Note from the Editor:
This article was written for the SDC by the wonderful member Alan G.

As I get older, I find myself becoming increasingly judgemental. I see so many stupid things going on in the world – or rather, stupid acts by people who should know better. When we go on holidays overseas now, we have to check whether the place we’re going to is ‘safe’ or not. After all this time, there are still people trying to solve problems by violence, and we seem to have learned nothing from history. We’ve even got blokes in positions of ultimate power who seem only to have the mentality to barely walk upright. Luckily, I live in Australia – and I even know how to pronounce the word, unlike many interviewed on TV, who ‘Still Call Australia “Home”’ probably because they call our country ‘Straya’.

Well, it seems my grumpy views focus on three ‘P’s, Face Paint, 99s, and ‘so…’ so I’ll deal with these in turn.

Power:
As I said we’ve had a couple of blokes in top positions in countries overseas that thought they were all-powerful. It’s true what they say: All power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Narcissistic, vain, ignorant, petty, juvenile, un-statesmanlike, intolerant of criticism and absolutely unable to appreciate that he’d made himself and his country a laughing stock, can be aimed at one particular person, perhaps two, who have the apparent capacity to mess up this lovely little planet of ours. I think that’s the most frightening thought - that it was like putting the loony in charge of the loony bin – in both countries that spring to mind.

Politics:
I, like many others I suspect, are really disillusioned by politics and politicians. Not since Don Chipp or Natasha Stott Despoja have we had many (apparently) really honest ones. Of course, we look back on Bob or Gough and think they were wonderful – but not when they were actually in power and doing a fine job. If they were, we wouldn’t have gotten rid of them at the time.

What are your thoughts on politics and power? Image source: Shutterstock.

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[Liz]

I agree about the lack of "statesmen and women" in politics these days. It was great that Gough bought in free tertiary education of which I was a beneficiary. I like the fact that we had the Democrats "to keep the b...s honest". As I was once taught we get the politicians we deserve. We all have the right to vote and choose whom we have as our elected officials. Right and wrongly, if you agree or disagree with the elected officials. whether federally or in the state, you have to suffer them till the next determined election and then try again. We need at least 3 significant parties in this country to make a decent choice of whom should run the country. Unfortunatley, they are all so splintered into factions, left or right or centre both in Labor or Liberal. Now we have the TEALS and the Greens. I am curious to see what happens in the next State Election in my State of Queensland. The Greens are creeping into the local and federal sphere in my electorate and I would really like to know exactly what they are doing but my electorate takes in a University and the boundaries are predominantly Green. As for overseas and the people in charge of the large countries which we cowtow to, I seriously wonder where this World is heading to and what we are leaving our grandchildren. In a way, we are all to blame for the state of the nation and the World and I feel sorry for my greats who will probably have to try and fix the problems if we don't have a World War in the meantime. I know this is pessamistic but I really do wonder where the World is heading.

 

[Annna]

I for one agree with everything you have said. It beggars belief when you take a closer look at the number of things we
just ignore because it is easier and we don't want to address the issues at hand
anyway. We are the product of our own
casual attitude toward most things, that
don't really cause a big enough reaction in us to warrant action and perseverance
to see change.
We are the "Laid back Nation of She's okay, in accepting just about everything
that is dumped in our lap, with a whinge or too, but just turn our head and dismiss
the terrible reality of how these things
Impact our lives when it is too late.

I agree.

A good example is the coming cashless society - Many Australians' (who favour the use of cash), are sitting back and thinking "She'll be right".

There is a saying that rings true even today, it essentially states that: 'Doing nothing (ie: She'll be right) serves to contribute to the change/issue.

I say, if you don't agree or dislike something, make a noise/take action that lets the changers know the community won't accept it.

 

[Brody]

In having read everybody's thoughts and opinions, we are a product of our own conclusions, and mine set..

Rightly or wrongly we have voted in the "Dumbats" we voted in for four years.
Who we voted in,is the right one or not.
Majority Wins. Tough Luck if we voted for the other Blokes and Lassies. Four years to wait, to have another go at getting it right. Majority Rules. I agree we had some good one's in the past who were dedicated to bring change for the Better. Or at least we hoped so.

We are a totally different Culture today
from when we were young. Australia was
by "The White Appraisal Policy".
Abolish that and we opened the Door to peoples from all parts of the World.

That
Move created an absolute makeover of our entire society in everyday life.
Food, Languages, Different Ideas, Cultural Ways, very foreign ways of life, Different Laws, Religion, Different expectations of
the New Migrants. Opposite Views of so many different backgrounds having to mold and fit in to each other.

