Anyone who can watch America now and fail to hear the echoes of 1930s Germany is either entirely ignorant of history or is simply a demented fan of this creeping fascism. Continue reading “When Godwin’s Law Fails”
Category: politics
The Joy of Division
Some titles write themselves.
There’s no need for anyone to write about this idiotic story, of course. The hapless Sussan Ley, desperate for some lock-step backing from her army of goons and Gomers, sought to make an issue of Albo’s Joy Division t-shirt. The Liberals have been looking to play the antisemitism card at any half-opportunity, but pretty much no one thought of this as more than a confected micro-opportunity, and Ley just ended up looking silly(er). One notable nitwit bought Ley’s shtick, however, which is enough reason to post on it here. Continue reading “The Joy of Division”
Pauline Hanson, Political Prisoner
Australia is in election mode. So, with the Romanian courts having screwed over Cǎlin Georgescu and Diana Iovanovici-Șoșoacă, and with the French courts having screwed over Marine le Pen, it is worth recalling that Australian politics has been no stranger to such legally powered sleaze.
Pauline Hanson has been in politics for thirty years, and for thirty years she has been an idiot and an embarrassment. Hanson is currently the second most obnoxious member of Federal Parliament and there are no signs that we’ll be free of her any time soon. Twenty years ago, however, Hanson and her One Nation colleague David Ettridge were thrown in jail following a questionable civil case and a subsequent criminal case. It should not be forgotten how absurd and how nasty this all was. Continue reading “Pauline Hanson, Political Prisoner”
Roy Cohn and the Art of the Denial
I was lucky enough to have been able to do a PhD at Stanford University. It was mathematical heaven, of course, and, more broadly, it was cultural heaven. Every week, there were big shot speakers of all types that one simply did not want to miss. All this non-maths distraction may have been the reason why my PhD took six years.* Continue reading “Roy Cohn and the Art of the Denial”
Kurt Vonnegut, America and Flags
Early on, when they began dating, my father lent to my mother his copy of The Brothers Karamazov. Evidently, the courting rituals of Jews are somewhat different. Continue reading “Kurt Vonnegut, America and Flags”
The Federal Election
Jesus.
Albo has been pretty useless, when he hasn’t been an authoritarian dickhead, but who else is there? Dutton is always an authoritarian dickhead, and a divisive Neanderthal wrecker thug. The Nationals are the hypocritical hayseeds they’ve always been. The Greens have lost the plot, and their little antisemitic minds. And then you’re down to the Olympic level fruitcakes, the likes of Hanson and Palmer.
Is there any minor or micro party out there that, in sum, is sort of sane, that one might stomach voting for? Or, does one just hold one’s nose and vote for Albo?
A Couple Quick Words on Romania
I know absolutely nothing about Romania beyond Dracula, Nadia Comǎneci and a coming of age movie that has maths in it. In particular, I know nothing about either Cǎlin Georgescu or Diana Iovanovici-Șoșoacă. I am quite willing to believe that Georgescu and Iovanovici-Șoșoacă are, as has been claimed, “far-right” and “ultra-nationalist” and “antisemitic” and “pro-Russian” and baby killers and that they smell of cabbage, that they are the most troublesome Romanians since Vlad the Impaler. Nonetheless, I am pretty sure that the stupidest, most counterproductive manner in which to combat right wing populism is to bar candidates and to annul election results simply because one does not like the candidates or the results.
It is annoying and deeply depressing to have censorious, anti-democratic sleazebags such as Thierry Breton and Ursula von der Leyen force one to be on the same side as all-round sleazebags such as Musk and Vance. Continue reading “A Couple Quick Words on Romania”
Paul Brereton AM RFD, the Third Robodebt Asshole
Yes, there is a plethora of these Robodebt assholes. But, as they continue to poke up their asshole heads, we’ll keep pointing out their assholeness. So, following Kathryn Campbell AO and Renée Leon PSM, it’s the turn of Paul Brereton AM RFD.
Continue reading “Paul Brereton AM RFD, the Third Robodebt Asshole”
A Couple Words About the Election
UPDATE (10/11/24)
So, getting on to a week later and there have been roughly a billion analyses of the election. The pro-Trump people are rubbing it in it for all it’s worth, of course, and which of course they are very much entitled to do: they won. (We’ll see how long the good feelings last.) The anti-Trump crowd have been writing in all shapes and sizes, plenty in the Baird style, still impressively determined to deny reality, but also with some reasonable “we have to knock it off and listen to reality” takes. (We’ll see how long they remember.) In the former category, special mention must go to the clueless editor of The Guardian and the utterly retarded editor of Scientific American. Sort of in the latter category, but more a meta-commentary on the whole thing is the reliably smart and funny Marina Hyde. Continue reading “A Couple Words About the Election”
The Legislative Council Thing is Out
The Legislative Council’s inquiry into education has finished up, with their report just released, here. Thanks to Terry for the flag. Continue reading “The Legislative Council Thing is Out”