More carbon tax lunacy.

Labors carbon tax proposal is gathering more lead in its saddlebags as time goes by and interestingly, BHP is now one of the critics. The idea of a carbon tax was conveniently resurrected after the last federal election when BHP Billiton CEO Marius Kloppers called for climate action immediately afterwards. This was used by Gillard to walk away from her undertaking to the Australian people, that there would not be one.

Now the increasingly irrational independent, Tony Windsor has called for industry to "put up or shut up" on the carbon tax comes after BHP chief executive Marius Kloppers warned that Australia's go-it-alone approach would be a "dead weight" on high-polluting exporters. He claims to have challenged BHP on this particular issue. In fact he maintains he insisted BHP declare where it stands on the carbon tax and has publicly thrown down the gauntlet to industry critics to offer up an alternative plan to cut emissions.

Just great! The government and big business with their arms around each other and their hands in our pockets sorting out a way for us yobs to pay more for our energy needs without harming them. Well that’s the way crony capitalism works but they don’t usually advertise it.

The really irrational aspect of the whole scheme is that the assumption seems to be that we can do it unilaterally. Australia’s emissions are so small in the big picture, which reducing them is not going to make any difference anyway, even if GW is real.

All it will achieve is to cause more difficulties for the average Australian, damage our export industries; cause massive domestic price rises, and cost jobs. We are already in a situation where the declining currencies of the US and Europe are creating difficulties, and these idiots are trying to exacerbate it with a new tax.

Before the royal wedding.

Cartoon: Nate Beeler.

I note with some dismay that all three free to air channels are showing the wedding, although, kudos to 9 who are cutting the damn thing off for the footy. Its nice to see that in this day and age a commercial channel still understands the real priorities of the Aussie bloke.

The two channels the taxpayers provide for the elitists whose rarified tastes are so divorced from those of the unwashed masses that they cannot be provided commercially, are adopting a split personality approach. SBS is not showing it at all while the good ol republican (the get rid of the Queen form of the word,) are going to show the whole thing, after a week of royal coverage.

Senator Barnaby Joyce has it about right here:

Well I will be watching it, ably encouraged by the fact that I live in a house of five females, young ladies of varying degrees of youngness to whom the Royal Wedding is akin to oxygen or the meaning of life. Even if I crossed the floor, the vote to watch the wedding would merely change from a 6 nil annihilation, to ayes 5 and the nays 1.

Before I am admonished by the deafening snort of republicans, might I kindly remind you that your number two spear chucker, Julia, Malcolm is number one, is fluffing around Buckingham Palace-Westminster precinct as we speak. Do not tell me it is just protocol that she attends. I well remember being run over by socially acceptable republicans as they made a bee line for HRH QE II on her last lunch at the Australian parliament.

In a world of uncertainty we barrack for the hope in the happily ever after life as never better espoused than by the Prince marrying his Princess. Let us just skip the Andrew and Charles bit. That was just a belated hangover from Bowie, The Stones and acid rock.

The Queen has evolved to that level where you ridicule her life of service at your political peril or as solid evidence that you really have had too many scotches and should have been taken home an hour ago.

The Republican always tells me that as an Australian, Commoner and Catholic I cannot be the official head of State; I cannot be the King of England. Well thank God for Common Catholic Australians. Anyway, if there was something wrong with common people, why did God make so many of them? …

Not much more to be said really.

German anti Islamic-fascist heroine found.

Image; "Heidi"

News today is that the heroic lady, who waded into a gathering of over a thousand radical Muslims at a rally called by extremist clerics, and called for the German people to stand up to people who talked like Hitler, has been found. I hope her identity is not revealed as going on past history, especially in Holland, she probably has a target on her back and may be in danger of being murdered.

She has given an interview to the site, Politically Incorrect News, which I thank for linking me to the original video and thus tripling my traffic.

Eric Dondero, who broke the original video to the free world on his site Libertarian Republican, has the story. Eric is one of the rising stars of the pro defense libertarian bloggers, has sent out an appeal for an accurate translation of the interview in order to give a better picture of what went down.

LR's production of an English sub titled video is a classic effort, and it is hoped that the same can be done for this effort.

Birth certificate distraction out of the way.

Cartoon; Day by Day, by Chris Muir.

I have not mentioned the birth certificate issue in a long time, the last being to comment on the stupidity of not releasing it and putting the issue to bed where it belonged sometime last year. It was never going to grow legs to get anywhere.

The issue was first raised by the Clinton camp during the Democrat primaries, and spread from there. Then, Obama surrogates questioned McCain’s standing, as he was born in Panama. The McCain response was to release documents proving that he is definitely a natural born US citizen as required by the Constitution.

It is normal that during campaigns candidates are asked for documents and normally make them public as part of the disclosure that makes the process more open and honest. McCain released something like 1500 pages of medical details at the request of the other side. If a candidate were to refuse to do so, then the press would be all over him like a rash.

It was then noticed that virtually all documents relating to Obama were off limits and that he had no intention of allowing them to be released. The press were reticent to make an issue of this, firstly because they had signed on to the first black President thing, and secondly because of fear of the race card being played.

It seems odd to me that after spending millions in defending his right not to produce the document that he turns around and does so. I had the feeling that it would be released but after the GOP nominee was declared and some political capital had been used up on the issue, thus leaving the nominee without a feather to fly with.

I am reasonably certain that Trump forced the issue, and this may be the best service he could do the GOP, other than announce he is not standing. Obama has always been able to use the mainstream media as a firewall. He has never had to circle the wagons, while MSLSD and the NYT were there for him.

Trump however had the presence, articulation, bravado, and media savvy to crash through that barrier. The line, “I think he is born here, but why then does he need to hide the certificate? What is in it that he doesn’t want us to know?” was one they were unprepared for. People who had rejected the born in Kenya theme, started to take notice rather than write him off as a nutter.

Once Trump started gaining in the polls against a relatively weak GOP field, Obama had to do something to try to stop him getting up a head of steam.

Trump will not be the nominee. If he declares, he may get the big government RINOs and social conservatives, but the small government conservatives, libertarian elements, and the mainstream supporters of the party will be a problem to him. They tend to believe strongly in property rights, which is Trump’s weak point.

Few of them could support a man who has lauded the Kelo decision, is a supporter of the concept of unlimited eminent domain laws, and has a habit of using them to his advantage. Unless the Republicans come up with someone new and spectacular other than Trump, they will lose.

If they stand unsuccessful candidates from last time they will lose. There would be little point in giving the nomination to someone who was incapable of beating McCain for it last time.

What next, a Tax on Water?

The following is a series of items from Carbon Sense. The original can be found here.

