Lots of stuff going on

My head is buzzing at the moment. Quite a lot of big issues.
The Greek Economy, Marriage Equality, Terrorism....and so it goes on
I am thankful that life does not get smaller.

As we were leaving church on Sunday my dear and faithful parishioner said "What do you think about Gay Marriage?"
I suggested to her that  the 2 mins for such conversations was not going to allow me to discuss this with her on the doorstep of the church.

I also had a bit of a feeling that I was being corralled ....as  a trendy lefty....( a descriptor I steadfastly deny) to say stuff I would almost surely entirely regret.

First of all let me say that I eschew being driven into a corner where what is not being sought is freedom of expression but the capacity to put my foot into my mouth

So surprisingly I feel a bit sorry, for Barnaby who  has been told that he will not be allowed to be on Q&A tonight. Bully boys at Government Head Office ( it goes right to the top) will be stopping national dialogue...no senior ministers will be allowed to be on the national broadcasters flagship program Q & A...and Barnaby is the first casualty.
Now, I am no Barnaby fan.....but at least he is usually unafraid to confront his critics.


Democracy is threatened when power says "You are not allowed to speak!"

We all wait with baited breath to see what Malcolm will do !  He does appear to buckle
And we had all hoped he was better than that!
Let's wait for next week

Alpha versus sigma

Someone once said to me about a person with whom I have some dealings "Ah well I suppose he's not bad for an alpha male!" She was right, but any alpha male is pretty difficult to take.

It is what gives some amusement to politics I suppose.

Self-proclaimed alpha leader Turnbull handing out fiats to his party cohorts to make sure that another alpha protege Mr Dutton gets a safe seat.

And oh to be Barnaby Joyce who is so alpha-assured that he can tell them all to go and get nicked.

I still predict that Malcolm will tire of this!

You've gotta laugh - creating a Rudd mythology

Last night's Q&A continued to show that this show is good for a laugh, and has a totally different style from much of the dreary garbage that passes for pacey debate between politicians.

Much of the action comes from the almost random throwing together of diverse politicians which last night included the Nationals Barnaby Joyce(left) and Labor's Peter Garrett. There was also Green's Sarah Hansen-Young, and Liberal Pru Goward. Along with black playwright, director and dramaturg Wesley Enoch  the mix was right for many good exchanges.

One thing that interests me is the way that the right has obviously been advised to create a Rudd mythology. This has many aspects. One of them is that he is too smart for his own good...and by implication ours. And that he talks incessantly.

So I had to laugh when the "never backward in coming forward" Senator Joyce accused Garrett of taking lessons from the PM and creating a "wall of sound"  ie. talk, talk talk and never allowing discussion. 

I don't think this is true, I think this is the mythology that they are trying to create.

What was farcical was that Joyce had himself talked down almost everyone on the panel throughout the show, Ms Goward, ever perceptive and articulate, was getting quite annoyed by the end. The main "wall of sound" was coming from Barnaby Beagle  himself.

He also added to the creation of the Garrett mythology ("what has happened to Peter Garrett activist Rock star?")  by jokingly, persistingly and embarrasingly interrupting the Minister "OOOh where's Peter Garrett, where's Garret...he's disappeared."

As I say to my children, funny once not funny twice!

In the end this sort of perception-creating politics is not about  truth, it is about creating perception. And the two are not necessarily the same. They are more about manipulating the voter.

I suppose it happens on both sides; Turnbull is maligned by his opponents (as Andrew Lloyd Webber says about Cameron Mackintosh..."isn't he rich...richer than me" (You tube here))...while Ruddy is just as rich. The politics of perception and mal-image is not helpful