http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-28/cassidy-rudd-inside-and-out/4786598
"Labor stalwart, Rod Cavalier, told ABC News Breakfast that the Caucus
embraced a man many of them despised simply to save their own hides.
When, he asked, did Labor stop choosing leadership based on policies and
character?"
What do you expect when you have a political 'profession'. For 'save their own hides' you could substitute any number of more flattering equivalents. 'Protect the country from the forces of darkness' springs to mind. I've shown through compelling argument in this blog why Abbott is totally unsuitable, or even less so than his opposites, to lead us. There is still hope to avert the forces of darkness, but really even I grow tired of all this.
Just bring it on.
Saturday 29 June 2013
Saturday 15 June 2013
"Kevin and Julia merry-go-round" or Kevin and Julia Dance of Death
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4754598.html
"There's not a shadow of a doubt that the media has been used to help build momentum, to help build a sense of chaos, particularly this week. And anytime it looked like it was falling off, there was someone else [from Team Rudd] out and about … There is absolutely no doubt the Rudd forces have been using the media quite cleverly for some time now."
I've been rattling on about this for a while now. Yesterday I lost it and let fly, but at least I'm not the only one who has noticed this. A party that puts itself in a perceived cycle of cynically resurrecting a popular leader to win an election then unceremoniously dumping the winning leader for another one to run the government, one iteration of which has already occurred, has zero electoral legitimacy and is doomed to the backwaters for many electoral cycles.
As quoted above the mainstream media has been complicit in this farce from the beginning, but then that is just the nature of the game. If the Rudd supporters would shut up and coagulate under the Gillard flag, the reconquest of the electorate would be easily achievable. The strategy I outlined yesterday needs to happen as a matter of urgency. The government wins hands down on a rational comparison of policy and the sooner this comparison happens the better. Of course it would help if the mainstream media would pull their heads in, forgo the promise of sales, and simply ignore anything a known Rudd supporter says. This can only happen if the deeply conservative strings controlling the mainstream media, reaching from Rupert Murdoch through to his lapdog pack of senior editors, are released.
Let's not get too melodramatic about it but, to reuse a common image, we stand at a historical crossroads. The rest of the world has chosen the progressive road of cold rational decisions, represented here by the ALP with all its warts and shortcomings. How can we as a nation now choose the fluffy, sepia soaked, road of business-as-usual, post modern, feel-good-do-nothing road preferred by the LNP? The shear ludicrosity of such a proposition renders it unlikely, yet such an eventuality is possible. The opinion polls say it is a forgone conclusion. Something has to happen in the next three months to push us to the left. Not too far to the left but enough to reveal the falsity of LNP policy and particularly its leader who is a proven liar, even more so than is expected of politicians in general, and definitely more so than Gillard.
Both the conservative and progressive forces are split many ways.
The progressive forces, represented by the ALP and its left wing, now called the Greens, are only split three ways: Rudd-ALP, Gillard-ALP, and Green.
The conservative forces are split at least five ways now, and if we maintain consistency its six: Turnbull-Liberal, Abbott-Liberal, National/country party, Hanson's One Nation, Katter's Australia, and Palmer's Liberal Lite.
An unenviable choice, wouldn't you say? If division is death in politics, then we are riding a coffin to obliteration.
But isn't it better to vote for the forces which are the least split? Especially when this choice coincides with the policies which place us on the right track to a better future. I have consistently shown on this blog that the conservative forces in this country base their policies solely on failed ideology and the elitism of the rich. Every policy they dare to release can be shown to create further divisions within our society, which they cynically use to maintain their grasp on power.
I know the way I will vote in September and I hope those who read this blog will be persuaded to do the same.
"There's not a shadow of a doubt that the media has been used to help build momentum, to help build a sense of chaos, particularly this week. And anytime it looked like it was falling off, there was someone else [from Team Rudd] out and about … There is absolutely no doubt the Rudd forces have been using the media quite cleverly for some time now."
I've been rattling on about this for a while now. Yesterday I lost it and let fly, but at least I'm not the only one who has noticed this. A party that puts itself in a perceived cycle of cynically resurrecting a popular leader to win an election then unceremoniously dumping the winning leader for another one to run the government, one iteration of which has already occurred, has zero electoral legitimacy and is doomed to the backwaters for many electoral cycles.
As quoted above the mainstream media has been complicit in this farce from the beginning, but then that is just the nature of the game. If the Rudd supporters would shut up and coagulate under the Gillard flag, the reconquest of the electorate would be easily achievable. The strategy I outlined yesterday needs to happen as a matter of urgency. The government wins hands down on a rational comparison of policy and the sooner this comparison happens the better. Of course it would help if the mainstream media would pull their heads in, forgo the promise of sales, and simply ignore anything a known Rudd supporter says. This can only happen if the deeply conservative strings controlling the mainstream media, reaching from Rupert Murdoch through to his lapdog pack of senior editors, are released.
