Howdy Russia, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Poland, and Ukraine and welcome to TMGI...I know it's been 2 weeks again since I last posted, but having my usual problems with progressing this 'ere blog, shan't bore y'all with that specific crud, but it is a progressive problem that is exacerbated daily by simply trying to engage with this community of Mt Gambier, the media, etc, etc...regular availees will appreciate and understand how confronting it can be just coming to the keyboard because of what it is that is about to be...(do you mean the angry post that inevitably ensues, a post that is often as traumatically regressive as it is potentially positively progressive?-Ed)...yeah whatevs, at least I'm still trying...(and 800+ posts in, including 2 years of Court case directly related to this 'ere blog, and all the 'character assassination' stuff and abuse from Council and the Lutherans, etc, etc, after all that, still trying is still achieving...well that's what I reckon anyway-Ed)...cheers mate...
And sure, I have been struggling, but the truth be known, there surely is a thick streak of absolute self-indulgence on my part in the small parts of some days where-in I joyously indulge in some of the extraordinary things I've got goin' on in my life...(so it's not all a complete disaster then, is what you're sayin'-Ed)...exactly, gotta' lotta' shizzle goin' on, for sure, and I'd really rather nearly none of it existed, but it does, and I have genuine and deep concerns for South Australia as a community, including Mt Gambier, but I find it near impossible to come near this page and engage in a 'positive' way about the state of this State, because everywhere I look looks rooted, and that rootedness is firmly rooted in the institutionalised corruption that defines SA...(yay-Ed)...
And of course, being near Christmas, the Lutherans and Mt Gambier City Council are gushingly self-aggrandising all over WIN TV and The Border Watch and ABC Radio about the Lutheran/Council Christmas Day Lunch soiree at the Main Corner, for all the poor people and/or the lonely people, etc, etc...(charming-Ed)...absolutely Ed, and I'll maintain some balance along with the rage, by identifying that there are undoubtedly people involved who are genuinely generous and caring, etc...(didn't we call it 'genuosity' or something similiar?-Ed)...indeed, 'genuosity', good work Ed, and there are those people involved, for sure, but it's the fundamental reality of what's going on here that cannot be denied or ignored...and that reality is the crass, largely Ratepayer-funded, self-congratulation and self-promotion of rankly corrupt people deeply complicit in the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up...(and at The Main Corner no less-Ed)...what can I say?...(ummm, The Main Corner, itself a litany of MGCC corruption...you could say that-Ed)...regular availees of this 'ere blog will understand the blizzard of unpleasantness that this one simple paragraph summons...but I digress...
Karma Llama Down:...is a strange statement unless you're a fan of The Mighty Boosh (BBC TV) where-in zookeeper Howard once had cause to 'calm a llama down', but I'm borrowing that line with a very specific twist because, whilst I don't specifically disbelieve 'karma', I think we all need to take a couple of deep breaths and calm right-down about whether or not the following proves anything about anything, let alone that karma exists...(whaaa?-Ed)...2 months ago I saw a wallet lying in a driveway and went back because I sortts' knew that person and thought they'd dropped it getting the bins or shutting the gate, whatevs, so I turned my li'l car 'round and went back and picked it up...full of fifties clearly fresh from an ATM, turns out, $700 worth...(score!!!...I mean, ummm, they were lucky you found their wallet, even if it was empty at least they got their cards back, saved a lot of hassle and that...no?...errr, what? did you give it back?-Ed)...yes I did...(what, all of it?-Ed)...all of it...(dorrr what?-Ed)...not mine mate...(yeah I know, but, 700 bucks?...it's a lotta' money-Ed)...and that's the point...
Think of the few times I've had all my Disability Support Pension in cash and been on the way to pay bills, etc, and what if I'd have lost that money en route?...(yeah yeah, I know, I get it-Ed)...the wallet belonged to a friend/associate of the property owner (who wasn't home), the ID showing the person lived only streets away, so I took it 'round there...(what? it's not even your mates' money and you still handed it back?-Ed)...yeah, and the woman cried...(you bastard!-Ed)...they were tears of happiness you idiot...(yeah, I know that, I was talking about you handing back the money-Ed)...about 5 years ago, I found $350 right at the end of the check-out at Coles supermarket and handed it in to Coles, for the same reason, could have been someone's entire income for that week/fortnight/whatevs...(well cock-a-doodle-do, hip-hooray for you champ-Ed)...found $5 in the carpark the other day, kept that...(you outlaw you...and that's your idea of karma is it? $5 for $700? well done karma, I'll have the cash thanks-Ed)...not finished yet...
