Let’s Have a Welfare Crackdown

To set the scene, I want to quote some words from Bob Altemeyer's book "The Authoritarians".

"Everybody submits to authority to some degree but some people go way beyond the norm and submit to authority even when it is dishonest, corrupt, unfair and evil."

"Over the years I have found that right wing authoritarian (RWA) followers blissfully tolerated many illegal and unjust government actions. They seem to have a “Daddy knows best” attitude toward authority. They do not see laws as social standards that apply to everyone. Instead, they appear to think that authorities are above the law, and can decide which laws apply to them and which do not because high RWAs generally favour punishing the bejabbers out of misdoers. But they proved less likely than most people to punish a police officer who beat up a handcuffed demonstrator."

"When I say right wing authoritarian followers are aggressive I don’t mean they stride into bars and start fights. First of all high RWAs go to church enormously more often than they go to bars. Secondly, they usually avoid anything approaching a fair fight. Instead they aggress when they believe right and might are on their side. Right for them means more than anything else that their hostility is endorsed by established authority or supports such authority. Might means they have a huge physical advantage over their target in weaponry say or in numbers as in a lynch mob. It’s striking how often authoritarian aggression happens in dark and cowardly ways in the dark by cowards who later will do everything they possibly can to avoid responsibility for what they did. Women children and others unable to defend themselves are typical victims. Even more striking the attackers typically feel morally superior to the people they are assaulting in an unfair fight."

So you might want to bear these things in mind when you are thinking of supporting Monsignori Abbott’s *Welfare Crackdown*. The other things you might want to consider are these;

"Social Dominators and high Right Wing Authoritarian's have several things in common besides prejudice. They both tend to have conservative economic philosophies - and they both favour right-wing political parties."

"Persons who score highly on the Social Dominance scale do not usually have all the contradictions in their mental life that we find in high RWAs. Most of them do not show weak reasoning abilities or highly compartmentalized thinking and certainly not a tendency to trust people who tell them what they want to hear. They’ve got their head together. Nor are most of them dogmatic or particularly zealous about any cause or philosophy. You have to believe in something to be dogmatic and zealous and what social dominators apparently believe in most is not some creed or cause but gaining power by any means fair or foul."

"The soundness of their thinking hardly means you can believe them. They are quite capable of saying whatever will get them ahead. After all they hold that there’s no such thing as right and wrong. It all boils down to what you can get away with. And one of the most useful skills a person should develop they say is how to look someone straight in the eye and lie convincingly. So like high RWAs social dominators are quite capable of hypocrisy - the difference being that the RWAs probably don’t realize the hypocrisy because their thinking is so compartmentalized whereas the dominators do but they don’t care."

"Given all of this, do you really believe the social dominator who says people should have to earn their success in life? He’s quite willing to let the children of the rich get rich merely through inheritance. Do you trust him when he says he’s in favour of a level playing field? He’s against programs that would give the disadvantaged a better chance. Does he really believe the poor can pull themselves up by their bootstraps or is he content to let them face an uphill struggle that very few can overcome? It doesn’t bother the social dominator that masses of people are poor. That’s their tough luck. And some racial groups are just naturally inferior to others he believes. Justice should not be applied equally to all. The rich and powerful should have advantages in court even if that completely violates the concept of justice. Who cares if prejudice plays a role in the justice system? He certainly doesn’t. The right people should have more votes than everybody else in elections. And so on. If you stare deeply into the souls of social dominators they believe equality is a sucker word. Only fools believe in it they say. And if people took equality seriously if society did try to provide equal opportunity for all and if the playing field really were made level so that bootstraps could be pulled up and multitudes of lives bettered the social dominator knows he would get less. And he very much dislikes that notion."

And that dear reader is why we have Monsignori Abbott and his cronies in the Liberal party - doing their best to shaft those Australian's who are on welfare.

The Conversation

There is not much that we could call quality media in this country. Crikey is up there. The Monthly is there also. And there are quite a few quality blogs - but NOTHING that is associated with our mainstream media qualifies.

And part of that is because the MSM have become so used to manipulating their audience or pushing a particular ideology that they seem unable to transmit the truth or facts. We know why they do it - we just don't like it.

