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Continue reading →: Of morals, politics and The Guardian
A reader commented years ago that he liked my blog because, although my posts were about politics, there was usually a moral dimension. I confess, though I hope I accepted his compliment graciously, I was puzzled. How, I remember thinking, can a discussion about human relations lack a moral dimension?…
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Continue reading →: “Police are investigating an offensive comment”
BBC News – Mikaeel Kular: Police investigate offensive tweet. In a just libertarian society, police would have told the "Edinburgh resident" mentioned in the BBC article to stop wasting police time.
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Continue reading →: Of Bonnie Scotland and her debts
I said I was afraid of how the separation of Scotland from the United Kingdom would be handled by our political leaders. Already the difficulties begin to become clear. As presented by the BBC and other leftish media yesterday, two things happened. Firstly, the money fairies expressed concern about the…
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Continue reading →: Some social (-networking) resolutions
I started The Last Ditch on March 15, 2005 to make serious points about the threat to liberty posed by a relentlessly-advancing British state. It is intended to be a modest contribution to public discourse and I fail when – as I have often done – I deviate from that…
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Continue reading →: 238 Years of Common Sense
On January 10, 1776 the great man whose name I misuse on this blog published his famous pamphlet, Common Sense. It had a powerful effect. General Washington had it distributed to his soldiers. I can imagine them reading it to themselves and to each other. George Trevelyan in his History…
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Continue reading →: Met PC’s political smear
BBC News – 'Plebgate' affair: Met PC admits misconduct. I hold no brief for the Conservative & Unionist Party, but I can't help feeling it has been mistreated by its fellow vile socialist front; the BBC. The Beeb pushed the 'plebgate' meme relentlessly. Its squadrons of Marxist comedians used it at enormous length to…
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Continue reading →: Some truth about police lies
BBC News – Some truth to claims over crime figures, says Met. Judging by Chief Inspector Tom Winsor's use of tenses in his remarks reported in the linked article, the Met still hasn't got around to talking to PC Patrick. You will recall PC Patrick was suspended from his work…
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Continue reading →: Down the rabbit hole
Stalking and Harassment: Legal Guidance: Crown Prosecution Service. I was thinking about the pervasive notion of "offensiveness" in modern Britain and pondering whether there was anything useful I could say about it. I am uncomfortable with the idea that causing offence should ever have any legal consequences. I grew…
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Continue reading →: Reflections on the passing of another year
I used to like New Year's Eve. I remember a party in the Welsh wilds many moons ago. I thought it had gone well, but the late Mrs P. disagreed. Apparently alcohol had somehow flushed my schoolboy Welsh from my memory's trash can and I spent much of the evening…
THE LAST DITCH
Your blogger
Tom is a retired international lawyer. He was a partner in a City of London law firm and spent almost twenty years abroad serving clients from all over the world.
Returning to London on retirement in 2011, he was dismayed to discover how much liberty had been lost in the UK while he was away.
He’s a classical liberal (libertarian, if you must) who, like his illustrious namesake, considers that
“…government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.”
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There are many reasons they’re not passed down, Tom. The Triune code, laid out in scripture in all reputable versions…
I’ve always tried to live my life doing no wrong but life isn’t like that so you make compromised but…
Hate to tell you this, but it’s not going to end until you end it. You think people to whom…
[…] – Tom Paine […]
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First post (in case you want to read it from the beginning)
The Last Ditch by Tom Paine 
A little bird tweeted in my ear that it was time to come over and see how things are.