Politics

[Bertie]

So many great quotes from this passage.

From a disciple of Dementia Donnie and Nasty Nige I do wonder though if Bolty misses the irony.

Quite like these bits as well:

 

“leadership is based on truth and character”

“You show me a man who belittles another and I will show you a man that is not a leader.”

[Spider]

Bolty has either 

* Not read it because he nodded off after his nurse dipped his afternoon rusk in whisky

* Read it but utterly misunderstood all the big words

* Has a brand new Irony-o-meter and is trying to break it within 24 hours.

 

Nobody can be this stupid on purpose.

[mickbrown]

12 hours ago, dazl1212 said:

 

It's all good though, we have great minds in this country like this man.

That prick should be more angry with his tattoo artist. 

[kent_white]

3 minutes ago, mickbrown said:

That prick should be more angry with his tattoo artist. 

Again. I think this is the type of person people are referring to when they talk about 'racist thickos' 

Not everybody on the right

[kent_white]

11 hours ago, bolty58 said:

Better in the opinion of some of us.

The following may seem to be a bit of an epistle by some. It is something I have used over many years as a reinvigorator in certain situations. If it were possible, I would like to have every politician force fed this until they could recite it parrot fashion.

 

Speech by Vince Lombardi to the AMA in 1968.

Winning isn’t everything. Trying to win is. Winning is not a sometime thing here, it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time.

It is a symbol, I think, of what this country’s best attributes are namely courage, stamina and coordinated efficiency. It is a Spartan game by which I mean that it requires Spartan like qualities in order to play it. I am speaking of the Spartan qualities of sacrifice and self-denial rather than that other Spartan quality of leaving the weak to die.

It is a game very much like life itself in that it demands that a man’s personal commitment must be to an excellence and victory and yet complete victory can never be won. Yet it must be pursued; it must be wooed with all ones might. Each week there is a new encounter; each year there is a new challenge. All of the display, all of the noise, all of the glamour and all of the colour and excitement exist only in the memory. The spirit, the will to excel, the will to win – they endure; they last forever. These are the qualities, I think, that are the larger and more important part than any of the events that occasion them. The quality of life is a full measure of a man’s personal commitment, whether it be to football, business or government.

In a large sense, we are engaged right now in a struggle that is far more fiercely contested than any game. It is a struggle for the hearts, for the minds and for the souls of all of us and it is a game in which there are no spectators – only players. It is a struggle which will test all of our courage, all of our stamina and all of our strength and leadership ability. Only if we are physically, mentally and spiritually ready will we win this one. We live in an age for heroes. No other time in our history has ever offered the prizes and perils at one and the same time so great. Man must decide whether he wants to provide a full life for humanity or destroy himself with his own problems. The test of this century will be whether man mistakes the growth of wealth and power with growth of spirit and character or like some infant playing with dangerous toys, he destroys the very house he may have inherited. I think we fail miserably in our obligation unless we preserve what has always been an American zeal and that is to be first in what we do and to win and to win and to win.

But before they can be understood and embraced, the values of duty and respect for authority must be embraced and we must also develop a mental discipline. I am sure that you are disturbed like I am at what seems to be a complete breakdown of law and order and the moral code which is almost beyond belief. Unhappily, our youth, the gifted section of our population and heirs to the scientific advances and freedoms breath; the beneficiaries of their elders sacrifices and achievements seem, in too large numbers, to have disregard for the laws authority, for its meaning, for its indispensability to their enjoyment  of the fullness of life and have conjoined with certain of their elders, who should know better, to seek the development of a new right – the right to violate the law with impunity. The prevailing sentiment seems to be that if you don’t like the rule then break it.

Maybe we have so long ridiculed authority in the family and discipline in education and decency in conduct and law in the state that the freedom that we fought for so hard has brought us close to chaos and it could be that our leaders no longer understand the relationship between themselves and the people they lead. That is, whilst most shout to be independent at the same time wish to be dependent and whilst most shout to assert themselves at the same time wish to be told what to do.

