News from Australia: John Howard is a "fascist" too; Marathon Pundit gets a mention in Oz newspaper

One of the new blogroll additions is Australian Politics, started up recently by friend-the-blog Jon Ray. Apparently, George W. Bush is not alone in his status as a "fascist," Jon learned. Australian Prime Minister John Howard is being tarred with that slur too.

From The Australian:

In recent weeks, an array of columnists, cartoonists, politicians, not to mention a plethora of letter writers, have taken to depicting the Howard Government's legislative agenda, especially its industrial relations laws, as "fascist".

Of course, fascist is a cheap insult because its meaning is difficult to pin down and it invariably casts a slur on the person so described. Back in the Comintern days of the 1930s, everybody who was not a communist was a fascist, from the social democrats through to liberals, to the real thing. In the heyday of the New Left, the word fascist was flung around with gay abandon to describe anyone who did not share the ideological preferences of student radicals.

The word has been debased in the public arena. It has been misused for political purposes in the past and it continues to be misused by people who should know better.

Also of note in Australia, is that Marathon Pundit got a brief mention in the Courier-Mail newspaper there. It's the newspaper in the province of Queensland with the largest circulation, another Aussie friend-of-the-blog tells me.

I'm right under mega-blog Captain's Quarters.

Technorat tags: Australia John HowardThe Left Bush Blog Courier-Mail Queensland