Let's not get too melodramatic about it but, to reuse a common image, we stand at a historical crossroads. The rest of the world has chosen the progressive road of cold rational decisions, represented here by the ALP with all its warts and shortcomings. How can we as a nation now choose the fluffy, sepia soaked, road of business-as-usual, post modern, feel-good-do-nothing road preferred by the LNP? The shear ludicrosity of such a proposition renders it unlikely, yet such an eventuality is possible. The opinion polls say it is a forgone conclusion. Something has to happen in the next three months to push us to the left. Not too far to the left but enough to reveal the falsity of LNP policy and particularly its leader who is a proven liar, even more so than is expected of politicians in general, and definitely more so than Gillard.
Both the conservative and progressive forces are split many ways.
The progressive forces, represented by the ALP and its left wing, now called the Greens, are only split three ways: Rudd-ALP, Gillard-ALP, and Green.
The conservative forces are split at least five ways now, and if we maintain consistency its six: Turnbull-Liberal, Abbott-Liberal, National/country party, Hanson's One Nation, Katter's Australia, and Palmer's Liberal Lite.
An unenviable choice, wouldn't you say? If division is death in politics, then we are riding a coffin to obliteration.
But isn't it better to vote for the forces which are the least split? Especially when this choice coincides with the policies which place us on the right track to a better future. I have consistently shown on this blog that the conservative forces in this country base their policies solely on failed ideology and the elitism of the rich. Every policy they dare to release can be shown to create further divisions within our society, which they cynically use to maintain their grasp on power.
I know the way I will vote in September and I hope those who read this blog will be persuaded to do the same.
Friday 14 June 2013
Where is that darrned budget emergency....can't seem to find it anywhere...Let's do the Emerson
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-12/kohler-perfect-storm/4747996
"Domestic demand is declining due not to the long election campaign, but to the high levels of household debt. That process is likely to continue after the election, especially if a new government imposes new austerity measures to repair its own balance sheet, writes Alan Kohler."
Alan Kohler can usually be relied on to cut through the fat and shine a light into the white noise put out by the mainstream media, but lately I have been disappointed by two of the best journalists in the country. Barry Cassidy has also gone loopy. The explanation seems to be the election effect. Don't forget the opinion poll effect.
Our budget deficit is between 1 and 2 percent of our GDP. This can, IN NO POSSIBLE WAY be construed as ANY SORT OF an emergency. A balanced budget is always the best possible outcome, but this needs to be seasoned with the reality of the state of the economy. Our economy, the most stable and resilient in the world in the past decade, judging by our weathering of the GFC in such spectacular fashiion, has none-the-less begun to falter a little bit in recent months. A faltering economy is the wrong time for austerity measures in fiscal policy. The experience in Europe is a warning to us. A slowly growing economy has been cast into a prolonged period of stagnation, characterised by high unemployment, with all of the human pain that entails, and shrinkage, by the implementation of crazy Hayeckian austerity in fiscal policy. I've said all this before on this blog.
Just as there is an optimum gearing ratio in business management which achieves the optimum outcome for the business, so there is a balance of austerity and progressive spending in fiscal policy which produces the optimum outcome for the nation, economy, and society. Managing the economy is about finding this balance, more of an art than a science. The deficit as a percentage of GST is probably about right, as it stands, for the level of faltering in the economy, so the present government is managing the economy pretty well, really.
In contrast the conservative forces, with Abbott as their mouthpiece, continue to rattle on about a mythical budget emergency for ideological reasons. They do this so that they will have a justification for implementing the depraved austerity measures practiced in Europe, which will cause unnecessary pain and irreparable harm to our economy, our nation and our society.
If the present government is managing the economy fairly well, as I have shown here, and a conservative government would throw a wrecking ball through it, to coin an Abbottism, WHY CHANGE GOVERNMENTS.
EVERY GOVERNMENT MINISTER NEEDS TO GET OUT THERE NOW. CALL PRESS CONFERENCES, AND GO OFF LIKE CRAIG EMERSON (DO THE EMERSON perhaps), ESPECIALLY THE PRIME MINISTER, DROWN OUT THE WHITE NOISE, SIDE ISSUES AND SILLY LITTLE POLITICAL GAMES, AND GET A RATIONAL DISCUSSION AND COMPARISON OF POLICY AND ACHIEVEMENT HAPPENING.
If this were to happen the government would win hands down and that is what Abbot is afraid of, so he draws Gillard into these silly political games as a side show for a mainstream media that consciously encourages and facilitates them. Gillard falls for it because she is, in some ways politically naive. and her advisers and spin doctors are blinkered and seem incompetent. They must know their business beter than I, yet they hold off on this rational policy discussion.
