Life continues to interfere with my posting as I struggle to cope with organizing a Regimental Reunion; the impending marriage of my baby (well, shes actually 31 but you Dads know what I mean. She is my fifth child by ten minutes – second born twin!); finish the electrics on a camper trailer I am building; get myself ready to go away with the Cattle Club from the local College this weekend and maintain a marriage. It was political for me on Sunday to help my wife garden instead of camper trailering – good move, but I need to push the trailer now. As my wife leaves for one of her mystery visits somewhere she drops the line ” shall we go to see Gran Torino today?” Yes, of course we should…..lunch….movie….coffee…chat…afternoon gone. Never mind. I look forward to seeing the movie and the camper trailer electrics are sufficiently developed so as to have lights – I can always work into the night. UPDATE: Just back from seeing Gran Torino. Do yourself a favour and see it. If you don’t laugh and cry you have no soul

First Tim Flannery now Mick Dodson – ah…life’s little disappointments. Another 12 months of guilt tripping. I don’t care that Mick is black but I do care that he puts the colour of his skin before his nationality. We’re all Australians mate, and the vast majority of us are very happy with the date of Australia Day. Amongst other things it marks the day your race started coming out of the stone age and if you don’t see that as a positive then go back to the Simpson Desert and revert to eating goannas – in another million years or so you might even invent the bow and arrow and become more proficient at hunting. If you blanche at that thought, then get back to the job at hand of lifting the quality of life of your people. It must include getting rid of the poor bugger me mentality and joining mainstream Australia. Agitate to get your people out of the outstations and into the towns and cities where the schools, medical centres and jobs can be found. Just stop whinging and join the rest of us Mick. You are Australian with all the benefits that entails. At Tim Blair’s blog readers are commenting on a post celebrating a great Australian. He never whinged, never asked for handouts, was an immigrant to Australia (from South Africa) and was recently killed in action in Afghanistan. Another digger, Trooper Donaldson, recently awarded the Victoria Cross is an Australian of the Year sans nomination of an Australian of the Year Committee that seems to me to be basing selections on ideological and political social engineering reasons. A lot of my heroes lie buried in War Cemeteries or have served or still serve their country in numerous theaters in horrific conditions and in constant mortal danger while arm-chair warriors denigrate their service and political hacks question their tactics. Being a Patriot (read scoundrel if your a Lefty) I am encouraged by the sheer energy of Australians celebrating this great day. Even though times are tough, millions of Australians are gathering today to celebrate our nationality and nation. It is as it should be. Enjoy the day whatever you do and wherever you are. To all the ADF personnel overseas, I thank you for the part you are playing in making this a great nation.

Forgive me Father Obama for I have sinned. I see problems where the media see hope and I beg your indulgence to listen to some antipodean thoughts. With the High Priest Al Gore back in a ringside seat I hope you don’t drop too many dollars in the collection plate at next Sunday’s service at the Church of the Latter Day Alarmists but I suspect you will. Spend money on R & D for a better future by all means, but any money given to Gore’s church will produce nothing but warm fuzzy feelings. With the Clinton ‘Two for One Team” lock up your interns and do try and convince Bill that giving housing loans to people who can’t service them is a formula for disaster. Refer to Wall Street for evidence – tell them to google ‘Sub-Prime’ + ‘Clinton’ if it’s not immediately clear. In the meantime keep blaming Bush – the media demand you do and the people are primed to lay blame for all wrongs at his feet – the tactic has worked so far. Otherwise good luck with this team and do have plenty of security for when Hilary is targeted by more snipers as she spreads your word. As she travels it might be prudent to suggest to her that she goes easy on ‘misspoken’ moments. The Arabs might misconstrue her words as fact Father Obama, you must exile Bill Ayers from your church. Although most of the people who voted for you either support him or have never heard of him, he is dangerous and a stain on your priesthood. I know you and he have a thing going, that he helped you start in politics and that you most probably believe in what he does but for the sake of your country and your term give him the flick. Keep on telling the people liars about your association with him..it has worked so far and anyway, whatever you do the media will put a gloss on it. They most probably have sympathy for him as well as I recall that he only tried to murder “system people’ (read: police) and conservatives. Good luck with Guantanamo Father. I figure by sometime next week you will come to the same realization that the Bush administration did and that is; it is filled in the main by Islamic zealots who want to destroy the US. They wanted to destroy the US when they were captured and when you release them, if you do, they will continue trying to destroy the US. No amount of Human Rights lawyers will change this fact but it will confirm it if you listen to the them and release the sub species currently incarcerated there. Careful Father. Enjoy your honeymoon but very soon, for the first time in your life, you will be obliged to make decisions and actually do something. I just hope you get good advice.

Wayne Swan on the economy “There’s no doubt that the slowing of the global economy, the impact on commodity prices certainly has very significant ramifications for growth here,” he said. “It will certainly impact upon the budget bottom line.” But he says the Government is ready to act when necessary to protect jobs and boost growth. Like giving the unions more power allowing workers to get more money for less jobs and thus hike up the unemployment figures and the Emissions Trading Scheme that will take billions out of the economy and recycled it through bureaucracies, weird Greenie ideas and the Tax Department. This will slow down development as companies have less money to invest. Yep, that should do it!