Oh sweet long absent lord, the pond almost blinked at the challenge ahead …
But at least there was some good news. It seems the ghost has left the lizard Oz building for the moment - leaving time for the reptiles to get a decent, reassuring coffee from a top notch Surry Hills barista - and Malware and his clanking chains couldn't be found …
The pond did a search of the front digital page for 'Turnbull' and came up with 0 of 0! The pond's exorcism had worked, the ghost had gone!
Better still, climate science and dinkum clean Oz coal oi, oi, oi, were in the best of hands …
And the reptiles had in hands two valiant warriors to sort out the needs of pesky, difficult blacks ...
At least all that news put the pond in a good mood, essential when climbing the Everest of nattering "Ned" … and this day his work was of biblical length …
You see, "Ned" is exhausted and in complete despair, and the one thing that's certain is that in this enervated, debilitated condition, nothing will shut "Ned" up ...
Well that's the "we've all been rooned bit", and now it's on to worrying whether "Adam and Eve" might yet stand in our wretched education system ...
Indeed, indeed, but the pond had mentioned the human right to teach Adam and Eve as literal truth …as the original right and proper explanation for why those wretched gays are destined to an eternity of hellfire …
What noble speaker in tongues, what brave secular lawyer would take the stand in favour of delusion? (Perhaps in hope of not being excluded from the rapture.)
Who would put up their hand and cherish the right to berate teh gays for their wicked, un-Adam and Eve lifestyle? Where would it end? Would jokes about Adam and Steve be banned?
Come on down a decent Christian … perhaps some kind of Porter deeply concerned about Adam and Eve ...
Yes, the intransigent perverted Labor party is to blame, yet there's nothing to be said for the intransigence of the reptiles, or members of the speakers of tongue's party, because, let's face it, the gays are inherently wicked, and are destined for an eternity of hellfire, and they've known it for thousands of years, ever since Adam and Eve told them so, and please, none of this nonsense about the way some mythical god, having established humanity in his or her form, might therefore have foreseen gay people …and might even have seen them as part of his or her image ...
Why some mythical gods also mention inclusion and tolerance, but the reptiles, the pond and the speakers in tongues will have none of that nonsense ...
Indeed, the solution is simple, but how many times can the pond suggest that religious schools wanting to preach intolerance and sundry nonsense, of a fundamentalist Islamic, Jewish, Xian or Scientological kind, forsake their taxpayer money and do it on their own dime?
Oh okay, that's as silly and as impossible as expecting a Caterist, while blathering about rent-seekers living off the taxpayer, to hand back a grant to the Department of Finance …
Meanwhile, the pond has to endure "Ned's" nattering, with the main interest now wondering if it will ever end ...
Um, but actually the state does interfere with direct religious practice. It subsidises with hard, cold cash, for example, the Catholic Ponzi scheme, whereby you get a child of seven and hope to turn him or her (preferably a him) into a Jesuit for life, or at least an onion muncher, or a journalist for the lizard Oz … but never mind, the journey with "Ned" is almost done ...
The stakes are high? Why the pond has every confidence that the reptiles will do their very best to sustain bigotry and prejudice, but at this point, the pond felt in urgent need of an encyclical from the infallible Pope, with more papal messages to hand here ...
Phew, that's better, and at this point, the pond almost felt like it had done enough for the entire weekend, but then it was lured on with talk of unintended consequences ...
Say what? The pond rarely attends the church of the oscillating fan, but this day the pond was impelled, because the fan had been given the highest honour … the blessing of the cult status of a Lobbecke …
Attention simply had to be paid ...
Even worse, talking of unintended consequences, it means the pond has had to endure Comrade Bill for far too long, culminating in yesterday's quisling, forelock-tugging, fellow-travelling folly, but please, do go on ...
Yes, yes, for some strange reason, the pond is reminded of comrade Bill and the law of the cane toad, but a little more of that down the road …
First the pond must allow the oscillating fan to finish in a seemly fashion ...
Ah, but wasn't the entire point of the charade to distract from all that blather about the Warringah motion being overturned in NSW Liberal preselections by the speaker in tongues, with craven cowards of the onion muncher kind falling into line in a trice?
And didn't it work a treat … because there's nothing like a later piece of stupidity and nonsense to distract from an earlier one … and lo, that lesser Kelly who goes by the name of Craig (did they run out of Dans?) may now roam the land with lumps of coal and rampant climate science denialism, and the reptiles were honoured in the eyes of their Lord ...
And now back to the that talk of unintended consequences and cane toads.
You see, when the pond toddled off to Rowe here …the pond came across this tweet ...
And what do you know, the pond clicked on John Davidson writing on the new encryption laws, and lo, it was at time of writing outside the AFR paywall here. (If it doesn't work, perhaps try the tweet or google the text).
