Chris

An Ode to Australia

Friday, 23. June 2006, 14:24:04

Here. I am a real affection for the country. In any town in Asia, you can walk in a bar and see 3 or 4 Aussies drinking or bartending. I can count on them being friendly, interesting and helpful (after giving me sh*t for my ignorance). From the article:

In the Australian House of Representatives last month, opposition member Julia Gillard interrupted a speech by the minister of health thusly: "I move that that sniveling grub over there be not further heard.''

For that, the good woman was ordered removed from the House, if only for a day. She might have escaped that little time-out if she had responded to the speaker's demand for an apology with something other than "If I have offended grubs, I withdraw unconditionally.''

God, I love Australia. Where else do you have a shadow health minister with such, er, starch? Of course I'm prejudiced, having married an Australian, but how not to like a country, in this age of sniveling grubs worldwide, whose treasurer suggests to any person who "wants to live under sharia law'' to try Saudi Arabia and Iran, "but not Australia.'' He was elaborating on an earlier suggestion that "people who ... don't want to live by Australian values and understand them, well then they can basically clear off.'' Contrast this with Canada, historically and culturally Australia's commonwealth twin, where last year Ontario actually gave serious consideration to allowing its Muslims to live under sharia law.

I don't understand why America and American politicians cannot simply say what they mean. Speak straight to the point and stop sissy-fying the language. Costello (the treasurer mentioned above) caught some flack from the Aussie Left, but didn't back down. An American politician would have spent weeks "clarifying" his remarks into grey mush, fit for a sniveling grub.

Update: Some clear talk from an American that I can agree with:

I am, unlike George Bush (or any male of the Bush family, for that matter) a Jacksonian:
The whole point of Jacksonianism is "You leave me alone and I'll leave you alone. You play fair with me and I'll play fair with you. But if you fuck with me, I'll kill you."

Any questions?

Weapons PornMore Kos: TNR Says He is Nuts, Illiterate

Comments

Edward Piercy # 23. June 2006, 20:32

Fair dinkum politics.

It used to be that US representatives would actually meet in the same chamber and talk and yell and hit each other with thier canes and stuff. You know, real politics. These days they hide in their offices and take 3-hour lunches with lobbyists and make their deals and send their interns down to punch the button for their vote. Sometimes, every once in a while, and when they absolutely have to bacause they have to show to put in their comments in the CJ to send to their constituents, they actually show up in the chamber and debate something or make a speech.

Personally, I think we'd be just as well off sending them all back to their districts and having them vote on the internet -- SenNet and ConNet -- and disolving the country club altogether. And I'm serious about that.