It's okay to be foul-mouthed as long as you work for the ABC and attack only the Liberals

THE Left is never offended by its own off-colour language -- only when it comes from the Right.

ABC1's Q&A on Monday:

Tony Jones: How did you feel, as a woman, when you saw the sort of derogatory remarks that were being made about another woman, albeit on a different side of politics: Bitch, Brown's Bitch, among other things? How did you feel about that as a woman?

Tanya Plibersek: I think that the degree of hatred for women that those signs showed was really unacceptable. What offends me about those signs is that they are terms only used about women and they're only used about women who argue or contest or stick up for themselves. When I was the minister for women, we introduced a respectful relationships program and I was talking to some AFL footballers in Melbourne and I said, "What was the most important thing you've learned from this course?" and one of the guys said, "The most important thing I learned was that if I wouldn't want someone to do or say this to my mum or my sister or my girlfriend then I shouldn't say it."

Catherine Deveny, contributor to ABC online's The Drum Unleashed on May 2 last year:

I do so hope Bindi Irwin gets laid.

Jonathan Green, editor of ABC online's The Drum Unleashed:

The Age columnist Deveny was dumped yesterday by The Age's editor in chief Paul Ramadge because of some off-colour gags she sent out on Twitter during Sunday night's Logie broadcast. The Age seems now to have set a benchmark: make any sort or reference to the potential sexual proclivities of Bindi Irwin and you are out. All of which presents the unfortunate impression of The Age, a once fearless champion of journalistic diversity, caving to the sort of hypocritical, faux indignant cant that propels trash talk radio and tabloid TV.

ABC1's First Tuesday Book Club panellist Marieke Hardy tweets on August 8 last year:

Tony Abbott, I hope your cock drops off and falls down a plughole.

Hardy on ABC online's The Drum on September 27 last year:

I have had a great deal of time lately to think about Liberal MP Christopher Pyne. It was his appearance on last week's Q&A that really cemented the process causing a nation to, as one, pray for him to get attacked by a large and libidinous dog on his walk home.

Hardy blogs about the 2020 summit:

Lady with green hair: My name's Elena, I'm here representing the sex workers.

Brendan Nelson: Oh yes, I heard you were coming.

Me: I think I might just . . . go and stand over there.

Lawrie: You mean you were within 5m of Nelson and you didn't glass the c. . .?

Margi: I agree with Lawrie. You should have "glassed the c. . ." Nelson. You should have taken a piece of glass and torn his face to shreds, only leaving trails of bloody skin dripping from his ugly face and then you should have glassed his ass and balls so much, you castrate him so he could never procreate with his wife. Furthermore, glass the c. . . wife and their children, while you're at it, because they don't deserve to procreate and have any children themselves, those blood-sucking Liberal c. . .s!

How many from the Right? Q&A on Monday:

Next week Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd; shadow foreign minister Julie Bishop; the US ambassador Jeff Bleich; political publisher Louise Adler; and academic Robert Manne.

And tweeters? Carrington Brigham blogs yesterday:

There were a total of 53 tweets screened by the ABC moderators; six tweets that were of the political Right; 14 were centre, non-biased; 14 were comical; however 19 tweets were of the Left.

Mixed metaphor alert. Nine's Ken Sutcliffe on Ricky Ponting's retirement as Australia's captain:

I think he read the tea leaves, saw the train coming and got out of the road.