On Saturday, Vikki Campion’s piece, Let our PM be human, rightly attracted a lot of condemnation.
My indignation and anger at reading Vikki’s piece has made me think about how inept and useless our state and federal Liberal governments are. The always superb Professor James Allan has written very well over the years about how supine and spineless Australia’s Liberal governments and leaders have been and he recently wrote an excellent piece in the Spectator, Conservatives have been betrayed by hollow men and women, and here’s a little of what James wrote:
It was with all this in mind that I recently had a discussion with a fellow right-of-centre conservative voter who agreed with most of the above but asserted that ‘voters like us have no choice; ScoMo is better than Albanese’. My reply was that in terms of freedom, spending, defending internal borders and most of the Covid-related idiocies, we may well have been better off under Labor. Put bluntly, there is good reason to think a Shorten government would have been no worse in responding to Covid and possibly a good deal better. Why? Because democratic politics is not a one-party game. It is just not true that the winning side is wholly unaffected and unconstrained by the positions taken by the opposition. Had Shorten been in office when Covid hit he and Labor would have faced a Coalition opposition, probably one without ScoMo as leader. As an opposition supposedly committed to freedom et al., there is a good chance (the woeful state iterations notwithstanding) the Coalition would have pushed back against the world’s highest per capita spending during the pandemic, against some of the world’s harshest lockdowns (whose efficacy is everywhere called into question not least because we are still resorting to them fifteen months on), against the moronic ‘National Cabinet’ idea that gives premiers power without fiscal (or any other sort of) responsibility, against wimping out on the s.92 challenge – the list goes on.
Quite so Professor Allan. A few weeks ago I went for a walk with a friend and when I told her that I will not be voting for the limp lettuce Dave Sharma (who’s now complaining about the religious freedom bill) she also tried to sell me the snake oil that “ScoMo is better than Albanese’” . I said NO…ENOUGH, we can no longer cast a vote based on that fallacy.
It’s worth noting that we’ve had “Liberal governments” federally since 2013 and here in NSW since 2011. You wouldn’t know it. In both cases it didn’t take long for me to realise that both federal and state Liberal governments were going to be bitter disappointments. I quickly realised that these so called right of centre governments were nothing of the sort. Yes, the Abbott government did rid us of the Carbon Tax and it did stop the boats but none of these Liberal governments, federally or state, have defended, promoted and instituted Menzian principles such as free speech, limited government, religious freedom, fiscal responsibility, individual liberty and so on, in fact I reckon that the modern Liberal party is acutely embarrassed by such principles. All we see them do is capitulate to the latest gruesome leftist fad, fashion or ideology, there was little or no push back from the Liberal party on SSM and there’s been little or no push back on abortion or euthanasia…just look at what the NSW Liberal government did two years ago. Further none of these so-called Liberal governments have attempted to seriously curb sinister ideologies such as transgenderism etc. We now have Safe Schools firmly established in the NSW Education System and the only politician to push back on this is Mark Latham from One Nation. For years now, the Liberals have veered from Abbott’s nice ineptness to the failure to get rid of Section 18C to the greyhounds fiasco to French subs to an ABC out of control to unhinged spending to abortion at nine months to proposed euthanasia to embarrassment about coal to censoring their own and now to this Covid disaster……….and that’s just a smidgen of the party’s failures.
Last year I attended CPAC and I sat next to a senior Liberal, a conservative and one who’s been sidelined by Morrison. Note that there are now NO conservatives in cabinet. Given the climate change hysteria and the demonisation of coal over the last decade, I asked this person the following “so will we see the LNP sit back and allow the demonisation of gas just like they’ve sat back and allowed the demonisation of coal over the last fifteen years? He nodded in agreement with me and he then shrugged his shoulders. So that ladies and gentleman shows how utterly useless the Liberal party of Australia is now.
Finally to Morrison, the ultimate “hollow man”, who once glibly said about free speech…’It doesn’t create one job’.
Maybe, maybe not Mr Morrison but in 2022 it will certainly take away your job because millions of Australians will speak freely at the ballot box.
I hope that next year’s ballot will show some distaste for the Liberal presence that we have seen so far, Cassie, but I suspect it will not be enough to knock the Libs off their perch as either Govt or Opposition. There will have to be deals made with minor parties (I will find one of them to vote for in the Reps), should the Liberals even be successful. One may hope that same would apply to Labor if in power. There is certainly a desire in the electorate to get some new thinking about where Australia is headed and take some punishment for wrongs inflicted so far. Forcing any government in power to respond to some ginger in the Senate seems the most likely outcome, one that I will vote towards with the LDP.
