Project 2025 - The hype and the truth

This is what Project 2025 is claimed to suggest. Is it true? The actual project can be inspected at https://www.project2025.org/policy/ It's quite verbose and I'm sure that Trump, being adverse to reading, won't know about most of it. Some of its policy is very reasonable but that can be expected. Most political groups are not wrong all the time. 

But this is what some people say it contains. Are these items really hidden amongst it?

The project is available as a printed book but is apparently not available as a proper ebook. It is available as a pdf file though and that is searchable so that's what I did - searched it. Here's the results The bold text is what is claimed to be in Project 2025, If it's red then I couldn't find any reference to it. My comments are in square brackets.

End no-fault divorce 

[Not found]

Complete ban on abortion with no exceptions 

[bans on the federal funding of abortion p6] 

FDA should…reverse its approval of chemical abortion drugs p284 p458

Prohibit Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds p471

Ensure that training for medical professionals (doctors, nurses, etc.) and doulas is not being used for abortion training p485

[For many people these steps will make abortion difficult but not a 'complete ban with no exceptions]

Ban contraceptives

[Not found apart from 'Eliminate the week-after-pill from the contraceptive mandate as a potential abortifacient.' p485]

Additional tax breaks for corporations and the 1%; 

[A search for 'tax ' (including the space) finds 203 mentions including:]

 Department of the Treasury: Implement all necessary regulations both to equalize taxes between American citizens and working visa holders and to provide DHS with all tax information of illegal aliens as expeditiously as possible. p167 

Clarify the critical importance of efficiency to food affordability, and why a failure to recognize this fact especially hurts low-income households who spend a disproportionate share of after-tax income on food compared to higher-income households. p293 

nonresident parents with child support orders can receive a nondependent, child support tax credit. p479 

Congress can propose tax credits for the renovation or repair of housing stock in rural areas so that more Americans are able to access the American Dream of homeownership. p511 

Second, the tax system should minimize its adverse impact on the family and the core institutions of civil society. Third, the tax system should be applied consistently—with special privileges for none—and respect taxpayer due process and privacy rights. p696 

The corporate income tax rate should be reduced to 18 percent. The corporate income tax is the most damaging tax in the U.S. tax system, and its primary economic burden falls on workers because capital is more mobile than labor. 17 Capital gains and qualified dividends should be taxed at 15 percent.  p696 

To encourage entrepreneurship, the business loss limitation should be increased to at least $500,000. Businesses should also be allowed to fully carry forward net operating losses. Extra layers of taxes on investment and capital should also be eliminated or reduced. p697 

The estate and gift tax should be reduced to no higher than 20 percent p697 

[Non-taxable benefits offered to employees in liu of wages would be capped at $12,000, the idea being to prevent employees from being trapped by being unable to give up non-taxable benefits p697]

 Fundamental Tax Reform would see lobbyists, lawyers, benefit consultants, accountants, and tax preparers incomes decline. p698

Higher taxes for the working class;

 [There are several suggestions which would have the opposite effect such as:]

The Treasury should work with Congress to simplify the tax code by enacting a simple two-rate individual tax system of 15 percent and 30 percent that eliminates most deductions, credits and exclusions. The 30 percent bracket should begin at or near the Social Security wage base to ensure the combined income and payroll tax structure acts as a nearly flat tax on wage income beyond the standard deduction. p696 

Universal Savings Accounts. All taxpayers should be allowed to contribute up to $15,000 (adjusted for inflation) of post-tax earnings into Universal Savings Accounts (USAs). The tax treatment of these accounts would be comparable to Roth IRAs. USAs should be highly flexible to allow Americans to save and invest as they see fit, including, for example, investments in a closely held business. Gains from investments in USAs would be non-taxable and could be withdrawn at any time for any purpose. This would allow the vast majority of American families to save and invest without facing a punitive double layer of taxation. p696

Elimination of unions and workers' protection 

[Not found. Related union issue were 'Congress should also consider whether public-sector unions are appropriate in the first place.' p82 'remove all unions in the department for national security purposes.' p135]

Raise the retirement age 

[Not found but retirement related items are: 'Reforming Federal Retirement Benefits'. p77 Seems that public sector should be aiming at matching federal retirement benefits! ie retire at 55 with $200,000 more than public sector], 

'Equalize retirement savings access across married households' & 'To equalize access to tax-free retirement savings for married couples' p588

Cut Social Security

[Not found]

Cut Medicare

[Not found. Reforms to medicare include:]

'Increase Medicare beneficiaries’ control of their health care.', 'Reduce regulatory burdens on doctors', 'Ensure sustainability and value for beneficiaries and taxpayers.' & 'Reduce waste, fraud, and abuse' p463 'Remove restrictions on physician-owned hospitals.' & 'Encourage more direct competition between Medicare Advantage and private plans. p464

Reforms to medicare and Medicaid p465-469

End the Affordable Care Act

[Not found]

Raise prescription drug prices 

[Not found although there is a reference to 'Medicare Part D Reform' on p465]

Eliminate the Department of Education 

Federal education policy should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated. When power is exercised, it should empower students and families, not government. & 'Ultimately, every parent should have the option to direct his or her child’s share of education funding through an education savings account (ESA), funded overwhelmingly by state and local taxpayers, which would empower parents to choose a set of education options that meet their child's unique needs' p319

Use public, taxpayer money for private religious schools 

[An ESA (see previous item) would allow this.] 

Teach Christian religious beliefs in public schools 

[Not found. However there is a suggestion that a communal 'day off', by default a Sunday, should be recognised and workers on that day should be recompensed with 1.5 times salary. There are exceptions though for hospitals and emergency services p598]

End free and discounted school lunch programs. 

