Oh Senator Fielding ...
Sep. 8th, 2009 07:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blamebramptonSenator Stephen Fielding, the Family First Senator in the Australian Federal Senate (Upper House) (and, you'll note, not my family, and not many other people's, either), is a man who -- due to an insanity of Australian voting politics that should be understandable to those familiar with the terms gerrymander and Electoral College -- is sometimes left holding the balance of power in the Senate, despite having been voted for by only 55,000-odd Australians*.
I think he's an idiot. Mostly because of his voting record, but also because he keeps opening his mouth and saying idiotic things. A little while ago he went to a conference on Global Warning in the US and came back convinced that Global Warming was all a hoax. When challenged on his position and the science behind it, he responded that he had heard very convincing arguments at the conference. The conference was run by the Heartland Institute, a radical fundamentalist anti-science group who have diversified from their pro-tobacco lobbying position ('it's perfectly safe!') to a stance on global warming that ranges from 'It doesn't exist' to 'Who wouldn't like things a bit warmer?' (Victorians, who are likely to be on fire again this summer, for a start.) I'm sure the handful of scientists who appeared at that conference did sound convincing, after all, they were paid handsomely for it.
Today he has been at it again. When doorstopped outside Parliament House, he complained about the government's level of spending.
'The physical and monetary policies need to be working in concert with one another!' he declared.
He later corrected himself. 'Fiscal. I'll make it quite clear: F-I-S-K-A-L.'
He's just declared that he has a severe learning disorder. Which apparently only extends to him spelling things differently to the rest of the world, not to him arguing bogus climate science against the entire CSIRO (Australia's premier science organisation), and all other major scientific bodies.
On the other hand, APPLAUSE for Senator Judith Troeth who crossed the floor in Parliament today to vote in favour of a bill that ends the policy of charging refugees held in refugee camps for their detention. Brave and humane, well done, madam!
In other exciting news of the day, Samoa switched from driving on the right to driving on the left today. One nation by one, the way of righteousness is spread ;-)
*There are over 20 million people here, 5 million in Victoria, the state he was voted in from, so that's 1.9% of the vote of 1/4 of the country. With enough warning to campaign, I think even I could do better.
I think he's an idiot. Mostly because of his voting record, but also because he keeps opening his mouth and saying idiotic things. A little while ago he went to a conference on Global Warning in the US and came back convinced that Global Warming was all a hoax. When challenged on his position and the science behind it, he responded that he had heard very convincing arguments at the conference. The conference was run by the Heartland Institute, a radical fundamentalist anti-science group who have diversified from their pro-tobacco lobbying position ('it's perfectly safe!') to a stance on global warming that ranges from 'It doesn't exist' to 'Who wouldn't like things a bit warmer?' (Victorians, who are likely to be on fire again this summer, for a start.) I'm sure the handful of scientists who appeared at that conference did sound convincing, after all, they were paid handsomely for it.
Today he has been at it again. When doorstopped outside Parliament House, he complained about the government's level of spending.
'The physical and monetary policies need to be working in concert with one another!' he declared.
He later corrected himself. 'Fiscal. I'll make it quite clear: F-I-S-K-A-L.'
He's just declared that he has a severe learning disorder. Which apparently only extends to him spelling things differently to the rest of the world, not to him arguing bogus climate science against the entire CSIRO (Australia's premier science organisation), and all other major scientific bodies.
On the other hand, APPLAUSE for Senator Judith Troeth who crossed the floor in Parliament today to vote in favour of a bill that ends the policy of charging refugees held in refugee camps for their detention. Brave and humane, well done, madam!
In other exciting news of the day, Samoa switched from driving on the right to driving on the left today. One nation by one, the way of righteousness is spread ;-)
*There are over 20 million people here, 5 million in Victoria, the state he was voted in from, so that's 1.9% of the vote of 1/4 of the country. With enough warning to campaign, I think even I could do better.
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no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 10:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 02:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-10 12:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 10:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 02:41 pm (UTC)Learning Disorder
Date: 2009-09-08 10:51 am (UTC)Re: Learning Disorder
Date: 2009-09-09 02:42 pm (UTC)YES! That sums him up perfectly.
And you're quite right, his constant whining without any usefulness is simply ridiculous.
On a happier note, you free for tea and cake anytime soonish? Do you ever get to Rhodes?
