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Like many, I welcome The Chaser’s War on Everything team back to out television screens. The last time they graced our living rooms with their slash and burn approach to culture and politics, Rudd was still the PM in waiting. There is a barrenness of good focused satire in Australia’s media landscape. The Chaser are important as they brazenly dare to show up the powerful in Australia. But when the Chaser decide that anyone is ripe for a prank, they lose focus and show an unfortunate, smug, cruelty in their humour.

The segment in question was Chas’ attempt to replicate spurious lawsuits involving the companies in question. Now, the litigious nature of society is a fertile ground for satire as are often the companies reaction. But the sketch missed its mark entirely. Instead of making valid points about the incidents, it was no more relevant, creative nor funnier that an episode of Punk’d. By roping in the regular workers, earnest in their attempts to help, Chas’ sketches served no other purpose than cheap TV laughs through humiliation. There is nothing really daring or satirical about it.

That is not to say that we ordinary folk should not be the target of satire. Daily life is ripe for attuned wit to knock the stuffing out of it. But the Chaser lads, who do it oh so well when puncturing the fragile pomposity of our media and political elite, lose their way when ordinary people become comedy collateral damage.

Yes, the show is “The War on Everything” but do they need to fight all the battles? Leave the easy, cheap laughs through humiliation to those with no talent.

The most dangerous of agitators against Christianity, senior citizens, have struck again. This time in Tasmania. Their malovent tool of Satan? Tai-Chi.

Church leader the Reverend Viv Morse says the Tai Chi devotees picked up and quit the church hall this week, after a council of leading parishioners decided the gentle martial art’s philosophies were incompatible with the Bible’s teachings.

“This is a clash between eastern mysticism and Christianity,” Reverend Morse said on Thursday.

And what are the Bible’s teachings? Intolerance for example.

“Half of Tai Chi is Taoism and Zen Buddhism, which is in total contrast to what we as a Christian church believe in,” Rev Morse told AAP.

And wilful ignorance.

“It’s about a type of meditation, and what they call search for enlightenment, where you go into things like yoga do (yoga do) or, like in the martial arts, meditations where you just emptied your mind and let it go wherever it wanted to.

And plain stupidity.

“Well that stands in opposition to Christianity, which says we are to be in control of our faculties.”

Excepting those involved with critical thinking or any other means of rational thought.

Thanks to a tweet from Flop Eared Mule, I came across a very interesting post titled What price artistry?

The post concerns new means of artists funding their musical craft such as the one adopted by Linda Thompson. She is seeking to fund her new album via contributions from fans. A very interesting idea but one that has precedent.

The post lists Josh Freese as another artist who has gone down the same path (and the track I Don’t Think That’s OK is a great song). You can check out the different packages offered by Freese here.
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Part of Malcolm Turnbull’s predicament seems to temporary periods of temporal displacement that place him back in the mid to late 1990’s. For example, it was revealed in The Oz that some Liberal party donors have drawn up a list of Liberal MPs that should quietly make way for fresh faces.
The list includes:

“senior figures from the Howard era such as Philip Ruddock, Bronwyn Bishop, Kevin Andrews and NSW powerbroker Bill Heffernan.”

Turnbull’s response:

But Mr Turnbull says he hasn’t seen it and the experience of MPs such as Philip Ruddock, Bronwyn Bishop, Kevin Andrews and Bill Heffernan – all reportedly named – is what makes the coalition strong.

“Nobody sent that list to me,” Mr Turnbull told ABC Radio, adding the coalition had a strong team.

“Our experience is producing, not only an informed and constructive critique of Labor, but the alternative policies that will provide the platform for a recovery.”

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