AP (via Seattle Times) - Indiana man charged with murder advances in township race
LEBANON, Ind. (AP) — A central Indiana man charged with murder in connection with the March death of his wife is one of three candidates who advanced in a primary election this week for a township board.
Andrew Wilhoite, 40, of Lebanon received 60 of the 276 total votes Tuesday for Republicans for three positions on the Clinton Township Board, Boone County election results show.
Indiana township boards consist of three members, state officials said. The local Republican primary race drew only three candidates and no candidates filed for the Democratic primary ticket, The Indianapolis Star reported.
Wilhoite was arrested in late March in the death of 41-year-old Elizabeth “Nikki” Wilhoite. He’s been held since then in the Boone County Jail without bond.
Indiana State Police have said Andrew Wilhoite struck Nikki Wilhoite in the head with a blunt object, knocking her out. He then put her in a vehicle and drove to a creek a few miles from their home and dumped her body there, police said.
Police found Nikki Wilhoite’s body on March 26 partially submerged in about 3 feet (1 meter) of water.
Court records indicate Nikki Wilhoite filed for divorce on March 17. The couple had been married for 12 years.
Andrew Wilhoite’s jury trial is scheduled for Aug. 29, online court records show.
If he is convicted of a felony before the Nov. 8 general election, he would automatically be removed from the ballot. No Democrats have filed for the Clinton Township Board.
“Under our legal system, every person is innocent until proven guilty,” said Brad King, co-director of the Indiana Election Division.
A message seeking comment on the charges Wilhoite faces was left Friday by The Associated Press for Wilhoite’s attorney.
Re: Starmer, am starting to think that his biggest problem as a political party leader, is the fact that he is first and foremost a top-flight lawyer?
A type that can often rise high in politics, but who rarely make the top rank. For example, Lord Birkenhead and Sir Stafford Cripps.
They tend to think, what makes sense to lawyers will also make sense to voters. And proceed accordingly . . .
Clement Attlee, Tony Blair...
I do NOT mean lawyering in Parliament, I mean in the courts.
Starmer was never a rock star level advocate anyway. DPP is administration, not actually doing it
Is that true?
I had a (delightful) lunch with a retired Old Bailey judge last summer in his sunny garden in Burnham on Crouch. Very nice chap, quite a random event
Anyway he said that Starmer was one of the best prosecutors he had seen in his career, if not THE best
He was never a prosecutor
He was a barrister though, right? So it's far from impossible that it was Starmer for the Prosecution at some point.
I genuinely have no idea how it works. Can you spend an entire legal career defending or prosecuting? Seems a bit odd that he became DPP if he never actually prosecuted. But I know nothing of this world
I am also eating the best calamari of my life, as I write
I guess the major source of discrepancy in interpretation of the results is whether they are traditional "mid-term" ones. If they are, then those who are shrugging them off for the Tories definitely have a point. But for me, so much has changed since 2015 that talking about what is happening now in terms of what happened before is a mistake: the Scottish independence referendum, Brexit, Corbyn, covid and a cost of living squeeze that's only just begun have altered the landscape to a huge extent. Politics will be seen very much in terms of pre- and post-2015 in years to come, I reckon. Obviously, I could be totally wrong. It has been known ;-)
I wouldn't lump all those events together. I'd say covid and Ukraine are qualitatively different, those are external and massive. So I'd draw the dividing line at the turn of 2019. Covid's really not gone away, it has the potential to throw out new variants that cause a hell of a lot of trouble all over again. But the question of how to deal with Russia, and China, is a bigger problem, and one we will all be living with for decades to come, and that's if we are lucky and it doesn't blow up into a third world war.
Re: Starmer, am starting to think that his biggest problem as a political party leader, is the fact that he is first and foremost a top-flight lawyer?
A type that can often rise high in politics, but who rarely make the top rank. For example, Lord Birkenhead and Sir Stafford Cripps.
They tend to think, what makes sense to lawyers will also make sense to voters. And proceed accordingly . . .
Clement Attlee, Tony Blair...
I do NOT mean lawyering in Parliament, I mean in the courts.
Starmer was never a rock star level advocate anyway. DPP is administration, not actually doing it
Is that true?
I had a (delightful) lunch with a retired Old Bailey judge last summer in his sunny garden in Burnham on Crouch. Very nice chap, quite a random event
Anyway he said that Starmer was one of the best prosecutors he had seen in his career, if not THE best
He was never a prosecutor
He was a barrister though, right? So it's far from impossible that it was Starmer for the Prosecution at some point.
I genuinely have no idea how it works. Can you spend an entire legal career defending or prosecuting? Seems a bit odd that he became DPP if he never actually prosecuted. But I know nothing of this world
I am also eating the best calamari of my life, as I write
You should get yourself to Bologna @Leon - fantastic restaurants are plentiful, as are great bars, it’s cheap and there are a lot of attractive Italian women around (I’m sure you’re not interested in the ones at the university though…)
Posted before I realised there was a new thread: I think it's very questionable to assume that it's inevitable that there'll be a swing back to the government come to the next GE. For one, the 2017 GE showed that that the opposition can do better than their 'mid-term' polling suggests. It's also very questionable to assume that all VI Tory 2019 voters who didn't vote yesterday will vote for the Tories yesterday. And then there's the fact that I imagine come a election many of voters who voted Green last night will vote Labour in the marginals Lab need to win. Not a fantastic night for Labour, but really can't see the argument from some PB Tories that it shows Labour is going to lose - particularly, as they rely on 'political rules' which are now redundant post-Brexit.