The leader must be willing to use it. His leadership is then based on truth and character. There must be truth in the purpose and will power in the character. Leadership rests not only upon ability but upon commitment and upon loyalty and upon pride and upon followers. The country needs not only engineers and scientists but people who will keep their heads in emergencies, in other words leaders who will meet the intricate problems with wisdom and courage. A leader is composed of not just one quality but a blend of many and each must develop their own particular combination to suit their own personality. Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort which is the price each of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile. In spite of what many may think none of us are really born equal but rather unequal and the talented have no more responsibility for their birthright than the underprivileged have for theirs. The measure of each is what each does in a specific situation.

It is increasingly difficult to be tolerant of a society which seems to have sympathy only for the misfits, only for the maladjusted, only for the criminal, only for the loser. Have sympathy for them -yes, help them – yes but I think it is time for us to cheer for, to stand up for, to stand behind the doer, the achiever, the one who recognises a problem and does something about it, the one who looks for something to do for his country, the winner, the leader.

Mental toughness is many things. It is humility because I think a leader must remember that simplicity is the sign of true greatness and meekness is the sign of true strength. Mental toughness is spartanism with its qualities of sacrifice, self-denial, dedication, fearlessness and love. The love I am speaking of is necessarily liking or the love that a man may have for his wife. The love I am speaking of is loyalty which is the greatest of loves. Teamwork, the love that one man has for another and that he respects the dignity of another. The love I am speaking of is charity. I am not speaking of detraction. You show me a man who belittles another and I will show you a man that is not a leader. I am not advocating the love that forces everyone to love the white man because he is white or the black man because he is black or the poor because he is poor or your enemy because he is your enemy but rather the love that one man has for another human being – any human being who happens to be white or black, rich or poor, enemy or friend. Heart power is the strength of your company. Heart power is the strength or the Green Bay Packers. Heart power is the strength of America and hate power is the weakness of the world.

Mental toughness is also the perfectly disciplined will. The strength of the group is in the will of the leader and the will is in the character in action. The great hope of society is the character in action. We are never going to create a good society, much less a great one, until individual excellence is once more respected and encouraged. If we will create something, we must be something.

No leader, however great, can long continue unless he wins battles. The battle decides all. How does one achieve success in battle? I believe that it is essential to understand that battles are won primarily in the hearts of men. Men respond to leadership in a remarkable way and once you have won his heart he will follow you anywhere. Leadership is based on a spiritual quality, the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to follow. A spiritual quality which has been devoted toward personal ends and was partly or wholly evil and leadership which is evil, whilst it may temporarily succeed, always carries within itself the seeds of its own destruction.

The obvious difference between the group and a man who leads them is not lack of strength, not lack of knowledge but rather lack of will. The character , rather than education, is mans greatest need and mans greatest safeguard because character is higher than intellect. Whilst it is true that the difference between men is in energy, the strong will, in the settled purpose and in the invincible determination, the new leadership is in sacrifice, it is in self denial, it is in love and loyalty, it is in fearlessness, it is in humility and it is in the perfectly disciplined will.

This, gentlemen, is the distinction between great and little men.

Mate - you'd have roundly despised pretty much everything this guy believed in. 

[Spider]

8 minutes ago, kent_white said:

Mate - you'd have roundly despised pretty much everything this guy believed in. 

He’s confused 

[dazl1212]

14 hours ago, bolty58 said:

Better in the opinion of some of us.

The following may seem to be a bit of an epistle by some. It is something I have used over many years as a reinvigorator in certain situations. If it were possible, I would like to have every politician force fed this until they could recite it parrot fashion.

 

Speech by Vince Lombardi to the AMA in 1968.

Winning isn’t everything. Trying to win is. Winning is not a sometime thing here, it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time.

It is a symbol, I think, of what this country’s best attributes are namely courage, stamina and coordinated efficiency. It is a Spartan game by which I mean that it requires Spartan like qualities in order to play it. I am speaking of the Spartan qualities of sacrifice and self-denial rather than that other Spartan quality of leaving the weak to die.

It is a game very much like life itself in that it demands that a man’s personal commitment must be to an excellence and victory and yet complete victory can never be won. Yet it must be pursued; it must be wooed with all ones might. Each week there is a new encounter; each year there is a new challenge. All of the display, all of the noise, all of the glamour and all of the colour and excitement exist only in the memory. The spirit, the will to excel, the will to win – they endure; they last forever. These are the qualities, I think, that are the larger and more important part than any of the events that occasion them. The quality of life is a full measure of a man’s personal commitment, whether it be to football, business or government.

