Leaderboard

A lot of people can't see the woods for the trees. Some who are unhappy with the rise in popularity of One Nation delude themselves that the problem is all One Nation and it's supporters who their critics perceive as a bunch of ignorant, redneck idiots. Fact one: One Nation wouldn't be having this rise in popularity if the major parties were doing a half decent job. Fact two: The major parties have been complacent for too long, and as long as they have their comfortable two party system of your turn/my turn without any major threat to their voter base, they will never get any better. For sure, a lot of the rise in One Nation is a protest vote against that laziness, complacency, and disregard for ordinary Australians that a lot of people see in the major parties. The voter erosion to One Nation is the kick in the pants that the status quo needed and still needs. They won't voluntarily get any better, so they need a boot up the rear end like this to to make them get off their backsides and start performing better to provide Australians with what they want and need from a government. If the threat of losing voters in possible election losing numbers keeps the major parties on their toes, in my opinion that has to be a good thing and an incentive to provide good government. I'm not defending One Nation or any other party, but just trying to point out the small minded nature of just blaming One Nation and their supporters and dismissing them as fools. Throwing rocks at them is not going to make them go away. You need to ask yourself why. Why are so many people abandoning parties they have supported for years. The problem the major parties have is not One Nation. The problem is within themselves. They need to ask themselves why do so many people not want to vote for them any more. To be honest, nothing much in politics surprises me, but I have been surprised lately by the sheer numbers of people I run into who say they are changing their vote to One Nation at the next federal election. A lot of these people are the last people in the world where I would have expected to see that. There's a problem for the One nation critics who are stuck in that rut of name-calling, ridicule and stone throwing in their stereotyping of supporters. While they're so distracted doing that, they're not seeing what's really happening. There's a big groundswell of a protest vote building, and I think it will keep rolling. I don't personally think what's happening now is just a flash in the pan. The way I see it, the Greens are immune from it. The Coalition has already taken significant hits and a lot of it by their own hand. And Labor, well I wouldn't be too complacent about if I was one of their supporters. At the moment, they are almost guaranteed to win the next election, and that's about as far ahead as most pollies can think, but they are already starting to bleed blue collar votes and that loss will continue to grow. For anyone who doesn't want to see One Nation grow in size, the challenge is how to create an environment where those lost voters will return. That's where they need to spend their energy. Ridiculing and blaming those lost voters for leaving in the first place is unproductive, and as I said earlier, small minded.

Rudd was duty-bound to attend that meeting since he is Australia's ambassador to the USA, and he went as advisor to his "boss", the Prime Minister. Trump's comments were an insult to the Australian people, but one could not expect any better from that person.

When is someone going to tell Trump to pull his head in, he doesn't rule the world. He wasn't elected to run this country. What right has he to tell us how much we should spend on defence? The amount spent on defence worldwide is staggering and sickening.Almost every thing troubling mankind, and nature, could probably be fixed if the money spent on defence was redirected to corrrecting these problems. Just because some greedy a**holes can't mind their own business.

It's great to see a photo of one's Dad in a museum collection. I've got private photos of my Dad taken during his service, but I got the biggest thrill when I found a photo in the Australian War Memorial collection of my Dad in a war zone. He did serve in the Western Desert, but was wounded. That crearted a disability that made him unsuitable for infantry duty (no right index finger to pull a trigger), so he was attached to an narmy hospital where he was a warehouseman. Somebody has to receive and issue new bedpans. Dad had his own copy of the photo, but seeing it in the AWM collection with him identified by name is great.

If anyone criticises the labour party you call it misinformation. You refuse to admit crime is out of control in Victoria. Because Daniel Andrews caused it Never mention the corruption labour have been involved in. Billions handed to crime gangs and union officials. Alboneses has been a communist party member since he was a teenager. Andrews and Alan are too. And banging on about one nation being racist is crap. They only want what's best for Australians and that means slowing the current migration levels and bringing in more stringent entry standards. We all know we need immigration just not the way the clowns are doing it at the moment. Hopefully this November some healing can start when Jacinta Andrews gets kicked out . But our electoral system needs to change to stop preferences getting unwanted people elected. I don't know anyone that voted labour yet albo got in by a landslide with prefences.