Re: Starmer, am starting to think that his biggest problem as a political party leader, is the fact that he is first and foremost a top-flight lawyer?
A type that can often rise high in politics, but who rarely make the top rank. For example, Lord Birkenhead and Sir Stafford Cripps.
They tend to think, what makes sense to lawyers will also make sense to voters. And proceed accordingly . . .
Clement Attlee, Tony Blair...
I do NOT mean lawyering in Parliament, I mean in the courts.
Starmer was never a rock star level advocate anyway. DPP is administration, not actually doing it
Is that true?
I had a (delightful) lunch with a retired Old Bailey judge last summer in his sunny garden in Burnham on Crouch. Very nice chap, quite a random event
Anyway he said that Starmer was one of the best prosecutors he had seen in his career, if not THE best
Unfortunately, that is not his current role.
Wilson was iirc the youngest and most brilliant Oxford don in 400 years or some such, but he managed to become a man who represented the white hot aspirational future of booming 60s Britain against the old Etonian grouse shoot brigade.
I just don't see that in Starmer.
Of course in 1964 Wilson got in more because of a 5.5% swing from Conservative to Liberal than the 3% swing from Conservative to Labour.
If Starmer becomes PM based on today's results it will look a lot more like 1964, with a lot of help from the Liberals, than a big swing to Labour like the 10% Conservative to Labour swing Blair got in 1997
Re: Starmer, am starting to think that his biggest problem as a political party leader, is the fact that he is first and foremost a top-flight lawyer?
A type that can often rise high in politics, but who rarely make the top rank. For example, Lord Birkenhead and Sir Stafford Cripps.
They tend to think, what makes sense to lawyers will also make sense to voters. And proceed accordingly . . .
Clement Attlee, Tony Blair...
I do NOT mean lawyering in Parliament, I mean in the courts.
Starmer was never a rock star level advocate anyway. DPP is administration, not actually doing it
Is that true?
I had a (delightful) lunch with a retired Old Bailey judge last summer in his sunny garden in Burnham on Crouch. Very nice chap, quite a random event
Anyway he said that Starmer was one of the best prosecutors he had seen in his career, if not THE best
He was never a prosecutor
He was a barrister though, right? So it's far from impossible that it was Starmer for the Prosecution at some point.
I genuinely have no idea how it works. Can you spend an entire legal career defending or prosecuting? Seems a bit odd that he became DPP if he never actually prosecuted. But I know nothing of this world
I am also eating the best calamari of my life, as I write
Re: Starmer, am starting to think that his biggest problem as a political party leader, is the fact that he is first and foremost a top-flight lawyer?
A type that can often rise high in politics, but who rarely make the top rank. For example, Lord Birkenhead and Sir Stafford Cripps.
They tend to think, what makes sense to lawyers will also make sense to voters. And proceed accordingly . . .
Clement Attlee, Tony Blair...
I do NOT mean lawyering in Parliament, I mean in the courts.
Starmer was never a rock star level advocate anyway. DPP is administration, not actually doing it
Is that true?
I had a (delightful) lunch with a retired Old Bailey judge last summer in his sunny garden in Burnham on Crouch. Very nice chap, quite a random event
Anyway he said that Starmer was one of the best prosecutors he had seen in his career, if not THE best
He was never a prosecutor
He was a barrister though, right? So it's far from impossible that it was Starmer for the Prosecution at some point.
I genuinely have no idea how it works. Can you spend an entire legal career defending or prosecuting? Seems a bit odd that he became DPP if he never actually prosecuted. But I know nothing of this world
I am also eating the best calamari of my life, as I write
Is that remoulade sauce? Somehow doubt it.
Couple of small mezze dishes. One is a spicy Turkish cheese tomato dip, the other aubergines and chili peppers. Both excellent
Good result for Labour in Cardiff. Lib Dems and Plaid going nowhere. I might have expected the Greens to make a bit of progress but no. 55 out of 79 seats for one party makes me nervous though. Perhaps they've been doing a good job without me noticing?
Re: Starmer, am starting to think that his biggest problem as a political party leader, is the fact that he is first and foremost a top-flight lawyer?
A type that can often rise high in politics, but who rarely make the top rank. For example, Lord Birkenhead and Sir Stafford Cripps.
They tend to think, what makes sense to lawyers will also make sense to voters. And proceed accordingly . . .
Clement Attlee, Tony Blair...
I do NOT mean lawyering in Parliament, I mean in the courts.
Starmer was never a rock star level advocate anyway. DPP is administration, not actually doing it
Is that true?
I had a (delightful) lunch with a retired Old Bailey judge last summer in his sunny garden in Burnham on Crouch. Very nice chap, quite a random event
Anyway he said that Starmer was one of the best prosecutors he had seen in his career, if not THE best
He was never a prosecutor
He was a barrister though, right? So it's far from impossible that it was Starmer for the Prosecution at some point.
I genuinely have no idea how it works. Can you spend an entire legal career defending or prosecuting? Seems a bit odd that he became DPP if he never actually prosecuted. But I know nothing of this world
I am also eating the best calamari of my life, as I write
Is that remoulade sauce? Somehow doubt it.
