This week has been a nightmare. It started with some truly horrible allegations against the police force, coupled with the release of David Bain from prison due to a horrendous miscarriage of justice by our own Court of Appeal. And then on Wednesday, a whole sorry bunch of sanctimonious politicians voted away parental authority, with sickening front page pictures of celebrations and happiness, getting that debate out of the way for a budget with more taxes (petrol tax for Wellington and Auckland) and a pathetic attempt at trying to enforce savings for retirement.
The only thing that has kept me sane is limiting my exposure to the radio and barely looking at my daily newspaper that arrives this morning. And going to Mass every morning. All of the priests in my area have gone on a retreat, so New Zealand's only Cardinal said Mass up in Waikanae every day this week. It was wonderful. I'd love to be able to listen to his sermons all of the time.
I think the time has past where we look to politicians to solve what is going on in NZ with this out of control government and the one in waiting that looks to do more of the same. Change has to come within each person. Not many people have really had a reason to critically look at this country and what's happening until recently when the long arm of the law could potentially reach into our homes and take our children. That more than anything has been the turning point. From this point on, I don't think how the people will react in future will be at all predictable.
As an aside, it's very interesting that there has been not a peep from the NZ MSM on the massive pro-family rally in Rome earlier this week. Something between 200,000 and 1.7 million people turned up to support the family and therefore not give their sanction to treating defactos and gay couples like married couples. Only 1000 counter protesters showed up.
The only thing that has kept me sane is limiting my exposure to the radio and barely looking at my daily newspaper that arrives this morning. And going to Mass every morning. All of the priests in my area have gone on a retreat, so New Zealand's only Cardinal said Mass up in Waikanae every day this week. It was wonderful. I'd love to be able to listen to his sermons all of the time.
I think the time has past where we look to politicians to solve what is going on in NZ with this out of control government and the one in waiting that looks to do more of the same. Change has to come within each person. Not many people have really had a reason to critically look at this country and what's happening until recently when the long arm of the law could potentially reach into our homes and take our children. That more than anything has been the turning point. From this point on, I don't think how the people will react in future will be at all predictable.
As an aside, it's very interesting that there has been not a peep from the NZ MSM on the massive pro-family rally in Rome earlier this week. Something between 200,000 and 1.7 million people turned up to support the family and therefore not give their sanction to treating defactos and gay couples like married couples. Only 1000 counter protesters showed up.
I was speaking to a mate this morning who has a kid that goes to pre-school. At this place, there is a mother who brings her two children there, a boy & girl about a year apart in age.
ReplyDeleteThe mother has instructed the staff not to address or treat either of her two children as a boy or girl. They, apparently, like the mother are to be considered 'gender neutral'. The young boy even shows up wearing a little dress some days.
These liberals are really something else huh ?
Yes, it has been a bit depressing of late. Perhaps we can rely on that old saying that it's darkest before the dawn and look forward to the HUGE party we're going to have next year when Labour are voted out :)
ReplyDeleteThat's something to look forward to.
Shout, why the need to label as "liberal" any person who has ideas contrary to your own?
ReplyDeleteAnd what does that make you - illiberal, I guess.
Are you incapable of forming an argument without the use of a pejorative?
The mainstream media ignores any story that does not fit with its ideology.
ReplyDelete"Its ideology?" I didn't realise all our major news media outlets subscribe to a single ideology. Where's it written up? Or is it a secret handshake kind of thing? And most of all, I'd love to know, how did they get Murdoch to participate?
ReplyDeleteMilt
ReplyDeleteRead John Pilger's "Hidden Agendas" and you'll find out how Murdoch signed up.
And also read it with the view that someone like me is NOT a fan of Pilger.
Fugley...I didn't realise liberals were resiling from the adjective 'liberal'.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it wrong to describe people as they are? What word would you prefer we used, 'confused'?
The original comment was by shout.
ReplyDeleteHe knows nothing of this woman, except her attitude to gender, and yet he chooses to describe her as a "liberal".
If it is not being used as a pejorative, why the need for the label? And if it is, as I suspect, being used as a pejorative, my question on his debating skills stands.
I don't know, Fugley. Sounds like a liberal thing to do, to be gender neutral. No such thing exists in conservative thought.