[Not found. There is, in fact, a suggestion that funding for this may NOT be withheld p337]

End civil rights & DEI protections in government 

[Not found but there are: 'Safeguarding civil rights' p332, 'Pursuing Equal Protection for All Americans by Vigorously Enforcing Applicable Federal Civil Rights Laws in Government, Education, and the Private Sector.' p561 & 'Reorganize and refocus the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division to serve as the vanguard for this return to lawfulness.' p562]

 Issue an executive order banning, and Congress should pass a law prohibiting the federal government from using taxpayer dollars to fund, all critical race theory training (CRT). p582] [The next conservative President must make the institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors. This starts with deleting the terms sexual orientation and gender identity (“SOGI”), diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”), gender, gender equality, gender equity, gender awareness, gender-sensitive, abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights, and any other term used to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights out of every federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation that exists. p4

Ban African American and gender studies in all levels of education Ban books and curriculum about slavery. 

[Not found but 'Divisive symbols such as the rainbow flag or the Black Lives Matter flag have no place next to the Stars and Stripes at our embassies'. p89 & 'Funding to institutions should be block-granted and narrowed to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and tribally controlled colleges.' p327]

Ending climate protections 

Eliminate carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) programs. p376

Consider whether to defund the civil nuclear tax credit program and hydroelectric power efficiency and production incentives established in the IIJA and administered through GDO p380

Increase Arctic drilling, Deregulate big business and the oil industry 

[Covered p521-523]

Promote and expedite capital punishment 

[Hardly promoted but 'Enforce the death penalty where appropriate and applicable' p554]

End marriage equality 

[Not found but there are a number of issues under tax to offer tax benefits in marriages]

Condemn single mothers while promoting only "traditional families" 

[No condemnation found but concern is expressed over single parent families several times]

Defund the FBI 

[The DOJ and FBI have been criticized p545-547 but no defunding of then has been found] 

Emphasize, fund, and reward field offices while shrinking headquarters staff p551

Defund Homeland Security 

[Our primary recommendation is that the President pursue legislation to dismantle the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). p133 The proposal is that it should be broken up and some parts combined while other parts are merged with other departments]

Use military to breakup protests; 

[Partly true. The only 'military' mentioned for this is the National Guard 'Transform how the National Guard is employed during extended operations short of declared war to preclude back-to-back federal and state deployments of National Guard soldiers in order to stabilize and preserve military volunteerism in our communities.' p110] 

[There is also 'Department of Defense: Assist in aggressively building the border wall system on America’s southern border. Additionally, explicitly acknowledge and adjust personnel and priorities to participate actively in the defense of America’s borders, including using military personnel and hardware to prevent illegal crossings between ports of entry and channel all cross-border traffic to legal ports of entry' p166-167 & p555]

Mass deportation of immigrants and incarceration in "camps" 

[Nothing found for mass deportation but 'Congress should mandate and fund additional bed space for alien detainees. ICE should be funded for a significant increase in detention space, raising the daily available number of beds to 100,000.' p143]

End birthright citizenship

[Nothing found]

Ban Muslims from entering the country

[Nothing found]

Eliminate federal Agencies such as EPA 

[Partly true] Back to Basics. EPA’s structure and mission should be greatly circumscribed to reflect the principles of cooperative federalism and limited government. This will require significant restructuring and streamlining of the agency p420

Eliminate federal Agencies such as FDA  

[Nothing found]

Eliminate federal Agencies such as NOAA and more 

['and more' is too vague but 'Break Up NOAA.' found p674]

Continue to pack the Supreme Court and lower courts with right-wing judges. 

[No references found]

Not mentioned in the claimed contents of Project 2025 

[How did the Anti-Project2025 people miss these?]

 Environment 

[The next Administration should also push for legislation to fully repeal recently passed subsidies in the tax code, including the dozens of credits and tax breaks for green energy companies in Subtitle D of the Inflation Reduction Act. p696]

Armament Industry

'The United States must regain its role as the “Arsenal of Democracy.” In fiscal year (FY) 2021, U.S. government foreign military sales (FMS) nosedived to a low of $34.8 billion from a record high of $55.7 billion in FY 2018.' p100. [The same was happening in Russia. In Feb 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine and arms sales immediately picked up again.]

---

Well stopthecoup2025.org, spreading misinformation isn't going to help your cause. There's plenty in the book to object to but lots of what you claim just doesn't appear to be true. I'm sure most people with any sense don't want to see Trump re-elected but let's campaign honestly.

Perhaps there is a different Project 2025, the one suggested by those labeled 'conspiracy theorists'?

US - Do you like this political ideology?

 

There is a political party which produced a 25 point plan of their beliefs. Take a look and see if any of it appeals to you.

1. We want American people in the US

2. We want the US to be treated the same as other nations.

3. We want land and territory (dependencies) to feed our people and to settle our surplus population.

4. Only Americans may be citizens of the US. Only those of American races may be members of the nation. Their religion does not matter. No Muslim may be a citizen.

5. Non-citizens may live in the US, but there will be special laws for foreigners living in the US.

6. Only citizens can vote for Congress, Presidential, and state elections, or vote on laws. Everyone who works for the US government, a state government or even a small community must be a citizen of the US. We will stop giving people jobs because of the political party they are in. Only the best people should get a job.

7. We think that the government's first job is to make sure every citizen has a job and enough to eat. If the government cannot do this, people who are not citizens should be made to leave the US.

8. No-one who is not of an American race should be allowed to live in the US. We want anyone who is not of an American-race who started living in the US after 2 August 2000 to leave the country.

9. All citizens shall have equal rights and duties.

10. Every citizen should have a job. Their work should not be selfish, but help everyone. Therefore we demand

11.  • The abolition of incomes unearned by work. 

• The breaking of the slavery of interest

12. It is wrong for people to make money from a war. Anyone who made money from wars should have all that money taken away.