Couple of small mezze dishes. One is a spicy Turkish cheese tomato dip, the other aubergines and chili peppers. Both excellent
OMG. Is that actually water in the glass rather than neat alcohol?
Offtopic I know, but F1. Mercedes have a lot of upgrades this weekend, and are looking competitive against Ferrari and Red Bull in first practice. Could be a three way fight this weekend, the silver cars might be worth backing for a podium.
Wes Streeting is very good indeed! A future leader perhaps?
I'm beginning to think the inquiry into drinks in Durham might turn out to be surprisingly good for Starmer. The contrast with Johnson is stark. The Tories might have made a serious error of judgement. I've never seen anyone who looks less likely to have been partying during lockdown than Starmer
Good for the Labour Party (so long as they don't replace him with a Corbynista) but not for Starmer. His underlying uselessness has been ruthlessly exposed today, both by the electorate and by failing to put Beergate to bed a week ago.
There are some decent Front Benchers to replace him.
Re: Starmer, am starting to think that his biggest problem as a political party leader, is the fact that he is first and foremost a top-flight lawyer?
A type that can often rise high in politics, but who rarely make the top rank. For example, Lord Birkenhead and Sir Stafford Cripps.
They tend to think, what makes sense to lawyers will also make sense to voters. And proceed accordingly . . .
Clement Attlee, Tony Blair...
I do NOT mean lawyering in Parliament, I mean in the courts.
Starmer was never a rock star level advocate anyway. DPP is administration, not actually doing it
Is that true?
I had a (delightful) lunch with a retired Old Bailey judge last summer in his sunny garden in Burnham on Crouch. Very nice chap, quite a random event
Anyway he said that Starmer was one of the best prosecutors he had seen in his career, if not THE best
He was never a prosecutor
He was a barrister though, right? So it's far from impossible that it was Starmer for the Prosecution at some point.
I genuinely have no idea how it works. Can you spend an entire legal career defending or prosecuting? Seems a bit odd that he became DPP if he never actually prosecuted. But I know nothing of this world
I am also eating the best calamari of my life, as I write
The New Statesman @NewStatesman · 20m Starmer’s repeated calls for Boris Johnson to resign over Downing Street parties have come back to haunt him, writes @freddiejh8 .
Re: Starmer, am starting to think that his biggest problem as a political party leader, is the fact that he is first and foremost a top-flight lawyer?
A type that can often rise high in politics, but who rarely make the top rank. For example, Lord Birkenhead and Sir Stafford Cripps.
They tend to think, what makes sense to lawyers will also make sense to voters. And proceed accordingly . . .
Clement Attlee, Tony Blair...
I do NOT mean lawyering in Parliament, I mean in the courts.
Starmer was never a rock star level advocate anyway. DPP is administration, not actually doing it
Is that true?
I had a (delightful) lunch with a retired Old Bailey judge last summer in his sunny garden in Burnham on Crouch. Very nice chap, quite a random event
Anyway he said that Starmer was one of the best prosecutors he had seen in his career, if not THE best
He was never a prosecutor
He was a barrister though, right? So it's far from impossible that it was Starmer for the Prosecution at some point.
I genuinely have no idea how it works. Can you spend an entire legal career defending or prosecuting? Seems a bit odd that he became DPP if he never actually prosecuted. But I know nothing of this world
I am also eating the best calamari of my life, as I write
Is that remoulade sauce? Somehow doubt it.
Couple of small mezze dishes. One is a spicy Turkish cheese tomato dip, the other aubergines and chili peppers. Both excellent
OMG. Is that actually water in the glass rather than neat alcohol?
I’m afraid so. I have already had three G&Ts and I am on my hired moped. I am nonetheless risking a tiny thimble of white wine (on the left)
Turkish wine is great now. Wine is an almost universally improved product. So many countries now make excellent wine
But Labour are making no gains. Once again, you're not seeing the bigger story that the opposition is not on course to win. Government loses midterm is a fairly expected result and governments come back from it. Opposition loses midterm is what we expect from parties that aren't going to win.
We're on course for a 1992 style result with the Tories getting a working majority under a busted flush leader and completely unruly and undisciplined backbenchers worried about losing their majorities in 4 or 5 years.
The Tories are not going to get 43% of the vote in 2024.
1992 style result, not actually 1992. David Cameron got a similar working majority with just 37% on less favourable boundaries.
1992 had a moderately strong Lib Lab understanding of who would fight the Tories where, which the voters tacitly understood. Hence Major's 42% giving a thin majority.
2015 was peak Lib on Lab war action. Whatever the opposite of tactical voting is. Hence Cameron winning on a much lower percentage.
What do you really think 2024 will be like?
Starmer is not a winner, sure. But unless the Conservatives properly relaunch, he may not need to be.
If I was to put specific number ranges I'd guess at:
Con - 335-340 Lab - 225-230 LD - 20-25 SNP - 40-45
That's with Boris as leader. If the Tories change leadership then I think the Tories could do a lot better, simply because there's a lot of people who voted Tory in 2019 and 2017 but aren't in that Tory column right now but also haven't been won over by Labour. That column of voters has the potential to deliver another Tory landslide that the blue tick wankers on Twitter won't see coming just like 2015.
