So how did the lizard Oz respond to the crisis du jour? Lead off with their leading female correspondent?
Nope. Not a chance. Instead send out the oscillating fan, and even more relevant, offer up the thoughts of nattering "Ned", aged white male ...
Naturally the pond ignored the oscillating fan saying something must be done, because anyone scribbling 'enough words' while offering more words is surely a prime goose.
The pond also avoided talk of quotas, because that would mean caving to an insidious agenda, and is surely something that won't be done. It would be as bizarre and surreal as having a woman in place of "Ned" this day ...
And so, inevitably, the pond turned to "Ned" for inspiration ...
Now there's an unfortunate choice of image ... a hint of arrogance, a touch of smirk, a note of supreme indifference and superiority ... though perhaps the lizard Oz's preference for putting up a shot of some pretty young thing to beguile its male punters wouldn't have worked in the context of the subject matter being tackled by "Ned" ... and so to the tale of woe, which treats the whole matter as a matter of how to stuff the matter back in the can ...
What a shocking and harrowing tale of woe. What's the world coming to? Women not silent in church, women refusing to be complimentary, women demanding the right to speak in tongues, and none of it happened last century, it's all this century, what with those suffragettes just a fading memory in the minds of the "Neds" of the world ... and all that endless railing by the reptiles against identity politics - "Ned" a crusader himself - suddenly starting to look a little out of touch ...
Where will it all end? Ned might have asked himself, had he been around to slump in the club's leather chair and call for a dry sherry, or perhaps a port, as he contemplated Emmeline Pankhurst and co doing their outrageous, shocking thing ...
Oh indeed, indeed, what to do, what to do? Lead by example? No, not possible. Shed a few tears? A possible, passable strategy if one happened to be a crocodile ... or bitterly complain about the unfairness of it all, look to the heavens in indignation and speak in foreign tongues?
Indeed, indeed, what a mistake, but how discreet of "Ned" not to go into sordid details ...
But at least the pond was relieved to discover that "Ned" could have a second life as a writer for a rom sitcom ... that last line "His job is to show that conservatives have an effective voice on justice for women" was a ripper line which would be a great episode closer ...
But where was Dame Slap in all this? Wednesday is her day. Instead of sending out tired old "Ned" or the oscillating fan to natter on, why not send out an actual woman?
Sadly she was busy, doing usual reptile duties, bashing fat cat union bosses and Labor in a standard IPA outing ...
So the pond turned to the lizard Oz editorialist, knowing it would be sure to be able to hearken unto another lizard Oz male voice ...
How bad have things become? Well the pond was shocked and completely stunned to see the lizard Oz editorialist reprint a list of demands from a greenie woman ... outrageously proposing things that might be done, as opposed to doing manly things on the economy ...
Oh dear ... time for David Rowe to sort things out, with more sorting to be found here ...
And so to the bonus of the day, though it's not really a bonus, it's just an endless repetition ... but for all that, the pond always pricks up its ears in Joe Orton fashion when it hears "kancel kultur" get yet another reptile airing ...
Uh huh ... but wouldn't it be helpful then to explain where your funding does come from? Purely as a matter of transparency? Just to stop the malicious rumours, who does stump up for your endless climate science denialism?
Surely the humble stipend offered by the loyal lizard Oz isn't enough to keep the cogs in your grand institute running? It's true there have been hints in the past - $640,000 for peddling the old line that nothing much needs to be done, reprocessed herein yet again from that 2016 outing; or talk of you hauling in a cool $775,000 in one year to bleat about consensus, together with speculation about assorted American donors; or talk of a billionaire vulture capitalist chipping in ...
But the pond understands the immortal line, grifters gotta grift, and in the end nobody much cares anymore, because the bleating is so familiar and repetitive ... especially when you urge more climate debate, when anyone except an amoral tosser might be urging more actual climate science, and actual climate-orientated action ... enough words from Bjorn-again types, the oscillating fan might cry, it's time for action ...
Indeed, indeed, we should give all the trillions to Bjorn again, in a transparent and consensually consensus way ...
But at least this latest offering, absolutely free of new ideas, but blessed with a rich vein of self-pity, allowed the pond to wrap up with an infallible Pope that somehow managed to bring together climate and the issue of the day ...
"Labor should beware"
ReplyDeleteFor gawd's sake, the day after angry old man loses temper and threatens people, nattering Ned picks up the torch and does the bloody same.
Much shorter than a torturous Ned screed is tbis: Morrison's problem is Morrison. As ever it has been thus.
And we've all been waiting for Australia to get it.
Tipping point may finally be here.
Dunno about that, vc; it was obvious from very early on that ScottyfromHorizonMarketing was a dead loss, yet people still voted for him - or at least they didn't vote against him like they should've (if only they hadn't had to vote for Billy Short'nin instead).
DeleteAnd look at how many voted for DJ Trump and Boris de Pfeffel too.
Way too much madness abroad in the human race to expect any sanity to emerge.
Folk on the progressive side are a bit uneasy about making snap judgements but it is funny how often people turn out to be just who they appeared to be at the first glance.
DeleteThere's no hidden dimensions to Bo-Jo, Scomo or Drumpf, you just have to look to see who they are, but people don't even bother to do that. Perhaps that loud empty vessel is what appeals to people but I cannot understand why.
The thing that is really getting to me more, Bef, is just how vanishingly little notice most people take of the world. So the vast majority of voters just basically know nothing about the SloMos, Drumpfs and Bo-Jos until something forces them to take some notice - and then they usually notice all the wrong things.
