I was in the bottle shop the other day when I watched a girl being chastised by the bottle shop attendant for passing her father a bottle of wine to put in a box. She just passed it to him mind, she was being helpful. She wasn’t drinking it, she wasn’t taking it away, she showed no interest in it other than to be of assistance to her father, like she would in say the supermarket or unpacking the dishwasher. The bottle shop attendant should have been packing the box, but she wasn’t because people were being helpful.
Why shouldn’t a child, in the company of her parent, not be allowed to assist that parent? As a society we like to sit back and say that parents aren’t parenting their children any more, but we have all these rules that remove those rights and responsibilities from those parents. She wasn’t drinking it, removing it from the premises, in fact doing nothing other than being helpful. And she got in trouble for it. Dad didn’t have a problem with it.
Think about all the bloody rules that exist or are desperate to.
There is a law being touted about identity cards for gambling (introduced by independent Andrew Wilkie as a payback for helping the ALP form a government). I am over 18. I am allowed to gamble by law and choice. But the government wants me to sign up for it. Why? I appreciate that there a problem gamblers out there but I am not one of them. I have actually never in my life played poker machines, but I should be able to if I want to. Why should I, and other responsible gamblers, be forced into using an identity card because some people can’t control themselves. Anyone over 18 is allowed to gamble by law. Why are the rest of us punished because some people can’t control themselves? What’s happened to personal responsibility.
It’s the same with plain packet tobacco products. What a stupid bloody idea. I am the government and I am going to take away all your brightly coloured toys–well that’s how it seems. Now I hate smoking, another vice I do not partake in. But if people want to risk lung cancer and stand out in a group in front of buildings like social pariahs then let them. Taking away coloured packaging implies that they are only attracted by bright and shiny things. As I said I’m not a smoker but I’m guessing that it’s more about the addictive properties of nicotine than having the most pimped up ciggie packet around. There’s a good piece of legislation. Have the cigarette companies reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes.
I’ve also had enough of that Carbon Tax. I didn’t vote for a carbon tax. None of us did. In fact Kevin Rudd got kicked out of the top job for that same tax. As in the gambling tax it was a priviso of the Greens support for the ALP forming government that a carbon tax. Never mind the stupid voters who apparently can’t think for themselves, can’t control themselves and are attracted by bright shiny things.
How come little bitty Australia down the bottom of the world is responsible for all the carbon? I am doing a fabulous job of reducing carbon already. I’m freezing my arse off in this chilly winter because I can’t afford the electricity bill to heat my home. Surely that’s got to count for something. I should be exempt from a carbon tax. I’ve done my bit. But no for my efforts my electricity bill will be further slugged when the energy companies hit me with their carbon tax contribution.
Australia and that economic giant Costa Rica will have a carbon tax. The US, no. Canada, no. China, no. They mustn’t emit as much carbon as we do. Or maybe they don’t have a minority party (that most of us did not vote for) dictating their government policy. Maybe Chile and Iceland need to have a carbon tax due to those erupting volcanoes. But you can’t tax a volcano can you? Image
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