As a devotee of the eccentric, the pond increasingly feels the desire to go the Tootle, yet the reptiles routinely run on rigid tracks ...
But how could the pond pass up mentioning New role for Amy Coney Barrett’s father inside Christian sect sparks controversy.
The pond has long been interested in cults, having grown up within the Catholic cult, and this one sounds a ripper ...
...The PoP was founded in the 1970s as part of a Christian charismatic movement. In meetings, members are encouraged to share prophecies and speak in tongues. One former member said adherents believe God can speak through members to deliver messages, sometimes about their future.
A PoP handbook states that members are expected to be obedient to male authorities, or group heads, and are expected to give 5% of their earnings to the group. Heads are influential decision-makers in members’ lives, weighing in on issues ranging from dating to marriage and determining where members should live.
After a waiting period, members agree to a covenant – a lifelong vow – to support each other “financially and materially and spiritually”.
The group has been criticized for endorsing discriminatory practices. Members who engage in gay sex are expelled, and private schools closely affiliated with the group – the Trinity Schools – have admission policies that in effect ban the children of gay parents from attending. Barrett has previously served on Trinity’s board of trustees.
Single members are encouraged to live with other members of the community, including families with children, a practice that former members and adults who grew up in the sect say created opportunities for sexual abuse.
A PoP handbook states that members are expected to be obedient to male authorities, or group heads, and are expected to give 5% of their earnings to the group. Heads are influential decision-makers in members’ lives, weighing in on issues ranging from dating to marriage and determining where members should live.
After a waiting period, members agree to a covenant – a lifelong vow – to support each other “financially and materially and spiritually”.
The group has been criticized for endorsing discriminatory practices. Members who engage in gay sex are expelled, and private schools closely affiliated with the group – the Trinity Schools – have admission policies that in effect ban the children of gay parents from attending. Barrett has previously served on Trinity’s board of trustees.
Single members are encouraged to live with other members of the community, including families with children, a practice that former members and adults who grew up in the sect say created opportunities for sexual abuse.
Weird and yet a source of perennial fascination ...
At the same time, the pond can only note some things in passing, with amusement, like this yarn about the onion muncher...
Coalition documentary?
The coalition made a documentary? It is of course a documentary to be featured on the ABC, it really should have been headed "ABC Documentary", but the reptiles simply couldn't bring themselves to note that they were stealing a story from the ABC.
Solution? Watch the documentary on the ABC if interested, and ignore the reptiles ...
Meanwhile, at last the oscillating fan made it to the top far right digital perch, a place and a prominence much desired by the reptiles ...
It's a tad awkward, what with the juxtaposition, but the reptiles have set a new gearing hare loose and the pond is waiting for Captain Spud to appear in the lizard Oz singing the same tune ... or wait, will it be in a choir, with counter harmony skills required?
Speaking of splits, the man who has little to be proud of pulled off a stunning definition of poverty and the hard done by in David Littleproud accuses Labor of ‘class warfare’ over stage-three tax changes, saying $190,000 is ‘not a lot’.
The pond isn't sure how long the reptiles are going to be able to keep the class warfare routine alive with that definition of suffering, but has a devout faith in speaker in tongues Dame Groan's stupendous abilities ...
Meanwhile, in the quest for eccentricity, the pond couldn't help but notice this offering from Overington ... at one point yesterday centre stage, before shuffling off into the wings ...
The pond had vaguely thought of Overington as one of the saner reptiles, but this was a doozy straight out of social media ...
But never mind, time to do the full dumpster dive into social media and yet more blather about the woke agenda ...
This is the best the reptiles have got?
What were Stewie and Ben doing treading on the bro's sacred turf? How did the packing drones Packham get to scribble furiously about military madness? Had the reptiles gone mad and abandoned the bromancer?
Huzzah, it was a bro rant about everything, though it was stretching it a bit to keep on carrying on about Oz day ...
So, Peronism? Or incipient terminal bromancer stupidity? The pond has wondered that many times before, and on the evidence to hand, will have to keep on wondering ...
The pond would rather be referencing Peter Beinart's Why do America’s liberal hawks attack Russia while giving Israel a free pass?
But here we are, and the pond wondered by Overington hadn't suggested to Horman that perhaps she should start stocking Mein Kampf ... be fair, forget Godwin's Law, he was white, and always agitated about the lack of appreciation for white men in history and literature ...
It's been a long time since the pond has noted Overington among the reptiles. Perhaps she would have been better off staying in the wilderness ...
Meanwhile, the pond was troubled. Had there been a demarcation dispute? Were there intense territorial arguments going down in the lizard Oz?
