Nov 21, 2007

Nadine experiences genuine blogging shock

Today, Nadine Dorries announced that she would be guest blogging at The Cornerstone Group weblog. A permalink to the item, that Nadine does not publish herself, is here.

Here's hoping that she enjoys the novelty of individual entry pages, functional permalinks and inline comments so much that she introduces these features herself.

Nov 20, 2007

Reassess Recess [Feedback version]

Reassess Recess was posted by one of Nadine Dorries on Monday, 19 November 2007 at 11:25

Readers of this website are invited to comment on this entry here, as they are not permitted to do so at Nadine Dorries' half-a-blog.

Reassess Recess

Unfortunately, today’s blog is a rebuttal in defence of my family. As an MP I don’t mind it if people want to take a pop at me – it comes with the territory. However, not my kids.

Every young person I know has a Facebook profile, my daughters are no exception and use it to keep in touch with their friends. Unfortunately Alex Hilton, aka Recess Monkey, had no scruples about trawling through my daughter’s profile in order to damage her reputation.

My daughter’s face book account was the No 1item on his web site for a number of days.

A comment on my daughter’s site had been left by one of her best friends Chido Kawunda. Chido used the ‘N’ word when discussing this year’s Big Brother incident with Charlie.



Alex Hilton attempted to insinuate that the comment was made by my daughter in a derogatory way about black women. This is definitely not the case – ask Chido; and by the way, the issue is now on it’s way to Simon Smith at Schillings , to ask his advise as to whether or not this matter is libel and actionable. [link]

I suppose one wouldn’t expect anything else from the researcher of a Labour MP. It makes you wonder what kind of MP employs a person who spends his day going through Facebook accounts. Is this done on a Parliamentary computer I wonder? One paid for by the tax payer, in the time he should be working, again, paid by the tax payer?

It is not lost on me that he chose to highlight the Facebook account of my 22 year old daughter. However, has he been through the Facebook accounts of all of my girls? One of them is only 15 – and if he has – there’s a word for people like you Alex.

Take me on all you want, but mess with my kids…..


Here, for your reference, is a link to the relevant post by Recess Monkey, a later regret, and his response to Nadine's post (mirrored above).

Back with Feedback

Nadine Dorries: Feedback was down for about a week due to computer problems, that unit's eventual repair and then replacement, plus interference from 'supporters' of Nadine Dorries, some of whom then decided it would be a constructive to create an anonymous website containing just the kind of venomous, personal attacks that Nadine Dorries (eventually) claimed to be the victim of.

While the interim feedback facility was out of action, Nadine was quite chatty on her blog, and the following is a run-down of what has been missed:

Nov 10 - I need a wife!: Nadine blogs on the challenges of balancing wild parties and solemn ceremonies with shopping, laundry, the dishes, the floors and walking the dogs. She closes by saying "I need a wife....."

Nov 12 - Mid Beds Annual Dinner: Nadine posts a photo of herself, her daughters and other guests with John Major at a party. She informs us that her intern Stephanie responded to the toast "My Lords ladies and gentleman – the Queen" by saying; "Omigod, is she here, where?"

Nov 13 - Friday night pre dinner drinks and prep!: Nadine posts a photo of herself, her daughters and other guests from *before* that same party. Sitting on a bed and drinking champagne.

Nov 14 - Rocket Science?: Nadine announces that she is now a member of the Innovation University and Skills Select Committee. While never experiencing university herself, she feels confident that "(we need) fewer universities, not more and that half of the courses on offer should be scrapped." She presents as evidence an invitation for us to "walk around any halls of residence at the moment and spot the unhappy students."

Nov 15 - Posh Nosh: Nadine dashes from an audio interview to a posh lunch.

Nov 16 - Posh Nosh Part 2....: Nadine tells us of a potato-in-cleavage moment involving Andrew Rawnsley of the Observer and The Sunday Edition and a woman with "generous assets". She closes by promising some background to ITV's decision to axe the Sunday Edition. Ahhh, sweet discretion....

And that, minus one extraordinary outburst that demands its own mirror, brings us up to date and back online. Prepare to speak your brains.

Nov 8, 2007

Moderation activated

Because I'll be away from Teh Interwebs for most of tomorrow, comment moderation has been activated to:

a) prevent the publication of libel/abuse designed to hurt Nadine Dorries

b) prevent the publication of libel/abuse designed to help her continue to play the victim.