It’s no surprise… there’s no difference between the two political parties… “dumb and dumber”.
Both are “advised” by public servants who in my opinion are left of centre.
Check out the election returns around Canberra… always returning a left wing member.
Credentials offered at an election may return a local candidate with genuinely good intentions, but they’re subject to the party machine, and the party leaders are advised by left wing guru’s from the public service.
the Covid emergency is a case in point…
The states and commonwealth are “advised” by public servants – generally left of centre.
As a journalist (now retired) I recall speaking to my local MP who told me off the record what he really thought of a particular policy… once we began the interview proper he trotted out the party line that had nothing to do with our earlier conversation… I said to him “you’re not going to repeat what you said to me privately?” to which he replied “no”.
I cannot support any side of politics as they stand… independents are fine if they truly reflect their local electorate… but alas have no power except in a hung parliament…
Thank you for the opportunity to vent!
Very well said Cassie, and I’ve been a very big fan of James Allan for some years.
Aids id better than cancer?
How about neither.
The Libs see their job as being the responsible adults in the room by paying for Labors programs then ensuring they live forever.
Christina Keneally’s return to a take-over in South-Western Sydney will turn many off Labor I think.
So there is that. And Joel Fitzgibbon has seen the writing on the wall for Labor in coalmining areas already. I hear he’s jumped ship.
Whatever party ends up winning in Oz elections, State or Federal, it should always be remembered that the person elected PM/Premier has no expertise or qualifications in running the country/state other than having the brownest nose in that, specific, gathering of brown nosed troughers ……..
Shaterzzz,
There is a common fallacy that the PM runs the country and that is the kind of thinking that has got us into this shit.
The PM or Premier no more run the country / state than your cat or dog do.
At best they are the spokesman for their party no more no less.
Our democracy is in a woeful state.
I think Prof. Allan is greatly overestimating the ticker a federal Coalition opposition would have displayed vis a vis a Shorten government. One man – Peter Dutton – doth not an effective opposition make.
He’s also underestimating the damage and division the ALP’s social and cultural policies would inflict on the nation.
That’s not to say I’ll be voting Liberal in the future. A pox on both their houses, I say. We need a viable third party which can build electoral leverage and hold both Liberal and Labor to account.
Applaud the sentiments but note the ongoing fracturing on the conservative side.
We are our own worst enemies.
Although a Tony Abbott in opposition.
It has the power to destroy one though.
His.
Lol, Cassie. Should have right to the bitter end.
Cassandra – doomed to tell the truth but doomed never to be heeded.
Also should have proof read. The missing word is “read”. 🙂
Conservatives coalescing around a viable third party could be seen as concentrating their influence rather than fracturing, rosie. At present any influence conservatives have in the Coalition is being diluted and that trend is likely to continue given the direction the Liberal and National parties have set themselves on. If these parties can’t be reformed from the inside –pace Tony Abbott – they need to feel the heat from outside. The Liberal Party has lost 500 000+ votes federally since its lurch further to the left under Turnbull. Those people – and many more like them who held their nose and voted for Morrison because he wasn’t Bill Shorten – are looking for an alternative.
We are between the proverbial rock and hard place . Agree with post re left leaning public servants just like the swamp Trump had to deal with. Abbott’s mistake was to keep them all after his win
Abbott’s fundamental philosophical mistake was to follow his mentor John Howard and imagine that the Liberal Party could fulfil its purpose as a “broad church”.
Conquest’s Law No. 2.
I suspect Abbott’s mistake was also having Peta Credlin as an advisor.
Roger
United party, Australia one, phon ldp ala and no doubt others?
The unaccountable public service is a bigger enemy than the Uniparty.
Filth. Unrepresentative swill. That’s all three of them.
Palmer and Hanson have their place as disruptors but they are not conservatives imv.
The LDP et. al. are good places to park your vote in the meantime until a better alternative comes along.
By doing so electors deprive the majors of public funding and a message is sent. Neither Labor nor the Liberals have been performing in a stellar fashion at the voting booth in recent times.
Maybe Bob Hawke started it 40 years ago with his concensus talk.
