What a relief. Instead of other soulful matters, Polonius's prattle this day concerns the construction of a grand narrative for the mutton Dutton, a paean full of hope and yearning, a redemptive tale which might someday turn into a jolly good movie ... up there wth stories of ancient odysseys ...
It follows a three act (or gobbet) arc of the kind beloved by Hollywood script doctors. Things look grim, the hero struggles, perhaps crewman #6 is lost along the way, or even an onion muncher is cast adrift, but by the end of the tale, there’s a glimmer of light, a shard of hope, a ray of chance …
At this point the pond would probably suggest a session with frocks and make-up. The reptiles have an alarming tendency to use photos which, with the kindest hopes, don't make the best sort of publicity photos.
Just look at how the hero was shown in that opening snap ...
It's a burden, but see how the master storyteller has set up the arc. Things look grim, perhaps even dreadful. The dissatisfaction is strong in the universe … and the precedents are unkind. And even worse, there’s something else ...
In the third act, there are signs of hope. Fashionable tossers addicted to addled climate science were the Achilleus’s heel, but with luck, energy prices could skyrocket and blackouts occur, and then they’d come back to the fold, whining and moaning and begging for forgiveness. Sure the planet might be fucked, but that’s another movie …
Let us lift up our eyes to the Bolter and yearn for a good Krogering… a search the golden fleece of hope, a grand narrative that would make George quiver with envy …
And so as the lights flicker up the cinemah, the inspirational narrative means viewers leave the cinemah inspired and ultimately uplifted, knowing that even if their hero didn’t prevail completely, then certainly by the time of the sequel things would be really grand...
Unfortunately, after watching that inspirational flick, the pond had to turn to a re-run, yet another interminable repeat of reptile black bashing … this time by a toad from the deep north … and not just sticking the boot in, but sticking it in savagely … not content to have a win, but to grind it in with the same relish that Leonard ground the heel of his shoe into Roger O. Thornhill's hand as he dangled from the top of Mount Rushmore ...
Not just deserving to lose, but deserving to lose badly, really, really badly, because that's what nasty bullies like ... the grinding and the sneering from a great height ...
For some reason, the pond couldn't help but think of an old cartoon which caught the tone of the toad from the deep north ...
As in other cases of black bashing, now a regular feature at the lizard Oz, the only beguiling thing was the way that the black bashing extended to craven Craven bashing ...
Luckily there's no demarcation disputes involving reptiles when it comes to certain topics - otherwise Dame Slap might take a view of this talk of activist judges badly, because it's a piece of turf she has treasured and reserved for herself.
Got an activist judge in the house? Forget about judgebusters, call on Dame Slap ...
Meanwhile, the pond was still trying to discover a cartoon which captured the exact, precise flavour of the piece ... you know, the really bad, really nasty bit ...
That truck looks like it might have been registered in Queensland, but back to talk of judicial adventurism. because it pleases the reptiles so, and shush, if no one mentions it, Dame Slap might not realise her turf had been invaded and trampled on ...
That's as good an example of bile as the pond has seen in recent times, but oh dear, while we have a villain, there's still a bit of work to be done with the hero.
Just look at the snap the reptiles inserted in the piece. Frocks and make-up didn't heed the pond's advice, and so there's still some difficulty with the publicity shots ...
But at least the pond has discovered a villain who's a natural as good as Darth Vader.
No, not the mutton Dutton, the malign, nasty toad from the north ...
And so to the bonus, which the pond only appends because it was there ... with a warning that the pond quickly got bored and turned to some cartoon distractions only loosely woven into the plotting ...
Right there's where the pond got lost. As soon as the Dominator suggests something, the pond intuitively realises it's fucked ...
Almost anything the Dominator touches has an alchemical quality equivalent to the turning of gold into lead ... which explains why living in cockroach land induces a deep sense of futility and fuck-up.
The pond also realised that this weekend had been almost completely free of news from the US home of News Corp...
How to quickly balance it while carrying on with a Covid debate worthy of the GOP and the Donald? And perhaps a Ron DeSantis ...
Just go a cartoon or three ...
Yes, that's about right ... meanwhile, the Dominator seems to think that sick people will stay at home, apparently unaware that if you're slaving away for three fifths of fuck all, you might be tempted to head into work ... but then why is the pond such a dunderhead as to expect a NSW politician to have a grasp of what it might be like to be in the struggling underclass?
Limo to work, limo home, and no need to worry about public transport in the limo lifestyle ...
