Notes: Friday, August 20, 2010

A letter reminding us of one of the benefits of voting for a minor party, even if one doesn't expect that party to win

From yesterday's Herald (I forgot to post this in yesterday's edition of Notes):

Value for $2.31

Voters who are disappointed at the lacklustre performance of the main parties (Letters, August 18) must realise their vote is valuable. Each time you give a primary vote to any party that gets more than 4 per cent of the vote, it gets $2.31 of taxpayers' money. For those who feel the urge to lodge a protest vote, don't waste your $2.31. The answer is simple: vote first for one of the many minor parties.

It needn't be the Liberal Democrats (although it would be appreciated). Any minor party would be grateful for your "donation" if it gets above 4 per cent of the primary vote. The added benefit is that voters then starve the larger parties of electoral funding and send a clear message that they need to lift their game.

Peter Whelan Liberal Democratic Party candidate for Macquarie
[http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/honest-footballer-puts-slippery-pollies-to-shame-20100818-12f11.html?skin=text-only]

At the Australian Electoral Commission website: Group Voting Tickets (Senate preference flows) for New South Wales (NSW) Tickets Q to AF (of Tickets A to AF), 2010 federal election

This might be useful for you as you work out how you're going to vote in the Senate ballot (see elsewhere on the A.E.C.'s website for the preference flow arrangements in other States):

http://www.aec.gov.au/election/nsw/gvt2.htm

Excerpt from a lecture by then-Cardinal Ratzinger on the Mass and Christ's Sacrifice:

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/08/quaeritur-where-did-mass-facing-the-people-come-from/#comment-219410

"Expert: Prop 8 Trial Based on False or Dubious Statements about Homosexuality"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33279

"Medical Journal Confirms Abortion Associated With Increased Premature Birth"

Also posted at AQ:

Washington, DC -- A new report in a prestigious medical journal confirms what previous studies have shown: abortion is associated with an increased risk of premature birth in subsequent pregnancies. Although the link is well-established, women are not normally informed of the risk when they are counseled at abortion centers.
[http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33271]

Reginaldvs Cantvar

Feast of St. Bernard, Abbot, Doctor of the Church, A.D. 2010