There had been much screeching and squawking and droning on about drones, but surely this was prime bromancer turf.
Yet he was nowhere to be seen. Droning on about drones was surely central to his job description and his role as reptile Generalfeldmarschall - the war with China will surely come by this Xmas - and yet there came a two pronged attack ...
What were Stewie and Ben doing treading on the bro's sacred turf? How did the packing drones Packham get to scribble furiously about military madness? Had the reptiles gone mad and abandoned the bromancer?
It was a huge relief to look below the fold and spot the bro and Dame Groan ...
What a relief. The pond could return to the tracks and forget any incipient Tootleism tendencies ...
Still there was a lot about everything, including subs, the suffering of the rich, Oz day, yadda yadda ...
Ah, identity politics ... the pond knows the cause. A lack of whities in bodice rippers and thrillers ... and then it was on to cricket and that pathetic patsie who lost to the Windies ...
Once upon a time, members would have talked of a jolly good game and the wonders of cricket, but the bro was furious ...
Meanwhile, on another planet ...
The pond thought it would slip that infallible Pope in before getting down with the Groaner, who can always be relied on to make the most stubborn and determined herpetology student sneak outside for a walk in the sunshine ...
No doubt the old chook is groaning to a select audience ...
Step aside greedy pigs and fat cats, Dame Groan has your racquet ...
Ah, those bludgers on 18-45k, don't. they realise the real suffering begins somewhere around the 190k mark? It's not a lot and they certainly wouldn't be a cause of inflation, they'd pocket the lot and put it aside for a rainy day ...
As usual, the pond will leave it to those who love to decipher a groaning to do the rest. The pond is just pleased that this is the final gobbet ...
Huzzah ... the pond just knew it ... the old class warfare routine, and the suffering of the top 10 per cent ...
Yet again the pond's faith has been vindicated, and now might be a good time to go off to speak in economic tongues to the long absent lord ...
Meanwhile, on another planet, the genocides in Ukraine and Gaza go on, and yet again it's left to the cartoonists to take note ...
Littleproud: "An income of $190,000 is 'not a lot in this day and age'." Strewth no, after all a federal MP earning a mere $225,000 per annum is practically on the poverty line, so just struggling along on a pitiful $190,000 must be heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteOverington: "...Robinsons has been in business more that 50 years...[omitted the store in The Glen]. It probably does have some ideas as to what customers might like to see more of on its shelves." Only 50 years ? Missed out on the whole Bigglesworth era then, didn't it. But if it had existed, would it have stocked any Enid Blyton ?
ReplyDeleteBut as to what customers might like to see more of on its shelves ? Surely customers are seeing, and buying, plenty of what's on its shelves, or Robinsons wouldn't be very successful and wouldn't have quite so many stores, would it. But hey, Hormann is talking cancel culture here: if a book doesn't have the kind of stories she approves of, then she'll just cancel it !
Now why isn't Dud Spud proposing a boycott of Robinsons over such ideologically driven behaviour ?
For Spud to set off a boycott on books, he would need to identify coalition voters who bought books. Poor dears have little time in a day after they have tried to absorb the lessons brought by the Flagship, and their local capital city piece of Limited News - Snail, Hun, Yellograph - before settling in for the several cycles of Two Minutes Hate coming from the Sky screen through the evening.
DeleteOh dear, naughty Albo. From The Bro: "Who can now say it [Albo's government] won't abandon promises on AUKUS or national security?" And if indeed there were any good reasons to do so, then that's exactly what I'd expect them to do, wouldn't you ?. And the sooner they junk AUKUS, the better (but if Trump wins the presidency, it's gone anyway, hasn't it?).
ReplyDeleteSo then: "We're drifting towards Australian Peronism." So, copying the Argentinians now, are we ? And hence "...Chris Richardson's calculation that the top 1 per cent of income earners pay tax equivalent to the entire tax contribution of the bottom (in income terms) 77 per cent of adults." And just as well too or they'd be looting our economy even more that they already do. Just think that apart from paying Howard's beloved GST which is a much higher percentage of the income of the 'bottom 77 per cent' than of the 'top 1 per cent', the large cuts in capital gains tax (which is not income) and the proliferation of negative gearing (also not income) and franking credits do not go to the 'bottom 1 per cent' do they.
So if we don't hit them for income tax, how will we ever limit the top 1 per cent's looting ? Like "With free healthcare..." yeah sure - nobody in Australia pays a single cent for health services, do we. So here's a tip, Bro: even we bulk-billed seniors have to pay for some number of health services: like my annual optometrist fee for an inspection and checkup so I can be sure I can still see well enough to drive. I pay the optometrist and get a rebate from Medicare - but only a partial rebate that is, so I still have to make a noticeable personal payment.