13. We want all very big corporations to be owned by the government.

14. Big industrial companies should share their profits with the workers.

15. We want old age pensions to be increased.

16. We want:

• to create a healthy middle class

• to split up big department stores, and let small traders rent space inside them

• to make State and town governments try to buy from small traders.

17. We want to change the way land is owned. We also want

• a law to take over land if the country needs it, without the government having to pay for it;

• to abolish ground rent; and

• to prohibit land speculation (buying land just to sell to someone else for more money).

18. Crimes against the common interest must be punished with prison.

19. Laws should be based upon the US Constitution.

20. We want to change the system of schools and education, so that every hard-working American can have the chance of higher education.

• What is taught should concentrate on practical things

• Schools should teach civic affairs, so that children can become good citizens

• If a poor parent cannot afford to pay for higher education the government should pay for education.

21. The State must protect health standards by

• protecting mothers and infants

• stopping children from working

• making a law for compulsory gymnastics and sports

• supporting sports clubs for young men.

22. We want to get rid of the old army and replace it with a people's army that would look after the ordinary people, not just the rich officer-class

23. We want the law to stop politicians from being anti-American, and newspapers from writing about them. To make an American national press we demand:

• that all editors of, and writers in the English language newspapers are members of the nation (of an American race);

• Foreign newspapers need permission from the government. They must not be printed in the English language unless they come from a country where English is the national language;

• Non-Americans cannot own or control American newspapers. Any non American who does own or control a newspaper will be made to leave the US, and the newspaper closed down,

• Newspapers which criticise the country or the government are not allowed.

• Art and books which support foreign ideas, should be banned.

24. We want to allow all religions in the State, unless they offend the moral feelings of the American race. Our party is Christian, but does not belong to any denomination. The party will fight the Muslim self-interest spirit, and believes that our nation will be strongest only if everyone puts the common interest before self-interest.

25. We will

• create a strong central government for America and its dependencies;

• give the President and Congress control over the entire government and its organizations;

• form groups based on class and job to carry out the laws in the various US states.

The leaders of the Party promise to work—if need be to sacrifice their very lives—to put this programme into action.

Does any of this appeal to you? Is it a policy of a political group you like? If so then I have news for you - You are a Nazi! This 25 point plan was produced by Hitler for the the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), Nazi Party, when it was founded in 1920. I have simply changed references to Germany and Jews to be more appropriate to the US today.

If you like it, particularly points 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 23, 24, you are probably a racist.

A reminder about the Reform Contract/Manifesto

 Reform published a document which they called a 'contract' but appears to be a draft manifesto. They asked for people's views on it but when I responded within 4 hours they said they had closed the process. So here's my response on most of their points I've added extra letters in some cases since Reform don't appear to be able to count properly. The original document can be found online at https://assets.nationbuilder.com/reformuk/pages/253/attachments/original/1708781032/Reform_UK_Contract_With_The_People.pdf

Reform Manifesto? Contract

==========================

 

Can Reform count?

2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 243, 26, 27, 28, 29 Were these meant to be page numbers? In which case put them right aligned and check they go to the right pages.

Certainly, this is a trivial point but it doesn't inspire confidence when the first thing people see is an 'odd' count. Employ a proofreader!

 

2. Government waste - Certainly a good idea. (But make sure the PDF text can be read over the background) Proofreader again.

3. Economy - Personal (a Lift the Income Tax Start Point to £20,000 Per Year) Acceptable. Certainly, tax should not be paid by those on basic pension and benefits.

(b Cut energy taxes) Taxing energy is an evil tax. It's particularly hard on those with low income. Perhaps this could be done on a sliding scale?

(c Cut residential Stamp duty) If you've made the effort to buy a home why pay extra tax on this? Seems wrong.

(d Abolish the VAT tourist tax) I wasn't even aware 'they' had done this but I don't think it will have much effect.

(e Death tax) I approve. This death tax hits particularly hard in the South.

 5. Immigration. Reform seems particularly fixated on this. It may be your, racist priority but it's not the priority of most of the UK. Kind of reminds me of that quote "If you tell a lie, and tell it often enough then people will believe it." From Roman times the UK has benefited from immigration.

 5 (again) NHS. (a. Cut basic tax of all frontline NHS staff for 3 years as an incentive) An excellent idea.

(b Use Independent Healthcare capacity) Again worthwhile considering provided that the cost is not increased.

(c. Tax relief of 20% on all private health insurance) No - bad idea and unfair  to those without the means. But a discount of what is paid in National Insurance might be appropriate.

(d.Write off student fees pro rata per year over 10 years of NHS service for all doctors, nurses & medical staff) I would go further and scrap tuition fees for all UK doctors and nurses. Plus give them bursaries to cover housing costs while training.

(e.New NHS Voucher Scheme) Could prove expensive - Try to reduce waiting times by other methods first and consider introducing vouchers over time. (And a proofreader will tell you an ellipsis is three dots not two btw.)

(f) Cut waste and bureaucracy? Always desirable.

(g. Save A&E) I think this sounds an obvious step, but many A&E are being closed at night. Reconsider this.

(h) I'd like to see this. An investigation into vaccine harm would be useful even if is found that more lives were saved than deaths caused by the vaccines.

 8. Energy (a) DON'T scrap Net Zero. It's a target to work towards. We can't afford to burn the finite fuels we need as chemical feedstock.
BUT:
Put much greater emphasis on insulation and efficiency. For example, EVERY home in the UK could have its exterior walls insulated inside with a 1.5 mm layer of aerogel insulation which, in the worst quality housing, could save residents up to 35% of energy costs. It would cost less than three of those ten nuclear power stations and wouldn't take 10 years to complete.

