Triumph over Dutton-style politics: A retrospective look

Of course, any election will have various reasons for why a particular…

Imperial Fruit: Bananas, Costs and Climate Change

The curved course of the ubiquitous banana has often been the peel…

The problems with a principled stand

In the past couple of weeks, the conservative parties have retained government…

Government approves Santos Barossa pipeline and sea dumping

The Australia Institute Media Release Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s Department has approved a…

If The Jackboots Actually Fit …

By Jane Salmon If The Jackboots Actually Fit … Why Does Labor Keep…

Distinctions Without Difference: The Security Council on Gaza…

The UN Security Council presents one of the great contradictions of power…

How the supermarkets lost their way in Oz

By Callen Sorensen Karklis Many Australians are heard saying that they’re feeling the…

Purgatorial Torments: Assange and the UK High Court

What is it about British justice that has a certain rankness to…

«
»
Facebook

The world is bat poo crazy

The world is bat poo crazy.

Barnaby Joyce is our Deputy Prime Minister, Pauline Hanson is dictating policy, and Spud Duddy is being touted as our next leader.

Action on climate change is seen as too expensive.

We can’t afford foreign aid for our neighbours but we can afford $400 billion for new war toys on top of 2% of GDP each year on defence.

In order to stop terrorists killing innocent people, we spend a fortune bombing innocent people in other sovereign nations.

In the name of keeping people safe, we close the door to those fleeing war and oppression. In order to stop refugees drowning at sea, we lock them up indefinitely in corrupt hellholes or send them back to their tormentors.

The Western defenders of democracy, freedom and human rights continue to pour obscene amounts of armaments into any hotspot with the bucks to pay.

To create tolerance and cohesion, we scapegoat minority groups.

To fix the budget, we cut income to the poorest consumers and revenue from the wealthiest tax avoiders.

A gross debt of $260 billion was a disaster but a gross debt of $500 billion is sound economic management showing a credible path back to surplus.

In order to “create jobs”, we pay billions of dollars to subsidise coal-mining which is moving towards making everything autonomous from pit to port but could not afford to subsidise car manufacturing which employed many more people and kept manufacturing alive.

To facilitate decentralisation, and to improve competition, we build a hopelessly inadequate NBN.

To fill skills shortages, we close TAFEs and then argue about what hoops imported workers must jump through to be exploited by unscrupulous employers.

To encourage children to attend school we employ truancy officers and threaten to cut off their parents’ income or block their citizenship.

To foster creativity and innovation we revert to Direct Instruction with a focus on phonics and our Judeo-Christian heritage. We cut research funding and increase university fees.

With youth unemployment at dangerous highs, we extend the retirement age to 70. Expect a spike in disability pensions as happened when they increased it from 60 to 65. Unless you are a politician (past or present), judge or one of those endless Board members, getting a job in your 60s is pretty hard.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Australia are homeless and more than 13% live in poverty despite the country having achieved 25 uninterrupted years of growth.

In an attempt to lower electricity bills, we have watered down the Renewable Energy Target saving households, on average, 50c a week while adding to the uncertainty that has strangled renewable energy investment. The government continues to collect 10% GST on every electricity bill.

To make health more affordable, we cut preventative health programs and make going to the GP more expensive. Despite the statistics showing how much is spent in the last few days of life, dying with dignity remains a forbidden topic.

To help young Aboriginals who are struggling to cope, we lock them up, abuse and humiliate them, and then punish them more for not becoming model citizens.

Homosexuality is still seen by the lawmakers of the country as deviant behaviour that precludes gays from the same rights as others.

“Intellectual” and “do-gooder” are now derogatory terms and environmental protection is “lawfare” or, even worse, “socialism”.

As the world struggles with the challenges of climate change, inequality, overpopulation, resource depletion, famine and war, all our time is spent discussing “fake news” – a term I have come to loathe. Truth and evidence no longer matter when we have facebook confirmation.

And what’s more….

Donald Trump is President of the United States.

Can the lunacy end or are we doomed to hasten our own destruction?

30 comments

Login here Register here
  1. more mainstream everyday

    I understand what you mean.

    I find myself becoming a bit of a hermit in response.

