After reading NHJ and seething, I was moved to quickly throw together this animation to possibly help others recognise issues Margo covers in her excellent tome and some which Michael Moore raised as well. It's a reply, in effect, to MM about our own stupid white men.

clare's animation

I hope you like it and it's naive style. Please spread it around if you do.

Thanks,
Clare

Calling all Liberals, calling all Liberals! Our democracy and our phisposophy are under armed hold-up!

Let's face it, I am the weirdo on this site. The unrepentant Liberal. It is important though that 'freaks' like me are allowed a voice in the chorus of dissent. In reality, I am not a freak at all, I am a conventional and committed liberal. Half the population votes Liberal. Don't we know that well enough by now? My colleagues on this site would not agree with me on many things but we agree on the most important things.

We agree on the value of our democracy. We agree on the value of truth. We still think there is worth in the institutions of our constitution and our democracy. We care about how our country is seen in the world. We believe in the Australian egalitarian spirit in its best sense. In essence, we are Australian and proud of it. People like me are part of this movement because we believe in larger issues. We don't see political affiliation as a relig

Dear Margo, I bought your profoundly disturbing 'Not Happy, John' yesterday and have not slept well since - a combination of outrage and desire to do something!

Your book has reawakened in me a need to make our community a better place. I've just joined The Greens over the internet and will spread the word!

I am a teacher in Port Macquarie and last year was accompanying a school group to Canberra during the Bush visit. Before we left on the trip I received a phone call from a parent of my school who had received a call from the American Embassy as the parent's son (who was at my school) had written to George Bush to tell him that he came across 'as a good bloke' and that he (the boy) would be in Canberra when he was and could they meet.

The embassy wanted my mobile phone number in case Mr Bush could squeeze in a visit with his student fan. We spent the day waiting for the magic call but after reading your account of the stage-managed events I realise now I had more chance

G'day.Like the new site design? Thank Harry Heidelberg, who's worked hard for ages to get it done. Like the new activism? Thank my brother Hamish Alcorn for staying up late lots of nights to make it happen. We've got two new teammates, Polly Bush and Mike Handley, to keep the momentum going. I tell ya, if Howard wins - and even if he doesn't - we've got to transform this site into an Australian moveon to protect what's left of our democracy.
Two weeks to go, and it's looking good for Howard and co. But please, don't give up. Have a read of Mike Moore's missive to depressed Democrats at webdiary.

If you live in Sydney, John Valder's NHJ campaign will host a free concert in Bennelong at midday today. See you there! Next Saturday, a group of Melbourne musos will hold a 'Not Happy John' concert at the

Sat Oct 2 'Not Happy, John' (a festival of dissent) at Brunswick Town Hall, 6pm to late, $15, $10, $5 under 16. Margo Kingston (author of 'Not Happy, John!') will join David Bridie, Lou Bennett, Guy Rundle, Eddie Perfect, Sunga, Asiko, Morph, San Lazaro (hot new cuban band) and Anne Phelan (Actors for Refugees), the low budget Millenium choir and many other performers in a one night celebration of discontent with many important aspects of our current government's performance. There will be choirs, drummers, roving musicians, performance poets,a rap kareoke competition, a recording of john when he was 15, games, stalls, think tanks, food and drinks, and extra surprises on the night.

What a humble, yet profound contribution, the ilks of Cloud et al are making to the upsurge of genuine concern for the future of this nation! Let the party continue to go wild and let's continue to spell out some of Johnnies policies; 1.It's okay to tell lies because they're only invented, 2. Where there's a problem, apportion blame elsewhere, thereby creating a solution, and 3 It's okay for rodents to apply for the position of Prime Minister - small, contemptible and destructive are some of the required attributes . STILL NOT HAPPY JOHN

Just as Harry writes about Election 2004 seeming trivial, Finals Footy has descended on Melbourne, along with the political circus. Suddenly we have an abundance of cheesy photo opportunities for party leaders to rip out their hearts, sell their souls and don rival football team attire. It

...not a pre-emptive push into Tehran.

MICHAEL WARE: Well, there's a 'takeback light' version, under way right now. They're [Coalition of the Willing] actually attempting to take small cities back from the insurgents. We saw it begin in Najaf where they ousted the Shia militants and then immediately supplanted an Iraqi administration.

Well that was a Shia area. Their first foray into the Sunni, the hardline heartland, came with the town of Sumarra which the Americans surrounded, the insurgents left, and an Iraqi administration was put in. It's with mixed results. We've just seen a missile strike in Sumarra in the early hours of this morning. We saw a US convoy or patrol ambushed in Sumarra, this retaken city, yesterday afternoon. It's a very difficult strategy, and listen, there is much talk about a massive offensive that is about to begin.