Safety first. Cheers all.

Bug Stops Blogging [Feedback version]

Bug Stops Blogging was posted by one of Nadine Dorries' assitants on Thursday, 8 November 2007 at 15:00

Readers of this website are invited to comment on this entry here, as they are not permitted to do so at Nadine Dorries' half-a-blog.

Bug Stops Blogging

Unfortunately, Nadine is ill today due to a nasty bug and regrets that she will not be blogging.

(The Office of Nadine Dorries MP)

Nov 7, 2007

Step away from the husband [Feedback version]

Step away from the husband was posted by Nadine Dorries on Wednesday, 7 November 2007 at 09:27

Readers of this website are invited to comment on this entry here, as they are not permitted to do so at Nadine Dorries' half-a-blog.

Step away from the husband

As I waited to pre-record an interview in Millbank, I listened to the Jeremy Vine show through the headset. The topic of discussion was loneliness and grief following the death of a loved one.

Tony Benn contributed in the understated and pragmatic way he always does, when speaking about a lifetime of devotion to his wife Caroline.

Many people phoned in and told their stories of how they felt after a partner had died after ten, twenty or fifty years, as though grief is measured in degrees of severity, the longer you were together before someone died, the greater the grief.

Every week I hold the hand of someone in my surgery who has lost a partner. Someone they loved. Not only through death, but through divorce or separation. Someone who finds themselves in a situation they never thought they would be in.

Many unable to cope with the daily practical problems which threaten to overwhelm them because they are consumed by grief and unable to focus on the day to day tedium of life.

All I can do is hold their hand, and in an attempt to stem the tears, find the right words of comfort and hope.

For me personaly, the most difficult part of being divorced is becoming single.

I manage by submerging myself in work from morning until night, but always in politics, the social side rears its head and I have to brace myself to attend yet another drinks party, alone.

It never ceases to amaze me how many women suddenly fall madly in love with their husbands as I am taken over to be introduced.

They may not have held their husbands hand for weeks, but will be seized by a sudden urge to hang on to his arm, hold his hand and brush back the imaginary stray hairs from his almost bald head as they talk to me.

Her body language yells through an imaginary loud hailer ‘step away from the husband, he’s mine’!

I want to say stop, don’t worry, he has a pot belly, bad breath and a face only his mother and apparently you could love. You really aren’t in any danger of me or any other single woman running off with your clinically obese husband, he really is all yours.

But of course… I don’t.

It’s enough to see the sudden involuntary arch of his eyebrows as he laps up attention from the wife who forgot who he was until five minutes ago.

I never spend too long talking to couples, it's never that comfortable - but as I walk away I always want to turn around and say, "you should fall asleep holding his hand every single night. You should hold his hand often, every single day, because you're very very lucky".

But of course….. I don’t. I walk away and over to the next couple....

Impersonator! [Feedback version]

Impersonator! was posted by Nadine Dorries on Tuesday, 6 November 2007 at 22:37

Readers of this website are invited to comment on this entry here, as they are not permitted to do so at Nadine Dorries' half-a-blog.

Impersonator!

It appears that someone has sent a comment to a blog site in my name, except they got the spelling wrong and almost my email address! The only reason I know this is because I know the person who owns the site and they thought it was an odd comment from me -and they know that I know how to spell my own name.

This brings home even more to me how the culture of commenting on blogs without any checks or verification is questionable, when anyone can say anything they want.

If I ever start to accept comments again, I would want to put in place some kind of 'registration', so that I had details of the people leaving comments and knew who they were.

Nov 6, 2007

Posh Frocks [Feedback version]

Posh Frocks was posted by Nadine Dorries on Tuesday, 6 November 2007 at 17:03

Readers of this website are invited to comment on this entry here, as they are not permitted to do so at Nadine Dorries' half-a-blog.

Posh Frocks

It’s the State opening of Parliament today and I was invited to the House of Lords for lunch.

I was both bedazzled and bemused by the dresses and tiaras. Most of the women I know don’t get married in dresses as posh as some of those worn by the peers’ wives!

It was drinks first in Lord Strathclyde’s office, then with the Lords Chief Whip, and then lunch.

It’s all so much more genteel over there.

It’s all about speeches today, however, none will top the stonking speech made by David Cameron.

Every day Gordon Brown looks further diminished and less of the statesman he did the previous day. There will be nothing left soon!

