The Australian people are not particularly concerned about theories of governance.
That’s a relief, then.
John Howard’s back on YouTube. Whether fortunately or not, it’s almost impossible to find the video on YouTube itself if you haven’t followed a link from one of the online newspaper sites.
Update: More from Kieran at Dead Roo and Heath at Catallaxy.
I watched a minute of it: too stomach-churning this close to lunch. That medium just doesn’t suit him.
How dare he!
I’ve had enough of Howard telling me what I do and don’t want, what I think, what my values are or aren’t…
He has a penchant for starting sentences with “On behalf of all Australians..”
So completely infuriating. I never gave him permission to speak on behalf of me and I’m sure there’s at least one of you too.
He is a condescending pig.
As an active citizen, I find it so utterly offensive that my Prime Minister would presume I don’t care “for systems of governance”.
FEDERALISM
I’m proud of it, I’m proud of my state. And I don’t want our system of checks and balances to be violated and destroyed by the Howard government. If they push it any further, state powers will be rendered obsolete.
Mien Howard Fuhrer-
I’m not a fool, I’ve read the Native Title Act amemendments. I read them when you’re sorry excuse for a democratic government first announced them to the House.
The NT intervention is nothing more than a enforced native title land grab, so that your government may dump nuclear waste and build nuclear sites on Indigenous land. Alas, one small mercy is that the land will be returned to the aboriginal people when its no longer needed – and in its original, “un-hazardous” state.
That’s only 30,000+ years away, I guess!
And how many people have been arrested or charged for ‘child sex’ offences in the NT since the “Intervention”?
0
Hallelujah.
Nice and tricky, though.
Max publicity and classy pork barrel diversion.
Gives that lovely Minister Andrews time to draw breath and a chance not to say anything more, that is contradictory. That bloke couldn’t sell gold at silver prices.
Just on the Howardian declaration of fact, I suspect that if see beyond his narrow focus on the swinging voters, those privileged and qualified to decide most elections, he would discover that many Australians demonstrate strong democratic values. It gives me confidence anyway, although I would not ignore the insidious nature of the politics of fear.
Ratty’s desperation sweats out of every powdered pore.
How ludicrous!
Exactly how long is Ratty’s list of pork barrel projects?
Can the taxpayers get a peak at this list cross-indexed against the size of the swing required in each electorate?
Paint just dried, grass grew. The kids will turn the channel and the olds don’t go there. Wrong message for the medium. But I suppose some big time PR advisers will tell him he’s a hep cat fo getting gangsta with the kids……..while they add up the billable hours of course.
Is this Howard’s final declaration of war against the states that we are going to have to witness right up to the election? You betcha.
He’s my local member and I am so pissed off.
I’d love to see a mash-up job on this. As the camera slowly zooms in, I had the distinct impression it wouldn’t stop, that soon all that would be visible would be the stygian darkness of his all-consuming maw, as ominous music rose higher and higher into a terrified screaming howl.
Yes, it would be a good one for Red Symonds to get his teeth into. If you haven’t seen Red’s work on Youtube, check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/user/rocsims
Oh yeah, this stuff is ripe for mashups.
Introducing the new, groovy, hip-to-the-square Howard. Next he’ll be sporting dreadlocks and forgetting to switch off his mobile at phunctions.
I notice that the Young Liberals colonising comments at Rupert dot com have taken to calling him John.
I think John is doing a really good job.
John is the best PM we’ve ever had.
John is just the dreamiest. Even more dreamier than Donovan.
Surely any youngster worth their salt would understand that if he’s so forking dreamy he’d be The John by now? And that, by extension, we’d all be In The John? Or On The John? Or, heaven forbid, Moistening The John?
“Exactly how long is Ratty’s list of pork barrel projects?
Can the taxpayers get a peak at this list cross-indexed against the size of the swing required in each electorate?”
Katz, that list would make for dynamite counter publicity if it were compiled from now till the election and updated regularly, on line, and through ads.
Hope someone takes the time and money to do something like that rather than produce crap like this…
http://www.greenswatch.com/
… that Mr Lefty has posted on.
The rabbit in the tube no less
Be careful all you Howard-haters in case the wind changes and your face looks like his.And be careful all you Howard-haters that the benevolent man doesnt lecture you personally to the effect his personality is having on you.For no doubt,he thinks you go around on skateboards and push those wearing strange collars into saying things that meet the standards of Whilst being in Rome do as the Romans do. I am moving to my destiny we are stuck with the object that makes Howard -haters hate.
The lousy Liberals will be all over youtube, just wait and see. An advertising medium that doesn’t require them to reach into their long pockets.
You’re wrong Phillip. By making the announcement on youtube he does two amazing things:
1. he makes the MSM spin on the announcement about the fact he’s gone back to youtube after last times grilling, rather than about piecemeal funding for health, porkbarrelling and the erosion of federalism.
2. By doing this he owns the message more. People are a lot more likely to say “I’ll go to youtube and watch the whole announcement” than to goto pm.gov.au and read the whole announcement.
3. He was able to redefine what the critique of the message will be about. In his first line he defines that the objection to his proposal will be federalism, rather than pork barrelling or piecemealism*. And think about it, no one gives a sh-t about federalism anymore.
He was using the forum to do something quite different, and in the next few days we’ll see if he pulled it off.
*I’ll make up words if I want :-p
Well, I agree, Kieran, insofar as I think he’s using YouTube to make a media play to shift the MSM agenda rather than for its own sake.
And YouTube is now being censored.