The MSM are working to a business model that is dying - and they seem not to appreciate the significance of that. And I include the ABC in that assessment. I know a few media executives who wouldn't know the truth if it jumped up and bit them on the backside - and some of them seem proud of that. It's all about ratings you see and business and keeping their jobs and salaries and status and positioning themselves for their next job.

I never watch or listen to Australian commercial radio or television - and am weaning myself off the ABC. I know many others who are in the same boat. Ten years from now the ABC will be irrelevant if they keep doing what they are doing today. The ABC leadership are clearly not interested in what their audience think - they only care about what their industry peers think. Particularly what Rupert and his minions think.

And that leaves a BIG hole in the news and information sources available to Australians. But usually when there is a gap in the market someone manages to work that out and responds. In this case we have a major new player in the market and it has a quality offering - The Conversation.

This is a rare gem and I encourage all thinking Australian's to support it.

RWA's and Double High's

Both Julia and Malcolm - and their staff should read this book. They would gain some valuable insight that could give them both a political advantage - in different ways.

Colleague Tony is featured in it - he is one of the stars but he wouldn't acknowledge that. It's unlikely that he will read it because he already knows about its content. And all those church going politicians feature as well - it's hard to hide now Kevin!

The main question in my mind is this. Is the proportion of Australian RWA's the same as the US - which is in the range 20% to 25% - or could it be even higher?

Either way this book provides the *lightbulb* moment for me regarding our right wing politics. And it even identifies the *predictors* - so with minor questioning and analysis of ANY Australian teenager it will be easy to determine if they are to become another "Right Wing Authoritarian". Very useful stuff.

Read it and weep - and then read it again to find all the little gems that you missed the first time around. But remember that knowledge is power. Once you read this you will have more of both.

And then you will need to do something with it.

The Authoritarians

I have just finished reading this book by Bob Altemeyer. And it explains a lot about what is happening with our politics at the moment. If you ever wondered why the conservatives behave like they do - then you must read this book.

Bob Altemeyer is a retired psychology professor from Canada who has spent most of his life studying authoritarianism. This is a serious book about serious issues - and you may find it confronting.

The important thing is that the conclusions are based on a lifetime of research. Not opinions - but "facts built upon real research".

And the conclusions are terrifying.

Bob provides some reasons why you would want to read this book - below.

"So if you set up a fair and square experiment in which people can act nobly fairly and with integrity and you find that most of one group does (something) and most of another group does not that’s a fact not an opinion. And if you keep finding the same thing experiment after experiment and other people do too then that’s a body of facts that demands attention."

"Some people we have seen to our dismay don’t care a hoot what scientific investigation reveals - but most people do. If the data were fairly gathered and we let them do the talking then we should be on a higher plane than opinion based argument."

"You might want more than just facts about authoritarians - but understanding and insight into why they act the way they do. Which is often mind-boggling. How can they revere those who gave their lives defending freedom and then support moves to take that freedom away? How can they go on believing things that have been disproved over and over again and disbelieve things that are well established? How can they think they are the best people in the world when so much of what they do ought to show them they are not? Why do their leaders so often turn out to be crooks and hypocrites? Why are both the followers and the leaders so aggressive that hostility is practically their trademark?"

As Bob says.

"By the time you have finished this book, I think you will understand the reasons. All of this and much more fit into place once you see what research has uncovered going on in authoritarian minds."

PS. Sure beats watching and listening to them and their BS on QandA.

It’s true

It's true that the NSW Labor Government deserves the flick tomorrow. Some of us have been saying that since 2005 - not so much because they are incompetent - but because they take the electorate for granted and they have abused our trust.

NSW was once the Premier State - today it is but a shadow of its former self - in large part because of the dimwits who infect the governing party. The Labor brand is seriously damaged nationally but it is probably irreparable in NSW.

Nothing serves to demonstrate incompetence more than a bunch of lightweights who pretend they are developing and implementing good public policy while feathering their own nests. It's a particular characteristic of the right - and the NSW Labor Government has them in bucket loads. Along with most other State Governments.

So the people of NSW are right to flick their Government and to find another that will govern competently. If the voters are smart they will also reject the ultra right wingers who are trying to infect the Upper House and will install a moderate parliament.

And quite frankly the Liberals deserve a go in NSW. Most of us want them to succeed there and to form a competent and capable and stable Government. If they are smart they will take a considered and moderate approach. At least then we would have a role model for how Liberal Governments can behave and it might even influence the Federal party and its leader. We'll see.