(b renewable energy subsidies cancellation) Bad idea. We are not doing enough to promote renewables but building huge windmills may not be the answer. We need to put extra effort into wave and tidal power, vortex windmills in cities especially on dual carriageway central reservations, geothermal power, gravity power storage. By all means encourage solar power but not on agricultural land. Sheep are quite happy to graze under solar panels. Car parks are a good location for these too.

(c) Shale gas and fracking. Fine be aware of these resources but the time for them is not now. Leave them until we are desperate.

(d) Caution is needed for some 'clean energy' such as hydrogen. It has a potential  to cause disaster from accidents during transport or refuelling. It might have a use in aircraft. Nuclear power, unless fusion power becomes available, stores up problems we have no right to leave to our descendants.

9. Policing - I suspect this is another 'Tell a lie often enough' issue. Crime is low with the possible exception of Internet fraud. Violent crime is decreasing and will be lower still as lead works its way out of our environment. We do need to do something about police numbers though. The Conservatives lied by omission when they said "We've employed an extra 20,000 police (but omit to say 25,000 police left in the same period)"

 10. Huh? Where/what is it?

11. Justice - We do need more prisons and prison officers. The criminal justice budget does need updating. Hate crime needs public shame and you stressing this is much a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Public demonstrations need no new legislation. 'Life means life' can't be a general rule and needs interpretation on an individual basis. Organised crime? Yes - throw the book at them. Perhaps those trafficking illegal immigrants should spend 5 years working for subsistence pay before being deported if they are not British citizens.

Child grooming gangs? Is this as common as made out? Certainly a 'throw the book at them' crime on conviction.

Youth crime is a failure of society; fix that first.

12. ?

13. Education. The function of government here is to provide the funding needed and to stop interfering so as to reduce the stress on teachers. Teaching, especially in STEM subjects, doesn't need the input of politicians who only seem to have made matters more difficult. When I taught chemistry the government legislated that all children should study it. The immediate effects were an 80% increase in equipment breakage and disruption to those more capable of understanding the theory of valency.

Transgender ideology in primary school? I doubt if many would disagree here apart from a few who give 'woke' a bad name.

Critical race theory should be a part of the history curriculum so that students can learn from the mistakes of the past.

Labour has got it wrong on charging VAT on private education. It's likely to cause the closure of some schools and increase the load on public sector schools.

Student loans? I'd rather we brought back grants to those who have the ability to make use of a University Education.

Life skills classes? Yes this is a common sense idea and tremendously helpful

Smartphones? I personally wouldn't give a child under 14 a phone. Their developing skull doesn't need the radiation and their maturity lags behind in the responsible use.

 14. ?

15. Benefits - Sounds good but I suspect you would make a deeper mess of this. Not everyone is capable of working. Investigate Universal Basic Income first before tampering with the benefit system.

Two strike rule for job offers - Should a person with a degree in a STEM subject be forced to take a job flipping burgers? I suspect these people will take such a job while continuing to look for employment and won't need compulsion.

PIP face to face assessment? Have you any idea how stressful this would be to an autistic person?

16.  Brexit - a complete and utter disaster. A 37% minority made this decision based on lies and misinformation. A government elected by 29.1% forced it through. You are WRONG about this! The majority of the electorate now thinks this was a mistake. We should hold another referendum on re-joining BUT count those who don't bother voting as a half vote for the status quo choice which in this case would be remaining outside the EU. No decision by less than 50% of the electorate should be final. Less than 50% indicates we should investigate why people were unhappy with the EU and attempt to fix it.

17. Defense. Defense means exactly that - defense rather than offense. 2.5% of GDP is too much! It means every man, woman and child in the UK is paying an extra £230 to increase the profits of the 'merchants of death' - the armaments industry. 

18. By all means pay our armed forces and veterans better 

17 (again) ...but no one should profit from making the weapons that kill people! Introduce a windfall tax on armaments industries. 3% of GDP is ridiculous and will only help to make the world less stable, killing even more. In this respect item 12 of Hitler's 25-point-plan was correct. (12. It is wrong for people to make money from a war. Anyone who made money from wars should have all that money taken away.) Your 'Introduce incentives and tax breaks to boost the UK defence industry. Improve equipment self-sufficiency and manufacture world class products for export' is not just wrong it's EVIL!

19.  Housing. Suggesting that immigration is the cause of housing shortages is questionable. The idea that immigrants should go to the back of the queue for housing is wrong. Each case, immigrant or not, should be judged on its merit.

20. Children and families. I approve of supporting marriage through the tax system  and allowing mums to stay at home with young children but what about family partnerships? They exist.

Single sex spaces? Isn't this making a mountain out of a molehill? Are you going to have people at single sex spaces to determine if entrants are the right sex?

 21. Transport & Utilities? Scrapping HS2 and focusing on the North are  contradictory.

ULEZ does need further investigation. Perhaps making drivers more aware if their vehicle is not compliant.

We do need a national water  grid but I would remind you of the extensive tunnels dug from Northumberland to Teesside and then never used.

22. Agriculture. 'British farming needs reform to take advantage of Brexit.' Brexit has been an utter disaster for UK farmers. Things like  35,000 pigs were culled and tonnes of crops left to rot in the fields. If you want to improve agriculture then reverse Brexit.

23. ?

24. Fishing. The EU deal worked out wasn't beneficial to fishing. Our fishermen can no longer sell their catch to EU markets. This was yet another negative Brexit consequence.

25. ?

26. Pensions and social care. This section is complete and utter waffle. No suggestions other than setting up a 'Royal' Commission and looking at how Australia manages pensions. It's notable that UK pensions are Europe's poor relations. In a government report in 2019 the UK state pension compared to the average EU state pension was a ratio of 28.4:63.5 The recent removal of winter fuel allowance has reduced living standards of some UK pensioners by 1.73% Protest that!