Follow the link for the full story, but the pond couldn't resist quoting this second part, as it almost followed verbatim an argument shouted at the pond by a tech head friend yesterday, while in a deep state of rage and alienation … (no, it wasn't Davidson, it just seems the thinking is part of the bubble and the nerdish zeitgeist) ...
The pond's friend provided a number of other ways the half-baked, half-arsed legislation might fuck things up, simply because comrade Bill didn't want to be wedged, and be blamed should there be an eruption over the Xmas season … a wedge shamelessly deployed by the speaker in tongues doing the mutton Dutton surveillance stance …
On and on the pond's friend ranted about technology and privacy, but by this point the pond was exhausted. For fuck's sake, and now this day the pond has done nattering "Ned" and the oscillating fan, and has to give a toss about the quisling comrade Bill?
And that's why the pond just settled for the Rowe embedded in the story, but also available here ...
An interesting article by George Monbiot in the Guardian today linking dear Brendan with Koch brothers money:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/07/us-billionaires-hard-right-britain-spiked-magazine-charles-david-koch-foundation
Ta …the pond generally refuses to have anything to with Brendan … $300,000? By golly, not only are they prostitutes, they go for a cheap price …
DeleteThe Kochs are mentioned in several Spiked articles, but no corresponding interests are declared. An article in 2016, when Spiked US received $170,000 from the Charles Koch Foundation, attacked the Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access pipeline, in which the Koch brothers have a major interest.
Old Ned and the rest of The Murdoch and Sky sewing circle can blather away all they like about "religious freedom" in schools, but in my view it boils down to this, any institution that wants to impose and teach discrimination of any type must have its taxpayer funding cut immediately, not just to its schools, but the whole tax free status it enjoys.
ReplyDeleteI think the Church bodies would instantly agree to no discrimination.
Motion seconded!
DeleteThis is all a bit of an exploding cigar. The more they blather the more attention it draws to the cosy little arrangements religious organisations have negotiated with governments of both persuasions.
I don't know anyone that gives a toss about religious freedom but I know quite a few that question the influence and the special treatments given to the churches.
I suspect they should have shut up after the plebiscite but they cannot help themselves.
Ph yes, they can indeed "help themselves": witness how many of the religious organisations are stonewalling on compensation payouts to victims of sexual abuse in the well based expectation that many more of them will die before getting any payment at all.
DeleteYay for "religious freedom".
Now the very good Amanda Stoker sayeth: "That a simple amendment stating that it is not unlawful to teach the doctrines of a religion in good faith is so abhorrent to Labor".
ReplyDeleteNow let me just get this straight. The Bible says: "If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant; 17:3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 17:4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel; 17:5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die." [Deuteronomy 17]
So, shall it be "religious freedom' to incite people to murder infidels? Is that the nature of 'religious freedom' that Amanda and Neddy want to impose on us ?
And I haven't even gotten started on the various forms of polygny and polandry that various religions claim as central to their teachings.
Ok, so a society in which incitement to murder is a protected religious freedom, and so is the right to have multiple concurrent marriage partners. And all of that is enthusiastically taught in religious schools. Oh yeah, bring it on.
PS: do Catholic schools still teach that divorce is sinful, despite it having been secular law for centuries ? Or is it now just an ordinary naughtiness - say three Hail Marys and be absolved.
After all, their "God" keeps on changing It's mind every generation or so in these degenerate times. So keep in mind that what they want is for their "baseless anti-scientific myths" to be given special privileges: tax exemptions, government handouts and funding for their "schools", and above all "freedom" from having to obey the basic laws of charitable civilisation.
Sheesh, GB, you're just winding the pond up and want it to roam up and down King street checking on the clothing mix being worn by the sweet young things …
DeleteThou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.
This morning the pond might just burn down the fish market for its assorted crimes …
Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.
By golly, guess ScoMo can't toss a prawn on the Sunday barbie …
Ah Leviticus, what a great book it is ...
They're all great books, DP, and I sincerely trust that the Xtian (or similar) schools take a leaf out of the Islamic madrassa's book and make all their students learn the bible by heart ! Especially the Catholic Latin version.
DeleteAnd now for something completely similar:
ReplyDeleteLast week I learned a new word: ostinato. Today, I re-learned an old word: apophenia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia
"The term (German: Apophänie) was coined by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad in his 1958 publication on the beginning stages of schizophrenia. He defined it as "unmotivated seeing of connections [accompanied by] a specific feeling of abnormal meaningfulness". He described the early stages of delusional thought as self-referential, over-interpretations of actual sensory perceptions, as opposed to hallucinations.
Apophenia has come to imply a universal human tendency to seek patterns in random information, such as" religion.