Posts by Lucy Stewart
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Golly, we're going to tax cuts for Africa personally funded by candidates at this rate. :)
Thus neatly solving the dilemma of our under-funding (by GDP-based measures) of foreign aid, no?
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…and $2 in the jar every time they appeal to “ordinary kiwis”
$5 anytime a member of a political party that is not National (or United Future, just to be safe) uses the phrase "mainstream New Zealanders".
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Question: Would you prefer a Labour-NZ First coalition or a Labour-National (un-thinkable, I know) coalition?
Definitely the latter. Let's face it, at this stage both of those options are only good for their amusement value, and watching the various personalities of the two main parties try and pretend to be on the same side for more than thirty seconds would have endless amusement value. For the three days or so the coalition lasted.
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This is just really appalling customer service. Here's hoping the fact that you have a well-read blog gets their arses into gear. I fear, as you probably do, that the most likely outcome is that someone has walked off with it - but that is really no excuse for not, you know, fixing the problem.
(My only bag-loss experience was much less traumatic, as it happened when I was five - I went to see my grandmother in Turangi, flew to Taupo, and my bag went merrily on its way to Rotorua. Air NZ couriered it back and it arrived about nine pm the same day. I thought it was all ridiculously exciting, as I got to stay up until nine pm. That was practically midnight, after all.)
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How would one say "the first Mrs Rochester" in Te Reo?
Te wahine Hoheta tuatahi (to mangle the transliteration)? :P
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Ah, Craig, we covered this, remember? Books are for literate upper-class educated-type people. You can get anyone using the internet. We can't be having that.
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Going back to an earlier page, I think that Sarah Palin is pretty. She looks really good, an unusual thing in a politician?
...sarcasm, yes? Or are we actually scraping the bottom of the barrel and judging female politicians on their looks?
Then again, judging by comments in the American media that have gone something like "I'd vote for Palin because she's hot and would do my dishes", um, maybe not. We've also had a number of mainstream outlets announcing that she's the new face of feminism. *sigh* Nothing like a bunch of old white men decreeing the bounds of "feminism", is there?
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First of all The Economist, who were huge John McCain fans before last week - they've dubbed Palin the Woman from Nowhere. I wouldn't be surprised to see The Economist endorse Obama, despite his rhetoric on free trade.
The Economist has been steadily more disapproving of McCain for, oh, the last three or four months. Last week's cover was a desperate plea for the Real McCain to return, but it's not the first article to make that call. They're dubious about Obama, but given their generally socially secular/liberal approach, I don't see them endorsing McCain now that he's made such an obvious grab for the social hard-right conservative vote with Palin. More than anything, they don't like stupid.
I think my favourite quote so far of hers is the one where she announces that of course she supports keeping "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, because it was "good enough for the Founding Fathers". Ouch.
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I occasionally have to remind myself that while within my flat phrases like "can has bikkit?" and "rumbling fuzzy!" are, respectively, a polite request for a biscuit and a commentary on the auditory expression of our cat, they're not so well-understood in the wider world. E.g., when the fiance and I go and stay with my parents.
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Surely we should be able to rise above our opinions of her stance on abortion and allow the woman her own choice in the matter.
Much of the feminist blogosphere is already up in arms over various sexist attacks on Palin, including this one: there are hundreds of perfectly good reasons to criticise her as a choice for VP that do not involve addressing her reproductive choices, attractiveness, sex life, etectera.
OTOH, it really bugs me that she's being portrayed foremost as the Super-Mom, as if merely popping out kids is some sort of qualification, and also that her decision to have a Downs kid apparently makes her saintly. Surely, if she's anti-abortion, seeking praise for not aborting her disabled child is like seeking praise for not stabbing your flatmate for leaving the dirty dishes around - the temptation is comprehensible, but the action is patently unthinkable, and no sane person would do it anyway. [Not that this reflects _my_ views on the equivalency of the acts, but given her extreme views on the availability of abortion, the question must be asked.]