Hi ttbn,

You do me proud :) I'm still a lefty ? I'm tickled pink.

Hi Suse,

Your example of the failure of socialism - to someone who was one for sixty or more years - rings so true. Knocking around some Aboriginal 'communities', this was exactly the problem. Ask yourself why, if out of five thousand 'communities', do you know of any that has a vegetable garden or orchard, or chook yard, or even a few milk cows (as they used to have back in the missionary days), even though they almost all have running water, land, able-bodied labour, etc ?

I tried that for a few years, in the vain hope that people might have a skerrick of a sense of reciprocity, but zilch. I had a patch of sweet corn and one bloke asked if he could take some, and he took the lot. From memory, I think that was the year I stopped.

I think they call it something like 'the failure of the commons.'

I was born a communist. My mum sold Tribs around the Chullora railway workshops, a true believer. Dorothy Hewitt was a regular. But with hundreds of combined years of bitter experience, we now know that loafers and skivers, and their intelligentsia minders, quickly get up into the power positions in supposedly socialist organisations, and that's the end of it. How many 'workers' are up in the top echelons of the Chinese Communist Party ? Have there EVER been workers up in the top echelons of the Chinese Communist Party ? No, I don't think so. In Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge ? No. In Lenin's inner circle ? No. Marx would be disgusted, and dismiss the lot as nothing but frauds. And he would be right.

If this is supposed to be a neo-liberal interpretation, then I think even Marx would today be a neo-liberal. Down with bludgers: up against the wall, you blow-flies !

Joe

The ABC makes the news.

I wonder how the Michelle Guthrie, the ABC's first female Managing Director feels about the directors of Q&A crapping in the ABC's nest again and bringing its credibility and independence into disrepute? Particularly given this fellow's rap sheet.

What an inglorious start for Ms Guthrie, a major public embarrassment affecting the standing of the ABC nationally and internationally. So much for 'that' review by Ray Martin.

What can Ms Guthrie as the newly responsible senior executive do to rectify things? To hose this down would be to continue the policy of the previous executive that excused and inevitably resulted in this further act of crassness and arrogance by the show's directors and Jones, the compere.

If nothing else, it proves to any incoming senior executive just how lazy, complacent and predictable the ABC's overpaid and overstaying 'personalities' are that they make shows that are so prior scripted and manipulated and are aimed at embarrassing and humiliating selected invited guests to raise ratings with its dumbed-down audience.

Yes Foxy, I hope all went well today at the hospital.
I am thinking of you....good luck.

Poirot "When did you become a raging neo-lib?"
I decided that the National Party was my party of choice about the same time as you became a whinging leftie who follows a man with the personality of a scrotal hair ....who wants to run the country like a bully boy Union man.

Loudmouth, maybe like you, I have spent too much time with people who just don't want to help themselves, and look to any government at all who will pay them money for nothing.

I agree with modest taxation increases for middle income earners, as opposed to pouring more money into the bottomless welfare pit. At least this money may be more likely to be put towards more jobs for people by middle-income earners with small businesses, as opposed to going to blokes like this Storrar individual where it wouldn't help the economy at all.

More likely it would go towards more smokes, booze and gambling rather than to any of their poor kids. I have seen it happen many times....

Suse,

"I decided that the National Party was my party of choice about the same time as you became a whinging leftie who follows a man with the personality of a scrotal hair ....who wants to run the country like a bully boy Union man."

Wow!.... "personality of a scrotal hair"

Classy, Suse!

(or is that what passes for wit down National's way?)

Did you catch Bill Shorten giving Magnificent Mal a lesson in engaging with the public last week?

Here's Lib fan,Tom Switzer, on it:

"...The Labor leader gave Turnbull such a good thumping in their first TV debate on Friday night, you almost expected the moderator David Speers from Sky News to step in to end the bout on grounds of compassion..."

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/malcolm-turnbull-will-lose-if-he-doesnt-win-back-the-liberal-base-20160515-govfzj.html#ixzz48odG4SRC

Yup...yer all slogan, Suse...a la "bully boy Union Man". If you keep trying you attain the heights of the usual suspects around here.

Let's face it, mentioning "scrotal hair" gives you lots of bonus points to begin with!

Morgan poll out today...ALP 52.5 - LNP 47.5 ...two party-preferred.

Great start to the campaign, what say you?

Butch, your right some wont work for 10 bucks an hour, down at the 7-Eleven it 8 bucks an hour take it or leave it. I think the grubs owe workers around $100 million dollars in underpayments.

ttbn, you tried to give me advice "Get a backbone, man." you said Tell me jellyfish where did you get your backbone from.