(1) Mini-thread about the leftist government of New Zealand.
I'm grateful to fellow patriot @QNarrative for increasing my knowledge about this, when I haven't put much time into NZ politics lately bc the Trump Era is so much more fun to cover.
(2) Labour party PM Jacinda Ardern's live-in boyfriend is a former TV presenter. In NZ a "partner" has the same status as a spouse & Labour supporters treat the couple as if they're married.
I didn't realize Clarke Gayford potentially has a court record for cocaine charges.
(3) I may be taking a risk writing about this here but I'm merely repeating allegations made by others. There's more: this screenshot appears legit:
(4) I think what his comment shows is that he's not very bright. Not media savvy. For context, NZ Labour are unrelenting in their nit-picking over the private lives of their opponents and their families. Because Labour's record and policies aren't easy to defend.
(5) I don't read into it that Gayford is endorsing pedophilia or dissing disabled people. I think he didn't even realize the sign was there to tell people a baby changing facility was available, and that sexualizing it would be a bad look.
(6) There are many reasons why NZ politics is the way it is.
One is that with just 5 million people spread out over a country larger in land area than the UK, we're too small to sustain a free, lively, political debate culture.
It was super easy for the left to dominate.
(7) It's the same reason Democrats dominate most US medium to large cities.
The smaller the voter base, the less financially viable the industries of political journalism & lobbying can be.
It's why I gave up on NZ a few years ago & will move to the US (eventually.)
(8) When I lived & worked in the capital, Wellington, I would literally brush shoulders with members of the political establishment walking down the street at lunchtime.
I can't be an outspoken freedom-loving conservative activist in a town like that. It's a safety issue.
(9) During my time there, the political situation went downhill & it's gotten exponentially worse since.
The deep state is real, and it's everywhere. NZ voters absolutely must vote the current government out.
They're dangerous hypocrites. And yes, the other side are OK.
END
(10) Addendum: I meant to add this about the pic in the PM's background. That's Michael Savage, who was PM during WWII.
NZ pilots protected US Marines at Guadalcanal. The union-funded party of Savage and Ardern allowed port workers to strike, delaying supply of the US mil.
(11) In WWII, & today, the US is the last stand for freedom everywhere.
The soldiers, sailors & airmen of both the US & NZ were honorable, patriotic & brave.
However, far left political parties don't support #PeaceThroughStrength, even in the crisis we faced in 1942.
(12) If NZ had been as smart & patriotic as the US & all the other Allies, the eventually successful island-hopping march from Pearl Harbor to Okinawa would have happened sooner, saving more lives.
Well said, @DonnaLeeSun. I have the same approach.
Donna is "Unapologretically Canadian."
I am Unapologetically New Zealander/Kiwi. Granted, "sorry" has a special meaning in Canada, eh? But our countries do have a lot in common. Mini-thread:
I really get what Donna is saying in her Twitter bio:
"Trumpism has a strong foothold in Canada & we ignore it at our peril. Pay attention, esp. to PP, former PM Harper & idiot Premiers!"
The same is true of New Zealand, Australia, and our OG mothership: The UK.
PP stands for Pierre Poilievre, who became the leader of Canada's conservative party on 10 September 2022.
For me it's super simple: Far right extremism gained a foothold in the US, only to be rejected by majorities of voters multiple times since. Because #DemocracyWins.
Evidently, my above use of the term misogyny has triggered a few of them.
They're trying to insinuate that Kohberger was a liberal which, even if true, would have nothing to do with the points made in my tweet. We already know several things about him, and his crimes...
Further, when writing the above list of 5 known and/or confirmed misogynists, some of whom have killed at least one woman, I considered a range of factors that put them on that list.
I want to encourage discussion about misogny and the targeting of women by violent offenders.
Esp. the 2020 US presidential election, and others where right wing governments were (and will soon be) punished for anti- public health and safety, anti-science, ignorant approaches to pandemic response.
Do politicians and their advisers get this yet? In most households, it is one or more women who take basic health and safety seriously, & who develop a superior knowledge base due to our more complex biology, higher rates of illness, & greater need for infection control measures.
Of course there are many men with the same health knowledge and risk management priorities as women, but we are talking about "in general" here, and how that applies to elections.
Gotta laugh, my tweet generated the following reply from a maga account:
"Ukraine flag in bio"
Ad hominem/genetic fallacy is all they have. They deflect by targeting the player not the ball. Because playing the ball is too hard for them. It requires honesty & courage.
I'm talking about changing the way domestic violence incidents are handled, and doing more to put long term distance between known DV offenders and their legal access to guns.
An idea best espoused by the outstanding @BeauTFC. Link to follow.
The outstanding @BeauTFC talked about this issue here:
I wonder what price between $8 billion and $44 billion Elon Howard Hughes Musk might consider to sell this vital pro-democracy communications hub before he completely destroys it.
I mean, that's his goal, right?
He paid waaaay too much for it. Value currently estimated at $8 billion. Surely there are billionaires out there with the ability to build a consortium to entice it out of his grubby little hands?
There's a good argument for the US federal government buying it, too...
Or a group of countries. It's not all about the US, you know.
What does the Putin regime have on Musk, that could get him to over-spend so much money? The global fascist movement is the only winner out of this. Or was it the Mercers?