In a large sense, we are engaged right now in a struggle that is far more fiercely contested than any game. It is a struggle for the hearts, for the minds and for the souls of all of us and it is a game in which there are no spectators – only players. It is a struggle which will test all of our courage, all of our stamina and all of our strength and leadership ability. Only if we are physically, mentally and spiritually ready will we win this one. We live in an age for heroes. No other time in our history has ever offered the prizes and perils at one and the same time so great. Man must decide whether he wants to provide a full life for humanity or destroy himself with his own problems. The test of this century will be whether man mistakes the growth of wealth and power with growth of spirit and character or like some infant playing with dangerous toys, he destroys the very house he may have inherited. I think we fail miserably in our obligation unless we preserve what has always been an American zeal and that is to be first in what we do and to win and to win and to win.

But before they can be understood and embraced, the values of duty and respect for authority must be embraced and we must also develop a mental discipline. I am sure that you are disturbed like I am at what seems to be a complete breakdown of law and order and the moral code which is almost beyond belief. Unhappily, our youth, the gifted section of our population and heirs to the scientific advances and freedoms breath; the beneficiaries of their elders sacrifices and achievements seem, in too large numbers, to have disregard for the laws authority, for its meaning, for its indispensability to their enjoyment  of the fullness of life and have conjoined with certain of their elders, who should know better, to seek the development of a new right – the right to violate the law with impunity. The prevailing sentiment seems to be that if you don’t like the rule then break it.

Maybe we have so long ridiculed authority in the family and discipline in education and decency in conduct and law in the state that the freedom that we fought for so hard has brought us close to chaos and it could be that our leaders no longer understand the relationship between themselves and the people they lead. That is, whilst most shout to be independent at the same time wish to be dependent and whilst most shout to assert themselves at the same time wish to be told what to do.

The leader must be willing to use it. His leadership is then based on truth and character. There must be truth in the purpose and will power in the character. Leadership rests not only upon ability but upon commitment and upon loyalty and upon pride and upon followers. The country needs not only engineers and scientists but people who will keep their heads in emergencies, in other words leaders who will meet the intricate problems with wisdom and courage. A leader is composed of not just one quality but a blend of many and each must develop their own particular combination to suit their own personality. Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort which is the price each of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile. In spite of what many may think none of us are really born equal but rather unequal and the talented have no more responsibility for their birthright than the underprivileged have for theirs. The measure of each is what each does in a specific situation.

It is increasingly difficult to be tolerant of a society which seems to have sympathy only for the misfits, only for the maladjusted, only for the criminal, only for the loser. Have sympathy for them -yes, help them – yes but I think it is time for us to cheer for, to stand up for, to stand behind the doer, the achiever, the one who recognises a problem and does something about it, the one who looks for something to do for his country, the winner, the leader.

Mental toughness is many things. It is humility because I think a leader must remember that simplicity is the sign of true greatness and meekness is the sign of true strength. Mental toughness is spartanism with its qualities of sacrifice, self-denial, dedication, fearlessness and love. The love I am speaking of is necessarily liking or the love that a man may have for his wife. The love I am speaking of is loyalty which is the greatest of loves. Teamwork, the love that one man has for another and that he respects the dignity of another. The love I am speaking of is charity. I am not speaking of detraction. You show me a man who belittles another and I will show you a man that is not a leader. I am not advocating the love that forces everyone to love the white man because he is white or the black man because he is black or the poor because he is poor or your enemy because he is your enemy but rather the love that one man has for another human being – any human being who happens to be white or black, rich or poor, enemy or friend. Heart power is the strength of your company. Heart power is the strength or the Green Bay Packers. Heart power is the strength of America and hate power is the weakness of the world.

Mental toughness is also the perfectly disciplined will. The strength of the group is in the will of the leader and the will is in the character in action. The great hope of society is the character in action. We are never going to create a good society, much less a great one, until individual excellence is once more respected and encouraged. If we will create something, we must be something.