You’re too optimistic for the Tories. The economy is going dahn the khazi whatever happens. 10% inflation is going to HURT
it won’t be “because Brexit” or “because Boris” it will be because Covid, China, Ukraine, Covid, but voters will still blame the government, as they always do. Labour now look tolerably respectable, but also seriously boring.
I reckon something like Con 280, Labour 260 is the most likely result, with Starmer, probably, forming a fragile Coalition government. Starmer will refuse a Scottish indyref so it will be even more frail than most coalitions. It will probably collapse within the year and Starmer will go back to the country
A couple of things might change this (black swans aside). 1. Somehow voters forgive Boris - but how and why? I reckon Boris has done a sterling job in Ukraine, above and beyond what I expected, and that is the biggest foreign policy crisis of recent times, yet he has got zero credit. I’m not sure what else he could do to regain trust and favour. He feels busted.
Or the Tories could get a new leader. But none of the candidates seem that inspiring on a national level - tho personally I’d be happy with Truss or Mordaunt. Many people would not.
I simply don’t see where the Tory revival comes from
The Tory revival comes from a grown up who can deal with the economic situation.
Mediocre for labour, A mixed bag for the Tories but pretty bad in their heartlands, a good result for the Lib Dems. The greens gained a handful.
Overall the winners last night are the Lib Dems.
Fair summary. It does look as though the Lib-Dems have been forgiven for the coalition and are now back in the game.
Of course the Lib-Dem success will melt away like June snow in the general election...
I think the LDs are on course to get roughly the same number of MPs they got in 1992 - roughly 20.
The difference is that they probably won't get any west country seats, except possibly St Ives. And their gains will be in the more leafy, prosperous and Remainiac parts of the South East.
Politico.com - Amid an uproar over Capitol staff mistreatment, meet the House’s ‘worst boss’ Multiple former aides and other Republicans told POLITICO about the “trauma bonded” work environment of Rep. Victoria Spartz.
Rep. Victoria Spartz topped a nonpartisan group’s “Worst Bosses” list last year, winning the dubious title of most staff turnover in the House. Her retention record is only getting worse.
Four aides are departing the Indiana Republican’s office this month after another exited weeks ago, leaving a skeleton crew of staffers in the first-term lawmaker’s D.C. office. Spartz’s exodus is on the radar of GOP leadership, which has tried to address her performance as an employer at least twice since the end of last year, according to a senior Republican close to the matter. . . .
[F]ormer staffers and other Republicans told POLITICO she frequently yells and curses at aides, belittling her staff’s intelligence and berating them in front of others — members, constituents and even with reporters in close proximity. On more than one occasion, three former staffers said, Spartz likened her aides’ writing skills to those of elementary-school students and proclaimed that her children were more talented than her staff.”. . . .
The nonpartisan website Legistorm listed Spartz as the House member with the most employee turnover in 2021, with staffers leaving at more than 3.5 times the average of congressional offices. She fell only behind a member who retired in the middle of his term: Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who left the House to lead Donald Trump’s new social media platform. . . .
Compounding the problem for Spartz aides is this week’s pending departure of her chief of staff, Renee Hudson, whom one former staffer praised as the “gold standard” for a boss — one who shielded them from the worst fallout and held the office together. Hudson’s exit on Friday comes after another senior staffer left in November, which means there will be no barriers between Spartz and more junior aides for the time being. . . .
Spartz, a 43-year-old former state senator, is experiencing a period of heightened visibility as the first Ukrainian immigrant elected to the House. She’s shared emotional stories about the distress she’s experienced keeping in touch with her family during Russia’s brutal assault on Ukraine.
Meanwhile, behind closed doors, staffers say her response to previous staff departures followed a familiar pattern, according to multiple former staffers and Republicans: She would respond that she was effectively doing the jobs of her exiting aides anyway. . . .
I listened to a slightly extended analysis earlier, and I think it mentioned that President Z was suggesting talks being possible once Google was back at its pre-February 2022.
It was a video address to Chatham House today, or perhaps in the conversation afterwards.
Re: Starmer, am starting to think that his biggest problem as a political party leader, is the fact that he is first and foremost a top-flight lawyer?
A type that can often rise high in politics, but who rarely make the top rank. For example, Lord Birkenhead and Sir Stafford Cripps.
They tend to think, what makes sense to lawyers will also make sense to voters. And proceed accordingly . . .
Clement Attlee, Tony Blair...
I do NOT mean lawyering in Parliament, I mean in the courts.
Starmer was never a rock star level advocate anyway. DPP is administration, not actually doing it
Is that true?
I had a (delightful) lunch with a retired Old Bailey judge last summer in his sunny garden in Burnham on Crouch. Very nice chap, quite a random event
Anyway he said that Starmer was one of the best prosecutors he had seen in his career, if not THE best
He was never a prosecutor
He was a barrister though, right? So it's far from impossible that it was Starmer for the Prosecution at some point.
I genuinely have no idea how it works. Can you spend an entire legal career defending or prosecuting? Seems a bit odd that he became DPP if he never actually prosecuted. But I know nothing of this world
I am also eating the best calamari of my life, as I write
Bodrum?
Kusadasi, south of Izmir
It’s REALLY nice. Much less pricey and self conscious than Bodrum and just as beautiful. Ephesus is 15km away
Recommended by @Nigelb and @TimT on here. And thankyou to them
Time will show whether she can move things forward in NI.
