Angry Barr savages the Canberra Times on Twitter over the Brumbies development

pajs said :

Sheesh there are some comprehension problems in this thread. As Johnboy and others have pointed out, “When did you stop beating your wife?” is the classic reference example of a loaded question. It is not making light of domestic violence. It is not a ‘bizarre thing to say’. Here, it is a critique of lazy journalism and absent fact-checking.

Although Lyndon Johnson took it to ever greater levels.

this ‘ancient and honourable’ story of how Lyndon Johnson first got elected to Congress in 1948 when his opponent was a wealthy and politically favoured pig farmer: ‘Lyndon was running about 10 points behind, with only nine days to go… He was sunk in despair. He was desperate… he called his equally depressed campaign manager and instructed him to call a press conference at two or two-thirty ( just after lunch on a slow news day) and accuse his high-riding opponent (the pig farmer) of having routine carnal knowledge of his barnyard sows, despite the pleas of his wife and children… His campaign manager was shocked. ‘We can’t say that, Lyndon,’ he said. ‘It’s not true.’ ‘Of course it’s not,’ Johnson barked at him, ‘but let’s make the bastard deny it.’

nyssa1976 said :

Barr was a PATHETIC Minister for Education and has now proven to be an insensitive prat!!

To make light of domestic violence is BS. The ‘man’ needs to be kicked out of politics.

Sheesh there are some comprehension problems in this thread. As Johnboy and others have pointed out, “When did you stop beating your wife?” is the classic reference example of a loaded question. It is not making light of domestic violence. It is not a ‘bizarre thing to say’. Here, it is a critique of lazy journalism and absent fact-checking.

Barr was a PATHETIC Minister for Education and has now proven to be an insensitive prat!!

To make light of domestic violence is BS. The ‘man’ needs to be kicked out of politics.

Im no fan of the Rolling Stones but I really cant see them replacing Mick Jagger with this guy.

From just over a week ago.
“Brumbies lose $200,000”
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/sport/rugby-union/brumbies-lose-200000/2418747.aspx
whenever I hear things like this in the ACT – my hip-pocker nerve gets a twinge.
Knowing how Labor mates have this longtime habit of taking care of one another.

Me thinks Barr protesteth too much.

Not only is Barr an extraordinarily angry and abrasive guy who fobs off letters from the public and any stakeholder views not in line with his own, but he’s overseen some of the worst planning/development decisions in recent ACT history (and let’s not even mention his handling of the school closures debacle).

Having said that, Ewa Kretowicz is a pretty lousy journo who tends to write wanky prose instead of fact, and the Canberra Times is a paper that’s loose with the truth at the best of times. Every article seems to contain at least two obvious errors of fact, all of them avoidable through basic fact checking.

So it wouldn’t surprise me if they got this story wrong, though that shouldn’t excuse Andrew Barr for the poor job he’s been generally doing. I understand he has a few fans in the inner north and developer communities, but that’s pretty much it.

dungfungus said :

Instead he says “when did I stop beating my wife will be next” which is a really obtuse remark for a male homosexual to say. It is almost as if he is goading us.

There’s nothing obtuse about it; it is exactly what johnboy and Wikipedia said it is.

nice_enough said :

dungfungus said :

EvanJames said :

johnboy said :

neanderthalsis said :

“When did I stop beating my wife will be next…”

What a bizarre thing to say. He must have inherited Stanhope’s angry pants.

It’s the classic example of the loaded question.

Yep. It’s commonly used to demonstrate nonsensical questioning designed to troll for a reaction from a public figure, it’s a quote.

Good on Barr for coming out and speaking plainly, rather than falling behind the usual goverment-ese to respond to this. I hope we see more of it.

As far as I can see, the only question Barr was asked was “any chance of a statement?”
Nothing nonsensical in that question as far as I can see so why didn’t Barr simply say “no” in response?
Instead he says “when did I stop beating my wife will be next” which is a really obtuse remark for a male homosexual to say. It is almost as if he is goading us.

His response makes sense if you have an IQ greater that 50.

Are you his wife then?

dungfungus said :

EvanJames said :

johnboy said :

neanderthalsis said :

“When did I stop beating my wife will be next…”

What a bizarre thing to say. He must have inherited Stanhope’s angry pants.

It’s the classic example of the loaded question.

Yep. It’s commonly used to demonstrate nonsensical questioning designed to troll for a reaction from a public figure, it’s a quote.

Good on Barr for coming out and speaking plainly, rather than falling behind the usual goverment-ese to respond to this. I hope we see more of it.

As far as I can see, the only question Barr was asked was “any chance of a statement?”
Nothing nonsensical in that question as far as I can see so why didn’t Barr simply say “no” in response?
Instead he says “when did I stop beating my wife will be next” which is a really obtuse remark for a male homosexual to say. It is almost as if he is goading us.

His response makes sense if you have an IQ greater that 50.

EvanJames said :

johnboy said :

neanderthalsis said :

“When did I stop beating my wife will be next…”

What a bizarre thing to say. He must have inherited Stanhope’s angry pants.

It’s the classic example of the loaded question.

Yep. It’s commonly used to demonstrate nonsensical questioning designed to troll for a reaction from a public figure, it’s a quote.

Good on Barr for coming out and speaking plainly, rather than falling behind the usual goverment-ese to respond to this. I hope we see more of it.

As far as I can see, the only question Barr was asked was “any chance of a statement?”
Nothing nonsensical in that question as far as I can see so why didn’t Barr simply say “no” in response?
Instead he says “when did I stop beating my wife will be next” which is a really obtuse remark for a male homosexual to say. It is almost as if he is goading us.

/popcorn

johnboy said :

neanderthalsis said :

“When did I stop beating my wife will be next…”

What a bizarre thing to say. He must have inherited Stanhope’s angry pants.

It’s the classic example of the loaded question.

Yep. It’s commonly used to demonstrate nonsensical questioning designed to troll for a reaction from a public figure, it’s a quote.

Good on Barr for coming out and speaking plainly, rather than falling behind the usual goverment-ese to respond to this. I hope we see more of it.

The Brumbies proposal is a great example of why the planning system is so rotten in the ACT. The Brumbies are using their influence, aided and abetted by the ALP, to get planning decisions in their favour.

The ALP get publicly flogged when they give funds dirctly to the Brumbies, so this is a back-door way of giving them huge windfall gains, at the loss of public land.

Holden Caulfield said :

Andrew Barr has a wife!!!

Shouldn’t that be Husband?

A denial on twitter. That would be in the same category of “The leader of my party has my full support.”

neanderthalsis said :

“When did I stop beating my wife will be next…”

What a bizarre thing to say. He must have inherited Stanhope’s angry pants.

It’s the classic example of the loaded question.

Andrew Barr has a wife!!!

“When did I stop beating my wife will be next…”

What a bizarre thing to say. He must have inherited Stanhope’s angry pants.