Coupla' days later the wallets' actual owner lobbed at my abode and handed me $70, and used one of my favourite words in his explanation of that amount, "a tythe", being 'a tenth' and generally refers to feudal land ownership stuff and what medieval peasants would pay as rent to their local lord/lordette, effectively one tenth of the lands total production...(fascinating-Ed)...anyhoos, this person thanked me profusely, praised my honesty, etc, and used my second fav word to boot!...exactly no more or less than I would expect and/or consider deserved...also, ran into the driveway owner recently whom said they'd heard and immediately knew exactly who 'Nick' was, etc, and that the walletee was extremely lucky because I was "the one in a million who would have returned that money", etc, etc...(people saying nice things to you, nice things about you to you, how did that feel?-Ed)...is that what that was?...(so karma is $70 instead of $700? so what? and I thought you said that $70 was just an appropriate response/reward/whatevs? that ain't karma-Ed)...still not finished...
Last weekend, went for a stroll 'round part of the Crater Lakes Precinct, as I try to do occasionally, as knees best allow, and was halfway driving home, going up to the Frew Pk roundabout at 50kmh, when there was a 'tap-tap-tapping' outside the car...I briefly thought it was a motorcyclist/cyclist I'd somehow not seen and somehow cut-off or some such, but quickly realised that I was in clear air with no-one even vaguely near me...getting to the roundabout, I noticed an empty space on the passenger seat where my tatty ol' 'bumbag' should have been sitting...(oh no!-Ed)...yeah, and I was right in the roundabout when it occurred to me that that tapping was the plastic latch of the bumbag as it fell-off the car 100m back...distracted, I'd left it on the roof as I got back in my li'l car post-stroll...(nooo! what happened?-Ed)...pulled over straight after the roundabout and got out expecting to see bumbag, phone, cards, cash, etc, strewn about the road 140m back, probably being repeatedly run-over...(and? and?-Ed)...and hoping that just maybe that tapping was the bag caught in the little fin/wing thingy on the back of the car...(was it?-Ed)...nope...
Bizarrely, the short end of the undone strap, that clip-end had wedged in the channel on the roof where roof-racks go, and at such an angle that the slipstream wedged it tighter and across the open bag itself, effectively pinning it all to the roof...(noooo!-Ed)...yep, wedged quite firmly in place...(and the phone, cards, cash, etc?-Ed)...all still in the open main pocket, as I said, held shut by the strap across it...(wow-Ed)...I know, don't reckon you could do that if you tried...(absolutely...and I can see how you might make a brief karmic connection between returning someone's wallet, cash intact, and your own bag staying stuck to the roof like that-Ed)...for approx 2kms, right through the middle of town...(wow-Ed)...and dear availees, obviously I'm asking that you accept that these 2 things happened, but there you go, they did...(man you have some random shizzle goin' on-Ed)...ain't that the truth...(in fact, this whole post is a series of very random paragraphs-Ed)...yeah, just ain't feelin' humorous and/or positive at the moment and this is the best I can manage...(fair enough, we'll put it all in that 'Still Trying' file, yeah?-Ed)...
So there y'all have it...does karma exist, and if so, do these otherwise random and unrelated incidents go anyway to proving it?...just sayin'...and of course there's Alan Packer who works at the llama processing and packaging plant and on his tax return describes himself as Al Packer, Alpaca Packer...(into the 'Still Trying' file?-Ed)...oh yes please...
Laugh I Nearly:...(I didn't, I just about spat...and I mean like literally, like a very pissed-off alpaca-Ed)...now come on...(alright, well not actually literally, but actually definitely metaphorically-Ed)...and fair enough, because at the last Mt Gambier City Council meeting (November 2016) there was yet another hilarious Steve Perryman 'Accommodation Agreement' 'Conflict Of Interest' re his motel/hotel that saw Councillor Steve mate...(maaate-Ed)...leave the Chamber for the vote by Council to pay the AFL to hold a pre-season match in Mt Gambier...(into the 'Still Trying' file?-Ed)...that's not a joke mate...(seriously? are you sure? I mean, why is MGCC paying anything to the $$$billion business that is the AFL?-Ed)...I know, something like $8,000 directly and a further $5k 'In-kind' support, apparently for works at the chosen ground, etc...(and another AACOI where-in former Mayor and current MGC Councillor Steve Perryman leaves the room if not the building?-Ed)...indeed, yet another one...(and is this AA with a specific team or just the AFL in general?-Ed)...dunno'...