People often express disbelief that a gas making up only 0.04% of the atmosphere could have any meaningful impact. Consider ozone (03). Its concentration varies with altitude, peaking between about 15 km and 35 km at just 2–8 parts per million (ppm). By comparison, carbon dioxide (CO₂) sits around 420–425 ppm and is rising by roughly 2.4–2.6 ppm per year. Ozone exists in far smaller concentrations than CO₂, yet its role is critical—without the ozone layer, life on Earth would not survive. Small percentages can still have enormous effects.

The Moon Photos from Artimus II

A prodigee of Abbott? Be careful what you ask for.

Many years ago I use to follow F1 quit heavily however having nearly all races in the middle of the night whilst also going to work I lost interest as I became sleep deprived however last year I renewed my interest in F1 being able to watch all races, through Kayo, and not being able to work. The other thing is having a great Australian kid in Oscar Piastri representing Australia to the world driving a Mclaren has been great to watch, becoming an Australian hero to all of us that are into F1. Anyway I imagined what it would be like to Australia if Oscar's car in the Melbourne Grand Prix was painted in the iconic Australian Green and Gold. What a marketing success it would be. So I created a mock up of one:

I have finally finished my book with the title Hidden Rivers of Gold which covers the origins of Deep Lead Mining, the technology and challenges, and the final years of mining in the Carisbrook-Moolort area of Victoria which led to huge financial losses and very little gold. Characters involved included the State Premier and a future president of the USA. This was all around the turn of the 20th Century. The book can be purchased through online booksellers including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Fishpond, Booktopia and Angus and Robertson. Prices vary a lot, and some are in US$ so check carefully. The book is published by Echo Books.

The Pope and Trump are on stage in front of a huge crowd. The Pope leans toward Trump and said, "Do you know that with one little wave of my hand I can make every person in this crowd go wild with joy? This joy will not be a momentary display, like that of your followers, but go deep into their hearts and for the rest of their lives whenever they speak of this day, they will rejoice!" Trump says, "I seriously doubt that. With one little wave of your hand? Show me!" So the Pope slaps him.

Well they couldn't really say "Here LIES Donald Trump", because he's been doing that all his life.

Just to let you know there is no AI on the site, there is only NI

Thanks Peter. Will try to drop in from time to time to make sure you're all behaving yourselves. I've tried to cut down on screen time but it's easier said than done. Have been co-administering an inyourfacebook group so that's taken a bit of effort and tended to drag oneself back online. So all good, still breathing in and breathing out and wearing my trousers the right way round.

Trump addressed the General Assembly of the UN. I've only seen snippets of his speech, but the overall impression I got was that he was very successful in bolstering the impression held by the rest of the World's leaders that he is an absolute buffoon and has succeded in making the USA a laughing stock.

I was going to tell a time travel joke, but you guys didn't liike it.

Peta Credlin is an ultra Right Winger. She was an advisor to Abbott. I wouldn't beleive her if she said G'day to me.

I wouldn't go as far as Litespeed but he is a waste of space. Heard him on the radio the other day talking up the Macquarie Point white elephant and saying that if the Tasmanian government doesn't build it, no business will trust them. Absolute shite. There's probably about 2000 people in Tassie who physically regularly go to the football, and most of them are from the north of the state. I don't particularly care whether Tassie gets a football team or not, but to my mind the AFL have acted like absolute c**ts in mandating, as a deal-breaker, a new billion dollar stadium which the state can't afford in prime waterfront land which should be mixed use restaurant/ park/ boulevard etc.