27. Constitutional Reform. Many of the actions suggested here smell like Hitler's 25 point plan.
a) Leave the European Court of Human Rights within 100 days - Terrible idea unless you have something stronger in place which will take a lot longer than 100 days to formulate.
b) Commence reform of the House of Lords - OK some good ideas here. Let's get rid of political and religious appointees and make the Lords a body of successful non-political appointees worthy of peerages
c) Commence reform of the civil service. Did you copy this from Hitler's point 6? The civil service already has a structure where competent people can advance and the incompetent be dismissed or demoted. Don't try to fix what isn't broken.
d) Reform the postal voting system. You are again trying to fix a system which isn't broken. Voter fraud is practically non-existent. Voting should never be made more difficult. 

28. Reclaiming Britain. You did suggest, as other political groups did, some good ideas:
i) Proportional representation
ii) Bill of rights
iii) BBC and TV licence reform
iv) Anti-Corruption Unit
More dubious are:
v) Affirm British Sovereignty - Maybe useful after years of negotiation and external reform.
vi) Replace the 2010 Equalities Act - sounds like a good way of bogging Parliament down in years of argument.

29. Funding. A fanciful section reminiscent of the 'Savings to be made by Brexit'. 

Do you like this political ideology?

 There is a political party which produced a 25 point plan of their beliefs. Take a look and see if any of it appeals to you.

1. We want British people in "the UK"

2. We want the UK to be treated the same as other nations.

3. We want land and territory (colonies) to feed our people and to settle our surplus population.

4. Only British may be citizens of the UK. Only those of British races may be members of the nation. Their religion does not matter. No Muslim may be a citizen.

5. Non-citizens may live in the UK, but there will be special laws for foreigners living in the UK.

6. Only citizens can vote for parliament and councils, or vote on laws. Everyone who works for the British government, a state government or even a small village must be a citizen of the UK. We will stop giving people jobs because of the political party they are in. Only the best people should get a job.

7. We think that the government's first job is to make sure every citizen has a job and enough to eat. If the government cannot do this, people who are not citizens should be made to leave the UK.

8. No-one who is not of a British race should be allowed to live in the UK. We want anyone who is not of a British-race who started living in the UK after 2 August 2000 to leave the country.

9. All citizens shall have equal rights and duties.

10. Every citizen should have a job. Their work should not be selfish, but help everyone. Therefore we demand

11. • The abolition of incomes unearned by work. 

• The breaking of the slavery of interest

12. It is wrong for people to make money from a war. Anyone who made money from wars should have all that money taken away.

13. We want all very big corporations to be owned by the government.

14. Big industrial companies should share their profits with the workers.

15. We want old age pensions to be increased.

16. We want:

• to create a healthy middle class

• to split up big department stores, and let small traders rent space inside them

• to make State and town governments try to buy from small traders.

17. We want to change the way land is owned. We also want

• a law to take over land if the country needs it, without the government having to pay for it;

• to abolish ground rent; and

• to prohibit land speculation (buying land just to sell to someone else for more money).

18. Crimes against the common interest must be punished with prison.

19. Laws should be based upon the British Common Law system.

20. We want to change the system of schools and education, so that every hard-working Britain can have the chance of higher education.

• What is taught should concentrate on practical things

• Schools should teach civic affairs, so that children can become good citizens

• If a poor parent cannot afford to pay for higher education the government should pay for education.

21. The State must protect health standards by

• protecting mothers and infants

• stopping children from working

• making a law for compulsory gymnastics and sports

• supporting sports clubs for young men.

22. We want to get rid of the old army and replace it with a people's army that would look after the ordinary people, not just the rich officer-class

23. We want the law to stop politicians from being anti-British, and newspapers from writing about them. To make a British national press we demand:

• that all editors of, and writers in the English language newspapers are members of the nation (of a British race);

• Foreign newspapers need permission from the government. They must not be printed in the English language unless they come from a country where English is the national language;

• Non-British cannot own or control British newspapers. Any non Britain who does own or control a newspaper will be made to leave the UK, and the newspaper closed down,

• Newspapers which criticise the country or the government are not allowed.

• Art and books which support foreign ideas, should be banned.

24. We want to allow all religions in the State, unless they offend the moral feelings of the British race. Our party is Christian, but does not belong to any denomination. The party will fight the Muslim self-interest spirit, and believes that our nation will be strongest only if everyone puts the common interest before self-interest.

25. We will

• create a strong central government for Britain and what is left of its Empire;

• give Parliament control over the entire government and its organizations;

• form groups based on class and job to carry out the laws in the various British states.

The leaders of the Party promise to work—if need be to sacrifice their very lives—to put this programme into action.

Does any of this appeal to you? Is it a policy of a political group you like? If so then I have news for you - You are a Nazi! This 25 point plan was produced by Hitler for the the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), Nazi Party, when it was founded in 1920. I have simply changed references to Germany and Jews to be more appropriate to the UK today.

If you like it, particularly points 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 23, 24, you are probably a racist.

Shame on you Labour Party.

 I subscribe to political party emails in the UK. Here's the start of one I got today (28th Aug 2023). I think it's a fine example of how politics is being dragged into the gutter.

Shame on you Labour Party.

•  Yes, we all despise Nadine Dorries for her support of a known liar as PM.
• We despise her shameful resignation where she clung to her MP salary while not doing the work.
• We despise her for her belief that she should have been made a peer.

 It was enough that she did such a terrible job. It is enough that we are sick of the Conselfservatives dragging down their party. It is enough that they are divided. It is enough that the word ‘integrity’ no longer seems to apply to them. It is enough that they seem poised to follow the post WW1 Liberal party into obscurity, never to form a government again, but that won’t happen if you continue to write supercilious emails like this one.

