Dear Armchair Critic,

I have no control over the behaviour of others on
this forum only of my own. I usually do try to
avoid confrontations but sometimes a reply becomes
necessary especially when you're being called a
"Left-wing ideologue who cannot think before she
sprays" and much more.

I am so sorry to hear about your neighbour's death.
Sudden death makes us realise just how fragile life is.
One of my closest friends went shopping for groceries
(as usual) one Saturday and when she came home she
started to unpack them when she fainted in her kitchen.
She was rushed to hospital. They found she had bleeding
on the brain. They tried desperately to stop the
bleeding but they failed and she died that week-end at
the age of 52.

Even today I still find it hard to believe she's gone.

Foxy,

"At present Australia has 6 of the "Collins Class"
subs. The new additions will come over 30 years".

and the new subs will be outdated before we get the first one; already there is talk of building them with propellers instead of water jets.
After we get the first one the modifications start in earnest.

Got it, SR,

If someone you don't like or don't support says something incorrect or something you don't like, that's proof that they've " lost the right to speak for those [concerned] Australians."

And if someone you do like or do support says something ridiculous or stupid, then that should be ignored because....reasons.

Dear mhaze,

As usual my friend you don't 'got' anything.

This isn't about her saying something I don't like, Lamby and Bernardi do it all the time but I have said I support a diverse set of views in our Senate. This isn't that much about her being incorrect either because Lamby is prone to gaffs as well.

And I am defending the right of those people in Australia who are worried about government policy to have those views articulated.

The Senate sits only 15 weeks of the year. Much of the remaining time at PH is committee work. Hanson has shown little appetite for what we are paying her to do. Senates estimates are a forum for directly challenging the government and its agencies but you have to be prepared to attend and have your head across the issue, hanson obviously doesn't. The fact the Lamby not only manages to do this work as an independent without the extra resources that a party like One Nation enjoys, but is reasonably targeted and effective.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-10/jacqui-lambie-accused-of-verbally-abusing-defence-chiefs/7156538

Not saying she doesn't have her moments;
http://www.news.com.au/national/politics/defence-chiefs-slam-senator-jacqui-lambies-suggestion-that-australia-form-an-alliance-with-russia-in-fight-against-islamic-state/news-story/9aea4f27ebe94021024f116eed4ce9fb

Now I grant you that part of Hanson's seeming display of idiocy may well be down to the fact she has not done the preparation required. But it then begs the question why on earth are you defending a politician who doesn't front up to do the work we pay them for? You would normally be all over this. Why the reticence now?

mhaze,

Put it up him, mate, even though he's not worth wasting too much time on. Steelredux is from the same mould as a couple of other Left loons, whom I wont mention for fear of a huge dummy spit from them. Know-all, know-nothing types, completely ignorant of anything outside their own dunghill.

Yeah SR I guess you don't get it.

Was this an error from her? Probably.

But given that the discussion was around spending $50b on questionable hardware in order to save 1804 jobs, it was an error so minute as to be of zero consequence. But those who consider her to be both a threat and their intellectual inferior beat it up into an issue so as to puff up their own sense of superiority.

If we were truly concerned about who ought to have "lost the right to speak for those [concerned] Australians" perhaps we ought to be looking at those who gave us this monumental waste of funds. Or those who gave us the $80b NBN white elephant. Or those who managed to destroy our energy comparative advantage.

But no. Let's concentrate on some inconsequential throw-away remark to enhance our partisan prejudices.

Hanson isn't the smartest cookie but she does speak for many who aren't blinded by the need to puff up their own self-esteem. It was said of Trump that his opponents took him literally but not seriously while his supporters took him seriously but not literally.

Her supporters don't care that she makes these minor errors. But when she talks about immigration or lost culture, then they cheer.

And her oh-so-much-smarter opponents sneer at her (and her constituency's) lack of nuance and seek to shut her down.