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December 3, 2007
Back in 1964 Donald Horne wrote "several generations of Australians were taught to venerate not lions or eagles or other aggressive symbols of nationalism; they were taught to venerate sheep". The waratah is probably the most vicious of our national symbols, but if it's a sign of sheer aggression we're after perhaps our coat of arms should feature a worthy citizen thumbing away at a mobile phone.
Three fifths of a page of the Gold Coast Weekend Bulletin is devoted to what is optimistically titled Chatroom. The column publishes an assortment of comments submitted by thumb tribe citizens eager to share their thoughts with fellow Bulletin readers.
To the bloke in the blue ute & trailer burleigh town, lets just say it was your lucky day.
It's doubtful this was a congratulatory note following said bloke's purchase of a winning Lotto ticket.
If the system wont bring young thugs into line, the people will. The good men will stand back no longer.
In recent weeks the page has hosted some political commentary in among the calls for vigilante group action against everything from troubled youth to slow drivers and single mothers.
It's hilarious reading all the Howard believers sobbing txts. You are in the minority, get over it. No more Aust being run by a semi-literate moron in the White House.
and
To all the people complaining about the election, spit out the lemon and come along for the ride! It'll be great fun!
This may be the first time we've been on a first name basis with our prime minister, but anyone anticipating great fun is more than likely in for a disappointment. It's early days yet but Kevin doesn't strike me as the adventurous type. Or terribly inspirational either. And if he doesn't find himself a good speech writer soon he runs the risk of boring us to death. After a year of anxious anticipation his victory speech was woeful. Therese outshone him without opening her mouth.
He could do a lot worse than recruit Don Watson to write the apology to Aborigines. But for a bloke whose most threatening feature is his tendency to mix metaphors, Kevin has managed to strike terror into the hearts of some.
Fuel prices under lib max 1.30 first week under labor start at 1.36. Watch it rise under labor. Sure labor 4 good 4 the economy.
In the past week I've met one person who believes we woke up on the 25th November a communist country, and another who fears a terrorist attack on the Gold Coast. Labor are terrorist sympathisers and the Gold Coast voted Liberal. They're both too young to remember life under a federal Labor government and both get their information from their parents. The interesting thing is the different things that different people fear, with or without reasonable grounds.
Life with Howard was pretty bleak. The terrorism laws were scary until the Haneef affair exposed the weakness that is over-zealous but incompetent enforcement. The APEC security was truly frightening until the Chaser stunt. We were supposed to fear and comply, not despair then ridicule.
Still, how anyone can genuinely fear Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard more than John Howard and Smiling Phil Ruddock is beyond me. Dull oratory just doesn't compare with the collapse of infrastructure and a cavalier attitude towards all things nuclear. Newspapers publishing calls for vigilante groups bother me more than union bosses. And some jokes.
Kevin rudd was at a birthday party and when asked would he like some cake, said no thanks but i will have a few of those candles if nobody else is going to eat them.
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Talking of Howard rednecks, the fifth and last in "The Poll that Counts" series is online at the blog. It's 'Bill Heffernan's Payback'. My video of the Chaser stunts at the National Tallyroom, plus Bill watching Howard's concession speech. It's dedicated to Michael Kirby and Julia Gillard. If only all the homophobes and misogynists would fade into the bush.