It is amazing what will get people interested in politics. A war? Forgot about it! Global warming and the destruction of the planet? Not interested. How about a gun toting, pro life, former beauty queen from Alaska? Check!!! I’ve leave aside for the moment that this woman is against everything I stand for… having never been to Alaska the jury is still out on that one! What amazes me is the media play this is getting, especially here in Melbourne. For whatever reason, this US presidential election is getting saturation coverage all over the world. Which brings me to my point, it seems that the former mayor of a two-bit Alaskan village has captured our imagination. Why? It is sure as hell not for her policies. It may not quite be the cult of personality, but something similar is at play. Perhaps by focusing on personality is stops us from having to think… about policy, about anything meaningful. Then again, perhaps I’m trying to find logic where there is none. After all, I live in a city that has more than once elected John So as mayor…

That said, if I hear Oz crap on one more time about how hot Sarah Palin is, I’m liable to bear arms. I mean dude, if you dig chicks with guns then check out ActionGirls, or failing that, do a search on GooTube.

Which brings me to the SNL skit featuring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Now I know that Oz has the hots for Tina Fey, but hey, who doesn’t. This is political satire at its most brilliant! Check it out…

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So, last week Kruddy said sorry.

My question is this: did anyone issue an official thank-you?

Whilst I commend and admire Victoria’s ex-Premiere Jeff Kennett for his involvement in BeyondBlue (a truly worthwhile organisation that deals with that silent but all too real plague of our times – Depression), I cannot put out of my mind the fact that he was instrumental in weakening the health services of this state during his reign.

Each day I spend in Melbourne I am reminded that the mental health services in this state have still not recovered from those times. There is a multitude of people living on the streets and in commission housing receiving nothing but a Salvation Army or Wesley Mission visit when their stretched and independently funded resources can manage it.

Unfortunately I have had first and second-hand experiences with people who have been let down by the fact that there are too few beds in mental health wards. There was one man in particular, in the early 2000s, who had to be escorted by police to a clinic to be administered his medication. Not only a waste of the cops’ time, but they weren’t trained for such duties, and their ranks were thinned by the same government that caused the mental health crisis in the first place. The man in question was the father of a close friend. He could barely care for himself, and had had a number of violent episodes, one of which may or may not have led to (more…)