A thought experiment: try to imagine any of the State premiers (or that chinless bobble-head in the ACT) running a major corporation. Just try. I know, laughable. But the head of BHP or Wesfarmers or Linfox can’t put me under house arrest every night, or send the police to my home if I post something on Facebook that they disapprove of.
“dopeysays:
September 13, 2021 at 10:08 am
Maybe Bob Hawke started it 40 years ago with his concensus talk.”
No…..it has nothing to do with “consensus”….it’s called spinelessness, capitulation, betrayal and treating your voters like scum.
And as I wrote above….what’s kind of Liberal PM says “Free speech doesn’t create one job”?
Try to imagine them running a small business enterprise – say a Menswear shop, or a Locksmith.
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but with a whimper.
T.S Elliot — The Hollow Men
Every MP & PS covers for the crimes and failures of their predecessor so they continue with the narrative. Imagine what would be uncovered if they didn’t. It remains to be seen whether POTUS45 will achieve what he set out to do. Methinks the recent speech by GW Bush says things are on track.
This is great. Great post. I had been mulling something like it, but this did it better that what I was contemplating.
I would add:
1. Stop voting for any of these bums if none of them represent your values or interests. Don’t become the Australian equivalent of the black vote in the USA- captured by a party who take you for granted. Get off the Liberal party reservation.
2. There’s a goodly chance that there is now no political solution to the many, many problems that conservative types see clearly, but that the left and some libertarians are looking at and going “Too rah loo rah loo rah” or that Homer Simpson song in the head when confronted by something more complex than porridge.
3. Therefore look for non political solutions: i.e. consider putting your personal circumstances in a state to avoid the worst excesses of socialism under the direction of cultural marxists.
4. Consider #3 under the possible conditions of globalism, capitulation to Chinese interests and disintegration of the West as we know it.
Our trouble is that our election corruption isn’t so much with counting the votes, but with the Lib/Lab one party system that has rigged our voting system to make it nigh on impossible to get rid of them.
We should be allowed to let our preferential vote run out exactly where we want it to, for starters. How can we vote for a minor party without giving our preference to these ratbags?
The other thing to remember is that however many third party senators we can manage to vote in, the chances are that the Lib/Labs between them will still have the majority, and on all the stuff that matters, they’ll vote together.
Last thought. Every almost right-thinking Liberal member should know that at this point, their continued alliance with the Libs means they are worth no more than the worst of their fellows. If they had any true allegiance to what the Libs once said they stood for, they’d be out. Now. Forever.
Thanks you Cassie for writing down how I’ve been thinking lately.
I was (selfishly?) content for the slide to occur.. but the recent attack on civil liberties in the Covid pandemic has pushed me over the edge.
I’m with others here, and as previously stated by many Cats (Rabz in particular?); the conservative movement can only be saved by destroying the libs in their current format. They will be third last on my ballet above the greens and ALP. LDP or any party that stands up and bells the cat will be getting my vote.
Maybe you’re not seeing everything as the MSM loves burying the lead.
Tim and David in the Victorian have consistently been staunchly against Andrews idiocy and stood up to this COVID totalitarianism from day one.
The LDP are running high profile candidates in the Senate and a lot more than usual in the lower house.
Without breaking the law (and I am not including protesting), what more can you do when the media ignores and lies, other than Sky Australia, which is honestly only marginally better.
Ellen asks
Ellen – volt below the line and fill out your preferences.
https://www.aec.gov.au/learn/files/poster-counting-hor-pref-voting.pdf
I agree 1000%. I’ve decided that next time I vote, I will extend my preferences only as far as I want to and therefore there will inevitably be blank boxes beside many candidates, particularly those in the big two pardees. If that makes my vote invalid then so be it.
Cassie,
this post sums up the Liberal party – I have sent a copy of https://jamesfalk.com/uk-data-will-nsw-liberal-backbenchers-finally-act-with-honesty-and-reason/ to Contact NSW Pemier and Contact PM
UK Data – Will NSW Liberal Backbenchers Finally Act with Honesty and Reason?
The latest Public Health England Covid Surveillance report – (38 Page PDF) makes two things clear. The vaccinated over-40s catch more SARS-CoV-2 than the unvaccinated over-40s do. And because of that, vaccine passports are pointless.
More importantly, because they catch more per 100,000, and there are more vaccinated people in those age groups in the UK, they contribute much more to absolute case numbers.
