i didn't vote today, just as i didn't vote last time, and the time before that.
throughout my friends list, i see a lot of fine people hoping that john howard and the coalition are beaten with bats and thrown out of parliament, and left as bloody, shitty stains on the grass. if i had money, i'd probably put it on that outcome, as well as the retirement of howard, but i wouldn't put much cash on it, since i'm a terrible gambler. if asked (and it's my blog, so lets assume i am) i'd say the reason for the change will be simply that the australian public decides, every three or so terms, that it's time for someone new, and goes with that. how else can you justify the removal of one party to be replaced by a party that, outside superficial features, looks pretty much identical to the party voted back in?
bill hicks, the comedian who died in the 90s, once said, in describing politics in america, that it was basically describe as "i think the puppet on the right shares my beliefs. i think the puppet on the left is more to my liking... hey, wait a minute, there's one guy holding up both puppets!"
it's a fair enough description of australian politics, i think. whatever happens tonight, nothing much will change.
throughout my friends list, i see a lot of fine people hoping that john howard and the coalition are beaten with bats and thrown out of parliament, and left as bloody, shitty stains on the grass. if i had money, i'd probably put it on that outcome, as well as the retirement of howard, but i wouldn't put much cash on it, since i'm a terrible gambler. if asked (and it's my blog, so lets assume i am) i'd say the reason for the change will be simply that the australian public decides, every three or so terms, that it's time for someone new, and goes with that. how else can you justify the removal of one party to be replaced by a party that, outside superficial features, looks pretty much identical to the party voted back in?
bill hicks, the comedian who died in the 90s, once said, in describing politics in america, that it was basically describe as "i think the puppet on the right shares my beliefs. i think the puppet on the left is more to my liking... hey, wait a minute, there's one guy holding up both puppets!"
it's a fair enough description of australian politics, i think. whatever happens tonight, nothing much will change.
- Notes:Bill Hicks - Quiet Loner
Comments
howard will retire after a fourth term, i think.
Scratch that, you'll have Howard and I'll have a high paying research job in Germany or some other overseas location where they still spend money on higher education. Yeah.
germany looks good. maybe we could all form a nice little art community.
Next time I may have to move to a marginal seat.
in many ways, i am an unhappy man with politics, but i have my stand. my point for me. i make it as it is, contradictions and faults and everything else. guess i just figure that there's nothing else i can do, though people will argue otherwise. (there's no need to argue otherwise. just saying.)
anyhow: i'll give you my sympathy, anyhow, since it looks like latham is about to offically concede.
Um, maybe if you'd written every 3-4 terms I'd be agreeing with you. But sadly, we tend to change govts every 10 or more years. (Although the shortness of Whitlam's term probably throws out the average).
I also will be very surprised if Latham gets in. I think your friends list, much like mine, reflect the views of the people you associate with and not the views of the Australian public at large.
yeah, my friends list reveals a bunch of arts orientated, politically world view people, which is the labour vote. but at any rate, it's all pretty much over, i think.