So good luck NSW. You will probably need it.

Not a debate

I am sorry people, but this is not a debate about whether Climate Change exists or not. Tony Abbott and Nick Minchin and the rest of the Liberal Party know that it exists and know that it is a result of human activity and they have known that for at least 15 years - possibly longer.

They will tell you something different because incredibly they think they can lie to you and you won't notice and they think it will give them political advantage. Doh!

Naomi Oreskes, co-author of the book "Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming", describes how a small group of retired cold-war nuclear physicists, who through their weapons work had become well-connected, well-known and influential people, promoted the idea of *doubt* in several areas of US public debate.

According to Oreskes, they did this, "not for money, but in defence of an ideology of laissez-faire governance and opposition to government regulation".

And that dear friend is what Climate Change denial is all about. You may find this hard to believe but it's all about stopping any Government action - all so their mates in big business can continue to rape and pillage the place for as long as possible.

The Australian conservatives are just following along in the shadows of their ultra right wing cousins in the USA. The US is where all this *nonsense* comes from. It has its roots in part in the religious right *industry* that dates back to the 1930's. Which probably explains why Cardinal Pell and the Catholics are on the denial bandwagon.

It says something about our conservative politicians that they aren't smart enough to create their own ideology - they must import an ugly one from the USA.

And what is worse is that every time one of our Prime Minister's gets on the bus to head over there - to get their head patted for doing a great job, it emboldens the far right - who think we are encouraging them.

At least the conservatives in Europe and elsewhere have done most of their own thinking and have come up with their own ideology - which I might add is much more subtle and sophisticated than what the USA and AU have been lumbered with.

If Monsignori Abbott and Co really wanted to impose a right wing ideology then they should go spend a year or two in Italy or France to learn how it is really done.

A great big new debate

For those who missed it - Bernard Keane has a great article here - in which Tony Abbott is debating Tony Abbott on the issue of Climate Change.

I don't know for sure Virginia, but it seems as though he may be a little confused.

Balance Bites

So the ABC's *appeasement* has bitten it already. If you put Christopher Pyne on QandA then there is a good chance that people will say what they think - and they did. And then we end up with all this *I'm offended* faux nonsense.

Apparently "Just me, or does Pyne light up when he’s talking about men in uniform #qanda" is the offending tweet that the ABC has been falling over itself to apologise about all day.

Play with fire and you will probably get burnt people.

But I wouldn't know because I won't watch the thing and neither do an increasing list of friends and colleagues. We do other more interesting things on Monday evenings ;-)

And another thing

The ABC and its *so called* balance will cause major grief for the nation and for its people.

Aside from providing a very poor example to young impressionable Australian's it won't do what it is supposed to do and get the conservatives off their back.

We need positive role models for young people in this country. Our future generations need to believe that public broadcasting is a trusted information and news source - not just another commercial network exploiting their audience for $'s.

The young need to be assured that publicly funded radio and television will tell them the truth - and not deliver the lies and bias that has so infected our commercial media and the corporate world.

Who else will stand up for truth and facts if not our public media? What is their purpose if they won't do it? And why would we need a public media at all if all they do is mimic their commercial cousins? Serious questions.

The real reason that the ABC has adopted their concept of "balance" is because they fear the conservatives. They know that Rupert's plan is to dismantle public broadcasting everywhere - and the conservatives masquerading as Liberals will be the mechanism by which he does it in this country. Monsignori Abbott will start by removing funding and selling off services until all that is left of the ABC is a bureaucrat chasing retirement and a small lame dog.

Now I do understand that no-one else wants this to happen - least of all the ABC staff and board. But you will not stop it from happening with *appeasement*. It doesn't matter how many times the ABC invites Andrew Bolt and Janet Albrechtsen on to its programs - it will not change the conservative's plan.

So might I suggest another approach - one that understands and recognises your role and one that also understands that there are forces aligned against you that will continue until they win - or they die? And if you can outlast Rupert then you will have a good chance of staying in the game. Shouldn't be too hard - he's 80.

For anyone who is interested - checkout what is happening to NPR in the USA. Same story.

But appeasement won't work - what it will do is alienate your audience - the very people you are here to serve. And it will embolden the enemy.

