This may have been posted before, but if not, here it is -
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain; - Why the early bird gets the worm; - Life isn't always fair; - and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place, Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights I Want It Now Someone Else Is To Blame I'm A Victim
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.
Jill B said
04:22 PM Mar 14, 2009
Sadly, that is too true.
Cruising Granny said
05:23 PM Mar 14, 2009
I love it! The world has turned to soft options.
The Police do their job and the magistrates and judges let them go. What hope do we have when none of the things which make life so simple, such as respect and good manners have been mutilated by the young? The parents have stopped teaching these things and expect the school to do a patch up job when the kids already know everything at the age of 5.
The young want to start at the top and work up. They want to drive a BMW (never own it) before they're 21, and fill that brand new 4 bedroom house with brand new furniture to compete with and impress their peers.
Thank God I'm a Nomad, and when the community give me the ...its I can hitch up and move to a nicer community.
eg The "suburb" or neighbours across the creek from the van park I'm in at Cairns is called Vegemite Valley, and it certainly lives up to all expectations, or lack of them.
Let there be peace. Cheers Granny
drongo & wendy said
09:36 AM Mar 15, 2009
When the BRA was burnt the world started to lose its support [not ment as a sexist remark]
dave06 said
10:19 AM Mar 15, 2009
the young adults today seem to be very "angry" and act as if the world owes them everything including a living, they are bringing the children up the same way, respect has gone years ago but along with that was actionable results for their behavior
when I was growing up everything had a consequence, if I did this then that would happen....
if I broke the car then I would get a kick in the bum and I had to fix it, that consequence is not there any more, there are no boundaries set to guide these youngsters
in my youth we had boundaries and if we overstepped that mark the consequences would kick in, now, no boundaries and no consequences
the young dont have to work, we will provide everything for them anyway through the dole or pension if they are too fat or had a bad childhood, if they knock out a great swag of kids with no way of supporting them thats OK we will give them thousands of dollars to buy their hooch and then give them a pension for life
we are so good at this that we will guarantee that their children get the dole for life as well if they also choose not to work
us workers (fools for want of a better word) work all our lives, pay all our taxes, get to the end of our lives and then cant retire because it is going to send the nation broke (if one is a baby boomer)
heres a thought we have so many unemployed dropkicks that it is bankrupting the nation, south Australia has no water and all the other states are still stealing it off us, lets have the biggest work for the dole scheme ever
lets build a humongous pipeline from the flooded tropics through a huge dam somewhere where the greenies wont kill us for it, and run all that excess water down through the Murray somehow, kills all the birds with one stone, gets the dole bludgeing hooch smoking thieving dropkicks off the street and delivers a good reliable source of water for all states
I suggest it is run by the army or military anyway as the government cant run a chook raffle without losing the chook, certainly couldn't control a mob of dole bludging drop outs, I could suggest a couple of training Sargent's who could be coaxed out of retirement
my thoughts anyway, off me soapbox for another day!!!
Jill B said
12:51 PM Mar 15, 2009
The pipeline idea is the most sensible thing to do, but for some reason, govt has no idea. I have been saying this for a long time, especially with the latest round of floods up north. I googled a map of the Murray-Darling catchment area, and I really can't see why the water cannot be diverted into the system. I have a couple of theories, but it might be best to keep the lip buttoned................................
dave06 said
01:49 PM Mar 15, 2009
well they built the ord river scheme and that is a white elephant only 10% utilised, it really has only got to go to the catchment area and from there it will find its own way through if left alone, nsw could greedily sell itself underwater but still find itself massively in debt as it is now and melbourne could finally stop it's whingeing and stop dirty backroom dealing to get more water instead of reusing the millions of gigolitres that flow out to sea each year from their streets
there would be so much water that the squabbling would have to stop and we might be able to regrow our lawn and see some green for a change and actually get some water down here instead of just seeing it growing the money trees for other states
and another benefit is the easing of the dole payments, which must be almost as much as our national debt by now, and the easing of crime and vandalism but all too simple of course the pollies would never agree to such a huge commitment, the days of monster schemes such as the ord river or the snowy mountain scheme are gone, our pollies have no more foresight than the next election
Cruising Granny said
06:26 PM Mar 15, 2009
Don't worry, it will all be fixed with the knee jerk handout. What a short sighted "solution" to a long term problem which has nothing to do with global warming.
If the financial institutions stopped handing out non-existent money in the form of credit, stopped paying the shareholders and board executives massive amounts of millions, and started rewarding the customers for the use of their money, things might balance out.
It's all too top heavy. The rich get richer while the wheels fall of the cash cow.
I reckon between us, there would be more intilligence and common sense than all the pollies put together, and that's why we're not running this country.
