11 September 2008

Election Wrap - 11 September

| johnboy
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General:

The CT reports that Jon Stanhope has once again snubbed the rather large Christian community by sending Simon Corbell to debate Zed at the Australian Christian Lobby forum next week.

ALP:

Jon Stanhope has found $3.5 million under the couch for welfare and charity groups.

Andrew Barr has announced a $1.2 million 85th birthday present for Telopea Park School.

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Thank God we’re into caretaker mode, I don’t think I can take anymore of this ‘Look, we found some more money to give away’.

It only gets worse from here mate. Now we find out about the big profligate spending plans for the next term.

Thank God we’re into caretaker mode, I don’t think I can take anymore of this ‘Look, we found some more money to give away’.

thumper, now the virtual money to give away will start….

also called election promises.

I am a christian, and i believe in the big guy upstairs, but I won’t force others to believe as I do, and I don’t agree with most of the ACL’s requests.

live and let live.

you don’t bother me, I don’t bother you.

Part of me finds it amusing that Stanhope has kind of said “Hello wolves. I know that you were wanting to see me fight Seselja, but have Corbell.”

I wonder if anyone in that glorious meeting had the “We need someone who is actually able to effectively argue an unpopular cause. Maybe we could send in Andrew Barr?” before being forced to settle on Corbell.

re: Point two, it reads suspiciously like a rephrasing of the media announcements of Federal grants program which opened just the other day.
Volunteer Grants Program 2008, I think.

Wide Boy Jake3:33 pm 11 Sep 08

Pandering to the Christian zealots might be good politics in outback Qld or the deep south of the US, but in a city like Canberra it doesn’t go down well at all. Full marks to Stanhope.

I’m all for letting many flowers bloom when it comes to religious diversity, but unilateral religious outcomes have no place in toytown politics.

The ACL is a religious agenda collective fronting as a legitimate lobby group, and their press release announcing the event has the following meta keywords :
META name=”keywords” content=”Abortion, ACL,Australian,Christian,Lobby, Australian Christian, Christian Lobby, Christian vote, Christian voter, opinion count,Christian, God, church, family, families, marriage, lobby group, political, lobby, lobbying, education, health, welfare, police, child, child abuse, justice, telstra, optus, illicit drugs, drugs, heroin, naltrexone, shooting galleries, rehabilitation, religion, politics, Liberal, Labor, social issues, family, laws, pro-life, pro-family, abortion, mardi gras, homosexual, lesbians, grassroots, nonprofit”

(Emphasis mine, but some these terms are missing from other pages on their website, other pages have more, but someone seems to be choosing these)

Also, are Phil or Nick Seselja of the Young Men of God Movement Zed’s brothers?

It might have been a shock for Stanhope to walk into a room where people are more likely to forgive him for his past wrongs and encourage him to seek some wisdom from outside of his own ego driven mindset.

Skid, I think these sorts of things work more by degrees. Religious values either work their way in bit by bit or are worked out bit by bit. Massive upheavals are few and far between. I’d rather work to a happy medium where religiously-inclined people can have their bit of turf and the rest of us with more secular beliefs can have our bit of turf. There’s no need for anyone to force their values on others.

Do these Christian lobbyists seriously think that just because a politician calls themselves Christian and/or makes various promises that they’ll be any better than the next guy? Pollies are pollies, Christian or not!

I love that title – ACL. Which set of christian values do they actually want politicians to legislate for? Criminalising divorce (marriage is for life) or criminalising any sex outside of marriage for the sole purpose of procreation. ‘Christian’ is recklessly thrown around implying that there’s a uniform set of ‘christian’ values – when the reality is that there are some significant (mortal sin significant) differences among all the various sects.

Personally if ‘christian’ values are to be a basis for legislation – I want to see these values published in law so that legislators can be scrutinised and held accountable towards these values. In a mature democracy I should have a right to know what values are being used to make laws. Stanhope is right to not attend. Deluded imbecile… and I’m talking about ACL.

When politics and religion travel in the same cart, the riders believe nothing can stand in their way. The movement becomes headlong — faster and faster and faster. They put aside all thought of obstacles and forget that the precipice does not show itself to a man in a blind rush until it is far too late.
‘Dune’, Frank Herbert, 1965

The reasonable thing to do isn’t debate these people at all, just let them walk themselves into the crises.
But then, this is ACT Election Politics, where ‘Reason’ is almost a four letter word.

Haha…my thoughts exactly Spitfire3. I’d be happier if ALL politicians “snubbed” religous lobby groups. I don’t want ANY deluded religous groups having ANY say in how I live my life, thanks very much.

Maybe stanhope is worth voting for after all

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