Aaron Smith

Part two of my year in reflection swimming thread that I rescued from twitter before the end. This is all salt water, and mostly ocean pools. /1

Testimonials come in 3 grades: legitimate, opaque, manufactured. Dave Hughes stacks 2 opaque testimonials then accuses critic @aaronsmith333.bsky.social of being paid rather than fixing the claims. Always check what's underneath the voice. #auspol suebarrett.substack.com/p/the-politi...

Dave Hughes has become a self-professed corruption crusader and economics maven, denouncing the Labor Party as "corrupt" & appearing as a spokesperson for the Liberal Party. Neo-Liberal comic economics with Dave Hughes @davrosz.bsky.social @michellepini.bsky.social @aaronsmith333.bsky.social

Watching the eternal denial over Dan Andrews is like hearing someone insist the sun didn’t rise this morning. The man won 3 elections, winning more seats each time, and left his opponents in a smoking ruin. Is there a medical diagnosis for this level of denialism?

Forget Shaked and Rotman, Gideon. Just send Netanyahu instead so Australia can fulfil its obligations as a signatory to the International Criminal Court and deliver him to The Hague.

The initial smear was bad enough. The attempt to hide it was utterly reprehensible. Why did the @sydmorningherald.bsky.social let Knott completely rewrite the story to correct his embarrassing "stuff up" & claim it had merely been "updated"? And why is #Insiders not interrogating this properly?

Must read thread. This is extraordinarily poor in any circumstance, but in the context of an issue this controversial and a claim this incendiary, it’s genuinely shocking. A newspaper committed to ethical journalism would have sacked Matthew Knott on the spot and retracted the article.

First Matthew Knott's words were quietly scrubbed in his discredited article, now Matthew Knott himself has been quietly scrubbed from #Insiders.

Labor stumbles behind public conscience, slowly shifting on Gaza once the outrage is undeniable. The Liberals? No shame, no hesitation - just unwavering support for a regime starving children and bombing civilians. Silence as endorsement. Genocide as policy.

"We can’t trick voters into thinking we care about the climate," says Matt Canavan, while single-handedly reminding every teal voter why they left.

American beef in Australia is like sending instant coffee to Italy. Who in Australia would want this?

Penny Wong’s right - Faruqi was seeking attention…. Attention to the fact that the govt’s response to Israel’s mass killing and starvation is as effective as a slap with a wet lettuce. Honestly, an actual wet lettuce might do more.

Victorian Liberals trying to pressure Labor on the Comm Games fiasco yesterday: No policies, no alternative plan, just whinging and walking next to a man with bagpipes - because Scotland has the games now. Not opposition. Just noise in tartan. Politics as pantomime.

Hanson represents the calcification of public thought - an ossified relic of white anxiety, preserved and paraded like a national artefact long past its relevance. She is what happens when grievance becomes a lifestyle, and ignorance becomes a brand.

Below is the Penny Wong I respected - the Penny Wong who called out injustice. Today she rolled over, and chose silence in the face of genocide. Has she become what she once derided?

One Nation Senators turn their back on First Nations people by refusing to respect Welcome to Country, and there's zero consequences. But speak out for starving Palestinians and that results in punishment? What kind of Parliament is this?

Faruqi held a sign: “Gaza is starving. Words won’t feed them. Sanction Israel.” Labor and Liberal censured Faruqi and banned her from taking part in any overseas parliamentary delegations. Labor and Liberals on a unity ticket to punish truth before they ever confront genocide.

Morally stunted and intellectually barren.

As Louise Milligan notes, this is a systemic issue. So the question is not just why did Greg Malham last so long. But how many more Greg Malhams are there?

Does anyone know if this guy was a candidate in Tasmania's State Election yesterday. It seems like a huge missed opportunity if not.

I wonder what qualified Tim Smith for this role.

The real issue isn’t just Moira Deeming’s prejudice - it’s a Liberal Party too weak to stand up to it.

Tony Abbott thinks Albanese spending 6 days in communist China is 'striking'. This from a guy whose party burned our relationship with our largest trading partner, bigger than the next 3 combined, and wiped out wine and lobster exports. Striking, indeed. Now, fuck off, Tony.

Tim Wilson has hired the fake tradie from his campaign ads in his electorate office. It'll certainly be useful to have someone in Tim's office who knows their way around a tool.