The list goes on, and on, and on. The good alongside the not so good. On the one hand assimilation, and blending in
to a new Cultural Identity. With a mix of varied other Nations coming together with a Respect of each other's
Identities, and previous differences.

Therefore what do we now have ? Was it a good move or a very difficult transition.
Each one of us has their own opinion of
wether it was or was not a good change.

There are so many different nationalities
who have chosen to make Australia Home. Their's is the choice to decide whether they choose to maintain their own aspects of Culture, within the Framework of Australia, that is an open
decision within groups or not.

The difference of mindsets between Cultures is a very important step in
us having and maintaining a fluid and
Peaceful Co-Existence, respecting each other's boundaries, whilst also having a respect for the existing way of the " "Locals".

Upward am onwards we go !
I do think the born Australians of other Nations are finding that their kids are choosing partners from a mix of the
Other Nationals Background with Native Australians, is very good even through the difficult aspects of bringing everybody
together.

 

[Brody]

The White Australian Policy.
Sorry about the Mistake Senior Memory loss. It has been a while since I thought of it.

 

[Agave]

Note from the Editor:
This article was written for the SDC by the wonderful member Alan G.

As I get older, I find myself becoming increasingly judgemental. I see so many stupid things going on in the world – or rather, stupid acts by people who should know better. When we go on holidays overseas now, we have to check whether the place we’re going to is ‘safe’ or not. After all this time, there are still people trying to solve problems by violence, and we seem to have learned nothing from history. We’ve even got blokes in positions of ultimate power who seem only to have the mentality to barely walk upright. Luckily, I live in Australia – and I even know how to pronounce the word, unlike many interviewed on TV, who ‘Still Call Australia “Home”’ probably because they call our country ‘Straya’.

Well, it seems my grumpy views focus on three ‘P’s, Face Paint, 99s, and ‘so…’ so I’ll deal with these in turn.

Power:
As I said we’ve had a couple of blokes in top positions in countries overseas that thought they were all-powerful. It’s true what they say: All power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Narcissistic, vain, ignorant, petty, juvenile, un-statesmanlike, intolerant of criticism and absolutely unable to appreciate that he’d made himself and his country a laughing stock, can be aimed at one particular person, perhaps two, who have the apparent capacity to mess up this lovely little planet of ours. I think that’s the most frightening thought - that it was like putting the loony in charge of the loony bin – in both countries that spring to mind.

Politics:
I, like many others I suspect, are really disillusioned by politics and politicians. Not since Don Chipp or Natasha Stott Despoja have we had many (apparently) really honest ones. Of course, we look back on Bob or Gough and think they were wonderful – but not when they were actually in power and doing a fine job. If they were, we wouldn’t have gotten rid of them at the time.

View attachment 36704

What are your thoughts on politics and power? Image source: Shutterstock.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque in diam id erat facilisis consectetur vitae vel urna.

Ut lacus libero, suscipit auctor ipsum sit amet, viverra pretium nisl. Nullam facilisis nec odio nec dapibus. Integer maximus risus et velit porttitor ullamcorper

Read more for FREE!

Become a member today and join over 200,000 Australians already taking advantage of daily news, weather, petrol costs, games, jokes, deals and more.

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  FREE 400-page Discount eBook upon joining

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  FREE Aussie-made eBook & many more

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[Baz1960]

The point of "they wouldn't have got rid of them re Bob and Gough" needs examination. In Gough's case who was "they" The ruling class of which the mainstream media belongs is the answer. "They" are rarely the voter using their own powers of thinking because "they" are always being fed propaganda by the conservative owned media.
The Voice Referendum was hijacked by the media not calling to account the No campaigns outright lies. The media said they were just giving a balanced view from both sides. That is not their job. Their job is to report facts and question falsity.
An example of what is happening ro the current government.
Yesterday the Federal Govt announced the progress they had made in setting up medical care clinics per their election promise which is reducing the strain on emergency rooms at hospitals. The media spent most of their focus after reporting the achievement reporting on the opposition's negative comments. A reporter should have pulled up Anne Ruston and said "What did you do in your 10 years to solve this problem?" Or " Didn't this become necessary because of your negligence in the 10 years you had in power?".
Regarding "they" getting rid of Bob Hawke it was his own party. "They" got rid of Keating who replaced him 2 elections later .

I thought it was "yes" campaign that high jacked the last referendum. There you go a difference of opinion.