It goes without saying that the moment Comrade Dan and his underlings enter the picture, the reptiles immediately want to release the Kraken ... or at least Killer Creighton...
Hang on, hang on, there's been no mention of masks, nor the inspirational activities in the United States ... and that's all the pond can contrive to explain the sudden appearance of a couple more cartoons ...
Okay, okay, time to 'fess up, the pond has no dog in this fight, the pond works from home and wears a mask on its outings ... but all the same, is full of admiration for the push-pull way that our Cameron manages his both-siderism, so that in the end only one siderism arrives sunny side up, with the Covid banished and the population redeemed, a bit like that opening Polonius flick, which had such a good run in at least one household yearning for good news ...
Indeed, indeed, and what a terribly good story our Cameron has devised, pieced together if you will, about the entire populace running wild and free, and with only a few killings in the killing fields, and let's face it, where's the harm in a few old farts dropping off the twig, because likely enough they were going to do it sooner or later, so why not a little sooner?
Sure they'll miss out on some intriguing moments in American history, a game still playing out ...
But if ya gotta go, ya gotta go, and if you miss out on what happens to the Donald, never mind, if the body count stays low, all will be well in the spring ...
By this point, the pond had begun to run low on cartoons and talking points, because it's clear that the only contentious issue is how soon can we get back to pretending that Covid isn't around anymore.
No need to talk dirty about it, no need to be nasty in the manner of a toad from the deep north...
Let it spread, let it spread, and let the weak members of the herd go through a culling ... it's the natural order of things ...
A very strong major education campaign?
Good luck with that ...
The pond once worked on major education campaigns, and with the greatest respect, and the best wishes, the pond will continue to live in a state of paranoia, whether it happens to involve climate science or pandemics, or the wearing of masks, despite all the advice from Killer Creighton, Cameron and his crew ...
Only 84 dead parrots carking it a day? What a positive experience ... and anyway they're only Norwegian blues ... sure, they're all stiff, bereft of life and ex-parrots, but those who make it have a lot of living to do, and a lot more fun to see...
And so to the last gobbet and a most excellent concluding piece of both-siderism ...
Sure, why not have a talk fest, a gab fest, a debate, a discussion, a conversation, and let's make it as inconclusive as possible, provided we come to the right conclusion ... which is to pretend that Covid isn't here, won't be here, and is a never no mind only troubling worry warts and silly old farts in the target zone.
We know that if given the chance, these silly old farts will always go for option A, as they should, and we can always farewell the occasional Norwegian blue in style ...
Polonius: "Menzies ... used Labor's disastrous attempt to nationalise the private banks in 1947..." to defeat Chifley. And here I was thinking that it was Chifley's continuing of wartime rationing and restrictions and other events such as the Coal Miner's Strike.
ReplyDelete"Labor lost the December 1949 election. The strike was not the only reason—Chifley’s pledge to retain rationing in order to help Britain was also deeply unpopular."
1949 coal strike: How Chifley lost Labor’s supporters
https://www.solidarity.net.au/reviews/1949-coal-strike-how-labor-lost-its-supporters/
But oh, Polonius: "In the meantime, it would benefit the Coalition if Dutton made politics more interesting."
To dream the imposible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
And to run where the brave dare not go.
Yep, that's Mutton Dutton alright.
Based on his contributions to mass media, such as ‘Quad Rant’, the Garrick Professor spends a remarkable amount of his ‘working’ time on sabbaticals in other lands. Which may mean he does not quite keep up with the details of what has actually happened in constitutional matters in Australia.
ReplyDeleteIt is a little over 40 years ago that the Commonwealth, States, and, in anticipation, Territories, reached the ‘Offshore Constitutional Settlement’, for practical, ‘common sense’ legislation to cover resources of the continental shelf, emerging international treaties for nations to be able to manage fisheries within 200 nautical miles of their coast, and related issues.
It was done within a couple of years, has worked remarkably well, and shows what can be done within a practical understanding of our constitution, and within international treaties (which are NOT imposed on us by the sly agents of world governance, or whatever those learned Fox commentators might be trying to invoke just now)
One major challenge was to get the states to agree on fisheries jurisdiction. NSW was particularly recalcitrant, (as ever) but eventually signed-up.
Unlike the Garrick, I am happy to offer references. There is a lot of information at -
https://www.ag.gov.au/international-relations/publications/offshore-constitutional-settlement-milestone-cooperative-federalism
or you could take my word for it.
