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May 11, 2021 6 tweets 4 min read Read on X
The latest salvo in the "common sense" bullshit-get-out-clause, which the Tories always mobilise to avoid taking responsibility or being held accountable.

The last time Boris Johnson spouted this shit & it was splashed on the front pages was in may 2020, & that went REALLY well.
People who say "just use your common sense":

Julia Hartley-Brewer
Iain Duncan Smith
Jacob Rees-Mogg
Isabel Oakeshott
Allison Pearson
Boris Johnson
Michael Gove
Laurence Fox
Nigel Farage
Toby Young
Claire Fox

People who think that's dumb:

Albert Einstein
Antonio Gramsci
"Common sense" is a myth. The Tories' "common sense" call for #austerity has been revealed as a perverse & damaging ideological ploy.

We now know that cuts to public spending resulted in Britain being one of the most ill-prepared countries in the world to deal with #coronavirus.
The Tories' "Common Sense group" criticised the
@nationaltrust for publishing a report into slavery links at some of its country houses, using the antisemitic far-right terrorism-inspiring conspiracy of 'cultural Marxism' to accuse the Trust of an "anti-British" "woke” agenda!
There is no consensus about what "common sense" is, or means.

Seemingly innocent appeals to common sense often mask controversial ideas or viewpoints.

Asking the public to use their common sense is a very irresponsible thing for any politician to do.

theconversation.com/why-boris-john…
Common sense is not always “common,” nor “sensible.”

What's the 'common sense' over Brexit? What's the 'common sense' solution to Boris Johnson relentlessly lying to voters?

When it comes to public health, 'common sense' is a dangerous thing to encourage.

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More from @docrussjackson

May 18
#THREAD

There have been attacks on the @nationaltrust since at least 2017. Since 2020, The Spectator has published at least 25.

In 2020, a former Bullingdon Clubber asked "When will the Trust get it into its thick skull that it’s supposed to look after buildings & landscapes?" Image
Four days later, the Eton-educated trustee of the climate-sceptic GWPF, former Chair of the right-wing Policy Exchange, & former editor of The Daily & Sunday Telegraph & The Spectator, Charles Moore, followed up with this infantile attack on the "woke" NT:
desmog.com/charles-moore/
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On 9th November 2020, a letter in The Telegraph, signed by 28 Tory (Common Sense Group) MPs accused the NT of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the 'woke agenda'". 'Cultural Marxism is the antisemitic conspiracy theory that inspired Anders Breivik.
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Read 18 tweets
May 14
#THREAD

Andrew Neil criticises others for making 'Nazi analogies', but here he is, referring to an article in the Mail, amplified by Toby Young, suggesting a proposed boycott by a 'Pro-Palestine group' of venues showing #eurovision24 is "straight out of the early Nazi playbook".

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The 'early Nazi playbook' involves propaganda, which like contemporary political & media propaganda works primarily not by lies, but rather by selective representation of information, distortion, fearmongering, demonisation of minority groups & misleading partisan misinformation. Image
The Mail's claim, amplified by Young & compared to "the early Nazi playbook" by Neil is 'Venues across the country have been forced to close their doors as they fear for their staff's safety after Pro-Palestine groups instructed their followers to hound pubs showing the contest'.
Read 25 tweets
May 13
#THREAD

Divisive far-right extremist grifter Steve Laws is dangerous: he has a long & well documented history of using racist & Islamophobic rhetoric, harassing people, & trying to get decent people sacked. Laws' hateful rhetoric was even too toxic for Richard Tice's Reform UK. Image
Former UKIP candidate & far-right extremist Laws is a prominent so-called 'migrant hunter' who gets off on filming boats arriving in Dover. He constantly uses grotesque 1930s-style dehumanising rhetoric, & pushes the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory.

Like many left-leaning accounts, I've had run-ins with Laws, who often posts then deletes provocative, inflammatory & aggressive comments.

He wanted to 'debate' me, but nobody in their right mind would legitimate dangerous far-right extremists like Laws.
Read 5 tweets
May 11
#THREAD

World-leading climate scientists foresee a “semi-dystopian” near future characterised by famines, conflicts & mass migration.

Meanwhile, a handful of billionaire investors fund anti-Net Zero think tanks, news media & political parties who cast doubt on climate science.
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Scientists say we are on track to shoot through the 1.5C temperature ceiling enshrined in the Paris agreement.

Climate impacts have hit so fast that worst-case scenarios predicted by scientists are in some cases already coming true.

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
For decades, Big Tobacco cast doubt on the link between cancer & smoking. Today, doubts about climate science is fuelled by misinformation spread by politicians, news media & think tanks, invariably funded by those who benefit from fossil fuels.

desmog.com/2023/11/17/nig…
Read 29 tweets
May 9
#THREAD

The phrase "the spawn of communism" derives from early twentieth century US #nativism - the political strategy of promoting the interests of "native-born" inhabitants over those of immigrants.

But where does it come from, & what might it tell us about Jacob Rees-Mogg? Image
This thread is about how nativist ideology gave rise to the first US 'Red Scare', & how, long before TalkRadio or Fox & GB "News" existed, populist Christian broadcaster 'Father' Coughlin stoked the fears & prejudices of millions of his listeners using divisive nativist rhetoric. Image
The phrase "spawn of Communism" is now used by 'anti-woke' alt- & far-right nativists to describe everything from Democrats & socialists, through LGBTQ+ rights, CRT, & feminism, to 'identity politics' & 'environmentalism' - anyone, or anything, perceived by them to pose a threat. Image
Read 49 tweets
May 7
#THREAD

GB "News"/TalkTV regular, Chair of the National Jewish Assembly & JC columnist, Gary Mond, liked posts by far-right extremist Pamela Geller (banned from entering the UK) & posted on FB in reference to Muslims “all [of] civilisation… is at war with these evil bastards”.



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In January 2022, it was reported that then Board of Deputies Senior VP Gary Mond had been asked to “step down from his duties” while an investigation took place.

Mond had served on the advisory board of the Conservative Friends of Israel group 2010-2014.
jewishnews.co.uk/board-of-deput…
Evidence appeared to show Mond had liked two posts made by Geller in 2017, during his 6-yr stint sitting on the Board’s Defence Division, including one saying France was “finished” after voters picked current President Emmanuel Macron over far-right challenger Marine Le Pen. Image
Read 13 tweets

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