 

[Jarred Santos]

Yet another wonderful piece, Alan! Aside from the usual suspects, I've also been irked by the 99 Syndrome I'd love to see how effective it really is as a marketing strategy...

 

[Loubeauxarts]

Having been in the retail sector for many years, the .99 factor always irked me. I honestly found that rounding up the dollar figure made not one iota of difference in sales results.
Note how Australia had $2 shops, the US had dollar shops, UK had pound shops etc. You can't tell me that they would have been any bigger if they had been touted as $1.99 shops, 99c shops or 99p shops.
I rest my case

 

[Brody]

Yet another wonderful piece, Alan! Aside from the usual suspects, I've also been irked by the 99 Syndrome I'd love to see how effective it really is as a marketing strategy...

It maybe a stupid point, but I question what happens to the one cent that is out there in the economy every time we pay for Services, or Purchase any item.
At the risk of being dubbed an idiot, or simply missing the point, my question remains, what happens to that cent.
Is it out there in the Cosmos, just out there doing nothing just sitting there, or is it being exploited by the System.
I do not pretend to " be the sharpest
Tool in the Shed" by any means. But how
do we know if we are being deceived by this dilemma.
If anybody has the answer, please share
It with me or us, if there is some reason, for it to be out there in the words of a
Political Person who said " please explain"

 

[Gsr]

I think many people these days young and old take their spelling from American influence in movies, video games etc. Also from abbreviations used in texting. So many do not have any idea how words are spelt correctly and they also do not read books any more. What a magical and enjoyable pastime you are missing out on!

True, but a lot of people who are really good at the English language and spelling don’t check what they have written before putting it out there, and the phone or iPad or whatever decides to correct a word or two you have written, by changing it completely or misspelling it. Modern technology is not so good sometimes.

 

[Brody]

Yet another wonderful piece, Alan! Aside from the usual suspects, I've also been irked by the 99 Syndrome I'd love to see how effective it really is as a marketing strategy...

Brody
It maybe a stupid point, but I question what happens to the one cent that is out there in the economy every time we pay for Services, or Purchase any item.
At the risk of being dubbed an idiot, or simply missing the point, my question remains, what happens to that cent.
Is it out there in the Cosmos, just out there or whatever. ?

 

[Jarred Santos]

Having been in the retail sector for many years, the .99 factor always irked me. I honestly found that rounding up the dollar figure made not one iota of difference in sales results.
Note how Australia had $2 shops, the US had dollar shops, UK had pound shops etc. You can't tell me that they would have been any bigger if they had been touted as $1.99 shops, 99c shops or 99p shops.
I rest my case

Brody
It maybe a stupid point, but I question what happens to the one cent that is out there in the economy every time we pay for Services, or Purchase any item.
At the risk of being dubbed an idiot, or simply missing the point, my question remains, what happens to that cent.
Is it out there in the Cosmos, just out there or whatever. ?

I'll be losing sleep tonight thinking about that cent!

 

[Brody]

I'll be losing sleep tonight thinking about that cent!

Maybe I'm a little bit thick but it was a valid question. If someone has a reasonable explanation of my question I would appreciate their knowledge if there is any type of answer. You haven't thought it out very well.Jarred Santos
IF it is out there how many trillions of cents would there be somewhere. Maybe even the possibility of someone utilising
those trillions right under our noses.
Fact is Stranger than Fiction.
Sleep well Jarred Santos.
Open to anybody who has a theory about the question I asked. If it is rubbish, so be it. I would just like to know, for my own
Personal Information.

 

[Greentrees]

Note from the Editor:
This article was written for the SDC by the wonderful member Alan G.

As I get older, I find myself becoming increasingly judgemental. I see so many stupid things going on in the world – or rather, stupid acts by people who should know better. When we go on holidays overseas now, we have to check whether the place we’re going to is ‘safe’ or not. After all this time, there are still people trying to solve problems by violence, and we seem to have learned nothing from history. We’ve even got blokes in positions of ultimate power who seem only to have the mentality to barely walk upright. Luckily, I live in Australia – and I even know how to pronounce the word, unlike many interviewed on TV, who ‘Still Call Australia “Home”’ probably because they call our country ‘Straya’.

Well, it seems my grumpy views focus on three ‘P’s, Face Paint, 99s, and ‘so…’ so I’ll deal with these in turn.