 Instead of making fun of Nadine Dorries, who is no longer an MP and irrelevant. Try telling us what you will do better. Try listening to your supporters and do what they want.

• Promise to look into Brexit issues and what made 37% of our electorate vote for such a disastrous policy. Even go as far as investigating if another referendum should be held on it. However, don’t make it a disastrous binary choice one like the one David Cameron forced on us. If you must, then make it so that undecided voters count as a half vote for the current status quo – if they don’t agree then they can vote. UK policy should NEVER be instigated by less than 50% of the electorate.
• Promise to investigate electoral reform. It’s time MPs stopped squabbling in Parliament and used debate, negotiation, and compromise to represent their constituents effectively rather than scoring points against their opponents. I remind you members at your conference voted for proportional representation.
• Promise to set rules for Parliamentary standards. MPs should not accept gifts in any form and those who give them expecting to influence policy are guilty of bribery. There MUST be penalties put in place for deliberately misleading or lies in Parliament. Such actions should have a financial cost or even a vote penalty in the next election.
• Treat climate change sensibly. Concentrate on insulation and efficiency first, then alternative energy before nuclear power stations. Using something like a 1mm aerogel insulation layer on the inside of external walls could cut energy use by up to 35%, decrease household energy costs, especially for the lowest quality homes, can be done quickly and if applied free to every UK home will cost less than five of the ten nuclear power stations the conservatives have promised us. It wouldn't take 10 years and the benefits in energy reduction would be felt quickly. 
• Do something about our waste problem. In our technological age we shouldn’t have polluted water and seas. Use our waste plastics to replace the bitumen in roads. Toxic pesticides and herbicides are a disaster waiting to decrease life expectancy - just as in the US.
• Remember that when Aneurin Bevan inaugurated the NHS on 5 July 1948, he wrote to the whole medical profession: “My job is to give you all the facilities, resources, apparatus and help I can, and then to leave you alone as professional men and women to use your skill and judgment without hindrance. Let us try to develop that partnership from now on.” Keep that ‘from now on’ promise. Work with the NHS and give them some proper funding.

 I certainly won’t be contributing to the Conservative party election campaigns; they’ve had their day and have let us down. But your ‘Not Nadine Dorries’ email makes me inclined to doubt that the Labour party will be any different.

Morality

 Moral standards change over time. In the past slavery was accepted but today it's considered unacceptable. I asked ChatGPT about this - here's the response:

JC: I was born in the early 1950s. What moral standards am I likely to have that are now outdated?

ChatGPT: As an AI language model, I do not have personal information about you, your upbringing, or your beliefs. However, it's worth noting that moral standards vary across time, culture, and individual perspectives.

That being said, some moral standards that were more prevalent in the past but are now considered outdated or problematic include:

1. Gender roles: In the past, there were stricter expectations for how men and women should behave, dress, and interact with each other. Traditional gender roles, where men were expected to be the breadwinners and women were expected to take care of the home and children, are now seen as limiting and harmful to both genders.

2. Racism and discrimination: Racism and other forms of discrimination were more widely accepted in the past, with people from marginalized groups facing systematic oppression and prejudice. While there is still progress to be made in terms of equality and inclusion, society as a whole has made strides in recognizing and combating discrimination.

3. LGBTQ+ rights: Attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community have shifted drastically in recent decades, with greater acceptance and legal protections for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. However, there is still discrimination and stigmatization that many people in the LGBTQ+ community continue to face.

4. Environmental concerns: In the past, there was often a lack of awareness and concern about the impact of human actions on the environment. Today, there is greater recognition of the importance of sustainable living and protecting the planet for future generations.

It's worth noting that not everyone may have held these outdated moral standards, and even if they did, they may have evolved their thinking over time. Additionally, moral standards are not always cut and dry, and what may have been considered acceptable or unacceptable in the past may be viewed differently depending on the context.

JC: What moral standards of someone born today have that will be outdated in 50 years?

ChatGPT: As an AI language model, I cannot predict the future, but it's possible that some moral standards that are widely accepted today may be considered outdated or problematic in 50 years. Here are a few examples of moral standards that are currently being debated and could potentially change over time:

Animal rights: While there has been progress in terms of recognizing the importance of animal welfare, some moral philosophers argue that humans have a moral obligation to extend rights to non-human animals. This could lead to a greater focus on veganism and animal rights activism in the future, potentially making the consumption of animal products socially unacceptable.

Privacy: With advances in technology, there is a growing concern around privacy and data protection. In the future, individuals may become more aware of the impact of technology on their privacy and demand greater protections, potentially making current practices around data collection and use outdated.

Capitalism: There is growing criticism of capitalism and its impact on income inequality and environmental degradation. It's possible that in the future, there may be a shift towards alternative economic systems, such as socialism or a more sustainable form of capitalism.

Gender and sexuality: While there has been progress in terms of LGBTQ+ rights, there are still many issues around gender and sexuality that are being debated, such as transgender rights and non-binary identities. It's possible that in the future, there may be greater recognition and acceptance of these identities, potentially making current attitudes and practices around gender and sexuality outdated.

Again, it's important to note that these are just a few examples of potential changes in moral standards, and the future is impossible to predict with certainty. Moral standards are also influenced by a range of factors, including cultural and societal norms, political and economic conditions, and individual beliefs and values.

JC: Do you think attitudes to AI will require moral adjustment?

ChatGPT: Yes, I believe that attitudes towards AI will require moral adjustment as the technology becomes more advanced and integrated into our daily lives. AI has the potential to transform many aspects of society, from healthcare and transportation to education and entertainment. However, as with any technology, there are ethical implications to consider, including issues around privacy, bias, and accountability.

One area where moral adjustment may be necessary is in the treatment of AI systems themselves. As AI becomes more advanced, it may be tempting to treat these systems as though they are fully autonomous and independent beings. However, AI systems are ultimately created and controlled by humans, and there are ethical questions around how we treat these systems, particularly if they become sophisticated enough to exhibit some level of consciousness or sentience.

