Friday, January 16, 2009

Blair, Devine, Malcolm Fraser, the Quadrant Jape, and poor old Nathan Rees

A quiet day for the loons, resting down on the pond, trying to escape the summer heat and the threat of impending bushfires.

The best shot Tim Blair blogging at the Daily Terror can muster is to cite that hoary old figure hated by the right, ex-PM Malcolm Fraser, saying the futile rockets deployed by Hamas are the kind of weapon used by those who have been pushed too far and basically have no resources. "Consider", Blair says portentously, "for a second what Hamas would do if it had more resources; consider what Hamas would do it it had nuclear resources." 

This is the kind of stupid exaggeration of the situation which suits right wing extremists but does absolutely nothing to sort out the matter at hand (consider for example what might happen if hysterical Hindus in India had nuclear resources matched by the Islamic ratbags of Pakistan being armed with nuclear resources. Worse, consider what might happen if Saddam Hussein had actual nuclear resources. Why you might even consider what might happen if stupid people use stupid italics to make a stupid point. You might even consider just how many more UN compounds, and innocent men women and children Israel can kill to make a point about terrorists without managing to change anything fundamental about the situation in which it finds itself).

Over at the paper proudly titled The Australian and owned by an American (a turncoat one at that), good old Frank Devine attempts some humor in relation to the Crikey Quadrant Windschuttle hoax, in a piece entitled "I coaxed Crikey into the hoax".

The old bugger deserves eternal credit for bringing Miranda the Devine into the world to bedazzle us with her astute revelations about the air-headedness of the right - Maureen Dowd she ain't. But I thought he'd shuffled off to an old people's home, or at least into decent quiet retirement. 

Nup, here he is proving he's got no sensa huma and absolutely no style. (Consider his punchline: " ... as a Quadrant columnist I expect a pretty robust dressing down for the stirring of which I have been guilty".) 

"Pretty robust"! "Of which"! Frank, Frank, you old fashioned sk8ter boi you,  you need to get out more. As for the rest of the story, it's good because it keeps Windschuttle's folly in the public eye, as yet another of his acolytes attempts a feeble defence, with the guise of humor making it sound all the more foolish. 

Consider the wit: "Er," I said diffidently. "It must be me but I think I've missed the jape". Or how about "I almost sobbed with mirth. You've got another Ern Malley up and running! Ho-ho-ho." Or suggesting David Marr to spruik the Ern Malley parallel and Margaret Simon being doubtful, thinking him a bit literary. "Well, just spread the idea around. There are plenty of semi-literates who will bite." Well, Frank mate, it was just a jolly jape amongst chums, and lordy lordy how the rest of the world cackled at at Windschuttle's comeuppance.

Consider yourself and your mate amongst the bitten Frank. Here's luck to you. And to think that the Daily Telegraph once published Lennie Lower. How far we've fallen.

Yep, a quiet down down at loon pond. I thought that Nathan Rees, short term premier of NSW, might have actually survived the current instability, but there in black and white was ex-Treasurer Michael Costa assuring us there's No benefit in dumping Rees. He'll be lucky to last a week with Costa backing him, though if they manage to put Frank Sartor in the hot seat, I'm wondering if they'll manage ten seats at the next election. 

Just to make it clear that Rees is gone for all money, he also has the support of Imre Salusinsky: "... with all of that, the Premier is in no immediate danger". But then Salusinszky spends his time bemoaning the loss of Maurice Iemma (Caucus waits for the right spark). Might as well spend your time carrying on about the loss of Bob Carr, creator of the mess, now parked at Macquarie Bank and still using smoke and mirrors to blind the Radio National crowd about his wonderful world of books (or the American Civil War, or whatever).

Yes, the loons are quiet down at the pond, but tomorrow is the weekend, and with a bit of luck, the cries of the loons will resound throughout the land. The rest of us will struggle on, trying to make a living in the land of the loons.


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