Full force of the law

This is the phrase that politicians (or the great and the good, never the twain shall meet - ed), use when some individuals do things that upset, "Da Government" (tm), or arguably when people do things that make the front page of The Daily Mail/Express/Times etc (papers bought by people who are likely to vote at the next election - political ed) and so whose opinions matter.

Now, I don't get this at all (what don't you get? - ed)

Well surely, the law should and must be applied to each and every law breaker in a fair and just manner. It is not up to politicians, and particularly one in such an office as Prime Minister, to try and sway the judiciary in this overt and voter garnering way (How close to the Eastleigh by-election did he say this - political ed).

As a short aside, I live in the UK, not the USA (sorry Ralph the Alaskan, popping up for a visit for some bear hot tubbing is just a tad too far for me. What I still don't understand is why the bear would want to be in a hot tub with us, surely they want to be in a cold river, catching salmon - ed) - and there is nothing like the separation of powers that you would think. After all, if we had a written constitution, rather than an unwritten one, with a large history of precedent, where would that get us!

For me, the idea of making someone a scapegoat, to, "Send a signal", or to, "Make them think twice", smacks of rank (surely smells of rank - literary ed) unfairness.

Now I heard the above phrase, spouted out of the mouth of our beloved leader (Kim Jong-un? - political ed), no, no, not that beloved leader, the one with the mandate, the one that the voters of Witney (Oxfordshire, UK - geography ed) foisted upon us, the one chosen by the Conservative Party to be their leader, the one who managed to fail to clearly defeat, "the man in the bunker" (not Adolph Hitler, but Gordon Brown - political history ed). 

You know, the one that all those voters out there thought they were voting for (rather than their actual constituency MP), as he is, "Such a nice looking you man". The man who said, "Calm down dear", to an honourable member of parliament (MP) just for the laughs it would get him on the back benches (for overseas readers, the back benches are where all the naughty MPs sit when they have upset the Prime Minister so much that he has taken away all their toys - i.e. Cabinet Seats. Those that laugh loudest and longest get put to the top of roster for a seat on the front bench - political ed)

Now, this phrase came out, as part of the ongoing horse meat scandal (which is turning into a European wide hunt for a culprit. The more time goes on, my initial thought that it would be the labelling at fault appears to becoming true - pre-punditing ed). 

People have been arrested, documents have been gathered, (computers have been impounded - ed) meat has been sent to laboratories to be analyzed, men and women in white coats holding pippets have been raking in the overtime. Company after company have been clearing shelves of potentially horsey products. Frozen "beef" products sales have slumped. Fish and vegetarian dishes sales have soared. The national press point fingers at various European countries, the further East (obviously the more foreign - ed) the better. It is worth noting that three and only three people have so far been arrested in the UK.

So who is going to get the blame, who will bear the full force of the law. No idea. But what each and everyone from this country who gets charged with any wrong doing in this saga should get is:

"A fair and just application of the law",

Headlines in papers, outbursts from Prime Ministers, talking heads on TV can protest, lament, gnash their teeth and pull out their hair but in a mature democracy, we should expect the law to  be applied in a fair and consistent manner. Nothing more. Nothing less.

BBC declares Government Horsemeat Meet

The BBC website has got a cracking headline "Government to hold horsemeat summit". I wonder who the runners and riders will be.

Will I be first past the post with this post in finding this funny? (Think you fell at the first hurdle - ed).

Given that we have a Food Standards Agency, a Health and Safety Executive and a plethora of laws and regulations regarding food handling, preparation, safety, packaging, ingredients, use by dates, use before dates etc, it does make you wonder why 'Da Government' need to get involved at all?

I know, they need to be seen to be doing something. But you can see what the outcome of this will be.  The problem will be that it is the ingredients list that is at fault, presumably if it had listed horse meat - all would be well (being a little cynical here - literary ed).

I do wonder if any ones head will roll for this? Makes you wonder what are all these organisations,  soaking up our tax pounds, doing? Can I presume that they are underpaid, under staffed and not fit for consumption?

Commentary (use the voice of Sir Peter O'Sullevan if it helps)

[Starters gun goes off in the background]
"And their off",
"Coming to the first hurdle it's neck and neck, with the 'Environment Secretary' ridden by  Owen Paterson leading the way",
"In a close second there is the Not Fit For Purpose (ridden by FS Aye), closely followed by 'It's The Way I Fill 'Em' ridden by Tess Co and 'Lasagne Delight' ridden by Finn Duss, with Al Di trailing the pack riding 'Special Spaghetti' ",
".. and their over, their all clear",
"Oh no,  there is a faller,' Not Fit For Purpose' ridden by FS Aye is down, and appears to have been trampled by the following runners. I really wouldn't want to be in his shoes"
"They're moving on quickly now to the second hurdle, with 'Environment Secretary' still leading the way",
"He really has got a firm grasp on this race",
"So they're coming to the second and it's still Environment Secretary leading the way, now by a length",
"The rest are trailing behind as 'Environment Secretary' clears the second. Very neat jump",
"Oh my, oh my, there has been a terrible pile up at the second hurdle, with all the other runners down",
"It's a massacre out there, horses falling to the left of me and horse falling to the right of me",
"Let's hope listeners, that none of the runners are hurt otherwise it will be the knackers yard for them"
"So here we are, the only horse left is coming in to the final straight, and its 'Environment Secretary' past the post"
"So I guess he really knew his way around this course"
"So I'm now handing you back to the studio, whilst I go for my well earned lunch"
"Wonder what will be on offer today?"

Final Thought

This whole episode adds a whole new meaning to the phrase, "I am off to curry the horse", (yuk - ed).