Blogger Humiliates Town Councillors Into Resigning

Dr_Barnowl writes "In an occurrence first postulated in sci-fi and later lampooned by stick figures, it seems that a blogger has actually been responsible for the mass resignation of elected officials — a British town council — largely by calling them 'jack***es' and Nazis. What's next? The deposition of a president with 'your mom' smacktalk?"

Comments

Can we get rid of the US Congress so easily?

[LatencyKills]

TFA is atrociously thin on what I'm certain is a long-ongoing feud between many townspeople and not the inflammatory comments of a single blogger. I think all rational people realize that when someone whips out the Nazi comparison that they're just behaving irrationally and will most likely be ignored, so the argument we're supposed to believe is that 12 counselors resigned over being called jackasses? Seems unlikely. For those of you hoping to start a grass roots revolution so easily, I'd be willing to bet that at least some level of phone calls to their homes at all hours and perhaps a few loud townhall meetings were involved (both of which, incidentally, you can't do at either the US House or Senate).

Re:Can we get rid of the US Congress so easily?

[Anonymous Coward]

The associated blog itself only hints at the underlying cause - it *appears* that a direct enquiry as to why the said council was not responding to requests under the Freedom of Information Act let to a mass "spontaneous" resignation. It all appeared to be quite an orchestrated circus, the mass walk-out that is, and so was probably foreseen by the said council members. Funny how they all had letters of resignation ready to submit.
Methinks they doth protest too much, and one anticipates exposure of earlier ill-deeds by some of the outgoing council, perhaps even legal actions.
Overall, kudos to the blogger for speaking truth to power - more evidence that the current "blogger's revolution" referenced recently here on slashdot will see our modern media overturned in short shrift.
And from the comments to the blog, it looks like it's riled up the peasants somewhat, and we'll see more citizen action in the near future. It's so heartening to see grass-roots action affecting real change.

Re:Can we get rid of the US Congress so easily?

[twostix]

Civil servants in the mother country have developed a disturbing sense of over entitlement to their positions and status. So no it wouldn't surprise me in the least to hear that a single blogger has been enough of pain for a couple of them enough to throw a hissy fit. In "nu england" where 1 in 4 workers are employed by the government a new class of individual has arisen: the over entitled, all powerful, low level, vindictive, civil servant.

The movie Brazil would have been better named "UK" because as they say, nobody does bureaucracy like the English - and they used to say that *before* the Nu Labour "revolution".

Off the top of my head from the last few months various councils have:

Sent men in black vans to rummage through individuals bins to make sure that they are sorting their rubbish properly (before sending to mass landfill anyway).

Started placing cameras *in* families homes - 20000 of them over the next few years.

Reduced bin collection to every *two weeks* AND reduced the size of bins.

Placed cameras in alleyways to ensure people are tying off their garbage bags properly.

Seized the pole from a barbers shop - that had been their for 30 years.

Impounded a mothers pram.

Arrested a man for leaving the lid of his bin open four inches greater than regulation allows.

Started using thermal imaging to send residents notices if they are allowing heat to escape from their homes.

Used anti-terror laws to conduct surveillance on people the council suspects of having un-approved structures...like a garden shed in the backyard.

So my dear American, best to not apply your own Occams razor - my own countries governance must be the same everywhere - fallacy on newly emerging post democratic totalitarian states.

What people can stay free, when one of them demands the other three pay him to regulate their lives?

Re:Can we get rid of the US Congress so easily?

[abigsmurf]

Sent men in black vans to rummage through individuals bins to make sure that they are sorting their rubbish properly (before sending to mass landfill anyway).

Binmen inspect what you put in the recycling bin. One bin full of badly sorted waste can contaminate an entire truck of recyclable material. If you don't sort properly, your recycled bin gets put in the landfill.

Started placing cameras *in* families homes - 20000 of them over the next few years.

Bullshit typical of the Daily Mail

Reduced bin collection to every *two weeks* AND reduced the size of bins.

Bin collection alternates recycled and landfill each week. Bins are regular sized wheelybins. If you sort, the amount of rubbish collected is no different.

Placed cameras in alleyways to ensure people are tying off their garbage bags properly.

How dare they put a camera in a public street to ensure people don't treat it like their public dump!

Seized the pole from a barbers shop - that had been their for 30 years.
Impounded a mothers pram.

More Daily Mail crap.

Arrested a man for leaving the lid of his bin open four inches greater than regulation allows.

Leaving the lid open 4 inches... and causing his street to get infested with rats. The lids have to be firmly shut for a reason. Still the story is likely BS anyway. He probably got a caution saying he'd get a fine if he continued to do it.

Started using thermal imaging to send residents notices if they are allowing heat to escape from their homes.

Sending such evil "notices" as "you could save £30 a year on heating bills if you got loft insulation". How dare they give out money saving advice!

Re:Can we get rid of the US Congress so easily?

[Hope Thelps]

The movie Brazil would have been better named "UK" because as they say, nobody does bureaucracy like the English

Huh? The name "Brazil" represents the fantasy land Sam Lowry escapes to in his dreams, not the society he lives in. It's no secret that the society is based on the UK. I think a UK address is clearly given at one point.

Re:Can we get rid of the US Congress so easily?

[Dun Malg]

Yes, because it takes *weeks* to draft a resignation letter...

It does take several minutes, at least, and requires a word processor and a printer. Again, it is funny how they all showed up to the meeting with resignation letters in their pockets.

Revealed as feeble...

[CaptainOfSpray]

And what prevented those councillors from telling their side of the story?

Clearly they had no real response to this blogger, and so just folded.

Leaves me wondering whether they were guilty or merely incompetent.

Re:You LIE!

[Zarf]

In all seriousness... from the scant details in the real article (which barely provides any information) it seems the blog functioned as a newspaper would. Other than the fact that this was a blog I don't see how this is different from ... say "The Colonist's Advocate" used by Benjamin Franklin... or their modern analogs such as Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" or their "Covert Report" ... or (on the right) the "comedians" such as Rush Limbaugh or the comedy players on Fox News. There's a fine tradition of comedians helping to shape politics dating back at least as far as Shakespeare.

Re:On the other hand, it's Somerton

[Anonymous Coward]

That sounds right to me. How anyone (BBC included) can reduce the interests and actions of 100+ locals down to the words of one blogger is an odd bit of misinterpretation. At best M&B is a lightning rod, an articulation of sentiment that is apparently shared by a significant number of others. So any assignment of responsibility is about like blaming the messenger.