*Okay: here are net-centric British geeks complaining that a Member of Parliament *answers his cellphone too much* and has *too many video cameras.* What kind of people do they want to see in Parliament? Guys who grow their own quill pens off geese, maybe?
*Hey Britons: you wanna save some public money on video cameras? Tear them out of your streets. If you try to train your politicians to shy away from communications hardware, they're gonna get even stupider than they already are.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jul/13/nigel-evans-mps-expenses
(...)
Telephone costs are allowed under the rules set out in the Green Book, which governs MPs' expenses, while cameras could conceivably come under "purchase of hardware and software".
But claims are only allowed for "expenditure that it was necessary for a member to incur to ensure that he or she could properly perform his or her parliamentary duties".
Asked why his mobile bills were so high, Evans said it was "due to the fact of roaming [costs] when abroad".
"I still keep in touch with constituents and journalists, so when they phone me I still pick up a hefty chunk of the charges," he explained.
He pointed out that roaming charges were "coming down or being shelved" by many telephone companies, and added: "I will be turning my phone off when abroad and getting my staff to text me any calls I must make.
"I will prioritise them more effectively, hence lower charges."
Of the four cameras, the Conservative MP said: "We are currently using two in the office here ... and one broke, and one was stolen at some stage ... so we are currently operating the two.
"I have bought a video camera at my own expense at the tail end of last year [and] I will use it as a digital camera if necessary."
Guardian reader Tony Hacking brought Evans's expenses to the paper's attention. Evans is his MP.
He said he had compared his accounts with those of Jack Straw, a neighbouring MP, and found that while Straw's appeared to be "straightforward and businesslike", Evans's "seemed more like indulging an interest in electronic gadgets". ... (((Oh the sorrow, the horror, the pity.)))
