In which the Bolter and the Savva square off and only one can leave the ring standing ...

Savva's poignant hand-wringing plea in today's lizard Oz - isn't Thursday the best of all days? - somehow strangely reminded the pond of those lines in One from the Heart:

 "If you wanna get rid of a circus girl, all you've gotta do is close your eyes." 
"Yeah, then what, circus girl?" 
"She disappears. Like spit on a griddle."

The pond has always liked the notion of spit on a griddle, and truth to tell, Savva's plea is a sign of what is sure to follow ...

Stop the abuse and play nice? Sure, if you think spit don't sizzle on the griddle ...

Uh oh. A splendid balanced piece, tidily pointing out that Leak is a bigot (can racist be far behind?) but he has a right to be a bigot because George Brandis said so ...

Oh maybe she didn't quite mean it that way, but then the plebiscite pops up, and it just so happens that this very day the Bolter has also rushed into print in his usual way, baying at the moon ...

Such sensitive graphics, though the pond isn't sure how a gay Uncle Sam got into the mix ...

Now here's the thing which everyone tiptoes around at the moment, but which surely troubles Savva while it sends the Bolter into a foaming 18c font of pleasure.

Where will the onion munching wall puncher stand in the plebiscite? Will he change his  mind and side with his sister?

Or will he lead the forces of darkness and George and Cory and the rest of the braying pack of delcons in the anti-SSM campaign? 

There's no doubting what the Bolter wants - who could stand against the power of ratings and clickbait?

Now the pond should get all the frivolous objections out of the way ...

... to focus on sensible debating points ...

... and the next thing you know there'll be an orgy of dog-fucking the likes of which we haven't seen since Chris Kenny was  caught in the act ...

Okay, we can see where the Bolter is heading.

He really, really wants the chance for the delcons, no doubt led by the onion-munching wall puncher, to dole out the hate ...

Anything less would be simply un-Australian, if you understand that anything un-Bolter is un-Australian ...

Up against the strident Bolter, the hand-wringing of Savva sounds like a maiden aunt offering everyone a cup of tea and a scone (oh waiter, if you insist, with wild blackberry jam and Tamworth cream)...

And there, at the very end, is the hoppy toad popping out ...

Tony Abbott is expert at tearing down prime ministers ... and yet there is hapless Savva pleading for the hoppy toad to abstain.

What sayeth the Bolter? 

And back in the HUN and the Terror, the Bolter  won't hear any idle talk of abstention, and please, no talk of a potential conflict of interest.

The Bolter simply yearns for the onion muncher to be restored to the throne, like a bonnie prince Charlie, for the good of all ...

Yes, there's the sting in the Bolter's tail. The hope against hope, the chance to dream the impossible dream.

The chance to defeat the plebiscite and announce that this is how democracy works, and the many must never obey the few, or even give a toss about them and their rights, because fascism never cared for minorities, and after all, what was wrong with fascism, and oh be still beating, throbbing pulsating heart, the chance to stick it to Malware and for the onion munching wall puncher to emerge triumphant from the fray, and defeat the beast and resume his rightful place as the ruler of the land ...

Oh and let's not forget that little projectile ...

… the extreme Right and the delcons ... adept at dropping bile, then squealing like little piggies if anybody dares bite back ... bully, intimidate, offend, smear ... groupthink always precedes, then dictates, a group rant ... viciousness ... invective ... no fact left untwisted, no insult withheld ... the loonies of the Right ... like throwing bananas at indigenous football players ... wind people up over religion or politics ... inaccurate, unfair or foments hatred ... bigots ... homophobic rants ... hyperbole ... one more excuse to beat up on Turnbull… high dudgeon?

Scanning down the comments on the Bolter's comment on the Savva piece, could the pond come anywhere near that projectile?

Well we might toss in ...

...shrew ...drivel ... a very Savvage outburst ... hysterical (could the pond add, just like a woman?)...hissy fit (could the pond add, just like a hissy woman) ...temper temper ... methinks Niki is starting to get worried about becoming the sole income provider ... (could the pond ask, why is it women work when they'd be much happier in the kitchen?) ... hysterical ranting ...vile person (just like a woman really) ...hysterical stuff ... (bloody hysterical woman) ... what is wrong with this woman? (bloody woman) ...hell hath no fury like a woman whose opinions are scorned ... (bloody women) ...Is there something she knows from her pillow talk? (bloody gossips, women) ...miserable gossip columnist ... fair suck of the Savva-loy ...traitors ... Nikki (sic), get your head out of you know where! ... a very bitter and twisted woman ...totally emotional rant to the point of being unintelligible ...she needs a holiday and a good book (or perhaps a good fuck. Why are women so emotional?!) ...  Is she losing her grip on reality! (most women don't have much of a grip) ...

And so on.  There was so much Abbott love on display that the pond wondered if the bromancer had multiple handles and ran sock puppet style through the comments section.

Oh sure, there were a few comments that resorted to standard abuse (paranoid, hypocrite), but if the streak of misogyny that ran rampant is any guide, by golly the plebiscite debate is going to be a ripper ...

Meanwhile, Malware's singular incompetence in other matters goes on being celebrated, not least by the immortal Rowe, and more Rowe here ...