By Viv Forbes, Chairman, The Carbon Sense Coalition.

Brisbane Carbon tax rally:
There will be another Brisbane rally on May 7th. 
Queensland Parliament House, ‎11:30AM Saturday, May 7th 2011

What next, a Tax on Water?

The Carbon Sense Coalition today claimed there is more justification for a tax on the emissions of steam from a kettle on the stove than a tax on the emissions of carbon dioxide from the gas stove beneath the kettle.

The Chairman of "Carbon Sense", Mr. Viv Forbes, said that neither steam nor carbon dioxide is a harmful pollutant, both are essential to life, both are emitted by burning hydrocarbon fuels and both have some effects on weather and climate.

"We expect the government media claque and research mercenaries to parrot the prevailing political propaganda, but surely it's time for the independent media to start promoting accurate language and real science in the global warming debate.

It's time to "speak truth to power".

"The Green alarmists claim that carbon dioxide is a "pollutant"? We know that many politicians lie to suit their agenda but this lie is so huge that it cannot be allowed to stand.

"Carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are the building blocks for all life on earth. All plant life, animal life, marine life and carbon fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal are composed mainly of various combinations of these four key elements.

"When any carbon compound is burnt in a fire or digested in a stomach, the carbon combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and the hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water. These reactions produce warmth and energy for mankind.

"All life needs food and water. Carbon dioxide is the keystone for all food on earth – it feeds all plants, which feed all animals. Water is the foundation for all drinks. Thus combustion of carbon fuels provides food and drink for all life on earth. Only a fool or a schemer could describe either of these gases of life as a pollutant.

"Both carbon dioxide and water are recycled via the atmosphere, and both make our climate livable. Carbon dioxide is an invisible gas that has a tiny climatic effect. But water in all its forms such as vapors, clouds, oceans, rivers, rain, hail, snow and ice is vastly more abundant and influential in causing changes in weather and climate.

"If we need a "carbon pollution tax" to reduce global temperature we surely need a "water pollution tax" to reduce snowstorms and floods?"

Kermit and his Carbon Tax Team

Carbon Tax Job Losses.

We are told that a carbon tax is needed to reduce Australia's production of carbon dioxide in the vain hope of producing a miniscule reduction in global temperature for our great-grandchildren.

There are two options for reducing emissions – use less carbon fuels to create the same product, or reduce the activities that produce carbon dioxide.

Record prices for carbon fuels have ensured that they are used efficiently, so option one is out.

Therefore to reduce carbon emissions we must produce less steel and cement, export less minerals, use less motor fuel and avgas, raise fewer cows and sheep and use less carbon based electricity.

Every such reduction MUST be accompanied by jobs losses as industries contract or move overseas.

Sunbeams and sea breezes may sometimes run the lights in a few homes, but can the alchemists in Canberra explain how we can sustain our steel, cement, tourism, mining and agricultural industries without carbon fuels such as coal, diesel, petrol and gas?

They need to tell us, otherwise we know that their "science" is a sham and they are just lusting after the revenue and power that comes with a Big New Tax.

Why do they need a Carbon Tax?

Because they have already spent it.

Global Warming, Climate Change, and now we bring you -

The Climate Crisis


The whole alarmist case started as a global warming scare – extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would absorb radiation from the earth and send some of it back to earth, thus leaving us warmer than otherwise. We are told this may cause global temperature to rise a couple of degrees or so in a century or so.

The temperature on my veranda may rise by fifteen or twenty degrees in six hours or so, so a couple of degrees in a century would hardly be noticed. And for many people, a bit of warming would be welcomed. So the alarmists decided that "Global Warming" was not scaring enough people, especially as temperatures were not warming, ice was not melting and sea levels were not rising.

So a new scare slogan was invented – "Climate Change". No new theory was invented to support it – but innocent carbon dioxide was still the villain, but now any change, flood or drought, snow or heat wave, even earthquakes, locust swarms and bush fires could be blamed on "Climate Change" - the marvelous scare that could never be proven wrong.

But people started to say, "But Climate Change is the way of the natural world. Flood and famine, ice age and warming have always been with us and we and all of our ancestors have coped." So the alarmists had another crisis meeting. "Change" said the high priests "is too gradual, too normal and people are again losing interest in the boy calling wolf."

So Al Gore is now rallying his dervishes for a new crusade against the infidels with the new slogan "The Climate Crisis" - this is something new and frightening – the end of the world is nigh. "Be scared my children and offer up the deniers, the consumers and their wicked industries as a sacrifice."

But the theory has not changed; an innocent trace gas that is the basis of life is still blamed for every ill that could affect mankind.

But the big man has cried wolf for too long. People are looking to real problems not invented and imaginary ones - they worry about real pollution, job prospects, the lights going out and fiscal irresponsibility, all of which have been turned into real dangers to society by carbon mania.

We are close to the end game.

But a cornered dog is dangerous, even if it just a terrier. Western governments, with reputations hanging on "The Climate Crisis", have just a short time to introduce irreversible change before the voters throw them out for decades.

The carbon tax, emissions trading, green energy subsidies, an international climate crisis bureaucracy and an international wealth redistribution scheme must be set in place in a couple of years (or even months).

So we need all the help we can get. Spread the good news – man has not caused a climate crisis, carbon dioxide is innocent and we need our carbon fuels. We need people to be questioning, challenging and yes "denying" there is a man-made climate crisis. Offer up facts, stories, make jokes, write limericks, and get people laughing at a few silly little boys who insist on crying wolf.

No Carbon Tax Rallies will continue. Watch for news.

Here is Jo Nova at a Rally in Perth:

The Flannery/Garnaut/Combet Propaganda Unit – Wrong Advice. Wrong Policy.
Here is an analysis by four well-informed independent Australians: 


There will be another Brisbane rally on May 7th. 
Queensland Parliament House, ‎11:30AM Saturday, May 7th 2011

Private security should get rid of the dipshits.

Quite a few years ago I was working a job out in Central Queensland and staying in a motel on the outskirts of town. One night in the bar I noticed something going down with the manager and started in that direction. He flattened two guys pinned another and gave a fourth a bloody nose before the bouncers could react. The next night I remarked on the absence of bouncers and he pointed out that most were worse than useless, and some started more trouble than they prevented. The place ran smoothly for the rest of the time I was there without them.

I was reminded of this by an article in the local rag today on a private security guard who has been charged with assault occasioning bodily harm while armed after a man was knocked semi-conscious with a lump of wood. Apparently he is claiming he felt threatened when talking to two guys so he went to his car and got an axe handle, returned, and acted in self-defense. Oh well, it should be an interesting case.

