Political & Populist Dingbattery

I am now going to sit here and write a small essay and if it had a title, it would be: 'What's Pissing Me Off Today'.  But it's not just today, it started pissing me off last night.  I was watching the news, or reading a social media newsfeed, and there it was.  It appeared like a foul goblin rising up from the ghastly phosphorus over a haunted swamp.  It was a snippet that Premier Mike Baird has directed the NSW Attorney General to see if there are grounds for the DPP to appeal the sentence handed to Marcus Stanford.  In the event you've been hiding under a rock to avoid the onslaught of bullshit the world throws, Stanford pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to the murder committed by his brother on Stephanie, the Leeton school teacher whose surname escapes me at the time of typing. 

Anyway, I looked at the footage and the reporter said Baird is known for championing sentences that reflect the wishes of the community.  There was footage of him saying to the effect: 'We need appropriate justice ... doesn't seem the case to me.'  Well, pardon me for saying this, but WHO FUCKING CARES IF IT'S NOT THE CASE TO YOU, BAIRD?  To my knowledge, you are actually not a lawyer but a banker; and really have no idea what you're on about. 

For the correct administration of justice in this country to continue, it is imperative that parliament stay the righteous fuck OUT of the judicial system. 

I've also managed to annoy a media hack by pointing out it's not up to the judge to listen to baying public.  This is kind of funny.  Well, to me it is, anyway.  Boy, do people arc up when you explain how things work, and why their spurious rhetoric is just, well, plain dumb.

But let me point out my argument here, and my argument is based on knowledge, not emotion: the judge who sentenced Stanford would have taken into account varying factors.  Those factors include the degree of his culpability and the fact he was an accessory after the fact, and in a different State.  Those factors also include his guilty plea.   Another in this list of factors is precedents and case law, which would have been submitted by Stanford's counsel.  Stanford's sentence would have been backdated to the time he was taken into custody, and with time served he is eligible for release next month.  That's how it works.  And like it or not, our system works well.  So would politicians please stop trying to stockpile votes like a greedy bower bird accumulating rubbish in its nest?  This populist bullshit makes me want to club baby seals, and this is coming from an animal lover.

There is good in the world, or in my corner of it, anyway.  I have been emailed the first edit of my manuscript for my upcoming novel 'Howling On A Concrete Moon'.  Tomorrow, I will start on the process of reading and seeing anything the editor might have missed.  It is a laborious and onerous task, but it is necessary to ensure my novel is not stained with any errors of punctuation, grammar, or continuity.