I'm enjoying the book immensely. My wife has commented that I've been thumping the table at breakfast. Actually it is good to feel that that anger over the damage that's been done to our democracy can be purposefully directed. And shared. I'm looking forward to hearing you speak about the 'State of the Nation' at the Melbourne writers festival.

We are learning about Fact and Opinion, and Denotation and Connotation in my Year 9 English class. Many in the class have rated a Shampoo commercial over a war report as containing more reliable facts! These are kids from the Western suburbs who are deeply suspicious of our Pollies as well as our news coverage.

Just today, a couple had the rest amazed and raving about the duplicity of George W depicted in Fahrenheit 9/11. (They led the conversation, I just chaired). I hope and pray the sentiment is coming from their voting parents.

I'm Very Happy to be aboard the Bandwagon,

I read your book to and from work for about a week, and several people on the tram asked me about it, seeing the front cover. I ended up having some interesting discussions with my fellow passengers, and surprisingly found a lot of common ground and, even from committed liberal voters, a sense that all is not well. My optimism is restored!

I've just returned from the US and was delighted to see how many advertisements there are on TV, not from the Democrat party, but advocating against Bush's re-election. Would anybody here be able to raise the money to do that?

Margo: Perhaps local groups could raise the money for ads on local TV or in local papers? Another reader, Ian Grant, also suggests that people could print off fliers for letter box drops where you live.

Mango, we sadly, have a problem.

Valda will never have our support!

He cannot be trusted.

We reckon that Wilkie is the way to go, there.

Go Greens!
Dailys.

I bought the book while having a lunch time browse and I'm up to page 9 and feeling better already. I was feeling particularly cheesed off with John and his mates this week.

Last week my daughter brought home the papers for a school council meeting. I'm on the council of her value free zone (sorry I should say her public school). Included with the papers was a note from the principal saying that our local member (Trish Worth) had been on the phone to him and wanted to know if Brendan Nelson could visit the school during the election campaign.

My blood boiled. They use every opportunity to bag public education and now they want photo opportunities. They are pouring public money into private schools. Just a coincidence that the school (Unley Primary School) is at the liberal voting end of one of the most marginal electorates in Australia (Adelaide).

So I went to the school council meeting and tried to sink the visit. No luck - the principal said the state educa

Words, to describe matters, can sometimes fail people yet there is no doubt in my mind. Margo confirms for me that Australia is in crisis if we continue to tolerate Howard and his oligarchy any more. Enough of the lies, the outrageous disregard of social contract, and the insipid toadies who give legitamacy to this disastrous hegemony. The time has come for each and every one of us to reclaim our past heritage and rid ourselves of such fascists.

Very long post - please forgive.

If you care about where this country is headed then you should take the time to read all of Thursday's Hansard speeches from the laughably-truncated Marriage Bill 2004 'debate', but you should in particular read Senator Brian Greig's and Senator Andrew Bartlett's. First, though, you should read the PM's speech to the National Marriage Forum in Parliament's Great Hall the previous week, to see where his standard 'dog-whistling/wedging' stump tactics have now led both the Liberal Party and the country: to the hitherto unthinkable juncture whereby religious fundamentalism is explicitly driving secular legislative change. Browse the pale, grim, joyless, loveless faces in those podium photos; skim their grim, strident, humorless, loveless speeches; sense the aggressively populist, simplistic, barren, lovel

I wish I could say I'm enjoying your book Margo but in a way it is depressing.

Like you I didn't think it a bad thing when Howard first won government, I thought it good for democracy that governments change regularly. I admired his stance on gun control and Australia's intervention in East Timor. There is not much more good I can say about John Howard.

I also lobbied the independent senators to defeat the cross media legislation and feel I at least played a very small part in its defeat. The detailed expose on the political and moral corruption during the Bush vist in 2003 appalled me. As I said to my local (Liberal) member, I can live with a coalition government, I just want the barren Howard years to end and for the Liberal party to become liberal once again.

Thanks for the opportunity to comment.

Margo, thank you.

As just a twenty year old I am yet to participate in my first federal election and consequently the past year I have increasingly become interested in the running of our country and the politicians who are meant to represent us on our behalf. The book has given me great motivation as a citizen, enabling myself to write to local political representatives voicing my opinion, worries as well as asking questions about the current free trade agreement with the United States.

Secondly, the book has spurred on my inquisitive side into politics and I have now undertaken an 'Australian Politics' subject at university as an elective. Allowing me to further understand the system meant to represent us as well as further contemplate becoming directly involved in the political system itself.

Hi all.

'Scuse us if we're taking a while to get back to you on your latest emails. We've been a bit swamped by requests for stickers. MK's in Adelaide just now, but she'll get back to you asap. Also, be watching Nine's Sunday this weekend for a feature on John Valder's 'NHJ' campaign in Bennelong.

I bought my copy of NHJ from A&R in Melbourne, for what that's worth.

NHJ! (HA): For what it's worth, I'm pretty certain there is no conspiracy at a book-distributor level to not stock Margo's book. Instead, what people are finding is the result of sales far outstripping expectations very quickly. As a rule, booksellers sell books because of the profit margin, and not many would bother cutting profits for the sake of some political point in full knowledge that other shops will just say, 'Thankyou very much'. If individual booksellers here and there choose not to stock the book for their own quixotic political reasons that is another thing, but not of much concern to our democracy. There might be a fine line between a healthy nose for problems in our democracy and paranoia. I might be wrong.

Still, Angus and Robinson's reply to Cheryl Weisenberg might be worth noting, but I suspect it wi

The Murdoch press have virtually ignored NHJ. Rather unsurprising really, considering the book takes aim at the Murdoch philosophy and concludes his vision for media consolidation is an anathema to a healthy democracy.

So it is with some surprise that the Daily Telegraph's Malcolm Farr mentioned the book at all, albeit in passing, on August 2.

Writing about the alleged rush of political books in an election year, Farr couldn

I heard of your book via Steve Austins programme in Brisbane and requested and received it as a recent birthday gift. It is a truly disturbing book for anyone who cares about our country.

If economic management was the only basis upon which people could vote, then the Howard Government would quite rightly deserve to be reelected. It isn't and the Government's actions regarding Iraq, children overboard and refugees have illustrated they hold the people in utter contempt and believe they can get away with it. They are a government that has abused the ultimate trust and as a result are no longer fit to hold office.

What has troubled me for a long time is that both of the major parties do everything they can to distort and hedge on issues. It is little wonder why people generally think little and expect the same from our politicians. At the crux of it in my view is career politicans who are so desperate to stay in parliament they will say and do anything to get reele

Angus & Robertson here in Toowoomba don't have Not Happy John, even though they've got most of the other current political books. I asked about it and was told they could get it in for me within two weeks. I just bought it elsewhere instead (Mack Campbell's). I've emailed head office for an explanation and will let you know if I get a reply.

Shirley wants to know what other countries in the world have compulsory voting. Don't know the answer to that, but I do think that having it improves our democracy. How many other democracies in the world actually work as well as ours (as badly as it does sometimes work...)? She would like to ensure that only committed people vote. I sometimes think that being committed is just what the people who voted for our current government need to be. Most people faced with a compulsory vote actually do think seriously about the choice. The main problem is that they are not provided with the information required to make an informed choice because both politicians and media organisations lie to them. You only need to look at the United States to see what happens to a democracy where not only voting but registration to vote is voluntary.

NHJ! (HA): See also the comments of