He's doing it for a reason. He WANTS an incident in LA so he has an excuse to stomp down harder. He would be thrilled if a protestor killed a cop or soldier. I know I sound like a broken record, but this is 1930's Germany all over again.

Well, it's happened. I have seen the light. I am a changed man, a convert, my eyes have been opened, and I see the error of my ways. Before you have concerns about my mental health, this is not a religious experience. But if I had been on the road to Damascus... it'd be astride a cruiser. As someone who's only ridden sports / sports tourers (Honda VFR750 x 2, Triumph Speed Triple, Suzuki VF750F - but that was a high-revving piece of shit) - I've always had a vague contempt for cruisers. You know, the standard stuff... they're too heavy, too slow, don't handle, can't corner, produce more noise than power, etc. However, while age doesn't always bring wisdom, it usually brings an appreciation for comfort, and a lesser appetite for risk. I'm not 20 anymore. I don't want to do 250kph, tucked down over the tank, or take corners at double the signposted recommendation. For a potted history of my riding, I started on a road/trail (Honda XL185) as my learner's bike at 18, moved to a VFR750 as soon as I had an open licence, and spent the next couple of decades (almost) riding the bikes listed above. When I became a dad at 36, I did the "responsible" thing - sold my bike and packed away the bone-dome and leathers. A while back @nomadpete said he was regretfully parting ways with his XV1100. I'd been feeling the need to start riding again (mid life crisis?) and after mulling it over for way too long, I mentioned this to my missus. To my surprise she fully supported me getting a bike, to the extent she told me to contact Peter there and then. I did, but unfortunately he'd already sold his machine a month before. A few days later however, this prince among men (still talking about Peter) messaged me with a Facebook ad for a Honda 750 Shadow. I had a look at the bike, took it for a test ride (now that was bloody scary, 17 years since I'd been on a bike and a totally different style), thought about it for a couple of days then bought it. She doesn't have a name yet (I was thinking of "H" names, like "Helen the Honda", but one of our neighbours is named Helen, so the phrase "I'm just off to ride Helen" might lead to some marital misunderstandings.) But she's 21 years old, all her chromework still looks great, and she sounds like a motorbike should. She's also very comfortable and easy to ride. This evening I rode to karate. While it was damn cold, it was a beautiful night and I really enjoyed the ride. This being my 4th ride on the bike, I'm starting to get more comfortable with her - although it'll still take a few more rides until I'm ready to have my wife on the back seat. So yes, I'm a cruiser convert. Apologies to all the Harley riders I've thought bad things about. (Only thought, because some of them are scary!) And yes, it's true. Her suspension is made for comfort, not corners. Around 80% of the engine output IS noise. (Very nice noise!) And she's much more comfortable gently swaying around curves at 60km/h than doing 110 up the highway. But now I think all those things are positive. Here she is. The photo doesn't do the colour justice - it's almost a candy apple red.