  2. Gangey1959

    In late breaking news.
    The cba has just raised the interest rates for fixed rate, interest only mortgages. For Investment loans it is a 0.5% raise, whilst owner occupiers have been hit with a more gentle 0.25% increase.
    That indian conglomerate adani is still trying to win pollielotto’s billion dollar jackpot, and various greenhouse related multinationals are taking their cases to the High Court to justify borrowing cash at minimal rates in their home countries, and then lending it to their Australian operational arms at massively inflated rates in order to avoid paying tax on profits.
    Meanwhile, on account of the fact that gas being somewhat hard to define and therefore contain, prices for Australian users have been raised by a massive 25ish%. This is due to the fact that home owners and businesses actually need and use it, and has NOTHING AT ALL to do with the fact that or illustrious dealership in Canberra haven’t got the bottle to say NO to santos, exxon, bp, shell, the retailers, suppliers, shippers and anyone else who is slipping our pollies a few shekels in order to continue not paying tax, or contribute in any way whatsoever to the Australian way of life.
    On a brighter note, my DES( who shall remain nameless) found me a job, for which I am neither qualified nor suitable, took me 2 hours each way in travel whether I drove or train/tram, paid absolute shite money and didn’t even come with a work place induction, and yet when having dutifully attended for a couple of weeks felt that they had the right to tell me off for finding myself better employment 10 minutes from home that I actually enjoy and comes at an extra $10 per hour. There is just no pleasing some people.
    Its not as if I’m going to be getting anything from Centerlink, at least for a while anyway, so what do they want for the money you lot pay them?

    In the words of the great Satcmo, It’s a Wonderful World.

  3. jim

    I’m thinking the media in oz is in it up to their necks with the wreckers the LNP, like why is that these grubs the LNP have been in power at least 25 years longer than the ALP yet very very clearly the LNP are the worst economic managers by miles. The media’s deceitful lies do ramp up right around election time every time and without fail.

  4. paul walter

    The word is “batshit”, not “batpoo”. .

  5. Kevin Arnold

    I was born in 1942 and the “good old days” consisted of rationing, frequent power outages that we called blackouts, clothing that the westerlies would blow straight through. Looking forward from the present, I am getting a bit nostalgic for the years gone by. A sobering thought is that it was my generation that descended into this madness. Inflation built into house prices, different levels of pensioners, attacks on welfare. Thanks for the memories because we have sold off everything but them.

  6. Terry2

    Well, I suppose in their own way the Abbott/Turnbull government have done their bit for climate change, they got rid of the auto industry which means that we are now free from the shackles of making things and that’s got to be good for the global climate……….!

    They introduced the Green Army who planted lots of trees and cleaned up lots of creeks and gave young unemployed people self esteem and a direction in life, then they scrapped the Green Army and all the trees are either being strangled by uncontrolled weed growth or from lack of water and the creeks are choking up again and the young people who were employed are back on the dole.

    And we have a Prime Minister who says he has a plan : I suspect that the plan is to call Bill Shorten names.

  7. 1petermcc

    In late breaking news, Malcolm trusts the Wisdom and Judgement of Trump and Pence. Either we are bat shit crazy or Malcolm thinks we are.

  8. David Bruce

    I just found out that a Disclosure for NESARA in USA was scheduled for 10 am on 11th September 2001. At 8 am, 9/11 burst on the scene with the first Tower being hit. What an amazing co-incidence!

    NESARA involves the World Banking system releasing the global collateral funds and paying each adult American citizen and unbelievable amount of money each month. Indonesia has just received its share of the global collateral accounts. The agents of the elites are under pressure to do anything possible to prevent the rest of the world getting their share of this outrageous fraud conducted by the international banking system for over 150 years. When I look at the pantomime being conducted in Australia right now, it is obvious the lead players are all miming from the same script. What a complete waste of time, resources and space.

    I wonder what would happen if all Australians realized what a pack of poo tickets our money system has become, and why these paid lackeys are continuing the farce.

  9. Jaquix

    Just remember the 11th March folks. The Libs in WA were roundly trounced, and it wasnt just because of local issues. The polls had it a tight race of course. Turnbull cynically came out with these jingoist announcements this week in time to improve his polling, Newspolll doing a poll this weekend. When people catch on that the “abolition” of 457s is really just a new-name (not yet revealed!) replacement with the same old employer rort provisions intact, and that the total immigrant intake will probably stay the same, any gloss to his popularity will wear off. Basically aimed at One Nation voters anyway.

  10. Max Gross

    Essential reading.

  11. Matters Not

    Once it was Waiting for Godot. Now it’s Waiting for NESARA.

    I suppose it’s keeping them off the streets.

  12. Stringybark

    To make this article even WORSE..is a picture of Mr Batpoo himself..( I agree wholeheartedly Kay)..and like” more mainstream everyday.”…I too am becoming a hermit

  13. Deidre Zanker

    An alternative is bat crap crazy. It suits him well.

  14. Freethinker

    Mike Pence :“But if China is unable to deal with North Korea, the United States and our allies will.”
    “And the US understand that they have no stronger, more committed, more loyal partner, ally than Australia.”
    I will say loyal ally than Australian politicians not the people.
    When our politicians are going to learn for the past wars and fatalities?