No leader, however great, can long continue unless he wins battles. The battle decides all. How does one achieve success in battle? I believe that it is essential to understand that battles are won primarily in the hearts of men. Men respond to leadership in a remarkable way and once you have won his heart he will follow you anywhere. Leadership is based on a spiritual quality, the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to follow. A spiritual quality which has been devoted toward personal ends and was partly or wholly evil and leadership which is evil, whilst it may temporarily succeed, always carries within itself the seeds of its own destruction.

The obvious difference between the group and a man who leads them is not lack of strength, not lack of knowledge but rather lack of will. The character , rather than education, is mans greatest need and mans greatest safeguard because character is higher than intellect. Whilst it is true that the difference between men is in energy, the strong will, in the settled purpose and in the invincible determination, the new leadership is in sacrifice, it is in self denial, it is in love and loyalty, it is in fearlessness, it is in humility and it is in the perfectly disciplined will.

This, gentlemen, is the distinction between great and little men.

I'm not sure what you're arguing here, I mean I agree with some of what he said but are you arguing that being "of character" is more important than being educated? 

Because that seems to be the biggest issue in this country at the moment. 

People seem to be gravitating towards  "characters" like we had with Boris and now Farage rather than intelligence and knowledge, which is not a positive thing. And people goign with "feels" and fear.

[dazl1212]

Has anyone read about this Dark Enlightenment being pushed by the like of Peter Thiel? Scary shit.

[kent_white]

20 minutes ago, dazl1212 said:

Has anyone read about this Dark Enlightenment being pushed by the like of Peter Thiel? Scary shit.

I imagine it's quite an appealing idea if you're a tech billionaire. 

Less so if you're not. 

Although I imagine there are a few people on here who would jump at a future like this. 

[Winchester White]

1 minute ago, kent_white said:

I imagine it's quite an appealing idea if you're a tech billionaire. 

Less so if you're not. 

Although I imagine there are a few people on here who would jump at a future like this. 

Some people just love to tug their forelock.

[kent_white]

41 minutes ago, Winchester White said:

Some people just love to tug their forelock.

I've just ordered a book about it as I'd not heard about it till this morning.  

I'll report back! 😁

[Bertie]

1 hour ago, dazl1212 said:

Has anyone read about this Dark Enlightenment being pushed by the like of Peter Thiel? Scary shit.

Not read it, but yes Peter Thiel and his like have a very different view of the world. Elements of this can already be seen in the US - it’s the puppet masters behind Trump who is their “useful idiot”. Anyone who thinks this is a simple conspiracy theory should google “Project 25” and the “Heritage Foundation” to see it’s not.

Thiel is also behind the data analytics tech company Palentir which is trying to integrate itself within global government systems. This what Khan has just blocked for the Met. Dangers to US citizens flagged in this Guardian story last year.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/30/peter-thiel-palantir-threat-to-americans

[dazl1212]

57 minutes ago, Bertie said:

Not read it, but yes Peter Thiel and his like have a very different view of the world. Elements of this can already be seen in the US - it’s the puppet masters behind Trump who is their “useful idiot”. Anyone who thinks this is a simple conspiracy theory should google “Project 25” and the “Heritage Foundation” to see it’s not.

Thiel is also behind the data analytics tech company Palentir which is trying to integrate itself within global government systems. This what Khan has just blocked for the Met. Dangers to US citizens flagged in this Guardian story last year.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/30/peter-thiel-palantir-threat-to-americans

It's scary how much influence these groups have on the UK. 

 

The Heritage Foundation have direct ties to right leaning politics 

[Winchester White]

30 minutes ago, dazl1212 said:

It's scary how much influence these groups have on the UK. 

 

The Heritage Foundation have direct ties to right leaning politics 

Russia and Brexit proved it. Bots all over the shop before people realised they weren't conversing with real people.

Even now people refuse to believe despite AI being everywhere.

It's very much in their interest to make sure us Turkeys keep voting for Christmas.

And to think some on here didn't even realise a while back that Google give different results depending on your internet history.

[Sweep]

4 hours ago, dazl1212 said:

It's scary how much influence these groups have on the UK. 