There was a guard in one of the local shopping centers a few years back who I found to be rather disturbing in that he had the dead eyed look of someone with little in the way of brains and was associated with some of the far right haters in the area. I know I usually criticize the left but there are crazies out there on the right as well.

One of them came a gutser recently when he was attempting to take control of a local voluntary organization. Claiming vote rigging he turned up at a meeting with security to ensure that only members got in. The other side countered by having a press presence there.

There were some great photos in the next local paper. Two of my favorites were one of a seventy+ year old guy about 5’3’’ standing up to a couple of large security guys, pointing the finger and looking all indignant, and one of Mrs. X who was ‘distraught’ after being jostled by them, being comforted by friends. It wasn’t mentioned that Mrs. X was president of the local Dramatic Society, which was a nice touch.

I am not sure what the rightie guy’s motivation was, but this one certainly didn’t work.

I am happy with the concept of private security, I am all in favor of it, but for heavens sake, get decent people doing the job.

Kiwis try to match us at stupid, give it a fair shake.

Australians and Kiwis have a certain healthy rivalry, which has persisted over generations. Generally we are very similar people although we do our best to deny it, and our sheep farmers are nothing like theirs. Animal husbandry has a different connotation over here, which stops short of theirs.

Basically we have similar problems, such as politics, a bad economy, stupid rules, deficits, (but I repeat myself). We share the same feral animals, politicians, rabbits, cats, and foxes. Kiwis tend to see the possums that were imported from here and are now in plague proportions as feral, but hey, they are good Aussie animals, they are lucky to have them. To be fair though, we tend to see Kiwis them selves as ferals, so I guess we are even.

I have to admit though that they have come up with a great idea for dealing with the rabbit problem. They have a charity event called the Great Easter Bunny Hunt, in which teams are formed to go out and hunt these pests. This year it is reported that 47 teams of twelve shooters managed to dispose of something in the order of 23,000 rabbits. This is a pretty good effort in that it disposed of a heap of destructive feral pests, as well as raising thousands of dollars for charity. Who could object?

Oh well, for a start there is dropkick animal welfare group Saving Animals from Euthanasia, (SAFE).

I referred a couple of days ago to the furry critter reflex, which exists among mainly urban populations who are out of touch with reality. SAFE is an organization that caters to these people who perceive rabbits as cute and cuddly without being able to see the destruction they leave in their wake.

Safe director Hans Kriek said he was against the hunt. "It's seen as a party atmosphere, sending people out as inexperienced hunters blasting away at animals. The ones they kill are one thing, the ones they injure are another." …

"You can commit any atrocity you like to animals in the name of hunting, and you fall outside the legislation, which is crazy, because wild animals feel pain just as much as domestic ones," he said.

It’s nice to see that New Zealand has its share of idiots who are anti fun, anti hunting and anti reality. What the hell is supposed to be wrong with hunters enjoying the hunt, doing a public service, and doing charity a good turn while they are at it? I doubt that they can out loony our loony’s, but they are doing a pretty good job of trying. Perhaps they could become more competitive if they get Bob Brown from us.

I promise them, its not going to be like, “You can take our Green when you pry him from our cold, dead hand.”

German woman stands up to Islamic radicals.

Clip from Libertarian Republican.

Editors note: This has been updated with a new version of the video, modified by Jim Lagnese, and Eric Dondero.

The following video was posted on Libertarian Republican a few days ago along with a plea for a fluent German speaker to translate the contents. This is the result, first aired at L/R and spreading like wildfire:

“The gathering was in reaction to a rally held by Radical Muslim cleric Abu Ameena Bilal Philips in Frankfurt on Wednesday. Over 2,000 attended. Bilal Philips has made extreme anti-Gay remarks in the past, even calling for the "the death penalty for proven homosexual acts." The German Government has issued an expulsion notice for Bilal Philips who is a non-German citizen. He is still in the country pending appeal.”

“I am German, I am so sorry that someone like him can stand here and speak like Hitler.”

Europe has been a very tolerant region for a long time readily taking in refugees from all over the world, especially from across the Mediterranean. With the rise of radical Islam however Europeans are increasingly finding their own culture held in contempt by these people. Demands for the implementation of Sharia are increasing, along with violent demonstrations.

The reaction by PC whipped politicians has been to enact laws to discourage freedom of speech and expression among the populace out of fear of offending the radicals.

The stand by this woman is symbolic of a public that has had enough. By their own extremism, Islam is shooting itself in the foot.

Australia has its own share of radicals. It is difficult to see why we should have to be tolerant to this guy; he isn’t towards us:

Siddiq-Conlon is the face and voice of Sharia4Australia, a group formed in Sydney's southwest to agitate for Islamic law, starting with the introduction of sharia courts and ending, in his ideal world, with Islamic rule.

While he claims to eschew violence, he unapologetically preaches hate. An online video posted by his group describes its members as "uncompromising [in] their disallegiance, disloyalty and hate for the disbelievers".

"I hate the parliament. I hate [democracy] with a pure hate," he says. Moreover, it is obligatory for all Muslims to reject democracy, because it is a challenge to God's law: "They must hate it, speak out against it, and if that doesn't work, take action against it."

ANZAC day.

Today is the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings, the day when we honour our fallen from all of the conflicts our nation has been involved in.

We will remember them.

Spending restraint and the Constitution.

Since the Australian dollar was floated back in the 80s the idea of parity with the US $ has largely been the impossible dream, to the point where on occasions it has barely stood at 50c US. All this has changed recently, it now sits beyond parity at nearly US$ 1.08. Commentators are still referring to the “rising Australian dollar,” but this is greatly misleading.

The situation really is that the US$ is declining in value faster than ours. Even with the Gillard government spending like a Kennedy in a liquor store and running up massive deficits, it has not managed to screw things up to the point that the US has. Our currency is not getting any more valuable; theirs has hit the skids.

The other day I noticed a satirical post dated in the future:

Gold hits US $1,000,000 per ounce.

1 oz maintains parity with a good quality mans suit.

Kind of says it all.

The US House of Representatives has recently seen an influx of fiscally responsible new members and as result is attempting to stop the headlong rush into insolvency. Unfortunately the Dems still control the Senate and White House, so for the moment these efforts are futile. They now have leverage though, which has been provided by the profligate spending of the Administration.

To keep spending they will need the debt ceiling raised. The Republicans are demanding real cuts to spending in exchange for passing this, which seems to be sending the left into conniptions. Now the resident constitutional expert at “Firedog Lake,” is maintaining that such an action would turn the Constitution on its head.

“House and Senate Republicans apparently now hate the Constitution. The GOP feels despite winning control of only the House, but not the Senate or the White House, they should actually be given the power to unilaterally impose massive change. Since they failed to win enough elections to rightfully get this power under the Constitution, they are now claiming they will use a quirk in the system for financing our debt to destroy our entire economy, unless power is seceded to them.”

