Thank you for writing this book. I had every intention of writing that I would be writing this one way or another today. I purchased Not Happy, John yesterday afternoon having never heard of it before. Serendipity. Last night I ploughed through 345 pages of it, only being force to put the light out by a weary partner. Given the chance, it is most likely that I would've finished it off and charged straight into a second reading. This book has touched me by saying what I am thinking, but what no body will say. Unorthodoxy is not allowed on television. It isn't allowed in newspapers (not that it makes a terrible amount of sense to refer to newspapers in the plural sense up here in Brisbane). It isn't even allowed around the tea room table. One example should stand for all here. At work I gave up questioning the war in Iraq after my collegues (all of whom are university educated, and, supposedly, skilled in critical thought) after most people retorted with some permutation of 'So you su

In yesterday's Web Diary, Margo wrote 'lots of political commentators write that Mark Latham is concentrating on the

I sometimes read your SMH articles and generally I found them a little on the conservative side for my tastes. I may have had a road to Damascus experience after encountering you excellent book Not happy John.

I have become very saddened by the shift that Australia has made in such a short time to the right and become cold hearted. I have been cheered by the tremendous support for the walks for reconciliation and walks against war but frustrated by the lack of impact on a government which seems to have been allowed to achieve control of parliament as its own territory to do what it will, media and the public service and military.

I would never say that John Howard's is a Nazi or another Hitler because that would dishonour the memories of the countless millions who suffered across Europe and indeed the world during his brutal reign of terror. But I have come to see that there is a fascist movement rising among us in the guise of the Liberal Party. We are seeing

Borrowing from the US Democrats' Convention where they had slogans like: 'The new No CARB diet: No Cheney, no Ashcroft, no Rumsfeld, no Bush and definitely no Rice'. Our Aussie equivalent would be: 'The new No CARBHD diet: No Costello, no Abbott, no Ruddock, no Bishop, no Howard and definitely no Downer!'

BTW, I was surfing Moveon's website and noticed that you can request for one free anti-Bush sticker but will have to pay if you want more (https://www.moveonpac.org/stickers). I am happy to pay for my fair share.

My idea of Utopia would be to see NHJ stickers on a few million car bumpers!

NHJ! (HA): Hear Hear! Stop putting them on your fridges and bathroom walls! They're for car bumpers!

What do you think of the election prospects of a gay, anti-war, anti-FTA, pro-UN, left leaning, private school educated eldest son of a 3Cs family (Conservative, Country, Catholic)?

I am an Australian citizen recently returned after living in Europe, principally the UK, since 1998. As such, discovering and reading WebDiary has been interesting. I must admit that although I had seen the link on www.smh.com.au I hadn't followed it until I read 'Not Happy, John'. Thank you.

After reading your book and catching up on the on-line debate I have decided to follow your suggestion and get involved. Although my distaste at the leadership of Our Beloved Mollusc (John Howard) was a factor in my departure to Europe in early 1998 I was unaware of the depths to which Australian Democracy had sunk, having returned to Australia a month after the private visit of the President of the USA to Australia. The details revealed in NHJ were shocking and have led to my recommending the book

Thank you, Margo, for writing NHJ. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Through your book, web pages, and webdiary, you put a public voice to what many of us have been silently seething at. However, for this Australian, the very statement;

On the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US, Showtune Productions presents LAST NIGHT IN NEW YORK, a multimedia performance by Wednesday Kennedy that takes us back to the city that never sleeps in the aftermath of 9/11.

Kennedy roams the streets in the weeks after the attacks, capturing a fractured and vulnerable New York, trying to make sense of a dramatically altered landscape. The show moves from New Yorkers' responses to Kennedy's own narrative, presented in vignettes woven throughout the documentary/performance - part poetry, part performance and part journalism, a unique and very personal hybrid from an outsider fused to the city by catastrophe.

In creating Last Night In New York, Ms Kennedy has articulated what most New York performing artists have been unable or unwilling to tackle. It is a subject that Hollywood has almost completely ignored and one that the American theatre community has bee

I loved the book. It articulated all my feelings about our own 'Austrian housepainter' and the threat he and his bully boys and girls pose to our democracy and our society.

