Need a hand out? That must be your fault. Can look after yourself. Must mean you are responsible.

When it comes to health those who indulge in less healthy habits are therefore seen as less deserving than the self reliant.

If only it were so easy and we were less judgemental. It's healthy to want to be healthy. That's not enough, however.

Genetics, accidents and a pandemic affect both the self reliant and those less well off.

Being required to apply for eight jobs when there are no jobs is far more ideologically driven than a practical solution.

It also reflects ill of our take on human nature. I believe most of us want to work and feel valued.

Our government believes otherwise and that labelling those dependent on welfare when there is a shortage of jobs supports their belief that when afforded the opportunity we are lazy and avaricious.

IN speaking with two young learner drivers and their parents recently I am concerned that at least one potentially life-threatening fact is not taught as part of their instruction and is certainly not common knowledge.

If your vehicle is shunted from behind it will travel in the direction in which your front wheels are pointed, so if you are stationary and making a right hand turn do not start the turn, keep your wheels pointing straight ahead. If you are struck from behind you will be pushed into the path of oncoming traffic.

Whilst on the subject of safety a fact not known by a surprisingly large percentage of people is that we lose our sense of smell when we are asleep, so no you will not wake up unless you have a working smoke alarm.

On this subject most people with hearing loss have better low frequency than high frequency hearing, yet fire alarms are a high pitch sound which many will not hear.

Similarly children are more likely to be awoken by a low tone noise but will often sleep through a high pitch.

I have had personal experience of this.

THERE used to be ill-informed protests at shipping/industry as a cause, but expert advice contradicts that now.

It has nothing to do with it and has been occurring as long as they have existed.

This kind of mass hysteria is so typical of the rabid left, of course, who take all manner of natural events up as doomsday.

THERE are three branches of government in the US. The Supreme Court, as the judicial branch of government is tasked with interpreting the law. It does not have the constitutional authority to make the law.

The Legislative Branch, the Senate and House of Representatives, make the laws. It is then up to the Executive Branch, the presidency, to either adopt the law by signing it (similar in Australia to receiving Royal Assent) or reject it by withholding his or her signature.

A presidential veto can then be challenged by the congress and only overruled with a two-third majority vote in both houses.

The courts in America do not legitimately make the law and are definitely not as some think a lawmaking arm of government.

Of course radical, activist judges like RBG wilfully ignore the law routinely and base their flawed rulings on their ideology, making illegal rulings all the time.

Just because there are well-posted speed limits does not mean people will not speed.

Presently the ideological balance on the US Supreme Court is four to four and with the upcoming presidential election likely to be legally challenged, it is vitally important to seat a new Justice as soon as possible.

Despite furious Democrat opposition it can easily be done legitimately, logically and legally before the November 3 election.

IN the mid 1800s, it was proposed that the North Esk River be backfilled from behind the current Heritage Forest area through to Sea Port, and a diversion channel then be constructed from behind Heritage Forest straight across the bottom of Mowbray hill and the river exit into the Tamar River near the Grammar School boatsheds. Has this idea ever been considered as a solution to the current traffic woes that exist today?

A beloved family member, Aunty Doss (Dorothy) died from bladder cancer that had spread through her abdomen.

Her body was rotting from the inside while she was still existing. You could not call it living, though she was conscious. The stench from her rotting flesh was such I could not have entered her hospital room without vomiting.

I felt so sorry for the nurses who had to tend her until she died. Yet if she had been able to request a quick assisted death, Jane Howlett MLC calls that suicide.

Shame Ms Howlett. It would be making a very rational choice between two ways of dying. Ms Howlett is making a mockery of the basic Liberal concept of freedom for the individual.

Or, is she insisting that the individual is free to make choices throughout their lives, except when it comes to choice in dying, in which case those Liberal MPs who oppose end of life choice know best and should have the final say.

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