Now back to Peronism: "Argentina, like Australia, has a small, well-educated population ... ... The political system became toxic and abusive. The only thing people believed from government was cash in hand." And boy, do we have "cash in hand" in this increasingly electronic age - hundreds of $billions worth of $100 notes under various mattresses and such. And people reckon we'll no longer have cash by the end of the decade ? I dunno what 8yo kids at the school cafeteria are going to do with a bunch of $100 notes, though.
The Groaner: "The decision to dump the legislated stage three tax cuts is about politics, not good policy." Now apart from pointing out that the tax cuts were 'restructured' rather than 'dumped', it should be pointed out that people vote for parties and people, not for policies. What happens with 'policies' is what's just happened with the Stage 3 Tax Cuts.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't we vote on policies instead of parties during an election?
https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/your-questions-on-notice/questions/why-cant-we-vote-on-policies-instead-of-parties-during-an-election
We vote for the person, not the policies: a systematic review on how personality traits influence voting behaviour
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9831368/
It's kinda fascinating that that bastion of free market capitalism, the USA, once had a top tax rate of 94%. On an income equivalent to $2.49million pa now, to be sure, but still ...
ReplyDeleteTop Federal Income Tax Rate Was Once Over 90 Percent
https://taxfoundation.org/blog/top-federal-income-tax-rate-was-once-over-90-percent/#:~
Corn fed Nationals aim at their feet on $200k+ except the actual voter workers get...
ReplyDelete"Farm worker salary in AustraliaHow much does a Farm Worker make in Australia?
Average base salary
Data source tooltip for average base salary.
$61,520
The average salary for a farm worker is $61,520 per year in Australia. 45 salaries reported, updated at 24 January 2024
https://au.indeed.com/career/farm-worker/salaries
The extent to which young Pat Cummins is messing with reptile minds all over the great brown land has been an early joy in 2024. The bonus is that he literally does not have an axe to grind - he quietly raised the issue of the date of Invasion Day after saying "“It is the best country in the world by a mile. “We should have an Australia Day, but we can probably find a more appropriate day to celebrate it."
ReplyDeleteThat's it - that's the comment that has Rita Panicky, the Bro, all of them itching and leaping about. I don't know if Moorice has chimed in yet, but we can all write his script for him.
Anyhoo - is it that Cummins is very well-liked? Very well respected? and very successful? What is it that causes so much consternation in the Reptile House? Actually, I could really care less - it's been a lovely time to be sure to be sure.
Dorothy, thank you for the hint about getting out in the sunshine, but we are in a sustained rain depression hereabouts, so - a few thoughts (but definitely no prayers).
ReplyDeleteOur Dame is trying one on with us in saying ‘From an economic viewpoint, the changes . . to the income tax schedule are a backward step.’
It becomes ‘tee-jus’ to keep saying that Dame Groan’s time in actual research was supposedly looking at - what made work attractive to people, and how might their application and efficiency (productivity, even) best be improved.
It is actually quite difficult to find research that shows, unequivocally, that the chance to pocket a bit more money, alone, is a universal motivation to put in more hours, or take on more onerous tasks, or, somehow, ‘grow the economic pie given the impact on efficiency’. It is one of those articles of faith that will be repeated endlessly, probably without motivating latter-day economists to verify it.
That is not to say that organised worker groups will not campaign for more pay, or that individuals will not apply for other jobs which offer more money - but, almost invariably, also offer much more amenity or prospects for other satisfactions. Both are quite complex sets of behaviour to analyse, even in nations with relatively simple taxation systems - and that means income taxes, consumer taxes, property tax, excise and sumptuary taxes and transfer payments.
Methinks our Dame is trying to gull her readers (most of whom would be willing to be gulled) by assuming authority as an ‘economist’, where, in this case, yet again she repeats the imaginings of business lobby groups.
The Groany "trying to gull her readers", Chad ? Oh no, say it isn't so. She doesn't seem to do a particularly good job of it, but I guess you don't have to be able to, given her readership.
DeletePersonally, though, I'd always wanted to be paid more for doing less. Didn't quite achieve it, though.
Is it perverse to be grateful that cyclonic depression has kept you at your duty deciphering the Groaning? So be it, the pond is perverse ... because the gulling will never end ...
DeleteIs there a ethical requirement to journalism and if you are recognised as having a qualification in journalism to be member of that association because from all the fools who are employed by Murdoch not one of them would qualify to be independent and discover truth and factual evidence when they spill their lies and judgements on what they write about.
ReplyDelete