What we're seeing in these cities is now j

Hi All,

My sister lives in the US of A - currently in the midst of its own election fever. The Democratic camp is suffering from depression, with Kerry trailing desperately in the polls and the inconceivable idea of another four years of the corrupt and inept Bush administration leading the Empire fast becoming reality.

With two weeks left to go in the campaign over here, I can't help feeling the same kind of downheartedness the Democrats are going through. Having been in government for so long, the Howard government is so blatently rotting from the inside it is inconceivable that the country would voluntarily elect to put the rodent back on the throne... it should be an absolute cake walk, the ALP should be running amok here, and yet the polls have been tied for weeks and remain tied. What is going on??

I received this today from my sis - OK, its Michael Moore, and its all about America, but still, the sentiments stand...and are easily applied to our own situation over h

See http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/24/1095961855006.html for the latest dangerous thinking from the Howard camp:

Downer backs foreign pre-emptive strikes September 24, 2004 - 7:24PM

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said it would be acceptable for another country to launch a pre-emptive strike on terrorist networks in Australia if Australia did not take action itself.

The Opposition immediately labelled Mr Downer's comments as lunacy.

But Mr Downer said countries were entitled to defend themselves.

Asked on Darwin radio if he would expect another country to take pre-emptive action on Australian soil, Mr Downer said: 'Absolutely, by the way, absolutely.' ...[continues]

What planet do these guys live on?

Talk to people, write your emails, call your friends, help those who need rides to vote ... everything and anything to get this mob of nutters out of government. They are REALLY dangerous!

Before going out on the hustings, I gather the Howard government announced a review of the Privacy Act. This followed the Australian Bankers Association

Throughout NHJ, we learn of how Australia's democracy is being trashed. It's five to midnight and it's time to get busy.

I remember during the 2001 election feeling cheated because it seemed that as a nation we never got to discuss the vast majority of very important issues. There was never that intelligent debate and analysis we longed for because the discussion was shut down by Tampa. Nothing else mattered.

This time around, there's no Tampa equivalent and to me it seems like a big void. I'm finding the lack of substance in the campaign really disturbing. It seems more trivial and trite than ever. We can't blame Tampa. What's the problem then?

It's everything that's in the book. Both large parties don't want to discuss the real issues. The media would meanwhile prefer to score the game than dig deep into the big opportunities and threats ahead of us.

The only way we are going to get the issues that really matter to us as citizens is by activism and non-tradi

Thanks Margo for a totally compelling book - now being read by family members in the seats of Ryan, Brisbane, Ballarat and Mayo. It was the catalyst for my reading True Believer - Robert Garran (not as passionate as your book - but it fits so well with what I have seen on my Bush-era American travels); Dark Victory - David Marr & Marian Wilkinson; Axis of Deceit - Andrew Wilke; and A Certain Maritime Incident - Tony Kevin. All the best - from a previous member of the Silent Majority!!! - Maz

If there was any doubt about the level of bribery in this election (which is the worst I've seen in 33 years in Australia) consider today's amazing announcement at http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10854269%255E36596,00.html which begins:

'PM commits $10m to Bulldogs September 23, 2004

THE Federal Government would contribute up to $10 million towards the upgrade of the home of Australian Football League team the Western Bulldogs in Melbourne's west, Prime Minister John Howard said today.

Mr Howard said the redevelopment of the Whitten Oval, in Footscray, would benefit the club and the local community.

The Victorian government will contribute $3 million and the AFL $3.5 million to the $20 million redevelopment, according to the Melbourne Age.

Councils in the area will chip in $2 million, while the football club will also contribute to the project.

'We're going to announce some funding of up to $10 million for the oval, for the refurbishment,' Mr How

I have been thinking about what would have to change to make Australia a more democratic place.

I have come up with three ideas, which I think we should all urge as many pollies as possible to adopt, with the goal of embarassing the Libs and ALP into adopting them as election issues.

They are ...1) Citizen initiated referenda...2) A bill of rights...and since JH seems to like the idea of weakening the senate, let's propose an alternative 3) Replace double-dissolution elections with a plebiscite on the issue acting as a double-dissolution trigger. Give direct control of contentious legislation to the people, instead of the pollies.

Hopefully if we can get these ideas into the mouths of people like Bob Brown, Andrew Bartlett and the like, JH and ML will be unable to ignore them and democracy, rather than just interest rates, will become an election issue. So start writing letters, everyone!