Back in 1971 a book appeared called Bullshit and Jellybeans, by a guy called Tim Shadbolt. If you trust his wikipedia entry he's been arrested no less than 33 times. He was also Mayor of one of the cities around Auckland, and has been Mayor of Invercargill for over a decade. He's an interesting character, and one of his relatives once said of him: "the only reason he smiles all the time is because his teeth don't fit in his mouth." Americans may even have seen him because he played a cameo role as Frank in the popular movie about a New Zealander, The World's Fastest Indian. OK, interesting history lesson and biography of an obscure New Zealand personality. So what? Well, his biography Bullshit and Jellybeans really reminds me of a story I just read from England. The title of the book comes from two incidents in his life: in the first, he was arrested for saying "bullshit" and in the second, they tried to bust him for unlicensed trade as a grocer (or something) because he was giving away jellybeans (get yours here.) Sad to sad, moronic bureaucrats and judges have not yet shuffled off this mortal coil. Indeed, they seem to have spread like leprosy.

Hilaire Purbrick might find he has a lot in common with Tim Shadbolt. Maybe he should contact him and get a few tips on how to run for mayor ... then he really could kick the useless bums out that are harrassing innocent people. Back in 1999 he beat a prosecution for illegally trading in vegetables using the defense that he had exactly one customer (who bought his sprouts). Lucky he didn't give her any jellybeans. Now the council is kicking him out of his home, and the UK courts are backing this. He lives in a cave on his allotment, and they're evicting him because it doesn't have a fire exit. ***cough*** bullshit ***cough***. He's not quite defeated yet ... he's going to take it to the European Court of Human Rights. Maybe they're good for something after all? Oh yeah, the judge Jonathan Simpkiss of the Brighton County Court,  said.

"The council considers this was a danger to life. They have a responsibility to the public."

They have a duty to kick someone out of his home ... because they have a duty to him ... Bullshit and Jellybeans has been reincarnated on steroids. When will it end? And how do we stop it?

(Via Tim Blair)