no, really, irony is fucking dead.

[anthonybaxter]

In an article on the latest "bash the reffos" Liberal policy:
While Mr Howard said Australian values would be debated, he nominated several "on which most of us can agree". These are: a belief in a free media, the equality of men and women, the concept of mateship, the concept of having a fair go and "the concept of looking after the very vulnerable in our community".

Really. Irony is dead. And the corpse is starting to smell.

Comments

[dr-nic.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, the smell is sweet for many Australians.

[blithespirit.livejournal.com]

Gah...

I...

no words...

[aeduna.livejournal.com]

yah, me too. "Flames, red, flames, at the side of my... burning"

[cheshire-bitten.livejournal.com]

So very dead.

The test has an english test, wonder if I would pass, also do we have to say that Australia was peacefully settled to get in?

[lirion.livejournal.com]

And the corpse is starting to smell

Someone vomited on said corpse...

I, just, yeah, no words. Head explodey from the sheer conceit of it really.

[strangehours.livejournal.com]

What exactly are 'mateship' and having a 'fair go'? I think I'm dangerously close to failing.

I actually begin to suspect that this isn't irony, it's clever weaseling. Free media, not freedom of speech. Of the isms, sexism gets a look in, but racism doesn't - which plays nicely to his voters. Mateship and a fair go are meaningless - you might as well say 'be excellent to each other'. And 'the very vulnerable' is just a semantic device. You can set *that* bar pretty much anywhere.

So it would have been irony if he'd said 'Freedom of speech, freedom from persecution on the basis of gender, race or religion, respect for our peers and care for those less fortunate than ourselves.', but I suspect that he'd swallow his own tongue before being able to choke those words out.

[carlowe.livejournal.com]

Nicely put. Its another load of nothing from a nothing...like the "interest rates will rise under labour" statement, it can't be proven wrong...or right.

I was thinking mateship was the "who you know, not what you know" idea, commonly called corruption in *other* countries. Where all those nasty people come from, you know.

[damien-wise.livejournal.com]

Really. Irony is dead. And the corpse is starting to smell.

Everyone's got their kinks but I think you go to far, Mister Howard, with this necrophilia thing.

[benji-w.livejournal.com]

Is this being referred to as a "Loyalty Oath"...

*ooh*

Can we have loyalty officers, citizen?