Word-whore. I write 'em. I talk 'em. Information, politics, media, and the cybers. I drink. I use bad words. All publication is a political act. All communication is propaganda. All art is pornography. All business is personal. All hail Eris! Vive les poissons rouges sauvages!
With news last night that John Howard has returned to Canberra — yes, it looks like the actual election campaign will finally get under way! — I reckon I’ll be writing a bunch about politics for the next few weeks. Nothing wrong with that: we are deciding who’ll lead the nation! Before I write today’s essay, though, I simply must post this cartoon. Thanks to Alextremist for the pointer, and The Australian for the original.
The other day I wrote about ordinary people making political advertising. Here’s another example.
Two weeks ago I met Stan, who’s created a giant portrait of John Howard constructed from beer bottle tops — because, he says, Howard has treated people as just as disposable.
He’s exhibited the portrait at various community events and made a video about it. And now he plans to tour the marginal electorates to make his point.
“I am not a member of any activist or political party. Until the extent of lies and deaths, I considered myself a very average Australian,” he says.
As I say, Australia’s first real Internet election campaign will be very interesting indeed…
Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize is like a Magic Cloak of Invincibility. Now anyone wanting to criticise him had better have all of their ducks in a row — feathers freshly preened and all lined up like the North Korean Army — before they dare open their mouths.
And, through the magic of televisual political frottage, Kevin Rudd gets a +2 on his charisma too, since he’s been seen wandering Melbourne with The Big Al himself, quietly discussing… well, discussing something anyway. Does it matter exactly what?
Kevin Rudd knows Al Gore! AL GORE! He must be cool!
Since the US of A is our best friend and protector, mentor and high-tech stuff salesman, these pairings of potential PM with an Important American define our future.
We have Kevin Rudd, the quiet and unassuming Supernerd who can crack jokes with the president of China in his own language. Next to Kevin we have Al Gore, who everyone knows through that movie.
OK, some people want to spoil the fun by pointing out a few errors, but hey we all got the message.
Al Gore hasn’t yet said whether he’ll run for President, but former president and Nobel Laureate Jimmy Carter is behind him.
And then we have the Man of Steel and his submissive relationship with the Lame Duck President, digging up coal and uranium and oil and gas and whatever else they can find and selling it as fast as they can. Dubya is on the nose politically and has been for months, and the Man of Steel is making up policy on the fly.
Gee, there’s a choice, eh?
Most of my Saturday mornings start with a quiet, reflective time. ’Pong has gone to work, the cats are fed and have finally shut the fuck up and gone back to sleep. It’s not yet time to join the Snarky Platypus for our regular gym, lunch, shiraz and sarcasm session. I’ve got a couple of hours to sit, still unshaven and often in my underwear, sort through the newspapers and my notebook, turn them over in my mind, and see what emerges.
What emerges this morning is laughter. About John Howard.
Not a belly-laugh, though, nor that loud, pointing, “Haw haw haw! Hey Charlene, will ya just look at that!”
No, it’s a quiet chuckle. A roll of the eyes and a slow shake of the head which says, “Oh, you bloody idiot.” And this moment of amusement is certainly helping to make up for the anger of the last fortnight.
Of the top 7 Australian political parties, apparently the Australian Democrats most closely match my political worldview. So I guess it’s a shame they might well vanish from federal parliament completely in a few weeks.
That’s according to the Test your political inclinations thingo at the Oz Politics blog. Fun, though they do warn that “if you are unhappy with the results, do not worry about it too much. The instrument has not been validated scientifically and the results could be misleading. Do not use this test to decide how to vote at an election.” Quite.
More intriguing is the summary of the last 5000 voters. 74% of self-identifying Greens voters think all third-world debt should be cancelled, and only 7% disagree, but 54% of One Nation voters disagree, and only 24% think the debt should go. No surprises there. But dig and you’ll find some gems.
Go read John Birmingham’s angry rant about the government’s recent straight-up racist demonisation of Sudanese migrants. I was so angry with immigration minister Kevin Andrews last week I couldn’t actually write for fear my brain would explode. Birmingham has let his explode — and the world is a better place for it.