One of the things about climate change deniers that’s always amazed me is their capacity to hold two contradictory positions simultaneously. You know the sort of thing I mean. After asserting for several minutes that the climate isn’t changing, that they can suddenly point to a cherry-picked set of figures and argue that not only is it getting cooler, but that climate has always changed and therefore it’s got nothing to do with mankind.
By itself, that would be contradictory enough, but then they will often move on and question the qualifications of someone like David Suzuki, Tim Flannery or Greta Thunberg because they’re “not experts” and have no “qualifications”. They know this because Alan and Andrew have told them. And what do you mean, they’re not experts either. Everyone has a right to an opinion and you are stifling my freedom of speech exactly like my teacher did when they said that I couldn’t call the other students certain names. It’s only because my teachers insisted that there was only one right answer that meant that I failed all my exams and why shouldn’t I be allowed to question whether A squared plus B squared really does equal C squared by writing any number I chose in the answer?
Now, you can expend a lot of hot air arguing with them, but that probably just helps contribute to the growth of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere so the best thing to do is quietly walk away… unless you can convince them that putting an “X” beside all the candidates they don’t like in the next election is a perfectly valid way to vote.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the miracle of the simultaneous lately as I read the comments on social media. Apparently we’ve always had bushfires so this is nothing out of the ordinary. At the same time, these fires are unprecedented and caused by what Prue MacSween called “greenie infiltrators” on councils who have someone prevented fuel reduction burning. Some people even go further and suggest that these are being started by arsonists belonging to Extension Rebellion in order to convince us about the need for climate change. Which, of course, brings up the further contradiction that these protestors were meant to be “inner-city types” who never venture outside their trendy cafes and are too lazy to do any proper work. But if we’ve always had fires, how is it suddenly only because of arsonists or the lack of fuel reduction burning.
Say what you like about Scott Morrison, the man is always thinking ahead as to how to turn a situation to his advantage. He’s gone to see John Howard, so I’m expecting them to trot old Johnny out so that he can do the empathy thing and Scott can stand around behind him hoping that his smirk seems like a smile of approval. That should free him from any more criticism about forced handshakes. Howard was occasionally good at the consoling thing and, if the sight of boats arriving with people from fires zones doesn’t make him slip up and instinctively say something like, “Children overboard!” then that should take the pressure of Morrison to look like he actually cares.
This will free up Morrison to do what he does best and make more Liberal Party ads. He’s just made one about the deployment of troops to help with the bushfires…
We know it’s a Liberal Pary ad and not a government announcement because it says “Authorised by S,Morrison, Liberal Party” at the end, and not “Australian Government”. This ad has attracted a lot of criticism because some didn’t think that up-beat elevator music was the best backdrop. It’s attracted criticism from others because it seems to suggest that the only thing that matters to the government is its own image. The second criticism is unfair because people keep asking for truth in advertising so they shouldn’t complain when they get it.
So what will the next one be about?
Well, he did tell us that the most frequently raised issue with him by communities was lightening fuel loads…
Now, I’m not suggesting that this wouldn’t be an issue to some people. However, I do wonder that there weren’t many other issues that people would have been more likely to raise. For example, the funding of aircraft to fight the fires, the slowness in getting support to some of the victims, climate change, what’s happening about all the people who have lost their houses, his trip to Hawaii… the list goes on. Let’s take our PM at his word, and presume that this is the number one issue. Which is lucky for Scottie because, as he told us, these issues are overseen entirely by state and local governments, so nothing to do with him.
In spite of this being a state responsibility, it now needs a nationally coordinated approach. Scottie already has the answer: more land-clearing and controlled burn-offs.
I must say that I am pleased to see the word “controlled” in there. Various people have been complaining that there were all these restrictions that stopped people doing burn-offs on their property. While I’m sure nobody meant something like days of “Total Fire-ban”, the idea that anyone can just decide to burn at any time doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence.
However, I suspect it’s the “more land-clearing” that we’re going to see in the next ad from Scottie from Marketing and we’ll see something like:
“These National Parks are a national asset and a national liability.”
SHOT OF FIRES BURNING THEM.
“Let’s liquefy the asset before fire takes it.”
SHOTS OF LOGGERS.
“There’ll always be those who seek to wreck”
SHOTS OF PROTESTORS
“But let’s build our future together.”
SHOTS OF ANZACS SUPERIMPOSED OVER AN AUSTRALIAN FLAG.
Yes, you heard it here first. Ah, the Coalition Government… Satire one day; Policy the next!
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