Dear Saltpetre,

Politicians are like poultry - roosters today and
feather dusters tomorrow.

I'm so sorry to learn that you think I am some sort of
worm.

I guess we're all worms, but I do believe I am a
glow-worm.

As for Tony Abbott?

You claim that -

He's the sort of man who lives for others?

You can tell the others by their hunted expression.

As for sucking it up?

I prefer to use a straw.

Well, Dear Foxy, I give up, the line has been drawn, crossed and re-crossed and the chasm ever deepens.

Glow-worms or gastrointestinal parasitic Ascarids (bio-luminescent or otherwise) shed no light of consequence. Pity.

On further reflection you may have a point.
Tony Abbott and I and quite a few others may well be dupes.
Why stand weekend after weekend in Summer staring over the shimmering waves searching for any who may stray into the path of board riders or into trouble of any kind?
Why drop everything and rush out to grab a hose only to be greeted by smoke and flame and distress, mindful of widow-makers in the brush or live electricity or gas canisters or hazardous chemicals in someone's burning house or shed?
Why indeed should some be called, by who knows what instinct, to do, while so many others stand idly by, ever ready to find fault, and who indeed may relish in their conviction of "I don't do nothin' for nobody for nothin'" - the majority of the me, myself, I brigade?

Dupes, suckers, part of the idiot perhaps 2 percent - while the 98% do squat, but will squawk something wicked at any inconvenience.

Life wasn't meant to be easy, for some.

Politicians of any persuasion may indeed be merely roosters or hens scratching for purpose, from who knows what motivation, possibly and even conceivably with confirmed dedication to the wellbeing of the ever-squawking masses. Or, maybe not.

Jacinda Ardern, Angela Merkel, Theresa May - giving or having given all, only for self-interest?
I think of them far more kindly.

Homing pigeons and even bees may be honestly guided by instinct and the Earth's magnetic field, but unfortunately we may remain guileless, even with the best intent, hounded and floundering in a storm of disparate interests.
Anyway, who cares? (Bated or Baited? Seriously?)

Foxy,

From the documentation and testimony submitted it is crystal clear that after it became clear that the legal entity that Juliar set up for her union boyfriend was used to defraud the unions and business, that Slater and Gordan were no longer prepared to have Juliar as a partner. Her resignation was requested by the other partners and she had no option to remain as a partner. If she'd challenged this dismissal she would have run the risk of being disbarred. With that black mark against her name no other legal firm would take her on.

That the firm of Slater & Gordan who derive a substantial portion of their fees from Labor gave her warm congratulations on becoming PM is hardly surprising. That when she left politics no one offered her a position in a legal firm is far more telling.

The abysmal ethics of her carbon tax lie and her strong defense of the clearly abhorent Craig Thompson and Peter Slipper will haunt her for years.

Dear Saltpetre,

I appreciate your view of my opinion through your
own filters and perspective.

I know who I am, and what I stand for, so instead of
engaging and trying to explain and validate my
opinions to you, I have decided to move on.

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark:
the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the
light".
(Plato).

Foxy,

Perhaps someday you may emerge blinking into the light from you self imposed exile from the truth.

I see Alexander Downer has landed a 3-year trade consulting post. It looks like liberal MPs are in demand post-politics. Not so much Labor.