The Australian Labor Party used to be more or less anti-poker machines.

John Cain, Labor Premier of Victoria in the 1980s, refused to permit them.

But it was Joan Kirner, a Labor Premier succeeding him, who introduced them.

About that time something very nasty happened to the Labor Party . . . .

Current Victorian Premier, Mr Brumby, is no better.

His moves to modify the gambling industry have all been strictly cosmetic.

Nothing has happened that will reduce losses by gamblers.

* * *

In Tasmania it is exactly the same.

The Tasmanian Labor government enjoys a deep and meaningful friendship with Federal Hotels, and has arranged for them to have a monopoly contract at least until 2018.

How interesting, then, that anti-pokies candidate, Andrew Wilkie — running as an independent in the Tasmanian seat of Denison — has just beaten off the Labor candidate and won the seat.

Mr Wilkie has publicly promised that his aim is to make Tasmania “pokies-free”. 

The latest research in Tasmanian shows that one in every two voters knows personally somebody who is a gambling addict.  No wonder the people of Denison were glad to have Andrew Wilkie there to vote for.

Mr Wilkie said yesterday, “$95 million has been lost just on poker machines, just in Tasmania, just in the last five months . . . There’s something like 100,000 problem gamblers in Australia, problem gamblers on poker machines, costing the community something like $5 billion a year . . . .

“If I can get into the House of Representatives, and with Nick Xenophon in the Senate, I think we have an unprecedented opportunity to energise the public debate about poker machines, and bring about some genuine reform nationally,”

                                                                                                * * *                                                       

Yes, the poker machine problem is the same Australia-wide.

Where are the anti-pokies candidates that so many of us want to support?

Will there be a few in the November 27 election in Victoria?

Let’s hope so – and let’s hope they get elected.

Especially in Mildura, which has been picked out by the gambling fraternity as a good source of suckers to bleed white, while fattening the leeches of the big end of town.

Yesterday in California, a federal judge overturned the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

In November 2008 a referendum in California known as Proposition 8 voted, by a 52 percent majority, to ban such marriages.

Judge Walker now rules that Proposition 8 “does nothing more than enshrine in the California constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same-sex couples . . . Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians . . . the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.”

* * *

Judge Walker seems aware that his wishes have no hope, ultimately, of succeeding.

He has granted a temporary stay of his order until Friday, allowing opponents of same-sex marriage time to file appeals which will obstruct — more or less indefinitely — resumption of same-sex marriages in California.

Appeals could drag on for years.

This whole episode may well be a storm in a teacup.

* * *

California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger welcomed the ruling as “a milestone in America’s road to equality”.

Others say that, far from moving towards equality, it’s just another reminder of how some people are more equal than others.

If you believe in traditional marriage, your opinion isn’t equal enough to count for anything whatever – even if more than half the electorate agrees with you.

* * *

 . . . but none of the above analysis addresses the most basic questions.

Do most of those opposing same sex-marriages have any idea of what marriage is?

If God exists, can a marriage be valid that is carried out in a way disobedient to him?

Must not marriages outside a church be suspect?

Marriages in non-Catholic churches – can they be pleasing to God?

Marriages in Catholic churches between couples currently living together in sin — what about them?

Likewise, what about marriages in which contraceptive practices are employed?

What tiny, minimalist, percentage of heterosexual so-called marriages are marriages in an objective sense?

* * *

Of course, only God knows the intentions in the hearts of those involved.

It is not for us to try to do his job.

The Day of Judgment soon comes.

Each of us must look to the saving of his own individual soul.

Australia’s political parties compete with each other in promising ever more money to the mental health industry.

What exactly are they funding that will allegedly solve mental health problems?

Isn’t it just more of the same – more counsellors, social workers, psychologists, coaches, therapists, caseworkers etc?

In the USA there are at least 600,000 paid social workers — plus 300,000 paid counsellors.

These numbers have increased 100-fold since World War II.

Is the same true in Australia?

Does a city the size of Melbourne really have 10,000-plus of these characters plying their trades?

These bozos produce nothing that you can eat or drink or live in or wear.

Can we afford them?

* * *

It seems we are dependent on them – addicted to them.

Most of the therapy provided by government funding takes the form of a series of either 6 or 12 sessions — after which you’re back on your own.

In such restricted situations over such restricted lengths of time, little progress can be made towards changing the person’s inner problems.

All that happens is a few coping tricks being passed on — a rather brittle foundation on which to build one’s future life.

What is wrong with people is that they are lonely and have nobody who wants to listen to them for their own sake.

They must settle for spilling it all to someone who will listen – even if only for money’s sake (coming to them next payday).

* * *

What lonely and dysfunctional moderns need is what the oldies needed and received.

That is the listening ear of the priest in the confessional, who did it un-paid and for the love of God.

He gave more than a listening ear.

He offered also the assurance of sins forgiven and a restored, never-ending relationship of love with one’s Creator.

If they do any good at all, modern-day “caring industry” operatives do good only insofar as they are fake priests.

Best to give them a miss, and go to the real thing – a real priest.

.

Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, is highly regarded for his life spent fighting race hatred.

