A Civilised Executive? (Food Banks Split)

[pErvinalia]

4.50016072003 * 9.333

[Hermit]

...the Monarch has a constitutional role, but only as a figurehead

Sections 61 - 64 of the Australian Constitution make the role of the monarch perfectly clear. There is nothing whatsoever resembling a figurehead in them. What makes the monarch a figurehead has nothing to do with the constitution. It is convention. Australia is way more democratic and civilised than the USA despite our constitution in the exact same way that the USA is way more theocratic than Australia despite its constitution.

[pErvinalia]

Uh oh... ln(1.74 x 1018) is going to be triggered by that..

[Hermit]

No, he won't. You must be confusing him with Tero, who can always be relied on to descend into a long, wailing tirade about how his shithole of a nation has been treated unfairly, whenever an obvious truth has been expressed about it.

[Brian Peacock]

At least you have a written constitution. In the UK the operating conditions of the executive and the relationship between the citizen and the state is whatever the government of the day think they can get away with.

[Hermit]

At least you have a written constitution.

Yes, well, generally speaking that is a good thing to have. In our case, however, the best thing about our written constitution is that the most important bits regarding the executive arm of government has become a dead letter via circumscription and real-world practice. Or, to look at it another way, the worst thing about our written constitution is that it says nothing about how the most important bits regarding the executive arm of government are supposed to work.

[Forty Two]

...the Monarch has a constitutional role, but only as a figurehead

Sections 61 - 64 of the Australian Constitution make the role of the monarch perfectly clear. There is nothing whatsoever resembling a figurehead in them. What makes the monarch a figurehead has nothing to do with the constitution. It is convention. Australia is way more democratic and civilised than the USA despite our constitution in the exact same way that the USA is way more theocratic than Australia despite its constitution.

LOL - "way more."

Well, we have no "theocracy" in the US, although we have a rather religious population (albeit diminishing). And, the US is just as "democratic" as Australia, given that our legislatures and officials are generally elected via the popular vote. If you'll specify precisely how Australia is "way more" democratic than the US, that might help....

You say "despite" our constitution - so, clearly you're admitting that your constitution isn't "way more democratic." So, what is?

[Forty Two]

Uh oh... ln(1.74 x 1018) is going to be triggered by that..

Well, no. But, I am curious as to how one reaches the conclusion that Oz is more democratic than the USA, much less "waaaay" more....

Hermit has said the constitution is not way more democratic - because he says Oz is way more democratic DESPITE the non-democratic provisions of its Constitution....

You have said that the election of the American President is more democratic than the election of the prime minister (although you have added that overall you don't view the position of prime minister as equivalent to the position of President, etc).

So, what's more democratic about Oz's system than Merka's system?

(note, my position is not that the US is more democratic than Oz or any other western first world democracy. My position is that they are all representative republics who incorporate democratic processes as part of overall governance).

[pErvinalia]

You'll have to ask Hermo. I don't view Straya as more democratic (it's certainly more civilised, even taking in to account Victoria and South Australia the bogan states). All up it's probably much of a muchness. Although, cabinet positions being unelected in the US is certainly a concern.

[Forty Two]

You'll have to ask Hermo. I don't view Straya as more democratic (it's certainly more civilised, even taking in to account Victoria and South Australia the bogan states). All up it's probably much of a muchness. Although, cabinet positions being unelected in the US is certainly a concern.

Well, in Merka most people, if they take account of Oz at all, view it as a rather backwoods and uncivilized place, probably based on the "tough" image that we tend to assign to Australians. I think "rugged" and uncouth (when compared to say, Brits, who are viewed as effete and semi-gay) would be a fair stereotype. When advertisers advertise Australian stuff here it's like "Fostahs! Australian for beer!" and a mug hits the table, splashes and it's all "tough guy" imagery (before you say it, yes, we know Fosters is shit beer). Or, it's Outback Steakhouse where the talk is all about meat and potatoes and there is nothing frilly or fancy about it. And, then of course, there's Crocodile Dundee, who gave Merkans a view of the "outback" where rough and tumble hat-wearing safari guys skin alligators with their teeth. You cawl that a noif? That's nawt a noif! Now, that's a noif!

Maybe Merka's stereotypical view of Oz as sort of a further west of the American west -- wild and free -- colonized by criminals and miscreants....has always been a myth. But, I think that's closer to how Oz is viewed overall than some sort of civilized, cultured land of polite society.

[pErvinalia]

There's certainly that element here and that streak in a lot of us even if we pretend otherwise. But considering things like religion/atheism, health care, laws, crime statistics, gun deaths, and imprisonment rates, I'm pretty certain we are a more civilised society on a whole, even if there are some absolute yobbos here.

[Hermit]

Uh oh... ln(1.74 x 1018) is going to be triggered by that..

Well, no. But, I am curious as to how one reaches the conclusion that Oz is more democratic than the USA, much less "waaaay" more....

That part of the post was purely stuff. It worked, but your reply was not quite as wordy as expected.

[Hermit]

Mir ist das Alles ganz Wurst.

[JimC]

That's not a gin!

This is a gin!

[JimC]

You'll have to ask Hermo. I don't view Straya as more democratic (it's certainly more civilised, even taking in to account Victoria and South Australia the bogan states). All up it's probably much of a muchness. Although, cabinet positions being unelected in the US is certainly a concern.

Well, in Merka most people, if they take account of Oz at all, view it as a rather backwoods and uncivilized place, probably based on the "tough" image that we tend to assign to Australians. I think "rugged" and uncouth (when compared to say, Brits, who are viewed as effete and semi-gay) would be a fair stereotype. When advertisers advertise Australian stuff here it's like "Fostahs! Australian for beer!" and a mug hits the table, splashes and it's all "tough guy" imagery (before you say it, yes, we know Fosters is shit beer). Or, it's Outback Steakhouse where the talk is all about meat and potatoes and there is nothing frilly or fancy about it. And, then of course, there's Crocodile Dundee, who gave Merkans a view of the "outback" where rough and tumble hat-wearing safari guys skin alligators with their teeth. You cawl that a noif? That's nawt a noif! Now, that's a noif!

Maybe Merka's stereotypical view of Oz as sort of a further west of the American west -- wild and free -- colonized by criminals and miscreants....has always been a myth. But, I think that's closer to how Oz is viewed overall than some sort of civilized, cultured land of polite society.

The reality, of course, is that we are a largely urbanised population living in costal cities, where appreciation of a good expresso, wood-fired pizza and novel gins are vastly more important than wrestling crocodiles...