Not quite the fairytale for poor Gingerella. The handsome prince has turned into a glass Slipper, and the ugly sisters are dancing a jig in their budgie smugglers.
No fairytale
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Category Archives: The Age
Economic myopia
In challenging Archbishop Freier’s grasp of economics, Colin McLean (Letters, 10/4) evidences his own brand of fiscal myopia. Dr Freier is not the only one who needs to be thankful, as he undoubtedly is, for the tax exemptions the Church receives. Millions of the nation’s poor and marginalised, if they had the luxury of time to study economics, would have even more cause to rejoice. Many of them are alive, clothed and fed because the Church cares in the name of Christ, and budgets accordingly. Mr McLean might even join in the thanksgiving chorus, recognising how little of his own taxes are spent on state welfare.
Let’s get lexical
The lexical proficiencies of consultants Mercer are grossly under-utilised in merely serving the behavioural capabilities of educators at a single tertiary institution. National politics and news program ratings would lift immeasurably if such skills were harnessed by our Federal pollies now! “Working families” is becoming decidedly tired. How about “vocationally productive nuclei” (VPNs)? We voters would be on the edge of our seats.
But the greatest need just now is surely in economic discourse. Mr Abbott and his loyal cadre would pay handsomely for a highly nuanced phrase to replace “great big new tax”. Something like “over-proportioned fiscal exaction” (OFE) would keep us all going for two electoral cycles at least. Both leaders are positively desperate for a cache of “electorally emollient synonyms” (EESs) for the toxic ’t’ word. It can only be a matter of time before “levy” exhausts it’s soothing capacities. “Tariff”, “duty” and maybe even “excise” could last a few press conferences each, at a pinch. Voter appeasement will then require a lexical skill only professionals can provide. My best attempt is “specific life-product utilisation grab” (SLUG). But what would I know?
Mercer, your country needs you!
Manners, please
After a week in which public political discourse has reached a new low on the common decency index, the community deserves better than major organs of media dancing to the new discordant tune of Labor’s frontbench. To the end of a speedy return to civility, The Age could do far better than publish a column such as Michael Duffy’s puerile character attack on Kevin Rudd (Opinion, 27/2).
Peppered with lines like “Rudd, whose ghastly smile can look so false it seems to come from another face … something constructed using an old police identikit” and “his sentences sound like they were constructed in some other language and turned into English by a cheap translation app”, and phrases like “extreme narcissism” and “this malevolent Tintin”, it is very much to be hoped that Duffy’s piece is not an earnest of the new political “analysis”. Poking fun at someone’s facial features and speaking style is grating though normal in a 10 year old at recess, but entirely out of place in responsible dialogue.
Duffy should apologise and the editorial team should think harder – especially this of all weeks. Oh and Michael, back to school to learn some manners.
Ticket to ride, and ride, and ride, and ….
Those folks who say Melbourne’s Skybus isn’t good value just haven’t considered the technology. Granted the tickets have barcodes. But from my experience yesterday, the limited barcode scanning capacities of the nineteenth century holepunch used on my ticket offer excellent value for minimum enterprise.
Runs and rupees
“Should Australia continue to increase its economic ties with India?” (The Age, Reader poll, 5/1) Well absolutely, if Clarke keeps batting like this.
A bigger vision
Australian Marriage Equality convener, Alex Greenwich (The Age, 5/1), needs to listen a little more to religious community concerns on gay marriage. Proposed legislation “assur(ing) churches they would not be forced to marry gay couples” may offer some consolation. (Although overseas experience suggests such protection may be temporary anyway.) However for those people of faith who oppose the redefinition of marriage, the central concerns are broader and deeper than the impact of gay marriage on the church itself or it’s ministers. We believe such a change would be to the profound detriment of future generations and of our whole society, not just ourselves. Others are fully entitled to disagree with our worldview. But any serious discussion of this vexed subject must reckon with the scope of our unease, which will not be assuaged by some self-directed political deal.
Generally speaking, the more profound the proposed cultural change the longer and more patient the debate required, if trust is not to be a casualty. This national conversation has barely begun. Now is not the time for legislative haste.
The voice of experience
Two PMs? We know all about it. But how many independents?
Don’t thank us
If you’re one of our customers directly affected by the grounding, you can look forward to a special thank-you … (Fullpage Qantas ad, The Age, 4/11)
Don’t tell me; let me guess. “Thank you for not flying Qantas”?
An uglier game
The race to the moral bottom has gone viral, it seems. No longer confined to our major politics, it now infects our major religions too. The next time you put on your football scarf, there’s more to worry about than who’s out injured. Now you can ponder what proportion of your membership dues or gate takings is being invested off the field, in protecting your club’s pecuniary interest in the shattered lives of problem gamblers and their loved ones, whose finals will be anything but grand.