Still alive, just a bit distracted Anniversary Elections Work
Re: Elections
By the way for me it was on Sunday morning 10 am. "Hangon, we didn't see the election results!" (we haven't been watching much TV) which means we missed the double episode of "Monk" we were going to see. Anyway the friday night political analysts pretty much convinced me it was hardly even worth voting, due to their rigorous analysis of marginal electorates, all of which seemed to be swinging the way of the Government.
*Of course* you're completely out of touch with reality. You do live in Canberra, after all...
(Caveat: I know you're taking the piss, but) Touche. You could also have said "You work for the Public Service".
This was the first election where I had a personal investment in who won...at least up until both parties promised me the same thing. The vet school in Townsville (which was a liberal promise) is likely to employ me in the near future. Of course then Labor promised it as well and I actually had to scramble to consider other policies etc at the last minute. Speaking of which, did anyone else feel that this election was an "I'll give you the biggest lump sum" bribe election rather than an "I'll lead our country in this direction , based on this philosophy, and the way in which we must deal with the rest of the world, to make Australia a stable, wealthy, ethical, respected country" Maybe they're all that way and I've never cared enough to pay attention.
By Anonymous, at
2:44 PM
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By Anonymous, at
2:44 PM
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By Anonymous, at
2:45 PM
Note: Not being a comment nazi, just deleting a couple of duplicaties of Jenny's entry.
As soon as the first conference John Howard had where he said this campaign was about trust,I knew that this election (again) would be about which leader could lie the most convincingly
Obviously my computer has an blog stutter
By Anonymous, at
2:55 PM
I can't wait for John W. to reveal which were "core promises". I wonder if he's been pork barrelling with imaginary pigs. 8)
By Anonymous, at
1:39 PM
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
…not the least by the fact that I got no goddam sleep at all last night. Stupid insomnia. I’m actually feeling pretty alert and positive right at the moment, which is a sure sign that as soon as that first coffee of the morning wears off, I’m gonna crash harder than the Nikkei. Oh well, until the inevitable, I will tidy up some tedious contracts and update my blog.
The ultra-secret destination for our second wedding anniversary (one week ago today) was the gorgeous Yarra Valley in Victoria, home of mountain streams and abundant wildflowers and about thirty thousand wineries. We stayed at Forget Me Not Cottages somewhere near the top of the valley, and made numerous forays out into the world to buy ridiculous amounts of incredibly good wine. We particularly overdid things at Domaine Chandon, makers of our favourite sparkling whites (you’re not allowed to call them ‘champagne’ any more, thanks to successful legal action from some ticked-off French vintners). Try the Brut Rose, it’s delicious.
There was also an indulgent dinner planned at Eleonore’s, the unutterably classy restaurant at Chateau Yering, a venue so splendid we were obliged to dress up in finery lest we sully the place with our common presence. Fiona wore her wedding dress, I wore a suit (no tux, alas, but then I think they usually look silly). Unfortunately Fi felt ill, so she had to sit there and watch me get through a rabbit-and-saffron filo on a bed of pine nut risotto, followed by a main so good it’s completely erased itself from my memory. Lovely night, spoiled slightly by me being the only one able to really enjoy it.
Need I add that a mere few days of idle luxury is simply not enough, and I wish we’d never come back? Yeah, I thought that’d be pretty obvious.
Disappointed. Still, you can’t argue with the will of the (brainless, spineless, selfish, blinkered) majority. And, yeah, sure, Saturday night left me with a sour taste that experience has taught me will only deepen and become more richly bitter over the forthcoming 3 years, but, eh, what can you do? The people have had ample opportunity to look this government in the eye and see it for what it is, and yet they returned it with an increased majority. Since this outcome is wholly alien to my most closely-held values and aspirations for myself and my country, I can only conclude that I am completely out of touch with reality. In that spirit, I will gracefully accept the way things are and try not to get too upset about it (barring the odd bursts of resentment and incredulity, such as the crushing sense of defeat I get from the realisation that Alexander Downer will continue to steer Australia’s foreign policy, a role for which he is almost divinely unsuited).
The return to work was an arduous affair, about which the less said, the better. Suffice to say that I am looking at alternative options. It may take a while, because my wife has vetoed the “storm out in a fiery tantrum and underscore my resignation by punching some richly deserving peanut in the face” option.
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I actually didn't know who I wanted to vote for this time round. Once again I looked to "The Economist" for inspiration and once again I agreed with them (even though they changed sides). "The Economist" tends to look at it in an internationalistic way with a very close look at the (obviously.. der) economic consequences of competing policy. This time round Latham's policy of "Cutting and Running" in Iraq, and his dubious thoughts on industrial relations policy otherwise, were the two clinching factors to steer away from Labor (for me as well I decided) even though they suggested Labor last time. I still believe we can achieve plenty in Iraq with what we've got there now, and do it better than the Yanks. The only problem with that, however, as my wife pointed out, is that we need to send a message to the Americans that we don't accept the ill-treatment of our 2 Aus Nationals being held inhumanely the way they are. Our gripes we have with the Yanks are not allowed any airing it seems (we have a few, between trade policy and military policy)
Was there a double episode of 'Monk' on? Man, I missed it too...
I shall not say for whom I voted, but I shall say that I voted 1-50 on the senate form. I may not have known who most of them were, but if I have to make an effort to go vote, the vote counters can make an effort to count my vote. :)
Jenny
Jenny
Ditto on the disappointed -> bitter expectation. Sigh.
linbot
