Charity Appeal.

As a change to the usual style of blog I'd like to make an appeal for a worthy cause. Here in Australia, at the end of the 21st century's first decade, there are still people stuck in the desperate and pitiable plight of not having a dictionary in which to look up the word 'liberal'. The result of this is that the Australian Liberals still include some of the most deeply illiberal people you can imagine. People who feel that a woman's ownership of her body does not extend to her uterus, for example.

CONTROVERSIAL Liberal MP Bernie Finn has sparked outrage by suggesting pro-choice cabinet minister Maxine Morand should not be ''let loose'' on kindergarten children.

After seeing Ms Morand on TV news on Tuesday night campaigning at a kindergarten in her marginal seat, Mr Finn wrote on the social networking site Facebook: "Bernie Finn doubts it was such a good idea to allow Early Childhood Destruction Minister Maxine Morand loose in a kindergarten. A few years younger and those kids would be right within her target range!"

...Mr Finn stood by his comments, saying it was "sickening" that Ms Morand would use children for electioneering after sponsoring legislation to decriminalise abortion.

"I find it appalling that here is an individual who is responsible for a piece of legislation which legalises the killing of children up until the moment of birth, and there she is parading around with young children in order to win votes," he said.

"Some people know no shame."

Ironic coming from a someone who wants women's reproductive systems to belong to the government yet joins a party called the Liberals. Eff Why Eye, Bernie:

Liberal

Adjective
1. Showing or characterized by broad-mindedness; "a broad political stance"; "generous and broad sympathies"; "a liberal newspaper"; "tolerant of his opponent's opinions".
2. Having political or social views favoring reform and progress.
3. Tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition.
4. Given or giving freely; "was a big tipper"; "the bounteous goodness of God"; "bountiful compliments"; "a freehanded host"; "a handsome allowance"; "Saturday's child is loving and giving"; "a liberal backer of the arts"; "a munificent gift"; "her fond and openhanded grandfather".
5. Not literal; "a loose interpretation of what she had been told"; "a free translation of the poem".

Noun
1. A person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties.
2. A person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets.

Now as I said in this blog's second ever post, I personally find abortion rather distasteful and feel that there are far better methods of birth control, but since I don't have a uterus I really don't feel that I have any right to lecture those who do on what they can and can't do with it. In response my saying this either here or in the comments at hers JuliaM once came out with some Clinton quote (Bill or Hill, I forget) along the lines that abortion should ideally be legal, safe and rare, which more or less sums up where I'm coming from. Where I think I'll differ from the Bernie Finns of the world is that while I dislike abortion I'm not prepared to use violence* to stop it. He's perfectly entitled to say what he likes, of course. He can hold whatever personal beliefs that make a mockery of the dictionary definition of 'liberal' that he likes, and he can call himself liberal or anything else that he likes (and Christ knows he's not going to be alone in the Liberal party in that respect).

In turn I can call him an authoritarian twat who needs a dictionary.

* By which I mean state violence rather than the physical violence sometimes directed at abortion services and their staff. However, there's really not much difference if it's illegal - break abortion law and you'll be arrested, resist arrest and you'll be physically restrained, resist strongly enough and eventually someone will point a weapon at you.