Boris Backs Down on Passports – Will NSW?
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has signalled that he will be cancelling the vaccine passport program for the upcoming northern winter. Whether that was driven by this data, or by squirming backbenchers worried about reelection is not clear. But it’s been coming for a while.
But with cases through the roof despite high vaccine numbers in the UK, what does this mean for NSW? Surely our backbenchers can start telling the Inner Cabinet of Imprisonment to back off?
This is just another overseas datapoint showing NSW Cabinet policy to be not merely uninformed and authoritarian, but obstinately so. Campaigners will make sure that everyone knows about this and all the other overseas examples, and do so well before the Federal (and State) elections.
I don’t know what polling is saying but this State will have at least a million baseball bats waiting for the next election.
Will NSW Liberals and Nationals finally do the right thing?
Not until Gladys, Hazzard and Elliott are gone. They are the faces of the illegitimate regime.
What Else is Clear?
I’ll be voting ldp.
“Tim and David in the Victorian have consistently been staunchly against Andrews idiocy and stood up to this COVID totalitarianism from day one.”
Correct. Whilst I live in NSW, Tim and David’s performance in Victoria was contributing factor in my decision to join the LDP. Personally I would like to see David Limbrick enter federal politics. I find him impressive.
picnic Monday! With life stream from Sydney
Great post, Cassie. I am absolutely fed up with the liberals both here in NSW and federally. They have no integrity and no principles and their very nasty habit of implementing labore’s and the greenfilth’s policies for them has put me completely offside.
On every major issue of importance they’ve either gone missing in action or have completely stuffed it. In NSW in particular they have been spectacularly dire. Why anyone would vote for them after this latest lockdown lunacy is beyond me, but in reality, that’s just scratching the surface of their unrelenting mediocrity. What the f*ck for example, is bloody Matt Keane doing in the liberal party? He’s a greenfilth lunatic and emblematic of everything that is wrong with them.
What a joke, except it’s not even remotely funny.
Outstanding again Cassie . . . you’re on a roll – long may it continue !
I certainly recall the article by James Allan as it finally convinced me to drop any pretence of supporting the Liberals any more (with one caveat *). I will now be parking my vote with the Lib Democrats and then carefully ensuring my preferences do not filter to either the Libs, ALP or the Greens.
I thoroughly detested Turnbull and I held my nose voting for the Libs in 2016, but after 2019 and with what Morrison has done (or not done), I now loathe him more with even a stronger passion than that of Turnbull.
* My one caveat is here in Victoria where I would vote for the Libs (Lower House) and the Lib Democrats in the Upper House.
Simply put, I regard Daniel Andrews as not only as an immoral, lying and corrupt politician; but also as a criminal who should be locked up for manslaughter.
Only a change of Govt here in Victoria will see to that.
Not just that, he got burned my missogenee label inflicted by that rat Juliar.
I was really cross when I saw her tell Abbott
after the back stabbing, and then when she wasn’t up to it, resort to tears and all sorts of feminine weapons including the missogenee speech. That did real women, who have worked along side men for many years, a lot of damage.
With the media in full throat support he was buggered after that, anything he said, did (looked at his watch) was evidence of hating on women.
So when he got there he was pretty much hogtied.
Simply put, I regard Daniel Andrews as not only as an immoral, lying and corrupt politician; but also as a criminal who should be locked up for manslaughter.
+1000
You can add to that his complete lack of humanity, compassion and empathy.
Great post Cassie.
One of the “Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy” books had a planet ruled by a small group of lizards, who had worked out that they could prevent the inhabitants from rebelling by notionally dividing the lizards into two groups and giving the inhabitants regular opportunities to vote for which group of lizards they wanted in charge.
Duncanm, correct me if I’m wrong, but you have to fill in all the boxes – ie. exhaust the preferences – if you want your vote to count. That means that eventually I’m voting for Lib/Lab.
In fact, I understood it was under John Howard’s watch that this was introduced, no?
(In Tas. state elections you can stop after 1 if you want.)
Thanks Cassie, I’m in full agreement. I’ll be voting for the UAP, not because of Clive, but because I want to thank Craig Kelly for taking the flak and speaking the truth, this should be encouraged.
Ellen – sorry, you’re correct.
NSW also lets you stop after any number.. the feds do not.
“What the f*ck for example, is bloody Matt Keane doing in the liberal party? He’s a greenfilth lunatic and emblematic of everything that is wrong with them.”