The Mail really is a piece of work. The world would definitely be a better place without it. The article should be read. Bear in mind she is 40 and the events they are talking about were 1990 when she would have been eight
Once preferences are included the DUP and UUP and Alliance will pick up a lot more seats
How does Alliance declare itself in terms of Unionist / Nationalist?
Is there a Wallflowers category?
"It opposes the consociational power-sharing mandated by the Good Friday Agreement as deepening the sectarian divide, and, in the Northern Ireland Assembly, it is designated as neither unionist nor Irish nationalist, but 'Other'.|"
Offtopic I know, but F1. Mercedes have a lot of upgrades this weekend, and are looking competitive against Ferrari and Red Bull in first practice. Could be a three way fight this weekend, the silver cars might be worth backing for a podium.
Considering the absolute dog of a car they've had over the first four races, it's pretty startling that Mercedes are third in the constructors' championship, and Russell is fourth in the drivers. Good driving by Russell.
The New Statesman @NewStatesman · 20m Starmer’s repeated calls for Boris Johnson to resign over Downing Street parties have come back to haunt him, writes @freddiejh8 .
If Labour want to lose the next election Burnham is the man to lead them. In the south he is too redolent of Labour as it was before taking over large chunks of the middle class. Rightly or wrongly he conveys 'Union man'. He would win big in all the places they win big, but that's not enough.
Offtopic I know, but F1. Mercedes have a lot of upgrades this weekend, and are looking competitive against Ferrari and Red Bull in first practice. Could be a three way fight this weekend, the silver cars might be worth backing for a podium.
Considering the absolute dog of a car they've had over the first four races, it's pretty startling that Mercedes are third in the constructors' championship, and Russell is fourth in the drivers. Good driving by Russell.
I experienced Americans - on discovering I am British/European - asking me eagerly about F1 when I was there last week. Never happened before. Seems to be gaining in popularity across the Pond?
Anyone else noticed the TV appearances seem to have dried up for Bercow?
Oh dear. How sad. Never mind.
In an attempt to "rehabilitate" himself I suspect he'll pop up on a reality show before long... He couldn't do Strictly as they'd never find a professional dancer small enough to partner with him
So I guess that leaves celeb Big Brother (is that even still on?) Celeb Love Island (is that actually a thing?) or most likely the Jungle?
Time will show whether she can move things forward in NI.
Oh, I'm sure if you do your research, the British Empire killed lots of people too.
Indeed.
That's the Mail being the Mail. It's a tabloid newspaper.
McGuiness and Paisley found a modus operandi that made significant moves forward. I'd say the question is whether O'Neil looks forward or retreats into history. The same for the various leaders on the Unionist side.
Perhaps it is more difficult for people who are one step removed from actual participation in historic events ?
The Councillor change reported on the Guardian seems different to what people are saying here. Is it the Guardian being the Guardian, or am I just an idiot (don't answer that last part)?
Politico.com - Canada's first Conservative leadership debate in one word: Nasty Here are five things to watch for when they meet again next week in Alberta.
. . . . One longtime party operative called Thursday’s showdown at downtown Ottawa’s Shaw Centre, hosted alongside the Canada Strong and Free Network (CSFN) conference, the most intense leadership debate he’d ever witnessed.
Five candidates participated: Scott Aitchison, Roman Baber, Jean Charest, Leslyn Lewis and Pierre Poilievre. A sixth candidate, Patrick Brown, spent the evening campaigning on the East Coast. His campaign tells POLITICO that he will attend both of the party’s official debates later this month. . . .
Takeaway 1: Everybody agrees Conservatives weren’t Conservative enough during the last election campaign
The candidates were unanimous on precisely one point: Former party Leader Erin O’Toole’s 2021 election platform failed to offer a coherent Conservative vision. . . .
Takeaway 2: Leslyn Lewis has her guns trained on Pierre Poilievre
Lewis is the lone champion of social conservatives in this race, and her opponents know those supporters will influence the outcome of the race. They barely mentioned her name, let alone critiqued her proposals. . . .
Takeaway 3: Poilievre’s signature attack works like a charm
Anyone who’s watched Poilievre at a parliamentary committee recognizes his bulldog tactics. He pelts witnesses with simple questions until they either answer or the chair suspends the meeting.
Poilievre employed the same technique Thursday, demanding to know how much the Chinese telecom giant Huawei had paid Charest for his consulting services. “How much? How much? How much?” Charest refused to respond. . . .
Takeaway 4: The Freedom Convoy was a popular cause . . .
It might’ve been a room full of white-collar conservatives, but they loudly supported the Freedom Convoy. Many cheered anyone who opposed lockdowns.
At one point, Charest spun Poilievre’s advocacy for the Freedom Convoy as support for illegal protests. That remark was met with the night’s only sustained round of booing. . . .
Takeaway 5: Never mind the room, candidates are out for clips Charest scored a blow against Poilievre on Bill 21, the Quebec law that bans public servants, including teachers, from wearing religious symbols at work. Charest accused Poilievre of telling a French-language interviewer that he wouldn’t intervene if a legal challenge of the law found its way to the Supreme Court.
Poilievre said he opposed the law, but didn’t directly deny Charest’s claim. The conference attendees in the room appeared less enthused about that exchange, but Charest wasn’t playing to them — his target audience was across the river in Quebec.
Anyone else noticed the TV appearances seem to have dried up for Bercow?
