my withdrawal from comment, page-5

Ironmike, your comments and passion for what is right is a welcome read on this forum. Your desire to take a sabatical is understandable as well, and I look forward to your comments closer to the election.

IMO many of the responses to some valid arguments posted on HC smack of party dogma and one does wonder whether or not the response posted is original of the poster?

I don't put anybody on ignore, and many many posts I read here I want to respond to, and I often begin composing a post, but after reading it I junk it, as what I was going to post was probably flaming or baiting anyway.
More posters should consider the message the poster is trying to convey, rather than jump back in seconds and name call or lambast the message as rubbish because they don't agree.

The sad thing is, real free speech is so under threat in this country...for what reason I ask? Why can't we give our own honest opinion about something? Is it so wrong to say I agree or disagree with this or that...even publically? We should be able to critique our MP's or question their past or their beliefs without fear of retribution. They wanted a public role, toughen up and take the criticism that comes with it. Don't make attempts to change the law to destroy free speech even further.

What is with people, have we become so thin skinned we can no longer handle the truth, or even a joke for that matter. Is it because there are just way too many wowsers now? Or is the ongoing failure of the multiculturalism experiment? That the attempt to integrate different races of people does not work as one will ultimate try to control the other.

Is that why too a mere handful of people, or just one person out of what may be sheer spite or just plain narrow mindedness are able to shut down an entire discussion, or make attempts to dictate who we can listen to or who we can't?

I guess when there is a disfunctional Government that disfunction may rub off onto some of the population.
As John Hewson commented this morning, when a team marchs onto the field before a game they all march tightly together holding the flag up in front with pride. When this lot came into Government they were holding up different flags as they couldn't agree on a flag, and were out of step and all over the field...good analogy I thought.