South Australian state election

[The Emu's Prophet]

It's the state election over here in South Australia in a few weeks. The level of debate is rather pathetic.

Take a look at this Labor scare ad, featuring perhaps one of the most feeble quote mines in history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kjUxD04WIE

So, because Isobel Redmond acknowledges that ecstasy isn't the most deadly drug ever devised in the history of the universe, this means that she doesn't think it's dangerous?

I dispair for a world in which some people are actually swayed by such fallacious nonsense.

[nom]

"...not as big a risk as some of the other drugs."  Wow! With such a strong endorsement she may as well be out on the street pushing the stuff. 
So, if we extrapolate Labor's argument, if it is wrong for her to say that ecstasy is not as risky as other drugs, then it must actually be worse than other drugs. Clearly then, SA Labor think it's young people should be using dope, heroin, ice and crack cocaine instead of ecstasy. Because psychosis, addiction, crime and high probably of death are OK?

I know, at a intellectual level, that most politicians are actually decent people trying to do their best, but at times like this they seem like idiots. And then they wonder why no-one respects them...

[The Emu's Prophet]

I've posted a parody of that ad here:
http://freethought-fellowship.org/forums/index.php?topic=2985.0

[The Emu's Prophet]

I know, at a intellectual level, that most politicians are actually decent people trying to do their best, but at times like this they seem like idiots. And then they wonder why no-one respects them...

It's scary, though, that the people running the state are so incapable of actually arguing the issues that they have to resort to such a crude lie to make themselves appear better than the opposition. But it is what this government has excelled at - sensationalist, populist scaremongering rather than careful consideration of the facts - case in point, the proposed nuclear waste dump. The Federal Government had nominated a geologically stable location in the middle of nowhere to put all the nation's waste. However, because the dump would have been on the wrong side of a particular imaginary line, Mike Rann figured he could be the state hero by doing everything in his power to throw a spanner in the works (with all the "not in my backyard" nonsense). Nevermind that thwarting the plan to have single dump for all the country's waste means that radioactive waste will continue to be stored in the Adelaide CBD! Basically, all the attacks on Isobel Redmond by Labor have been criticising her for reacting to issues in a careful, considered manner rather than crude populist sensationalism. I never thought I'd ever do it, but this election I preferenced Liberal ahead of Labor; as Isobel Redmond strikes me as a much more rational and trustworthy leader, who is much more likely to think the issues through and make decisions based on the facts (she's an atheist too, btw). It's rather strange; the Liberal Party is usually the more right-leaning of the two major parties, but under the current state leadership this seems to be reversed, with them coming across as much more progressive than Labor.

Unfortunately, at this stage of the counting it doesn't look like they're going have any chance to form government (I think they need to win two more seats to get a hung parliament, with one too close to call, and another in which Labor is ahead)