, let me put up just three last links for 2009. Via Instapundit, we get this highly entertaining list of major stories that ran in the blogosphere for a considerable length of time before the MSM media picked them up if, indeed, that happened. Mostly this is about the United States where the blogosphere has pushed ahead of the MSM in importance instead of trailing behind those clogs sponsored by it.

A great link from Michelle Malkin who has a batch of good end-of-the year stories (though I wish Americans would leave that wretched Dan Hannan's YouTube video) but this is what I liked: a sign from one of the Tea Parties that needs to be adopted by us on this side of the Pond as well.

We cannot leave this year without having one last go at the so-called Conservative Party whose talented spin doctors policy makers have come with a real lulu of an idea as reported in the Guardian:

The Tories today promised to give £1m of taxpayers' money as a cash prize to the person or team who manages to "harness the wisdom of the crowd" by producing an online platform to solve "common problems".

The winning product must deliver an effective and available site for the public to post their ideas on, as well as a truly beneficial outcome for it to be worthy of the £1m payout, which the party says would be the biggest prize offered by a British government in the modern era.

Would somebody tell those idiots in CCHQ that the internet is not there to "harness the wisdom of the crowd", whatever that may mean, but to widen the number of different ideas and opinions available to us all, including politicians and their minions.

The blogosphere is not a giant focus group in which they can have meaningless interaction with the "crowd" of whose "wisdom", a concept that has been around for some time, little Tory boys and girls have only just heard. Those gifted researchers can do some research and read some ideas that are around; those gifted policy makers can do some thinking; above all, what we should like to hear from the wannabe government is what they think is the right answer to some of the problems, which does not include such issues as "picking the England squad for the 2010 World Cup". Every pub denizen can do that better than the manager; what has it to do with the government and taxpayers' money?

Let me remind my readers of that wonderful verse by Hilaire Belloc, which applies in no small measure to the forthcoming election:

The accursed power which stands on Privilege
(And goes with Women, and Champagne, and Bridge)
Broke - and Democracy resumed her reign:
(Which goes with Bridge, and Women and Champagne).

Happy New Year to all