Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. From The Bordermail Thursday March 8th .....

TONY Abbott says he is powerless to influence the creation of a cross-border health service.
This is in stark contrast to claims made in the run-up to the Victorian election last year by now member for Benambra Bill Tilley that the Federal Health Minister was backing plans to fund the integrated service with Commonwealth money.

Tony, In this country you are free to believe in whatever deity and whatever manifestation of said god you choose. If you choose to be deluded into worshipping a god with a chosen people that commits crimes of genocide and mass murder for those chosen few or the Easter Bunny or Wicca, that is up to you. Section 116 of the Constitution makes it clear that you can't place your delisions before your Parliamentary job - as we have seen you do.

Credibility has nothing to do with being in the same room at a party or dinner as someone like Burke. If that is your benchmark of credibility your idea of the world is lacking - perhaps you would be better off in the clergy teaching more people about your delusions.

How's that child you threw away?

A sad attack - lets face it if we were to undertake a forensic examination - and some make it their lifes work - to examine every utterance of a politician the credibiltiy of every one of them would be in tatters.

And if Howard can get sign up - or thinks he - can from all the Premiers to fix the rivers why does Tony feel so powerless to set up a cross border health system? -

Rudd tells us for better or worse at the heart of Christian theology lies a commitment to social justice - Tony asserts this is rubbish - may be it is ( but I happen to agree with it )but he offers no reason - all I can draw from Tony's assertion is that he some how thinks social justice and christian pirnciples are mutually exclusive - I guess the conduct of his party gives some support to that.

He then tells us Rudd claims as an ex catholic he has never really left Rome - and goes to say many of his own fellow catholics find it hard to bridge that gap - well thats a bit funny when senior boffins from both churches have said that it is higtht time the split was healed.

The PM has been rolled more times than a marble by this PM - he remains an abject failure as a health minister - if any one is all tip and no ice berg as Keating described Costello - it is Abbot.

In the run up to this election I expect to see more of this stuff, pathetic as it is

A lot of the religious guff in this article seems a tad irrelevant to me, but Abbott does make a good point about Rudd being "all things to all people."

Don't get me wrong - unless something pretty catastrophic happens to the Labor party in the lead up to the election, I can't see myself preferring Howard over Rudd - but that isn't to say we should just gloss over some shortcomings in Rudd's policy approach.

He's done a damn good job of not alienating large sectors of the community, though the union challenge that has recently been laid at his feet represents his toughest task yet I suspect.
This whole Burke saga has really been a side issue to what is potentially much more explosive.

How Rudd handles this one, will, I think, be one of those defining moments that will map out his political future.

Ultimately, sooner or later, Rudd is going to have to choose which sectors of the community he is going to disappoint.

Tony Abbott is to me, one scary guy. He is so tortured by his religion one almost feels sorry for him. A man brought up on the knee of that spooky secretive character Bob Santamaria.He clearly has a contempt for democracy. His politics is sectarian exclusion.These cretins rail on about Socialism (it used to be Communism)as an affront to our democracy. Yet we know that the hidden hand of Abbott and his cronies extends wide and deep into our society.They trade on influence in high places,(the likes that the cretin Burke could only dream of)and have done so for over 50 years.
Abbott has no place in a democratic society, and his attack on Rudd in this article, has the potency of the proverbial wet lettuce leaf.

Tony, I was once a Catholic, but no longer consider myself one of the "fold" and I left the Church only because of people like yourself. Mr. Abbott, I liken you to the Catholic Mafia. They don't mind busting a few heads, a couple of legs, chop off a hand or two, not to mention the odd assassination and then go cheerfully off the mass on Sunday seemingly oblivious to the harm and human tragedy they leave in their wake.
The comparison between you and the Mafia is that neither of you stop to think that by being a Catholic and at the same time being a politician or a gangster (both are one and the same very often) is in direct conflict with what the Bible teaches. Being "one with Christ" means being pious and looking out for the lowly of our community, not expediating legislation which lowers the health of Australia's less well off, not placing a greater burden of stress on those on disability pensions, the unemployed and the under-employed. Also, it is very un-Christian to stand up in Parliament and attack the opposition leader like a crazed junk yard dog, while "dog master" John Howard sits silently grinning like an imbecile while he watches his attack dogs do their most foul work with such efficiency.
Mr. Abbott, the Australian people are absolutely fed up with such ridiculous political antics. Mr. Rudd will win the day simply by remaining the well heeled gentleman he is, copping the attacks on the chin and remaining calm and collected. How can you trust a party who's political methods rely on outragous attacks on good people? Screaming, yelling at and howling down the opposition like a wounded bear doesn't cut it with me and I'm not the only one who feels this way.
I am orientated neither to Labor or Liberal Government, but at the end of the day, it's the politician who better reflects the goodness in man that will win my vote, not the ones who use every opportunity including forums like OLO to further attack the opposition.