Agree Rabz, whilst the Federal Liberal party is terminally sick, the NSW Liberals and Nationals are now a progressive mint green party. They don’t even try to hide their progressivism. Remember that..
1. The NSW Liberals and Nationals forced through council amalgamations.
2. The NSW Liberals and Nationals made the appalling decision to ban greyhound racing…okay they backtracked that decision but only after a huge public outcry and more importantly, a massive electoral swing but what kind of “Coalition” party makes that decision to begin with?
3. The NSW Liberals and Nationals pushed through the appalling abortion legislation two years ago.
4. The NSW Liberals and Nationals have allowed Safe Schools into the NSW curriculum.
5. The NSW Liberals and Nationals that has introduced Bruce Pascoe’s book into the NSW curriculum.
I know I sometimes sound like a broken record when I write this…but if you’re going to vote, why vote Labor lite? May as well vote Labor.
Helen says:
September 13, 2021 at 11:31 am
after the back stabbing, and then when she wasn’t up to it, resort to tears and all sorts of feminine weapons including the missogenee speech.
Even after all the bile directed at Abbott, he still acted like a gentleman.
Immediately after Julia was sacked with the rise of Rudd Mk. II, she was sitting forlornly and alone at Canberra Airport, bitter and disappointed at her situation. Only one person got up to sit with her to cheer her up and offer some commiseration, that was Tony Abbott.
The list could go on for a long time;
6. The NSW Liberals and Nationals brought in the appalling Sydney nightlife curfew.
7. The NSW Liberals and Nationals allowed the Lindt Cafe siege perp free reign, for fear of upsetting ‘western sydney’
8. The NSW Liberals and Nationals presided over the disaster that is that bloody toy train network
9. The NSW Liberals and Nationals introduced an entirely unnecessary container deposit scheme
No doubt there are other examples of their idiocy.
All this “Labor-Lite” stuff abot the Libs….
Actually, the Labor party is Liberal-Lite.
Thanks Cassie
I wrote to my local member a few weeks ago to inform her that I will not be voting for her or her party (LNP) in the future. If more voters let them know maybe they will find some spine if only to save their job.
Dynamic & Ellen, in the senate you only need to vote below the line for as many candidates as there are vacancies, ie 6 for a normal election and 12 for a DD election.
Sorry Duncanm autocorrect strikes again.
“Even after all the bile directed at Abbott, he still acted like a gentleman.”
Methinks that was the problem. I think with conservatives that the gloves have to come off.
Lets not forget the freak show of a Senate after the 2013 election, courtesy of Palmer pouring in money to shave off conservative votes.
Plus the greens picking up an extra seat.
Added to that was Termite Turnbull and his cadre of sycophants working constantly, along with the media, to subvert Abbott from within.
Yes Abbott could have done better but he was pushing (literal shit) uphill.
scoMo might be a wet lettuce, but at least he doesn’t intentionally do harm. The harm he does is less effective for that. Lord Wentworth, on the other hand….
Imagine if Abbott had gone all Taiwan Parliament on Pyne and Turnbull. Heck both at once. It would have been awesome.
“scoMo might be a wet lettuce, but at least he doesn’t intentionally do harm. “
I’m sure Bettina Arndt and Craig Kelly would disagree.
What gets me is how inhumane these mongrels are.
They couldn’t give a stuff about how their brainfarts effect we the people.
They make me angry.
Disgrace is too good for them.
They call themselves honourable when they are totally without honour.
They make a show of going to Church but they are not good Christians.
The Lord says vengeance is his. I wish he would let me arrogate to myself this responsibility.
I’d smash them.
The pack of lowy dogs.
Richard Standley wrote
As a journalist (now retired) I recall speaking to my local MP who told me off the record what he really thought of a particular policy… once we began the interview proper he trotted out the party line that had nothing to do with our earlier conversation… I said to him “you’re not going to repeat what you said to me privately?” to which he replied “no”.
Thanks for that comment, Richard. I too have had those sort of communications with MPs- zero conviction.
I don’t quite share Cassie’s animus though. Scomo is still a better choice, what he needs is a headkicker to sort out the soggy lettuce leaves in the party. Dutton for deputy.
BTW- I remember you well during my six or so years in the North West in the late 90s to mid 2000s. A great newsreader, much missed.
