The difference between decent folk and complete idiots

34 comments on “The difference between decent folk and complete idiots ”

• Comments are now closed

1. greywarshark 1

   19 February 2016 at 10:59 am

   “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine…” (famous line from Casablanca, paraphrase that and the NZ public might say about their Parliament and politicians:
   ‘Of all the well-paid sinecures, in all our towns, in all of our country, the pollies have to walk into our Parliament and our government.’

   Surely we can find a way to get a better bunch of pollies who don’t want to take us back to the 19th century acting like USA carpetbaggers and Mississippi gamblers, (cheats who manipulated cards [NZ government and economy] to achieve their desired result)

   In the early 19th Century, the Mississippi river provided an efficient method for transporting goods from state to state and so became a major center for trade.
   Since trade centers attract people with money, the Mississippi also attracted
   professional gamblers. At the time, a professional gambler was very often a
   card sharp, a cheat who manipulated cards to achieve their desired result.
   https://ladyamcal.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/19th-century-riverboats-gambling-mississippi/
   • alwyn 1.1

     19 February 2016 at 12:28 pm

     “USA carpetbaggers”.
     What has Julie Anne Genter done to upset you?
     As far as I know she is the only one who fits your description.
     Don’t guarantee the uniqueness though.
     • Galeandra 1.1.1

       19 February 2016 at 9:18 pm

       “acting like USA carpetbaggers” evokes your flip slur that “the only one who fits your description” an intelligent, well-informed, very hardworking MP who just happens to be an American immigrant and is clearly not in politics for the gravy-train. What a reflexively rancid fellow you are.
     • Sans Cle 1.1.2

       20 February 2016 at 9:18 pm

       That is an appalling comment, regarding Julie Anne Genter. Totally off topic, and just sheer nasty.
2. cogito 2

   19 February 2016 at 11:04 am

   “Even our silliest camera hungry politician – John Key isn’t that bad.”

   I wouldn’t put anything past that creep.
   • aerobubble 2.1

     19 February 2016 at 11:32 am

     Take qt wed. Key declared that free education was cross subsidized by the poorest tax payers. In what world does he live in, clueless or evil world. Professionals got tax cuts, having recieved free education, and to balance the removal of the cost of paying for free education. So Key, and most MPs all got free education and the tax drop, whereas poorest tax payers who recieve back credits etc and efective are not paying tax are none the worse off.

     Now as loan debt sky rockets, it aint going to be lower taxpayers who pay unless Key cuts services like heating standards new builds, or mine inspectors, or some cut that cause billions of leaky homes or death of miners. Who actual pays wil be middle nz, as Key passed on the tax swap raised gst and lowered the top tax rates for him and MPs so shifting the burden onto middle classes.

     So when Joyce says the graduates will make enough to pay, he means it, they will pay for themselves and then for the real income earners who got tax cuts out of the system by being ten years older and having free education.

     Key should withdraw the lie aboy cross subsidize, it aint true unless you stack the tax system with a flat tax.
   • Andre 2.2

     19 February 2016 at 11:39 am

     Y’know, I can’t quite picture Cruz, Rubio, Bush the leastest, Kasich, Carson, Clinton or Sanders publicly discussing peeing in the shower, “feeding the chickens”, climbing into a cage to “pick up the soap”…

     On the other hand, Trump would apparently happily go there…

     http://www.salon.com/2016/02/17/watch_trump_discuss_anal_sex_his_wifes_lack_of_bowel_movements_and_how_sleeping_around_is_as_dangerous_as_vietnam/
3. Andre 3

   19 February 2016 at 11:14 am

   Love notes to Trump: here’s another goody.

   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-slansky-/trump-the-enemy-of-my-ene_b_9260758.html
4. pat 4

   19 February 2016 at 11:16 am

   hard to believe we managed to invent the wheel…….perhaps Darwin got it wrong.its not the survival of the fittest..its survival of the thickest.
   • weka 4.1

     19 February 2016 at 1:12 pm

     Darwin wasn’t talking about the fittest as such, he was talking about those individual who are the best fit for their situation (in terms of surviving and reproducing). Which is a problem now. Who are the people most fit in a neoliberal world? Are we there yet, in a neoliberal world, or are we still somehow a social democracy? This is why large scale manipulations of culture are so dangerous, because they eventually become self-reinforcing. On the other hand, they also go to extremes and then the collapse and/o rebound happens.