Power:
As I said we’ve had a couple of blokes in top positions in countries overseas that thought they were all-powerful. It’s true what they say: All power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Narcissistic, vain, ignorant, petty, juvenile, un-statesmanlike, intolerant of criticism and absolutely unable to appreciate that he’d made himself and his country a laughing stock, can be aimed at one particular person, perhaps two, who have the apparent capacity to mess up this lovely little planet of ours. I think that’s the most frightening thought - that it was like putting the loony in charge of the loony bin – in both countries that spring to mind.

Politics:
I, like many others I suspect, are really disillusioned by politics and politicians. Not since Don Chipp or Natasha Stott Despoja have we had many (apparently) really honest ones. Of course, we look back on Bob or Gough and think they were wonderful – but not when they were actually in power and doing a fine job. If they were, we wouldn’t have gotten rid of them at the time.

View attachment 36704

What are your thoughts on politics and power? Image source: Shutterstock.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque in diam id erat facilisis consectetur vitae vel urna.

Ut lacus libero, suscipit auctor ipsum sit amet, viverra pretium nisl. Nullam facilisis nec odio nec dapibus. Integer maximus risus et velit porttitor ullamcorper

Read more for FREE!

Become a member today and join over 200,000 Australians already taking advantage of daily news, weather, petrol costs, games, jokes, deals and more.

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  FREE 400-page Discount eBook upon joining

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  FREE Aussie-made eBook & many more

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  No payment required

Register Faster Using

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[Jest]

That is a very well written letter that hits the nail right on the head, my congratulations to you for doing so, As far as the politicians go they need to get out of Canberra and the capital cities and get into the rural areas of Australia for a few weeks at a time this would open there eyes to the major issues of living in rural Australia we just can't get in the bus, train or tram to get from point A to point B if you don't drive yourself you have to rely on others to get around.

Medical services
Living in rural areas is not the same as metropolitan areas if I need specialist appointments I have to drive for 3 hours minimum each way, When I have to go to Melbourne that is almost 4 hours each way which means a night accommodation plus food etc.

Major services
There are no major services available in this town Vic Roads Powercore Waters company (Grampians Water) Telstra Conversation Forest & Lands etc all were taken from the town by the previous state government many people lost their job.
If you want any of these services you have to drive 60km to see them.

I was one of many that was thrown out of work when this happened this was done by the state liberal party they don't care about rural communities never have never will.

The only services that survived were Powercore and Grampians water the rest are gone never to return

I don't like commenting on politics but I just want to say I in my humble opinion Bob Hawke was a great prime minister he introduced the superannuation scheme for everyone who was employed, I was employed by a state government department but I was entitled to superannuation because all of us workers were not classified as full-time employees we were permanent casual employees so no superannuation. But with the national superannuation scheme that Bob Hawke introduced we were all covered by this scheme.
This was just one of many things that he did for Australia that I consider very important in the process of making this country great.

liberals are country.

 

[Jest]

i thought you would still have been in southland when gough was leader. anyway you lost me on that name and the booze/womaniser hawke. No one will ever get the political party that they want as they are all so greedy in their own needs. May I make a suggestion everyone listen to Matt Canavan, and Barnaby. Can't get any more rural politicians if you tried. OH! NO i hear Barnaby? he was a naughty boy was he not? To all the puritans, Why not, I have been a naughty girl in my day. I agree with the pronunciation of Australia, not even Peta Crdelin announces it correctly. Bring on the Kiwi accent.

 

[Baz1960]

liberals are country.

Well they have created, their "Union", with the amalgamation with National Country Party. Which is backed by the National Farmers Federation, so their reach is well across the country.

 

[bluetang]

I for one agree with everything you have said. It beggars belief when you take a closer look at the number of things we
just ignore because it is easier and we don't want to address the issues at hand
anyway. We are the product of our own
casual attitude toward most things, that
don't really cause a big enough reaction in us to warrant action and perseverance
to see change.
We are the "Laid back Nation of She's okay, in accepting just about everything
that is dumped in our lap, with a whinge or too, but just turn our head and dismiss
the terrible reality of how these things
Impact our lives when it is too late.

Yeah she's right mate! unfortunately we are too lazy to do anything else

I for one agree with everything you have said. It beggars belief when you take a closer look at the number of things we
just ignore because it is easier and we don't want to address the issues at hand
anyway. We are the product of our own
casual attitude toward most things, that
don't really cause a big enough reaction in us to warrant action and perseverance
to see change.
We are the "Laid back Nation of She's okay, in accepting just about everything
that is dumped in our lap, with a whinge or too, but just turn our head and dismiss
the terrible reality of how these things
Impact our lives when it is too late.