There’s only two Federal MPs who are publicly fighting the most important battle of our time.
That’s Craig Kelly and George Christensen.
One Nation in the Senate.
I’ll never vote for either of the two major parties again.
I’ll vote UAP for this particular battle.
“scoMo might be a wet lettuce, but at least he doesn’t intentionally do harm. “
Rubbish.
Finally to Morrison, the ultimate “hollow man”, who once glibly said about free speech…’It doesn’t create one job’.
And I’d be willing to bet he only said that because someone else told him to.
He didn’t have to listen to her and like Turdball, he should have kicked both into touch. Abbott’s biggest problem was himself, and his need to be liked by all. He didn’t trust himself or his instincts and therefore failed. I mark his failed PMship as the big turning point in the LNP that ushered in their romp into the centre left wilderness. I haven’t voted for them since and doubt I ever will.
We have been betrayed by cowards.
“Makkasays:
September 13, 2021 at 4:02 pm”
I agree Makka….I’m not as charitable about Abbott as others are. For example I remember how, within weeks of being elected, he awarded Natasha Stott-Despoja a plumb position….apparently it was Julie Bishop who badgered him to do it however a strong leader would have said NO. I remember thinking when I heard….WHY? This was followed by his niceness in not accepting Bryce’s resignation…..all within weeks of him being elected. I quickly lost faith in Abbott.
Not just that, he got burned my missogenee label inflicted by that rat Juliar.
I was really cross when I saw her tell Abbott
after the Rudd back stabbing, and then when she wasn’t up to it after all, resort to tears and all sorts of feminine weapons including the missogenee speech. That did real women, who have worked along side men for many years, a lot of damage.
With the media in full throated support he was buggered after that, anything he said, did (looked at his watch) was evidence of hating on women.
So when he got there, to be PM, he was pretty much hogtied and in the claws of Credlin.
No excuse, but I think he was confused by it all.
Scomo is still a better choice, what he needs is a headkicker to sort out the soggy lettuce leaves in the party.
Oh, geez.
How do I respond to this politely?
Nope, cannot do it. Politely, that is.
8798435nlkmn3248976896#&^%**8796$#^%&#&**)^&%%$^&!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Scomo is still a better choice, what he needs is a headkicker to sort out the soggy lettuce leaves in the party”
Morrison is a soggy lettuce leaf.
Nadia Bartel not being charged with any drug offence, with police saying they don’t know what the white powder was. I wonder if they actually asked her? The follow-up questions must have been a real hoot if she said “I don’t know”.
There comes a time when the termites have eaten such a percentage of the weight-bearing walls, that the risk of the ceiling and roof literally falling down must be seriously considered and acted upon.
As a traditional Catholic and minimal government conservative, I’m fighting without much hope on two fronts. I have to face the headless beast that is Pope Francis and his minions spread throughout the Church, and the horror that is politics in the West, the media and, now what is in plain sight, that the general public of so-called “free spirited” Aussies will roll over and submit to dictatorship with nary a whimper. And dob each other in for not complying. We really stink.
I think the two are related. A decent traditional Catholic bishop like Daniel Mannix would have promptly excommunicated Dan Andrews and all the CINO politicians that support abortion, same-sex “marriage”, and so on, and explained why this was necessary. Indeed, he would also have excommunicated Tony Abbott, who fecklessly endorsed the heretical Bill Clinton doctrine that abortion should be “legal, safe, and rare.” And he would have booted out all the heretical priests, nuns and laity occupying the Catholic bureaucracy since the disastrous Second Vatican Council. Plus he would have banned the utter cr*p that passes for content in our school textbooks.
Such an act would have given us something of a beach head from which to mount an assault. Other Christian denominations, and even good-hearted sensible agnostics and atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Confucians, etc, would have united with us in a broad front. Heck, even the Mozzies might have been on board with the ssm stuff.
We could reintroduce virtues such as thrift, balancing the books both privately and publicly, living within our means, the value of honest work, private charity for the poor rather than state largesse which poses as generous but doesn’t cost the statesman a cent, bravery, self-sacrifice, reasoned debate, calling a spade a spade, a man a man, and a woman a woman (radical thought I concede), self-control, chastity, courtesy, humility, gratitude. Peace and order not imposed coercively from above, but growing out of our families and natural communities.
