A Laughable Editorial

You Wanted People To Vote Them In, Darren Goodsir

Defence Minister David Johnston is in a spot of bother this week - amidst all the other crappy developments for the Abbott Government, like FOFA and dropping the $7 co-payment - for having described the Australian Submarine Corporation as being incapable to even build a canoe. That might even be true, if coming from a legitimate standpoint of cost and process. After all, we can always point to the crown jewel of the ASC, the Collins class submarine.

All the same, Johnston is in a spot of bother because basically it indicates the Abbott government won't seriously consider the ASC as an option for developing the next generation submarines. Of course nothing this government does smacks of anything remotely like impartial, so it's not like Johnston is a singular fuck-up of a minister in a lineup of otherwise excellent ministers. He is merely a minor gaffe-making minister in a lineup of ideological idiots who are way in above their shrunken heads.

Still, the Sydney Morning Herald editor wants to take him to task!

Defence Minister David Johnston is hardly displaying the qualities needed to oversee the subs decision, let alone his department. 

Senator Johnston has embarrassed Australia's defence forces, potentially undermined national security and lost the confidence of South Australians by saying he didn't trust the government-owned ASC - formerly the Australian Submarine Corporation - to build a canoe. 

ASC is involved in building three air warfare destroyers for the navy and maintains the Collins class submarines. 

Perhaps such a "rhetorical flourish" - his words and those of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, not ours - could be excused if it were an isolated embarrassment.
But the minister's performance has been substandard. 

Mr Abbott eventually will reshuffle cabinet, when he tires of defending the indefensible.
For the sake of appearing strong and stable, a sense of arrogance lingers around this government. This week the Prime Minister repeatedly refused to admit he made a statement promising no cuts to the ABC and SBS.

Note, the interesting tone of discovery in the excerpt there. It is as if it comes to the editor Mr. Goodsir as a tremendous surprise that there should be a sense of arrogance lingering around this government. I mean, really Mr Goodsir, you noticed this now, and not when they were in opposition and dared to go through an entire election campaign without offering up red of their policy? Perhaps Mr. Goodsir didn't find this arrogant but merely strategic (or politic), but most sensible people knew full well then that arrogance would be the hallmark signature of an Abbott Government.

What really hurts, given that Mr. Abbott went on to win that 2013 election, is that the Sydney Morning Herald openly supported a change of government to this pack of arrogant imbeciles. Why? Because a change was better than more of the same. It was as if the editor did not consider the possibility of a change for the worse - which alas has come to pass. Were we Hobbits, we'd cast Mr. Goodsir into the open maws of Mt. Doom, but no. We're here in Australia, governed by people with the sensibility of Orcs.

So it gives me great pleasure writing once more, you wanted this mob Darren Goodsir. You can't be complaining about their performance this early in the piece, especially over some throwaway line. It's only been 14 months. There is much, much more of this arrogance and recklessness and contempt of the public as well as their ideological opponents, still to come. This whole shmozzle of 14months in power is merely the entrée, the aperitif if you will, of this lousy government - a government you wholeheartedly asked Australians to vote in. Why, these people can't even craft a budget that gets through the Senate, 6 months since Budget Night. Thank you of the fine recommendation. The pity is that I didn't follow such crap advice and still somehow ended up with this unhappiness-making government.

Behold the emptiness of media persuasion. I blame stupidity.

Apologia

I bagged out the teachers of Tony Abbott in my previous entry. It was a bit rough on my part. Those teachers - whatever their degree or depth of their faith - didn't exactly set about to shape the youth that turned into "Prime Minister Tony Abbott" in the manner that he turned out. Doubtless those fine men and women are shocked at how misshapen their product is, and just how much harm he is doing to their reputation as educators. For that I offer my sincere apologies for my offence and my condolences for their sorrow and regret.