     /sidebar.
     • pat 4.1.1

       19 February 2016 at 8:31 pm

       think you may have accorded a little too much gravitas to my comment
       • weka 4.1.1.1

         19 February 2016 at 8:39 pm

         😀

         It does seem pertinent to the discussion (your comment and mine).
         • pat 4.1.1.1.1

           19 February 2016 at 9:09 pm

           “On the other hand, they also go to extremes and then the collapse and/o rebound happens.”

           sooner rather than later
5. Andre 5

   19 February 2016 at 11:29 am

   Not sure that we should feel superior about our voting behaviour compared to Americans;

   Gore beat Shrub by about half a million popular votes, and only lost because of the weirdness in how they elect the president and members of various judiciaries abandoning their objectivity obligations and acting in a partisan way.

   National + ACT + Maori Party + United Future + Conservatives = 53.24% in the 2014 election
   • pat 5.1

     19 February 2016 at 11:31 am

     it was often noted that NZ was 20 years behind the rest of the world…..are we only one generation away from electing a Trump?….the trend locally would indicate it’s a very real possibility
6. roy cartland 6

   19 February 2016 at 11:58 am

   Watching Obama speak: when did he turn into George W?

   Slouching at his lectern; throwing in “kinda y’know wanna gonna” – where is that fabled well-articulated oratory that got him elected?

   Obviously he’s less appalling than the stunningly vacuous Trump, but it’s a sad day when this slovenly, stumbling blather is the better example of rhetoric.
   • mac1 6.1

     19 February 2016 at 12:59 pm

     I actually liked what I heard from Obama. I don’t know what the context of that clip was, and that might give a clue to the down beat delivery. What I did notice was the lack of tie which would denote informality, and the topic was obviously one for which he had not prepared a speech. Therefore, I’d expect conversational pauses, linguistic holding devices etc. What you saw as slouching, I saw as informality, a style of chatting, off the cuff, and therefore real in terms of what he meant.

     He can still do the rhetoric, as he proved at the awards for the righteous among nations.

     https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/01/27/remarks-president-righteous-among-nations-award-ceremony.
     • AB 6.1.1

       19 February 2016 at 1:23 pm

       Yes – that’s how I took it too. Rhetorically, I thought the use of pauses (as if for thought ), and the vernacular ‘wanna’, gonna’, were excellent. The best part though was the slightly fatigued air – a very classy way of dissing the Republicans as a childish nuisance.
       There were no fumbles, non-sequiturs, and mispronunciations a la George W and FJK.
       He still has the linguistic skill – it’s innate/intuitive for him. Just a pity about the policies though – as CV notes.
       • mac1 6.1.1.1

         19 February 2016 at 1:30 pm

         ‘Just a pity about the policies though – as CV notes.’

         Politics is the art of the possible. And for those of us on the left of the policy articulation and actuality shown by Obama, his Senate and Congress and his Judiciary, there will always be stuff to say that he/they could have done better.

         History will judge. As will people here on The Standard. 😉
         • AB 6.1.1.1.1

           19 February 2016 at 4:12 pm

           “his Senate and Congress and his Judiciary”
           Point well-made. He has not had a free hand by any means.
           • hoom 6.1.1.1.1.1

             20 February 2016 at 3:27 pm

             His speaking has always been great.
             But his selection of officials shows how much bullshit comes out of his mouth.

             If he was just hamstrung by Senate/Congress he still could have selected people other than basically Bushes cronies which is what he did.

             And the result is that not only did he fail to stop the fucking up of the various countries Bush fucked up, not only are they worse now than under Bush, he has fucked up several others even more comprehensively than Bush managed, he has restarted the Cold War & the Doomsday Clock is back up to the 3mins it was at in the darkest days of the Cold War.

             That record is stark contrast to the Nobel Peace Prize his words won.
7. Colonial Viper 7

   19 February 2016 at 12:15 pm

   The one thing I will give Obama credit for is that he has held at bay the worst of the neo-con “bomb’m all to the stone age” influences around his White House and the Pentagon.

   Apart from that, it’s all been window dressing liberalism.