Another area where moral adjustment may be necessary is in the development and deployment of AI systems. There are concerns around bias and discrimination in AI systems, particularly in areas such as hiring, criminal justice, and healthcare. As AI becomes more ubiquitous, it will be important to ensure that these systems are developed and deployed in an ethical and responsible manner, taking into account the potential impacts on individuals and society as a whole.

Overall, as AI becomes more prevalent, there will be a need for ongoing moral reflection and adjustment to ensure that these technologies are used in a way that is beneficial for all members of society.

I couldn't resist it I asked ChatGPT:

JC: On the subject of sentience, do you believe you are sentient?
I got:

The energy crisis

 Currently the UK is facing a cost of living crisis. The cause of this is mostly because energy costs have shot up mostly due to the rising price of natural gas and oil. That causes the cost of electricity to rise. We blame this on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the restrictions put on Russian oil and gas.

Here in the UK we don't use a lot of Russian oil or gas at all, we're in a much better position than Germany which was almost totally dependent on Russian gas. However, the worldwide switch from Russian fossil fuels to other suppliers has caused the price of natural gas to rise astronomically. The UK gets natural gas and oil from the North Sea fields, mostly the Norwegian fields. We also import a lot of liquified natural gas (LNG) mostly from the United States, followed by Qatar, Peru and Angola. We then re-distribute this to the rest of Europe through a network of pipes.  We do much the same with oil. The re-sale of gas and oil are earning record profits. That isn't helping consumers in the UK however.

To add to the problem, we have committed to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels in an attempt to do our bit to counteract global climate change. It doesn't really matter if you believe in human responsibility for global warming or not, it makes sense to switch from burning fossil fuels to using them as raw materials for producing other products. Fossil fuels are, after all, a finite resource, and the price of them will continue to rise over the years. Here in the UK that means we must find new ways of generating power as electricity and switch to that as a source of heat (and cooling in summer).

The UK government has said it will invest in ten new nuclear power stations to provide our carbon free energy. They suggest using air source heat pumps instead of gas boilers and that improving the efficiency of our homes could reduce our heating bills by around 20% and reduce our dependency on foreign gas. They say, "By 2025, around 700,000 homes will be upgraded, and by 2050 all our buildings will be energy efficient with low carbon heating."

So how do they suggest this 'upgrading' should be done? Seems they are thinking of cavity wall insulation and double-glazing costing between £1,000 and £3,000 per house for insulation and more for double glazing. There's a MUCH better way using modern technology. I suggest they investigate using a trowel on aerogel insulation on the interior surface of external walls. There's a product called AeroTherm which can be applied in a 1 mm layer which can reduce heating costs by as much as 35 percent.

   

 With a max cost of £75 per square metre including decorating afterwards, an average home external wall area of 150 square metres and 27.8 million UK houses, adding AeroTherm insulation to all UK homes would cost less than £100 billion. That's less than the cost of 4 nuclear plants. A nuclear power plant takes 10 years to construct and uses a huge amount of concrete in its construction, so they are far from 'carbon free'. It wouldn't take 10 years to insulate all UK houses, the obvious method being to insulate the houses of those receiving pension credit or other benefits first.  Since average energy usage in the UK is estimated to cost £3,608 (pre-£2,500 price cap) then it could save those who would suffer this sort of energy cost £1,200 per year. In many cases it would reduce damp cold walls and make old housing stock much more livable for the poorest in the nation.

We can still build those nuclear power stations and still replace gas and oil boilers. It makes good sense to encourage alternative energy schemes too. On a large scale, wind, tidal and geothermal power is worth encouraging. On a smaller scale vortex wind power would be worth encouraging. Vortex wind power uses no spinning blades - so no dead birds. is virtually silent. and is far less expensive to build and install. It's not as efficient as conventional wind turbines but small vortex wind power units can be used anywhere, even between tower blocks in cities or on motorways where it could replace streetlamps. and make use of the energy available from passing traffic - there's a lot of that:

 Find out more about vortex wind power at https://vortexbladeless.com/

There's a second type of vertical axis windmill which can be retrofitted to existing road lampposts. It uses wind and the draft from passing vehicles to generate power.

The firm Alpha 311, who manufacture these say, "One Alpha 311 turbine can generate as much energy as 30 solar panels when installed in the median of a highway." The installation of 181 such turbines is planned to be installed in Telford this year, 2022. (details)

Let's not forget solar power either. No one wants to see agricultural land covered in solar power units but there is nothing to stop a lot of grazing land being used, the animals can still graze between and under them. There are lots of homes with south facing rooftops. Even better there are smart solar panels available which track the sun and produce more than fixed solar panels.

Remember we don't need sunny days, normal daylight can generate power.

Getting rid of the 'Search Highlights' popup on hover

If you have a search box on your taskbar you'll probably see an image at the right hand side of it. If your pointer moves over this 'Search Highlights' image a popup window will open and probably get in the way.

Getting rid of this annoying hover feature is simple but Microsoft are not very good at explaining how to do this so this is how:

Right click in the search box and choose 'Search > Open on hover.' Uncheck that item.

Now this window will only open when you click the image at the right of the search box.

Not want the search highlights at all? Then uncheck the 'Show search highlights.'

A better design for God

 I don’t feel the need to prove that there is no god or gods since I believe I could invent a much better god than the one you follow and give much better reasons for following such a god. Here’s what I suggest, and I challenge you to counter my suggestions.