Oh dear. How sad. Never mind.
In an attempt to "rehabilitate" himself I suspect he'll pop up on a reality show before long... He couldn't do Strictly as they'd never find a professional dancer small enough to partner with him
So I guess that leaves celeb Big Brother (is that even still on?) Celeb Love Island (is that actually a thing?) or most likely the Jungle?
No doubt where you & many other PBers would like to see John Bercow next, is on Joe Rogan's "Fear Factor" wading though a malarial swamp and washing down large grubs with beakers of bat blood?
Anyone else noticed the TV appearances seem to have dried up for Bercow?
Oh dear. How sad. Never mind.
In an attempt to "rehabilitate" himself I suspect he'll pop up on a reality show before long... He couldn't do Strictly as they'd never find a professional dancer small enough to partner with him
So I guess that leaves celeb Big Brother (is that even still on?) Celeb Love Island (is that actually a thing?) or most likely the Jungle?
No doubt where you & many other PBers would like to see John Bercow next, is on Joe Rogan's "Fear Factor" wading though a malarial swamp and washing down large grubs with beakers of bat blood?
Anyone else noticed the TV appearances seem to have dried up for Bercow?
Oh dear. How sad. Never mind.
In an attempt to "rehabilitate" himself I suspect he'll pop up on a reality show before long... He couldn't do Strictly as they'd never find a professional dancer small enough to partner with him
So I guess that leaves celeb Big Brother (is that even still on?) Celeb Love Island (is that actually a thing?) or most likely the Jungle?
No doubt where you & many other PBers would like to see John Bercow next, is on Joe Rogan's "Fear Factor" wading though a malarial swamp and washing down large grubs with beakers of bat blood?
Offtopic I know, but F1. Mercedes have a lot of upgrades this weekend, and are looking competitive against Ferrari and Red Bull in first practice. Could be a three way fight this weekend, the silver cars might be worth backing for a podium.
Considering the absolute dog of a car they've had over the first four races, it's pretty startling that Mercedes are third in the constructors' championship, and Russell is fourth in the drivers. Good driving by Russell.
I experienced Americans - on discovering I am British/European - asking me eagerly about F1 when I was there last week. Never happened before. Seems to be gaining in popularity across the Pond?
Is the media / Tory MPs just going to ignore the current situation and pretend it’s all based on “economic circumstance”
Before the results, I thought losing 150 was seen as a bad night. Creeping toward 500 and the lesson will be “stick with Boris because Labour hasn’t made much progress”. Right.
Anyone else noticed the TV appearances seem to have dried up for Bercow?
Oh dear. How sad. Never mind.
In an attempt to "rehabilitate" himself I suspect he'll pop up on a reality show before long... He couldn't do Strictly as they'd never find a professional dancer small enough to partner with him
So I guess that leaves celeb Big Brother (is that even still on?) Celeb Love Island (is that actually a thing?) or most likely the Jungle?
Offtopic I know, but F1. Mercedes have a lot of upgrades this weekend, and are looking competitive against Ferrari and Red Bull in first practice. Could be a three way fight this weekend, the silver cars might be worth backing for a podium.
Considering the absolute dog of a car they've had over the first four races, it's pretty startling that Mercedes are third in the constructors' championship, and Russell is fourth in the drivers. Good driving by Russell.
I experienced Americans - on discovering I am British/European - asking me eagerly about F1 when I was there last week. Never happened before. Seems to be gaining in popularity across the Pond?
I tend to think Starmer thought he hadn’t broken any lockdown rules as it would be pretty daft to go after Johnson in the manner he has.
There are so many moving pieces to what might happen over the next few months before the summer recess .
Does Johnson get anymore FPNs . How restricted are Labour now in criticizing him if he does .
What happens with the Sue Grey report .
For Johnson he should want any more FPNs and the Sue Grey report rushed out before Durham police make a decision on Starmer .
For Starmer he needs Durham to report quickly .
If he receives a FPN he will have to resign , but do this in a way to cause the most damage to the Tories and Johnson .
GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY, not Grey
It must be very tiresome for her to write cheques.
She should move to the states, where we know how to spell. As in the color gray!
I can't argue with that one. I'll give you peanut over ground nut too (though both are mistaken as it's actually a legume). The English for peanut butter used to be ground ground nuts.
Offtopic I know, but F1. Mercedes have a lot of upgrades this weekend, and are looking competitive against Ferrari and Red Bull in first practice. Could be a three way fight this weekend, the silver cars might be worth backing for a podium.
Considering the absolute dog of a car they've had over the first four races, it's pretty startling that Mercedes are third in the constructors' championship, and Russell is fourth in the drivers. Good driving by Russell.
I experienced Americans - on discovering I am British/European - asking me eagerly about F1 when I was there last week. Never happened before. Seems to be gaining in popularity across the Pond?
The Miami event is totally nuts, even for F1. They could have sold it out three or four times, and there’s an estimated half a million people turning up without tickets, to watch on big screens in parks and bars. The sponsors are loving it!
Comments
LEBANON, Ind. (AP) — A central Indiana man charged with murder in connection with the March death of his wife is one of three candidates who advanced in a primary election this week for a township board.
Andrew Wilhoite, 40, of Lebanon received 60 of the 276 total votes Tuesday for Republicans for three positions on the Clinton Township Board, Boone County election results show.
