Bucket-loads of Biffo with the Bash Street Kids

The Principal of Bash Street Primary School was at her wits end until finally, salvation came to her and her long-suffering educational community.

For years, no Secondary School had been foolish enough to accept the enrolments of the Bash Street Liberal/National Coalition miscreants, who had been rascally led by that perennial pugilist, Tony “Harry” Abbott.

Art work removed at artist's request.


Then, on that heaven-sent day, the Principal got a phone call from the Vice-Chancellor of the newly refurbished Sydney University who, as part of her “Building Education Revolution”, said she was willing to enrol the gang as probationary first-year undergraduates.

“Halleluiah!” whispered the Principal to herself, “there is a god after all!” So, she packed the worthless crew off to Sydney, wishing the Vice-Chancellor the best of luck, as she was going to need it.

True to form, it didn’t take long for “Harry” Abbott and the rest of the Bash Street Kids to start playing up. As well as picking fights with all and sundry, they ran amok in lectures.

Art work removed at artist's request.

The bad reputation of the Bash Street Kids gang is spreading rapidly across the campus of Sydney University.

As well as the leader, “Harry” Abbott, the gang is comprised of a number of other colourful characters. There is : “Fatty” (for obvious reasons) Hockey; also “Erbert” Sheridan, who, even though he wears glasses, takes them off when Harry is around, so that he can say he didn’t witness the shenanigans he gets up to.

Also in the gang is Troy “Plug” Buswell, soon dubbed as “Prof. Plug, Chair of Sniffology”, as he likes to hang around after lectures and sniff all the front seats in the lecture theatre that had been occupied by the female students. And closely related to “Prof. Plug” are the evil sisters, Sophie “Plugella” Mirabella, and Julie “Plugena” Bishop.

Another member of the gang is CanDo “Wilfred” Newman, from Queensland. Wilfred is very recognisable as he is the one who wears his jumper right up to the bottom of his nose. It is said he does this as a means of hiding his identity, as he realises he really is “on the nose”. At times, moreover, Wilfy is also known, for hiding his neck and lower face under his jumper, as “Tortoise”.

And, another member of the Bash Street Kids gang is Malcolm “Cuthbert Cringeworthy” Turnbull. However, to say that Cuthbert is a bona fide member of the gang is stretching the truth a bit. The others only tolerate him because he is filthy rich and they can open up a tab in the refectory in his name. Also, Cuthbert is, unlike the other members of the gang, a dreadful nerd who, upon entering the university, had volunteered to be on the editorial committee of the student paper, “Honorable Swots”. Cuthbert, therefore, soon ceased to be even a peripheral player and was relegated by the gang to the category of “one of them”.

And, incidentally, as part of the ecologically-friendly dimension of her ground-breaking “Building Education Revolution”, the Vice-Chancellor ordered all the brick walls in the university to be replaced with wafer-thin ones made from recycled egg-cartons, filled with insulating pink batts.

For his part, “Harry” Abbott isn’t the least bit impressed by this Vice-Chancellor. Not only is she a girly chairthing, she is also into all this lefty pinko crap. She is, in Harry’s eyes, so effete, he dubs her, “Madame Butterfly”.

It didn’t take Harry long, therefore, to sus out how easy it is leave his impression on the university murals. His favourite party-piece is, garbed in his trademark boxer shorts, to put his fist through a wall. And to enhance his growing reputation for being the epitome of masculinity, he wears, under his boxers, a specially-reinforced metal jockstrap, fashioned for him by none other than the formidable Man of Steel, John Howard.

So, to cut a long story somewhat shorter, the Bash Street Kids have been on a roll, causing havoc, with “Harry” Abbott especially in great biffo form, punching holes in walls and giving the frightened staff and students inside the mocking “be prepared to meet thy doom” sign-of-the-cross or the insulting middle-finger salute.

However, after a while, the Vice-Chancellor has had enough. She has decided that the namby-pamby pastoral care approach is secondary to the efficient smooth running of the university. Immediately, she orders in the Maintenance Crew and issues them with explicit instructions.

Meanwhile, the Bash Street Kids are meeting at their usual table in the refectory. As normal, the room, except for the gang members, is empty. Even the serving staffs behind the counter have fled, so the gang are helping themselves to free choc milks and caramel slices.

“Harry” Abbott: Righto…listen up, you lot…here’s the plan of attack for today…First, we head down to the Chaplain’s place – I need to get my confession heard – and then we make our way, via wrecking a few lecture theatres, to the Vice-Chancellor’s office…

[A frenzied chorus ensues: “the bloody back-alley bitch!”; and, “yeah, let’s make an honest woman out of her!”; and, “let’s Whyalla the joint!”; and, “yeah, let’s slag and chaff bag the cow”; and, “can I go for a flying fox run between her ear-lobes?”

To quell the manic mayhem, Harry, imperiously, raises his hand. Immediately, and Pavlov-dog-style, there is silence. Then, slowly and deliberately, Harry rises to his feet, shouts “Let’s play ball!” and the gang takes off, at a raucous rate of knots, out of the refectory and down the corridor, with Harry issuing liberal doses of punches to sundry walls as he progresses.

As planned, the Bash Street Kids gang’s first port of call is the Chaplain’s office, so that Harry can get his confession heard. Upon reaching the Chaplaincy, Harry notices the green light over the confession box is lit, so he punches a hole in the door.]

Cardinal Pell [exasperated]: For God’s sake, Harry…I wish you would stop doing that…Every day you come to confession and every day I have to get the door replaced…And, as for that ridiculous-looking jockstrap you wear…it really is so immodest – you make Blackadder’s most bulbous codpiece look like a concave mirror…

[For the sake of the peace of the sacrament, Harry humours George and removes his jockstrap.]

Cardinal George: And anyway, Harry, I think you are abusing the true spirit of the sacrament…You can’t just turn it on and off like a beer tap in the Student Bar, y’know…

Harry: But…but…but…your eminentship…isn’t that the whole point of confession – I rock up to parrot my sins and you dish out the absolution, so that I can inflict Groundhog Day again on all my hapless victims…heh…heh…

Cardinal George: Erm…Harry…it doesn’t work that way, I’m afraid…as my esteemed predecessor. St Augustine used to say, genuine contrition is necessary for the sacrament to be efficacious…

Harry (very peeved by this stage): Now listen up, me bucko…you have two choices – either you grant me absolution every day, or I punch your lights out and you end up like that troublesome priest, Thomas Becket…which is it?

Cardinal George: I absolve thee, in the name of the Father…

[So, Harry Abbott reckons he’s now free to create some more guilt-free mayhem, and the Bash Street Kids continue with their nihilistic charges down even more corridors, with Harry punching even more holes in walls. Eventually, they reach Prof. Roxon’s lecture theatre. Harry delivers his customary punch through the wall and middle-fingers the illustrious professor, who, understandably, is fit to be tied by such a lack of respect. Whilst, inside, the fear-ridden students compete for corners to cower in, Prof. Roxon strides defiantly over to the door, opens it forcibly and eye-balls Harry.]

Prof. Roxon: Harry Abbott!!! What do you mean by this outrageous disruption of my class!!! And, furthermore, you are enrolled in this course – the lecture commenced half-an-hour ago – why are you late?

[Not having much experience of being challenged by an assertive female, Harry, muttering “that’s bullshit”, turns on his heel and the gang continues on with their rampage down the corridors. Shortly, they encounter a group of cleaning staff who are chucking bags of refuge down a garbage chute adjacent to the Staff Canteen. Upon witnessing the rampaging gang pillaging and punching their way towards them, the cleaners, utterly panic-stricken, dive, in search of succour, head first down their own chute. Some of the garbage bags thrown into the chute, however, contain food scraps from the canteen. The super-sensitive olfactory glands of “Fatty” Hockey are immediately put on notice.] “Fatty” Hockey: Mmmmmmm…fooooooood!!! I smell a snack coming on…I think I’ll just make a detour down the chute and sample some of those tasty morsels down there….yummmmmm…

“Harry” Abbott (very annoyed): Fatty!!! Don’t even think about it!!! We’ve got a job to do here, which instead involves making a dog’s dinner of the Vice-Chancellor’s office and then taking over the whole joint…

[Fatty, however, insists on having a free feed down the chute and persists in mutinously back-chatting Harry, who loses it and delivers an almighty punch to Fatty’s gob, hitting him so hard he falls into the opening of the chute, disappearing immediately into the void therein.]

Harry: Right…that’s settled his hash once and for all...And he should be quite at home down there…after all, he was always fond of black holes…bwahahahaha…

[Like a band of vicious Vikings who have overdosed on their pillaging pills, the remaining members of the Bash Street Kids gang wreak further havoc on their way to their final destination – Madame Butterfly’s Vice-Chancellor’s office. However, as they proceed, the membership of the gang gradually dissipates.

For instance, after “Harry” Abbott has punched yet another hole in a lecture theatre wall, he looks through the little glass window in the door and spots a student inside who is confined to a wheelchair, and is breathing oxygen through two tubes inserted in his nostrils. Harry turns to “Wilfy” Newman, aka TheTortoise, who is still on the nose with his jumper pulled right up.]

Harry: Righto, Wilfy…you tortoises have sharp beaks…you can rejoin us later on our rampage…but, in the meantime, I want you to wait here until the lecture’s over, and when that malingerer in the wheelchair comes out, use your beak to slice through his oxygen tubes…hee…hee…

“Wilfy” Newman: You reckon he’s not pure of heart, boss?

Harry: Got it in one, Wilfy, old son…and no better man than you to complete this assignment…after all, with all your experience of cuts, you’d put Jack the Ripper in the shade…heh…heh…

[Also, Julie “Plugena” Bishop comes across a photocopier in a corridor and, as usual, is hooked. Similarly, her equally nasty twin, Sophie “Plugella” Mirabella goes AWOL – she reads a notice on a lecture theatre door advertising a class on “The assets of the elderly”. Without a second thought, Plugella rushes in, kicks a poor unfortunate, very-mature-age, student out of her front-row seat, and is all ears.

Moreover, in another rush along a now-devastated corridor, Greg “Erbert” Sheridan loses his specs, runs into a pillar and knocks himself out. Also, having punched multiple holes in the walls of the hated “Wimmin’s Meeting Room”, clearing it of its shrieking incumbents, Harry then proceeds on his merry way, oblivious of the fact that Troy “Plug” Buswell has broken ranks and stayed behind in the now-empty Wimmin’s Room, sniffing the recently–occupied seats voraciously.

So, by this stage, “Harry” Abbott has reached the Vice-Chancellor’s corridor, not realising, however, that he is the sole standing member of the Bash Street Kids gang. Suddenly, the door of the Vice-Chancellor’s office opens and out strides Madame Butterfly herself, red hair aflame, nostrils flaring so ominously and widely, they would make Krakatoa look like the Sea of Tranquility.]

Vice-Chancellor: Harry Abbott!!! You just stop this instant!!! I’ve had a gutful of your antics!! Clean out your locker and remove your sorry carcass from the establishment!!! You and your Bash Street Kids can go straight back to primary school – that is, if they’ll have you…

Harry (confidently): Get her, guys!! The Vice-Chancellor’s office is ours for the taking…Phone a friend, bitch…we’re in charge now…heh…heh…

[Harry, however, suddenly realises his mates are as plentiful as pork chops at a Jewish barbeque. Undeterred (“she’s only a woman after all”, he thinks to himself), Harry aims a punch at the Vice-Chancellor’s head, which he is sure will result in her turning into a gibbering girly wreck, lying pitifully on the floor, crying for mercy.

However, The Vice-Chancellor sees the attempted punch coming a mile off, side-steps adroitly, and Harry’s fist lands on the wall adjacent to her office door. Little did Harry know, but when the Vice-Chancellor called in the Maintenance Crew earlier, they had replaced that section of the wall with bricks, instead of the previous fragile walls made of egg cartons and pink batts. Harry emits such a cry of anguish and pain, he sounds like Twiggy Forrest after he heard about the fall in Fortescue Metal’s share price.



As Harry skips in excruciating pain from one foot to the other, holding his broken and bleeding knuckles, the Vice-Chancellor lifts her knee expertly, and decisively, into Harry’s nuts. He crumples to a pathetic heap on the floor. By this stage, moreover, the University Security Squad has arrived.]

Vice-Chancellor: Just in time, guys…take him down-town…heh…heh…

Harry (in a hushed, barely-audible tone): Huh…this is your Dirt Unit, I presume…

Vice-Chancellor: Nah, mate…you’re the only piece of garbage around here…

Harry: I still can’t believe I’ve been out-smarted by a girl…boo…hoo…

Vice-Chancellor: Too right, mate…shit happens…you should have realised it would be a big mistake to stuff around with me…As I say, “mess with Madame Butterfly – you get my knee!”…heh…heh…



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TalkTurkey

20/09/2012Hi AC In my upper-primary years I lived alongside some ten-pound Poms, there were two boys within a year of my own age, one older, one younger. They were avid comics readers, but not proper Superman or Mickey Mouse (not that I read them either) but these terrible Pommie comics like the Bash Street Kids. They were all about stupid practical jokes on victims, magnets that would attract [i]any[/i] metal at distances of many yards, balloons you could blow up with your breath and they would then be lighter-than air and lift people off the ground, rubber diving boards that you surreptitiously replace ordinary ones with and then the next person to bounce on them would end up with his head stuck through the ceiling . . . Even at the time they were awful. And Abbortt and his droogs really are grown-up Bash street Kids. Persecuting hapless individuals, disrupting, lying, threatening, with no thought of others in their nasty little minds. You got them dead to rights.

2353

20/09/2012Well written AC. Interesting reference to the Catholic confession in there. I think you might be on to something. I wonder if Abbott does "do confession" regularly which, in his mind anyway, absolves him from his behaviour and lies. I suspect he and a number of other of the "committed Catholics" are aware of the other section of the "contract" with confession - they are expected to not only repent their sins, but make (or redouble) the effort to avoid the same sin again. However a considerable number of the 1hour a week Catholics spend the other 167 hours a week justifying the need for the Catholic confession process! (Other religions are just as bad - they just don't have the "reset" feature that the Catholics do!)

Ad astra reply

20/09/2012AC Thanks for yet another great piece of satire, so reflective of the last week. Watch out for Julie Bishop - she is on the warpath protecting her Tony, such a nice man, so kind to others - he ran with a blind marathon runner, put out fires, and helped old ladies to cross the road.