Soft options and hand outs are this country's solution to every problem, especially if you hug a tree.
The kids listen to violent lyrics hammered into their heads via the iPod. The bloke they killed yesterday on the play station is alive today when they crank up the machine again. They are so violent and have no self-control.
I'm going bush. It's all too hard. Cheers Granny
mike and Judy said
06:38 PM Mar 15, 2009
Yea Granny I did that, they called me a dropout, in 88, and am still avoiding it ,
When we lived in Central Victoria I mentioned to the world that the Darling could be used as a pipeline from the Ord to the Murray,
Wouldnt mind betting that it could happen in 30, years time
Might still be around to see it
Now would'nt that be something
Cruising Granny said
09:33 PM Mar 15, 2009
Great idea, but none of the governments want to spend the money.
A bloke in WA has been busting his buns to have water transferred from the Fitzroy River or Lake Argyle to Perth. It means it would just happen to pass his station where he wants to grow GM cotton. He's not allowed to use ground water for cotton, so since the mid 90's he's done everything to get that water to pass his place. Damming the Fitzroy at Diamond Gorge, a pipeline or canal to Perth, but he's been unsuccessful in all his efforts thank heavens. No one wants cotton in the Kimberleys.
The diversion via the Darling would be realistic and ideal, but who would get the water?
The cotton and rice growers have held so much back in NSW and Vic that the Murray is drying up. Two years ago I crossed the Darling which looked like a series of muddy puddles.
Bring back the rainwater tanks to every building. Householders in the city only know how to turn a tap on, not where the water comes from, how much it takes to get it to each house, and where it goes when they pull the plug. Why did it take massive media campaign to tell them. On the farms and stations we used rain and bore water, and we knew how to use it wisely.
SA knows they depend on the Murray and rain water. Not much ground water or aquifers in SA with potable water. Even the sheep won't drink it.
We need to get back to basics. Cheers Granny
Locky said
10:09 PM Mar 15, 2009
"Common Sense" my wife thinks that I have very little of this wonderful gift and often encourages me to find it, and if I should be so fortunate to discover it, use it.
We do have at times animated discussions re commom sense. In the context of our predjudices, if common sense can be interpreted as a prejudice, we are worlds apart. My wife grew up on a cattle property with a particular set of "common sense" values whilst I embraced academia with a radically different set of common sense values.
Albert Einstein's theory of relativity may be challenged, however it is harder to refute his statement:
"Common Sense is a collection of prejudices aquired by the age of 18"
My three bobs (sorry twobob) worth of contribution to the subject.
Cheers, have a great day and may the force of "common sense" be with you.
Locky
dave06 said
10:43 AM Mar 16, 2009
just on the subject of giving away millions of dollars, I must correct you granny but I'm sure you wont mind, the total "gifts" of cash to the upper end of town (thats where most of it ends up) is around 10.2 billion dollars, our entire savings
now I'm far from a scholar of any kind but if those monies had been put to a scheme to reintroduce water to the murray from the top end via work for the dole I and a hell of a lot of others would have been a lot happier, how much would this have cost in the first place, surely no more than that
we in the mid north of south australia are in a bit of a pickle as far as rainwater tanks go, we simply do not get the rain to fill them, and our bores are too salty
while adelaide has a huge catchment and many large reservoirs, we do not, we are in severe drought, have been for six years now and continuing, our land and our people are drying up and blowing away
when in victoria recently (not this trip but the last one) I was constantly assailed by folk going on about their drought and how bad it has been, all the time we were there it was bloody raining, and every drop was going out to sea, we have seen no decent rain, none for six years and yet they steal our water that we need for survival whilst they waste so much of their own
we reuse, reduce and recycle while melbourne and sydney bathe in their oversupply and huge wastage, and reap enormous returns on their cotton for large corporations, not the common man, this money goes to overseas investors, doesnt even make the state rich
it needs one party to focus on the issue and actually do something about it, we are currently buying all the water that we can lay our hands on at $18,000 a megalitre, the same water is supplied to growers for $900 per meg, somebody is making squillions out of our squallor
take the money grabbing mongrels out of the system, make it fair and equittable and just supply us with pottable water, thats all we south aussies ask
Cupie said
12:16 PM Mar 16, 2009
In regards to the discussion about diverting water from the north via pipelines etc ... Google 'Bradford Scheme' Some good reading & food for thought.
ps. The only thing that I have in common with Bradfield is that we both attended the same State Govt. Primary School .. different years of course.
dave06 said
12:56 PM Mar 16, 2009
thanks Cupie, I knew it had to be too good an idea to be just mine, it seems like not only would it work but it could be acheived within ten billion dollars, less than the ammount squandered by our pollies in the dash for cash scheme
so if it is so good and so acheivable why hasnt it been done, and I still say chuck the dole bludgers a pick and a shovel and make them earn a living for a change BLACK AND WHITE!!!