Apparently Democrats would never attempt to do something like change the system without control of all three levels. It is laughable to suggest that the elected majority in the house has no right to attempt to prevent the wasteful deficit spending that is driving the nation into bankruptcy.

Admittedly, I am not a constitutional expert and worse still, I have never played one on TV, but there doesn’t seem to be any limitation under its terms against the House attempting to enforce fiscal restraint. The weakness seems to be that there is little to prevent the Administration spending the nation into ruin.

Despite the claim that the House and Senate Republicans apparently now hate the Constitution, I am inclined to defer to Ron Paul, who seems to like the Constitution and would be aware if his party was going against it. If I see Ron moving to increase the debt ceiling to $20 trillion with no expenditure limits, and no more increases before June next year then perhaps FDL is right.

Oh Hell, with a time limit on it, the Dems would never let it past the Senate. They might consider such a move as unconstitutional.

Herman Cain’s 5-point plan.

The official entry of Gary Johnson into the contest makes him my sentimental favorite. He is the guy I would back, as he is pretty close to my idea of a great libertarian Republican. If he can gain traction, which will require him to have the press get over their fascination with the issue of legalizing marijuana to sufficient degree to allow other policies to be highlighted, he would be my clear favorite.

I am not particularly enamored with any of the people who stood last time, at least those who seem to be in the race. Cain and Trump are complete outsiders and are both successful businessmen, which should be a pretty great qualification in the race. Trump gained some traction with an aggressive campaign, challenging Obama on a number of fronts.

Trump however has turned out to be a piece of crap who supports eminent domain, thinks the Kelo decision was great, and has used ED to enhance his business. This puts him and the government in each other’s pockets; in short he is a crony capitalist who believes that government decisions that he can gain from are OK. The last thing the US needs in the White House right now is another authoritarian.

This leaves Herman Cain. The following is from his newsletter with the odd comment from me:

This week, Herman Cain rolled out his five-point tax plan at events around the country. In a time when President Obama is calling for tax hikes on hardworking Americans and small businesses, Herman believes it's time to lower taxes to supercharge our economy. Here's what he thinks we should do:

Eliminate the taxes on repatriated profits, which are earnings of American-based multinational companies that sit in bank accounts overseas to avoid double taxation for bringing their profits back to the U.S.

With this money already taxed in the country of origin, it is entirely unreasonable to tax it as American earnings. Cain has mentioned elsewhere figures of around a trillion dollars, which if repatriated would create huge employment generating investment in the USA. Removing obstacles to its potential benefits to the economy needs doing.

Make the current tax rates permanent. Families and businesses do not plan for two years at a time!

Reduce the corporate income tax from 35 to 25 percent, with the potential for additional incremental decreases over time.

Lower rates give the incentive to invest locally rather to look overseas for countries which offer a better climate for investment. This would boost local investment.

Eliminate the tax on capital gains and their dividends.

Suspend payroll taxes for both employees and employers for one year.

There is probably no worse tax, especially during a time of high unemployment than a tax on payrolls. It is just the most incredibly irresponsible and stupid idea ever mooted for revenue raising.

Cain is currently doing a tour of all states and making a big impression wherever he goes. He is an impressive person and could be a great nominee. My feel is that he has the presence, gravitas, and knowledge to smash Obama in 2012.

Animal land rights, Farmers brace yourselves.

Cartoon; by Nicholson.

There are various ways that property rights are destroyed in this country. There is resumption where the property owner is forced to sell to the government. This is usually at what is called a fair price, but the fairness is according to the government’s definition. Some states are prepared to use this power to assist mining companies get access.

More common is the removal of sections of property rights by means of vegetation clearing laws, and other legislative processes which prevent the owner from developing his land or using water for irrigation and so on. Most of us are aware of the gross injustice done to Peter Spencer and hosts of others by the blanket bans on clearing carried out under the Kyoto Protocol.

Now Australian research lecturer Dr John Hadley from the University of Western Sydney (UWS) is calling for a system of land rights to be established for animals. This on the face of it is a patently ridiculous idea, but given that the Gillard government is desperately clinging to power with the assistance of independents and the Greens, nothing along these lines should be ignored.

Bob Brown is after all, the man behind the curtain pulling the levers.

This is an issue designed to appeal to the furry critter instinctive reflex of urban people many of whom are indoctrinated into believing that uncaring landholders are intent on wiping out all native wildlife in order to push this cause. Few of these people are aware of the realities of life outside the city limits.

Hadley said under his proposal, particular animals would be given legal property rights, and human guardians would be appointed to represent them in court, claiming giving animals legal ownership of their habitat might be the key to protecting biodiversity. He said people who wanted to modify habitat on their property would have to negotiate with guardians through an independent tribunal before taking any action.

Essentially, this means that any land management decision a landholder makes in the future if this were enacted would have to be approved by some radical green or animal rights activist. These are people who live in their own insular little world where nothing other than ideology and preconceived ideas are allowed to enter.

This could be one of the most insidious attacks on rural industry yet.

It is easy to shake your heads, maybe laugh at the stupidity of such an idea, but if you take the time to look at the track records of the two major parties there is reason for concern. Labor is in the pocket of the radical Greens, the Liberals will sell their grandmothers grave to get preferences (which never happens, but they are slow learners).

Nothing under the sun or moon is too bloody stupid to ignore.

The Nanny State; alive and well in NSW.

The LDP is moving to create a nanny of the month effort, which will start very soon. Big government, and idiotic bureaucracy do not wait however. Here is one of the early entries from “Strewth,” in the Australian:

God forbid what it may mean in ancient Samarian.

THE bureaucrats at the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority thought they had found another way to put aside common sense and indulge in politically correct gormlessness.

Newcastle lawyer Kristen Perry has a nickname since childhood, Kiki. Five years ago her husband gave her personalized number plates for her BMW: KIKI.

But at the RTA, this harmless set of letters was deemed offensive and the authority wanted them removed. The RTA said the name means vagina in the Filipino language, Tagalog.

Not that we would query the RTA's knowledge of obscure languages, but sane people might wonder where the harm lies, irrespective of its meaning in Tagalog. Yesterday, the RTA relented and said Perry can keep her number plates.

Hasn't the RTA got some roads to fix?

Gary Johnson announces.

There is breaking news that former New Mexico Governor, Gary Johnson has announced he is in the race for President for 2012. Johnson is probably the most libertarian candidate in the race.

From USA Today:

Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson said today he is running for president in 2012.