DeleteI was reluctant to go into another boring anecdote but a discussion yesterday revealed exactly what you are talking about.
DeleteEndorsed the Prime Minister's handling of the pandemic but didn't seem to have any background knowledge of border closures, management of nursing homes or the general disagreements with the states. So, a firmly held belief not based on much at all.
Yair, and then I encountered this:
Delete"To me, this is evidence for the "thermostat" theory of happiness, namely that we basically all have a set-point of happiness and we stay there most of the time unless something truly terrible or truly great happens. The pandemic apparently didn't qualify as all that terrible. Go figure."
https://jabberwocking.com/raw-data-happiness-around-the-world-in-the-era-of-covid-19/
Ok, so it's the "thermostat theory of happiness" then.
There is something wonderfully mid-19th century in the editorial for the Flagship involving itself in - solitary vice. One wonders if the editorialist thought of resuscitating the term 'manustupration', out of concern for sensitivity of readers.
ReplyDeleteGiven the writings of eminent medical men of the 1840s, setting out the diagnostic manifestations apparent in those men in thrall to the vice, it is a little surprising that our so-aware MPs had not long suspected the perp. and suggested he take himself off to an appropriate quack. Duty of care, and all that.
Perhaps, GB, the solitary vice is resurgent - which might help explain why so many males voted for the Donald and the de Pfeffel?
Yeah, "tales of ordinary madness" abound, Chad. I'm just wondering how they all escaped going blind.
DeleteIs manustupration anything like repoliament sex?
Deletehttps://www.crikey.com.au/2021/03/24/tips-and-murmurs-scott-morrison/
Thank you Mercurial - I have filed away Charlie Lewis' succinct assessment - 'Prime Minister Scott Morrison's approach to politics -- not as a joined-up idea of how the country ought to work, more as a series of discrete public relations issues to be managed'
DeleteIt could be useful in the future.
:)³ A splendid word, evoking splendid memories of Victorian vice, though not necessarily in the state of Victoria ... and just a little more context ...
DeleteWorld is fukt Some typos are so far from whatever word they were originally intended to be that they transcend mere error and create a category of word — like the following in yesterday’s online Herald Sun:
Scott Morrison blasts repoliament sex acts after Channel 10 Report.
In the rush to catalogue Morrison’s extraordinary press conference, the headline described him blasting “repoliament sex acts”. It may be a for-the-ages typo, but we here in the bunker would prefer to think of it as a deliberate portmanteau encapsulating “repulsive”, “politics” and “parliament”.
The empire strikes back Incidentally, after Morrison needlessly and gratuitously did the one thing no conservative prime minister should do — pick a fight with News Corp — papers around the country gave a mixed response.
The Hun and The Daily Telegraph went hard on him, taking advantage of his tendency to look comically befuddled in pictures and making puns on his self-appointed nickname, and while the The Advertiser was slightly more understanding it still contended that so far his talk had been cheap.
The Australian, ever faithful, ran on Morrison’s preferred line, and mentioned the apology in a subheading ...
Yeay, reptiles! Always loyal ...
Talking about typos, DP, how about this:
Delete“Arocdnicg to rsceearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pcale.”
https://clubtroppo.com.au/2021/03/23/uncertainty-part-1-mcgurk/#more-34749
I guess that a Bjorn-again rumination appearing now is a comment on Lloydy's effort: ie, too easy going, not frightening enough about how spending $trillions "that we don't have" will roon the planet far worse that any old climate change stuff. So, bring on Lomborg to seriously frighten the rubes.
ReplyDeleteBut I truly love Bjorn's key numbers: 363% increase in the wealth of "each person on the planet". So, if you earn just a pitiful $100,000 pa now, in 50 years, if you're still alive and earning, you will be getting $363,000 pa. And what exactly does Bjorn think people will spend it on: the average domestic 3-bedroom house on a suburban block will cost about $3.5million ? Just don't try to buy one on the Hawkesbury Sea.
Does Bjorn really think that people in 50 years time will have 3.63 times as much possessions as now ? Eat 3.63 times as much food each ? Drive 3.63 times as many cars each ? Wear 3.63 times as many clothes, perhaps ?
Do we think that Bjorn will ever wake up to the fact that spending money is exactly what makes an economy ? And that we never have the money until (a) a heap of tax money turns up and (b) we "print" as much as we need. And we've been doing exactly that for many centuries.
But oh, "unmitigated climate change in half a century will reduce general welfare equivalent to lowering each person's income by between 0.2 and 2 percent." Sure it will Bjorny, sure it will - because that's what we'll be spending our 363% more on: staying alive in a planetary disaster.
Sheesh, GB, the pond is glad someone took the Bjorn-again maths seriously enough to note the enormous stupidity, but seriously why has he started turning up again in the lizard Oz? Is he now so forlorn and desperate for attention, and is the rag the only place he can be heard .. unless he's heading off to Duke - have we got an ESP study for you - University to deliver the same laughs?
DeleteWhat was that you said about reptiles and loyalty, DP ?
DeleteBesides, who have they got other that Lloydy and Bjorn-again to tell just the right kind of lies about "climate" ?
Seems you and I are the only ones who remember JB Rhine, DP. Sic transit gloria et al.
DeleteWhy do the Conservatives throw up men who retain the values and prejudice of their adolescence and class and are so ill formed.
ReplyDeleteThere are do many of them...
Downer, Abbott, Joyce, Turnbull, Morrison, ratbags all.