Wake Up

20/09/2012Even "The Telegraph" couldn't silence everyone it seems............. http://tinyurl.com/cl8kufr

nasking

20/09/2012 LOL Acerbic...so apt. Well done. Do we get as future posts?: 'Harry gets Knifed: The Revenge of Fatty' Or 'Cuthbert Cringeworthy Strikes Back' Or 'Harry and Fatty's Adventures in the Black Hole' Perhaps 'Plugena and Plugella go to Mining Town for a Tea Party' N'

Acerbic Conehead 2

20/09/2012TT, Yes, the Bash Street Kids were immaturity personified. Just like the “droogs” of the Coalition as you aptly call them. 2353, Thanks for your thoughts on the Confession aspect of the Bash Street Kids story. I agree, the genuine contrition response seems to be missing. A bit like Bart Simpson as well. AA, It’s my pleasure, and thank you again for giving me the opportunity to contribute to [i]The [/i](wonderful) [i]Political Sword[/i]. Wake Up, Thanks for the link to the Sam Maiden piece. It’s very encouraging to see such articles now appearing in the MSM. nasking, Love your suggestion for the follow-ups to “Bucket-loads of Biffo...” I’m sure you could turn your hand to one of them – give it a try! I bet NormanK is sharpening his pencil as we speak, lol!

jane

20/09/2012Great post AC and wonderful to see you back in fine form. [quote].....he ran with a blind marathon runner, put out fires, and helped old ladies to cross the road.[/quote] Ad astra, what Bishop, J fails to mention is that he pushed the blind marathon runner under a bus, the fires had been lit under a bridge by homeless people to keep warm and the old ladies didn't want to cross the road.

Patriciawa

21/09/2012Great stuff AC. Obviously the real Tony Abbott the Pugilist was developing at Primary School, long before he reached Uni. Imagine what a monster he would have been! I've fast forwarded to this week when he's a little more couth. [b]Running For Office[/b] Tony Abbott is running for office The highest in all the South Land As the favorite of the bosses He’s got his victory speech all planned. But his rival is proving a tough nut, Unexpectedly for a female, Metaphorically kicking his butt, And his strength is beginning to fail. “It’s a marathon race, not a sprint,” She whispers, all womanly and small. He shivers and shakes as he gets the hint. She will tail him till he hits the wall.

Lyn

21/09/2012TODAY’S LINKS BULLSHIT-O-METER HITS RED , Corinne Grant, The Hoopla It’s also more than a bit ludicrous to defend Poor Tony when Poor Tony is quite capable of being a massive shit kicker himself. This is a man who has shown time and again that he relishes a stoush, that he gives as good as he gets and delights in tearing down his opponents. This is a man who happily sat back while Bronwyn Bishop made a joke about the size of the Prime Minister’s nose. This is a man who, on the floor of parliament, called the Prime Minister a liar, retracted it, http://thehoopla.com.au/bullshit-meter-hits-red-zone/ Ill discipline, Andrew Elder, Politically Homeless a Philip Coorey article should not be regarded as the work of an investigating, professional journalist, but as half-baked input for a blogpost. As we have seen, there is nothing to be gained by closeness to those they report on, and there is not a scrap of perspective in Coorey's view of the would-be Prime Minister http://andrewelder.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/ill-discipline.html The Perfect Storm, Miglo, Café Whispers Blogger Jason offered a profound comment on The Political Sword that succinctly sums up the brewing political storm: “If Abbott won’t provide any policies to scrutinize, then we scrutinize what we can: his character.'’And what a storm it is! Some ill winds are whirling around Abbott’scharacter, blowing away a political facade and exposing a man bereft of leadership qualities and human decency.Will it be the perfect storm that sinks himhttp://cafewhispers.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/the-perfect-storm/ A Momentary Lapse of Reason, Ash, Ash’s Machiavellian Bloggery Yes people. Tony Abbott admitted that Julia Gillard is a remarkable woman. But he went even further. He also said that it was a remarkable parent that can produce a Prime Minister of this country. There. He finally said it. Sort of. In his way. Julia Gillard is a remarkable woman and a remarkable Prime Minister. http://ashghebranious.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/a-momentary-lapse-of-reason/ Internet trolls: who are these people?, Victoria Rollinson, Independent Australia As Jonathan Green pointed out, radio shock jocks and Murdoch press wading into this debate is a case of an abusive pot calling an equally abusive kettle black. I tend to agree with Tim Dunlop’s view that a lot of the horribleness on the internet is inspired by many of the most successful voices in mainstream media and politics http://www.independentaustralia.net/2012/business/media-2/internet-trolls-who-are-these-people/ What sort of a country are we?, Tim Dunlop, The Drum In so saying, Mr Howard was not so much stating a fact as trying to create one.This is not to say that he was entirely wrong in his observations, only that even if there is less talk about the particular issues he highlights, it doesn't mean that questions of identity are settled.It only means that the emphasis has shifted to other areas http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4272160.html Opposition’s fiscal fury, distracted by Cory, will have to wait, Bernard Keane, Crikey What new strategy?” I hear many of you reply. That’s the new strategy that if you’re not here in Parliament House or watching very closely from afar, you’re likely to have missed. It’s about how the government has lost control of the nation’s finances because of falling tax revenues and a series of spending commitments, from Gonski to new submarines. http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/09/20/oppositions-fiscal-fury-distracted-by-cory-will-have-to-wait/ BARE-FOOT CHEEK: Greensparty billion-dollar binge-spender accounting scholar could seize Melbourne’s Town Hall and make us all walk, Vex News The announcement by colourful Collins Street identity John Elliott that he’s running for Deputy Lord Mayor on millionaire pollster Gary Morgan’s ticket makes Melbourne’s municipal contest suddenly look interesting.Elliott opened the batting by giving expression to Morgan’s reason for running: he doesn’t think anyone has been a good Lord Mayor http://www.vexnews.com/2012/09/bare-foot-cheek-greensparty-billion-dollar-binge-spender-accounting-scho Cory Bernardi Hits The High Seas, Ben Eltham , New Matilda As Jonathan Green notes perceptively today, "it seems highly unlikely that his removal from the front bench will silence Bernardi, a man with all the modern tools to easy mass communication — blog, social media network, website staffed by eager acolytes — at his fingertips." Green is surely correct: Bernardi will continue to speak out on hot-button social issues, and will continue to make life awkward for the Coalition. http://newmatilda.com/2012/09/20/bernardi-mounts-his-last-raid Here's 20 cents, don't spend it all at once. Why we should hang our heads in shame, Peter Martin Pensioners will find their wallets $17.10 per fortnight heavier from today, Australians on Newstart or Austudy will scarcely notice any difference.The disparity in the latest round of half-yearly increases - $17.10 per fortnight for single pensioners and just $2.90 per fortnight for Australians on allowances - is one of the widest on record. http://www.petermartin.com.au/ Peter Wertheim, Tom Cowie. The Power Index Abbott wants to repeal or change section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, which states it is unlawful to publicly act in a way "reasonably likely … to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate" people because of "race, colour or national or ethnic origin"."A 'hurt feelings' test is impossible to comply with while maintaining the fearless pursuit of truth which should be the hallmark of a society such as ours," he told conservative think tank the Institute of Public Affairs. http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/religion/peter-wertheim For efficient energy, do you want solar panels or biofuels?, Daniel Tan. The Conversation The maximum conversion efficiency theoretically possible for sunlight is 93% – of all the power generated by sunlight, only 93% can be turned into electricity. Photovoltaic cells in solar panels have efficiencies of around 15–20% for converting sunlight into electricity, but won’t ever reach that theoretical 93%. They are limited to a maximum conversion efficiency of ~30%, largely because we only have technology to convert some parts of the spectrum to electricity. http://theconversation.edu.au/for-efficient-energy-do-you-want-solar-panels-or-biofuels-9160 Talking the Talk on Walking the Walk for Solar, Drill Voice, Scitnecessitas Solar thermal can provide power even when the sun isn’t shining. It’s a crucial climate solution. The alternative for Port Augusta is a gas plant, which would see local jobs flee the town. So it’s no surprise that Port Augusta’s council, businesses, and community support the campaign – in a recent community vote, 4053 out of 4096 people voted in favour of solar thermal for Port Augusta. http://scitnecessitas.com/2012/09/20/talking-the-talk-on-walking-the-walk-for-solar/?utm_source= Running For Office, Patricia wa, Pollipomes Tony Abbott hitting that wall. He is a distance runner, often running marathons, so would be very familiar with the term ‘hitting the wall’ or sudden extreme fatigue. It’s a loss of strength experienced in endurance sports such as cycling and running, caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, and is particularly feared by marathon runners http://polliepomes.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/running-for-office/ Today’s Front Pages Australia Newspaper Front Pages for 21 September 2012 http://www.frontpagestoday.co.uk/index.cfm?PaperCountry=Australia

Michael

21/09/2012I only caught a glimpse of Tony Abbott on the Today show this morning, but he looked unctuous and ingratiating (which he also manages to make patronising when trying to 'reach' women). Lisa Wilkinson has him on the run? Shouldabeen manifesting as Chaucer's 'Pardoner' is back.

Ad astra

21/09/2012LYN'S DAILY LINKS updated: http://www.thepoliticalsword.com/page/LYNS-DAILY-LINKS.aspx

nasking

21/09/2012 Thnx for the useful links Lyn. BTW, Nick Minchin on Sky News thinks Bernardi's approach "reasonable". More I listen to the retired Minchin the more I realise he's also lost the plot. Plenty of Old Guard Liberals are doing their party's cause no good. Desperation and attention-seeking can bring out the worst in politicians and business and media types. Abbott's a case in point. N'

nasking

21/09/2012 This from Corrine Grant @ Hoopla: As soon as the polls came out, both Christopher Pyne and Julie Bishop jumped to their leader’s defence claiming that the drop had nothing to do with Abbott completely cocking up on on the 7.30 Report; nothing to do with the massive job cuts under NSW, Victorian and Queensland Liberal governments; nothing to do with John Howard coming out to sing the praises of Work Choices and nothing to do with the profound lack of Armageddon promised by Abbott when the carbon tax came into effect. [b]Nope, none of that was a factor.[/b] We’ve turned on Mr Abbott because he punched a wall, or didn’t punch a wall, or the wall punched him. We’re not smart enough to look at his current political record and make our own decision, we’ve simply been duped by an evil smear campaign. Did you know you were that stupid? It was news to me too. It’s an assumption the Liberal party has been working on for some time now: that the Australian public are a bunch of dribbling fools who’ll believe any old crap if it’s said loud enough and for long enough. That’s why they ran around before the carbon tax was even implemented saying we were suffering the effects of it. There were ministers actually saying that businesses were closing under the carbon tax months before it was introduced. That’s either flat out lying or the party is full of complete imbeciles who don’t understand basic things like how calendars work. [b]It’s also more than a bit ludicrous to defend Poor Tony when Poor Tony is quite capable of being a massive shit kicker himself.[/b] This is a man who has shown time and again that he relishes a stoush, that he gives as good as he gets and delights in tearing down his opponents. This is a man who happily sat back while Bronwyn Bishop made a joke about the size of the Prime Minister’s nose. This is a man who, on the floor of parliament, called the Prime Minister a liar, retracted it, immediately repeated it, and then sulked about getting kicked out. [b]We are also talking about a party who have, at worst, encouraged hatred towards our Prime Minister and, at best, turned a blind eye to it.[/b] There was a bit of awkward foot shuffling and careful language about hanging out with people calling our Prime Minister a witch and a bitch; a bit of looking in the other direction as Larry Pickering drew the most extraordinarily crude and insulting cartoons depicting our PM naked and in various sexual positions; a bit of buddying up to Alan Jones, even after he labelled her “Juliar” and continues his tediously over-worked line about putting her and every other woman on the planet in a chaff bag. [b]And yet it’s Poor Tony who is the real victim. Give me a break![/b] More here: http://thehoopla.com.au/bullshit-meter-hits-red-zone/ Indeed. N'

nasking

21/09/2012 Couldn't agree more with our Treasurer...it's about time a competent overseas leader who helped save the world economy from crashing during the GST by setting useful examples let the [b]Republican party[/b] know how irresponsible it has been to be [b]taken hostage by extremists funded by extremely rich corporate aristocrats and oligarchs:[/b] [quote]Mr Swan's speech at the Financial Services Council breakfast in Sydney comes less than two months before the US election. [b]His speech referred to political gridlock over spending cuts and tax increases due to kick in early next year, which could tip the US economy back into recession. "Let's be blunt, the biggest threat to the world's biggest economy are the cranks and crazies that have taken over the Republicans," he said. "Despite (US president Barack) Obama's goodwill ... the national interest was held hostage by the rise of the extreme right Tea-Party wing of the Republicans."[/b] Mr Swan says global markets are nervously watching hardline elements of the Republicans for signs they will block reasonable attempts to support growth.[/quote] Spot on. Shame on loopy Rush Limbaugh and Fox News too. N'

nasking

21/09/2012 Wanna know how desperate & crazy Republican supporters are these days? Check out this latest rant, accusation by shock jock Rush Limbaugh: http://mobile.rawstory.com/therawstory/#!/entry/limbaugh-penises-now-10-percent-smaller-and-shrinking-because-of,505b7b7d444f6789476a32a6 Yep, seems men's penises are shrinking. Why? According to Rushofbloodtothehead Limbaugh we should blame feminists. How much does this guy get paid for this crap? N'

nasking

21/09/2012 [b]Jon Stewart Rips Fox News Over Romney 47 Percent Coverage: 'Chaos On Bullshit Mountain' ([/b]VIDEO) The Huffington Post | By Christine Friar Posted: 09/20/2012 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/jon-stewart-fox-news-romney-47-percent-video_n_1899787.html Watched it last night on The Daily Show via Comedy Channel. Was brilliant. Showed Fox up for its double standards and BS. FOX NEWS: WE KNEE JERK...YOU DERIDE N'

Lyn

21/09/2012Hi Ad and Everybody Here is Twitterverse for you:- Bushfire Bill Posted Friday, September 21, 2012 at 8:53 am | Permalink Phew! That’s a relief. Abbott’s changed. No more wall-banging and poofter baiting for the new, mature Tony. He’ll just confine himself to spaz-outs, pinning targets on foreheads, stuffing up stuff he makes up and commenting on shit when it happens. He might even buy a suit that fits him. Walking like a chimp with boils under its arms, according to none other than Bananaby, is not a good look for the ladies Tinkering with the deck chairs on the SS Shadow Cabinet is the least of Tony Abbott’s problems. Until he realises this, he’s doomed to go down with the ship. But you’ll never read about it in an SMH editorial. Read more, if you must: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/editorial/dissent-is-good-respect-is-better-20120920-269f0.html#ixzz2734UiDc8 http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2012/09/16/newspoll-50-50-7/all-comments/#comment-1416265 chris murphy‏ Why has Opposition dropped 10% of support in 5mths. Why is Abbott failing?Hockey&Turnbull fins circling. #auspol http://brucehawker.com/2012/09/21/why-has-the-abbott-opposition-gone-backwards-so-quickly/ Australian News‏ IMF endorses return to surplus: Swan: The IMF has given 'a vote of confidence' to Australia's e... http://bit.ly/UjglhX #ausnews #uavaus Chaser sorry for 'bloody inappropriate' Bali stunt,SMH In the second half of the press conference, the Opposition Leader took questions about a range of issues such as the carbon tax and gay marriage. As agreed, Craig did not ask any questions," the statement said. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/chaser-sorry-for-bloody-inappropriate-bali-stunt-20120921-26a7g.html#ixzz273MWD3Bk Abbott finds that a taut Coalition is not that easily taught, Michelle grattan http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/abbott-finds-that-a-taut-coalition-is-not-that-easily-taught-20120920-269di.html#ixzz273MzErBq Ken ‏ IMF believes Australia's economic reputation is not at risk, describing its public debt as ''modest'' http://bit.ly/Saczpf Damned if we do, damned if we don't choice between Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard for Prime Minister , Terry Sweetman However, Abbott pretty much bottomed out when it came to arrogance, narrow-mindedness, intolerance, aggressiveness and being erratic. http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/political-parties-obscure-views-of-the-public/story-e6frerc6-1226478335184?sv=affe5dbf25498017838723d78beef574 Coalition joins fight against privacy law reform, The Age THE Coalition has joined big banks and telcos in their fight against proposed laws that aim to prevent them from sharing personal information about customers with companies overseas. http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/coalition-joins-fight-against-privacy-law-reform-20120920-269f2.html#ixzz273WQnk7o Media Watch (Whoops) thought they had our Ray Hadley bang to rights Hadley also warned Media Watch yesterday he would sue for defamation if program staff made any further calls to people he has worked with asking if they knew anything about him and bullying."If you continue along in this vein I will sue," he warned the show."I put you on notice now. "In future, if you wish to find out anything about me, don't ring my former colleagues at 2UE and ask them do they know anything about me and bullying because it comes straight back to me."And if you continue I will sue you for defamation. I put you on notice now, I will sue you for defamation. I hope that's clear." http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-news/media-watch-whoops-thought-they-had-our-ray-hadley-bang-to-rights/story-e6freuzi-1226478418320?sv=7a0c21157b5d6f3f5dcafbeece7bb48c

