Pathetic, Frenetic, Upside Down

Thomas Frank wrote that Roe v Wade:

"demonstrated in no uncertain manner the power of the legal profession to override everyone from the church to the state legislature....It cemented forever a stereotype of liberalism as a doctrine of a tiny clique of experts, an unholy combination of doctors and lawyers, of bureaucrats and professionals, securing their 'reforms' by judicial command rather than democratic consensus... Every aspect of the backlash nightmare seems to follow a similar path. Overweening professionals, disdainful of the unwashed and uneducated masses, force their expert (i.e. liberal) opinion on a world that is not permitted to respond."


Yesterday it was Prime Minister John Howard at the Westfield Shopping at Penrith in the far west of Sydney. Frenetic, peripatetic, a nightmare for his security escort, Howard shook hundreds of hands, posed fleetingly with babies, 'nice to see', 'nice to meet you', he would say in encounters that barely lasted seconds. He listened to praise but barely took on any criticism, moving on rapidly. The polls remain appalling for him; and many of his government's senior staff are scouting around for jobs in the private sector. Not even his own side reckons he can win this time.

Comrade Kevin did the Westfield at Penrith trip a few months ago; getting much the same reception; polite; "he's not so bad when you meet him"; or often enough, as I ask, what do you think of Howard, "I don't know". But there's a few old soldiers still in there, "he's marvellous, he's done wonders for this country, he's not appreciated".

I remain nervous over my impending speech to parliament; which I haven't written yet; although I've started; and it keeps running round and round in my head. We're heading down there exactly a week from today, staying with my old mate Jenny; and round and round it most certainly goes. You'll be right, you can do it, people say; and I crunch up inside; fearful of disaster, unable to find refuge; all those screens behind which I lived; they're gone now; there's nowhere to hide; stand bold, stand firm, have courage; act with decency, hold true, integrity is a gift, use it wisely. But above all, courage to stand firm; to say what needs to be said. Why it's fallen to me, I will never know.

THE STORY CONTINUES:

"Anna came home several days later, a week earlier than scheduled. Though he had not been physically unfaithful, mentally he had had his spree. His desires to escape the confines of married life had been fulfilled. The kids were over-whelmingly excited to see their mother, rushing into her arms. After weeks of no physical contact it was a pleasure to wrap his arms around someone, to be caught up in an embrace, the kids hugging them at the same time. Inside, something had broken. He accepted now that he was in love, a couple, that this was his path. That there weren't alternatives, other loves just waiting for him to change his mind.

"That night they made love like they hadn't done for a very long time, if ever. It felt completely right. There was a renewed passion in everything he did. He'd forgotten how wonderful it could feel. 'I love you,' he whispered, lying back, spent, kissing her again, her hair damp. He didn't want anything else any more.

"He listened to her stories of Calcutta, New Delhi, Jaipur. She unloaded bags of Indian cloth. Hung a brightly coloured Punjabi wedding tent under the ceiling of the verandah. All the nastiness, the bitterness as they turned in on each other, had gone. 'I really missed you, missed the kids,' she said, after having been so keen to get away. She, too, now seemed to accept that the cards they had been dealt - their relationship, the children, the house - weren't a mistake after all. The kids were delighted to have their mother back, running up and down the hallway screaming with excitement. The house took on a semblance of order again. They were a family once more. He couldn't make love often enough, couldn't get enough of her. All the troubles of the past vanished. He felt happier than he had ever been."

THE BIGGER STORY:
ABC/AFP


A bomb has shattered the post football calm in Baghdad, killing at least four people and wounding several more the day after the country was briefly united in joy at its Asian Cup win.

The target appeared to be a bus stop near Tayran Square, a bustling transport hub in the centre of the city surrounded by auto mechanic shops.

At least four microbuses and two cars were engulfed in flames, and officials at two hospitals confirmed they had received four bodies and admitted 30 people wounded in the blast.

The explosion came hours after Iraqi authorities lifted an overnight curfew intended to prevent attacks on residents celebrating the national football team's victory over Saudi Arabia in Sunday's Asia Cup.

Soldiers at checkpoints in the city said they had been told to be on the lookout for a fleet of car bombs which had set off the day before from a town north of Baghdad but had been delayed by the curfew.

The overnight vehicle ban was ordered after two car bombs killed at least 50 people celebrating in the streets after their team's semi-final victory against South Korea last week.

The day after that match a third large car bomb went off in the up-scale Karrada district, killing scores of people and devastating an entire city block just across the river from Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.