Subject:
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Re: Lap-dogs (was: It didn't have to be this way....)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Wed, 13 Oct 2004 04:12:29 GMT
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Viewed:
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1184 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Ross Crawford wrote:
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Richard Parsons wrote:
> > Dunno. Maybe I'm being unnecessarily morose. Bush's Australian Deputy
> > Sheriff Howard got re-elected for four more years over the weekend, so I
> > may simply be depressed.
>
> LOL it doesn't really depress me, but it does surprise me. I mean, everyone
> I've spoken to since the election has said "so who the heck voted
> Liberal??". But I guess that's probably just a case of me associating with
> people that share similar views.
Don't know about that. I have had the same experience in places where one ought
to have found a large number of supporters. One is drawn towards the conclusion
that many folks made the choice to vote liberal but are not prepared to fess up
in public. Perhaps this indicates a triumph of personal fear and selfishness
over public principle. Scary.
> But just to be my usual pedantic self, our federal term is 3 years maximum,
> and highly adjustable.
Of course. Told you I was depressed.
> It will be interesting to see what happens with the FTA too now that
> Liberals are looking like possibly getting a majority in the senate.
Either a majority on their own, or with some new family party from the right -
Victorian based I understand.
And the FTA is a lay down misère I think. What will be interesting is to see
what this actually does to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the price of
medicines in Australia. We call it social welfare policy and the American drug
companies call it protectionism contrary to free trade (and therefore bad, evil,
naughty thing).
Look out for the watering down of the unfair dismissal laws in a lcm national
approach, a lack of focus on telecommunications services in uneconomic areas, an
immigration exclusion zone only slightly smaller than the coastline, a
relatively larger defence budget and a relatively smaller aid budget.
But like most western democracies, we have no excuse to complain too hard. We
get what we asked for. We get what we wanted. We get what we deserve. Dang,
perhaps I am living in the wrong country.
It is somehow disquieting though that we elect labor state governments all over
the place to run education, health, policing and a thousand other things more
immediately impinging on day to day life, but elect the liberals to run the
national agenda. Need to think on this some more, but its hard to see how its a
good sign.
Richard
Still baldly going...
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