Indiana township boards consist of three members, state officials said. The local Republican primary race drew only three candidates and no candidates filed for the Democratic primary ticket, The Indianapolis Star reported.
Wilhoite was arrested in late March in the death of 41-year-old Elizabeth “Nikki” Wilhoite. He’s been held since then in the Boone County Jail without bond.
Indiana State Police have said Andrew Wilhoite struck Nikki Wilhoite in the head with a blunt object, knocking her out. He then put her in a vehicle and drove to a creek a few miles from their home and dumped her body there, police said.
Police found Nikki Wilhoite’s body on March 26 partially submerged in about 3 feet (1 meter) of water.
Court records indicate Nikki Wilhoite filed for divorce on March 17. The couple had been married for 12 years.
Andrew Wilhoite’s jury trial is scheduled for Aug. 29, online court records show.
If he is convicted of a felony before the Nov. 8 general election, he would automatically be removed from the ballot. No Democrats have filed for the Clinton Township Board.
“Under our legal system, every person is innocent until proven guilty,” said Brad King, co-director of the Indiana Election Division.
A message seeking comment on the charges Wilhoite faces was left Friday by The Associated Press for Wilhoite’s attorney.
I am also eating the best calamari of my life, as I write
Redbridge is down to its last 5 Tories.
It may be pushing it to avoid the parasite devouring it's host stage, even if it's a while off yet.
I think it's very questionable to assume that it's inevitable that there'll be a swing back to the government come to the next GE. For one, the 2017 GE showed that that the opposition can do better than their 'mid-term' polling suggests.
It's also very questionable to assume that all VI Tory 2019 voters who didn't vote yesterday will vote for the Tories yesterday. And then there's the fact that I imagine come a election many of voters who voted Green last night will vote Labour in the marginals Lab need to win.
Not a fantastic night for Labour, but really can't see the argument from some PB Tories that it shows Labour is going to lose - particularly, as they rely on 'political rules' which are now redundant post-Brexit.
If Starmer becomes PM based on today's results it will look a lot more like 1964, with a lot of help from the Liberals, than a big swing to Labour like the 10% Conservative to Labour swing Blair got in 1997
Is there a Wallflowers category?
Oh dear, Rogerdarmus strikes again! Keith's a goner!
Says Wiki.
There are some decent Front Benchers to replace him.
@NewStatesman
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20m
Starmer’s repeated calls for Boris Johnson to resign over Downing Street parties have come back to haunt him, writes
@freddiejh8
.
https://twitter.com/DPJHodges?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author
===
Burnham for Wakefield?
Turkish wine is great now. Wine is an almost universally improved product. So many countries now make excellent wine
Yay for humans and their viticulture
Politico.com - Amid an uproar over Capitol staff mistreatment, meet the House’s ‘worst boss’
Multiple former aides and other Republicans told POLITICO about the “trauma bonded” work environment of Rep. Victoria Spartz.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/06/capitol-house-staff-mistreatment-spartz-00030498
Rep. Victoria Spartz topped a nonpartisan group’s “Worst Bosses” list last year, winning the dubious title of most staff turnover in the House. Her retention record is only getting worse.
Four aides are departing the Indiana Republican’s office this month after another exited weeks ago, leaving a skeleton crew of staffers in the first-term lawmaker’s D.C. office. Spartz’s exodus is on the radar of GOP leadership, which has tried to address her performance as an employer at least twice since the end of last year, according to a senior Republican close to the matter. . . .
[F]ormer staffers and other Republicans told POLITICO she frequently yells and curses at aides, belittling her staff’s intelligence and berating them in front of others — members, constituents and even with reporters in close proximity. On more than one occasion, three former staffers said, Spartz likened her aides’ writing skills to those of elementary-school students and proclaimed that her children were more talented than her staff.”. . . .
The nonpartisan website Legistorm listed Spartz as the House member with the most employee turnover in 2021, with staffers leaving at more than 3.5 times the average of congressional offices. She fell only behind a member who retired in the middle of his term: Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who left the House to lead Donald Trump’s new social media platform. . . .
Compounding the problem for Spartz aides is this week’s pending departure of her chief of staff, Renee Hudson, whom one former staffer praised as the “gold standard” for a boss — one who shielded them from the worst fallout and held the office together. Hudson’s exit on Friday comes after another senior staffer left in November, which means there will be no barriers between Spartz and more junior aides for the time being. . . .
Spartz, a 43-year-old former state senator, is experiencing a period of heightened visibility as the first Ukrainian immigrant elected to the House. She’s shared emotional stories about the distress she’s experienced keeping in touch with her family during Russia’s brutal assault on Ukraine.
Meanwhile, behind closed doors, staffers say her response to previous staff departures followed a familiar pattern, according to multiple former staffers and Republicans: She would respond that she was effectively doing the jobs of her exiting aides anyway. . . .
https://www.cameo.com/johnbercow
It was a video address to Chatham House today, or perhaps in the conversation afterwards.
https://www.france24.com/en/video/20220506-replay-ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelensky-speaks-to-chatham-house
Something local or further evidence of Hindus moving rightwards ?
It’s REALLY nice. Much less pricey and self conscious than Bodrum and just as beautiful. Ephesus is 15km away
Recommended by @Nigelb and @TimT on here. And thankyou to them
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_Party_of_Northern_Ireland
Paul Waugh
@paulwaugh
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2h
Looking like the Tories are moving from DISAPPOINTMENT and creeping towards DISASTER.