I have been away for a while. I am coming up to 2 years of EV ownership. As with 90% of EV owners I charge at home. The MG4 came with a granny charger. You don't get one with some brands. Tesla give you nothing now. I have used the granny charger once & that was to make sure it worked. I installed a 7kW wall charger & I get free power for 2 hours a day. I also have 8kW of solar panels so my running costs are negligible. The network is better than it was 2 years ago & there are now many "Destination Chargers" at hotels & motels & these are usually free. In the 25,000km I have driven so far I have spent about $150.00 at fast chargers. As with most people I don't do many long trips. The average car owner travels to/from work each day & except for long trips on holiday etc all charging is done at home. The charging process varies and the simple way is to register with each of the main suppliers. I have with Evie, Chargefox, BP, Ampol & Tesla. I have an RFID card which is registered with 3 of them. I pull up, plug in scan the card & that's it. If there is a queue it is bad etiquette to charge to 100% as the last 20% will be slow. I have not had a problem waiting long & by the time I have been to the loo & had a coffee or bite the car is ready. In the MG4 the WLTP range is 450km. At 110kmh I get around 380. After that many I am ready for a break. From Coffs to Noosa I stop once for lunch & charge top up (20-30 minutes). Admittedly this is on the main highway & chargers are everywhere. The thing is the car has a built in Satnav with a charging planner & it knows what range there is and will tell you which charger to go to & in many cases can tell you if the charger is in use or not. So where are we going from here? Well CATL, the worlds largest battery manufacturer has recently announced a new battery technology that uses a combination of 2 types (lithium & sodium) to provide a range of 1500km and can get 520km of range in a 5 minute charge. That is quicker than filling a petrol tank. The new tech breakthrough is with Sodium ion technology. Of course sodium is everywhere. The sea is full of it & it is cheap. https://carnewschina.com/2025/04/21/battery-giant-catl-showcases-three-innovations-1500km-range-battery-520km-in-5-minutes-ultra-fast-charging-and-2025-mass-production-sodium-ion-battery/ This is now where battery & charging technology is up to. The only thing that will happen from now on is that it will get better & better. Already battery warranties are 1.5 to 2 million km or lifetime, The battery will outlast the rest of the car. EV haters will continue to abound but they are being rapidly drowned out with reality & the uptake of EV ownership continues to climb (Tesla excepted due to the Musk factor). Worldwide 17 million new EVs were sold in 2024 representing a 20% increase on the previous year. The new government is not only supporting the switch to electric vehicles but also getting more home batteries installed. Since the election home battery installers have had a massive increase in orders and inquiries. The electric future is here.

This is where you lose me, with the kind of thinking that enables a fascist regime. It's the "yes Trump is bad, BUT..." thing. It's like saying "Yes Hitler was bad, but goddam it, real Germans could get a job." Trump is actively dismantling democracy in the USA. He doesn't have a single thought for the people of the US, except how to continue deceiving them so Donald J Trump and his dynasty can profit from them. The only reason Trump ever mentions immigrants (in Minnesota, which has less than most states but has a governor he hates) is to dog-whistle his white nationalist base and sow hatred and division. We don't need a Trump or any version of him. Democracy is not supposed to be exciting. It's meant to be calm, boring and safe. We are an immigrant nation, just ask the original inhabitants. If you can show me actual statistics that show that crime rates are higher among recent immigrants than those whose ancestors moved here between 40 years to 60,000 years ago, then go ahead. (Statistics does not mean sensationalist crap from Sky News or any Murdoch rag).

Here's the Moon in 1969. I have a set of slides given to me by a photo lab for professional photographers in Sydney CBD. I've kept them all this time and only scanned them in Sep 2024. I can post more If you want to see them, there's 19 all up, different scenes.

Absolute shite. Trump couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery.

Did his lips move?

The bestest goldest world leader has got it covered. Already, the *resident of the United States now states that the reason for this war (which isn't a WAR) is to destroy the nuclear weapons program that he claims to have already destroyed last year, while simultaneously claiming that the objective of the war is to open the strait of Hormuz that was already open before he started the war, but he is not going to open it. He doesn't need anyone's help to win the war. He already won the war on the first day anyway, and is currently winning the war, but demands help to win the war, and needs no help to win the war. I hope this clears up any confusion, which was all caused by corrupt Democrat fake news outlets.

I know I shouldn't post this, and Nev will drag me over the coals, but this way I can say I had a head job from an Asian lady at the shopping centre for $15, and not be lying.

He's just an uncouth C**t.

Meanwhile....Israel in razing buildings in Lebanon with impunity and killing masses of innocent civilians. Doing exactly what they have done to Gaza. More of the same war crimes.

