In which the pond joins the bromancer and his hero in raging against the insolent, frivolous, glutinous, disturbing, gross and selfish abuse of the world's limited resources by a privileged minority ...

(Above: another demonic reptile of Oz portrait to add to the collection).

Saturday 25th July 2015

Since the 18th we have had a continuous Bronnie gale from W.S.W. and S.W. We had fuel to make two cups of tea apiece and bare food for two days on the 20th. to get us through the reading. Every day we have been ready to start for the newsagency to plead for mercy, but outside the door of the pond it remains a scene of whirling drift. I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be far. 
It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. 
D. PARKER. 
For the long absent lord's sake look after our people. (the original here).

Okay, the deepest, abject, grovelling apology to Scott of the Antarctic, who was in a far worse pickle than the pond, but still the valiant foot soldiers slog on with their indignation.

This day it was left to the reptiles with a soft centre - van Onselen and Craven - to maintain the rage:

And the humorists were still out and about at Fairfax:

Meanwhile, the Mirabella wedding blues romp on, with Bronnie righteous and indignant, as on view at the ABC in Bronwyn Bishop defends taxpayer-funded travel to colleague Sophie Mirabella's wedding as 'official business'.

Now let's be fair. Who would hang out with Mirabella if it cost them actual personal cash?

But the pond is tired, exhausted by it all, and the sheer brazenness and cheek and chutzpah and hubris which proves that accountability is just the word you use on the way to cashing in your chit.

Besides, it gets in the way of many important reptile stories.

Look, ho, there's valiant Sir Polonius rushing off to defend a fair maiden's honour:

Fancy that. The pond would never have guessed that a six year old might only be dimly aware of the ideologies raging around the world.

That's the sort of profound insight the prattling Polonius offers each time he picks up a pen in his dotage.

And then there was the coal lobby to consider, and some 'coal, coal, coal for Australia' champions, quiet, diligent folk, beavering away in the background, were at it again:

      

It brought a tear to the pond's eye, to think the troops were ready to step outside the tent and take the hits the fiendish greenies arranged each day ...

But enough already because the pond had a special treat last night, in the form of a simpering Ticky Fullerton fawning all over Greg Sheridan as he modestly explained how he and another moderate, one Tony Abbott, were routinely surrounded by crazy, far left, wild-eyed, pinko commie perverts threatening physical violence, and how the pair - one a stout hearted rugger bugger forward - refused to quail in fear.

Showing off his war wounds, the brave lad recounted how he and the mad monk had headed off to take on PLO lovers, and were 4 against 60, though why the bear-baiters bothered to head into the bear cage - unless they wanted to create mayhem and a shit storm - remained a tad mysterious to the pond.

It turned out that B. A. Santamaria was a humble, modest moderate too, and not a barking mad Catholic fundamentalist, and so Sheridan was very proud to have been one of Santa's army, which explains more about Sheridan than the pond cared to know.

Oh there were photos from the family album too:

Oh dear. Men in kitchens. The pond remembers what that meant ...

Well the ABC is kind, and anyone might have the same pleasure as the pond by trooping off here to the Lateline story.

And well played Ticky, whenever the pond wants someone to bowl up a cream puff question, we'll make sure you get a plentiful supply of marshmallow for the toasting ...

Meanwhile, Sheridan is out and about amongst the reptiles, pumping up the volume:

Yes, he's pumping up his volume for sale.

Johnno (or Johno) Johnson legendary? Only if you think The Catholic Weekly and papal knights and the whole oppressive and preposterous state of the Catholic church was a good thing. Perhaps that volume should have been called When We Were Old and Still Sounding Stupid ...

Why even Abbott himself couldn't take it, and gave it away so he could indulge in his rampant, lustful desire to commit sins of the flesh ... (and sin he did).

But then came a special treat:

35% off? It'll be in the remainder aisles in a month for those who can remember tree-killing books, but anyway, that's not the special treat.

The special treat comes with those lines:

“Man does not live by colour TV set alone. We of the Democratic Club believe strongly in the ideals which underlie this seemingly trite expression, given there is a shortage of resources in the world. 
“It is disturbing to see so much frivolous and glutinous consumption by a privileged minority. Gross selfishness is not something we in any way admire. 
“Yet neither is it just to simply hand over food and money as a salve to our consumerist consciences.’’

Oh the irony, the irony, and Sheridan surely being too thick to see how the lines might resonate in these Bronnie times.

Sure, it's the sort of twaddle everybody might scribble before they get old and cynical, but even then, Abbott was doing his butt, butt routine, or in this case, the yeti, yeti ... yet it's not enough for the pigs at the trough to salve their consumerist consciences with a bit of pork-barrelling ...

Even as old Tony stands guard supporting the frivolous and glutinous consumption by a privileged minority of Bronnies. Gross selfishness is something which he came wholeheartedly to admire, support and enjoy himself ...

Which is why the ranting of moralists only confirm the hardened cynics in their ways ...

Initially the pond hadn't wanted to bother with the buzzing bee academic from the west, but now there's a particular poignancy to his righteousness:

Yes, yes, but the pigs must sit down with the farmer and have a meal and sing songs and attend weddings, and where's the harm in that?

Oh dear. He could have put that a lot more simply:

“It is disturbing to see so much frivolous and glutinous consumption by a privileged minority. Gross selfishness is not something we in any way admire. 
“Yet neither is it just to simply hand over food and money as a salve to our consumerist consciences.’’

Hmm, and ye shall know them by the company they keep, as van Onselen lies cheek by jowel with Sheridan and his bromancing buddy, and the reptiles of Oz, who demanded Abbott and cohort be elected, dare to wonder at community disengagement, or possibly falling circulation ...

As usual, it's left to Pope to summarise in an image the hypocrisy thousands of words of blather fail to nail, as the graffiti artist continues his epic work for the community and calls resound around the land for a great big newly expanded tax on everything ...

(Below: and more Pope here)