Bridgee said
02:12 PM Mar 16, 2009
Bring back the rainwater tanks to every building. Householders in the city only know how to turn a tap on, not where the water comes from, how much it takes to get it to each house, and where it goes when they pull the plug. Why did it take massive media campaign to tell them. On the farms and stations we used rain and bore water, and we knew how to use it wisely. SA knows they depend on the Murray and rain water. Not much ground water or aquifers in SA with potable water. Even the sheep won't drink it. We need to get back to basics. Cheers Granny
I agree with Granny, we live on rainwater for the house and a dam for the stock and garden. If we are silly with our water like every person on scheme water is, then we would run out and have no water, we do not have an endless supply, and I think EVERY home should have a water tank, obviously not as big as ours but a small one under the eves, it won't be huge but every little bit would surely help, plus it tastes much nicer, don't know what I will drink when we start travelling, and eggs always had our own eggs...wonder if we can take a couple of chooks with us !!
And on the subject of water - can we ban dishwashers?? what a water wasting time consuming, piece of **** they are, not only do you spend half an hour rinsing the dishes prior to going in the dishwasher, and deciding what can and can't go in, what can't go in will have to be washed by hand, the machine then uses heaps of water to wash the dishes, hours later when it has finally fisnished it has to be emptied and put away, but of course an inspection has to take place to make sure the dishes are in fact clean, more wasting time, of course you still have to clean the benchtops, cook top etc, all of the above takes hours, one fill of the sink washes all dishes, cleans all benchtops, cooktops, etc I know this system works well because my 'dishwasher' hubby does all of this in five minutes!!!
dave06 said
02:17 PM Mar 16, 2009
yep from one "dishwasher" to another, she's right. we have one but it stores our used plastic bags ready to be used again for the rubbish bin,
rainwater tanks, we put a biggy in about 6 years ago, it hasnt rained since, I think I'll disconnect it and see if that is the problem, somethings blocking up the works somewhere
Basil Faulty said
05:20 PM Mar 16, 2009
Cupie wrote:
In regards to the discussion about diverting water from the north via pipelines etc ... Google 'Bradford Scheme' Some good reading & food for thought.
ps. The only thing that I have in common with Bradfield is that we both attended the same State Govt. Primary School .. different years of course.
Ah Yes good old Dr Bradfield.... he gave us the Harbour Bridge and Electric Trains.... His Grandson, Don Bradfield was my GP until he set up his own little country practise at Burra....
Mike47 said
10:26 PM Mar 18, 2009
The only problem with common sense is that it's not very common.
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place, Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.
We do have at times animated discussions re commom sense. In the context of our predjudices, if common sense can be interpreted as a prejudice, we are worlds apart. My wife grew up on a cattle property with a particular set of "common sense" values whilst I embraced academia with a radically different set of common sense values.
Albert Einstein's theory of relativity may be challenged, however it is harder to refute his statement:
"Common Sense is a collection of prejudices aquired by the age of 18"
My three bobs (sorry twobob) worth of contribution to the subject.
Cheers, have a great day and may the force of "common sense" be with you.
Locky
ps. The only thing that I have in common with Bradfield is that we both attended the same State Govt. Primary School .. different years of course.
SA knows they depend on the Murray and rain water. Not much ground water or aquifers in SA with potable water. Even the sheep won't drink it.
We need to get back to basics. Cheers Granny
I agree with Granny, we live on rainwater for the house and a dam for the stock and garden. If we are silly with our water like every person on scheme water is, then we would run out and have no water, we do not have an endless supply, and I think EVERY home should have a water tank, obviously not as big as ours but a small one under the eves, it won't be huge but every little bit would surely help, plus it tastes much nicer, don't know what I will drink when we start travelling, and eggs always had our own eggs...wonder if we can take a couple of chooks with us !!
And on the subject of water - can we ban dishwashers?? what a water wasting time consuming, piece of **** they are, not only do you spend half an hour rinsing the dishes prior to going in the dishwasher, and deciding what can and can't go in, what can't go in will have to be washed by hand, the machine then uses heaps of water to wash the dishes, hours later when it has finally fisnished it has to be emptied and put away, but of course an inspection has to take place to make sure the dishes are in fact clean, more wasting time, of course you still have to clean the benchtops, cook top etc, all of the above takes hours, one fill of the sink washes all dishes, cleans all benchtops, cooktops, etc I know this system works well because my 'dishwasher' hubby does all of this in five minutes!!!
Ah Yes good old Dr Bradfield.... he gave us the Harbour Bridge and Electric Trains.... His Grandson, Don Bradfield was my GP until he set up his own little country practise at Burra....