Johnson, a Republican who was governor from 1995 to 2003, made his announcement on the steps of the State House in Concord, N.H. On Twitter a short while ago, his staff tweeted for him: “First time to say it. "I am running for president."

Johnson has libertarian views and is perhaps best known for his efforts to legalize marijuana and for cutting New Mexico's budget and taxes. He's been traveling to early presidential contest states such as Iowa and New Hampshire talking about the nation's debt and U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Libya.

Johnson now runs Our American Initiative, a political organization seeks to "enlighten the population about civil liberties, free enterprise, limited government, and traditional American values." …

This could possibly result in Ron Paul deciding not to run and instead throw his weight behind him. It is difficult to predict however, how Paul will act. It is also interesting to speculate on how the Libertarian Party will respond to this, as there was a possibility for some time that Johnson was a suitable candidate for them.

His biggest hurdle is the fact that he is not well known outside NM. Another huge one is that the media are obsessed with his willingness to legalize marijuana, (which is unlikely to endear him to the SoCons), generally to the point of ignoring his record of cutting expenditure, keeping taxes down, and vetoing more bills than any other Governor in history.

I hope he can get the traction he needs.

So, after we jail all those big polluters, then what?

Martin O'Malley, state secretary of the SA branch of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), has called for the taxing and jailing of all big polluters. Well with Treasurer Wayne Swan sobbing about the need for bigger deficits and expenditure cuts owing to everything other than his governments profligate spending, its nice to see Marty has his taxing priorities right.

Marty’s call is not the most extreme we have seen coming from lefties. Paul Krugman wants failure to believe in GW to come under a new definition of treason against the planet. He stated, “And as I watched the deniers make their arguments, I couldn’t help thinking that I was watching a form of treason — treason against the planet.” There have been more extreme examples, but it would not be fair to include those by people who qualify for treatment under the “Care for the confused and bewildered programs” run by most compassionate states.

Prince Phillip for example wants to be reincarnated as a lethal virus to wipe out humanity. This though, has been explained by the great old European tradition of many generations of incestuous marriage among their various monarchies. This is what gives them the ability to believe that they have by birth, the right to rule the nations they are inflicted on.

The important question though is, what happens when all of those ‘big polluters’ are jailed? It may seem a bit simplistic of me, but it occurs to me that seeing these are the people who run our power generation and major industry, we would immediately need new ‘big polluters’ to take their places if we are to maintain our current standard of living. Will we immediately jail them too?

The reality is of course; these ‘big polluters’ are guilty of no more than meeting the needs of the public for electricity, fuel, and industrial products. Without them we would be living a much more Spartan lifestyle at the mercy of the elements with much fewer resources to cope with it.

If idiots like Marty want us to have a lower standard of living they should just go out and say so. This can be done without calling for criminal sanctions against those who meet our requirements for the wherewithal to live as we do currently.

Palin speech in Madison.

Breitbart introduction:


Its been a while since I posted anything on Palin, generally I am in a wait and see mode as to the US election, only posting the odd piece I find interesting.

Her speech in Madison though, is such an event. She has shown all of the fire that caused her to be the only bright spot on the otherwise lackluster McCain campaign before his handlers gave up and descended into recriminations and bastardry towards the end. There are some impressive points here:

… A pension is a promise that must be kept. Now, your Governor Scott Walker understands this. He understands that states must be solvent in order to keep their promises. And that’s what he’s trying to do. He’s not trying to hurt union members. Hey, folks, he’s trying to save your jobs and your pensions! But unfortunately some of your union bosses don’t understand this, and they don’t care if union members have to be laid off. No, they want to protect their own power, and if that means forcing a governor to lay off union workers, then so be it; they’ve proven that that is fine with them. But that’s not real solidarity! Real solidarity means coming together for the common good. This Tea Party movement is real solidarity!

Well, I am in Madison today because this is where real courage and real integrity can be found. Courage is your governor and your legislators standing strong in the face of death threats and thug tactics. Courage is you all standing strong with them! You saw the forces aligned against fiscal reform. You saw the obstruction and the destruction. You saw these violent rent-a-mobs trash your capital and vandalize businesses. …

Because let me tell you what isn’t courageous: It’s politicians promising the American voters that, as we drown in $14.5 trillion debt, that they’re going to cut $100 billion out of this year’s budget. But then they cave on that and they reduce it down to $61 billion after they get elected. Then they get in there and they strike a deal and decide, nah, they will reduce that down to $38 billion. And then after some politics-as-usual and accounting gimmicks, we find out it’s not $38 billion in cuts. You know that $38 billion – we don’t have it; we’re borrowing it.

We borrow from foreign countries to give to foreign countries, and that’s insanity. We find out it’s not even $38 billion; it’s less than $1 billion in real cuts. Folks, that $352 million in real cuts – that’s no more than the federal government is going to spend in the time it takes us to hold this rally today! That is not courage; that’s capitulation!

So, to the GOP establishment: if you stand on the platform, if you stand by your pledges, we will stand with you. We will fight with you, GOP. We have your back. Together we will win because America will win!

We didn’t elect you just to re-arrange the deck chairs on a sinking Titanic. We didn’t elect you to just stand back and watch Obama re-distribute those deck chairs. What we need is for you to stand up, GOP, and fight. Maybe I should ask some of the Badger women’s hockey team—those champions—maybe I should ask them if we should be suggesting to GOP leaders they need to learn how to fight like a girl! …

The rest is great; she really lets rip. Whether she stands or not, she can and will energize the base just like last time.

Toowoomba flood victim scolded by cop before drowning.

Image: Jordan Rice (From ABC News.)

Donna Rice and her 13-year-old son Jordan Rice died on January 10 when they were swept off the roof of their car at a major intersection in Toowoomba. Her other son was rescued by a passer by who risked his life to do so, and saw them swept away before he could reach them again. Jordan is seen as a hero for asking that his younger brother be rescued first.

Recordings of emergency calls have been played to the flood inquiry today and reveal that when she called the operator berated her, demanding why she had driven into flood water:

Ms Rice was heard telling the operator: "I'm stuck and the water is just about ready to come up the door."

The operator in the communications centre of the Toowoomba police station replies: "Why did you drive through floodwater?"

A distressed Ms Rice replies, "It wasn't this bad then," to which Senior Constable Wheeler replies, "Yeah, well".

Senior Constable Wheeler asks her the model of the car but her safety was not inquired after.

After exchanging details and requesting a tow-truck, the operator tells her he is getting a million calls and finishes the call by saying: "You shouldn't have driven through in the first place."

The flood that hit essentially came down as a wall of water with little warning. A girl was told by her employer to get out before it was too late. She got into her car and it was picked up and carried off. On being washed against an embankment, a guy raced down and grabbed her by her ponytail and dragged her out the window just as the car was washed away.