Which is WAY different thing than just being an average lawyer, let alone a lawyer who spends most of their time politicking.
And a top-rank lawyer is RARELY a top-rank politico. Esp. on the campaign trail.
This article affirms that notion
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaellore/2022/05/06/miami-grand-prix-signifies-formula-1s-popularity-acceptance-in-us/
Iain Martin
@iainmartin1
·
1h
The Tories had better hope Starmer refuses to resign.
https://twitter.com/iainmartin1/status/1522638593826635782
So I guess that leaves celeb Big Brother (is that even still on?) Celeb Love Island (is that actually a thing?) or most likely the Jungle?
Guido Fawkes
@GuidoFawkes
Blimey, LibDems wipe out Labour completely in St Alban's and reduce Tories to 4 seats taking 50 seats for themselves.
That's the Mail being the Mail. It's a tabloid newspaper.
McGuiness and Paisley found a modus operandi that made significant moves forward. I'd say the question is whether O'Neil looks forward or retreats into history. The same for the various leaders on the Unionist side.
Perhaps it is more difficult for people who are one step removed from actual participation in historic events ?
My view ... Leader of the Opposition facing Boris falls into the category of the fucking Easiest Job in the World.
So, +54 seats in England ... that is pretty darned unimpressive.
The Drake got +66 in Wales alone, with far fewer seats up for grabs.
It confirms my feeling that Labour made the wrong choice of Leader in 2020.
@bigjohnowls has been proved right.
SNP - 453 seats (up 22)
Labour - 282 seats (up 20)
Tories - 214 seats (down 62)
Independents - 152 seats (down 16)
LibDems - 87 seats (up 20)
Greens - 35 seats (up 16)
There are so many moving pieces to what might happen over the next few months before the summer recess .
Does Johnson get anymore FPNs . How restricted are Labour now in criticizing him if he does .
What happens with the Sue Grey report .
For Johnson he should want any more FPNs and the Sue Grey report rushed out before Durham police make a decision on Starmer .
For Starmer he needs Durham to report quickly .
If he receives a FPN he will have to resign , but do this in a way to cause the most damage to the Tories and Johnson .
Here are five things to watch for when they meet again next week in Alberta.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/06/canada-first-conservative-leadership-debate-00030707
. . . . One longtime party operative called Thursday’s showdown at downtown Ottawa’s Shaw Centre, hosted alongside the Canada Strong and Free Network (CSFN) conference, the most intense leadership debate he’d ever witnessed.
Five candidates participated: Scott Aitchison, Roman Baber, Jean Charest, Leslyn Lewis and Pierre Poilievre. A sixth candidate, Patrick Brown, spent the evening campaigning on the East Coast. His campaign tells POLITICO that he will attend both of the party’s official debates later this month. . . .
Takeaway 1: Everybody agrees Conservatives weren’t Conservative enough during the last election campaign
The candidates were unanimous on precisely one point: Former party Leader Erin O’Toole’s 2021 election platform failed to offer a coherent Conservative vision. . . .
Takeaway 2: Leslyn Lewis has her guns trained on Pierre Poilievre
Lewis is the lone champion of social conservatives in this race, and her opponents know those supporters will influence the outcome of the race. They barely mentioned her name, let alone critiqued her proposals. . . .
Takeaway 3: Poilievre’s signature attack works like a charm
Anyone who’s watched Poilievre at a parliamentary committee recognizes his bulldog tactics. He pelts witnesses with simple questions until they either answer or the chair suspends the meeting.
Poilievre employed the same technique Thursday, demanding to know how much the Chinese telecom giant Huawei had paid Charest for his consulting services. “How much? How much? How much?” Charest refused to respond. . . .
Takeaway 4: The Freedom Convoy was a popular cause . . .
It might’ve been a room full of white-collar conservatives, but they loudly supported the Freedom Convoy. Many cheered anyone who opposed lockdowns.
At one point, Charest spun Poilievre’s advocacy for the Freedom Convoy as support for illegal protests. That remark was met with the night’s only sustained round of booing. . . .
Takeaway 5: Never mind the room, candidates are out for clips
Charest scored a blow against Poilievre on Bill 21, the Quebec law that bans public servants, including teachers, from wearing religious symbols at work. Charest accused Poilievre of telling a French-language interviewer that he wouldn’t intervene if a legal challenge of the law found its way to the Supreme Court.
Poilievre said he opposed the law, but didn’t directly deny Charest’s claim. The conference attendees in the room appeared less enthused about that exchange, but Charest wasn’t playing to them — his target audience was across the river in Quebec.
Starmer specialised in challenging the government on human rights breaches etc. so an advocate not a prosecutor
Hillary Clinton was also highly ranked in legal journals and guides
This was the Caesar's Palace Car Park Track:
If Starmer goes all the questions will be PM why haven’t you resigned ?
He could have Rayners seat when she is forced to resign for holding SKS's empties
Starmer specialised in suing the government I believe. He didn’t work for the CPS until he was DPP.
Before the results, I thought losing 150 was seen as a bad night. Creeping toward 500 and the lesson will be “stick with Boris because Labour hasn’t made much progress”. Right.
In Wales
If SKS fans cant see after today how shockingly poor SKS is by comparison I dont know what to say really