LadyInRed

21/09/2012Nasking Thanks for the John Stewart link. Can something be hilarious and disgusting at the same time...yes it can; and Stewart is the master at doing it. He pokes fun but the message is not lost. His brand of humour is both funny and poignant. I wish we had someone like that here. I loved the Corine Grants piece. Grattan tells us that TAbbott goes the gym after QT. I knew someone who did that, after work and particularly after meetings he would go off to the gym, even if it was only for 30 minutes. When I asked him about it he said he used to go and punch the crap out of the punching bag to get out all the pent up anger and aggression having to deal with people. It kept him in check. I wonder?

nasking

21/09/2012 Speaking of Grattan: [quote]But some can and do ''freelance'' from the frontbench. [b]Abbott is making himself a hostage to unknown future events if he is really suggesting he is going to take the axe to anyone who steps out of line. Two recent examples are obvious.[/b] Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce had a major dummy spit about the government's approval for a Chinese-dominated company to buy the vast Cubbie Station. Coalition policy was to support the approval, while calling for more detail. [b]The volatile Joyce ranted in public and agonised in private. He wondered whether he should leave the frontbench. In their high-voltage conversations, Abbott tried to belt Joyce into submission. Publicly, he made excuses for him (shadow treasurer Joe Hockey was more forthright, attacking ''freelancing''). Abbott wanted a settlement and much work was put into getting one. He did not wish to force this ''freelancer'' to the backbench. Not least because Joyce speaks for a big section of the Nationals - he might have been the most vocal critic but others were with him.[/b] The Nationals will always have their own agenda, which sometimes won't match that of the Liberals. The two-party blend means that some differences have to be tolerated, even if Joyce pushes the liberty. Then there is Malcolm Turnbull, who has more than double Abbott's popularity as preferred Liberal leader in this week's Age/Nielsen poll. Turnbull sometimes uses his ''former leader'' status to freelance. He recently delivered a well-argued lecture backing gay marriage (while declaring he was not going to get himself thrown out of the shadow ministry by voting for it). Abbott defended the Coalition's block opposition to changing the law by saying that was the position it took to the election. Turnbull made it quite clear he thought Coalition MPs should have been allowed a free vote. It was the same with Turnbull's equally impressive lecture on the parlous state of political discourse. While he was making a general point about the system, his criticism of the way Parliament's question time is operating could be seized on to berate Abbott. Shown the address before delivery, Abbott disagreed with the question time point, but had no option but to live with the speech and praise it as ''elegant''. Abbott has to give Turnbull some rope. To have him off the frontbench, or to bring on a confrontation in the run-up to the election, would be highly damaging for the Liberals and to Abbott himself. So Abbott must live with some institutionalised ''freelancers'' who will be mostly in-sync but whose so-called ''discipline'' can't be taken for granted. [/quote] Frankly, Abbott looks to me like an inconsistent piss weak leader...and bullshit artist... he gets away with more than most opposition leaders would in other countries because much of the MSM are not so subtly yearning for a return to Coalition days where they were mollycoddled and not forced to stretch themselves...look and report beyond their biases... their failure to make Howard and team accountable for the wrong-headed decision to join Bush in his search for WMDs and push for regime change a case in point. And of course, some are besotted with Tony...the once angry young man now ageing verbal pugilist and former extremely opinionated writer with The Bulletin and OZ. It seems they can't help but throw him a line each time he walks into political quicksand...which seems to be a habit on his part of late. Won't be long tho before they realise their reputations are sinking alongside Abbott's leadership...some just haven't got the courage to put away the rope...and turn off the lights... and shine that light elsewhere. Not surprising the alternative media is growing in readership exponentially. N'

LadyInRed

21/09/2012[i] David Marr's essay on Abbott highlighted his youthful homophobia. His action in sacking Bernardi highlights how he has changed [/i] Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/editorial/dissent-is-good-respect-is-better-20120920-269f0.html#ixzz2744816mE Marrs essay told us about the political TAbbott and the values TAbbott and how he has had to put values TAbbott on hold, not changed, not personal growth, on hold, up on the shelf, as in think it but don;t voice it (which by the way is the message he did actually send to Barnardi). So I don't know how a journo could use Marrs essay to back up such a statement, as he has changed. Sloppy comes to mind.

nasking

21/09/2012 [quote]Thanks for the John Stewart link. Can something be hilarious and disgusting at the same time...yes it can; and Stewart is the master at doing it. He pokes fun but the message is not lost. His brand of humour is both funny and poignant. I wish we had someone like that here. [/quote] LadyInRed, yer quite welcome. Stewart tho a corporate man - he still has to do the product salesman job, spruik the toxic goods now & then - has moments of sheer brilliant truth telling...and has an imagination large...like much of his team...they have this ability to offer pontification like a mug of cold beer on a hot day drawn from a barrel of larfs. Superb. Entertaining as...and informative. Colbert same. Chaser have their moments. As does Clarke and Dawe. But Stewart and Colbert...simply the best. They know how to rev up an audience. Unlike that blott on the landscape Andrew Bolt. I can never tell whether to take that guy serious or not...he's about as funny as a dead sheep left in the sun with oozing eye. N'

nasking

21/09/2012 A few apt observations from Nicholas D. Kristof @ The New York Times: [quote][b]One lesson is the narcissism of many in today’s affluent class. They manage to feel victimized by the tax code — even as they sometimes enjoy a lower rate than their secretaries and ride corporate jets acquired with the help of tax loopholes. While self-pitying Republicans focus on federal income taxes (mostly paid by the rich), what’s more relevant is the overall tax bill — including state, local and federal taxes of all kinds. [/b]According to Citizens for Tax Justice, the majority of American families pay more than one-quarter of incomes in total taxes — and that may be more than Romney pays. Romney is a smart man and, his friends say, a pragmatist rather than an ideologue, so what possessed him to say these things? There’s an underlying truth there — we do have a problem with entitlements and with freeloaders — and he inflated it beyond recognition. Perhaps he has passed so much time in a Republican primary bubble, hearing moans about the parasitic 47 percent, that he didn’t appreciate how obtuse and arrogant such comments appear. [b]The furor also reflects the central political reality today: the Republican Party has moved far, far to the right so that, on some issues, it veers into extremist territory. Jeb Bush noted earlier this year that even conservative icons like President Ronald Reagan wouldn’t fit easily into today’s Republican Party. President Richard Nixon, who founded the Environmental Protection Agency, would be a lefty. This year, Republican primary voters have been further purging the party of centrist remnants, like Senator Richard Lugar, a foreign policy heavyweight who deserves America’s thanks for helping make us safer from loose nukes.[/b][/quote] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/opinion/kristof-it-takes-one-to-know-one.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120920 Doesn't sound like Wayne Swan is too far off the mark. If we're not careful we'll end up in the same quagmire. It's a slippery slope...as too many right-wing politicians, business figures, media bullies and rich mogul minions push us in that direction. Let's remain unique Australia...and hope America's rational moderates can take their country back before they hit the financial iceberg. N'

Cuppa

21/09/2012Somewhere a register should be kept, of all the brown-nosing, peeing-in-pockets, gushing praise of Abbott by the suckholes of the media. Then at the point in the not-too-distant future when Abbott blows his top, shaming himself spectacularly, we can push the filthy spin back under the noses of the spinners, showing how deluded and deceptive they've been.

nasking

21/09/2012 Seems some professionals in the UK are socially engineering to create heteroanglowhitebots: [b]Senior GP: don't act too gay if you want to be a doctor Probe launched over controversial exam guide[/b] [quote]A senior member of the Royal College of General Practitioners was under investigation last night after advising medical students to act less “overtly gay” to ensure they passed exams. The RCGP launched the inquiry after it emerged that Dr Una Coales had written a guide setting out ways in which minority candidates can "neutralise bias" from the college's examiners. Dr Coales, a member of the college's council who came third in this year's ballot for presidency, suggested gay students speak in deeper voices and alter their body language to increase their chance of success in the RCGP's Clinical Skills Assessment. In one passage of the guide, Dr Una Coales's MRCGP CSA Book, she writes: "One candidate was facing a third sitting and yet no one had told him that his mannerisms, gait and speech were too overtly gay, and that he was sitting an exam administered by a right-wing conservative Royal College. "So I advised him to lower and deepen his high-pitched voice and neutralise his body movements. He went back to his surgery, practised his speech until his voice went hoarse and modified his body language. Not only did he pass his exam, but he informed me he noticed a huge difference in the way patients interacted with him." She also advises candidates such as Nigerian and Asian trainees to "focus on emphasising the lyrical Scottish or Welsh accent" if sitting exams in these regions. Female candidates should not wear a floral dress as "if you dress like a nurse they [patients] have difficulty believing they are seeing 'the doctor'…" Male students should "shave off" facial hair as it can project an "unclean, deceitful" image, she adds, in a chapter originally published in a medical magazine in 2009. Meanwhile, she advises overweight students to "project an image of Santa Claus. Put your hands on top of your protuberant abdomen, with your fingers interlocking but open."[/quote] http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/senior-gp-dont-act-too-gay-if-you-want-to-be-a-doctor-8160955.html Seems Bernardi will be right at home there. The ideal doctor according to some: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=white+robot&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=u&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=jdVbUNS4GcutiQexn4CIDA&ved=0CDYQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=672#biv=i|74;d|ezIyweJrPNSWTM: N'

nasking

21/09/2012 I was calling for more separation between church and state...and more focus on secular schools... perhaps we should include 'separation of children from churches'?: [b]Church admits to hundreds of child sex abuse cases[/b] By Danny Morgan Updated 20 minutes ago ABC NEWS JUST IN [b]The Catholic Church in Victoria has confirmed 620 cases of child sexual abuse by clergy since the 1930s.[/b] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-21/church-admits-to-hundreds-of-child-sex-abuse-cases/4273932 And that's just Victoria. I know of two friends who were abused. Makes ya sick to the stomach. N'

nasking

21/09/2012 Cuppa, good idea. SLY NEWS were just plugging away for Abbott...ya can often see where the Coalition propaganda campaigns are heading by watching our mini-Fox News. They offer up a morsel or two of balanced reporting, interviewing now & then...but ya can feel the RIGHTY seething, squirming below the surface of the talking heads. Kinda like watching V: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=V,+tv+show+pictures&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=u&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=1NlbUNCrEo2UiAemqIGYBg&ved=0CC8QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=672 N'

Tom of Melbourne

21/09/2012Yes Nasking, it is interesting that Swan has foreshadowed his partisan entry into US politics, releasing a speech which calls Republicans 'cranks and crazies'. Astounding that the Deputy PM would intervene in US politics at such a time and in such a manner. It’s a “look over there” from a man who is- • below average intelligence for his income and position, • a complete dud as a treasurer • poorly qualified (is it a certificate grade 1 in public service supervision from the TAFE?) • unpopular, utterly unlikeable, dull Swan is the most self important, blustering, stupid, vindictive man to hold the position of Deputy PM. For him to start lecturing foreign political parties is evidence that the government continues to be lost.

nasking

21/09/2012 Is it just me or does ToM sound shrill? Quite an achievement for a blogger. :) N'