ReplyDeleteIt's even listed as one of the identifiers of a New Age way of thinking in a Vatican document (see Androgyny and androgynous).
For example :
But New Age is a broad tradition, which incorporates many ideas which have no explicit link with the change from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius. There are moderate, but quite generalised, visions of a future where there will be a planetary spirituality alongside separate religions, similar planetary political institutions to complement more local ones, global economic entities which are more participatory and democratic, greater emphasis on communication and education, a mixed approach to health combining professional medicine and self-healing, a more androgynous self-understanding and ways of integrating science, mysticism, technology and ecology.
Sounds very liberal to me.
Liberal seems to have a strangle hold on "brain neutral" as well.
ReplyDeleteYour open door for dickheads policy isn't going to help this site. Having screwed his one milt is following you like a mangy mongrel you tried to ditch on your last holiday.
Yeah, I get called all sorts of names, but one thing remains clear...
ReplyDeleteI loathe socialists; I dislike liberals; and I hold all of those spineless apologists who denigrate Western civilization, in utter contempt.
Why even bother engaging in dialog with the bastards?
... and capitalism has worked?
ReplyDeleteServant, don't think capitalism is working very well, either. Socialism is a natural reaction to capitalism - the error becomes when a person thinks we need one or the other, without realising both are recent inventions.
ReplyDeleteNow, Murray - I realise you're convinced the internet exists solely to be an echo-chamber for your own opinion, but others are capable of stringing an argument together and defending it. Lucyna and Zen, unlike you, don't lack potency in this respect, which is one reason I visit their blog.
ReplyDeleteOn the same theme, I noticed recently the "Public Address: System" guys were having a good chortle over the fact that, having spent a good year or more portraying Russell Brown as a coward, preventing comments on his blog solely to prevent right-wingers from demolishing his delusional posts, not one of these right-wing Masters of Debate has turned up on Public Address: System to do so (unless we count Dad4justice, but probably you'd all rather we didn't). What's wrong, Murray? Get in there and kick some liberal ass!
Psycho, all the macho stuff aside, and only speaking for myself, Russell Brown et al don't register on my radar, therefore I have no interest in visiting their site. I think I've said as much a number of times on SH when various posts were done on Russell by people other than me. In fact, the only post I've done on him way back when was when I heard him on the radio and agreed somewhat with part of his position.
ReplyDeleteA google search of kiwiblog will reveal that Murray was his usual silly, dull, blowhard self about the lack of a comments feature on Public Address, seconded only by Antartic Lemur, who seems to have dropped below the radar recently.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2006/01/public_address_comments.html#comment-51218
I'm with Lucyna on Russell Brown
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think he hits the right note. Other times his posts are so lacking in correct fact its just not worth it.
And whats up with SirHumphs PM, who hasn't paid your bill?
But I'd still like to see Danyl McLauchlan put his money where his mouth is......:-)Writing reviews for Russell just doesn't cut it.
Unfortunately it's a bit more complicated than an unpaid bill, otherwise the site wouldn't have been down very long. It's AL's site but he's busy with other things, so the rest of us are having to get to grips with extending our involvement beyond writing the occasional post. For the naturally lazy like me, it's a daunting prospect...
ReplyDeleteNo offence to RB, but whilst I find his writing style excellent (as one would expect of a journalist) his stories are usually dull. Perhaps it's because they are Auckland centric, or place importance on aspects of a situation that do not resonate with me.
ReplyDeleteI stopped reading his blog months ago.
I considered signing on to his blog once he finally added comments, but he asked that people do not use nom-de-plumes. I respected that request and decided not to sign on, as I prefer using my blogname.
Lucyna is on the money. This should be a fairly simple presupposition; Myself, I am a right wing - social conservative, and I have no interest in Russell Brown-nose and his "blogs for dummies" apprenticeship scheme, aka Public Address
ReplyDeleteI mostle visit right wing / conservative blogs like this one, TBR.CC, Whaleoil, NZ Conservative, Insolent Prick, because I am only interested in hearing conservative views - I have no interest hearing f*&ked up tirades of socialist/weasel-worded nonsense, and socially-liberal leftism. I treat it all with immediate derision.