Shocked, I tell you! Shocked!

Thanks to the Blessed Linda Reynolds, we now have another definition for “pyrrhic victory.”

It’s Liberal. Ergo, it’s a stuffup. What a thrill, to receive an email from your local parliamentarian when you’ve just become a new Australian citizen. Especially when you’re 3rd generation Australian.

"This morning, we see the bailout and I always worry about the jobs…and the economic prosperity of every region that gets a massive hit when there's uncertainty about the future. But it appears this is just a bandaid and it's not good enough." Ley, supporting jobs, prosperity, & confusion.

Let’s see. Price leaks, resigns, accuses Ley of leaking. Dutton didn’t leak - somehow private conversation is now all over 🤷‍♂️Ley didn’t leak but Hastie’s rep now mud (leaks). & Hastie still banging on about turning Libs into PHON or the antipodean Reform. Like Abbott, up to his neck w Tories. Clear?

Wasn’t that long ago when our LNP overlords equated ABC reports with those fm Pravda. And bleating McKenzie perhaps forgets, we have states which regulate driving instructors, not the Commonwealth (which in her previous incarnation as a Govt minister she would not hesitate to remind colleagues of).

If losing 2 PMs is (to paraphrase Wilde) carelessness, what does it mean to lose 5 in 2 years? The Australian experience of Rudd/Gillard/Rudd/Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison in 13 years is being challenged for its political barnyard irrelevance.

Ley is going nowhere, fast, but that won’t stop her targeting transgender issues. Law’n order is the only thing she can advocate on without being backgrounded into irrelevance by her own colleagues. Child abuse should be condemned & punished, whoever the perpetrator.

“There’s no challenge to Sussan – I support Sussan,” I guess at least he didn’t burble on about being “ambitious for her” like Morrison of the 6 Ministries. Only Oppositions can carry on like a badly-written Shakespeare pastiche. Hastie for OL by mid ‘26 at the latest imho.

Racist scum walk among us, spreading their “respectful” hate, facilitated & nourished by our supposedly esteemed institutions. They give an intellectual veneer to their toxic prejudices, but it’s no different to the hate which spreads from their less articulate nazi-saluting confreres. Disgraceful

Patriotic Trumpet man Palmer is tooting a dud tune from his nether regions in his continuing attempts to use ISDS against the Australian taxpayer. Bit hard to see how ripping us off amounts to patriotism. We live in interesting times.

@firstdogonthemoon.bsky.social proves again why he’s a national treasure. We need to start a petition so he gets the gig to design the colouring in bookin ‘26. And - Pizza Duck! Who knew it was a fake that nearly fooled the BOTY judges in ‘24? Great sleuthing, Detective Dog!

Looking in vain for the incredibly tedious interview w the Nong O’Brien on 730 last night. Sarah so bored she pulled him up during yet another marathon waffle; he started telling a “story” which she reminded him he’d already related on an earlier program. The bloke is an Olympic-standard bore.

Wondering if Sussan might be biking the travel plans soon?

Fantastic stuff. Leo is a champ. And will grow up to be twice the man as the Tangerine Bloviator with his disgraceful “theories”.

CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 1965: 20-1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 1990: 75-1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio today: 280-to-1 Trickle-down economics was always a sham. Nothing has ever trickled down.

Contains this gem of doublespeak: "Look, I support Sussan. Anyone who's speculating otherwise is being mischievous," Hastie insisted… "As I said, I'm still on the team, I'm a team player, I'm just being a little bolder in some of the policy positions that I think we should adopt." Clear as a bell

Imamoglu is a very brave man. Erdogan is challenging Orban for the title of least democratic leader.

Triple sabotage!!! Outrageous abuse & disrespect shown to the world’s greatest peacemaker!!!

Murdoch Jnr platforms the odious Credlin’s pro-Trump antediluvian views on climate change. For this Liberal booster, climate change isn’t just a lie but a “grift” by those in the “climate change industry” All those op-shop clothes & bad haircuts must be cover. Can’t wait to change into Gucci, eh?

Let’s see. Wants to rewrite history about the Liberal-engineered demise of our car industry, harking back to the post-war manufacturing boom But wants to curb immigration This would be news to the millions of migrants who built our cars til Ford, Holden & Toyota shut. All for his CPAC audience.