Oh, the only opposition came from - our supposed allies across the Pacific, yep, those (then) United States, who routinely opposed any nation claiming coastal waters under established international treaty. They didn’t quite send a naval detachment through the ‘historic bays and inlets’ of the west coast of South Australia, because that would have grounded a few of their destroyers, but we had to go to international courts to confirm our entitlements.
Point is - it has all been done, within living memory, in ways that aligned the Australian constitution with the later part of the 20th century. It was done with the guidance of some outstanding constitutional lawyers of the time. Against that experience, the Garrick offers little more than a projection that all elected politicians are untrustworthy and act in bad faith. So it’s a good thing we don’t elect judges in this country.
Oh - while I am here - I think there is a kind of Godwin's Law that applies to alleged discussion of public health measures to manage Covid. As soon as you propose any of Coatsworth's recommendations - you lose the argument.
ReplyDeleteIs there an addendum for Catherine Bennett?
DeleteBefuddled - because she is quite inconsistent, it is difficult to use anything she says to suspend any debate - read on a couple of lines and she will offer you a contrasting point of view.
DeleteJust be pleased that she has not been made part of any serious policy advisory body; her contribution would have as many 'pros' as 'cons' - which takes us to the old joke about needing a one-handed economist. In the item before us this day, she does the classic accusing others of 'cherry-picking', then gives a demonstration of doing just that for her own statement.
One minister with whom I worked, and who understood the nature of 'policy', gathered advisors to nut out what to do about an issue. That included one who had been newly appointed to a high-paying job, with impressive title. When it came to his contribution he went on, too long, about how difficult it all was. As he showed no sign of coming to a conclusion, she (the min.) cut in with 'Look, I can get anyone off the street, for a fraction of what we pay you, to agonise over how difficult it all is. What you are paid to do is to offer solutions - do you have any?' The new Star was at least smart enough to colour up, and shut up. I don't recall that she ever sought advice from him again.
Regarding Bennett's "cherry picking", it isn't just reptiles who engage in self-defensive 'projection' then, assorted academics do it too. And what a pity that we haven't got any who can "offer solutions".
DeleteBefuddled and GB - Deakin U offers free access to Bennett's major contribution to Covid epidemiology. Well, she is one of 46 authors, and that includes what I take to be her student at Deakin, who would have done the tedious business of gathering and preparing data - but that is life in the university.
DeleteYou can access the paper at
https://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30154030?_ga=2.60802923.774200189.1662864767-573530673.1662864767
It covers mortality rates in several countries in 2020. Results are interesting - on their methodology Australia had lower mortality through that period, and a Covid mortality rate of 0.4. Yep - USA and Sweden are both there, with Covid mortality rates of 56.
The study does conclude that protective measures in Australia, and a few similar countries, were effective in keeping mortality low - or at negative rate in a few countries.
Like certain other academics who are cited from the Flagship - seems she was not persuaded by her own research.
Thanks Anonymous for the "‘Quad Rant’. Refreshing.
ReplyDeleteNot so for DP's phrase "yearn for a good Krogering"!
I had to pop a bottle of Krug to de-annoint myself before my truffle laden lunch. I went for the 2006 vintage, described by Krug as "Capricious Indulgence". I kid you not.
https://www.krug.com/champagne/krug-vintage
For the record - I should have identified as 'Chadwick' for the Quad Rant. 'Anonymous' is an honourable title here, but, having taken advice from Jersey Mike, I should also try for consistency.
DeleteKrug and truffle - yes, that is also quite appropriate for our exchanges here, I believe.
I think we kinda guessed it was you, Chad. Style and vocabulary, mate.
DeleteChadwick,
DeleteThanks for that as one can't "tell the players without a program", as it were.
I like to credit the right person when I share thoughts from here.
I enjoy DP's movie references, this one is going 'straight to the
pool room' -
...not content to have a win, but to grind it in with the same relish
that Leonard ground the heel of his shoe into Roger O. Thornhill's
hand as he dangled from the top of Mount Rushmore ...
Who was watching all the ABC Channels and listening to all the ABC radio stations whilst Polonius was one of the 27 people in Australia watching the Bolt show on Monday night with Gutless Kroger as Bolt's guest.
ReplyDeleteGutless because he never front up to stand for the Liberal Party at an election, instead he just white anted everybody else who did.
I must admit that the only movie masterpiece I’ve ever associated with Polonius writings is a scene in an old Loony Tunes / Merrie Melodies cartoon. A frustrated woman is stuck in a bank queue behind a succession of little old ladies clutching bags of coins; “I’d like to deposit these pennies, please - one, two, three, four, five……”.
ReplyDelete