It's amazing what you can see on TV

Today I saw the news on the telly, and happened to catch Rumsfeld making a little speech in which he compared Hugo Chavez to Hitler. The exact comparison was that “yes, Chavez was democratically elected, in the same way that Aydolf Hitler was democratically elected at first” – enigmatically hinting that Chavez has somehow now seized hold of power illegally (rather than actually being somewhat more democratically elected than most world leaders, due to the fact that he’s made to hold a referendum as to his popularity in the middle two years between every general election he wins). So if this sort of comment is permissible why is Ken Livingston, who whether you agree with him or not at least said something that made sense, in such trouble?

I also saw something on the TV while at the gym. I had my iPod on, but I couldn’t help but notice a banner across one screen which stated ‘I’m scared of little people.’ Sure enough there then appeared a woman who for some reason (undoubtedly a deeply disturbing one) had a genuine fear of dwarves. I need hardly add that the programme then made her face one of her nemeses, to the obvious distress of all concerned. It’s at moments like this that you can’t help but wish that Hitchhiker’s Guide had got it right and that at any moment the earth was going to be destroyed by a Vogon constructor ship.