Here’s a tiny question. Is the age of democracy drawing to a close? Now, before you accuse me of exaggerating, or baiting you, let me assure you — it’s a question I mean to ask, and I think we should all be asking. We tend to think of democracy as something like a grand, permanent […]
Author Archive | David Livingstone
The Glorious Experiment
The “Glorious Experiment” was just that, built around the environment of that late-eighteenth-century and its contemporary challenges of transport & communications over distances. Any federation of even a small number of sovereign states face the same challenges (e.g. India, Germany, Malaysia, Australia) but do not have that critical & fundamental flaw probably because they (a) […]
The Origin of Usonia
Recently the use of the term “Usonia” to refer to the population of the republic styled “The United States of America” has provoked outrage from some citizens of that country, especially those to the right of the political spectrum. This author uses the term respectfully and always with an initial capital as a proper noun, […]
Is a Unity Government of National Emergency possible?
Electoral Reform in the U.S.A. – Step One
Here’s a simple first step on the long road to participatory democracy. Leave the individual states alone – they can clean up their own act, should they desire. Establish a (real) Federal Electoral Commission Define federal electoral districts by population independently, with a panel of electors to approve by 2/3rds majority Automatic enrolment of all […]
Brexit Result
One correspondent wrote today: The British have no idea what they just did. Their demagogues are gleefully rubbing their hands while ignorant to the abyss they just pushed the country into. The Brexit has revealed many ugly truths about the British people as a whole. It lifted a veil and revealed the dramatic flaws the […]
Progress towards Systemic Change in Australia
Since my polemic against the inherent fault of the Westminster Parliamentary System in September 2015, which scarcely raised a murmur, a few significant events have occurred that prompt a revisit to the concept of a truly functional and representative system of government for Australia. The first event in this cascade was the cynical but legal […]
Marriage Equality
I was struck by something the very excellent Margaret Morgan said regarding the marriage plebiscite and Turnbull’s continued commitment to it, and I’m absolutely convinced she’s right. For all of Turnbull’s “I think Australia’s better than that” bollocks regarding whether or not hate groups will come out of the woodwork when the plebiscite is announced […]
Dr Van Davy Policy Statement
The Independent candidate for Robertson, Dr Van Davy, said today that his focus was on the 4 major groups of local people in the upcoming elections: pensioners, youth, workers, and small business. Dr Davy said, “Our local economy works best when youth are engaged, pensioners and workers’ families have cash in their pockets and purses, […]
Van Davy
In the Federal Election 2016 the electorate of Robertson, much-abused by both major parties and lying within the newly-merged Central Coast LGA, has a new independent candidate for the House of Representatives. He is Dr Van Davy We quote verbatim his position statement: In my dreamie sleep I was asked by a distressed young woman, […]
