Whatever

I read the news today oh boy.

Despite the concerted efforts of state and other authorities, including employers, a small but growing number of working families are experiencing periodic bouts of financial distress. What’s worse is that this has come to the attention of a newspaper columnist, evoking a feeling that there may, possibly, be something wrong — terribly wrong — with our society. “THERE is something terribly wrong in a rich country of only 21million people when 2million were driven last financial year to seek help from social services” (Kerry-Anne Walsh, Rich country, poor underclass, June 7, 2008).

Thankfully, the problem is not being ignored, at least not when it come to public service. Recently, a member of the thin blue line, Chris Hurley, was greatly helped in his attempts to keep the wolf from the door by being given a confidential $100,000 payment from the Queensland Government. This was in compensation for the loss of a large number of pens, pencils, coffee mugs, erasers and sundry other items — the exact nature of which have, in the national interest, sensibly been declared a state secret — brought about by the actions of a violent mob upset over the justifiable — if deeply regrettable — homicide of an Aboriginal man.

Today, The State has made no secret of its love for The People. 458 people, to be exact. Only “Eight people were awarded the highest honour”, however, which is “the coveted Companion of the Order of Australia”. The eight were a former prime minister, a television producer, a multi-millionaire businessman, a pointy-head, a law-talking guy, another politician, a former union bureaucrat, and another law-talking guy.

Excellent company.