Letter: Buy a hospital for the nation, then you can lord it over us

Sir: A little Rumsfeldian analysis will help to clarify what happened with the loans made to the Labour Party. Jack Dromey did not know about them (a "plain unknown" or Rumsfeld category 2). But did he know he didn't know (a "known unknown" in category 3) or did he not know that he didn't know (category 4, unknown unknown)? Harriet Harman's position is simpler. She didn't know whether Jack knew, or didn't know, whether he didn't know. A saying of another famous American also throws more light. Mark Twain observed that it's not the things you don't know that cause trouble, but the "things you know that ain't so".

HARVEY COLE

WINCHESTER, HAMPSHIRE

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