Confessions of a Misguided Trio

Misguided Question Time?

I received an email from the Misguided Geriatric suggesting, that much like Parliament's based upon the Westminster system, the Misguided Trio start a Question time of their own...

Ok so he didn't really put it that way...

More this way...

Mark,

I have a submission, perhaps the Misguided Trio blog could have a question and answer section where readers could ask questions of you.

For example, I have the following questions.

Given that Senator George Brandis believes that the Prime Minister John Howard is a 'lying little rodent', did Brandis actually believe Howard when Howard announced that Brandis would become a Minister?

For that matter does he believe it yet, or is he just not going to turn up at the Ministers office on Monday morning to avoid being caught by a Howard 'gotchya'?

Yes Minister!

MG

Not that bad of an idea, and whilst I am thinking that MG's question may have been originally posed as one of rhetoric substance, I may as well throw an answer, well more of a response, out there...

Senator George Brandis, supposed Liberal from Queensland, somewhat famously called PMJH "a lying rodent", following the whole children overboard affair.

From the archives of the Sydney Morning Herald...
According to a statutory declaration signed three days ago by a former senior official in the Queensland division of the party, Russell Galt, Brandis "unambiguously referred" to the PM as "a lying rodent", in relation to the children overboard affair at a meeting in May last year.

That's pretty serious, given that the PM's integrity has been challenged over the matter, and that barrister Brandis has led the defence of Howard in the Senate inquiry into the issue.
Galt swore that "while referring to . . . Hearings of this committee, Senator Brandis made the following two remarks: "He is a lying rodent" and "we've got to go off and cover his arse again on this".

Brandis denies ever calling the Prime Minister "a lying rodent" yet has been known to call him "a rodent". Whilst I am talking about Brandis it may be worthwhile pointing out that when he called Howard a "lying rodent" he wasn't even an elected official. Brandis was appointed to his Senate seat in 2000 following the retirement of Hon. Warwick Parer...

Brandis loves the spotlight, which may be why he was chosen to chastise Sen. Brown and Nettle for disturbing G.W. Bush's address to a join sitting... PMJH was a little bit upset with his response though, when Brandis chose to lable the Greens "Nazis"...

"I intend to continue to call to the attention of the Australian people the extremely alarming, frightening similarities between the methods employed by contemporary green politics and the methods and the values of the Nazis."

Brandis is a showman, calls the PM a rodent, no doubt appealing to the majority of voters, and manages to actually win his seat in the 2004 election.

Brandis has been appointed Minister for the Arts and Sports, making him responsible for, well, considering the States take care of most of the Arts, and the Sports, Brandis's primary responsibility is to look after the National Portrait Gallery and Old Parliament House.

Is the rat deceiving his foe with a faux appointment? Personally I feel that the rat required new faces, and his foe was after more camera time, perhaps the original 'rodent' has manipulated the less intelligent rodents into embracing his Rodentology?

And yes Virginia, I did just call Liberal party members, "Rodents", I also may have alluded to them practicing their own religion called Rodentology, oh, and for the record I am seriously disturbed at just how much time I have devoted to this post....

Then again it's a Sunday and the Entourage Marathon doesn't start for another hour...

(Note: For our Canadian friends, my reference to Liberal Party members being rodents is purely towards the members of the Australian Liberal Party, feel free to apply the same comments to your Conservative Party)

Labels: Brandis, John Howard, Misguided Geriatric, Misguided Trio, Rodentology

posted by Mark @ 6:33 PM 5 comments

From the Desk of the Misguided Geriatric

The death penalty is the delivery of revenge that is sought by angry people, it is not the provision of justice.

In reference to the death penalty, the Dalai Lama stated; “The death penalty is pure violence, a barbaric and useless violence. Dangerous even, because it can only lead to other acts of violence – as all violence does. The supreme punishment ought to be a life sentence, and without brutality.”

Now, I understand that George W. Bush and John Howard are not Buddhists and I wonder if George even knows who the Dalai Lama is! But he knows who Jesus Christ is, because George has ‘God on his side’, just as the insurgents in Iraq claim to have the Big Guy in their corner, just as claimed by both the Allied and the Axis forces in World War 2, as Bob Dylan told us in ‘With God on our side’, “For you don't count the dead When God's on your side”.

However, I am not sure how well George W. knows or understands the teachings of good old ‘J.C.’. The last time I checked the Bible, J.C. was still insisting that in response to violence we turn the other cheek. There is nowhere in the New Testament where I can find a reference to George W.’s Saviour ordering that wrongdoers be put to death, in fact I recall an incident at his arrest where J.C. intervened in a fight between his apostles and the Roman soldiers during which a Roman had his ear chopped off, J.C. healed the Roman before the Roman arrested him.

Look, nobody would expect us to turn the other cheek to Saddam’s crimes but most of us would expect justice to be served in a fair manner to all involved because if the justice system is reduced to being a purveyor of violence then it will simply provide that example to both their enemies and friends as an acceptable form of justice. Governments must not murder people, especially in the name of ‘justice’.

Aw gosh! Maybe it is time that I come to my senses, in the past I have been accused of being a gullible dreamer and someone who is confused and unable to accept reality, I think that I am beginning to realise that when God is on your side, you can do no wrong, ask Bob Dylan if you don’t believe me.


M.G.

Labels: Bob Dylan, George W. Bush, John Howard, Misguided Geriatric

posted by Mark @ 4:44 PM 1 comments