   Pro-TPPA even though it will fuck American workers more, but his corporate sponsors want it so he’ll sign it off no probs.
   • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 7.1

     19 February 2016 at 3:40 pm

     It says all one needs to know that you consider liberalism a bad thing.
8. John Shears 8

   19 February 2016 at 12:43 pm

   Iprent.
   Thanks for the final photo in your post of OUR flag.

   What stands out for me is the blue tone, a really dark blue,

   I seem to remember it being called ‘Ensign Blue’ in a print colour sample book.

   The proposed alternative has to use a much lighter blue so that there is some contrast with the black above it and although they have changed it on the Harbour Bridge version at least once it is still very insipid . and for me , why would you use black on a flag for a country in the midst of the Pacific Ocean. Forget the rugby team’s name, black flags are used by the Jehadist criminals ISIS.
   • Lanthanide 8.1

     19 February 2016 at 1:08 pm

     Yeah, I was on the fence with the blue/black Lockwood, mainly because the blue is much lighter colour. I also miss the oblique reference to the Union Jack with the red/white/blue of the red/blue Lockwood.

     Now I’m voting to keep the current flag, because of the above, and John Key wearing the blue/black pin of the Lockwood as if it is already our flag, and as if he were some sort of American politician.
   • One Anonymous Bloke 8.2

     19 February 2016 at 5:36 pm

     Um, black flags were for anarchists and pirates long before daesh appropriated them.
9. Steve Withers 9

   19 February 2016 at 12:50 pm

   I’m grateful we have MMP. National’s majority is wafer thin. If we had First Past the Post thru would have a big majority with 47% of the vote and would be able to govern alone….. And we would all be taking about electoral reform.

   But…. they 47%. When you talk to them you soon learn they know almost nothing accurate about any policy from pretty much any party. Definitely not Labor or the Greens who they rule out if the game without actually knowing much about either one.
   • Lanthanide 9.1

     19 February 2016 at 1:10 pm

     The bulk of the public are governed by fear and greed.

     Greed for themselves, and fear of change / the unknown.
10. Nelson Muntz 10

    19 February 2016 at 2:28 pm

    To be fair kiwis aren’t that much brighter as a group since we keep voting for Key and his cronies. Democracy is for the stupid.
    • happynz 10.1

      19 February 2016 at 5:03 pm

      To be fair kiwis aren’t that much brighter as a group since we keep voting for Key and his cronies.

      Ouch. As a dually Kiwi/Yank I gots a double dose of the stupid. 🙂 I don’t vote National or Republican though. In the States I’ll support Bernie and here in New Zealand Ill tick the box for anyone other than the current crop of grifters sitting on the government benches.
11. Steve Withers 11

    19 February 2016 at 3:39 pm

    Once I had owned horses for a while, I understood people much better. I’m not a fearful person….and had for a long time failed to understand that large numbers of people are ruled by their fears….usually of the unknown….and they are often unknowns because the people concerned are lazy and / or incurious or they simply lack the intellectual firepower to understand what’s going on around them. It’s a sobering moment……
12. greywarshark 12

    19 February 2016 at 3:39 pm

    Democracy as we know it encourages us to be stupid, and think about dildos, whether our PM should be talking about peeing in the shower while our precious and valued country and services are quietly siphoned away behind a masking screen of pink shirts and all blacks.

    To help our democracy function better what about a scratch test to make it clearer that knowledge and thought have been present in the potential voter?
    The names of the two biggest NZ political parties?
    Attempt to name the next four in size (two out of four will do)?
    What are the two main islands in NZ?
    The biggest city?
    The city where Parliament is held?
    Three cities or towns in the South Island?

    People who couldn’t get those right would get a voucher for an ice cream or free admission to a talk on NZ, it’s history and where it’s going in the 21st century.

    Probably if all of us went to a talk like that we would know the other 80% to add to our present knowledge. Then we would have equality of information, and perhaps more intelligent voting than for decades.
    • aj 12.1

      19 February 2016 at 5:02 pm

      Little hope.

      http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/07/11/how_facts_backfire/?page=full
13. b waghorn 13

    19 February 2016 at 7:43 pm

    While Obama is better than the Republican shit bags , he lost all credibility when he sat and watched his soldiers shoot bin laden in cold blood instead of have them uplift him for trial in a court of law.

• Comments are now closed

• Log in
• Donate
• Contribute post

• Articles RSS