(Cr Stevo needs to get himself and his motel business to AAA-Ed)...AAA?...(yeah, Accommodation Agreements Anonymous, he's clearly addicted-Ed)...oo oo, nearly forgot, that's exactly the hilarious joke that fellow Cr Des Mutton unleashed in Stevo's direction as Stevo shuffled out of the Chamber, namely, 'you have so many conflicts with that motel Steve, you'll have to get rid of it'...and whilst there was ample laughter about the Chamber...(unbelievable!-Ed)...Stevo didn't look quite so amused...(probably concerned some smart-arse bastard 'll write it up on their hilarious blog-Ed)...and it's a concern well founded sir!...(and a concern well realised sir!-Ed)...and what about Cr Des's style, wow, calling-out someone else on MGCC about their corruption, even jokingly...(I was gunna' say, wow-Ed)...Cr Des, who's son Lachlan was the original leasee of the Ratepayer funded The Main Corner, for free mind you, and who's grandson was paid $10,000 by MGCC for 'consultation' on solar panels, etc, etc...
A Complete HAC Job:...because even worse than Cr Stevo's relentless corruption and Cr Des' extraordinary hypocrisy/self-righteousness, was the conduct of Cr Penny Richardson, until recently MGCC Deputy-Mayor and also recently appointed 'Chair' of the Hospital Advisory Council...(didn't you say that the HACs are purely a corrupted construct designed and implemented by the wholly corrupted Rann/Weatherill Labor state government to officially separate the government/department/Minister from any official accountability to Ms Joanne Average patient person?-Ed)...absolutely, HACs are entirely about creating a wall of dissolved responsibilities and pressure valve-type 'outs' for senior Health officials...(and you also said that the appointment of Grant King as Mt Gambier HACs original head honcho proved exactly how corrupted this HACs process/structure is-Ed)...ones' corruption defines the other, you pick which is which...
For weeks Mt Gambier Hospital has been frequently featured in the local media re claims of dysfunction and disorder, etc, as apparently exposed by doctors/nurses/staff/whatevs, and profusely commented upon by Liberal Member for Mt Gambier, Troy Bell, amongst others...too many issues to cover here, but it's the actions of card-carrying Labor supporter and HACS Chair Cr Richardson in response to these reports that is so unbelievable, namely, to take into Council's full meeting of November 15th 2016, a double-sided A4 manifest/list of contradictory statements, a list that supposedly refutes every criticism and dismisses all concerns, etc, and then hand that list out...I'll post it...
Tomorrow: A Healthy Slice Of Cynicism
(How'd you get that paperwork then? got a deep-throated mole in Council?-Ed)...no, I said, Cr Richardson handed them out mid-meeting to Councillors, staffers, and us 2 publics...(how is that appropriate? I thought there was no politics in local government?-Ed)...yes Ed, in exactly the same way that the Church and the State are separate, and the 3 branches of government, Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary are all independent of each other...(well look, I don't see how rancid sarcasm is going to help at this juncture!-Ed)...not my fault mate when reality and rancid sarcasm are indistinguishable from one another...(damn you sir!-Ed)...as indeed are we all Ed, as indeed are we all...
And tomorrow is obviously about the disastrous if quite deliberate collapse of Public Health provision at the hands of the rankly corrupt Rann/Weatherill Labor government, but with a particular focus on the farcical 'investigation' of Mt Gambier Hospital that was held in response to these complaints, reports, comments, etc...(how farcical exactly?-Ed)...public submissions are to be submitted to the Mt Gambier HAC, who will then decide what gets through...(but I thought you said that HACs are all about stuff not getting through, no?-Ed)...no, that's my exact point...(oh dear gourd, I get it, nothing gets through-Ed)...bingo...
I'm Nick Fletcher and this is my very random but still tryin' blog...cheers and laters...