WHY????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
"Domestic demand is declining due not to the long election campaign, but to the high levels of household debt. That process is likely to continue after the election, especially if a new government imposes new austerity measures to repair its own balance sheet, writes Alan Kohler."
Alan Kohler can usually be relied on to cut through the fat and shine a light into the white noise put out by the mainstream media, but lately I have been disappointed by two of the best journalists in the country. Barry Cassidy has also gone loopy. The explanation seems to be the election effect. Don't forget the opinion poll effect.
Our budget deficit is between 1 and 2 percent of our GDP. This can, IN NO POSSIBLE WAY be construed as ANY SORT OF an emergency. A balanced budget is always the best possible outcome, but this needs to be seasoned with the reality of the state of the economy. Our economy, the most stable and resilient in the world in the past decade, judging by our weathering of the GFC in such spectacular fashiion, has none-the-less begun to falter a little bit in recent months. A faltering economy is the wrong time for austerity measures in fiscal policy. The experience in Europe is a warning to us. A slowly growing economy has been cast into a prolonged period of stagnation, characterised by high unemployment, with all of the human pain that entails, and shrinkage, by the implementation of crazy Hayeckian austerity in fiscal policy. I've said all this before on this blog.
Just as there is an optimum gearing ratio in business management which achieves the optimum outcome for the business, so there is a balance of austerity and progressive spending in fiscal policy which produces the optimum outcome for the nation, economy, and society. Managing the economy is about finding this balance, more of an art than a science. The deficit as a percentage of GST is probably about right, as it stands, for the level of faltering in the economy, so the present government is managing the economy pretty well, really.
In contrast the conservative forces, with Abbott as their mouthpiece, continue to rattle on about a mythical budget emergency for ideological reasons. They do this so that they will have a justification for implementing the depraved austerity measures practiced in Europe, which will cause unnecessary pain and irreparable harm to our economy, our nation and our society.
If the present government is managing the economy fairly well, as I have shown here, and a conservative government would throw a wrecking ball through it, to coin an Abbottism, WHY CHANGE GOVERNMENTS.
EVERY GOVERNMENT MINISTER NEEDS TO GET OUT THERE NOW. CALL PRESS CONFERENCES, AND GO OFF LIKE CRAIG EMERSON (DO THE EMERSON perhaps), ESPECIALLY THE PRIME MINISTER, DROWN OUT THE WHITE NOISE, SIDE ISSUES AND SILLY LITTLE POLITICAL GAMES, AND GET A RATIONAL DISCUSSION AND COMPARISON OF POLICY AND ACHIEVEMENT HAPPENING.
If this were to happen the government would win hands down and that is what Abbot is afraid of, so he draws Gillard into these silly political games as a side show for a mainstream media that consciously encourages and facilitates them. Gillard falls for it because she is, in some ways politically naive. and her advisers and spin doctors are blinkered and seem incompetent. They must know their business beter than I, yet they hold off on this rational policy discussion.
WHY????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Thursday 13 June 2013
Reality: what a concept
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-13/green-two-weekend/4749874
"On Wednesday last week Kevin Rudd's media advisor responded to a standing request from the ABC's 7.30 program. Kevin might be interested in appearing.
An RAAF aircraft on patrol spots a vessel carrying at least 55 people 28 nautical miles north-west of Christmas Island. It is stationary. No distress signal or other communication is received."
The media keep dragging up imaginary prospects of a new Rudd campaign and administration. The farcical prospect of electing a party which has one leader to rule and another to win elections is not credible, but the media keep dragging this up. Even with the Americanisation of our political system we still vote for parties, not personalities. The time for a leadership challenge is not just before an election, yet tht is how it has panned out in the last two iterations. These issues were settled by popular vote in the caucus more than a year ago and remain settled. The media should just leave it alone and concentrate on events like Craig Emerson's summation of Labour's case, which was reported and then lost in the white noise.
Tony Abbott should have zero credibility with anyone. He is on record saying that anything he says that is unscripted is a lie. Two weeks ago we saw that in fact anything he writes or signs off on is also a lie. He represents a party that has a record of gaining office and remaining in office by dirty tricks and lies, I refer to the children overboard lie and the imaginary budget emergency. They insist that they are the natural party of government but cannot attain government by rational comparison of policy, and so must resort to these tactics. This looks like megalomania and we had a quote from Abbott a few weeks ago indicating the same thing.
If Abbott gets elected it will be an unmitigated disaster for this country.
"On Wednesday last week Kevin Rudd's media advisor responded to a standing request from the ABC's 7.30 program. Kevin might be interested in appearing.
An RAAF aircraft on patrol spots a vessel carrying at least 55 people 28 nautical miles north-west of Christmas Island. It is stationary. No distress signal or other communication is received."