The choice is simple - deliver a quality and truthful and factual and low bias information service - or roll over and let Rupert rape you.

PS - another view of the same problem - here.

Its all coming back to me now

So let me see if I understand this correctly.

40 odd years ago the Americans supplied the technology for the Japanese to build the six reactors at Fukushima. And they trained the Tokyo Electric Power people in how to lie and obfuscate about the risks.

But now we discover that these state of the art reactors aren't quite as fail safe as the Japanese people were promised.

So quite a few of the locals will be feeling the heat - literally.

And in a week or two so will a few Americans. Because the radiation that is heading skyward in Japan will soon encounter the jetstream and be transported back home to the great old US of A. Where it will be deposited across the landscape.

I guess its all coming back to me now.

So you probably should get ready for the biggest spin and BS campaign ever seen in the history of mankind.

Dingbat Balance

The ABC's idea of "balance" is nothing of the kind. It is merely a convenient way to justify publishing the dingbat views and ideology of the right wing conservatives - without having to explain or justify it to the rest of us.

It's a convenient con that allows the Board, The Managing Director and the senior staff to look uninvolved when a particularly ignorant and uninformed piece of conservative nonsense is presented as news or information via one of the ABC distribution channels.

It's why they parade "real science" and "dingbat anti science" on the same show - balance you see.

It's why climate science as studied, discussed and documented by the IPCC often has to compete with pseudo science like this. It's all about the concept of balance.

It's why you will find Nick Minchin's view that "the earth is cooling" competing with Ross Garnaut's view that climate change is a "diabolical problem". All because of this manufactured idea of balance.

This is despite the fact that any cadet journalist will be able to discover that Minchin is lying and Garnaut is telling the truth - in less than half an hour or so. The ABC must publish both versions - to demonstrate its impartiality and balance.

Complete bullshit.

The reason they do it is because the ABC leadership has been captured by the conservatives. They were force-fed the conservative "kool-aid" when little Johnny was running the place and they got to like it. Neither Rudd nor Gillard were able to turn off the tap and as a result - we now have "ABC Dingbat Balance 24/7".

To prove that it is BS - let’s run a little experiment. I say that our world is inhabited by "martians" as well as "earthlings". I know this because of - blah, blah, blah - and I spoke with one last evening. So will the ABC provide a forum for "martians" to comment on events in the same way that "earthlings" do? Will every story have a "martian" take on it?

I am happy to be the interpreter - and am in regular contact with the chief martian. I look forward to ABC producers calling me for comment ;-)

Dingbat day out

So after all the hysteria generated by the conservative ideologues and their mates on talkback radio and elsewhere in the mainstream media we find that the proposed *carbon tax* won't result in Armageddon after all. Instead, it will deliver tax cuts to the lowest paid in our society.

So the people of the nation will benefit from a *carbon tax* - what a surprise.

Ross Garnaut has outlined his plan. Without doubt most of it will be adopted by our Government.

"We are living through an awful contest between knowledge and ignorance" he said - referring to Nick Minchin's BS statements last week that "the earth is cooling".

I was going to link to an ABC story about these things but then I read the link and saw that both Monsignori Abbott and Nick Minchin were already there bullshitting again - all to satisfy the ABC's idea of "balance".

Fair dinkum the ABC has lost the plot big time. I think I will dedicate the rest of my story to the absolute and complete rubbish that is Australian public media. I want my money back.

The thing is that this debate really isn't about truth and facts anymore. This is all about how to impose a skewed dingbat conservative view of the world on the rest of us. They think they can "fool most of the people - most of the time".

And so far they are succeeding - with the pisant support of the ABC and its Managing Director and Board.

30 Minutes

Can you spare 30 minutes?

I only ask because if you could find 30 minutes to watch this video then you would probably be better informed.

And it may even cause you to do some things a little bit differently.

Changed my mind

I have pretty much changed my mind about Tony Abbott. This helped a bit ;-)

There was a time when I thought he was the worst possible choice for the leadership of the Liberal Party and the Coalition as leader of the Opposition.

But I admit that was a silly self centred view on my part.

Now I think he is the best possible choice for the job. The rest of you lot should leave him alone and let him continue to do a great job as Opposition Leader.

And while you are at it stop picking on Alan Jones and Cardinal Pell. Clearly they are both doing magnificent work in support of Monsignori Abbott's agenda.