My intern Stephanie went into the Stranger’s Gallery to watch the debate.

She has just gushed back into the office in her All-American way talking about how she bumped into David on his way to the Chamber.

Steph wasn’t looking and was delving into her purse, David was shuffling his papers, and the near collision occurred.

Profuse apologies followed and a near faint on the part of Stephanie, who hasn’t shut up about a thirty second encounter for the last hour. God help me and save me from impressionable star struck interns!

Nadine Dorries uses comments to challenge article about her refusal to allow comments

No, it's not irony... it's *hypocrisy*.

Nadine Dorries says: The fact is I was getting hundreds of comments. Many, as a result of what I have been doing with regard to abortion, some of which were absolutely vile.

Ah, the 'secret evidence' ploy, mixed with a heady dose of alleged vitriol. I did tell you that she'd learned a lot from Iain Dale.

And, happily, it allows Nadine to refuse all comments (valid or otherwise).

Nadine also seeks to assure us that she may reinstate comments "when... work regarding abortion takes a slower pace."

In other words, when the fuss has died down over the false claims she made before bravely running away.

[Psst! If you're wondering why Ellee suddenly becomes a lot more generous toward Nadine during the comment exchange, it's probably because my presence reminded her of this minor event. Despite this past failing, Ellee deserves the usual courtesies, so please don't all go piling into her comments just because it's a rare opportunity to engage with Nadine Dorries.]

Nov 5, 2007

Nadine Dorries seeks stalker with GSOH

Well, Nadine's had the weekend to think about it and - as noted in comments here - she clearly intends to continue 'blogging' without comments... and to be less than honest about the reasons why. She even goes so far as to play the 'stalker' card.

And there's more on that front... but you'll have to watch and wait for it (like any good stalker should).

Here's the first of Nadine's posts to be featured on this new blog that allows comments because hers doesn't:

Nadine Dorries - Mr Darcy: I was woken yesterday morning at an ungodly hour with a text message from a fellow MP. It read ' there's a picture of you in the Sunday Telegraph, the size of a North Korean dictator.' I rolled over and tried to get back to sleep, I feigned noncholance and indifference - it didn't work. I was at the Post Office within three minutes. The size of the photo was a shock and frankly, a North Korean dictator would have looked so much more attractive and appealing. The article was well written though and I did find the Bridget Jones comparison funny - not as funny or indeed as childish as some of my colleagues, according to the text messages I had to endure yesterday ( hysterical gentlemen, thank you.)..... But funny nontheless. If I am the Westminster parallel to Bridget, does this mean a Mr Darcy is on the horizon? If Mr Darcy only has the photograph from the Sunday Telegraph by which to find me he wil be looking for a female MP who resembles a zombie with lank hair, glazed eyes, a grey fish face and an oversized hand growing out of her ear.

The Sunday Telegraph article can be found here.

Feel free to comment on any of the above, or the following message to Frank Branston that Nadine also includes in her latest post; I have a message for Bedford Mayor Frank Branston. There really is no need for you to drive to Woburn, seek out a local resident (ex-employee of yours and a new friend to me) pretend you're in Woburn because you have an appointment with me and ask him to show you which house is mine!!! Let me know when you're coming, I'll put the kettle on, bake a cake and give you a guided tour!

Well, Nadine certainly does appear to have a genuine stalker problem... but it's heartening to see that she's so hungry for companionship that she'll invite them into her house. For cake.

Nov 1, 2007

Welcome to the Nadine Dorries Feedback Facility

Ben Goldacre and/or carefully selected contributors from the vast leftist conspiracy are invited to join me in maintaining a weblog that does allow comments now that Nadine Dorries has thrown her toys out of the pram and decided that she has 'no time' for feedback on her 'weblog'.

Because Nadine's site is so poorly built, she lacks visible relevance and a credible/comprehensive inbound link spectrum. Therefore, it should not take too much effort to ensure that *this* weblog provides a competitive alternative for the search query 'nadine dorries'.

All we need to do is find a few bloggers who are less-than-impressed with the circumstances surrounding the sudden closure of comments at Nadine's website, so they can kick things off with the required Google-juice.

Won't be an issue, frankly.

Of course, Nadine could make this blog surplus to requirements in moments. Shall we give her the weekend to think about it? Just to prove that we're reasonable people?

Drop me a line via bloggerheads DOT com AT googlemail DOT com or - *gasp* - submit a comment.