  15. diannaart

    Bat shit or bat poo – like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

    @Gangey1959 – good you got a job – no thanks to Centrelink. Have theory Centrelink actually is working to keeping people unemployed – more likely to accept shite work such as that job you had to endure.

  16. Kaye Lee

    The title came straight from Deputy Dawg’s mouth

    “This bat poo crazy stuff does not help anybody.”

    I agree with him.

  17. diannaart

    Well if Deputy Dawg said it, then no more debate is necessary.

    😀

  18. Kaye Lee

    “Eight days into Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer’s maternity leave, vexed Victorian Liberals have moved to replace her.

    Fairfax Media has confirmed Tony Abbott’s former chief-of-staff turned political commentator Peta Credlin has been encouraged to run against Ms O’Dwyer in the blue ribbon seat of Higgins, as a rebuke to the minister for the government’s soon-to-be enacted changes to superannuation.”

    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/vexed-liberals-move-to-dump-kelly-odwyer-while-on-maternity-leave-20170422-gvqajr.html

  19. diannaart

    Just thinking about Tracie Alymer’s article on bullying and positing the question:

    Do conservatives the likes of Credlin, Abbott, Christensen et al, ostracise and bully others more than progressives (please note I am not thinking of Mark Latham who is clearly a bully), but do we see similar childish behaviour from people such as Penny Wong, Tany Plibersek? From personal experience, a girl who organised to have me bashed up at school went on to became a Labor Pollie in Victoria (for a while). Therefore, I do not believe the left to be particularly angelic, but simply pondering the frequency and extent of bullying by neo-cons as a part of the Bat Poo Crazy world.

  20. Zathras

    I prefer the expression “Barking Mad” but consider this – If things are really just this bad, what is it that they AREN’T telling us ??

    All this craziness and we just keep arguing about it among ourselves while they carry on regardless.

    “Dance monkeys dance” may be another handy expression when it comes to us.

  21. Halfbreeder

    left out a few. eg. 1. no rules preventing politicians with conflicts of interest in relation to receiving tax deductions for investment properties voting on tax laws about who pays tax. 2 federal police acting as delegates of politicians. 3. tax cuts of 24 bill to corporations in circumstabces of a national debt.

    all can be easily explained by the fact that politicians represent vested interests and their own rather than the people who vote for them.

  22. Möbius Ecko

    Don’t know about in your neck of the woods but Federal government expensive and glitzy ads have ramped up here. After a spate of Job Active ads there has been a bombardment of small business ones lately. No surer sign of a Liberal government in trouble, lots of expensive tax payer funded propaganda.

    By the way the government’s jobactive seems to be nothing more than a front for a private global company adzuna. Wonder if they donate to the Liberals

  23. paul walter

    Kaye Lee, two wrongs do not a right make. Joyce was sooking out not to offend the old bible basher nats. I am sad to recognise yourself as a Joyce fan.

  24. Miriam English

    paul walter, you think Kaye is a Barnaby Joyce fan??? I think you’re seriously misreading what she writes.

  25. keerti

    I suspect you’d have to spell it out for him, Miriam.

  26. paul walter

    Maggots.

  27. Terry2

    The Liberal Party’s attack on Kelly O’Dwyer when she is on maternity leave is precisely the Australian Values that Turnbull was talking about, it’s in the Liberal DNA.
    It’s how the IPA and the Liberals do business, never to your face, never upfront always ‘mean and tricky” ; that’s from one of their own. At a time when she needs a few quiet moments to bond with her baby, the faceless louts in the Liberal Party go for the jugular.

    They don’t like women and they don’t like women with babies unless they are at home.

  28. diannaart

    Miriam

    I thank you on Kaye Lee’s behalf.

    I have no idea what Paul Walter is on, anyone who has followed Kaye Lee even for a short period of time (not so in PW’s case) understands how concerned Kaye Lee is regarding the very disturbing assistant-poo-head PM Joyce.

    I only disagree with your selection of Tony Abbott into the well intended – Tony knows better, he has had and continues to have people close to him who know better, he chooses to ignore their advice because it suits his grasping for power and continues to say one thing and then do the complete opposite.

  29. Miriam English

    diannart, yeah, Tony Abbott on some occasions appears to be deliberately malicious. I tentatively gave him a pass as possibly well intentioned because of his extraordinary stupidity. He just doesn’t have the intelligence or self-awareness to understand how horrible he is. Barnaby Joyce appears to be an unusually stupid person, but Tony Abbott makes him look relatively smart by comparison. But yeah, Abbott can be a very nasty person as well.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 2 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, text, archive, code, other. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop file here

Return to home page