Disarray I am so tired of Presidents standing up in front of Congress and saying "the state of the Union is strong". It isn't. This is evidenced by the nonsense spouted by Marc Rubio in the GOP response. It is evidenced in the fact that the Republicans also have a "tea party" response, and that they invite insane jackasses like Ted Nugent, who have actually threatened people, including the President, with guns, to attend the address and comment on it. It is evident in every single businessperson who claims that the ability of his or her employees to have health care is a threat to free enterprise. Every State that gerrymanders its electoral districts to ensure a Republican majority or that seeks to disenfranchise its voters - its poor voters, minority votes, Democratic voters - proves that the U.S. political system has fallen into disarray. Gun control is necessary. Tying the minimum wage to the cost of living index is a good idea. Supporting education and business initiatives are positive steps. Fixing the electoral system is a priority. All those election observers we send to other nations would report on our own elections positively. But only because the electoral frauds the Republican extremists want us to believe are a problem simply aren't. If they look at the actual structures of the system, however - and let me assure you that here in Australia and elsewhere in the world than America they do - the criticisms are harsh. Obama should have called out Boehner. He should have called out McConnell. Hell, he should have called out Reid, for that matter. Name names and shame them to their faces. Ryan, Cantor, Rubio, every damn one of them. And then tell his Democratic "friends" to get up off their asses. If you want something done, you've got to do it yourself, said the little red hen, and to hell with the socialist metaphors.

Wrasslin' The IOC shouldn't drop wrestling from the Games, it should go to the WWE format. Or revert to the more traditional Greco-Roman format: naked and greased up with olive oil.

Popery I'm happy to see Ratzinger resign, because it shows he maybe has a better sense of reality than you would normally get from the higher-ups in the Roman Catholic church, but instead of a Latin American or African pope, I'd rather see a woman. Now that would be progress. New blog label: "Anybody but Pell".

Credit Where Creditors Are Due Because I own a piece of it, does the Annandale going into receivership mean I get paid out? (I'd rather it would stay open, even if I don't go all that often.) Something's wrong with this city: first the Hopetoun, then the Sando, now the Annandale. Music is going to be relegated to theatres only before long, and that's going to make it even more expensive than it already is.

Southern Holiday
We took the public holiday to drive down to Mollymook for a beach holiday.  In terms of traffic, our timing couldn't have been better, as we saw kilometers of cars lined up going nowhere from about Nowra nearly down to where we were headed, a beach house - well, a house near a beach - that I'd be more than happy to share with two other couples, who'd easily fit, even with a couple of kids.  Maybe that Tasmanian set someday.

The weather, on the other hand, was awesome.  It bucketed down rain all through the four-hour drive (which we stretched a bit, in consequence, and for lunch), and all night thereafter.  It was torrential, a result of the cyclone up north, traveling down the coast.  The floods in Queensland and northern New South Wales were pretty much as expected, although Bundaberg got surprised when their river jumped its course, but all we got was cold and wet, impressive though those conditions were.

The storm surge, when we went out the following day, was still strong, although pictures (or my photography, that is) hardly do it justice.



The next day wasn't much better, but by Wednesday evening it was clearing.


Thursday was the best beach day we got.


On the drive down, even in the rain, we could see the tremendous damage caused by the fires a couple of weeks ago.  The evidence was just as stark on the return journey.


What's nearly as impressive as the fire damage is the fact that these trees are, at least most of them, still alive, as you can see in the top left.  With all the rain we got, the lush, green country we traveled through will soon return to its fullness, even in these sections.  I'd say you'll see the evidence before very much longer, after we get a little sun, too.