Ad astra

21/09/2012Hi Lyn Your links were great reading again, as was your Twitterverse. As usual, BB heads the list of the eminently readable with his comment on [i]Poll Bludger[/i] today, which was so good I’ve reproduced it here for our visitors. I’ll be out for a few hours this afternoon. [b]Bushfire Bill[/b] Posted on [i]Poll Bludger[/i] Friday, September 21, 2012 at 8:53 am [b]The SMH Editorial:[/b] [i]”The Bernardi sacking marks a shift in federal politics. The latest Nielsen poll - and others - show that Labor is recovering some electoral support. Suddenly, it is a contest between two competitive sides, where every stumble matters and requires a response. “This is a classic of the trivial state our political commentary has become. Nitpickers, hair-splitters, metaphor junkies and gaffe junkies will be out in force, because that’s the only way they know how to do it. “When stumbles matter, the gotchas come out to play. Don’t bet that the SMH and its band of shills won’t be gotcha’ing far and wide. “Policy? Nah.. that’s for the wonks. “Stumbles” are the go. Lazy columns on “perception” being more important than “reality”, declarations that political commentators are “paid to be cynics”, Big Brother-type manoeuvreings for the camera and Gruen Transfer-type belly-fluff gazing are what the public wants… not. “Bernardi has been made an example of to warn others that Abbott wants strict party discipline before next year's election. Bernardi might have survived if not for a confluence of events that has lessened the Liberals' tolerance of those who stray off the reservation. “Bernardi said that some people reckon there’s no logical difference between gay marriage and dog-f**king. And that’s true. “Where he went wrong was to try to argue that the dog-f**kers would be next at the weeping wall with SHY, crying bitter tears that they can’t marry their darling Flopsy the pa-doodle-oodle or their one true love, Jenny the black sheep. “He was sacked because he’s a loon, a crackpot, an embarrassment to a party trying to look like it’s not a Tea Party. “He was also sacked because Tony had to find a job for Howard throw-back, Arthur Sinodinis, who reckons Tony is Spartacus. “He was also sacked because to sack him incurred no penalty to either the cat-calling front bench on a special deal until a real reshuffle happens, or to Abbott’s increasingly fractious hold on his own position as Leader. “And now Cory Bernardi really is a free-lancer. Let us not forget as well, that SA Liberals are known for their long, detailed memories and elaborate hatreds. Now there’s another one of them on the loose. Brilliant, Mr. Abbott. “David Marr's essay on Abbott highlighted his youthful homophobia. His action in sacking Bernardi highlights how he has changed - although not to the point of supporting same-sex marriage. “Phew! That’s a relief. Abbott’s changed. No more wall-banging and poofter baiting for the new, mature Tony. He’ll just confine himself to spaz-outs, pinning targets on foreheads, stuffing up stuff he makes up and commenting on shit when it happens. “He might even buy a suit that fits him. Walking like a chimp with boils under its arms, according to none other than Bananaby, is not a good look for the ladies. “Abbott's style as opposition leader has been to make it very clear - to the point of obsessiveness - exactly what the opposition's attitudes are on key issues. He knows the Australian voting public does not like to vote for a party which does not know where it stands on important issues. “But that’s the point. The voting public doesn’t have a clue where the party stands on just about any topic, other than that Abbott has promised a Rolling Thunder of endless elections stretching out to 2015, until he repeals the Carbon Tax that hardly anyone cares about anymore. Oh, and that he wants to take away the NBN and refuses to afford the NDIS, hankers for sacking thousands of public servants, but wants to index funds forever to The Kings School and his Jesuit alma mater, Riverview. “As for anything else, I defy a random selection of “voting public” in the street to agree on what Abbott’s policy is in almost any other area. Get ten punters together in a room and you’ll get ten different versions of Abbott’s policy on middle class welfare, Health, Education, the NDIS, IR or even whether he really truly wants to go back to Howardism, 6 years after the Old Man lost his seat because the public wanted him gone. “Abbott and the SMH are talking about appearances and perceptions, not about actually, y’know, telling anyone what the Coalition stands for. “According to the Herald they’re having enough trouble sticking together on what they don’t want, much less what they do want, but won’t tell us about. “The slackness and Clayton’s discipline we’re seeing at the moment is born of the lazy hubris that the Coalition have assumed when it comes to winning the next election. “But last week, in one poll, the meme that Labor could never get back to parity, much less win a poll – and perhaps an election – was blown away. “No scribe can ever write again that Labor is undeniably, irretrievably, indubitably gone for all money. That this has been the basis for all of the past two years’ worth of what passes for elite analysis from our daily shit sheets and the seat warmers who write for them, is enough in itself to condemn political punditry in this country as a bad joke printed on cheap paper. Political opinionation in our newspapers is about as profound as something you’d read on a Fantales wrapper. “Press Gallery output has become a guessing competition as to who is going to win the next election, not (as it should be) as to what the issues are and how they are being solved and managed for the day-to-day and long term benefit of the citizens of Australia. “For example, the “wheat controversy” has been mentioned several times now in the SMH – by Coorey, Grattan and in this editorial – but not once has the Grand Broadsheet bothered to explain just what this controversy was all about, other than to tell us that it was an internal punch-up which needed to be smoothed over. The “wheat controversy” is only important as a snapshot of how perception is managed: all potatoes, no meat. “If the SMH thinks that the old ways are the best ways, that political commentary can confine itself to counting angels on the head of a pin, or arguing over whether an already poorly-regarded thug (who happens to have stolen the leadership of his own party in a backroom coup) can completely redeem himself by sacking someone who reckons dog-f**king is next in line for a conscience vote if we legalize SSM, the SMH has another think coming. “The voters are hungry for substance, not vapourware. They’ve seen what the baseball bat, Reality TV method of selecting governments has done in Queensland, NSW and (if Isobel Redmond had her way) in South Australia. They have seen that voting has consequences that are real, not imaginary. Real jobs are lost, real teeth are fixed, real children are educated – or not – based on the choice that is made. “As time goes by, party room fluffery, perception management, scandal mongering and discipline for its own sake will take on a lesser importance compared to solid policy work, economic management and runs on the Big Board. “Until they get it – at the SMH and in the Liberal party room – they’re on a loser to nothing to ever get their hands on the keys to the Lodge, or even the gold taps of the executive shithouses in the PH ministerial wing. “Since the Olympics demonstrated that getting your ugly mug on a spring water bottle or in a bank commercial does not equal that last hundreth of a second between gold and silver, something big has happened. “Helping a blind man run a marathon is no substitute for crippling the NDIS. Being a volunteer fire fighter won’t stop the coming Global Warming mega fires and droughts. Dams that are full today will be empty tomorrow. Making out that government costings are just as dodgy as your own only focuses peoples’ minds on you. Trash-talking the economy won’t help confidence recover, ever. “And sitting on top of the mountain chanting “Home by Christmas!”, waiting for the good old lazy days of the Newspoll summer to come back, doesn’t get the job done where it counts. “Tinkering with the deck chairs on the SS Shadow Cabinet is the least of Tony Abbott’s problems. Until he realises this, he’s doomed to go down with the ship. “But you’ll never read about it in an SMH editorial. “Read more, if you must: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/editorial/dissent-is-good-respect-is-better-20120920-269f0.html#ixzz2734UiDc8[/i]”

Bacchus

21/09/2012It's not just you Nas ;-)

Jason

21/09/2012Nasking, It's not just you ToM does sound Shrill! But if there is one thing ToM knows about it's being "unpopular, utterly unlikeable, dull"

LadyInRed

21/09/2012Nas yep shrill, leaning so far to the right needs a prop to keep from falling over......TIMBER..... Perhaps God will come to the rescue?

pappinbarra foxette

21/09/2012ToM who? I'm following AA on this one.

Tom of Melbourne

21/09/2012It's just you Nasking. I am calm, and have a deep voice. I'm entirely unlike Swan.

LadyInRed

21/09/2012Swann calls Tea Party "cranks and crazies". I think it is a fair call. Just have a look at QLD we have a 'crazy crank' up here. The state has come to a grinding halt thanks to his 'poopa scooper' (if that terminology isn't crazy I don't know what is). Hardline doesn't work, it is a heartless approach that causes untold damage to peoples wellbeing and ultimately the wellbeing of the whole state.

42 long

21/09/2012TfM is a PITA and a total waste of time. Trimmed out of context quotes and his half baked statements, add NOTHING!. He suffers from the same disease as the Lieberals and the Notional party. They believe their own BULLSHIT. ( and that is all it is). They are going to need to do a hell of a lot better than that from now on. You can't carry rubbish like Mirabella et al. (make your own LOOONG list) They are a DUD show. The one act play, containg no meaningfull script, full of deception, lies and NO facts, is a fizzer. Nasty untalented cast with an uninspired plot and unattractive look. The lazy "B's" haven't put enough work into it. Where is PLAN "B". Remanufacture Tony as "something else". He's been that for too long already. 42 long.

Miglo

21/09/2012What Bacchus said.

LadyInRed

21/09/201242 long [i] The one act play, containing no meaningfull script, full of deception, lies and NO facts, is a fizzer. Nasty untalented cast with an uninspired plot and unattractive look. [/i] yep that sums them up. Beside TAbbott's own ineptitude if you put someone like Mirrabella on the front bench ....respect is something you can only ever dream of.

2353

21/09/2012AC - bring an Aussie kid, I didn't get the reference to the Bash Street Boys last night. Now I know, it makes your article come alive. (For the record I did get to Famous 5 vut thats about it fom the UK.) Jason - take a bow. Your line about assessing Abbott the person because there isn't any policy is the subject of a post by Migs on CW. You forgot to add in you post above describing a resident troll "illegitimate", "clueless" and "desperate". Personally I'm in two minds about Swan's speech. Howard was rightly condemned for claiming the terrorists would win if Obama was elected (they haven't but what else did you expect). Swan's comment (although personally I agree with it) is equally offensive to a political party in the USA - I'm sure the Republicans consider themselves to be cranks to an equal measure that Democrats in 2007 considered Obama would allow terrorists to win. I just wonder if an economic comparison between Australia and the US in 2006 and 2012 demonstrating the differences between the Bush and Rudd responses to the GFC would have been a better option.

Lyn

21/09/2012Hi Acerbic Conehead Thankyou for your most enjoyable award winning article "Bucket Load of Biffo" how lovely it is for you to come back on TPS. You are part our TPS's furniture you know. We have become very attached to you, with your talent, brilliant sense of humour Oh! nearly forgot your charming Good Looks. Wayne Swan's speech has thrown the Australian Crankies and Nasties into a ferocious frenzy. Wayne Swan is my Hero:- Kimmaree ‏ go Treasurer Swan, someone had to say it http://bit.ly/OKHlA9 + hopefully it will start an international discussion http://bit.ly/OfzMaa China's boon is only beginning, 11:49 AM, 21 Sep 2012 Business Spectator http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Swan-European-debt-crisis-China-resources-budget-pd20120921-YC2ZF?opendocument&src=rss Swan attacks Republican 'cranks and crazies' His speech referred to political gridlock over spending cuts and tax increases due to kick in early next year, which could tip the US economy back into recession "Let's be blunt, the biggest threat to the world's biggest economy are the cranks and crazies that have taken over parts of the Republican Party," he said http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-21/swan-attacks-republican-cranks-and-crazies/4273300 'Cranks and crazies' have taken over US Republicans, says Australian ministerWayne Swan, the Australian treasurer, says greatest threat to to US economy is the 'cranks and crazies' in the Republican party Congress had been debating whether to increase the US borrowing ceiling but the Republicans would not budge. "Despite President Obama's goodwill and strong efforts, the national interest was held hostage by the rise of the extreme Tea Party wing of the Republican party," he said. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/21/wayne-swan-republicans-cranks-crazies THE federal opposition has accused Labor of ordering public servants to create political material to attack the Coalition. Joe Hockey has lodged an official complaint alleging “potential political interference” in the public service by Treasurer Wayne Swan's office. He has asked the Australian Public Service Commissioner to investigate a spreadsheet provided to the Australian Financial Review by Mr Swan's office http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/coalition-claims-labor-interference-in-public-service/story-fn59niix-1226478801869 :):):):):)

Lyn

21/09/2012Hi Ad This is Bushfire Bill's comment about the difference between Howard's reference to Obama and Wayne Swan's crazies and Nasties. Wayne Swan is correct & I agree with BB the comments are completely different and not comparable in any way. Bushfire Bill Posted Friday, September 21, 2012 at 10:03 am | Permalink The difference between Swan’s referral to the Republican Party as having been taken over by Tea Party nutjobs, and Howard’s referral to Obama as OBL’s best friend is that Swan’s statement was correct http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2012/09/16/newspoll-50-50-7/all-comments/#comment-1416310

42 long

21/09/2012I for one feel that the facts of Swan's statement were NOT erroneous. The Bloody minded radicals were playing with fire, by pushing the American economy to the point of default. America's handling of debt sales caused the world -wide GFC and they appeared to show nor willingness to acknowledge the risk they were taking with virtually causing the "default". Swan was only quoting many economists who were saying the same thing at the time. Many established older Republicans have expressed similar sentiments. Only supporters of the radical nEW right, ( as Abbott's mob are would not see some truth in this.) Swan is entitled to comment as what he is saying has a direct bearing on what is happening here. Abbott would wreck the economy, to get in power. He has not shown any concern about putting fear and panic out there, by means of lies and misrepresentation, and deliberately creating confusion. His negativity has had an influence on the australian economy for the worst. He cares not. He RARELY makes a statement that is really true as far as his beliefs are concerned. He will say anything, or Do anything, (bar sell his rear). ( Well we only have HIS word for that) but one time he DID say what HE meant. CLIMATE CHANGE IS CRAP. That is what he REALLY believes. The LNP has an unrepresentative high percentage of Climate Science Deniers. One day , they must be held to judgement for preventing possible action earlier. Demonising "Science". He wouldn't have the slightest clue what "Scientific Method " is.

Gravel

21/09/2012Acerbic Conehead Well done, and thank you. I agree, we have missed your satire here and hopefully can look forward to more. Lyn Thanks for your great links today, they were tops as usual. It was wonderful hearing Swanny calling out the crazies and nasties in the USA. Maybe someone in the world will wake up to how they are destroying America financially. The Noalition are trying to use the same tactics here, but luckily they can't at this stage go so far as to block financial bills here like the nutjobs in America have tried to.

adelaidegirl

21/09/2012In what way is Wayne Swan "intervening" in US politics with his comments? And, can anyone tell what has happened to Poll Bludger?

Tom of Melbourne

21/09/2012The USA has an horrendous level of debt. Swan remains one who thinks the best way to economic salvation is more debt. Loading future generations up with [b]our[/b] debt is irresponsible. Swan is a dill, as is so demonstrated by his bumbling intervention into US politics. Imagine if Bush has directly criticised the ALP. It would have been outrageous.

nasking

21/09/2012 [b]How Bowral got caught in the global financial crisis[/b] [quote]In a landmark decision, the Federal Court this afternoon found the Australian arm of Lehman - previously called Grange Securities - was conflicted in its duty to give sound financial to the councils ‘‘and its own interest in earning very large fees or profits’’ in its sales of investments known as synthetic collateralised debt obligations. Federal Court judge Steven Rares slammed the investments as being nothing more than a ‘‘sophisticated bet’’. The case centred on Lehman’s local subsidiary selling high risk and exotic investments to Wingecarribee and dozens of councils, charities and church groups. The instruments known as collateralised debt obligations had exposure to pools of debt comprising of high-risk US mortgages, car loans or credit card debt. But Lehman ignored requests to invest in low risk securities where the initial investment outlay were guaranteed. The 72 plaintiffs were seeking a combined $260 million from the liquidator of the collapsed Lehman Brothers Australia although the final award is yet to be determined. The case also marked a critical test of the fiduciary duty investment banks have to their customers when it comes to directing them into risky investments. Wingecarribee Council suffered $21.4 million of losses on its investments and still holds millions worth of the toxic instruments on its books. The Federal Court today found the council was entitled to an initial award of $9 million. Parkes Shire Council in NSW’s central west and Western Australia’s Swan Council were awarded a combined $7 million. Ms Arkwright said although the losses have made planning difficult, the council has been coping with its finances over the past four years. ‘‘It wasn’t a deliberate choice of the council to invest in CDOs,’’ Ms Arkwright said. ‘‘We’re managing. We have outlined what losses we could sustain and have been able to move on and provide essential services accordingly.’’ The council is now at a point where it can again start planning for local projects - this includes a pool and regional art gallery. [/quote] Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/how-bowral-got-caught-in-the-global-financial-crisis-20120921-26c05.html#ixzz2767aK4pR Yep. Moving forward. N'

nasking

21/09/2012 More things moving forward: http://www.facebook.com/nick.king.1232760?ref=tn_tnmn Have a good nite all. N'

Ad astra reply

21/09/2012Hi Lyn I've been trying all evening to get onto the iPad to respond to your links, but no luck. I'm sending this on the iPad. I'll respond in the morning. Goodnight.

2353

21/09/2012Nas - the decision you refer to above is potentially going to have an effect around the world. It is really that significant. Again - Australia leads the world!

