Toilet Seats, Candy Lead British MP Expenses Claims @1:05 PM
Britain's House of Commons has published its members' expense reports, and the Guardian take account of some of the more amusing claims. My favorite is either "£100 for hair straighteners" or "£70.50 for a locksmith after locking himself out" but there's something here for everybody. 5
Swedish Pirate Party, Czech Wang Wielder, Silvio Berlusconi… Weirdness Abounds @10:53 AM
Dozens of voters across Europe turned up this weekend to cast their ballots for the European Parliament. The result was an impressive victory for the parties of the right. How'd the politicians we (i.e., me) follow do? READ MORE 6
Bad Day For Gordon Brown @12:56 PM
In the wake of the Labour party's terrible showing in local elections, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has reshuffled his cabinet—even appointing the British version of Donald Trump, although that is a terribly inapt comparison, to an advisory role—as another five cabinet members have resigned, one just moments ago. READ MORE 5
Correction, Clarification, Apology @9:23 AM
In response to my long-ass screed about Graydon Carter yesterday, a reader writes: "Great bit, and I'm reluctant to criticise because your précis of the Euro elections was great, but the Telegraph didn't just pay to get a jump on their rivals. The July the 1st release is going to be redacted. For 'safety' reasons many personal details and, most importantly, the addresses of MPs are being witheld. Without these it would have been impossible to uncover the repeated 'flipping' of the designated second home or its presence far from Westminster.
It is cheque-book journalism but really does have a public-interest defence. (Expect it to be used as an excuse for every sleazy tabloid buy-up for the next ten years)." READ MORE 3
Graydon Carter Salutes Checkbook Journalism @3:15 PM
Taking Graydon Carter's Vanity Fair editor's letters seriously is probably, on the whole, less pernicious than, say, taking anything Michael Wolff ever writes seriously. Carter doesn't need to be outrageous; he knows that attention will accrue to him no matter what he says (or doesn't), unlike Wolff, whose increasingly desperate pleas for attention will no doubt shortly result in a blog post about how only Michael Wolff has the courage to admit that black people are scary. That said, Carter's current missive irks the hell out of me. Because it's just plain wrong. READ MORE 9
Gordon Brown Deathwatch Continues @11:57 AM
Fun times continue over in Britian! As Gordon Brown's government loses another minister, members of his Labour party are organizing a plot to remove him from office by the beginning of next month. A devastating editorial in the pro-Labour Guardian calls on Brown to resign, and the paper also offers up what is essentially his political obituary. 4
Today's Expenses Scandal Post Is Away @4:41 PM
John Cook saves me the trouble of having to do another expenses scandal post and explain who the Barclay brothers are. Thanks, John! You ever get tired of working for money, there's a spot waiting for you here. 1
English Voters Will Polite You To Death @4:30 PM
The bewildered unfortunate you see here is Andrew Mackay, a British MP caught up in that country's ongoing expenses scandal. Since apparently I am the only one on this site interested in the story, I'll spare you the embedded 20-minute video, but if you want to see what the Guardian calls "political decapitation, English-style… absolutely terrifying," please click through. Do note, though, that English-style political decapitation is nowhere near exciting as you'd expect if you're a regular viewer of "The Tudors." 8
