Why Adhoc Abbott can steal a march on Detail Devil Rudd

Cos a lie can race around the world twice in the time it takes the truth to put its boots on.

Or more precisely, we live in a complex world, and it takes time to create change. While Abbott can put the boot in to some wretched scapegoat in 5 unscripted minutes, what can the truth do, except quote boring research and statistics. As if some swingbat voter is going to switch off MasterKapo to go fact-checking when its so much more fun to poke a scapegoat with a stick.

DH was in the audience for the ABC's inaugural Q&A with Kevin Rudd. (By invitation, don't y'know). She was on the edge of her seat cos she doesn't like seeing anyone humiliated, and would not like to see a newly elected PM fall flat on his face. And it all seemed like a terrible risk for Rudd to front up to a bunch of axegrinders like us who could hit him with anything.

But Rudd was right across it all. He has a huge head for detail. And he had a spontaneous sense of humor too. DH was dead impressed and came out thinking "What more can we expect of any human being for a Prime Minister".

Let's face it. It's all about the Geeks vs the Jocks. And it's time to declare open warfar. Now DH is a geek from way back, a brainy weakling who suffered at the hands of the popular girls. And she's cast this battle between Rudd and the Mean Girls, Abbott and Hockey.

Geeks rule. Or oughter, cause they can do more than slap backs and pose artfully in jockstraps at footy matches.

DH will be voting Labor, for all their mistakes.

Swan Budget: Unmentionable Unemployed Unpersons

Here's a list of missing words from Wayne Swan's budget speech

• welfare
• benefits
• unemployment
• newstart
• unworking families

At least "unemployment" was mentioned, if only in the context of the certainty that it would continue to fall. This is great news to the 600,000 Aussies who can't get work, no matter how often they rewrite their resumes. Unemployment will definitely fall, unless a butterfly's wing happens to flutter deep in a bank vault in Switzerland, in which case, it's anyone's guess which way the economy will flail.

Heigh ho and off to nonwork they'll go, another year on $235 a week, indexed to 3/5 of 5/8 of SFA.

Those pesky unmentionable words failed to appear in the SMH or Crikey. Is there any point in searching the Australian?

In short, the unemployed have become unpersons, unmentionable, and perhaps in the not too distant future, our very own caste of Untouchables.

Here's what ACOSS asked for on their behalf.

• paid work experience for the long term unemployed
• an increase of $45 per week

Sow's ears might fly with a raise like that which would still leave them about $80 short of the poverty line.

How is anyone to live on money like that?

The silence of and about the unemployed is truly deafening. But we're talking about the Labor Party, not the "Can't-even-sell-their-labor-for-$236-a-week Party". And it's no business of the Worker's Union, cos there's no Former Workers Union.