Truth Seeker

21/09/2012AC, great work...I love the smell of satire in the morning. Speaking of which, swordsters, I thought I might share my latest piece os satirical musing, just finished. The Abbott of OZ. Julie.. the Bishop… sat on her porch With her small mincing poodle called Pyney As a dog he was crap.. but he sat on her lap.. And he didn’t bark.. just sounded.. whiney And along the east coast.. the right wings.. great boast Was that services… they would be cutting With the axe they were wielding… and political storm building As a result of the things…they were shutting And as Julie watched on… the storm came along Giving her no time.. to even go.. for a pee Though a staunch right wing toff.. the storm sucked her right off Unceremoniously dumping her in Sydney As Pyney.. her poodle sat licking his doodle Young Julie looked down in dismay Her landing had been broken.. by that sad human token Sophie.. the wicked witch… of the day As a pollie she’s sad… as a human she’s bad With notoriety… around all that she’s spoken Laying flat on the ground… with her thinking not sound And her leg.. like her moral compass… was broken Then the good witch… Ms Gillard.. stepped out from her front yard Removing.. golden shoes.. from the beast That woman’s a sleaze… but you may as well have these She’s got one thing… that’s useful… at least Now.. if you want to go back… give the Abbott a crack But I don’t like your chances… I’ll say Cos he’s hard to pin down.. acting more like a clown And when asked things… he just runs away The Hume Highway you know.. is the way you must go To our Canberra… the Abbotts spin city Full of press.. leaning right.. and the Liberals.. a blight But the rest of the place is quite pretty So with nothing to lose.. Julie put on Sophie’s shoes Heading down.. the yellow brick road… in disgust When a scarecrow she saw…and a Lion with no roar And a tin man all covered in rust Now the scarecrow she saw…was a man.. stuffed.. with straw And…. Barnaby Joyce…. was his name From his pole… down he came.. then tried climbing it again Cos poor Barnaby… was lacking.. a brain The tin man.. Joe Hockey… was acting so cocky Brain rusted and refusing to start Caring not what he said.. causing people such dread And totally… lacking in… heart And the lion named Turnbull.. truth and fact.. he will spurn all To keep faith… with the great party line The NBN he’ll try sacking… cos his courage is lacking And his credibility’s… on the decline So her dysfunctional mob… getting on with the job Moved along.. down the road to spin city With their hopes running high and a glint in their eye Except for pyney.. who’s demeanour was shitty Musical interlude; We're off to see the Abbott, The misogynist Abbott of Oz We hear he is a pugilist wiz, if ever a wiz there was If ever, oh ever a wiz there was, The Abbott of Oz is one because Because, because, because, because, because Because of the misogynist things he does Back to the tale; So to Canberra they came.. primed and set for the game With their burdens… all keen.. to unload But with many paths to choose… and guided by.. Sophie’s shoes They were quickly.. led down.. the wrong road But they found their way back.. to the Parliament shack As the Abbotts.. grand office they sought It was quite hard to dodge… as he called it “The Lodge” A bit presumptuous… most people thought So they knocked on the door… feeling tired and sore Until ‘Come’.. was the call from within And they entered his lair… for an audience.. fair But instead they got mouthfuls of spin When he finally stopped… Julie’s question.. she popped ‘To my home….. can you help me to go?’ But his wobble and stare… showed he wasn’t all there Till at last he responded with … ‘NO.’ Then they all stated hey.. we’ve been walking all day And all you give us… is stupid death stares So with a face full of thunder.. he gave them lifeline’s… phone number Saying.. ring that.. and tell someone who cares So their goals were sent packing.. as they were all sadly lacking Fitting perfectly… with Abbotts theme As lacking brains.. courage.. and heart… is an integral part And requirement.. for joining his team So he asked them to stay… offering excellent pay Joining him and the rest of his bogans In the campaign of fear… running out of his rear Spouting nothing but spin.. lies and slogans So they all joined his team.. and promoted his theme In the place that they truly belong And they found a good fit… in that vacuous pit And their commitment.. to Abbott.. was strong And the moral for all.. who consider voting.. Liberal Is to look.. to the team… that you’re backing For a political storm… will become Abbotts norm As.. brains.. courage.. and hearts.. they are lacking Cheers

Patriciawa

21/09/2012Loved your musical interlude, TS! Each word reverberated the original, but very originally! [i]We're off to see the Abbott, The misogynist Abbott of Oz. We hear he is a pugilist wiz, if ever a wiz there was. If ever, oh ever a wiz there was, The Abbott of Oz is one because.... Because, because, because, because, because..... Because of the misogynist things he does....[/i]

jane

22/09/2012Nas', good to see you back and firing on all 6. Loved the link to Corrine Grant's piece. [quote]Abbott looks to me like an inconsistent piss weak leader...and bullshit artist...[/quote] And a great assessment of Liealot's "character". 42 long, if Liealot has [b]any[/b] beliefs they would be confined to how he wuz robbed in 2010 and how that spoilsport Gillard should hand over the keys to the Lodge 'cos Mummy and Archbishop Pell said. Swan's a dill, ToM? I guess that makes all the ratings agencies who have given this country AAA ratings and independent economists who named Swan as the world's best Treasurer dills too? Perhaps you should give them all the benefit of your experience and advice as a world renowned economist and set them straight about Swan's incompetence, but you should prepare yourself for a very disappointing response.

TalkTurkey

22/09/2012Hi Folks, I spent lots of time on Twitter today, glorifying in the change of political climate which I sort of knew would happen this month. It's all coming together so perfectly! Yesterday was the Spring Equinox, the day I predicted that Abbortt's fall - (which really took place on the 13th, the Ides of September)- would become obvious to all, the MSM included most especially. And [i]it's all happened[/i]. For so long, just a few of us have predicted that this self-destruction would occur, [i]must[/i] occur, but gee it's great to see it actually happening. We have headed them by now imo. We will never go below them in public perception any more. But we must go above them, far far above them, in order to scrub them like the filth they are from the places they pollute, and deprive them of the numbers they have used so disgracefully to make progress difficult for the government - but not, repeat not [i]impossible[/i], EVERY importsnt piece of legislation is passed, Abbortt has failed to stop anything. The next Parliament will be oh so different from this one. The LNP, what is left of it, will be much chastened, and will have to try to cobble together something worthwhile out of the rump. I can't see what, they have no proper political philosophy, for NO! is not that. Well I feel very satisfied with where we're at now. Especially, it feels great to see Leftish people taking heart, beginning to believe again. It probably feels even better to the re-believers than to me, I never didn't think we'd win! Sportsbet still has the Govt at $3.50, I put a bundle on us at $7 ten weeks ago, it went to $6, then $4.50, so I'm feeling great about that too. Late, gotta shut eyes soon. But be of great heart Comrades, the climate has changed to Fair for us.

Gravel

22/09/2012Truth Seeker Well done, another great effort. Talk Turkey Great, but don't get too confident, there is another 12 months or more to go. A lot can happen. Remember, many a slip between cup and lip. LadyInRed Have I got this right, you are in QLD? If so, I am sorry to what is being done to your state. I would appreciate an anecdotes to what people are say on the ground. We are not getting much info here in Vic from MSM. I read all links to QLD to try and see what's happening.

Ad astra

22/09/2012Hi Lyn The Internet is working again this morning. This is what I tried to post last night: Thanks for the ‘Twitterati’. Isn’t it fascinating to hear Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey, who direct their venom every day at Julia Gillard and her Government, who foster hatred against them and do nothing to curb those who follow their lead – the likes of Alan Jones and Ray Hadley – now accusing Wayne Swan of spreading hatred. It is archetypical of Abbott and his front bench to accuse the other side of doing exactly what they do every day. It’s an old ‘Howard’ strategy. Remember in the lead-up to the 2004 election, when there were great doubts about whether John Howard could be trusted, he came out with the memorable catchcry: “Who can you trust to ‘keep interest rates down, ‘manage the economy’,” and so on. It was a clever reversal that stood him in good stead, helping him to go on to win that election comfortably. The Coalition is shamelessly mimicking this strategy.

2353

22/09/2012Gravel, I'm sure LiR can answer for her area of Queensland (around Hervey Bay with Lyn I think), as I live in Brisbane, this should give you some idea of whats happening here. I can assure you there are over 200,000 people who work for the Public Service wondering if they will have a job in 2,3,6 or 12 months - with the current culling program scheduled to go into the 2nd quarter next year and rumours that there will be another round of cuts to those Departments that have already been gutted announced after Christmas. There are numerous small businesses across Brisbane CBD (Coffee Shops, Newsagents etc) that are becoming unviable as the number of people working in the city is reduced dramatically, As an example, the architectural arm of Project Services (the Government Building Authority) has reduced lost around 70% of it's design and engineering staff according to rumour. Most Departments have areas where 30 to 40% of staff are going. They were going to sack half the paid Rural Fire Service staff immediately prior to what is considered to be a big bushfire season (there was a lot of water and growth in the past few years!) but have backed off that one.People who work for the Government just aren't spending money, as they might be next. About the only small positive is that it's easier to get a seat on the train of an afternoon! The Courier Mail (NewsCorp) and The Brisbane Times (Fairfax) are outdoing each other with "he's gone too far" stories. The Courier Mail is running a series called "The Axe" with a suitably tacky graphic, while the Brisbane Times version is "The Watcher". News will be able to point to the Courier Mail as an example of fair reporting for a while - this mooring in the first 10 or so pages there are a number of items critical of Newman. One article in this morning's Courier Mail (can't find it online) starts with "the LNP has gone into fully fledged damage control as it tries to claw back the popularity. . ." and then goes onto discussing an LNP backbencher yesterday suggesting a challenge could be on - only to retract the comment in a release last night! You know things are pretty crook when Madonna King - ex ABC morning announcer who used to shout at Government Minsters during the floods - is writing a piece this morning about the retiring Police Commissioner and the respect he gets from almost everyone with his humility and kindness, and suggesting that a number of politicians could learn from his actions on top of a critical article on Newman in the last couple of weeks. In short - we've been Jeffed, but Kennett had a sense of humour, this clown doesn't. And in Recaptcha bingo we get "Unilateral" - a fitting description of Queensland in 2012.

TalkTurkey

22/09/2012Good Morning Comrades of the Sword. Gravel It's not hubris what I'm saying, but it is belief. So far, despite the setbacks and the snares and hurdles cast in the path of the Government, it has passed every piece of legislation, Abbortt has lost every battle, and Labor is now pegging level with his mob of droogs, or perhaps by now we are even edging them. No-one is telling us we can't possibly win now! And since the course of events has followed my own predictions, bumps and potholes notwithstanding, I feel quite confident - though not hubristic - that we are on track to win, and we will confound this awful crowd and their disgraceful MSM spitlickers. My belief always has been that hopefulness and hopelessness both tend to be self-fulfilling, and I'm blowed if I'm going to be beaten before the fight. We are doing GREAT! I watched the Collingwood-Swans match last night, great game and played in terrific spirit. At the end Collingwood were splendid losers and the Swans equally good winners. That's Aussie Rules, a code based in decency and good sportsmanship, a spirit of which Abbortt and his droogs are entirely bereft. When we defeat them I do not expect good wishes from them, nor will our side be likely to have any sympathy for their sobs. I don't think we have anything to lose by being upbeat. It's working for us. So rap your gavel beloved Gravel! And take a fighting stance! For though we still have far to travel, [i]We gonna pinch their pants![/i] Although the thought of Mirabella with no pants . . ! . . :(

Michael

22/09/2012Breakfast sitting a little heavily in your stomach this morning? Think it might actually be a good idea to throw it up? Need something to aid inducing vomiting? Read this: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/mission-rethink-for-abbott-20120921-26cab.html And remember that we've seen Tony Abbott run on the floor of Parliament. It was not a VC-winning act, Mr Peter (What Are You Smoking?) Hartcher. Every time he turns and runs, Hartcher, you are belittling the Victoria Cross, you are mocking all its recipients. As to the rest of us... Read the article again if lunch isn't so good, either.

Ad astra

22/09/2012Folks I'll be out for most of the day at a 'Grand Designs' exhibition.

42 long

22/09/2012Coming from Hartcher, i don't seee that as all bad. Apart from trying to put a glorifying spin on Abbott the "MAN" which is shallow and lacking in logic, there are many admissions of reality, that rate as concessions. The quick kill has failed. They have to do the job of forming themselves into s "credible alternative government". This is a total change of tactic. Tony is an incredibly unpopular oppn. leader. Question. Does Tony's "persona" suit any other form of leadership? To run a differently focussed campaign would it require not just a change of leader, but since the entire shadow are of Tony's choosing, they would require a complete make-over also. What a job they must undertake. It would require big wisdom and foresight to carry this out They would implode as they (collectively) do NOT have it. Not only are they not inspired skilled focussed, they are rabble united only by individual power lust. That's not enough glue, so RABBLE it is.

NormanK

22/09/2012Acerbic Conehead Thanks for another great laugh. I'm not familiar with the original comic but it does suit the current political climate. Sadly, if your storyline continued for another couple of days you would have to chronicle how the P&C Newsletter published numerous letters in defence of Harry and his antics. The editorial explained how the holes in the walls were already there and Harry was just indulging a whim by checking to see if his fists fit into them. I have been dismayed by the plethora of articles excusing Abbott or praising him and lamenting that he is just misunderstood. Top of the pile is this evacuation by Simon Benson who is practically panting in his rush to polish Abbott's image. :) :( :) :( :) :( :) :( :) :( :) :( :) :( :) :( :) :( :) :( :) :( :) :( Michael I will see your Peter Hartcher and raise you one Simon Benson. If you get all of the way through this article with your morning tea still comfortably settled in your tummy then you have a stronger constitution than I do. [b]Abbott's handbag hammering[/b] by Simon Bensen The Daily Telegraph [quote]The reality of Abbott's life presents a picture that couldn't be further from the one that Labor has so successfully portrayed. Abbott is arguably as qualified academically as anyone in the Parliament to run an economy. He has a law/economics degree from Sydney University as well as being a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University something he shares with Bob Hawke. Having argued against WorkChoices in the Howard Cabinet, he is not the rigid anti-worker ideologue he is accused of being. Abbott volunteers at least six times a year for Rural Fire Service duty in his local area and has done so since 2000. He volunteers for surf patrols and runs marathons for various charities, as well as being the founder of Pollie Pedal which has raised over $2.5 million for charity. In 2009 he and one of his three daughters, Frances, helped a northern Queensland indigenous family build a house. These are hardly the hallmarks of a misanthrope.[/quote] http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/abbott-cops-a-handbag-swing/story-e6frezz0-1226478346459

