Last week, KG — that gun-totin’ gay-hatin’ darling of the rational right — posted a typically well-reasoned response to the Daily Telegraph’s idiotic front-page story about the “gay lobby’s” push to ban teachers using words like “mum”, “dad”, “husband” and “wife” in NSW schools.

In his post’s comment thread, a tongue-in-cheek remark from yours truly (suggesting that another wingnut’s comment had made KG seem almost “moderate”) elicited this astonishing mish-mash of paranoid, bigoted and utterly retarded conspiracy theory from the blogosphere’s most likely serial-killer-to-be:

If I sound moderate, then there’s obviously a failure on my part to communicate properly.
Homosexuality is aberrant behaviour and that behaviour is entirely the business of those affected..until those people attack the traditional family structure and attempt to promote homosexuality as being somehow “normal”.
That they can do so via the schools speaks volumes about the moral standards of teacher’s unions.
That the Left is at the forefront of this disgusting social engineering speaks volumes about the moral poverty
of you lot.
Moderate? No–I’d kill leftists on sight if it were possible to do so and get away with it, as sweet revenge for the damage you’ve caused to society.

Well, he certainly showed me!

Anyway, last night’s Media Watch exposed the Daily Telegraph’s story for the shameful beat-up that it was. It’s a longish tale, but one that’s worth reading if you weren’t aware of the Tele’s appalling approach to research and journalistic ethics; or, as is far more likely, you were aware of it and simply enjoy seeing that pitiful rag cop the kicking it so thoroughly deserves.

And don’t forget to stay tuned to Crusader Rightard for KG’s admission that he got his facts woefully wrong.

If he’s even half the gentleman I think he is, his apology will be up on his blog in no time flat.

Ant reported earlier on Andrew Bolt’s ejaculative response to John Howard’s Irving Kristol lecture in the USA. Since then Bolta has added a few updates to his text, closing his second update with this sentence.

Missing him already.

Get a room, you two.

I’ve been having a read of the full text of Howard’s speech and it’s quite interesting to see how much hubris and arrogance this man has despite spending eleven years in office telling us he has none of either. Oh, and he’s still a dickhead.

Read the rest of this entry »

A primary school teacher responds to John Howard’s claim at the Liberal campaign launch that “Australia does not need an education revolution. Australia needs an education system that teaches its children to read, to write, to spell and to add up.”

They’re replaying edited highlights (or lowlights, as the case may be) of the Liberal campaign launch on ABC. Here are my thoughts…

* JHo: “My fellow Australians.” Spew.
* JHo: “This election is about the future… despite how great the past is.” It always comes back to the past doesn’t it, John?
* Costello: “Economic storm clouds on the horizon that will increase inflation, interest rates and unemployment. But we will decrease inflation, interest rates and unemployment.”
* JHo: “Family is the cornerstone of society.” And that’s why you’re force-feeding middle class welfare pork down families’ throats, despite Australia “no longer being a welfare state.”
* Vaile: Sorry, missed that. Went to sleep.
* Abbot: Is doing his interview in the rain holding an umbrella that has stars and moons all over it. Bwah hah hah!
* JHo: “We will give you nine billion bucks to bribe you to vote for us. Um, actually, what I mean is education, child care, Great Australian Dream and other stuff like that. Family, family, family.”
* Howard, never one to attract the term “charismatic”, is actually looking (if it’s possible) less charismatic than normal. He looks about as inspiring as the flotation ball inside my toilet cistern.
* JHo: “New homeowners shouldn’t pay for infrastructure that benefits them and the wider community.” So you’ll make those homeowners pay through their tax payments instead, John? This is appalling policy.
* Julie Bishop is on the telly telling me that parents have the right to choose the quality of their kids’ schools. And what sort of choice do parents have when state schools are desperately underfunded, Julie?
* JHo to the rescue — he’s going to make independent school fees tax deductible. Problem fixed then.
* JHo: “Fees and levies that have crept into the public school system.” Why do you think public schools have to charge those fees and levies, you great, fucking cockhead of a man?
* JHo: “Indigenous intervention has brought to an end 20-30 years of problems.” I think it’s been going on longer than that, John. Also, you had ten-and-a-half years to fix it before that — why didn’t you?
* JHo: “To continue to decide who comes to this nation.” Anyone but those dirty, fightin’ Sudanese if Kevin Andrews has anything to do with
* Downer: “If the terrorists win there will terrible consequences.” Dickhead.
* JHo: “Tough on drugs.” Ruddock just appeared on screen to back up Howard’s words. He looks as ghoulish as ever.
* Kevin Andrews: “We must protect our way of life.” Your way of life is nothing like mine, Kev, so stop trying to impose yours upon me via Parliament. Get your rosaries off my ov… um, testicolies.
* JHo: “UNIONS! UNIONS! UNIONS! COAST-TO-COAST LABOR! BOO!”
* The closing music sounds like the elevator muzak you hear over the top of 1980s telemovies on Channel Seven at midday.

Watching that made me feel genuinely sick. The sun will shine on Australia if the coalition is no longer in charge on 25 November.

Nothing — and I mean nothing — brings more of a sinking feeling to my gut than these words:

“Australia does not need an education revolution. Australia needs an education system that teaches its children to read, to write, to spell and to add up”

Lachlan Connor has announced that he will release a policy each day for the rest of this week, ahead of a trip to Canberra on the weekend to “soak up the democracy.” I wonder if he’s going to drop into Fyshwick to soak up anything else?

Here is Lachlan’s first policy release for the week: education.