 

The Heritage Foundation have direct ties to right leaning politics 

Most people are thick at fuck, that's a fact.

Social media tells these people how to vote and who to vote for. Brexit showed that

[bolty58]

16 hours ago, kent_white said:

Mate - you'd have roundly despised pretty much everything this guy believed in. 

You been on the funny fags again?

His pass rush tactics and QB sneak manoeuvres had me on board straight away.

Edited yesterday at 01:47 by bolty58

[bolty58]

12 hours ago, dazl1212 said:

I'm not sure what you're arguing here, I mean I agree with some of what he said but are you arguing that being "of character" is more important than being educated? 

Because that seems to be the biggest issue in this country at the moment. 

People seem to be gravitating towards  "characters" like we had with Boris and now Farage rather than intelligence and knowledge, which is not a positive thing. And people goign with "feels" and fear.

You need to open your eyes and look at the shitshow the likes of Starmer and his ilk have produced (and yes, chuck in the previous Tories too - only the thickness of a cigarette paper between them).

I'm not arguing anything. I am saying that Lombardi's points about where society is going wrong are even more relevant today. We've been descending into the abyss for a long time now. Only politicians of extraordinary strength and resolve will be able to reverse this.

It starts with the basic tenet of democracy - govern for the vast majority not spend all of your time pandering to noisy minorities.

 

[bolty58]

11 hours ago, kent_white said:

I've just ordered a book about it as I'd not heard about it till this morning.  

I'll report back! 😁

There are some people like Winchester who spend too much time tugging at their foreskin.

[bolty58]

4 hours ago, Sweep said:

Most people are thick at fuck, that's a fact.

Social media tells these people how to vote and who to vote for. Brexit showed that

 They have almost always voted for anything wearing a red rosette in Wigan and surrounds - probably for over a century until the recent shift. In that particular century old example I'd agree that most people are as thick as fuck.

[bolty58]

9 hours ago, dazl1212 said:

It's scary how much influence these groups have on the UK. 

Correct. It needs to be heightened and the sooner the better.

[Zico]

1 hour ago, bolty58 said:

 

It starts with the basic tenet of democracy - govern for the vast majority not spend all of your time pandering to noisy minorities.

 

one thing is for sure, Farage will not govern for the vast majority (like he promises to in order to win the vote) and once in will be serving those for whom it's in his interests to serve

[BobyBrno]

4 hours ago, bolty58 said:

 They have almost always voted for anything wearing a red rosette in Wigan and surrounds - probably for over a century until the recent shift. In that particular century old example I'd agree that most people are as thick as fuck.

The so called ‘red wall’. Areas in the north and midlands that historically supported the Labour Party for decades, often because of strong industrial and working-class roots. Probably, historically the least educated.
Interesting reading some of the points about social media. ‘Thick as fuck’ seems to be a term spread around social media. I’ve never seen it in mainstream media. TV, online or in print. 

[bolty58]

3 hours ago, Zico said:

one thing is for sure, Farage will not govern for the vast majority (like he promises to in order to win the vote) and once in will be serving those for whom it's in his interests to serve

I disagree.

[bolty58]

51 minutes ago, BobyBrno said:

The so called ‘red wall’. Areas in the north and midlands that historically supported the Labour Party for decades, often because of strong industrial and working-class roots. Probably, historically the least educated.
Interesting reading some of the points about social media. ‘Thick as fuck’ seems to be a term spread around social media. I’ve never seen it in mainstream media. TV, online or in print. 

They weren't 'thick as fuck' when they were voting for Labour like automotons though 

Only now they're voting Reform. Isn't that strange?

Radio silence for a day or two now. I'm heading to a better time zone for the World Cup.

Edited yesterday at 07:49 by bolty58

[BobyBrno]

4 minutes ago, bolty58 said:

They weren't 'thick as fuck' when they were voting for Labour like automotons though 

Only now they're voting Reform. Isn't that strange?

Radio silence for a day or two now. I'm heading to a better time zone for the World Cup.

Badge of honour now to be working class. The millionaire Prime Minister’s dad was a Toolmaker, I think.😊 

Enjoy.👍