Re: Learning Disorder
Date: 2009-09-09 10:01 pm (UTC)Re: Learning Disorder
Date: 2009-09-11 02:48 pm (UTC)Trying to wrangle J is a level of difficulty I won't plan for, he can come if he can come!
Re: Learning Disorder
Date: 2009-09-13 10:16 pm (UTC)Wednesdays any one I don't have to worry about when, weekends mid October is pretty much the best time, depends on the day.:) That summer rush of events is already starting.
I have ltos to tell you abut that I am pretty sure you will want to hear, but here is not the best place.
Let me know when is good for you.
Re: Learning Disorder
Date: 2009-09-13 10:30 pm (UTC)Re: Learning Disorder
Date: 2009-09-13 11:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 11:04 am (UTC)The federal election is next year you've got plenty of time to campaign Brammers. I double triple dare you to run for Parliament. You'd have them all in hysterics everyday and we wouldn't have to listen to them spout bullshit all the time.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 02:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 11:13 am (UTC)And I would totally vote for you, just so you know.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 02:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 12:01 pm (UTC)And it is his limited intellect that leads him to belief a handful of scientists with questionable motives and to fundamentally fail to grasp the wise words of good scientists. Fielding actually purports to belief that climate change is real, just not that it has anything to do with the actions of human beings. Apparently because scientists have indicated that there are in fact a range of variables in the climate chagne equation then clearly carbon emissions aren't the only cause, so it could be lots of other things and on that basis we shouldn't do anything about carbon emissions.
It's a bit like a smoker saying "well some smokers never get cancer and some people who don't smoke get cancer, so I'll keep smoking because I could get cancer anyway". It ignores the whole issue that where there are multiple variables and some of them you can do something about, doing something about them seriously lowers your risk.
In fact, I would be willing to lay good money on there being a distinct correlation between climate change sceptics and smokers nad/or people who can't do basic mathematics.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 02:57 pm (UTC)And yes, your smoking analogy is an excellent one. I think I would not bet against you!
no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 07:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 03:29 pm (UTC)My friend edits a slightly kookier one: http://www.scitechdaily.com/ which does good short magazine coverage of stories from a lot of journals and other publications. Most of the stories link to the original stories off site, and the nagivation is not as easy, but there are some good and interesting things covered there, often ones you won't find talked about much elsewhere (in the sense of obscure science, not crazy science).
For science and tech research, it's worth checking out MIT News occasionally: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/ The stories are written on campus, but for a general audience, though still containing details and contacts for specialised readers. There is also a Twitter feed for the page's updates.
The venerable Nature also has a very good news site: http://www.nature.com/news/index.html Its stories are often a bit longer and more complex than those on the New Scientist site, but certainly understandable by the lay reader, though its interface is not as easy to navigate as the NS one. It also has a Twitter feed.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 08:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 03:30 pm (UTC)You are very welcome.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 03:45 pm (UTC)Peace,
Bubba
re Samoa
Date: 2009-09-08 11:37 pm (UTC)Hurray for Samoa for joining the correct thinking nations who know that left is right and right is wrong!
Re: re Samoa
Date: 2009-09-09 03:34 pm (UTC)I loved the politician who declared it was all done without stress because Samoans have superior intelligence. The very few cars was obviously not a factor ;-) But they did manage the whole thing very well.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 12:42 am (UTC)There should probably be another version for politicians.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 03:35 pm (UTC)But yes, there should definitely be a test for pollies on their ability to think past their own prejudices. The evil that failing to do that brings is half what's wrong with the world.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 09:02 am (UTC)Thank you for my present! It was waiting for me when I returned home from my trip to Hobart. Yay! I thought you just meant sample sachets, not the real deal *squees in undignified manner*, and thank you for the eyeshadow (the coppery one will probably end up adorning the small girl, but I love the other shades).
XXX
no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 02:40 pm (UTC)We have beauty sales at work, where things cost just a couple of dollars, and I grabbed them because I had a vague memory you liked them. Hurrah for vague memories!
no subject
Date: 2009-09-10 09:21 am (UTC)I smell like apples, btw :)
no subject
Date: 2009-09-10 09:22 am (UTC)Hurrah for apples, too!
no subject
Date: 2009-09-10 09:47 am (UTC)I will put your package in the post on Monday :)
no subject
Date: 2009-09-10 09:48 am (UTC)