Journalistic standards on the line ...

Well after that little burst of teh Donald and teh attached hair, the pond is proud to present an Oz editorial with which the pond agrees ...

Sound the alarums, let off the fireworks, is this a fairly unique event? (Hmm, must consult the ABC's style guide on that one, perhaps it'll do better than their broadcasters) ...

Indeed, indeed. Who can argue with that? Apparently there's a huge twitter war raging about this, which is another reason the pond is glad it tends to ignore the twittering. Science doesn't come in 140 characters.

But the editorial deploring fuzzy thinking, conspiracy theories and nonsensical superstitions, perhaps including the transubstantive kind - oh what will Greg Sheridan, Paul Kelly and prattling Polonius do - is most welcome. After all, if you're going to berate daily Islamics for their daily and deadly fundamentalist follies, why not spread the love to those around you?

Is this how it's going to be at the lizard Oz under the new regime?

Splendid. No doubt that means we can shortly read an editorial debunking the hysteria about wind turbines, followed by another editorial debunking the scientific thinking of Maurice Newman.

The pond can just imagine how the editorial might run:

Asked about the controversy, News Corp plays a double game. It says it does not endorse the views of individual correspondents, but makes claims to "quality standards" in its journalism and "rigorous" assessment of all contributions before they are considered suitable for publication in the "heart of the nation." 

A request for comment on a series of alleged errors in many of Moorice's commentaries yielded nothing. A request for an explanation of why News Corp supported all sorts of conspiracy theories about wind turbines yielded nothing. A request for an understanding of why News Corp and the reptiles of Oz daily printed canards, half truths, obfuscations and distortions yielded nothing.

Nor will News Corp reveal why it persists in publishing the rantings of an old man long after he was dropped by the federal government. Part of the problem may be relevance deprivation syndrome afflicting the hard right now that their hero has gone, making its commentariat think that Moorice's cross-disciplinary work has some slight substance and usefulness to the world. This is rather like a businessman who insists that climate science only exists because of a conspiracy between the United Nations and politicians and scientists intent on establishing a world government. Perhaps News Corp already has someone working on such a thesis ...

So that's what Dame Slap's been doing for the January holydays ... perhaps with Andrew "the opera man and world's top climate scientist" Bolt as her supervisor ...

Oh wait, maybe there's a reason they can shout at the University of Wollongong, but not at Moorice ...

Meanwhile, it's true sadly, the pond is old enough to remember the good old days ... perhaps the aim is to get more good literature of the kind written by Alan Marshall ...

And here's a joke about an offering that makes the pond regret it never did get around to patenting its Placebo + pill ... and don't worry about the sugar's impact on your health, just don't exceed the recommended dosage ...