From: Paul Feonic
To: All Dec-03-93 11:54:02
Subject: Vote 1.
Recently received an election pamphlet from a national Xn party,
"Call To Australia". (Headed by the all-purpose joke, but painfully
real, Rev. Fred Nile.) Interesting how they mix standard vote-getting
(Tough on crime, improve education etc etc) with their moralising
(Anti-Abortion, anti-sex, women in the kitchen, etc etc.)
But what's especially interesting is the way they word issues so
people can read it and say "Well if we were forcing women out of work,
that'd be wrong, this is just giving them the choice..."
At the top is an Australian flag, the letters CTA in a map of
Australia, "Defend our Nation!" "Protect our Constitution!" "Vote 1
The Christian Alternative" "Don't wait until it's too late! Do
something positive today!" (Like throwing this crap away?)
GETTING TOUGH ON CRIME
* Where the sentence for murder is life, life will MEAN life - not
the current prison with parole. (Never works, but everyone usually
agrees. Makes I good attention getter "Hey, these religious nutters
are talking my language.")
* Higher minimum sentences without parole for rape and all other
violent offenders. (Rape is the only crime named, people
automatically agree. But then they throw in "Other violent offenders"
which could be anything they don't approve of.)
* Putting the rights of the victim before those of the criminal.
(That one is a beauty. You can't fail to agree. Because it assumes
the accused is guilty (Logical fallacy known as "Begging the
question"). If you have this kind of legal system, you only realise
it's wrong when you're falsely accused and have no rights.)
* Real moral backing and proper funding for the Police. (Reads as if
they're saying "Community support and increased resources", but of
course they mean moralistic laws. While proper funding could mean
_anything_. Basically they're calling for Xn Nazis.)
HEALTH CARE FOR ALL
* Quality, affordable health care for all.
(Like above, they put something you _have_ to agree with first. "Hey,
these religious nutters aren't so bad." But they don't say _how_.)
* People before profit in our health system.
(Awww, isn't that nice. But the health system doesn't make a profit,
it's running at a huge loss.)
* Returning control of our public hospitals to locally elected
Community trusts. (Return? They never had it. And you mean _my_
neighbours controlling _my_ healthcare? )
* Making AIDS a notifiable disease. (They say that doctors can still
work, patients can still get treatment. But we all know what would
_really_ happen. "Hey Jew, where's your star?")
EDUCATION - CHOICE AND EXCELLENCE
* Promotion of the family and traditional values. (Sounds nice, but
means bible study in public schools, and teaching kids to hate fags,
other religions, and women.)
* Real choice of education by tax relief for private education equal
to the State spending per child. (Tax money to pay church run schools
which are already tax free. Oh joy.)
* Optional use of corporal punishment in schools. (Except it becomes
mandatory. The "Option" is for the parent to book an interview with
the headmaster and make their case, then the headmaster floods them
with (religious) studies showing how better-adjusted kids are when
regularly beaten.)
GOVERNMENT FOR THE PEOPLE
* CIR (Citizen Initiated Referendums) to keep the politicians honest.
(Actually I like these. Combined with CIE's (CI-Elections) However,
I know it only works in a country with top education, and that there's
a growing moralistic movement in Oz which combined with CIR's scares
me.)
* Parliamentary Reform so that MP's behave responsibly.
(Love the details.)
(Second page)
THE ONLY PRO-LIFE PARTY
* Legal protection for the unborn child[sic] from conception. (Banning
abortions, letting young girls bleed to death in the backyard clinics
again.)
* Caring for the aged and opposing euthanasia. (So much for freedom
of choice.)
DEFENDING OUR FAMILIES
* Tough new laws to stop pornography. (That's funny, XXX is illegal
in this state already. Gee, what can they mean? Basic Instinct,
Madonna, BBSes, T&A mags...)
* Removing excessive violence from TV and videos. (Not to mention
values which don't accord with bible-teaching. At least,
bible-teaching as interpreted by the Rev. Fred Nile...)
* Preventing the promotion of abnormal[sic] sexual lifestyles. Eg.
Homosexuality and paedophilia. (That the way, always arbitrarily
group those two together; never fails. Kill the faggots for Christ!)
FULL EMPLOYMENT A PRIORITY
* Community work in return for welfare support. (At 11% unemployment
means slave labour of the poor. Not to mention putting anyone who
is already in "Community work" out of business, on the dole, and into
the new slavery. Neat.)
* No dole to those who don't want to work. (Or those who are unable...)
* Long term strategy to support small business and the family farm to
provide jobs and economic growth. (Nice and general. I haven't a
clue what they mean by "Long term strategy", and I bet they don't
either.)
* Reducing taxation compliance costs for small business. (Making tax
fraud acceptable again.)
RECOGNISING THE (slave) VALUE OF MOTHERS (You ready for this?)
* Taxation reform that respects a mother's choice to work within the
family rather than be forced out to work. (Lovely emotive language.
Forced out _of_ work is apparently okay.) This will create many new
job opportunities for currently unemployed breadwinners.
(Breadwinners, of course, meaning men. Because it's un-Xn for women
to work while men cook/clean and look after the family. Working women
might realise they're more than chattel.)
DECENT HOUSING FOR ALL
* Essential for family stability and security
* Specific Government assistance to those in need.
(Like putting the Tough On Crime at the beginning, you put Support To
Those In Need at the end so people come away feeling warm an gooey
inside. "Gosh, these religious nutters sure have got their hearts in
the right place".)
Overall it's well done. Exactly the right emotive language to make
it easier to hold intolerant views. Just enough easy-to-support
proposals to make the harder-to-support intolerance easier to swallow.
Nix.
... Someone Does Presume A Great Deal To Know The Mind Of A God -- F Rice.
--- Blue Wave/Opus v2.12
* Origin: The Phone Box BBS ! - [Line 1] - Adelaide OZ! (3:800/854.0)