Go Tony, keep doing whatever it is you are doing - I am sure it will lead to a change of mind with the rest of the population pretty soon ;-)

Did you wonder?

Did you ever wonder why you aren't seeing or hearing any of this stuff or this on your TV screens, in the pages of your newspaper or over the airwaves from your radio station?

No you didn't - well turn the page now there's nothing of interest here for you.

But for those who did there is only one answer - the mainstream media are controlled by the same people who are driving this war on the US middle class. Yes Virginia, the rich conservatives have declared war on their own people.

And because they control the media they are doing their best not to tell anyone about it.

So if your news and information source is solely the mainstream media then you won't know any of this until the steamroller runs you down.

Just another reason to embrace social media and discard the mogul’s version of the truth.

Great article here - on a similar theme.

Probably not a thief

Well, I don't know for sure but the leader of the Opposition is probably not a thief. He is definitely a liar, a cheat and a vandal though.

By his own admission he is a liar. He is also cheating the Australian people out of a truth and fact based debate on climate change and the urgent need for action with a carbon price. And the consequence of these things is that he has become an economic vandal.

He is unconcerned for the nation or its people - his agenda is to seize power at the earliest opportunity - so he and his right wing coterie can slash and burn the fabric of the place from within.

Watch out Medicare, the ABC, public education and health and every other hard won public service and safety net. Rupert has already drawn up the list of targets - and it's big.

The reason that this is happening is because our Government is weak and its front bench appear to be scared of their own shadow. They need to grow a pair.

There is only one way to fight the lies, the cheating and the vandalism. And that is to take it head on and confront him - running away from it will only embolden him. And kill your re-election prospects.

So Prime Minister your team need to grow a collective backbone and respond to every lie, every distortion and every BS story in the media with *truth* and *facts*. And you need to be attentive, vigilant and alert to the tactics of the right because they don't play by the rules.

All your Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries should understand this and act - and if they can't or won't - then replace them. And if you can't or won't then you may as well just vacate the big seat and let the vandal have it.

Show you are serious and the people will follow. Fuzz about like a wet marshmallow and the vandal will win.

Dazzled

Like most of our equally dazzled Prime Minister's before her - Julia couldn't say enough nice things about the US and its government and people in her little speech - here.

Apparently our *best mates* in the whole world needed to hear her telling them how fantastic they are.

All the while being chaperoned by that windbag Kim Beasley. If he had even half a blue clue then he would have deposed little Johnny before he could do all that damage and the world would now be a better place. But I digress.

In the meantime we are still floundering around in Afghanistan spending billions and risking young lives.

For what? So a procession of Prime Ministers' can waddle about in Washington looking and sounding important for five or six minutes?

But worse than that - while our glorious leader was busy heaping praise on the great old US of A, the Governor of Wisconsin was busy slashing and burning the hard won entitlements of his state employees - here.

So much for our *best mates* and their respect for *workers* rights.

Already too late

It's already too late - far too late.

All you had to do was watch and listen to "Four Corners" last Monday to understand that we are royally stuffed.

Our incompetent Local and State and Territory and Federal Governments have over allocated the national water resources for decades. Not one person - especially not a water or natural resources minister - in all the state and federal parliaments up til now have given a rats rectum about the health of the Murray / Darling basin and were bothered enough about the environment to think long term. Not one Virginia.

"The irrigators want more water so they can grow more cotton and rice and dope" - no worries the dimwits said. We'll let someone else deal with the consequences later.

Every one of those retired water and natural resource ministers in every State and Territory should be stripped of their entitlements - full stop. No debate necessary. And go after the assets of all the dead ones too.

Because now we are paying an enormous price. Not only is the river system in dire straights but the irrigators have become militant - and some of them are burning books for christ sake. Apparently they think its *their* water!

We are seeing the same *short term*, *head in the sand*, *dimwitted*, *self centred* thinking about a range of environmental matters - not least "Climate Change".

Why do we still have these ministers and their bureaucrats with their fancy titles and big white cars and loads of departmental resources and monster budgets if the dimwits don't use them properly? Seriously?

And how on earth did the nation end up in this situation? And what are we going to do about it?

Nothing obviously.

Gutless

So why dear friends won't anyone actually say it like it is?