Lyn

22/09/2012Hi Ad and Everybody , Hi Gravel as 2353 posted, I Iive in Hervey Bay, Lady in Red in the same electorate, but I don’t know which town. Nasking is here somewhere, & NormanK. Gravel I have added a” Newmania” section to the bottom of Twitterverse for you. There is a “ I call it a newspaper” blog owned by David Marler , Twitter name @Qldaah in which they post & Tweet Queensland News. Also another tweeter called @QPublicServant who tweets QLD news. I have noticed a lot of these type of newspaper blogs and have around 30 on file to date. Michael, Peter Hartcher, Phillip Coorey and their army have decided to try and advise poor petal Abbott on what he should do, seeing the carbon Tax scare failed. Twitterverse:- 2013 Gillard v Abbott: who can you trust, really?Gemma Daley and James Massola, The Financial Review The audacity is breathtaking. This is the same Gillard, after all, who lied about the carbon tax and brought down a first-term prime minister. And here she is stealing a line from John Howard’s 2004 election campaign playbook http://afr.com/p/national/gillard_abbott_who_can_you_trust_pqG8z21y9ar550ATgoMcLK L-NP (50.5%) CF. ALP (49.5%) – CLOSEST SINCE JANUARY 2012 If a Federal election were held today it would be too close to call according to today’s Morgan Poll. http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2012/4826/ Morgan phone poll: 50.5-49.5 to Coalition, William Bowe, The Poll Bludger Roy Morgan has published a poll which, so far as the headline figure goes, is extremely interesting in that it a) is consistent with the Newspoll result, and b) was conducted by phone, and thus cannot be anticipated to suffer the pro-Labor bias typical of its face-to-face polling. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2012/09/21/morgan-phone-poll-50-5-49-5-to-coalition/?comment_page=1/#comment-1416772 Bushfire Bill Posted Friday, September 21, 2012 at 1:28 pm | Permalink So many good things happened for the government in the previous two weeks before the poll. They were all ignored or spun the other way by The Australian. They probably thought that Greg Sheridan’s raving ratbag stunt on News Radio cleared Abbott totally http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2012/09/16/newspoll-50-50-7/all-comments/#comment-1416446 Labor's plan to win: Make Abbott scary, Laurie Oakes http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/labors-plan-to-win-make-abbott-scary/story-e6frfhqf-1226479086544 After a decade it's official: the GST is no better than its forebears, GEORGE MEGALOGENIS IF left to its present maddening trajectory, the goods and services tax will move from half-baked reform to systems buster before this decade is over. One part of the problem is the GST's loss of earnings power. The other is the formula for redistributing it. The two are combining to test the federation and yet neither side of politics, or tiers of government, seems to care enough to at least acknowledge the true nature of the challenge. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/after-a-decade-its-official-the-gst-is-no-better-than-its-forebears/story-e6frg7ex-1226479042146 Aussie minister: Republican party taken over by ""cranks and crazies", America Blog By Chris in Paris on 9/21/2012 06:30:00 AM So I'm guessing he's not a fan of the Tea Party. Foreign ministers don't often inject themselves into the politics of other countries but how else does a sane, rational person explain the modern GOP? They are lunatics are running the asylum and there's no way to candy coat it. What foreign leader would honestly want to work with someone like Rick Santorum or Sarah Palin? It's embarrassing that either have ever even been considered serious candidates. The US used to care about its reputation around the world and both parties used to look to the future. The modern GOP does look crazy so I'm glad someone in power outside of the US said it so bluntly. http://www.americablog.com/2012/09/aussie-minister-republican-party-taken.html Aleta Lafferty‏ “crooksandliars: Thirty Koch Brothers-Funded 'Activists' Stand Up to #OWS http://dlvr.it/2BbxWf” oh dear 25mil ad campaign for 1% activists Australian News‏ Labor seeks to protect state govt jobs (AAP): The federal government has announced it will chan... http://yhoo.it/POa0VE #ausnews AussieActivist‏ “ What kind of state cuts essential services? http://www.nswnma.asn.au/news/42099.html @AussieActivist William Jones‏ Tony Abbott's Tea Party: people are revolting http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/blogs/rocco-bloggo/tony-abbotts-tea-party-people-are-revolting-20110310-1bpd7.html via @smh Bernhard Accola‏ http://pic.twitter.com/7Sc40heC What was Joe Hockey saying about hate? Campbell Newman : The Qldaah http://paper.li/Qldaah/1345934323 TheQldPublicServant‏ Top Qld cops face Newman Government axe in latest rush of blood to the head | Courier-Mail #qldpol http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/top-queensland-cops-face-newman-government-axe-to-bolster-frontline/story-fndo1yus-1226478420676?sv=9e01779b90df07c69f56db0c6157b777#.UFzhx1JN0wg.twitter via @couriermail Queensland premier faces leadership speculation Six months after an enormous landslide victory, the Queensland Premier Campbell Newman should be the darling of his party. Instead he finds himself subject to leadership speculation. A backbencher says some MPs are unhappy with the way he's handled budget cuts and they're concerned about a voter backlash. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-21/queensland-premier-faces-leadership-speculation/4274754?section=qld Askgerbil Now‏ Cambell Newman is a wrecking ball through the economy. Rio cutting more coal jobs in wake of #Qld royalty rise. http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/rio-cutting-more-coal-jobs-in-wake-of-royalty-rise #auspol LNP trying to turn around PR mess: The Liberal National Party (LNP) has gone into fully fledged damage control as it tries to claw back the popularity that saw it win the Queensland election in a landslide. http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/lnp-trying-to-turn-around-pr-mess-analyst-20120921-26b4i.html David Marler‏ Newmania Rockhampton "Alarm Bells Ring:Mines Amendment Bill 2012" http://ow.ly/dU5tV David Marler Toowoomba "@TrevorWattsLNP Breaks Ranks: Warns Of Job Cut Revolt" - http://ow.ly/dU01u TheQldPublicServant‏ Prison dog squad sacking by Newman govt will endanger guards: Councillor | Rockhampton Morning Bulletin #qldpolhttp://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/story/2012/09/22/cr-mather-lambasts-premier-over-jail-cuts/?utm_source= David Marler‏ Upset the police,good move.Also spotted this about the Cyclone shelter at Port Douglas http://ow.ly/dU53n TheQldPublicServant‏ Top Qld cops face Newman Government axe in latest rush of blood to the head | Courier-Mail #qldpol http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/top-queensland-cops-face-newman-government-axe-to-bolster-frontline/story- via @couriermail Ron Wadforth‏ Public sector workers feel sold out | Townsville Bulletin News http://bit.ly/Uz8b3x The Cairns Post ‏ Cairns taxi subsidy anger forces backflip from State Govt http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2012/09/21/234079_local-news.html … MP sees red over sackings, Gympie Times Just when the 52 "gagged" workers at Gympie's River Rd office thought they had some sort of a handle on their future, they were shocked all over again when five Wide Bay Burnett TMR staff were made redundant. It was thought the WBB jobs would be safe in the restructure, as they are the only staff to stay in Gympie when the North Coast Division moves to Maroochydore. http://www.gympietimes.com.au/story/2012/09/22/mp-sees-red-over-sackings/

Tom of Melbourne

22/09/2012[i]” now accusing Wayne Swan of spreading hatred.[/i] Ad Astra excuses bumbling, outrageous political stupidity in this government yet again. Swan deliberately interfered in the political commentary of another country during an election campaign. He tries to pander to all parts of the political spectrum, this was his call to the Greens orientation, who love a little US bashing. If Bush had made direct comments about the union interference in the ALP, people would have been justifiably outraged.

Michael

22/09/201242 long, Hi. Hartcher set us all up (unless his tongue was planted firmly in a place in his cheek I've never seen it positioned before) for Greg Hunt's "bring your own lubricant" rave on Tony Abbott's multi-point plan for manliness, which did seem to have Greasy Hair Greggy all aquiver. To compare Tony Abbott to a US Navy Seal is to compare tin-foil to titanium.

Michael

22/09/2012Excised from here: http://afr.com/p/national/gillard_abbott_who_can_you_trust_pqG8z21y9ar550ATgoMcLK this from Tiny Abbott: "At the heart of what I offer the Australian people is a return to economic growth. If we can get taxes down, if we can get unnecessary spending eliminated, if we can get productivity up, if we can get red and green tape down..." Only Rudyard Kipling used "if" more, and to much greater and truthful effect. This nation really needs "If Man" running our economy?

Jason

22/09/2012ToM, The only political stupidity that's excused is yours! Both sides say things and for you to suggest otherwise is just another one of your constant lies! Did "Honest John" say wtte a win for "Obama" would be a win for Al qaeda?

NormanK

22/09/2012Lyn Thank-you for all of your hard work. Last week's links were particularly appetising and you have outdone yourself with today's Twitterverse. I really appreciate all that you do, even if I don't say it often enough. I can't imagine making a habit of bringing over someone else's comment attached to a news story but this one from [i]virag0[/i] on the Tea Party article linked above deserves a wider audience. [quote]Conservatives don't do revolution. They are reactionary. What we have is fake indignation whipped up into a froth of sour ranting, floating on top of a bitter brew of something that apparently came out of the back of a Rodent, a rancid cappucino of deep dark insolence brought about by loss, dusted with a racist spray of white chocolate.[/quote] http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/blogs/rocco-bloggo/tony-abbotts-tea-party-people-are-revolting-20110310-1bpd7.html#ixzz279uSoERm Superb!

KHTAGH

22/09/2012AC I really like your humorous take on the Lieberal rabble, so great for mental imagery. Followed up by Truth Seekers excellent piece too tops off this thread, unfortunately we still get posts from people that wouldn't know a good politician if one fell on him. We can hope one day he will give up when no-one takes any notice of the pathetic jibs from an illegitimate member of the right wing graffiti squad, truly an intellectual pigmy. Majority of Swordsters make one person's posts here look & sound like a child's gibberish, shrill is about right. Lyn you save me so much time these days, & you deserve all the praise & accolades you receive here. A quick hello to everyone else too. N nasking you do a great job with your posts, very enlightening a perfect compliment to Lyn's links. Coming in after a good days digging & planting is topped off so well by TPS. Spring is such a good time of yr, only trouble is I'm so busy. I have just about finished my berries for the up coming season:- Strawberries (Hakawasii the best flavour of all time), blue berries, raspberries, josta berries, gooseberries X3 blackberries (thorn-less,) young berries, logan berries, Goji berries, grapes & currents. Bellies rumbling yet. Next comes the fruit trees. Cherries X 4 (3 dark & 1 light), apples X 5 (golden & red Delicious, Fuji, Granny smith) pears, peaches, nectarines, apricots, green gage, satsuma plum, plumcots (cross between a plum & apricot very! nice too.)figs, lemon & lime almonds X 3, hazelnuts. Keeping bees make such a difference with overall pollination too. All these are to help take away the foul taste left in ones mouth after reading & watching the latest Lieberal propaganda in the MSM. My excess (fruit, veggies & free range eggs 20 dzn/week) goes up to All Saints a church in Hobart that has its own produce market, to help out others. No I'm not religious in the slightest, but it doesn't hurt getting a few extra Karma point tho. :-)

Miglo

22/09/2012Yrs Jason, Howard did say that. Obama put him back in his box though. I'm sure if the Americans were concerned about what Swan said they would have responded the same.

Miglo

22/09/2012Yes, not yrs.

2353

22/09/2012Hi Lyn, Thanks for the "Queenslander special" twit links. There seems to be an ABN (Anyone but Newman) movement growing even in the LNP - a spectacular turnaround in 6 months. I'm not sure but I think Nasking lives in Logan and NormanK is somewhere in North Queensland (around Townsville?) - I'm in the Brisbane CIty Council area. NormanK - I love the quote above this post. Well spotted!

Tom of Melbourne

22/09/2012Yes Jason he did, and many people rightly condemned him for his partisan comment. But despite the barracking from the usual cloying sycophants, Swan is a complete embarrassment as a minister and is the dumbest, most blustering, self important Deputy PM in memory.

2353

22/09/2012Mike Carlton apparently loves right wing crazies and wingnuts as well - regardless of whether they are protesting outside the US Consulate in Sydney or running for US President. [quote]''These are people who pay no income tax,'' Romney went on, ''so my job is not to worry about those people.'' That from a corporate parasite who has an untold fortune salted away in tax havens from Switzerland to the Bahamas and who has paid only about 13 per cent tax on the income he has admitted to. Surely the American people cannot elect this perma-tanned fraud.[/quote] http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/lame-old-hobby-horses-and-other-beasts-20120921-26buz.html#ixzz27A9gJ7CT

Jason

22/09/2012ToM, "Swan is a complete embarrassment as a minister and is the dumbest, most blustering, self important Deputy PM in memory." Yes ToM I suppose no one could meet the high standards you set as a minister! I find it funny though that a non voting troll like you sees fit to cast judgement on those who actually do things!

