Bystander.
I always viewed Miller as somewhat over rated. The only way he gains any real stature is by standing on the shoulders of his own self opinion.
Incidentally, drink sodden popinjay? Now there's something I haven't heard used this century. Mines a double malt if anyone else is buying.
Regards
Bill
That's what Galloway called Hitchens in Washington.
I can't stand the man, but it's a nice phrase!
By the way, it's Jonathan Miller the second-rank journalist, not the polymath dramaturge - but I'm sure you knew that.
Bystander,
Wear this dickhead with pride, you're no-one until you've got a single-issue lunatic on your back.
You may find interesting parallels with Brian Deer's experience at the hands of Dr Carol Stott: http://briandeer.com/mmr/carol-stott.htm
All the best,
CB
Miller seems to have used a theasaurus in an attempt to distract attention from his wafer-thin argument with unusual words.
You still look like an idiot, mate.
Being on the far side of the Atlantic, I have no idea who Mr. Miller is, (either of them, in fact, journalist or dramaturge) and yet:
"Standing on the shoulders of his own self-opinion";
"You're no-one till you've got a single-issue lunatic on your back";
to say nothing of "drink sodden popinjay";
I don't need to know who he is to be laughing out loud. You guys are great! I love the level of repartee around here!
Possibly concerned his mad-cap idea about not paying for a TV licence will come before you?
'Poltroon' eh? 'Lackey' also. If only duelling were still legal. I'm sure that's what he's angling for.
Easy boys, will have to start handing out section 5 warnings 
I do not see the connection between this email and Miller's previous missive. Perhaps he drinks.
Had to look up poltroon = abject coward
This because you refused to register for his little web site of nonsense.
We all Know that the license fee is the only way to stop US pulp apearing on our TV.
Still could have been worse, he could have agreed with you, then you would have been judged by the company you keep!!!
Lets show some respect here for Mr Miller! According to ComputerWeekly, he is a "MediaGuru". Guru in the "divorced from reality" sense, I suspect.
Sanescientist: That's "guru" in the "self-important ranting" sense.
Miller may be an extremely rude man but that doesn't make him wrong about the BBC.
You watch it if you want to, Bystander. Personally, I don't. I don't like it's content. I don't like it's political, moral and religious biases. I don't like it's smug assumption that it knows best what the British people should watch. I don't like the lazy assumption that there is an obvious 'social good' in everybody paying the same, when in practice this means single parents in Tower Hamlets with kids paying the exactly same as a pair of childless merchant bankers in Hampstead.
I don't like the fact that it is a criminal rather than a civil offence not to buy a licence. I don't like the fact that the BBC uses the money that it extorts out of the public to produce services such as 24 hours news channels and local radio stations that the country is scarcely short of. I don't like the fact that BBC content, which I am forced to fund in order to be allowed to legally watch TV at all, is indistinguishable from any other terrestrial TV station.
I don't really respect people who say,"It's worth paying the licence fee to do without adverts", when they really mean "It's worth everybody paying the licence fee so I don't have to watch adverts"
To be frank the BBC stinks.
James F, why on earth should you think that a "pair of childless merchant bankers in Hampstead" should pay more than "single parents in Tower Hamlets with kids" to watch the same rubbish on BBC?
I don't Chris.
The TV licence fee is such a bad idea that whatever your political pursuasion you should oppose it. Liberals who think the BBC is objective because it reflects their values should still be offended because the flat rate of the TV licence ensures that the poorer you are the more you pay.
£12 a month represents a signicant proportion of a low income family's budget, and a far smaller proportion of a richer persons. The poor cannot even make a rational choice not to watch BBC, because it's still a criminal offence watch any TV, video, DVD or even own an unused TV set, without a licence, whether you watch BBC at all.
There are many better ways of funding public service TV. By subscription for example; even I'd probably take them up on that. By direct taxation, which would presumeably be the chosen option of those who really do think merchant bankers should pay more than the unemployed. Personally I'd be against it because it would still allow the BBC to produce any old rubbish, tell us it was good for us and ignore us when we complained. And of course We could go for adverts, like Channel 4. Just as much a public service broadcaster as the BBC, only without the extortion.
The licence fee as it stands is just anacronistic. You don't pay for what you use and you can't take your custom else where.
H'mm, I'm not convinced, James. I have to pay several flat rate costs (N.I. contributions for one) and most of them are of no benefit to me. The TV licence is just another of life's fixed costs. I do agree that the BBC TV content is abysmal, although I find quite a lot of R3 & R4 very good.
Sorry, I’m rather conflicted here. I’ve always rather liked J Miller (both of them actually) and I also like this website and Mr. Bystander. I’m rather sad that Miller is showing himself to be quite such a, well, no rudeness while Mr. B is away and also rather enjoying the way in which Mr. B is commenting on it ( "I am becoming a little worried about Mr. Miller. I think that he might need some attention to his sense of proportion. Still, at least he didn't call me a drink-sodden popinjay, although that might at least have been more accurate then the rest of what he says."is masterly.)
'...because it's still a criminal offence watch any TV, video, DVD or even own an unused TV set, without a licence, whether you watch BBC at all.' Says James
That is total nonsense - get your facts straight before pontificating.
Not sure what you mean by nonsense, Alex.
I’m the first to concede my tendency to pontificate, and I don’t always check my facts before hand, but I do believe they support me in this instance.
http://
www.citizensadvice.org.uk...unications_bill
What a total arse. I'm surprised he didn't feel any need to make amends rather than keep digging. Can you summons him and commit him for contempt of your own motion?
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