Saturday, December 15, 2007

Then ... Now

THIS may be my last column. If you don’t see me again, you’ll know the Pinata Left has whacked me, too.
You see, Kevin Rudd’s victory has unleashed a horde of haters with sticks who are trying to sack conservative commentators and close down debate.

Their demands are simple. They won. So shut up. No more of these “culture wars”. No dissent.
Andrew Bolt, yesterday, toeing the "if I do get sacked it will be because Rupert Murdoch is a tool of the left" line first enunciated by Tom Switzer.
And The Age gives this woman [Tracee Hutchison] a platform. Has it no shame, or even a sense of self-preservation?
Andrew Bolt, today.
I suppose by The Hun's standards, calling on the management of your major commercial rival to show some shame or even a sense of self-preservation and sack one of its columnists is a responsible and proper exercise of free speech.

(Cross-posted at Larvatus Prodeo)

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Germs in the Soil?

(An exercise in meta-pointlessness)
For goodness sake, I was kind of hoping, with the end of Howard would be the end of the minority bash. The germs must have been left in the soil. (comment from joe2 on that thread
at LP)
It shouldn't be any surprise that the germs were left in the soil - they were already there before Howard was first elected. Howard's political success was based on cultivating them, and spreading them. It's a little disheartening to discover that they've become so widespread. That discovery has wiped away the last of the cosy post-electoral tristesse I've been feeling since the Rudd victory. In its place there's just a weary relief - things are crook in this country, but nowhere near as crook as they'd be under three more years of Howard, or one and a half years of Howard followed by another one and a half of his anointed successor, now mentoring up-and-coming Liberal talent from the Opposition backbench.

I'm not in the habit of explaining how, or why, I write posts or offering justifications for my choice of topics and the way I treat them. "Wait, I can explain" isn't a particularly inspiring personal or family motto. However today I'm at the arse-end of one unwanted stoush too bloody many, so I've decided to indulge in a little personal reflection and contemplation of how the latest happened. If that results in "fightin' words" then so be it.

Song for Andrew

Australia should be like America!
With gun owners free like America!
Try shooting spree in America!
Get shot by me in America!