Spinning the wheels

Image: Clipground
 Oh yes, we are spinning the wheels and some of the mud is flying. Mostly hitting us! No concerted public health protection. We are just going to pursue the deluded state of infectious diseases are not happening to us mode. We cannot get out of the rut in so many ways! We keep shopping. Worse, we are rude to sales personnel. There are those who are trying every trick in the book to scam in shops, on the phone, via text and email. Let us just let all this mud stick! God forbid we should challenge these people and make them back off! It is the brazenness of it all. Then in 2022 we have such inefficient technology. There is a massive pretense it is all tickedy boo but apps don't function efficiently. We get to download stuff and then it becomes obsolete quickly. We can't access help when we need it and we get harassed to change to 5G when we signed up for NBN which isn't really NBN because somehow we got copper plied with fibre and we don't have enough bandwidth. Something like that. Who cares? We didn't make it happen like that but we sure are to blame for being so difficult. 

We have a new, competent government at the federal level. We have Prime Minister Albanese. At least he was interviewed effectively on 7.30 report tonight and it was a pleasure listening to a Prime Minister who is actually doing his job and has care and concern for all Australians. Mostly main stream media is still putting out daft media personnel at press conferences and is stuck on interviewing and reporting on the same people as we have had featured the last 9 years. The LNP people. They are gone. We have Labor , Greens and Independents. We need to hear from them and let the opposition sort itself out because they are struggling after losing government. Why wouldn't they?

So we need to turn our steering wheel left and right, clear some space, and get our new juggernaut up and running properly. There is a future to be had with vision and environment in it. We have a chance to flex our brains and get the creativity and energy going. Wellbeing ought to be a top priority, don't you think??

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

 

As of 21st May 2022 we have a new , Labor Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. We should be shouting from the roof tops. We should be singing and chortling. We voted in a number of the so called teal independents ,who support climate change initiatives, and we endorsed more Greens candidates. We want the nastiness and the greed of the LNP gone and we want a positive country with vison, hope, growth and fairness. We want to look at climate change, human rights, standard of living and just being able to know our country will forge ahead as a strong unit again. 

Much of the media is still focussed on the old names and parties. They cannot tear themselves away from looking to rubbish news about less than inspiring people. It is not news ministers are moving out of their offices or losing their position in government. Labor was nearly broken last election with the cruelty of the result which we still haven't faced up to honestly and truthfully. There's a narrative. Is it the truth? They just had to move out and carry on.

We had a hard won election and a price has been paid. We have lost Kristina Keneally and Rex Patrick and that hurts. There are other good people we have lost and we need to consider that carefully. Too easy to come up with the glib and poorly thought out explanations. That'll do. That reads and sounds okay. Is it the truth , though? In time the truth will be out. We have drawn a line in the sand and we don't want rubbish reporting about rubbish people doing rubbish things. We are so sick we cannot even notice how sick we are . We cannot wake up and respond to the number of deaths we have from covid and how much we have spread it. 

It will change. Sooner or later we shall work out we have a good government with a good parliament. We have Dr. Monique Ryan who exploded onto the scene with her deft capacity to problem solve and get everyone a vote. We have a chance to work on climate so the bushfire and flood affected people can be helped. We shall stop fretting and being in denial and we shall take strides to improve ourselves and our lives. 

Meanwhile , media need to be aware we are on a new agenda. We are no longer negative and destructive. The Quad meeting has been a big success for Australia. Our new Prime Minister and Foreign  Affairs Minister have put us in a good light and we have been well received. It has been heartening to see the number of overseas leaders who have contacted us in a warm way to congratulate our new prime minister. 

We are hoping the Toto account ,which was on Twitter, might be taken up and endorsed by the PM and PMO. Anthony Albanese's dog was such a strong part of his campaign. It almost seems right for us to have an official  account for Toto which is run by the PM and his office. It is healing. Animals are healing and we do need to heal ourselves and get past all this illness. 

