Sunday, June 06, 2004

The great Reform Act of 1832 (UK)

How canny are the british - after two centuries without a civil war, let alone a revolution, and they see those frenchies across the channel lopping off aristocratic heads left right and centre. So these lords, sensing a change in the wind, gave the vote to a whole section of men, namely the richer merchants and specialists, with the riff-raff and women eventually all getting it 116 years later with universal franchise.

the thing is, small concessions pay off. the rich are still rich, the poor are still poor, but at least they can vote for one rich person over another.

Meanwhile, Reagan died today, finally. It's not really nice to rejoice in the death of an individual, but he really was a bad egg, with all those tax cuts and anti-communism, and all the foreign incursions. Now if only Dubya was convinced that Dying was just as cool as Tax Cuts and the Star-Wars Defence System, maybe Nader could get in and make a difference. posted by Keegan at 5:31 pm

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