The great Anglican C.S. Lewis understood this when he wrote in Mere Christianity:
“May I come back to what I said before? This is the whole of Christianity. There is nothing else. It is so easy to get muddled about that. It is easy to think that the Church has a lot of different objects—education, building, missions, holding services. Just as it is easy to think the State has a lot of different objects—military, political, economic, and what not.
But in a way things are much simpler than that. The State exists simply to promote and to protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life. A husband and wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging in his own garden—that is what the State is there for. And unless they are helping to increase and prolong and protect such moments, all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc., are simply a waste of time.”
I’ll take that any day, but I’d actually go a bit further than Lewis, (and he might well agree) since while these are indeed great goods he describes, I don’t think the state can bring about that modest but glorious vision unless its rulers and enough of its citizenry have and cherish a correct understanding of man and his objective destiny, of the meaning of life and its ultimate purpose, and in what happiness truly consists.
A fish rots at the head first. I blame my Church’s failure of nerve for much of our plight. I don’t excuse myself for my own contribution.
Hey, imagine if we had a leader with a fraction of Trump’s gumption? Or Nigel Farage’s?
Actually, don’t … it’s too depressing when the vision fades and you find you’re back in Orwellian, humourless, clueless and stupid Oz.
Lord, how long?
But as Churchill said: “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
“Hughsays:
September 13, 2021 at 4:47 pm”
Great comment Hugh.
“Hey, imagine if we had a leader with a fraction of Trump’s gumption? Or Nigel Farage’s?”
I would add Victor Orban too.
Thank you for that great comment Hugh.
Hi Hugh (from the OldCat??)
If you are the “Hugh” from the Old Cat who conducted the Tenebrae one Easter a few years ago . . .
Do take heart, don’t lose hope!
Your invitation to OldCat readers to attend at the church to hear the Tenebrae changed my life and opened my eyes to what it is to be a “Catholic” Christian.
Sitting there in the church on the hard pew, for more than two hours, not understanding a word but just ‘hearing’ the story through the voices, that music, is something I recount with awe and wonder to anyone who will listen. It gave me a glimmer of understanding into the power of the spirit of Jesus.
When the service began I was using the booklet to follow along but then I realised that understanding the words was not essential, that the voices alone carried the message. 🙂 I was thinking what it would be like for an uneducated peasant and how fortunate they would be to hear such beauty and glory.
So, “Hugh” from the Old Cat (I hope) a belated thank you for your invitation to readers.
🙂 someone here recently commented that it takes just a single match to light a bonfire.
Maman
? someone here recently commented that it takes just a single match to light a bonfire.
Someone else (Chairman Mao) said that “A single spark can start a prairie fire”.
Boambee John, maybe the allusion was to a funeral pyre but that sounded a bit bleak.
The Tenebrae service was ‘out of this world’.
Parmesan Cheese. All the kool kidz are doin’ it.
Next: Licking toads and selling art to the Chinese elites.
For me it was the rapid erosion of property rights under subsequent coalition governments from the mid nineties onwards. They could not / would not tackle the watermelons then.
Shy Tedsays:
September 14, 2021 at 11:38 am
Re the carrot lady. Scroll past if you don’t want to know or read on. It’s about the “a” sound (not “A”). She says Saturday even though the answer is Sunday. (a). First month – January (a). She says hand (a). It’s the repetition. You “need” an answer with the “a” sound. You potato and cucumber people need to a Freudian analyst.
And what are you missing on t’other Cat? Quite the most hilarious and offensive toons.
It’s not defined by Bird. In fact IMHO he’s far les offensive than yer MSM and poliarticians.”
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Yes, our 24/7, MSM pushing the FOREIGN UNELECTED BODY’S DEMANDS that we MUST Submit to Jabbing, Sacrifice Our Children To Jabbing or ACCEPT WE HAVE CHOSEN TO BE UNTERMENSCH, makes those who ‘feel compelled’ to REPEAT the Propaganda on the very few, barely open public forums, hard to stomach, especially when they KNOW that it is also ILLEGAL for our doctors to give us fully frank advice & care, having to stick to Political Dictates over best medical care.
Perhaps Mrs Nong should take her medication before she posts a comment, it might help make the comment more rational and lucid. Oh and I note that Mrs Nong also seems to think that Bird’s anti-Semitism is not particularly offensive. Hmm….Birds of a feather do stick together.
Sorry, that last post here was meant for the open thread, though I notice it does also fit this thread’s topic.
