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Worried about no one running the country while the Government squabbles over the leadership?

Worry no more.

Scott Morrison has been appointed to replace Peter Dutton’s as the minister in charge of Border Force, so the country of Nauru will continue running as normal.

With Dutton heading off to the backbench to pad out his CV and assist Tony Abbott with the sniping duties, Morrison has been given the opportunity to return to his favourite pastime of abusing children in Immigration detention.

This week in Canberra politicians on both sides of parliament made speeches condemning racism and congratulating each other for them.

This week on Nauru Medical staff reported a 12-year-old refugee boy on a hunger strike for more than a fortnight is close to death.

The boy has been held with his family on Nauru for five years since fleeing Iran. They have been assessed as refugees but refused resettlement in the USA, as are all refugees from Iran.

Lovely to hear both sides of Parliament condemn Fraser Anning’s repugnant speech today. It’s been a change from the rhetoric we’re use to hearing from Parliament in recent times.

We’ve heard George Christensen constantly attack Muslim immigrants calling for them to be banned. He’s also spoken to the far right-wing Q Society and appeared on a Neo-Nazi podcast.

Democrats got more votes than Republicans in the Senate. However, the American system is rigged to favor white conservatives. The majority of the population doesn't want these fascist shit-bags in power, but the system is rigged in their favor. Democrats actually won the majority of the votes in the Senate race, but they ended up losing seats. This is how rigged the system is in favor of the rightwing. Repeatedly, Republicans can't win the popular vote but still remain in power. As you'll recall, Trump didn't win the popular vote either. Why was our system rigged this way?

Neo-republicanism, which tends towards social democracy, departs from classical republicanism in one important sense. Whereas traditional republicans wanted liberty for propertied white men, neo-republicans want liberty for all, which means universal healthcare, abolition of wage-slavery, etc.

I once knew a person on Facebook who was reasonably intelligent, a network engineer by profession, but alas has been infected by that strange political expression of methodological individualism. In other words, they were a Libertarian, of the capital 'L', good ol' U.S.A variety. Now I have some sympathy for such people, especially when what they are talking about in terms of civil rights and liberties, self-governance, and so forth.

I’ve posted all this before, but New Corp have posted this headline before too. So once again, here is a reminder of why the true bludgers have nothing to beware of:

The Newstart allowance is nearly $200 per week below the poverty line.

Over 730,000 children are dependent on welfare payments to their parents/careers.

32% of people receiving Newstart allowance are over 50.

50% of Australians and 70% of households have accessed welfare at some time in the last 15 years.

The Republican Party is not republican. They are conservative with propertarian leanings. Modern conservatism is the bastard child of traditional conservatism and classical liberalism/individualist libertarianism.

About this pamphlet Matthew Guy.

I know you’re saying it isn’t specifically targeting “African gangs”, in fact it isn’t even a photo of Melbourne. It’s from a story published in 2012 about gangs in London. The problem with your pamphlet isn’t just that it contradicts data from the state’s Crime Statistics Agency which show crime in Victoria has decreased by nearly 9% in the last year, it’s about context.

Language is a system of symbols used for communication. A flag is a symbol, a word; it represents an idea and sends a message. This is why flying a Confederate flag is protected as freedom of speech. The Confederate flag is basically the n-word. It is a racist symbol. That flag represents the Confederate States. The Confederate States declared their cause when they seceded from the United States. That cause was white supremacy. That's what the Confederate flag stands for.