Election fatigue

 Image: Clipart Library

We are over it. Clichés are the only way to describe how we feel. We have Covid confusion and exasperation fatigue. It is now SARS-2 , apparently. The masks are off and people are just getting sick. Coupled with that , each day we face another lot of election stuff and nonsense, mostly brought to us by crabby media people. Today we returned to gaffe territory. Phone reliant press attendees fire off questions from their trusty phones and woe betide any politician who fails the daily speed and accuracy questions. Shame on any politician who might need to consult with someone who can provide an accurate answer. These media people would only need to stand in the shoes of a politician to know that a barrage of questions when you have been campaigning non stop for weeks, with or without  Covid, is daunting. Some politicians can keep smiling. Other don’t. Some don’t fall for the speed and accuracy , chook shed slapping approach and just continue to provide good information. It is not a competent way to get rounded answers from anyone and considering these people can’t even remember a question and need their phones to prompt them , then it is just very silly and petty. Media people are going to have to dig deeper, remind themselves of their real skills and forget this quick and dirty approach to interviews and questioning. Some journalists are doing a great job. They are relaxed. They showcase their skills and they give the person being interviewed an opportunity to delve into their knowledge and policies. Those journalists are allowing us to know candidates and parties. They even allow for some genuine humour and lighter moments. Questioning on fast forward is pointless. It just creates frustration for viewers/listeners and participants. 

Then there are the teal candidates. The colour of their brochures isn’t teal. It is turquoise and I am sure a Pantone colour chart would identify the colour accurately. The teal candidates are independents but some Liberals have also adopted this colour. It is a good colour but for a Liberal candidate, it is not their colour. Candidates are their character and history. Independents are independent and we have a strong field of them this election. Many of them are well credentialled, articulate, thoughtful people. The Liberals not flying under their blue colour means what? They don’t identify with their party? They love teal which actually not teal? They want to be thought of as independent? They haven’t explained it so we don’t know. 

Our early voting polling booths  will be open on Monday next week. Many can’t wait to vote because most people just want the election done and dusted. They know how they are going to vote. Since 1901 Australia federal elections have been by secret ballot. Always bothers me there are phone and online  polls and social media people who want to know how you vote. We should respect our silent vote. Meanwhile, it is back to the election trail and may the last couple of weeks be worthy of us. 

Mainstream media miasma

Image : Janeh15

 What a crashingly unspectacular week it has been for our 2022 election campaign. Media have focused on trivia and tripe. Social media have allowed politicians to speak with us directly  , if they wish , and at least you get the information from the horse's mouth. Twitter has largely swirled the morning bait from the msm sources and pictures and thoughts have been repeated incessantly. If you want a break from that you have to go off on a foraging journey to try and find some good information. Many candidates are new. We need to know more about them. One, in particular, has been high profile this week and it has been too much unpleasant  information. The leader of the opposition didn't know a figure, which was then labelled a gaffe on msm , which was cleverly rebuffed by Green's leader : Google it! But it came back again as a gaffe. They are stuck in a groove and capable of redescribing reality, splicing videos to clean them up, insulting the public and , no, I won't go on. It is uninspiringly dull. Swill. Dirty dishwater. We used to have good election coverage and we used to be able to get a good understanding of candidates and issues. By now, we know LNP  government exceedingly well and we know what the issues are but we are not allowed to talk about them. We are not the only country where mainstream media is driving the general populace mad. Some just get information from social media. Some just tune out as I have said before. Meanwhile , our mainstream media is locked into an alternate reality which is doing it harm. Is it a play to get rid of it? Shall we all then be on Tik Tok, Twitter and Facebook and those sorts of sites? In many ways , throw Twitter a problem and by the end of the day there are many views and solutions. It is a good way to problem solve. Mainstream media and our federal government throw out the bait in the morning and it can often backfire spectacularly but sometimes it just depresses people. Not a good use of an aggregate of well informed, motivated people. Media shouldn't dull the senses and thoughts, especially at election time. Mindless repetition can drive people crazy. And the point is? 

Our media is narrowly owned. We have some good independent sources of news but they need more funding. They are worthwhile and keep us on the ball. AIM has published an article which is well researched and well argued so we can understand the benefits of a broad range of media. Right now we have bland and nothing everywhere. Same message and it is stifling the airways. We need to open up and let the fresh air in and the new ideas with it.