Patriot Realm

Another 26th of January is on our doorstep. Only a few more sleeps before we gather our daggy thongs, ( not from Woolies, of course) search out the shorts with the flag plastered all over them and order in a few slabs, a keg or 3 and assemble around the barbie at the appointed hour ( normally around 11 am ) to tell a few mate jokes and have one too many.

We'll dust off the cricket bat and ball while the missus makes the salads and the kids are reminded that beer always lives in the bathtub on Australia Day. Unless there is a frog in the bath of course.... 

" Oi !  Get your Dad a beer! " will resonate around this great dusty island and we will pull each other's leg and tell jokes about who had a convict in their ancestry.

Will this happen this year?

I reckon it will. With more gusto than for many years.  

As President-Elect Trump is days away from returning to the Whitehouse, I pondered a man who may have applauded his victory and his ambitions to make America Great Again. Both men ran as outsiders to politics, appealing to voters disillusioned with the traditional political establishment.

Ross Perot was best known as a maverick billionaire and two-time U.S. presidential candidate He was one of the most successful third-party candidates in American history.

But what a lot of people don't know is that he also played a remarkable role in a daring rescue mission in 1978. This lesser-known part of his life, dubbed "Operation Hotfoot," (Help Our Two Friends Out of Tehran) illustrates Perot's determination, ability to think under pressure, and  commitment to those under his care.

I am not a fan of maggots. Let us be clear on that from the outset. Horrible little squirmy things. Writhing and thriving.. . 

I do not care who ( or  WHO )  tells me that they are full of protein and eating zee bugs will make me happy, I am not eating one. 

Australia's White Australia Policy was a set of laws designed to restrict immigration by people who were not of European origin, especially targeting Asians - mainly Chinese - and Pacific Islanders. Those laws aimed to maintain Australia as a predominantly white, British-style society.

The roots of the policy trace back to the gold rush era of the 1850s, when thousands of Chinese immigrants came to Australia seeking prosperity. Their success in the goldfields primarily resulted from them taking all available ground, leading to tension with European miners and culminating in violent protests such as the Buckland and Lambing Flat Riots.

In response, the Colonies (now States) imposed taxes and other restrictions targeting Chinese arrivals. By the late 19th century, labor unions opposed low-wage competition from Chinese workers in industries including furnituremaking and market gardening, further fueling support for restrictive immigration laws.

In recent years, it has been fashionable to be Woke.... fashionable to be " gay ", " transgender ", " black ", " climate change aware ",  vaxxed " and vegan.

Nothing appears to stop these dedicated disciples from following the latest fashion trend of being completely dedicated to being complete dickheads in order to gain approval from the social media trolls, leftie luvvies and the woke brigade. 

If mutilating your teenage body to become accepted is the latest fashion, thousands of young people are jumping on the bandwagon. If gluing yourself to a road will get applause from your online chums, then do it. After all, who can blame you? You are simply a dedicated follower of fashion. 

On the 10th of January 2011, a catastrophic deluge unleashed an unprecedented "inland tsunami" across Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Torrential rains transformed creeks into raging torrents, sweeping away cars, homes, and lives in a matter of minutes. Entire communities were submerged, as families clung to rooftops, desperate for rescue. With over 20 lives lost and countless others left homeless, the disaster became one of Queensland's darkest chapters, a stark reminder of nature’s unyielding power and a day I will never forget. 

" A 3-metre wall of water came without warning, tearing through Toowoomba — Queensland’s largest inland city — when rain of “biblical proportions” fell on already soaked earth after months of record-breaking falls across the state  "The inland tsunami swept through Toowoomba, washing away cars, damaging buildings, picking up water tanks, and thrusting people into the torrent. "

I will never forget the day. It had been raining in Toowoomba. It had been raining across much of Queensland and everywhere was soggy.  The rain had been falling steadily all over the state and I had no idea just how bad things were about to get.