Raise the Alarm

I’ve always been a fan of the Living End. They’re a great Aussie band. For a few years there I couldn’t get enough of them and will always remember their set at the Falls Festival back in 2003. Lead singer and guitarist Chris Cheney is a genius (and for the record, my preferred Cheney) and that night, he played like he’d made a deal with the devil. Back in July, the lads released their latest offering: a catchy album called White Noise.

It’s a good album, plenty to get into if you have the patience to listen. Track 9, 21st Century sounds like an updated version of We Didn’t Start the Fire, but a little darker (“Hefner is the devil incarnate”). In particular though, I was most pleased to hear track 2: Raise the Alarm. It’s the Atheist’s Anthem that I’ve longed for. My previous preferred band, Bad Religion, hint at the issue, with lines like “maybe god is just a chemical fiction” – but, The Living End have really nailed it here:

I may not believe in God
That doesn't mean I'm a lesser person
I still have a heart
And I know what it feels like to be broken

I may not believe in Jesus
But I believe in sacrifice
Life doesn’t always stand reason
No one ever gets a chance
To live it twice

The song articulates many of societies prejudices against atheists. We still have morals. We are still capable of virtuous actions. Organised religion does not have the monopoly on goodness (to say the very least). Watch the clip, listen to the song and re-think your position on atheists.

Too Close to Call

The seemingly endless US Presidential campaign is finally drawing to a close, and the American people have a 50% chance of proving my strong belief that democracy doesn’t work. Its innate weakness is the inability of the majority to ponder deeply on the challenges of a global society – and the likelihood that showmanship (money and spin) will trump substance. Put simply, most people don’t know what’s good for them.

The remaining choices for US President exemplify this particular flaw. While the Democrats have promised healthcare reform, and end to the war in Iraq, middle-class tax cuts and to pay attention to the imploding economy – the Republicans are responding with character traits like honour, bravery, experience and propensity to fire a high powered firearm. With most polls showing a dead even race, I can’t help but wonder how this can be so?

Now, McCain has been drifting to the right ever since he last failed to get to the White House in 2000. His former reasonable stances on immigration, abortion, and foreign policy have dissolved in a froth of expediency. His pick of Sarah Palin as running mate, has confirmed that he’s out of drifting room and has crashed aground on Right-Wing Extremist Island. Sarah doesn’t think there is ever a justification for abortion. She’s a gun enthusiast (nut), has no real concept of foreign policy (except living across the water from Russia!), and very recently wondered aloud (and on camera) exactly what is it that the VP does… She was chosen specifically to appeal to the small town folk stereotype that she epitomises – and for the time being, it seems to be working.

I remain hopeful that sanity will prevail. Obama is a strong, articulate man. He’s not only got sound policy positions, but a star quality usually lacking in Democrats (excluding Bill of course). He’s chosen wisely in the experienced Joe Biden as his running mate. Together, they are the intelligent, non working class, non-small town types that I feel should be in charge of leading the free world.

Unfortunately, the international appeal of smart, reasonable men runs a strong chance of succumbing to the US tendency to choose conservative zealots who remind them of themselves. For my sake and yours, I hope this time will be different. 

A White House

Posting has been reduced to a trickle of late. The cabinet has undergone a series of serious geographical changes and time has been a hot commodity. My loyal Chief of Staff has gone trans-pacific and is now reporting (any day now) from Sunny California, while my missing Finance Minister has long since relocated to Dreary Old England. Meanwhile, in pursuit of the Australian Dream, I’ve uprooted the First Lady and we’ve headed west: the White Unit has been upgrade to a White House.

My change of venue in particular has brought a heightened sense of realism to many aspects of social policy that have long been an annoyance. Clearly, President-In-Waiting doesn’t pay anything like it should, so I’m now the proud owner of a mortgage I can’t afford. I also commute, like a sucker, via City Rail’s poorly run, shambles of a rail network. To ice the cake, The First Lady is quietly incubating a Presidential Heir, highlighting the meager allowances given to child bearing folk in our society in terms of maternity leave, child care and health cover. The whole affair has made me want to be President more than ever.

So, it starts again, with renewed vigour. The good people at Commonwealth Bank are On Notice – after mercilessly screwing me, while claiming to be “Determined to Be Different”. Don’t even get me started. City Rail has also made the list – though I’m hopeful that the fall of the Iemma Government will mean that the motto changes from “Ineptitude, it’s what we do”. Catchy. I’m also gunning for Big Pharma and our crumbling health care system – the lessons of Sicko are not lost on me, as they are on our present leaders. My mahogany desk, and faux seal are in place and the time for posting invective has returned.