and a bird, perched high up in the branches of the silly green tree, looked down. "woof!" it said, and flew off backwards.

this is a quote from my favourite of the mr. men series of books, 'mr. silly'. and it is the most precise way i can think of to express exactly how i feel about the state of federal politics in this silly country.

i feel as if, like mr. silly, i too am living in nonsenseland, where the trees have red leaves, and the chickens wear wellington boots, and the pigs go "moo", and the people put marmalade in their coffee.

isn't that silly?

i am baffled by the fact that the people of this country could reelect to power a man who has blatantly lied over and over again. a man who has failed time and again to live up to his pre-election, vote-getting promises. a man who sent australian soldiers into a ridiculous war to kill innocent people and die for a fabricated cause. a man who takes every opportunity to celebrate the diversity of our multicultural nation, while at the same time locking up the nation's doors and turning away those who come knocking on them.

isn't that silly?

and now i am perplexed by the australian labor party, previously my only hope amidst all the silliness. i am deeply troubled that a long-running political party can reach a point in which their federal leader can go awol for months after losing an election, not utter so much as a peep after a natural disaster of epic proportions in which members of his own country were killed and neighbouring countries destroyed, and then resign from leadership before the party has reached a decision about who is going to replace him.

isn't that the silliest of all?

i realise that mark latham is sick, and quite possibly more so than he cares to let on, but the lack of leadership and party unity over the past few months has been laughable to say the least. quite frankly its been downright silly.

i am now going to make a strong cup of coffee with marmalade, dress my chicken in her wellingtons, and take her and my mooing pig for a stroll through this red, red land of nonsense as it crumbles all around me.

care to join me?