There has been some stupidity with people driving into and getting stuck in floodwaters but there is a time and place for recrimination, and a desperate situation isn’t it.

Most of us old hands in the country have driven through many times safely but have been taught properly by parents from childhood. You have to know what you are doing and check it out first.

Unfortunately, these days there are a lot of ‘Toorak trekkers’ out there now who think they are indestructible in their 4WDs that have never been off the bitumen. There are also the blowins from cities settling into country areas who tend to think that if the local yobs can do it, how easy can it be?

These get into trouble and are an irritation. The police have demanded the right to arrest anybody who drives through floodwater, which is an over-reaction.

It is doubtful if the authorities could have done much for the lady and her child in this situation in any case. The whole thing happened so fast that only immediate action by people on the spot was going to be of much use. The cop probably misread the situation, but a bit more action and a bit less sanctimonious crap would have been better.

Gillard, the great uniter

Australian Workers Union national secretary Paul Howse (inset) and angry protesters at a demonstration against the proposed carbon tax. Courtesy The Courier Mail.

The politics of the left is usually divisive, given that it is based on envy and class warfare. Generally the idea is to get hold of power by persuading the workers that the middle class and the wealthy are ripping them off, that they are being exploited and they need strong socialism to set things right.

Extra votes are gained by middle class welfare, and favors to big business as well as playing the class guilt game. Basically though the name of the game is divide and conquer.

It is surprising therefore to see the way Gillard has managed to bring large groupings of differing interests together and unite them in a common cause, opposition, anger, and angst over her carbon tax.

The stated purpose of the tax is to reduce the nations carbon emissions by 5% by 2020. As we only produce about 1.5% of world human emissions this is a miniscule amount. Given that India, China, and other developing economies have probably each increased theirs by more than that amount since the target was set, means that it is really nothing more than a pointless gesture, albeit an expensive one.

It was reported today that the UN has removed the item with the nice map that predicted fifty million climate refugees by 2010. Apparently it looked a bit tatty seeing it hasn’t happened. This is simply the latest of a long line of scare tactics by the climate frantics that has come unstuck. This is one of the reasons that there is already a solid base of people who are skeptical of the whole thing.

The base of opposition to the tax was mostly skeptics, the LNP, people who noticed they were being bullshitted to, and libertarians who realize that the government has no competence to manage the climate. Following the announcement, these were joined by a large section of the population who were outraged at being lied to before the election by Gillard.

Now we are seeing more joiners. A large section of business has started to realize just what the cost will be. The actual figures are not out yet but even at the lowest proposed figure of 20% per ton they add up to a high figure.

Now the AWU, a union that backed the Gillard ascension has attacked the tax. Gillard has played this down while her ally Green Bob Brown attacked him as an economic illiterate and conceding that the switch to a low-carbon economy would cost jobs. Just love that subtlety, Bob.

The CEOs of BlueScope and Onesteel, have come out with the argument that they will be destroyed by companies in China and other countries not affected by the tax.

Building and transport unions have joined in.

Now the government is proposing to compensate the ‘big polluters’ who export to the world:

THE Gillard Government is considering further compensation for high-polluting export industries hit by its carbon tax, including steel manufacturers.

Labor faces demands for a series of handouts for industries after a number of large unions warned the carbon tax could cost jobs.

But the Greens, whose support Labor needs to pass the tax, called for a tougher tax and demanded the Government set a carbon price higher than the $20 a tonne figure it is leaning towards.

The powerful Australian Workers Union yesterday dumped its previous support for the carbon tax to apply to the steel industry.

The move, which was backed by the rival Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union, means the government now faces a joint industry and union push to exclude steel makers and possibly other large polluters from the tax.

Truck drivers also want special assistance under the carbon tax to allow them to bill clients for added fuel costs if transport is affected, the Transport Workers Union said.

Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together? The idea seems to be, tax the shit out of people, give some back to those who can help you stay in power, and spend the rest on feel good measures. Barnaby Joyce was correct when he said:

“What is the point of taking money off people, spinning it around a bureaucracy and giving people back a bit of their own money and expecting be thanked for it? Why don’t you just let people keep their own money and go away?”

Top Gear on Commo cars.

The team ask the question; Have the communists ever built a good car?

Atlas Shrugged Premiere.

Atlas Shrugged Part 1 is the movie many of us have been waiting for. It has just premiered across the US but at this stage there is little news on the subject. What there is, is encouraging though.

Apparently the reviews are mixed. This is to be expected as the movie industry tends towards the left, and Atlas is not the sort of subject designed to bring joy to the heart of the average liberal.

It fails to represent the sort of theme they can relate to; you know, it doesn't explore the underlying humanity of a pathologically depressed manic psychopath who finally gains the respect and love of a one legged blind goatherds’ daughter while saving oppressed yaks in the Himalayas from the depredations of an exploitive US based multinational corporation, attempting to start a war for oil, in conjunction with rogue CIA operatives.

I am not sure why they have a problem over it; there is plenty of the above out there for them.

Shrugged celebrates the industrialist, the true entrepreneur, the guy with the ability, commitment and character to go out there and back his judgment. These are the people like Hank Reardon and Dagny Taggart, and Ellis Wyatt, who carry the state on their backs and endure their infamy for doing so. That is of course until they realize they are flogging a dead horse and go Gault.

The success of this venture is yet to be seen, but the indications at this stage are promising.

Green independent MP; “I do not recall that I vos ever a Nazi.”

Cartoon; Bill Leak.

Andrew Wilkie is the obsessive MP who is holding the Gillard government to ransom over poker machine legislation.

A story has emerged over his officer cadet days when he was apparently something of a rebel who was disciplined frequently. There is no problem with this as young guys are often a bit rebellious.

In his case however it seems to go a great deal further. He was one of the senior cadets implicated in the Duntroon bastardisation inquiry. This was an event about 30 years ago over the victimization of the juniors by seniors at the Royal Military College where things got completely out of hand. It is normal for guys aspiring to be officers to be tested to see if they can handle adversity but it has bounds which were exceeded.

Wilkie has claimed in his defense that he was “seriously bastardised” in his first year and went on to bastardise others. It is noted that in the case of children who are sexually molested that they tend to go on to do the same thing, but this should not be an excuse. A rational person does not conduct himself in a manner that he has encountered but found unpleasant in others.

One report though that really tosses the excreta into the fan is that during that time he not only ordered cadets to give the Nazi salute on the 50th anniversary of Hitler’s rise to power but authorized the victimization of one who refused to comply.