On becoming President, he said, “The task at hand will not be easy. But you have mandated us to change South Africa from a country where the majority lived with little hope, to one where they can live and work with dignity, with a sense of self-esteem and confidence in the future.”

No doubt his words were applauded. But were they right?

Is self-esteem the secret to a better future?

Self-esteem will, without doubt, increase our “confidence in the future”. But sometimes confidence can be misplaced.

* * *

Self-esteem is, at best, a two-edged sword.

Research shows that the very persons who do acts of race-hatred typically have high self-esteem.

The researchers comment that:

“The pursuit of self-esteem has short-term benefits, but long-term costs — ultimately diverting people away from fulfilling their fundamental needs . . . self-esteem isn’t really worth the effort.  Self-control is much more powerful.”   (www.racematters.org/deflatingselfesteemsrole.htm)

Does not everything good in your life ultimately derive from outside yourself? Pride (self-esteem) is out of place, inappropriate, not very honest.

* * *

Today’s gospel in traditional Catholic churches is a story Jesus told showing what he thinks about self-esteem:

Two men went up into the temple to pray: one a Pharisee, the other a publican.  The Pharisee, standing, prayed thus with himself: ‘I thank you God, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as also is this publican. I fast twice in a week: I pay tithes of all that I possess.’

The publican, standing afar off, would not even lift his eyes towards heaven; but struck his breast, saying: ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner.’

This man, I tell you, went down into his house justified rather than the other. Everyone who exalts himself, shall be humbled: and he who humbles himself, shall be exalted. (Luke’s gospel, chapter 18)

* * *

If you do something good, be pleased about it.

Just as pleased as if somebody else had done it.

Be pleased because it is pleasing to God.

If you receive credit for some good act, be aware that without God’s help you could not, would not, have done it.

The statistics show that about 8 percent of Australians go to church every week.

About 12 percent go once a fortnight to once a month.

About 20 percent go at Christmas and Easter, but hardly any other time.

Which fits in with the other things we know about human nature.

* * *

Much of what we do we really don’t do — we have machines, gadgets and short-cuts which sort of do them for us.

Most workers don’t really go to work. They sit in a machine that goes to their workplace: then they get out.

Most meals today are not prepared, so much as unwrapped.

Most people’s only hope of catching a fish is to get the fish-and-chip man to chuck the pre-cooked, pre-wrapped, pre-greased, pre-over-salted parcel across the counter for you to “catch”.

They say today’s young people do less communicating using their vocal cords than with their fingers on keyboards — another way of saying they don’t communicate at all.

To worship God together with other people is a logical duty, but you might say, “I can worship God at home . . . .”

To which God replies, “No you can’t. I have told you that you must do it together.”

* * *

The Law of the Catholic Church is that, “Sunday . . . is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church . . . on Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass.”

Yes, bound.

The Bible warns against non-attendance at Mass — against trusting in second-hand religion, religion by remote control, making up our own rules etc.

The Epistle to the Hebrews (chapter 10) spells it out:

“Brothers, since through the blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary . . . let us hold fast to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.

“Let us consider one another, how to rouse one another to love and good works — not forsaking our assembly together , as some have become accustomed, but encouraging one another, and so much the more as you see the great day approaching.”

The World Doping Agency removed caffeine from its list of substances banned in sport six years ago.

But the president of the agency, John Fahey, has been quoted as being still unhappy about caffeine overuse in some sports — AFL footballers in Australia being mentioned in this context.

Some experts would like caffeine re-listed as a banned substance above certain levels.

* * *

How much caffeine is too much?

People consuming 300mg of caffeine per day get withdrawal effects if they stop using it – so perhaps that’s too much.

300mg is what you get from 4 cups of medium-strength coffee or 6 cans of Coca Cola or about 3 cans of “energy-drinks” like Red Bull.

Coca Cola Company is now trialling a more worrying product, called “Mother”, containing over 100mg in the small 250ml can.

Caffeine-containing drinks are misused by juveniles who mix it with alcohol.

This is dangerous. Some of the effects of alcohol are masked.

People consuming the mixture are reported to be 3 times more likely to indulge in anti-social acts – in particular, driving with above-limit blood alcohol levels.

* * *

Coca Cola is also bad for teeth, partly due to the heavy load of sugar, but exaggerated by its content of phosphoric acid.

Coca Cola is the world’s largest single corporate buyer of sugar.

Tooth decay is now the commonest disease in the world.

Before 1886 it is said to have been rare – that being the year John Pemberton invented and started selling Coca Cola.

If you are ever put in a situation where you cannot avoid drinking Coca Cola, rinse your mouth with water as soon afterwards as possible.

Preferably never drink it – or its clones (Pepsi etc.)

* * *

Last year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ordered Coca-Cola to run “corrective advertisements” in Australian newspapers.

One of their celebrity-featuring magazine advertisements had claimed that the ideas that Coca-Cola could make children fat or harm their teeth were “myths”.

Using so-called celebrities is a dirty trick if you are flogging a health-endangering product to gullible youth.

Falsely disputing links between a product and ill health is something we might expect of the vermin who manufacture and sell cigarettes.

If Coca Cola Company behaves that way, people should avoid their products.