Why is it that our regular political commentators won't tell you the truth?

How come they won't stand up and be counted and explain to you why the dingbats are pulling your leg?

Why won't they explain the facts and make some commentary about it?

Because dear reader - they are gutless.

The mainstream media are actually controlled by the dingbats - so they won't tell you the truth.

But there is a huge alternative media in this country - some good, some mediocre and some horrible - but all are fearful of the consequences.

Fearful of the power of Murdoch and his army of nobodies. And the dingbats masquerading as our Opposition.

It's a travesty.

Fortunately there are a few of us left who are prepared to take a stand - one here.

The Clueless 95%

Today I spent a lazy Sunday reading "The Monthly". What a great read. You won't find anything like it anywhere else in OZ. But then most Australian's wouldn't know that - because mostly they don't read. Or understand. Or care.

The crème of the crop is the story about Julian Assange - entitled "The Cypherpunk Revolutionary" by Robert Manne.

Robert gets it. And Julian gets it - he is changing the world for the better. Despite the actions of the vested interests and the right wing bullies.

But how come I am the only person who knows this?

Because - according to Julian the rest of the population are the "Clueless 95%".

I think he is close to the truth.

It's hard to be impressed

Poor old Australia. Our political leaders lurch from incompetence to ignorance to laziness to stupidity and back again. This week we can find all four bundled together in the antics of the Opposition.

And then we have Julia's visit to the USA.

Apparently, she is there to meet President Obama, to get an update on the state of the world from Bill's wife and to receive her latest riding instructions from Master Rupert.

As I said here - it wouldn't take long for her to get on the big bus (I bet it isn't an Airbus?) and head to the US - so she could become an accepted part of the international "old boy's and girls" club. I wonder if they have a funny handshake?

Has it ever occurred to her that we don't want her to do that? Has she asked us? Did she listen to our answers? Do her minders have a blue clue? Apparently not.

Most of us simply don't want her to continue to suck up to the rabid right wing war mongers in the US Administration. We were over that back in 1972. If she wants to go to war then let her and Tim go to Afghanistan and put on the uniform and tote a rifle each - all on their own.

Many Australian's just don't want her to continue to support the illegal wars that were started by the dingbat right and which have cost us large amounts of blood and treasure. She should be prosecuting little Johnny not running his agenda.

And we certainly don't want her to front up and listen to the geriatric Murdoch as he pushes his right wing crap onto the world.

Get back here girl and get on with the job of Governing the nation. When you grow up then you can head overseas.

Monkey in charge

The thing is that a monkey is in charge. I know he is a monkey because primates behave like he is when they have lost something they value. And then they rant and rave and shake their bodies like he does - as they crave some attention.

And he looks like one. A little bit like his elderly mate over there at the radio station. Are they related?

How on earth his peers ever thought he was a leader of the pack is beyond comprehension. Why they tolerate his prissy performance says more about them than it does about him.

We all know he is a monkey - his peers know it; the opposite side knows it as do the rest of we animals in the zoo.

He is a monkey who wants to be something else - but first he needs to upgrade his DNA.

And that is the problem - because it just ain't possible to migrate across species Virginia. But his mate George is working on getting the process approved by GOD.

His peers need to think about what they have gotten themselves into - and how they will extract themselves from it. Before they become part of the same primate family.

Liberals - racist and hateful

Andrew Wilkie nails it completely here and here.

Nothing more needs to be said really.

Speechless - with every good wish

You know for a worn out old bloke I have tried to live my life mostly based on facts and truth and science. I am rendered *speechless* by the following two stories.

1. What on earth is Cardinal Pell doing promoting the "dog bone" nonsense that is featured in Ian Plimers’ book "Heaven and Earth"? This is the most complete collection of crap that ever consumed printer's ink. And now we have the most senior Catholic in the country pushing it onto our Parliament. Wasn't there something important about the separation of church and state? No wonder Monsignori Abbott is so ratty if Cardinal Pell is his mentor ;-) Someone should call the Pope - or the police.

And.

2. On February 19th this year the Republican Party in the US voted to *defund* the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This is not a drill folks - the dingbats in the Republican Party don't want to hear any more bad news about the climate - so they have shut down the messenger. Jesus - how on earth do these people ever get into the parliament?

I am just *speechless*.