Posted on 06/23/2006 2:05:03 AM PDT by West Coast Conservative
In the Australian House of Representatives last month, opposition member Julia Gillard interrupted a speech by the minister of health thusly: "I move that that sniveling grub over there be not further heard."
For that, the good woman was ordered removed from the House, if only for a day. She might have escaped that little time-out if she had responded to the speaker's demand for an apology with something other than "If I have offended grubs, I withdraw unconditionally."
God, I love Australia. Where else do you have a shadow health minister with such, er, starch? Of course I'm prejudiced, having married an Australian, but how not to like a country, in this age of sniveling grubs worldwide, whose treasurer suggests to any person who "wants to live under sharia law" to try Saudi Arabia and Iran, "but not Australia." He was elaborating on an earlier suggestion that "people who . . . don't want to live by Australian values and understand them, well then they can basically clear off." Contrast this with Canada, historically and culturally Australia's commonwealth twin, where last year Ontario actually gave serious consideration to allowing its Muslims to live under sharia.
Such things don't happen in Australia. This is a place where, when the remains of a fallen soldier are accidentally switched with those of a Bosnian, the enraged widow picks up the phone late at night, calls the prime minister at home in bed and delivers a furious, unedited rant -- which he publicly and graciously accepts as fully deserved. Where Americans today sue, Australians slash and skewer.
For Americans, Australia engenders nostalgia for our own past, which we gauzily remember as infused with John Wayne plain-spokenness and vigor.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
That little thing about gun confiscation has always driven me nuts, too. Hands down, the Aussies have always stood with us, and in many ways, they are the closest to us in outlook. They are wonderful friends, but that gun thing still bothers me.
about 10 years ago I had the same idea...subscribed to a New Zealand newspaper from Wellington for about 3 months. Reads the same as any major metropolitan paper from the USA...similar miserable social/behavioral/drug problems.....and just as similarly a PC read....
gauzily - what a great word
I agree with you. In my opinion, where we broke with the Mother country the Aussie's never did and it carries over into the belief of power from the government and not from the people. Just a thought.
to get a little Japanese girl upset, ask her if she's Korean.............That do be true.....Sparks fly...
Yep. Great piece by both parties. Thanks for the ping. I was going to ping your attention to 12, until I saw your post!
If only they hadn't conceded on guns, Australia would be my escape plan when the Leftists finally destroy America.
Hah! One more reason to love Fosters! For Fathers Day my wife gave me a Fosters golf towel. The Aussies know how to drink in moderation; 1 beer = 25.4 ounces. God, I love 'em!
They use their big government the same way atheists and liberals do here, big government is their unholy mother church and they enforce her edicts with a growing iron fist.
Another fine reason to go Down Under.
'That little thing about gun confiscation has always driven me nuts, too. Hands down, the Aussies have always stood with us, and in many ways, they are the closest to us in outlook. They are wonderful friends, but that gun thing still bothers me.'
It's simple really - your view is a result of being an American and thus being from a culture where the ability to own a handgun is important to you. No such gun ownership culture exists in the UK or Oz, so the decision to control them was much easier.
Things that are important to Americans are not necessarily important to other cultures. As a gun-owning Brit I find myself in favour of handgun control because to allow handgun ownership here would inevitably lead to the arming of our civil police force and it's conversion to a US-style paramilitary one. Most Brits are willing to sacrifice handgun ownership for an unarmed police force. That doesn't mean we are right and you are wrong, just that we have different priorities on guns than you.
Why I love Krauthammer.
Ping!
Good one!
HAHA! Go Aussies! They are terrific.
"As a gun-owning Brit I find myself in favour of handgun control because to allow handgun ownership here would inevitably lead to the arming of our civil police force and it's conversion to a US-style paramilitary one. Most Brits are willing to sacrifice handgun ownership for an unarmed police force."
Britons were allowed to own handguns up until 1997 when the then Conservative government decided to ban them as a kneejerk reaction to the Dunblane shootings. I should know, I had to send mine abroad otherwise they would have been destroyed. Can't quite remember if we had an armed paramilitary police force then though (you know, because of licensed handguns held by the public many of whom were police officers happy to shoot handguns alongside the public - like myself on at least one occasion). Anyway, the heavily armed paramilitary police forces must have all given up the paramilitary stuff and now just go on patrol without the body armour and stuff like they did before we were allowed handguns (think that was before they were invented in the 17th century or whereabouts). :)
ABG - I suggest you fight anti gun legislation tooth and nail; oh, and don't be too reliant on people who don't use the same type of firearms that you use: they probably think theirs are legitimate, yours aren't so its only right that yours are banned. :)
Ask a Korean is he or she is Japanese - and get killed or seriously injured.
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