MYSTERY OF THE MISSING FITZSIMONS COLUMN
Peter FitzSimons’s run of bad luck continues. Last week he was mocked for his Foreign Correspondent performance and addressed a non-packed house in Queensland. This week his column has been removed from the SMH website.
Peter FitzSimons’s run of bad luck continues. Last week he was mocked for his Foreign Correspondent performance and addressed a non-packed house in Queensland. This week his column has been removed from the SMH website.
Why might this have occurred? Interestingly, the now-vanished column described a prominent Sydney radio identity as a “fascist” – not just once, but four times:
Yes, [he] is … a “middle-of-the-road fascist” but he’s our middle-of-the-road fascist and that has to count for something, dammit.
For the Fascist 1500 metre race, [he] would lap Farage … “Vote 1, AUSTRALIAN fascism” every time.
According to FitzSimons, it was a simple scheduling mishap:
Yup.
— Peter FitzSimons (@Peter_Fitz) July 25, 2018
Apologies.
I am away, and it was written in advance, and mistakenly, briefly, put up early.
Happily, the theme is timeless!
Cheers,
Peter https://t.co/guPlNP0iqE
So the piece, in its original form, should eventually be restored. We’ll see. Meanwhile, here’s a fascinating look at historical comma misplacement:
The Second Amendment is used by both friends and foes of gun ownership to prove their cases. The Supreme Court has issued a number of major opinions, from Dred Scott v. Sandford in 1857 to District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008.
Part of the controversy over the amendment’s interpretation stems from the placement of two commas. As presently constituted, the amendment reads, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Thomas Jefferson was so shocked by the poor grammar in the amendment that he removed the first and third commas when he returned from a political assignment to France. However, the amendment had already been ratified and could not be changed.
Just as well for Jefferson that he never read anything by FitzSimons.