The simple, over-riding feature of getting older is that the old body starts playing up, and needs regular repair and maintenance. And if you're 50 or 100 kms from medical care, docs, specialists, even ambulances - life gets a lot harder than it need be. I lived all through the wheatbelt of W.A. and the W.A. Goldfields all my working life, living in everything from rented farmhouses to dongas to caravans, and even old railway fettlers huts. I've never actually owned a house in my own name, I didn't place enough importance on that feature of life - much to my regret. I have no ability to purchase a house today. I part-owned various industrial properties, a mining lease, a farm, and a couple of houses, that I never ever lived in much, because they were largely occupied by my brother and his wife, while I was out in the boonies, working. But when I got together with SWMBO in my early 40's, she owned a house! - and she lets me live in it, and shares it with me - because she loves me, she likes looking after me - and because I fix anything to do with the house, or the car, or whatever else requires attention. We live in the city only about 5 kays from the CBD in a nice leafy, sought-after, quiet suburb - and we're close to 3 shopping centres, a number of major arterial roads, heaps of docs, dentists, medical centres and medical facilities, all within a few kays - and we've been here since 1990, and we don't look like moving until we get really fragile with age, or the bikies move in next door (highly unlikely). I could easily live anywhere in the country again, but SWMBO is a city girl and likes shops and theatres, and being close to where her daughter lives. Generally, most people select their living location according to how far away, or how close, they want to live to relatives (including children). Most parents want to live within a reasonable distance of children, but some don't want them close at all. Not having any children myself, and getting on O.K. with SWMBO's girl and boy from her previous marriage, makes any living area decision, easier. Of course, if we won lotto, we'd move to a nice mansion by the coast, but that's only a dream. I don't think I'd ever move into a high-rise apartment, even though that's the result for people many today - simply because I don't like living above other people, and not knowing what they're getting up to - by way of drugs, starting fires, and other aggravating risks. Good neighbours generally make people stay where they live. No neighbours often suits a lot of people.

My entire point was that the Euro's have been constantly calling the USA warmongers for the past 50 years, but they are always the first ones to call the US President whenever there is a situation in the world that might affect their economies. They have been been neglecting their own militaries knowing that the Americans are stupid enough to keep bailing them out. The Euro's had a royal meltdown when Trump called them out for not keeping their pledge of committing a few percentage points of their GDP to military spending. The EU should be its own power. There are 29 countries in the EU and there is no excuse for them not making a joint effort to protect their economies and sovereignties. The US has done 75% of the heavy lifting in keeping the Persian Gulf open to world trade while Europeans and many other countries reap the benefits. Then the Europeans turn right around and bash Americans to appease their left wing voters. As far as my fellow Americans go, we should not be trusted any longer because there there is no continuity in foreign policy from one election cycle to the next. On top of it all, we are in a non shooting civil war right now. Might sound crazy to some but it's very true. We used to be country first.........but now days we are party first.

The comparison with Qantas aircraft is misleading, because traditional coal-fired power stations already rely on vast amounts of underutilised equipment. Coal plants cannot ramp quickly, they cannot turn off at night, and they must run even when demand collapses — meaning the whole plant is burning fuel simply to stay online. This is the definition of expensive underutilisation.

Excessive nationalism puts me off. When you think about it clear-headedly we're a reasonably young (apart from the original inhabitants) immigrant country. We don't have a thousand years of culture, our own language, a national dish, etc etc. Our population is based on waves of English, Chinese, Dutch, German, Greek, Vietnamese, Italian, African, Islander and a whole bunch of other people, plus of course Indigenous Australians. The keynote songs and poetry we hold up as Australian were written by men that probably considered themselves English. Our system of laws is heavily based on England's and in name we're still subjects of England's king. Even our flag contains the UK's flag in the corner. When it comes to Americanism, even our first "local" car, the Holden FX, was heavily based on US cars. Clothing styles, music, popular culture and fast food have been based on US trends since at least post WWII. That's not to say we haven't got runs on the board, with vibrant Australian music, sport, theatre and literature. We have one of the world's best democracies, social services, and health care. Our education system is still excellent although unfortunately (in the case of universities) more focused on revenue than research. But to wave some mythical "uniqueness" around and try to block outside influences is pointless. Like those idiots that go around wearing Australian flags and protesting about immigration, not seeing the irony that we're all immigrants and those flags were made in China. Instead of closing off and looking inwards, like a backwards Trumpist country, we should be eagerly looking at everything that everyone else does, and taking the best ideas and using them ourselves. Someone actually makes billionaires pay tax? Let's use that. Someone's public hospital system has lower wait times? Let's see what they're doing differently and use it. Someone's school attendance and retention scores are higher than ours? What are they doing differently? Someone's prison recidivism rates are lower? Let's have a look at their justice system and see what we can steal. I don't mind bringing in best practice, no matter where it comes from. Good American movies and TV shows? Bring them on. What I do object to is bringing in the worst of other cultures. Privatisation of health care? F**k right off. Multinationals that pay no tax in Australia? No thanks. American gun culture? Jam it up your arse and pull the trigger.

