I'm a self-funded retiree who has neverasked the old CES or...

I'm a self-funded retiree who has never
asked the old CES or Centrelink to
find me a job - nor have I ever
been on the dole in my life.

I worked for a living from the time
I left Ag College until retiring.

My parents, relatives and forebears all
worked for a living - including my Auntie
Molly who's husband (a dairy farmer) died
of cancer during the Great Depression
leaving her with five little kids to look after
and a debt-laden dairy farm back in the
days when there was no 'Parenting
Allowance'.

She had two alternateives - get tough
or go under so she got tough. She did a
man's work all day and a woman's
work before dawn (when milking
began) and after dark when she
had finished the second milking.

Without government assistance of any
kind, single-handedly my Auntie Molly
raised five children and ran that farm
7 days a week for 12 years without a
single day off until the mortgage
had been paid.

I loved visiting my Auntie Molly.
She never complained about her
lot in life - but I knew (as a kid)
that you never gave any 'lip' to
Auntie Molly. (vbg!)

In her spare time, she'd go to
CWA meetings to help women
who were less fortunate than
herself to cope with the ups
and downs of life.

Her five children (my older
cousins) all became wonderful
generous, vibrant, warm
human beings.

So I'm a great believer in autonomy,
self-reliance and free enterpise.

The complete opposite of autonomy
and self-determination is 'socialism' -
a system where the government
makes all the big decisions and
you get savagely punished for
acting without its permission.

Now for my question:

If John Howard says that HE will decide
who will come to this country and the
manner of their arrival and that any
person who exhibits autonomous,
free-enterprise tendencies will
be sent to prison (with their
kids) on a HIS sayso with
no trial, no judge, no jury
for as long as HE pleases...

... is John Howard a supporter
of 'Free Enterprise' or is he
a national socialist who gets
his jollies from exercising
totalitarian power?

But, but, but (I hear you cry) what
about the HOARDES of refugees
who will use our front lawns as
public toilets if we tolerate
'Free Enterprise' by the
WRONG sort of people?

If the price of anxiety reduction is
for children to be kidnapped and
shoved into electrifed Ruddock
cages and left to rot...

... please Mr Howard can I have
my anxiety back - I can live with
anxiety - but I can't and won't accept
child-caging as my Social Valium!

It's not my job to solve all Australia's
social dilemmas, but any 'solution'
that involves child abuse HAS to
be junked and re-built from
the ground up!

If the propounder of child abuse
(as Social Valium) won't or can't
let go of that obscenity then HE
has to go and his policy junked
and re-built from the ground up
so it excises caged child abuse
from the formula for harmony.