The media keep dragging up imaginary prospects of a new Rudd campaign and administration. The farcical prospect of electing a party which has one leader to rule and another to win elections is not credible, but the media keep dragging this up. Even with the Americanisation of our political system we still vote for parties, not personalities. The time for a leadership challenge is not just before an election, yet tht is how it has panned out in the last two iterations. These issues were settled by popular vote in the caucus more than a year ago and remain settled. The media should just leave it alone and concentrate on events like Craig Emerson's summation of Labour's case, which was reported and then lost in the white noise.
Tony Abbott should have zero credibility with anyone. He is on record saying that anything he says that is unscripted is a lie. Two weeks ago we saw that in fact anything he writes or signs off on is also a lie. He represents a party that has a record of gaining office and remaining in office by dirty tricks and lies, I refer to the children overboard lie and the imaginary budget emergency. They insist that they are the natural party of government but cannot attain government by rational comparison of policy, and so must resort to these tactics. This looks like megalomania and we had a quote from Abbott a few weeks ago indicating the same thing.
If Abbott gets elected it will be an unmitigated disaster for this country.
Wednesday 12 June 2013
Speculators
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4745828.html
"Over the weekend we once again had the spectacle of speculation reported as news.
That is not to say the stories are false, but there is a strong desire among journalists to be the first to report that Julia Gillard only has days left as PM."
'Speculation reported as news': the bane of all rationality. The big question being whether the electorate can discern the difference. Has anybody seen my WMDs? Has anybody seen my budget emergency? And now has anybody seen my recession? Has Rupert Murdoch sent his clowns out to fabricate a sense of panic so that sufficient numbers vote for the conservative forces, or is it just in the nature of the beast? Probably a combination of the two. The 'Children Overboard' lie demonstrated the extreme fallibility of the electorate and instituted a Howard government rendered illegitimate by the fact of this lie. Similarly Dubya bought an election when his relative Jeb, in Florida rigged an election or two.
It is only conservative forces in recent times who deploy these insincere, deceiving tactics based on media manipulation and outright falsification. Furthermore, they dumb down the electorate by taking money out of education in order to create voters unable to discern the fact from fiction; the lies from reality. They also spruick counterenlightenment, postmodern undercurrents championing emotion over reason, so that it is easy to get swept to power and then maintain the status quo by creating a sense of panic and negativity. They thrive on these fantacies, Climate change denial being a major example.
Craig Emerson also got in a big splurge for the government at a televised press conference. The facts are that this country faces significant challenges if we are to maintain our level of well-being: climate change; equality in education; economic management. In almost any area you look at this government has been strong, far-seeing, visionary, in its legislative program. They are effectively facing these challenges. A conservative government would turn away from them and pretend they don't exist.
Why change governments if the present one is doing so well.
The conservative forces are split five ways and GetUp is mobilising. If the likes of Hanson, Palmer and Katter can attract enough liberal leaning voters and the youth and female votes come home, there is still hope, no matter what the speculators in the media put out as news.
"Over the weekend we once again had the spectacle of speculation reported as news.
That is not to say the stories are false, but there is a strong desire among journalists to be the first to report that Julia Gillard only has days left as PM."
'Speculation reported as news': the bane of all rationality. The big question being whether the electorate can discern the difference. Has anybody seen my WMDs? Has anybody seen my budget emergency? And now has anybody seen my recession? Has Rupert Murdoch sent his clowns out to fabricate a sense of panic so that sufficient numbers vote for the conservative forces, or is it just in the nature of the beast? Probably a combination of the two. The 'Children Overboard' lie demonstrated the extreme fallibility of the electorate and instituted a Howard government rendered illegitimate by the fact of this lie. Similarly Dubya bought an election when his relative Jeb, in Florida rigged an election or two.
It is only conservative forces in recent times who deploy these insincere, deceiving tactics based on media manipulation and outright falsification. Furthermore, they dumb down the electorate by taking money out of education in order to create voters unable to discern the fact from fiction; the lies from reality. They also spruick counterenlightenment, postmodern undercurrents championing emotion over reason, so that it is easy to get swept to power and then maintain the status quo by creating a sense of panic and negativity. They thrive on these fantacies, Climate change denial being a major example.
Craig Emerson also got in a big splurge for the government at a televised press conference. The facts are that this country faces significant challenges if we are to maintain our level of well-being: climate change; equality in education; economic management. In almost any area you look at this government has been strong, far-seeing, visionary, in its legislative program. They are effectively facing these challenges. A conservative government would turn away from them and pretend they don't exist.
Why change governments if the present one is doing so well.
The conservative forces are split five ways and GetUp is mobilising. If the likes of Hanson, Palmer and Katter can attract enough liberal leaning voters and the youth and female votes come home, there is still hope, no matter what the speculators in the media put out as news.
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