Well done to the happy couple. Note how low key, private and billionaire free it was. Special wedding beer cans and a local honeymoon. Also a civil servant and all paid by himself not a conga line of donor suckholes ala LNP style. A genuine down to earth couple, we are lucky to have them. Completely unaffected by his status. Naturally DJ Albo did the music selection. Notable celebrity was the ring holder- his 🐕.

Excellent, I'll start up the "Earth is flat debate continues" thread, because I don't think that one is quite settled either.

We just bought a new property. It had a big gas cooker in the kitchen which we promptly threw out. We are renovating and the house will be all electric, well it is now except for the solar hot water. Our average daily power consumption is 9-10 kWh. There is a 20 year old 1kW solar system with 8 x 125 watt panels which I am replacing with a new 8.8 kW system with 20 x 440 watt bifacial v panels, a 10kW hybrid inverter and an 18.64 kWh battery. In theory I should be able to go off grid. Total cost $11,600.00. The battery is made up of 4 x 4.66 kWh modules which is scalable to 41.93 kWh by just adding modules on top. It is free standing & will live in my big shed. The house is 20 years old and unbelievably the ceiling is uninsulated. Part of the renos is insulation and draught proofing as even efficient air conditioning is quite power hungry. Charging my EV is power hungry but I have a plan that gives me 3 hours of free power a day (11:00 to 14:00) so that is when it is scheduled to charge. I also get power for 8c/kWh from midnight to 6am. There is now so much power produced by rooftop solar that the spot price is often negative in the middle of the day. New solar farms now going in have to include batteries. Early solar farms without them either have to switch off or invest in batteries as they have to pay to put their power in to the grid when the price is negative. Electricity retailers now have plans for home battery owners. Solar feed in tariffs are very low now. I was getting just 0.5 cents/kWh, now 2.8 cents/kWh. A friend who has just added a 30kWh battery gets 15 cents/kWh feed in tariff during peak usage which will come from his battery.

I really, really don't want to get drawn into this subject because it is a subject where people tend to passionately believe that one side is all good and one side is all bad, when clearly the truth lies somewhere between. I will always condemn unjustifiable violence wherever the perpetrator is, even if it i my own country. No, I do not think that the land has been taken since the 1947 partition plan can be given back. The problem is, though, that the process continues with settlers expanding into the West Bank, etc. Should the Palestinians just accept their territory slowly getting smaller and smaller? Again, I do not condone violence. It was inevitable that after the barbaric acts of October 7, there would be some action by the Israelis. For me, it comes down to proportionality. I am sure it is correct that the Palestinians hate Israelis and that Israelis hate Palestinians. This problem will never be solved until the mutual hatred can be sorted out. I was going to post a bunch of videos, but as I said I don't want to get too involved in a debate that is so polarised. Some of the vids involve settlers driving Palestinian farmers out of their olive orchards at harvest time, also driving away their livestock. A video of Israeli soldiers dragging kids out of bed to check their IDs at gunpoint. How could those kids possibly grow up without hatred? Two Israeli teenage boys beating an aged farmer on his own land. To quote another poster, "Peace does not lie at the end" My point is, it does not lie at the end of a Palestinian gun or an Israeli gun. I guess to sum up, I am definitely not pro-Hamas or pro-Israeli. I merely call out barbarity where I see it. Hamas is brutal, and so are the ultra-far-right members of the Israeli government.

