The Brits have not yet got the hang of freedom of information and public accountability. Tony Blair launched these two novel ideas on the British public, and after covering up all the evidence to the contrary promptly went to war with Iraq on the phony pretext that Mr. Hussein was harboring weapons of mass destruction. Now the British parliament has offered to publish all the expenses claimed in addition to their salaries by Members of Parliament, but it was planning to release only a modified list with the most embarrassing details left out, when hey! presto! the Daily Telegraph got hold of the unexpurgated list and has been publishing it each day. Among the more venial of the sins committed by Labour ministers was the acquisition of two lavatory seats by John Prescott. He used to be called Two Jags Prescott because he had two Jaguar cars, but the recession has obviously reduced his venality count to two lavatory seats. Less venial and more venal is David Heathcoat-Amory for the conservatives who purchased 550 sacks of Cow poo with public money. It’s a hoot! But these two examples account for tiny amounts of money compared to the major carpet bagging activities that many of our politicians have been indulging in. The speaker of our parliament, who really doesn’t get it at all, has demanded that the police should investigate the mole who leaked the information to the Telegraph. David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative party, who does get it, has called in all the shadow ministers and threatened them with the sack if they do not return their ill gotten gains to the Inland revenue. Result: lots of cheques have started winging their way from conservative central office to the Inland revenue. On the eve of the E.U parliament elections, repaying the Inland Revenue has taken on pandemic proportions and politicians from all our parties are now at it; desperately trying to buy back their virtue. Ah well! There is a very comforting sketch enacted by Goldie Hawn and Dean Martin on YouTube about the drawbacks of being smart and the advantages of being dumb. Here it is: