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mouthyscotsman

Listed below are comments made by mouthyscotsman between Thursday, 5th March 2009 and Thursday, 10th September 2009.

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Did he pull it off? 11:40pm on 10 Sep 2009 Mark, the idea of a public option for health insurance seems less like socialism than the idea of making it compulsory to purchase health insurance. That is effectively a big brand new tax to pay for health care, just one that would go to the pockets of the insurance companies. Compulsory purchase of health care seems more radical to me, i bet you that will be the concession when the final bill passes as opposed to the public option side of it.
Coming back to work will be tough for Obama 10:46pm on 01 Sep 2009 Mark its good to see you in this position. Justin was a good presenter, but his blogs were always lacking when it came to critical analysis. I always felt he ended up following the views of the press pack, resulting in conventional insights. I also noticed he had a tendency to annoy his North American audience with a 'we brits know best' approach. Your comment above '...although I admit I am viewing this from a distance and await your thoughts and advice.' seems to indicate a willingess to understand US culture and will stand you in better stead. Health care is the old left v.right argument. Those that stand to gain are not mobilised politically to have their voice heard, those that stand to lose (the middle class) have the ear of the decision makers. Strategically Obama should reach out to his core support from the ground up and lead them to put pressure on wavering senators. The trouble is that any polarisation of the issue favours those that want to block reform. Maybe Obama should have taken baby steps first with healthcare, but he tried to exploit a weak, scared and economically impovershed electorate to push through 'caring government' legislation. We'll see if it backfires.
The jeers and not enough cheers in Turin 02:18am on 09 Mar 2009 Dear Steve,

When I was 10, I read your autobiography and you were a boyhood hero of mine for many years. I cannot imagine that I would have been inspired to follow and admire your career had you failed a drugs test at an early age. But in the case of Chambers, I believe he is getting persecuted unjustly by the UK athletics establishment who are bending over backwards to demonstrate to youngsters that cheats don't prosper. A worthy aim, but it has beat Dwain into a penniless corner and he is now lashing back the only way that he can, which is making the situation worse.

Dwain doesn't make it easy for himself though. The timing of his book is dreadful, and if it leads to IAAF charges of disrepute then that could be an unfortunate end to the whole saga. Bolt will never run against him now. Why on earth should he?

But one way or another the issue should be left in the past. There are two ways to do this 1) pretend Chambers doesn't exist or 2) accept the fact that he is a world class athlete, and focus on his current performances and rehabilitation. The former approach is both unjust and counterproductive - Chambers has nothing else to offer now. The latter approach is constructive as his cheating was caught and more than amply punished at the age of 23. He should be given the opportunity to fulfil his potential and I would argue for his inclusion in the Olympics.
GB stars come in from the cold 11:28pm on 08 Mar 2009 Katherine, to answer your question, dwain is rapidly becoming most famous for being unjustly persecuted by the uk athletics establishment, despite the fact he is running clean and is amongst the worlds best.

He cheated, he was caught and he was punished. Do you think it just that someone who took a wrong turn at the age of 23 should be punished indefinitely, especially when it was clear that a substantial number of his peers in the sprinting world took exactly the same path and were caught? You only have to look at the world of tour cycling to realize that few elite athletes are saints and the only deterrent to drug cheating is a foolproof testing regime. I'm sorry if that cold harsh reality is demotivating to a young athlete, but it's unfortunately a cold harsh and competitive world when a lifetimes work and millions are at stake.

The media and Uk athletics should move on and let chambers reach his full, clean potential on the olympic stage. I am sure Chambers would do better to endear himself to others by showing more contrition, but a just outcome for dwain should not have to depend on that. He is a bad boy, for sure, who also has an uncanny knack of putting his foot in his mouth. But he is an athlete first and foremost who deserves his second chance. Those that truly value athletics would give him that chance.

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Man Utd look unstoppable 10:07pm on 05 Mar 2009 Phil you are falling into the realms of conventional opinion by stating that the league is all but over. If you look at the facts, you will see that Man U have won 11 games straight in the league over the New Year period. Ferguson himself states that the league is won in March and April. and as far as I can see , Man Utd are a team that have peaked too early. Chelsea are just coming back into form having been revitalised. Also have you seen the run in Man U have got? they have to play, Villa, Liverpool and Arsenal, not to mention several tough away games, plus champions league and FA cup commitments.

My personal prediction, Man. Utd will probably just win the league, but it will be close, perhaps only on goal difference again ahead of a resurgent Chelsea.

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