Dickie Bird was the perfect umpire for the TV, with his little performances and obvious enjoyment in the game. His way of signalling 6s was unique & pretty funny - 2 bent fingers raised in the air with him raising up on his heels 2 or 3 times. Or the leg bye, where he nearly fell over. Vale.

And the misogynist-in-chief finds yet another way to blame women for the health of their children. While finding yet another excuse to falsely simplify a complex issue which will no doubt result in the defunding of autism services. After all, pregnant women just need to toughen up.

His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, apparently. You don’t need to be elected to make foreign policy announcements, it seems, just have an undying commitment to our “friends” in the Republican Party. Comforting.

My statement formally recognising the State of Palestine.

Optus’ 000 failure is on another scale of appalling. At least 3 people have died. Optus was made aware (didn’t inquire itself) at 9am but didn’t act until another complaint at 1.30pm. 13 hours without 000 services. It was performing a “firewall upgrade”. Criminal charges, please!

You may need a strong stomach to read this fawning garbage. Aren’t we lucky on-line news wasn’t available in the 1930s? Imagine the sort of garbage would be sprouted about the “Italian miracle”, or how good things were in Germany? The pandering to this perversion of democracy is pathetic.

Sussan Ley introduces a new term into the Australian political lexicon, the Pyrrhic clarification As in, “One more clarification like that and we’ll be done for.”

If you have a response to this story ranging from appalled to scared for our future generations, thanks for being empathetic. If you don’t, all you’ll see is a marketing opportunity. Like the producers of these cosmetics for babies.

Winning friends again, Jarrod. You really are good at this, aren’t you?

When Bridget McKenzie looks more principled than you, you really do have a problem, MAGA Matt.

“Much policy discussion is grounded in out-of-date notions that #manufacturing depends on cheap workers & economies of scale. The business model has changed. Today’s champions draw from #science & #research for global value chains” www.aumanufacturing.com.au/manufacturin... @timayres.bsky.social

Henry Kissinger’s finest hour. Lest we forget.

In the same way that freedom of speech doesn’t give you the right to falsely yell “fire”, neither does it give you the right to spew hatred & racism from a parliamentary lectern.

It’s tempting to say, Good to know our defence is in such capable hands. But Govt should be aware of the potential reputational damage of giving a major contract (and 💩loads of $$) to a Trump-loving techbro. And at the same time ignoring Australian companies working in this field.

Obvs time to invest in cutlery futures then.

A Liberal spring?

The Grauniad living up to its inept reputation: Price cited Indiigous issues, specifically the “romanticisation of traditonal cutlure” and “infefectiveness of blaote dbureaucrcies” “Inefefectiveness” is the Covfefe of 2025, perhaps?

Er, Priceless? (Sorry! Which is more than the *good* Senator was) Includes this gem: “we've been elected by the Australian people to address the failures of the Albanese government.” Interesting. Not sure that John Stuart Mill or other theorists of liberal democracy would recognise that one.

She really is the gift that keeps on giving. Cue #ThePriceIsRight from her racist supporters.

The Starmer malaise. Summarised in one acerbic take by @mrjohncrace.bsky.social

“You say sorry!” “No! You say sorry!”

If you’ve got money in popcorn futures, I reckon you’re going to make a motza. Let’s hope for that the Nat/Lib Senator for the NT continues her campaign of clarification. If she keeps “walking back” her anti-Indian comments without actually apologising, she’ll be wearing out a few pairs of shoes.

$734M on consultants in the uni sector. What waste! When it could’ve gone to paying even higher management salaries… No wonder TAFE is delivering degrees now. Corporatisation of higher ed has delivered corporate failure on a massive scale. Not even Adam Smith thought that education was a market.

I think O’Brien’s Ministry of Love is running US foreign policy these days.

Robodebt was a criminal conspiracy, set up by a corrupt Liberal administration and facilitated by supine bureaucrats doing their bidding. About time this was corrected - too late, for some. Funnily enough not one Liberal MP spoke on this massive settlement. Too busy “walking back” Price’s racism?

Seems MAGA Jacinta wasn’t racist until she was asked a question. It was all Patricia Karvelas’ fault! Possibly the first documented case of ABC-induced racism in this country.

@adamtooze.bsky.social on yet another measure of economic complexity - Federal investment in university R&D as a share of GDP. The keen eyed will note that NZ resides at 26. Australia - didn’t make the cut.