Acerbic Conehead 2

22/09/2012The failure of the Federal Parliament on Thursday to pass the Same Sex Marriage legislation hit Bob Brown very hard. He was inconsolable and at his wits end. So, Bob took himself off to seek the advice of his mum, Mrs Agnes Brown, that font of knowledge who has lots of life experience and would, undoubtedly, perk up his drooping spirits and give him some pointers towards what to do next. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEgbn_s-EQs Bob: Oh, Mammy!! Whatever am I going to do!! I’ll just have to join that hypocritical Labor Party and force all of the members, by dint of my personality, to support Same Sex Marriage… Mrs Brown: Huh, son…if you had to put up with the feckin’ pains I had to endure when I gave birth to you, you wouldn’t want to be anywhere near labour…bwahahahaha… Bob (exasperated): Oh, Mammy!! You make a big joke about everything, don’t you…Why can’t you be serious for a change and help me achieve my ambition of getting married to my partner… [Mrs Brown assumes Bob’s partner, whom she has never met, is female] Mrs Brown: Righto, Bob, son…I’m in full agreement with you and your partner’s decision to get married…So, I’ll tell you what – I’ll have a word with your cousin Tony and he’ll organise a church wedding for you – after all, he’s got lots of experience at that sort of thing – didn’t he spend a bit of time in the seminary…Before punching holes in the walls however and escaping…hee…hee…An episode he claims to have no memory of whatsoever…Huh, believe that and you’ll believe anything… Bob (ecstatic): Oh, Yippee, Mammy!! I can hear the wedding bells already!! And, I need a new handbag…erm…ahem…for my partner, of course…Will you help me go shopping for one, Mammy – everybody knows you’re the expert on handbags… Mrs Brown: Of course I will, son…And just coincidentally, I read the other day there is going to be a Handbag Fashion Parade at Myers tomorrow – we can just toddle along there and fix your partner up… [Bob is feeling a lot better now and, on the morrow, fronts up at Myers with his mammy, for the Handbag Fashion Parade. They have front-row seats so can see and hear all the comings and goings. However, Mrs Brown suddenly realises she has left her ubiquitous handbag in Bob’s car. “Feck it”, she says to herself, “I don’t need it for the moment, so I’ll just enjoy the show and get it later”] Compere: Ladies and gentlemen…Welcome to our Handbag Fashion Parade today at your favourite department store – Myers of course – and we have, for your edification, two teams of handbag models…So, ladies and gentlemen, the first team is ready to strut with their satchels… [the first handbag model is Alan Jones] Compere: And here we have, ladies and gentlemen, a rather austere number – one that you could readily buy as a present for your mother-in-law…heh…heh…The handbag in fact is of the chaff-bag variety, which comes with a complementary colony of incarcerated feral cats… [Alan is awkwardly holding his chaff-bag at arm’s length, trying to prevent the wild creatures from poking their claws out of the holes they’ve made and scratching him to buggery. Alan quickly exits the (appropriately-named) catwalk, heads immediately to the toilets, and drowns the critters. Understandably, no-one in the audience is very impressed and no applause is proffered. The next handbag model is Bob’s cousin, Tony Abbott himself!] Mrs Brown (flabbergasted): Jaysus!! Would you look who it is...your cousin Tony’s in everything bar the crib... [Tony, resplendent in his red budgie smugglers, is carrying a nice lycra handbag, which is so petite, he only needs his forefinger and thumb to carry it] Mrs Brown: Well Bob, son, what do you think of that item – I’m sure your cousin Tony would be able to get you one at discount... Bob: Oh, Mammy!! Don’t be stupid!! It’s nowhere near big enough for my...erm...my partner’s needs... Mrs Brown: Huh...that might be the case for your partner, son – but as far as your cousin Tony goes, it suits him right down to the ground...it being so small, there’ll be plenty of room inside it for all his policies...heh...heh... [so, again, Bob is not impressed. And his expectations are not raised any higher by the handbags that the rest of the first team of models are sporting. For instance, Bob thought that the handbag Sophie Mirabella was modelling was a bit icky. To Bob, it was so scrunched-up, it looked like she was carrying a wizened old scrotum. Campbell Newman also strutted his stuff, singing a version of “Brother, can you spare a dime?” and sporting an old battered suitcase. As Campbell walks off, the compere wishes him all the best, and conveys his hopes that he won’t have to jump the rattler for too many years. Next, Gina Rinehart struts her stuff, but is without a handbag] Heckler 1: Where’s your handbag, love? Did you pack your lunch in it and ate the bag ‘n all...heh...heh... Gina (angrily): Huh, get used to it, mate...when I drive wages down to African levels, you won’t need a bag for your groceries – you plebs will simply be living from hand to mouth...hee...hee... [Cory Bernardi comes out next, sporting a lamb-skin handbag. However, he had to beat a hasty retreat when, saying he forgot he had double-booked on another Handbag Fashion Parade in England, the audience started to make baaaaaa/sheep-like noises at him. Then, lastly for the first team of handbag models, comes Godwin Grech, carrying a lap-top computer bag] Heckler 2: Hey...composed any dodgy emails lately, mate...heh...heh... [Godwin rushes off the catwalk in tears and is consoled behind the scenes by his friend, Malcolm] Compere: And so, on your behalf, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to offer a vote of thanks to our first team of handbag models... [however, another heckler, who looks suspiciously like Wayne Swann, interrupts] Heckler 3: Never mind the B-team – that shower of losers, the Handbag Mishit Squad!! Bring on the real stars – the Handbag Hit Squad...yeaaaaaaah!! http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gender-slurs-flying-from-women-on-both-sides/ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TxA5W84ePgQ/UFvQY9RsiCI/AAAAAAAAAL4/HroTjCLMumk/s1600/AnyC00438.JPG [without further ado, and to the rousing beat of Queen’s, “We are the Champions”, out struts the first of the Handbag Hit Squad’s models, Nicola Roxon, dressed in her wig and gown, and carrying a very smart brief-bag. As Nicola walks down the catwalk close to where Bob and Mrs Brown are seated, they overhear Peter Slipper, who is near them, ask Nicola will she represent him at his upcoming court case, as he has recently sacked his legal team. So, the Handbag Hit Squad models keep coming. Next out is Penny Wong. Penny, however, is struggling under the weight of her handbag – a money-bag, symbolising the strength of the Aussie economy. http://thefinnigans.blogspot.com.au/ Penny’s handbag seems to be so stuffed with dosh, she can hardly lift it. So, she just opens it up, takes out fistfuls of the folded stuff, and flings them with (much to Bob’s delight) gay abandon into the adoring audience. It is such a cornucopia, it makes Clint Eastwood’s early movie, “A Fistful of Dollars”, look like his sequel, “My very, very Empty Chair”] Bob: Oh, Mammy!! Isn’t this great...with this Squad, we’re really getting our cut of a good economy... Mrs Brown: Too right, son...and with that other mob, all we’d be gettin’ would be the cuts...heh...heh... [the next Handbag Hit Squad model is Tania Plibersek, who is carrying a very well-stocked First Aid Kit handbag, representing the great strides being made in health reform. Mrs Brown overhears Peter Dutton, who is also seated nearby, congratulating Tania on a job well done, and enquiring who is the duffer who’s supposed to be Shadowing her, as they are doing a crap job. Then, the last of the Handbag Hit Squad models, Julia Gillard, graces the boards. However, the audience is perplexed, as there is no sign of her carrying a handbag. Julia suddenly realises her mistake] Julia (to herself): Crap!! I’ve forgotten my handbag again!! http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/julia-enjoys-the-high-life-free-of-old-bags/story-e6frg6nf-1225916057081 [Mrs Brown, realising Julia’s predicament, rushes out of her seat and exits the door] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS1ka1j0sV0&feature=relmfu Back in a flash, Mrs Brown stretches over the catwalk and hands her bag to Julia, who can now continue with her strut, much to the loud acclaim of the audience] Bob: Oh, Mammy!! That was close!! You saved the day there when Julia forgot her handbag...I hope she doesn’t forget to turn up for the election next year!! Mrs Brown: Huh...if anyone is going to forget to turn up for the election next year, it’ll be your cousin, Tony Abbott...After all, he has a history of forgetting things – like his Great Escape when he punched holes in the seminary wall and couldn’t remember a thing about it...heh...heh...

Patriciawa

22/09/2012Hi Lyn, Thanks as always for your lovely range of links from the twitterverse. You've probably had feedback from others about those Bushfire Bill links and how nothing seems to be working at Pollbludger right now. I've decided not to spend more time there, but I would certainly appreciate it if anyone who does find them functional at last they could post the good news here. Agreed, NormanK, fake indignation sits so badly on them over there. Sour ranting exactly describes it when we get people like Hockey puffed up and complaining about 'hate' coming from people like Swannie, 'the world's best Treasurer' and surely qualified to comment on the US economy. They do themselves no favours, e.g. the obvious ugliness of Peter Dutton losing it on Lateline last night and resorting to nasty insinuations about the PM and Craig Emerson who was winning the debate hands down with facts about the government's very real achievements.

2353

22/09/2012AC - I get the Mrs Brown's Boy's references. Very clever and thanks.

NormanK

22/09/2012AC I suspect you have got the wrong end of the stick with regard to Our Tony. Sing along with [i]The Animals[/i][b]*[/b] and you might learn to love him a little more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCUmSijiWxA Ladies, do you understand me now? Sometimes I've been a little bad But don't you know that I've run a marathon beside a blind man Help burn some grass with other lads Yes, I'm just a soul who's ambitions are clear Oh guys, please don't let them dump me out of fear Handbags, sometimes I'm so naughty With anger that's hard to hide But most times it seems that, I can call upon my buddies To write about my gentler other side I'm just a thug who delights to punch wood Thank God, they won't let me be misunderstood If I seem punchy, I want you to know, That I don't intend to take it out on you Walls are so tempting, and I hit my share, But bash your face I never mean to do Cause I need you, Oh, Oh, oh, oh, ladies - don't you know I'm Tony I have faults like any other git Thank God I find myself, Lord, praising Some helpful rot, some Liberal journos have writ Yes, I'm just a soul who's ambitions are clear Oh guys, please don't let them dump me out of fear I'm just a thug who delights to punch wood Oh Lord, they won't let me be misunderstood Yes, I'm just a soul who's ambitions are clear Oh guys, please don't let them dump me out of fear Yes, I'm just a soul who's ambitions are clear [b]*[/b]I would have preferred to use Nina Simone's version but some things are sacrosanct.

Lyn

22/09/2012Hi Norman K Thankyou for you lovely post @ 11.56am you always say such nice compliments, displaying your obvious gentlemanly decorum . Whoops! just about to press enter and what do I see another piece of brilliance above the comments box. More talent on display thankyou NormanK. Khtagh ,thankyou . You know I want to get in your garden, wow! the berries alone are a festive feast. You must work hard and the receivers must love you very much. I have never tried “Hakawasii the best flavour of all time'” but sounds delicious. You are so correct about Nasking who faithfully sorts through to highlight any interesting stuff to elaborate on, I love it. 2353 @2.18pm thankyou for your appreciation. Glad you enjoyed the “Newmania” links. You are right “anyone but Newman” is the saying going around. Patricia our living doll, you are such a treasure hugs to you, what did someone say “I am waving out loud” to you. Poll Bludger according to the tweetossips is having all kinds of problems. The commenters are very unhappy. Wonder if they had to revamp as the comments do reach a pretty high level within one day. Acerbic Conehead, I did thankyou last night for your brilliant article, but now I see you are spreading more delight @ 02:08 PM . Love this “the first handbag model is Alan Jones”. Patricia is, anyone else getting upset about all this hate the Coalition is carrying on with. “Sour ranting” as Patricia said. They are accusing the Government of doing what they do, and saying what they say, would that be psyscho. Collected a couple of Tweets below: Abbott dodges Bernardi controversy, September 22, 2012 - 12:44PM , Stephanie Peatling, The Age OPPOSITION leader Tony Abbott has refused to comment on Cory Bernardi’s decision to pull out of a meeting of European conservatives http://www.theage.com.au/national/abbott-dodges-bernardi-controversy-20120922-26daj.html#ixzz27BEvXgeG O'Farrell Government's attacks and cuts – summary Since taking office in March 2011, Barry O'Farrell and his Government have made a number of cuts to funding, jobs, workers' rights and services. Here is an overview of what the workers of NSW have endured thus far. http://www.nswnma.asn.au/news/42099.html Tony Abbott: The "Handbag Hit Squad" Was "A Witty Line" Video Channel 9, Interview with Lisa Wilkinson 21 September 2012 #handbaghitsquad "A Witty Line" Commission of audit first months of Government http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lZkmJDdaL4&feature=youtu.be Dirt Unit

Truth Seeker

22/09/2012Patricia & Gravel Thanks for your comments. Cheers

Tom of Melbourne

22/09/2012Jason, you’ll have to stop encouraging people to think I don’t vote. Last time you said it you had one of the brainless barrackers repeating it. I always vote, like many see no reason to put the ALP in front of the Liberals. I vote for independents & Democrats. ALP & Liberals usually get about equal 4th. This probably makes my vote technically informal. ------------------------------ I seems that only mindless barrackers are providing support for the dumb, indulgent, partisan intervention of Swan. Reasonable people have no time for him.

Ad astra reply

22/09/2012Hi Lyn and Folks We had a great day at the Grand Designs exhibition and heard Kevin McCloud, the British originator of Grand Designs, speak. I've just caught up with the day's activity. Thank you Lyn for that comprehensive set of links on the state of play in Qld, and all the others; and Truth Seeker, NormanK and Acerbic Conehead for your verse and satire. After you rang TT, I watched the very good Hawthorn Adelaide Crows match. Hawthorn must be relieved to be in the Grand Final, after almost blowing it. The Crows should feel proud. Isn't it pathetic to see Tony Abbott's media mates out there writing puff pieces. Even Lisa Wilkinson was easy on him, and he was unusually smarmy. Clearly the Coalition ranks are uneasy about Abbott's performance and the flak he's copping, all the more so with the Morgan phone poll showing a result similar to Newspoll. There are signs of panic among Coalition supporters, especially in the MSM, as they see the 'unlosable' election slipping away somewhat. We know polls so far from an election are not predictive, but clearly Abbott's acolytes are reading them and drawing unhappy conclusions. Isn't nice though to see them squirm!

Ad astra reply

22/09/2012Folks Tomorrow I'll be posting a piece from a new original contributor: Victoria Rollison, who runs her own blog, but has kindly offered her writing to The Political Sword. You will have seen some of her writings in Lyn's. Links. She addresses the vexed question of why men are less supportive of PM Gillard than women. You will find it an interesting and challenging read. I'll post it tomorrow afternoon. Goodnight all

NormanK

22/09/2012I'm beginning to think that Tony Abbott has made an enemy in Samantha Maiden. It was she who gave him a torrid time over The Punch during a press conference recently and it has been noted elsewhere that in recent press conferences Abbott has been ignoring a female questioner. Time will tell. Maiden's latest offering is not a blast at Abbott but rather a detailed deconstruction of the Coalition's policy stances, such as they are. Although this is in [i]The Daily Telegraph[/i] I recommend it. Curiously, the most notable aspects of it are its length and how detailed it is such that it looks more like a blog article rather than a contemporary newspaper story. [b]Devil in detail of Tony Abbott's grand plan[/b] by Samantha Maiden The Daily Telegraph [quote]But while much has been made of Abbott's alleged problem with female voters, any pollster will tell you Labor's climb back from rock-bottom approval ratings started long before the Liberal leader was accused of punching the wall on either side of Barbara Ramjan's head in 1977. This stoush with a female political rival at university was revived in a Quarterly Essay cover story called "Tony Abbott: Political Animal". But many insiders think Abbott's problem is policy, not politics. ******************** Today, we examine some of the major policy promises Abbott is making to voters. [/quote] http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/devil-in-detail-of-tony-abbotts-grand-plan/story-fncynkc6-1226479414534

Jason

23/09/2012Tea party ToM, Nice sledge! But as usual your mother screams louder when I have hold of her than you!

Gravel

23/09/20122353 Thanks for your great response. Jeffed, I know that well, being in Victoria. Talk Turkey Sorry, I didn't mean to imply hubris. I know you wouldn't suffer that, and yes I am a bit more optimistic now. Organized a surprise family lunch for 83yo Mum yesterday. She is Labor thru and thru. We got talking about power bills, explained that most of it from the States. Mentioned unease about abbott getting in. Very strong response from not politically aware Mum "He won't win." Thanks Mum for my birthday present (if my Mum says he won't win, I tend to think she my be right, as she has been about so many things.) Lyn Thank you for your great links on a Saturday when you are supposed to be taking a break. I am about to devour them all now. I really do appreciate your trouble and effort. I didn't realize that the majority of posters on The Political Sword come from QLD. I do hope that the destruction being caused by the LNP up there does not affect you all too much. That was an interesting read about the GST, doesn't everyone say what a great reform it was supposed to be and about the only thing 'good' that Howard did. So now there is no good legacy left by the Howard government, what a damned shame. (hehehe) Michael What a scary report. Acerbic Conehead Well, the dam has burst, we are getting more and more of your brilliant stuff. I have missed it. Thank you. Everyone else, I enjoy your posts and love the humour and insight that you all pass on. Thanks heaps. Lyn I tried Poll Bludger the other day to check out the Morgan poll I'd read about on Twitter but it wasn't working then. Otherwise, I can't help in that regard, Maybe NormanK can.

Michael

23/09/2012This linked-to article at the Brisbane Times http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/politics/our-politics-has-entered-a-new-phase-of-uncertainty-20120921-26c7e.html contains this paragraph "While Abbott will come under increasing pressure because of the polls to switch to a more positive agenda, he will resist it for three reasons: the assault on the carbon price remains his top priority; announcing policy would require mastery of detail and consequently involve risk; and the time to move is much closer to the campaign." which contains this section "announcing policy would require mastery of detail and consequently involve risk". Which asks you and I to even begin to consider as an alternative PM and the leader and spokesperson for Australia a man of whom it can be observed that being on top of and fully capable of presenting his party's policies would be "risky". 'Risky' doesn't start! 'Mastery' is not even in the equation.

