KEY POINTS:
I have opined before that the world is mad and getting madder and every day that goes by seems to confirm me in that view.
And the worst of it is that the madness seems mainly to affect the higher realms of science and politics.
It is not surprising, then, that many of my most trenchant critics inhabit our universities - politically correct pedants whose half-baked theories contribute much to our social ills.
There were a couple of examples hidden away in the world section of this newspaper this week and it is a relief to know that the madness of which I speak is not confined to New Zealand.
In Perth, Australia, a so-called medical expert has called for couples to be charged A$5000 a head for every child they have after the second.
The grounds for this incredible idea are that more children would mean more carbon dioxide emissions and aggravate the perceived problem of global warming.
The pronouncements of this mad professor, who suggests carbon credits for couples who confine themselves to two children, simply goes to prove my contention that the scientific hysteria surrounding the issue of global warming is nowadays verging on madness.
It is particularly ironic since a farsighted Australian Government has been paying for some time a $4000 a child baby bonus to encourage couples to have more kids and thus save Australia for Australians.
Throughout Europe, too, more and more social scientists are becoming aware that, at present-day birth rates, within 50 years there will be fewer European citizens in the European Union countries than there will be people of other races, mainly Middle Eastern and African.
The same applies here. Only Maori and Pasifika people are keeping their ends up; Pakeha as a proportion of the population are dwindling and, if today's less-than-replacement birth rates persist, will end up a minority.
Meanwhile, in Lisbon, 13 African dictators, all of whom seized power by force, including the undeniably insane Robert Mugabe, signed a declaration pledging to "uphold democracy and the rule of law". And just to show that madness is not confined to African dictators, the host of the Lisbon summit of European and African leaders declared that the meeting had been an "extraordinary event" and would be "remembered as a milestone in relations between Europe and Africa".
Back home, the madness that is the Electoral Finance Bill continues to bumble along and this week took a twist when the Prime Minister pulled a Winston Peters and rounded on the media, the Herald in particular.
And if anything proves that our once Teflon-coated Dear Leader is not just worried but seriously rattled, it is that.
When it comes to television, her accusation of shallow, error-prone reporting with a lack of fairness and balance certainly has credibility, but New Zealand's two most-watched channels don't provide news, they peddle "infotainment", complete with out-of-context sound bites and pictures.
Which is why, as far as I can recall, the last time I watched TV One or TV3 news was during the coverage of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington six years ago.
But to accuse the Herald of lacking fairness or balance is simply an admission on Miss Clark's part that this newspaper refuses to toe a party line, and that applies to any political party, not just Labour.
As the Prime Minister says, "fairness and balance is [sic] in the eyes of the beholder", but what she doesn't seem to understand is that when it comes to news articles and comment which oppose the Labour-led Government's plans, she is blind in one eye and can't see out the other.
Throughout its necessary and desirable campaign against the Electoral Finance Bill, this newspaper has been scrupulous in presenting both sides of the argument.
Editorials and comment have been condemnatory of the legislation, as they have every right to be, for comment, be it editorial or opinion, is not bound by fairness and/or balance.
Yet even there, the Herald has in recent weeks published comment pieces which support the legislation. If they have been few, then that is simply because so few literate people support the bill.
Perhaps Miss Clark's unwarranted and unsubstantiated outburst at the Herald is simply frustration that here is something she cannot control.
* garth.george@hotmail.com