“Sorry, that last post here was meant for the open thread, though I notice it does also fit this thread’s topic.”
No Nong…it doesn’t.
Pollies, journalists, public sector. Can’t live with ’em, can’t suspend ’em from lampposts.
Just hand over the cash, peasants.
Shy Tedsays:
September 14, 2021 at 11:38 am
[…] Bird. In fact IMHO he’s far les offensive than yer MSM and poliarticians.”
_____________________________
Yes, our 24/7, MSM pushing the FOREIGN UNELECTED BODY’S DEMANDS that we MUST Submit to Jabbing, Sacrifice Our Children To Jabbing or ACCEPT WE HAVE CHOSEN TO BE UNTERMENSCH, makes those who ‘feel compelled’ to REPEAT the Propaganda on the very few, barely open public forums, hard to stomach, especially when they KNOW that it is also ILLEGAL for our doctors to give us fully frank advice & care, having to stick to Political Dictates over best medical care.
__________________________
You see, Bird rants like all Jew haters rant, like the The German Powers, The Nazi Upper Class ranted against Jews.
They ranted enough to convince people the Jews were an immediate threat to the lives of The German Upper Class, such a great threat that they needed to be rounded up & separated from the ‘good’ Germans, for ‘the greater good’.
They ranted just like the Govts of today, the MSM today & Social Media ‘Influencers’ today (like Notafan/Rosie), rant against those who’d rather not have Pro-Jab Propaganda shoved down their throats.
The way you, Rosie & others treat me & others is no different to the way Germans treated Jews, Poles, Slavs, Gypsies, the handicapped and everyone else they saw as “BENEATH” them, so far beneath the Übermensch that WE are only fit to be cut off from society & killed off.
That list of those the German Übermensch set out to kill off, I & mine fit all plus some others, so please, don’t dare ever believe that me, mine & countless others don’t see YOU hiding behind your rants against Jew Haters while you’re actually preparing the soil, sowing the seeds and calling out labourers to yet again bring in that most vile, bitter harvest, farmed by those who see themselves as the class of people the world needs, with a duty to dispose of the rest.
“The way you, Rosie & others treat me & others is no different to the way Germans treated Jews, Poles, Slavs, Gypsies, the handicapped and everyone else they saw as “BENEATH” them, so far beneath the Übermensch that WE are only fit to be cut off from society & killed off.”
How dare you trivialise the Holocaust. You really are a sordid, attention seeking, adolescent, low IQ, disgusting cretin…comparing yourself to murdered Jews and Gypsies. You really are a loathsome pest…no wonder Sinc banned you permanently. FUCK OFF.
Maman, thank you so much for your account.
I’m deeply touched.
Your story resonates. A French engineering postgraduate, Consti, invited a fellow postgrad French student to the Tenebrae ceremony a few years back. An atheist, or agnostic … I forget which. This chap went back to France soon after. Consti returned to France at the end of the year, but just before he left, he grabbed me, told me this story and said he’d heard from his colleague that he had found the ceremony so moving, he was now taking instruction and would be received into the Church inside a month.
Consti summed it up: “He came for the music. He left with the faith.”
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You know, there are so many on the Cat blog here, atheist, agnostic, non-Catholic that I have much more in common with than the poor benighted zombie Catholic who goes along to his or her local dreary mass. Or Pope Francis.
Sign of the end times, perhaps?
Speaking of which: just talking with a friend about the renewed disappearance of toilet paper from the shelves and how that might be another sign of the end times. After all, as my friend observed, when the Last Trumpet sounds, and Our Lord descends on the clouds to run the General Judgement, the vast mass of humanity will be really sh*tting themselves big time. So I can offload my hoarded Quilton packs at a one-time special of $1000.00 per roll!
*******
Seriously, though, thanks, prayers and God bless.
I can also recommend to all, believers or no: “Life Everlasting” by Fr Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. one of the greatest theologians of the 20th Century. Available on Amazon (U.S. site). Chilling, absorbing, arresting, inspiring and easy to digest. Pierces the soul. I can’t read a few pages of it without thinking “Yeah, time I really got my act together!”
srr, your obnoxious and querulous behaviour has now jumped the shark.
Congratulations on self-selecting for removal. As per Newton’s Third Law, you have brought this on yourself.
“Hughsays:
September 14, 2021 at 5:01 pm”
Another great comment Hugh.