Well, the daughter's time at EDF is coming to an end in a couple of weeks. She didn't realise it, but she has racked up about 2.5 weeks holiday leave (we get sometehng like 6 weeks standard, here, but there is no long service leave, but they allow sabbaticals after 5 years (November for me), and pay you up to three months of your basica salary - no pension, medical/health, bonus, additional holiday accruals). Anyway, we are on a long weekend this weekend, but daughter and one of her good mates are driving to Cornwall for the week from Monday arvo. Two 19 year old girls - nay - women (using girls here is common parlance), are going to have a week of fun and frolics. My daughter asked me if I was going to be sad or have any reservations about her going. I looked her in the eye and said I am really happy, a father will never stop worrying ever slo slightly about their adult children, but that she is miles more mature at her age than I was at that time (and probably now). Since she could crawl, she was always fiercly independent. I recall her dropping something when she was still crawling, and when I picked it up for her, she slapped my wrist and got a right strop with me. I put it down, and she picked it up, looked at whatever it was in her hand, and lifted her head to look at me, ans then smiled a very wide grin. Admittedly, the grit has waned slightly, but she is a determined daughter of a bastard. In two weeks she starts univesity. Her employer wants her back for the breaks; I am going to miss her at home, but the university is quite close (unlike Aus, kids often go to unoversities the other side of the country form where they live). But, I am so proud of her. I know we are all proud of our kids.. and rightly so. I just wanted to share it.

I bought a Thesaurus today - but when I got home, I found all the pages were blank!! I just didn't have the words to express how angry I was!!

As Peter just mentioned, Trumps "Big Beautiful Bill" has passed. This bill is beautiful for billionaires, because they benefit hugely from tax cuts. It's very much horrible for most Americans, removing vast amounts of money from health, food assistance programs, education and environment. This is so it can pay for those tax cuts for the wealthy, as well as increasing the size of ICE's budget by a factor of 14 (from $3.5b to $48.5b). Despite these cuts it will still add 3.3 TRILLION dollars of debt over the next decade. This, by any objective view, is a terrible and harmful bill. The people it affects the most are the poorest, and ironically, their "representatives" in the Republican party are the ones who pushed it through - against their own interests, their political interests, and the interests of their constituents. Why? I can only think that Trump and his MAGA freaks, so similar to Hitler and his Brownshirts, have such a grip of fear on house Republicans that they do not have the courage to stand up to him, even on such a disgusting piece of legislation. What else can explain why they would vote for something so wrong? Many of them had publicly spoken out against the bill in the days before they passed it. Seeing this travesty makes me so glad we don't have a "cult of personality" type head of state here in Australia. I'm actually starting to think that remaining a monarchy and being kind of attached to the UK is no bad thing. Let's face it, no one is going to throw themselves on a grenade for Albo or Sussan. They are simply the politician who happens to lead their party, not an emperor-wannabe who wants to impose his twisted desires on the whole country. We have sufficient distance from our "King" that neither he nor his successors have any influence over our country. I kind of think of England as the old parent's place; America is the rebellious older child who left and joined a religious cult, Australia is the younger but more mature kid who lives apart from Mum or Dad but still gets on ok with them.

Once, when I was performing my constabulary duties, I had to deal with a really obnoxious bloke. He kept yelling all sorts of abuse at me, and it was liberally sprinkled with 'F*** this and f*** that , as well call me all sorts of c***. He was clearly showing his lack of a broad vocabulary. I put up with with his language for as long as I could, but finally threw the book at him. It was Roget's Thesaurus.