TalkTurkey

23/09/2012Good Morning Comrades of the Sword. The overwhelming feeling on Twitter is upbeat as from a few days ago. Friday, the Spring Equinox, in particular. It is especially gratifying to me because this exact period was precisely the time I anticipated, more, [i]predicted[/i] Abbortt's self-destruction - and it has all been his own work, when statements and actions of his have started to come home to roost on his head. It does amaze me though how utterly group-thinkful is the MSM. Seven hundred days approx it took before first Jon Fayne on radio, then Leigh Sales most dramatically and Lisa Wilkins in the next few days breached the thitherto impenetrable layers in which his minders had kept him safe. But what a huge amount of energy and time we have had to expend, all the people horrified by the thought of Abbortt's accession to the most powerful position in Australia. Billions of hours' effort by bloggers and tweeters, party apparatchiks and union organizers, all to bring this creep down. Yet not one of us will begrudge the effort just as long as we are successful. And at last we few who [i]never didn't [/i]believe in Abbortt's certain success have lots and lots of company, all at last daring against all their previous fear to hope for a Labor win. Well you know what I have always said, We [i]will[/i] win, and nothing helps so much as positivity. This morning's Lopsiders will be fascinating. Abbortt is on the nose right on cue, Sloppy and Mesma, POO-POO & Dead-as-Mutton are freaking out and I JUST LOVE IT! August 21, the AFL grand final day - the draw, remember? - marked 2 years since the 2010 election. 17 days later Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott made their historic oh-so-dramatic choice. That 2-year date passed without being noticed - was it the 7th of September? I don't remember, but I can tell you this, Abbortt will always remember the Ides of September, the 13th, the day he finally came unstuck, leading on to yesterday, the Equinox, the day when his ratbag rabble were finally headed in the Polls. 52-48, that'll do us even if we don't improve any more - which I am confident we will, soon, and continuously . Abbortt has no way up now, and his droogs are pathetic. VENCEREMOS COMRADES!

DMW

23/09/2012Ahh the stupidity of the current political discourse, gotcha churnalism and all things to all people politicians. Churnalist: [i]What do you think about the Treasurer's comments on the Republican Party[i] Silly Billy Polly: [i]Which Treasurer? Oh Wayne Swan, I agree with everything he said[/i] How freakin' stupid is that, particularly when you have been caught out before in a similar way. Laurie Oakes in his recent book tells of ho journalism has changed and highlights the speed of the change and the speed of news. Way back in time Whitlam was campaigning in Perth and Fraser(?) said something about Whitlam in Sydney. Oakes asked Whitlam to comment, he refused to be drawn and said he would only comment when he had heard exactly what was said and understood the context. It took 'ages' to get the relevant detail to Perth and for Oakes to follow up. Not only has the reporting speed up but it seems our pollies feel the need to be instantly across everything and able to give a fully nuanced and balanced summary of whatever was said by someone else, what, a full thirt-seven seconds ago. Let's script this for you Bill: [i]I haven't seen or heard what Wayne has had to say so I can't comment[/i] Bill, if you need to add a 'bit of colour' and support your colleague you could add: [i]... but I am sure whatever he said was intelligent and well thought through ...[/i] And if you feel the need to put the boot in: [i]... unlike the run off at the mouth scare campaign of the opposition.[/i] Billy you are being silly and proving not to be a potential leader of the nation. Shakes head in disbelief.

nasking

23/09/2012 Cheers jane...good stuff. On here today...included a link to The Monthly that looks at Howard's relationship with the public service: http://www.facebook.com/nick.king.1232760?ref=tn_tnmn [b]The Lone Ranger: John Howard's concentration of power Brian Toohey THE MONTHLY | THE MONTHLY ESSAYS | APRIL 2007 [/b]| http://www.themonthly.com.au/monthly-essays-brian-toohey-lone-ranger-john-howard039s-concentration-power-494 N'

Lyn

23/09/2012Good Morning Ad & Everybody Twitterverse for you: Devil in detail of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's grand plan , Samatha Maiden TONY Abbott's troops deployed a new term of abuse this week, accusing Labor of running a "handbag hit squad", a troupe of female Labor MPs wheeled out to reinforce the perception he's got a problem with women. The creative sledging was the work of Victorian Liberal MP Kelly O'Dwyer, a former staff member and political disciple to political insult-hurler par excellence, Peter Costello. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/devil-in-detail-of-opposition-leader-tony-abbotts-grand-plan/story-fncynkc6-1226479414534?sv=d23cdbc011348ec1f2522993dec203f Bushfire Bill Posted Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 8:35 am | Permalink Everyone knows that the Coalition has a lead in the polls, but so what? It’s a gratuitous statement to make, designed to reassure readers (and, I suspect, the writer and similarly inclined colleagues) that everything is still going according to plan. http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2012/09/21/morgan-phone-poll-50-5-49-5-to-coalition/#comment-1417632 Paul Bongiorno‏ Abbott thinks crazies are running the Australian economy. The IMF thinks we'd be crazy to ran it any other way. John PrattDavid Marler‏ #Newmania "LNP Trying To Turn Around PR Mess: Analyst" - http://ow.ly/dUpkB Financial Review‏ Minister @billshortenmp assures labor voters "we are competitive and we can win" http://bit.ly/SeP0eP #auspol Australian News‏ Coalition split emerges over wheat deregulation (ABC): The row over wheat deregulation is set t... http://yhoo.it/TjlcQR #ausnews #uavaus Cairns inCairns.net‏ Cairns firms can cash in on $3b construction work http://goo.gl/ysi9A http://bit.ly/QvbIMk Catherine Deveny ‏ Well I see #PiersAkerman has chewed through his restraints again http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/piersakerman/ Geoff Pearson‏ Paul Daley Abbott gets his man, eventually http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/political-news/abbott-gets-his-man-eventually-20120922-26dih.html via @NationalTimesAU THE INSIDERS: Possum Comitatus‏ BTW - here's the latest polling trend http://yfrog.com/h3tdap #insiders lloydois‏ #insiders Piers way past his use by date, beyond embarrassing this morning, debasing the entire program Whit Goughlam‏ Politically correct!! Piers it was intellectually insane and morally bereft. #insiders ShamWow‏ #insiders Abbott didn't go hard enough on Bernardi because he has similar views. Michael Jongen‏ Piers akerman you have a very warped mind #insiders Stephen C‏ Akerman is the master of using quotes out of context. Without doubt one of the most dishonest journalists in Australia. #insiders David‏ The one and one only positive about porky Piers appearing on #insiders it is assisting the destruction of Abbott and his tea party LNP

Lyn

23/09/2012Hi Ad Nwo I have done it again silly me, see when I filled in the boxes I have left the K of the end of my email address. I really don't like that green face although it looks studious do you think, no academic, important perhaps. Seeing Kelly O'Dwyer named the handbaghitsquad she must be a "Shadow handbaghitsquad". :):):):):)

TalkTurkey

23/09/2012From Bob Ellis: Article 23/9/12: [u]Tony Abbortt is finished [/u] [i]FOR [u]ABOUT eight days now[/u], Tony Abbott has been in worsening trouble, and he has no hope any more of being Prime Minister.[/i] My comment: Not 'about 8 days' Bob, it was the [i]13th[/i], the Ides of September as I had long predicted, that the sky fell in for Abbortt. TEN days. But you were nearly right, just 10 days late. Oh but didn't you predict he'd be gone by about April? I said at the time you were seriously previous. The Spring Equinox, Sept 21st, was the day the realization of his political emasculation really sank in to the People, and last of all, I think, to certain sections of the Media. It is all perfectly according to my own predictions though (and I'm trumpeting it because a, [i]if I don't who will[/i], and anyway b, [i]it will help people who are anxious - a bit like you, dear Gravel -to have faith in my insistence re our eventual win[/i], QED) And as I will not soon tire of reminding everybody, 10 weeks ago I put what for me is a very sizeable wad on the Government's return in 2013, on Sportsbet - and me not at all a betting man! - but they were offering SEVENS, it's down to $3.50 last time I looked but it's still good value imo. Bob Ellis goes on (as he does ;) ) : [i]Not all of it is his fault, some of it was coincidence, but the overall effect has been a [u]perfect storm [/u]whose hail and lightning is beating him senseless and consuming him[/i] Well said Bob! I [i]know[/i] it is well said because, well, [i]I[/i] called it a perfect storm [i]first[/i], (about the 14th) :) and what's more I pointed out the concatenating factors in Abbortt's coming-to-grief as you now have in your article. You are very welcome to repeat my ideas Bob, but how about relinquishing your longing for a return to Rudd, I think it was only your hurt Bananarism that motivated that anyway. And as I will not soon tire of reminding everybody, 10 weeks ago I put what for me is a very sizeable wad on the Government's return in 2013, on Sportsbet - and me not at all a betting man! - but they were offering SEVENS, it's down to $3.50 last time I looked but it's still good value imo. But see if you can explain the weird difference between Sportsbet's odds and Centrebet's : - (which hasn't been updated in a long time it seems though it calls it an update)), but Sportsbet was ALWAYS vastly different. Federal Election Update Riding the anti carbon tax wave, the Federal Coalition has charged into its [u]shortest price ($1.38[/u]) with leading election bookmaker Centrebet, while the embattled Labor government has hit a [u]fixed quote of $3.00[/u] for the first time since clinging to power last year! This is the biggest fixed odds betting gap between the two parties since Labor stumbled to minority power in late August! And the bookmaker's media chief and price analyst Neil Evans says that while PM Julia Gillard's personal standing continues to disintegrate - literally at the public coalface - Defence Minister Stephen Smith's star continues to rise! "Mr Smith has shortened dramatically this week from $23.00 into $16.00 after sustained money," Evans said. "Even under public attack and policy pressure, he's considered a smooth and reliable communicator. I've spent the last week in various parts of WA, and I'm convinced he's one of the few Labor politicians at any level the resource-rich state actually accepts!" Evans added that Regional & Local Government Minister Simon Crean was still a long-priced X factor in the leadership story! "Mr Crean wasn't even listed in the leader's market, opened last year, but one punter yesterday backed 'Any Other Candidate' at $11.00 to win nearly $5,000.00!" And in something of a shock, according to Evans, up-beat Opposition leader Tony Abbott is not immune from leadership rivals either, according to the latest smart money! "In the last 24 hours we have received a string of bets on [i]Christopher Pyne[/i], Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate, and he's firmed from a long $26.00 into $17.00," Evans said. "[i]A range of wagers from $20.00 up to $300.00[/i] have been written, but while my mail is he is held in high regard by Liberal powerbrokers, I fear these punters are one election ahead of themselves!" "The intriguing candidate is still former leader Malcolm Turnbull who drifted from $3.50 to $3.85, back into $3.65 and now $3.70. Just when you think he's gone quiet, money turns up, and we know he pedals a vastly different policy bike than Mr Abbott!" "[u]Its hard to believe Mr Abbott won't be in charge when Australia goes to the polls[/u], but the money keeps telling us he's far from a certainty!" Well their biggest bet on Pyne is well short of what I have on Labor! at Sevens! :)

42 long

23/09/2012The "Insiders today." Piers Ackerman is giving old men a bad image. Nearly everyone of us is better than he is, and more capable. I wondered why he was there till they did the retake on his "animal love" comments in the past. Good one Barry!!. Cory on a motorcycle does nothing for the image of motorcyclists either, and it was repeatedly shown..Some Green may mistake me for Cory. I have been told that motorcycling is dangerous, but this takes it to new heights.

TalkTurkey

23/09/2012Someone asked me recently about the meaning of "split infinitive". Here is one example from Lyn's Links today, from Paul Daley, "a Canberra-based writer and an award-winning political journalist". This was the first sentence in his article: "If federal politics really is a meritocracy, Tony Abbott would not have needed [u]to effectively sack [/u]his unique parliamentary secretary, Cory Bernardi." The infinitive form of any verb always includes 'to' as in 'to sack'. Interposing 'effectively' between 'to' and 'sack' [i]splits[/i] the infinitve, compris? . . . and for reasons best understood by nobody really, [i]splitting infinitives is a no-no[/i], and Don Dunstan, Gough Whitlam, Paul Keating and all the most polished speechifiers and writers are rarely if ever guilty of the offence. It is a mark - however trivial, almost imperceptible - that the speaker cares about English, is aware of its niceties, and more importantly, [i]thinks sentences through before uttering them.[/i] The most (in)famous split infinitive is . . . anyone know? Another mark tending to distinguish the careful speakers is that they generally pronounce H as AITCH, not HAITCH. Yeah trivial, but I must say that HIH, pronounced Haitch Eye Haitch, really rankles with me. Anyone else? There is another error of grammar - and [i]logic[/i] - in Mr Daley's sentence . . . Anyone? Not a good look for the opening sentence by an award winning journalist! (solutions later.)

Ad astra

23/09/2012Hi Lyn What an interesting collection of Twitterverse. The comments on [i]Insiders[/i] are apt. Piers Akerman was, as he usually is, grotesque. I thought it was a clever touch though when Barrie Cassidy pointed out that Cory Bernardi has plaigarized him in reference to the bestiality story, and played the clip. Of course, Akerman’s ego was sufficient for him to claim that he had been prescient! That shows the calibre of the man, as does his piece in [i]The Telegraph[/i], about which Catherine Deveny’s comment was spot on: [i]‏
Well I see #PiersAkerman has chewed through his restraints again.[/i] Anyway, the others on [i]Insiders[/i] made fun of him and he ended up being a drag on Bernardi and Abbott, as Twitterer David suggested. For those interested in polling trends rather than individual polls, a quick look at Possum’s Pollytrend gives the contemporary picture: http://twitter.yfrog.com/h3tdap Shortly I’ll be posting the first contribution from Victoria Rollison, to whom you kindly introduced me recently. It’s titled: [i]Gillard’s Men Problem[/i]. I’m sure you will find it interesting. BTW your real Gravatar is much nicer than the default one it gives you! TT Your excerpt from Bob Ellis is more confirmation of Abbott-man’s decline, although we know Bob’s pro-Labor orientation. What was the date of the quote under the heading ‘Federal Election Update’ about the betting odds – it seems wildly out of date.

Ad astra

23/09/2012[b]Folks I’ve just now posted the first piece from our newest original contributor, Victoria Rollison, whom Lyn introduced me to a short time ago. Her piece is titled: [i]Gillard’s Men Problem[/i]. http://www.thepoliticalsword.com Victoria is 31 years old and lives in Adelaide with her fiancé and three cats. She enjoys current affairs, politics, reading, renovating houses, watching football, going to movies and most importantly…. writing! She works in the marketing/communications field and has many other community and social commitments in her life, but still finds plenty of time to write. She runs her own blogsite: http://victoriarollison.com This piece will also appear on her blogsite. You can follow her on Twitter @Vic_Rollison [/b]
How many Rabbits do I have if I have 3 Oranges?