Objectively Pro-Chardonnay

Here's something you'll have missed this week if, like me, you're one of those people who's in denial about their Tim Blair habit. In his most recent post in his blog annex at The Bully, Tim's taken the stick to John Howard no less. And to mainstream Australian opinion as well:

And why might Howard have wanted to do this? [change gun laws] “I did not want Australia to go down the American path. There are some things about America I admire, there are some things I don’t, and one of the things I don’t admire about America is an almost drooling, slavish love of guns. I think they’re evil.”

Two things. Firstly, Howard again here demonstrates his uncanny ability to reflect mainstream Australian opinion; most Australians, across the political spectrum, share Howard’s loathing of guns and think the US more than a little weird for so embracing them. Secondly, Howard is entirely wrong.

Why entirely wrong? Because law-abiding citizens like Tim need guns to protect themselves from the criminal element in society, specifically, the members of "the Lakemba Mosque & Pistol Association". These guys can't be trusted to abide by the accepted standards well known to non-Muslim criminal elements - such as the members of Melbourne's criminal underground - who can generally be relied on to restrict themselves to shooting members of rival gangs, rather than members of the police force and the general public. Give or take the occasional understandable lapse.

In a recent post reminding readers of his Bloggetin column, Tim expresses his gratitude to readers for all the positive mail he has received - with a link to The Bully's feedback page. Not much point your readers telling you you're wonderful if they're not telling your editors as well. But no way am I going to suggest that anyone visit that page to argue the Pro-Gourd position. That might give The Bully's editors the idea that Tim is good at stirring up controversy which in many ways is just as bad as letting them get the idea that he has a wide and supportive Australian readership.