Everybody thinks, nobody says it

It’s no coincidence the MPs found guilty of fiddling are all Labour

By contrast, progressives view social conventions and restraints as the crucial impediment to human fulfilment. As far as Karl Marx was concerned, law, morality and religion were simply mechanisms for maintaining bourgeois dominance. Indeed Marx’s followers explicitly licensed falsehood and deceit as instruments of revolutionary change. As J A Schumpeter observed: “The first thing a man will do for his ideals is lie.” I suggest, therefore, that the readiness of Labour MPs to fabricate their expenses is symbolic of a wider philosophical disposition: a structural tolerance of lying and cheating as a justification for political action.

The political catwalk

Ed Milband, the leader of the British Labour Party, recently got into a tizzy (rather in the manner of a certain on-again, off-again Australian Prime Minister on the subject of misogyny) because the Daily Mail pointed out his father was a Marxist. (By the way, has anyone else noticed the resemblance between Miliband fils and the Cbeebies star Mister Maker?)

Further or Alternatively reveals a further development. Not only was Ralph Miliband a Communist, but he was also a cat killer. In Australia we like to recruit the slayers of moggies for high political office themselves, not just their sons. Malcolm Turnbull sued and won when that story was first published. Ed Miliband seems to take it in better part:

The stitch up

One of the great pleasures of the Australian Constitution is its observation of the proprieties. For example the Prime Minister is not mentioned. This might seem odd but the constitution is drafted in such a way as to give rise to the Westminster system. It does not explicitly state all the rules – with the scope for endless quibbles based on infelicitous wording to which that would give rise – instead, the unwritten rules are simply imported into our system.

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Any Questions About Election Day?

Mark Dreyfus, the Australian Attorney-General (for a day or two anyway) was caught asking "any questions?" as if to a room full of journalists. There was nobody but him and the camera which may well have been remotely controlled. When going overseas, his boss is fond of waving to people who aren't there, for the benefit of the photographers. 

Much more fun for today's election, I give you the 1986 top ten hit "Election Day" by Arcadia (3/5 of the then members of Duran Duran). The shorter version is rather fuzzy so instead enjoy this song at the full 8:48 .

The Trojan PM

Troy Bramston, who used to be the speech writer for Australia's answer to Grover Cleveland, Kevin Rudd, is impressed by the Presidential Library of George Bush II (oh, alright, President George W. Bush) and thinks we should have similar things here.

I for one would be very interested to go to the Vice Regal Library of Michael Jeffery. 

Maybe Kevin Rudd should call his three immediate predecessors Julia Gillard, John Howard and Paul Keating and ask them to partner with a university and offer them a start-up grant and ongoing funding to serve as an important educational tool and stimulate civic interest in government, politics and history.

I see. He means President as Head of Government (our PM) instead of President as Head of State (our G-G). First you have to ask, what's wrong with Hawke, Fraser and Whitlam? I mean, I know the answer, but why not include them? We already give these people generous pensions, offices and free travel. This is starting to look like money for menaces. "Cough up or I'll come back and pass another carbon tax, borrow money from a dodgy Iraqi businessman etc."

As a matter of fact U. S. Presidential libraries appear to be a waste of money and highly partisan. (See also: State of the Union  speeches, take that! The West Wing).