No Dinner Dinner
Just a quick plug from your local Labour candidate…
Politics
political parties
No pay rises under Nats
St. Augustine said “Lord, give me chastity, but not yet”. Was reminded of that reading the Tories’ reaction to Labour’s work and wages policy. Tories say they want you to have higher wages. But not yet. It’s always later. Once you’ve earned it. In the ‘brighter future’. And they’ll scream blue murder any time you demand what you deserve today.
Nats “help” with more cuts
Amidst growing evidence of yet another broken 2008 election promise, John Key has nothing to offer except tired excuses and attacks on the poor.
Time for a Government
Last election it was “Time for a change”. After three years of incompetence and inaction, our priorities should be different this time…
Nat minister: we don’t want success for other people
Which National Cabinet Minister said to Allan Peachey “You want success for other people. You’re a very enriching person whereas the rest of us have all come from backgrounds where we look after ourselves”? It’s a pretty revealing quote. National’s ministers aren’t about the greater good. They’re in it for their own glory.
Wheelers: A typical working class tale…
Over at Wheelers corner in the Manwatu there is this rather classic post about a conversation overheard in a cafe. It really does stand on its own as a tombstone to a departing MP.
micky savage: Is it Phil Goff’s time?
Two weeks ago I thought that Goff and Labour did not have a chance in this election. National’s lead in the polls seemed too big, the country still seemed to be in love with John Key and Goff just was not getting the media cut through necessary to change hearts and minds. Then something happened. The wheels started to fall off National’s well honed machine.
CTU on the tax switch
This press release from the CTU deserves wide discussion.
Caption Contest
ACT Policy finally makes sense!
Check out ACT’s policy page. It’s the most sense that they’ve ever made.
Update: They’ve fixed it. So it’s back to their usual nonsense now.
Amnesty International: Arrest Bush for war crimes
Perhaps Mr Key’s staff might like to explain to him what the implications of this development, in conjunction with the recent UN Report […]
Key’s Katrina
One of the turning points of Bush’s presidency was the failed non-response to Hurricane Katrina. It’s starting to look now very much as if the wreck of the Rena is John Key’s Katrina moment.
Average Joe: Don Brash withdraws from Treaty debate…why?
Dr. Don Brash has pulled out of a debate on Treaty issues to be held on TV3’s ‘The Nation’. Which is curious considering Act’s ‘one law for all’ policy is directly concerned with treaty issues. Average Joe points out his take on why Act isn’t there. Plaudits to The Nation for having the debate, brickbats to Act for avoiding the debate – at least send along the person who knows the policy….
Let the courts decide
The threat of invoking defamation is a standard tactic to intimidate those who can’t afford the legals bills to shut their mouths. Such […]
Chart o’ the day: failed gambit
Farrar poll sounds ACT’s death knell
National Party pollster David Farrar has been polling in Epsom and the results are not good for the Right. Epsomites are pissed off with their seats being used as a backdoor for ACT into Parliament. They don’t like the gall of the Nats taking out Hide, slotting in Banks and expecting nothing to change. They don’t like dopey Brash.
National: Building a blighted future
Since the nutters on the right at the sewer (otherwise known as the kiwiblog comments) seem to have a thing about billboards (probably because they can’t handle actual politics or actual policy). So to keep them entertained and running around like headless chickens rather than doing any actual political action – here is another billboard to keep everyone amused watching them.
Returns on investments
When John Key was elected to power in 2008, he was estimated to have a personal wealth of about 40-50 million dollars.
So how much is John Key worth now?
Doldrums
Looks like the RWC isn’t going to be the economic stimulus that we hoped. We’re stuck in the doldrums, and (just like in England) the government’s austerity programme is exactly the wrong response.
The Greens’ clever election strategy
Once again, the Greens have the best billboards and a great policy platform. But the really clever bit is their positioning. A lot of people don’t like National’s policies and don’t want them having a majority. They like Labour’s policies but not the personnel. Enter the Greens: good policies, nice people, and, officially, willing to work with and counterbalance National.
Will Bill English heed his own warning?
Will double dipping double downgrade Bill English have the guts to heed his own warning?
Nats’ retrospective surveillance backdown
The Nats most recent attack on democracy – the Video Camera Surveillance (Temporary Measures) Bill – was outrageous in many ways. It was almost universally condemned, and now Labour has secured significant concessions.
When things look black
The Nats’ muddle, your job on the line
As National muddles through, refusing to reexamine its economic plans after the shock double-downgrade on Friday, the job losses are starting to pile up again. It’s very reminiscent of the last recession, which we will haven’t recovered from thanks to 3 years of muddling. Can we afford 3 more years? Here’s a list of job losses in the past month.
Game on
The weeks of the RWC were supposed to be a politics-free zone. Bread and circuses. It hasn’t turned out that way, as both Armstrong and O’Sullivan point out in weekend opinion pieces. The credit downgrades have dropped a bomb in the middle of the political landscape. But I think that both are wrong in expecting any action from the Nats.
Wedge issue
Don Brash has weaved his magic again. He’s going to have a minder now and everything he says will be vetted. But it’s too late. His cannabis speech brilliantly highlighted the disjunction between ACT’s values and those of the man they need to win Epsom. A major ACT donor calls John Banks a twerp, while Don Nicolson has, surprisingly, sided with Brash.
Your PM at work for you
Another in what looks like becoming a regular series.
Nats warn of credit downgrade
The Nats have indulged in a long series of boastful posturings and dire warnings about the risks of a credit downgrade, many of them as recently as August 10th. Now that they have suffered not one, but two separate credit downgrades, Mr Smile and Wave has some explaining to do.
The No-Dinner Dinner
Ever seen one of those celebrity fundraiser dinners and wondered how much money was going on the fancy food that could have been going to the cause? Well, Labour’s latest offer is gives you the chance to cut through the middleman with the ‘no-dinner dinner’. The tongue in cheek menu is a bit of a laugh.
Gap closes in latest Fairfax
The latest Fairfax poll has the Labour – National gap closing a bit.
Sleepover Bill in House tonight
Covert surveillance should not be allowed retrospectively
mickysavage at Waitakere News blog has an analysis of the legal and unconstitutional implications of the Nationals dubious plan to override the courts with poor kneejerk legislation. It is rather disturbing as the action appears to have more to do with electioneering than actual legal need.
Partisan politics
John Key is ridiculously negative on seemingly any proposal raised by a perceived political opponent. Which is a pity, because there are issues facing the country that need a bipartisan consensus.
NRT: A blank cheque
No Right Turn points out the salient feature of National’s hysterical response to the Supreme Court’s decision on video surveillance. Reading the blank cheque that they are proposing indicates that the government has no understanding of what “the rule of law” means. It certainly does not include half-arsed measures like this.
The year of the Greens?
Several commentators have suggested recently that the Greens have crossed some kind of “credibility threshold” and are poised for a strong performance in November. Is this the year of the Greens?
Roaring out of recession
So here we are then. “Roaring out of recession”. Or – not.