Wilkie denies any recollection of the incident, but there are others including the guy who stood up to him who do. The reporter who brought this up is a relative and is fairly highly regarded. It is inconceivable that he would allow himself to be used as a tool. It happened.

Rand Paul; “Spending more is not a cut.”

Paul seems to be one of the more capable Senators in the US. It is somewhat ironic that he had to fight tooth and nail against the establishment elements of his own party to get there.



The more I see of him the more I like him. He is after all one of the few who is making a genuine effort to cut expenditure and has come up with serious plans for doing it.

Australian Politics, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.

A cartoon from the era; by Mitchell.

A facebook posting by Benjamin Marks gave the alert that there were columns from some of the historical figures of the libertarian movement here from way back when. References to John Singleton were the big draw as he was probably one of the greatest original thinkers we had.

Of real interest though was a policy speech by Dr John Whiting for the Workers Party. The WP was the original libertarian party in Australia until owing to an internal dispute most members left and formed the Progress Party, which achieved fairly good results, with voting percentages in the double figures on many occasions.

Those who read Atlas Shrugged are often struck by the fact that the dystopian world described has remarkable similarities to today. Probably back when it was written, few really thought that it could happen.

The irony is that few people today seem to understand the situation described by Whiting over thirty years ago, is still happening today in government. People still see the political spectrum as Labor – socialist, Liberal – something different. The fact is that they are pretty much the same as Whiting described here:

As far as the majority of Australians were concerned the only way of stopping and reversing the actions of these dangerous men and women was to throw them out of office at the first opportunity and replace them by other men and women who claimed to be diametrically opposed to the bankrupt socialist philosophy of the A.L.P.

However, what most people did not know is that the hierarchies of the Liberal Party and the National Country Party had gone to considerable lengths, over the years, to cultivate the myth that their respective Parties were violently opposed to socialism and were the great champions of free enterprise and individual liberty. This myth was so deeply ingrained into people’s minds that nine out of ten Liberal and National Country Party voters were convinced that their Parties were philosophically about as far away from socialism as one could possibly get.

Early in 1975, however, the founders of the Workers Party together with the first members and supporters of the Party saw through this myth. As a group they were the only people in Australia who possessed the clarity of thought and intellectual honesty to recognise that the Liberal and National Country Parties were not an opposition to socialism at all. In fact, rather than oppose socialism, they actually accepted most of the premises upon which socialist ideology was built.

These Parties accepted the altruist philosophy. They accepted the Welfare State ideology. They accepted the concept that governments should be our masters and not our servants. They accepted — in fact, they actively promoted — the idea of an all-powerful central bank — the Reserve Bank of Australia. They accepted inflation as an economic weapon. They accepted crippling progressive taxation. They accepted the iniquitous death duties and gift duties. They showed a profound disregard for the sanctity of private property. In fact, believe it or not, they actively supported in toto or in part six out of ten proposal put forward by Marx and Engels in their Communist Manifesto.

These were the men and women of the Liberal and National Country Parties who had the effrontery to set themselves up before the gullible public as the arch-opponents of socialism and the champions of free-enterprise and individual liberty.

The whole thing is worth the read. While you are there check out Singo’s stuff.

Carbon tax, wealth redistribution and more power to the state.

Cartoon: by Inkcinct.

"You, who've expended an inconceivable flow of energy, have been called a parasite. You, who've created abundance where there had been nothing but wastelands and helpless, starving men before you, have been called a robber. You, who've kept them all alive, have been called an exploiter. You, the purest and most moral man among them, have been sneered at as a 'vulgar materialist.' "Have you stopped to ask them: by what right? — by what code? — by what standard?" – Atlas Shrugged.

This seems appropriate as we now are told to see our major industries, major employers, and main providers of our economy, branded as planet wreckers and polluters.

The Gillard government is pushing hard to establish its idiotic idea of taxing carbon. Today the Minister for Climate Change, Greg Combet announced that it will be, essentially the greatest redistribution of wealth ever seen in this country.

He is claiming that the government is going to make the 1000 big ‘polluters’ pay and the top 50 to fork out about two thirds of the loot. These companies are in the main power generators, who very efficiently provide electricity to the population, as well as steel, aluminum, petroleum companies, and the like who produce products used here and for export.

Between them they also generate thousands of jobs and are a substantial part of the backbone of the economy. To the creatures of the state in Canberra, they are worse than sub-human.

This will inevitably cause prices to rise across the board hurting consumers and exporters with higher prices. This is where the cynicism of those in power reaches its zenith. They are proposing to ‘compensate’ lower income earners to the point where they claim these people will be better off. At least at first they may be.

There is no guarantee that the tax will remain the same, and there have been indications that it will escalate in following years. There is no guarantee that the amount redistributed will remain at that level after the next election.

LNP Senator, Barnaby Joyce in one of his more lucid moments made a rather succinct statement on the matter today:

Minister Combet’s announcement that they are going to compensate working families for the cost of carbon tax should confirm one thing; a carbon tax is going to cost working families.

The fundamental issue here is that a carbon tax is not going to change the temperature of the globe or change the climate in any shape or form. It is merely a gesture. A gesture that means that those who are already finding it extremely difficult to get by are going to have that difficulty exacerbated by a pointless tax with a deceitful inference that it will the change global climatic conditions.

What is the point of taking money off people, spinning it around a bureaucracy and giving people back a bit of their own money and expecting be thanked for it? Why don’t you just let people keep their own money and go away?

In the meantime you put up the price of the fundamental mechanism of commerce, power, so what is now our competitive advantage? Obviously we don’t want lower wages so ultimately there will be fewer jobs.

The ability to reap huge funds from the economy, and use it to bribe a substantial percentage of voters places incredible power into the hands of the governing power. There is little doubt that this is the prime motivation.

We are looking at an authority who were so incompetent that they were unable to carry out a project like insulating homes without wasting billions, screwing it up, burning down houses, and killing workers, now claiming the ability to make the climate better.

The opposition has a problem with this in that they too have a plan. Abbott is so convinced that the government has the ability to affect climate for the better and that there is an expectation for him to save the environment that he wants to spend heaps on it.

He would be better to accept that no government in the history of mankind has ever improved the climate nor had the competence to do so. Say you will do nothing Tony.

The Power of one, or how we lose our freedom in a deal.

Cartoon; Cornwells cartoons.

That visit to the pub and a few beers has not come under too much threat yet other than the need to be under the limit if you intend to drive. Tossing a few bucks into the pokies for a flutter while you are at it is about to become a whole lot more complex though.

Our Prime Altruist Julia Gillard has announced that she is determined to push through gambling restrictions, which she calls reforms, (sounds better, doesn’t it?) on poker machines. This she claims will “ease the suffering of families hit by problem gambling.” She has not explained why if gambling is a problem, she is only dealing with one form of it, but we know why.