Unfortunately, he has tapped into that dark reservoir of hatred, envy and spite we all possess to some degree and is exploiting it as hard as he can lick. He tells people what they want to hear and they lap it up, while he makes sure that opposing opinions and views are stifled or trivialised.

NHJ is our wake up call. And now I know that I am not alone feeling the way I do about this most Dishonourable Member. It's a great feeling and I feel a little more positive that we will get rid of him before it's too late for this country!

Well, well, well. T'would appear I spake too soon...callow knave, unrighteous Untrue Unbeliever that I am.

Yesterday over in the DA section, 'Big Doc' Russell Darroch issued a democratic clarion call to us all here at NHJ!, to take up our Mighty Pens and WRITE to the ALP on the FTA. And I - fool! craven cynical fool! that I am - showed no heart for the fight, saying it was all too late to save us from the FTA.

And then doesn't the Pretender-King Latham go and blindside us all yet again...it now looks like what we have on our hands is a Battle of Democratic Free Wills, boys and girls. So let those among us who would be there to show our scars on St Goughkin's Day this year take up our pens after all, and fire off our Citizens' missives to stiffen Our Hero's spine for the Glorious Fight:

And may the other Will forgive

Former Liberal Party President and head of the stock exchange, John Valder, is a changed man. He used to be on the PM's Christmas card list. Not any more.

The Bulletin looks at the new Valder, his anti-war activism over Iraq and his involvement in the upcoming election, including using the title and message of NHJ.

As we continue to say here at NHJ, our differences are often not as great as we may think.

There is a new unofficial fan site for Brian Deegan, who is running as an independent candidate in Mayo (Alexander Downer's electorate) on a platform of accountability.

Dear Margo,

I think John Thompson (

The last three editions of the Australian Jewish News (AJN) have six letters attacking Antony Loewenstein for his article in the AJN (9 July 2004) and his chapter in Margo Kingston's book, 'Not Happy, John'. One wrote that Loewenstein's sole defender in the AJN is his girl friend!

No letters in the AJN have been published supporting the Loewenstein arguments. All the attacking letters have Australian addresses. Israel is desperately attempting to get Diaspora Jews to 'fight the good fight' there, especially from France because of the rise in anti-Semitism.

How do people like Rubenstein and Danby know how many of the 100,000 Jews in Australia are Zionists? They do not speak for all of us.

If the AJN was truly the Australian Jewish News, it would give those Jews who are Jewish and not self-hating - as some Zionists call us - space in its letters columns to agree with Antony Loewenstein and express our views on Israel/Palestine, anti- Semitism and t

As a student of Social Work, I've always had a decent amount of outrage at the way our government is behaving in our name. I've protested during the rallies last year, I've written letters to the Prime Minister and I've vigorously debated with anyone who'd listen about refugees, social services and multi-nationals.

I considered this to be a decent amount of effort until I read your book 'Not Happy John' and the chapter on Tony Abbott!! I'm a resident of Warringah and although I was never a fan of his politics I accepted the fact that the area was traditionally full of Liberal voters. What can you do?

Well, I think it's time that our area stop being represented by someone so blatently unconcerned about anyone's interests except his own! Come on Warringah: lets get someone in who will actually care about the people they are paid to represent!

NHJ! (JR): Anne, one good start-point might be to check out small-l Independent candidate
Go to Democratic Top Banana Central, and follow the links. Speak UP. THINK of how many Australian things have been sold down the river the last few years - jobs, education, health, safety, culture (FTA - vote NO), PBS (FTA - vote NO), 'full employment (got redefined about 7 years ago!)'.

How many times do we have to make the same mistakes? Canada has had a very bad run with NAFTA...it is all for the US, not for anyone else. (I'm a Canadian/Australian.) Wake up Australia.

NHJ! (JR): Doc, you are a democratic Green Pen Man From Hell after my own heart. Sorry about beefing up your words here a bit (the 'Top Banana' rude bit was mine, folks), but like you I am a fiendish True