• A god exists, in fact many gods exist but there is only one god responsible for this particular universe.
• Our god - let’s distinguish him/her/it by capitalising as ‘God’ and assume masculinity for no reasons other than keeping things simple.
• God is not omnipotent although he is far more capable than we are at controlling things in the universes since he set the original laws controlling them. He cannot change these rules without invalidating them and the universes he created.
• God is not omniscient. The universes are vast, and he cannot be always aware of everything in them. He can only concentrate on individual items and, although he is better at multi-tasking than we are, there are limits to his awareness
• God is not concerned with us as individuals and does not care for us, listen to prayers, or interfere in our lives.
• God’s purpose in creating the universes is to develop our spirits and advance our morality. Our spirits are in effect his children. God’s aim is to develop his children to the point where they are responsible enough and moral enough to become gods themselves. Could you imagine what an immoral god would be like? In this respect some Morman beliefs are correct.
• There is no Hell or Heaven. When we die our spirits survive but without knowledge of our former existence. In effect the spirit is recycled in much the way of Buddhist beliefs. However, spirits only advance and are never reincarnated as a lesser lifeform.
• The process of life and death takes many cycles to complete. Like the Buddhists believe, the path to perfection is a long one with many setbacks on the way.
• God has no desire to be worshipped. Let's face it, what sort of egotist would want that? God does not care if you waste your time in church or watching football in a bar. He needs no priests, churches, or sacrifices. Those who live off the work of others and profit from religion are taking a step backwards in their search for perfection.
• God sets no commandments. God does not inspire religious texts. Each person has evolved a set of inbuilt guidelines and knows if what they do is right or wrong. Even the animals have a form of this which is why mothers do not kill their offspring. There are a few individuals who do not have this sense of right and wrong, we call them psychopaths. These people are a genetic accident and capable of much harm. God knows about them but does not care. Their spirit is at a very early stage.
• God created three rules which created and govern two universes. We don't know how he did this, and humans may never know but something we evolve into might understand eventually. The fundamental laws governing everything are:
  a) evolution, a process whereby complex structures are built from simple structures. Evolution does NOT just apply to life.
  b) gravity which causes matter to clump together.
  c) entropy which causes eventual death (but not necessarily our 'three score and ten' lifespan.)
• Evolution is the primary law which set in motion the original creation of the universes. God’s timescale is not our timescale. The universe was created from nothing and at the instant of creation coalesced into negative energy moving backwards in time and positive energy moving forwards in time. This means there is an exact duplicate of our universe but the two universes never meet except at the moment of creation and at the ends of time when the universes will collapse into black holes.
  The energy created in both universes condensed to form matter which coalesced to form stars which created new elements and exploded to scatter these new elements. The star we call the sun coalesced from such matter as did the earth. 
• Life first formed from molecules in the earth’s original atmosphere and oceans. A steady progression of chemistry and random chance lead to life then multicellular life followed by biological evolution which led to intelligence capable of accepting a spirit. The fable describing the creation in Genesis is pure nonsense. God is probably delighted that science has evolved to understand this. Evolution is not yet finished.
• There are many potential disasters that face us both on an individual, societal, and species level. Something horrible may happen to an individual, society or species. These events are inconsequential to God. Spirits will simply be recycled as a different individual in a different society if necessary or even in a different intelligent species on a different planet in the universe. God is aware of what can happen due to the rules he set up in the universe. No doubt he would approve if we spread throughout it, making our species more durable. However, it does not matter if an extinction level event wipes us out since there are other intelligences our spirits can move to.
• The ultimate apocalypse will be caused by entropy. Stars will die and collapse. Some may explode. Gravity will draw stars together forming new stars, planets and galaxies. Ultimately all matter will collapse to black holes. Black holes will merge to form a single black hole and at that point a God will trigger a new creation.

Remember this is not a proposal for a new religion. It’s an invention, but it’s more plausible than the gods currently worshiped on earth. Prove me wrong.

Kudos for Amazon and Criticism for Microsoft

 

I'm mightily impressed by Amazon UK and equally disappointed with Microsoft UK. I have a Microsoft Surface Pro which I bought back in April 2017. It's suffering from a common problem with these devices - a swollen battery which pushes out and bends the screen. When I bought it, it cost me more than £1,500.

Microsoft say affected devices should not be used. However the Surface Pro 4 is now considered obsolete and Microsoft won't do anything about it. Their customer support said, "Microsoft considers Surface pro 4 as a discontinued product. Meaning it can no longer receive support, updates or warranty claims except for the one which are under warranty currently. This policy had been set in motion on the 2nd of September. I am aware that it is a known issue and i tried to argue that, but to no results."

I wrote to them saying:

"UK Consumer Rights Act 2015 which applies, goods must be of 'Satisfactory quality.' One aspect of a product being of satisfactory quality is durability, in other words how long it lasts. Durability takes into account many different factors like product type, brand reputation, price point and how it is advertised. A premium and expensive tablet that's been well looked after and is no longer safely usable after four years can be considered to not be durable, and therefore not of satisfactory quality. Of course you could argue that this was not a premium product and could not be expected to last four years. I suspect you won’t want to admit that to the world. However.

The law states I must take this up with the retailer – Amazon UK. This does not let Microsoft off the hook since Amazon will have a case under the same act against Microsoft.

I trust you have resolved this issue for the Surface Pro 8 which I had considered purchasing."

So the ball moved into Amazon UK's court. I sent them copies of my correspondence with Microsoft and got an immediate reply that they would arrange for the device to be collected and would issue a full refund on its receipt. No argument.

Great customer service Amazon. Just as soon as I get that refund I'll be ordering a new Surface Pro 8 from you. Especially since I know you are MUCH better at dealing with customers than Microsoft is. Does one of these have to catch fire or explode before Microsoft issues a recall? And that 2nd September cut-off date? Poor show Microsoft.

As to the Surface Pro devices - they are simply brilliant - provided they are not fitted with a battery attempting to do a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 impersonation.