Yesterday I observed:

Take for a start, Gillard’s pet Green Independent, Andrew Wilkie who is obsessed with problem gamblers to the point of wanting us all forced to set a limit on our wagers on the pokies. This under normal circumstances would be dismissed as eccentricity, but the Gillard government is depending on his vote to drag her sorry arse across the line. The Greens after all have what their Senator, Christine Milne described as a power sharing agreement with the government.

In her statement today, she makes it clear that all pokies users are to be “reformed” because of the obsessive demands of one man.

"I made an agreement with Mr. Wilkie; I intend to honour that agreement," she said.

"That kind of problem gambling causes human misery. I don't think we want to see anybody profiting on human misery.

"Of course people like to have a bet; but I don't think they like to see their fellow Australians suffer."

Quite touching really, I mean all that integrity and honour on display as well as the concern about human misery. She fails to mention though that she is honoring etc because she is relying on Wilkie’s vote to keep her in power. As for the “profiting on human misery” bit, she seems to forget the degree to which governments profit from taxes on gambling. A little hypocrisy there.

There is in the report however a bit of comic relief. It comes from the WA National Tony Crook, who after a truly exotic, and dazzling display of footwork exclaims:

"Clearly the issue about punter welfare is critical and I take the PM for her word on that.

"I'm all for people taking responsibility for their own actions. The question is, how do we go intervening and managing people's actions?"

Punter welfare is a completely new concept in Australian politics. Who says the Nationals have no original ideas? The last bit is a doozy though. “All for people taking responsibility for their own actions,” followed by the need to “go intervening and managing people's actions.” Only the LNP could see that as logical.

A great week for the nanny state, killjoys, and wowsers.

Its hard to know where to start, the prudes are coming at us from all sides.

Take for a start, Gillard’s pet Green Independent, Andrew Wilkie who is obsessed with problem gamblers to the point of wanting us all forced to set a limit on our wagers on the pokies. This under normal circumstances would be dismissed as eccentricity, but the Gillard government is depending on his vote to drag her sorry arse across the line. The Greens after all have what their Senator, Christine Milne described as a power sharing agreement with the government.

This is being contested by the licensed clubs with an ad campaign:


The Western Australian the state director of liquor licensing has demanded that the serving of energy drinks and alcohol be banned after midnight. This is possibly a prelude to a total ban, given the language used:

The Australian Medical Association of WA has long been pushing for complete bans on serving energy drinks with alcohol and its president David Mountain welcomed the latest move.

"We're happy that this will reduce the stupid idea of serving energy drinks with alcohol," Professor Mountain said.

"We don't really think there's any place for them at all at any time because all it does is encourage excessive drinking and blunts the sedating effects of alcohol so people drink more and think they're immune."

In New South Wales the less than two week old government is moving legislation that appears to make it an offence to be associated with a guy who gets pissed.

He said mates could find themselves in court giving evidence about why their friend had been drunk and disorderly.

"We already have responsible service of alcohol. Now we will have responsible consumption of alcohol," Mr Gallacher said.

Lets just get this straight; “We already have responsible service of alcohol.” So if that is working, why do we need to go further? If they are not, why will this?

Police Minister Mike Gallacher, seems to have a higher calling in mind though: "These laws will change the culture in NSW," he said.

There is no way being pissed should be an offense. Causing damage, or violence while pissed should be, but there are already laws about that. This is essentially a license for humorless cops to make pricks of themselves and alienate more of the public.

Gillard; Old tool for new tax.

I got this via email from my Climate Sceptics mate:

This old tool has been reintroduced in Australia by the Gillard Government. It will be part of the Carbon Tax Emissions Trading Program.

The Glen Beck/Fox split.

H/T Big Journalism.

The departure of Glen Beck from the Fox Network was reported to be amicable, a sort of meeting of the minds as it were. Since then there has been speculation that he was pushed, not only among lefties, but among sane elements as well.

George Will is one of the most respected commentators of our times, who I think has nailed it here, saying “Beck’s drift into more extreme and bizarre positions was threatening the Fox brand.” And that the “the health and happiness of Fox is served by his departure:”



Quite some time ago I wrote a post on the suggestions that Glen Beck was becoming libertarian, which is still a regular source of visitors to this site.

I was not convinced, but was prepared to accept that he was leaning in that direction. At that stage I had not really taken much notice of him. Since then, he has disappointed me in many ways. While he has shown a great deal of ability, he ruins the effect by descending into emotional displays of histrionics and grandstanding.

While he is better than the competition at MSLSD, that is not a high bar to get over. To maintain its credibility, Fox needs someone better than this.

Greens and Jihad; “Don’t judge us by the company we keep.”

Cartoon By Zeg.

Americans old enough to remember back to the 08 elections will be familiar with the theme of guilt by association. It was considered rather crass and uncouth, not to mention racist, to mention Obama’s crazy preacher, his indicted friends, or his relationship with unrepentant urban terrorist Bill Ayers. Suggesting that he was palling around with terrorists was beyond the pail.

Australian Greens leader, Bob Brown was scathing towards Tony Abbott after he addressed an anti carbon tax rally in Canberra. When Abbott started talking a sign appeared behind him referring to the PM as ‘Bob Brown’s bitch’, alluding to the fact she was clinging to power with his help.

The previous post here mentioned the rather murky connections between the Greens and radical Islam. It turns out that Brown himself has some history with weird elements:

… a photograph surfaced showing Bob Brown addressing an anti-Iraq war rally framed by a protester wielding a banner promoting an anti-Semitic website which promotes the idea that 9/11 was a Jewish-US plot to harden global opinion against the Arab world.



On his other side is another poster which declares: “Lib-Nats: Coalition of the Killing”. Under normal circumstances, Brown could be forgiven for claiming to be ignorant of these inflammatory signs. Except that these are not normal circumstances. After the heat of ‘Bitchgate’ Brown is open to a charge of rank hypocrisy.

Now Bob recons this is entirely unfair, and is guilt by association, saying “it undemocratic" to judge politicians on the company they keep at rallies and other public forums.”

A very noble sentiment indeed, its just a pity he didn’t feel that way before he got sprung.

Senator Brown on Thursday defended the actions of Greens senators Sarah Hanson-Young and Scott Ludlam for appearing at rallies in 2009 and last year, respectively, where protesters called on Australia to sever ties with Israel. "If you're saying there that members of parliament should not take the stage or be on a rostrum or be at a rally or go on (television program) Q&A if you are going to be judged by the people you are there with, then we're getting to a very undemocratic path, aren't we," Senator Brown told ABC radio.

Yeah right, Bob.