I'm getting pretty pissed off with the amount of emails I'm getting asking me to sign the Anti-Road Tax Petition so here's my stock response:
This petition is for those that think driving is a right, not a luxury. People who complain about paying tax rather than campaigning for their taxes to be spent for the benefit of all annoy me. Yes, the surveillance bit of this legislation bothers me, a lot. But why aren't these car huggers backing and promoting Anti ID Card campaigns with as much fervour? I actually want to see a reduction in cars on our roads, for lots of reasons other than just the excellent green argument.
2 million anti-war protesters on the streets of London get ignored but the car lobby makes the government go weak at the knees! Try campaigning for the bottomless pit of money allocated to the war machine to be put into creating a forward thinking 21st Century affordable public transport system instead, then I'll sign your petition.
- More tax on cars/fuel
- More tax on planes/air fuel
- More taxes to be spent on public transport
- Scrap this obsession with collecting data and monitoring people
Rant over.
4 comments:
These petitions can get annoying, especially when they're promoting the use of cars, I personally think that if there's any sector of the population that needs more surveillance it's motorists! A lot of them round our way don't seem to realise that they are in charge of a potentially lethal weapon - and to think the police are getting all worked up about gun crime. But I've just been sent one petitioning against the government's plans to restrict photography in public places. Before I sign I'm going to try and find out what the actual proposals are, but if there's anything in it then your weeping car pic would be potentially illegal!
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Photography/
update: just found this from the petitioner.
http://www.phooto.co.uk/rights.shtml
Seems that there's nothing specific, just a bit of good old fashioned paranoia and conspiracy theory scare-mongering. Still worth keeping an eye out for developments. See the problem is if you sign the petition you might get an email from Tony Blair, yuck, as if I didn't get enough offensive spam as it is.
I'm not sure I like the idea of online petitions anyway. Seems to me it'll stifle debate. Lots of people sitting in front of computers forming their political opinions on the basis of one person emailing them rather than through discussion in the workplace or on the high street where petitions were traditionally proffered. Knee jerk ractionism in place of real political debate taking in a diverse range of opinions, oh sorry, that sort of sums up the government as well.
that's democracy bro!
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