Dad Minus One

If there's two things I am, its stubborn and a stupid ass.

So on Sunday 24 May this year I'll be yet again fronting up at the Run for a Reason here in Perth to represent team Run4Riley and check out the brisk morning surrounded by people far more athletic than I am.

Trust me when I say I'm not the bloke you want leading a running team.

Those of you who were here for the duck incident know exactly what I'm capable of (and for those who weren't just know it involved public defecation, a catastrophic loss of dignity, and a generation of ducks that still hasn't forgiven me).

But here I am. I learned nothing. I'm back again.

And this year I want you with me.

Walk it, run it, wheel it, power-waddle it - I genuinely do not care how you get to that finish line, just that you show up.

There's no fitness requirement and there's no judgement.

There's just the people of WA doing something special for a cause that matters on a personal level to them on a Sunday morning, and honestly that's a pretty beautiful thing.

If you've run with us before, you already know what this day feels like.

If you haven't - come and find out.

And if you've ever wanted to tell me I'm a flog to my face, well, now's your perfect opportunity. 😂

Any distance.

Any pace.

Just bring yourself and maybe a mate who's been looking for an excuse to get off the couch.

Who knows what exciting new way I'll find to lose my dignity this year?

Link in bio to register and join the team.

Oh and if you're already registered with another team that's cool too - come find me and say hi!

💙

-D-1

Most of us think democracy is something that happens once every few years.

We rock up to a local primary school, grab a democracy sausage, number a few boxes with a tiny pencil, and then pat ourselves on the back for doing our civic duty.

But here’s the truth many overlook in their day to day lives:

Voting doesn’t just exist at the ballot box.

It exists in every single transaction you make.

It exists in the subscriptions you keep active.

It exists in the logos you allow into your home.

We vote with our currency.

We vote with our intentions.

We vote with our actions.

Right now, a lot of us are blindly voting for a future where we are nothing more than data points to be harvested, categorised, and controlled by the kind of people who view human rights as a suggestion rather than a rule.

Why?

Convenience.

Let’s talk about Coles.

You might think you’re just grabbing a loaf of bread and a carton of milk, but if you’re shopping at Coles, you are actively feeding the beast.

Coles has partnered with Palantir software.

For those playing at home who don’t know who Palantir is, let me paint you a picture.

This is the same software used by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in the US to identify, track, and deport immigrants.

This company was co-founded by Peter Thiel, a psychotic billionaire who has publicly stated that he no longer believes that "freedom and democracy are compatible."

When you tap your card at the checkout, you aren’t just paying for groceries. You are providing identification data to a company that specialises in surveillance and control.

You are handing over your habits and your hard-earned cash to a maniacal oligarch hellbent on reshaping the world into a place where the rich play god and the rest of us get crushed.

But Coles isn't the only one lowering the boot onto society's throat.

We need to look at the whole lineup of corporate villains we’ve been giving a free pass, and Woolworths certainly isn't innocent.

While Coles is doing data deals, Woolies is turning its stores into a surveillance state.

They’re rolling out cameras for gait analysis to track how you walk and smart gates that lock you in if an in house AI software thinks you haven't paid.

It’s a panopticon masquerading as a grocery store.

Then you have that human s**t stain, Gerry Harvey and his Harvey Norman franchise.

While small businesses went under during the pandemic, Gerry refused to pay back millions in JobKeeper subsidies despite making record profits - gleefully profiteering while many people struggled to feed their families.

This isn’t an accident, it’s a business model.

And he did it at the expense of mum and dad small business owners.

And yet, we support and endorse these behaviours Every. Time. We. Tap. Our. Cards.

Why?

Because it’s quick, it’s convenient, and it offers the path of least resistance.

We gotta start embracing discomfort.

It’s the same thing when it comes to how we source our information and entertainment.

Think Kayo, Sky News, news dot com dot au, and their ilk that make up the Murdoch empire.

Every show you watch, every article you click, and every ad you allow them to run in the background of your news feed is a dollar that keeps a seat at the table for this polarising, warmongering, hate-peddling, parasitic empire.

If you want to hold the human embodiment of Mr Burns accountable for spreading misinformation and pitting us against one another, you NEED to go further.

Block the Noise.

Install browser extensions like ‘Bye Rupert’ or use app blockers to scrub their sites from your feed.

Don't give them the clicks under any circumstances.

Support Independent Media.

Real journalism costs money.

Take the $25 you saved on Kayo and throw it at independent outlets like Michael West Media, The Guardian, or AAP.

Subscribe to the Patreon of someone like Carrick Ryan.

Fund the people speaking truths and exposing the corruption, not the ones covering it up.

And most importantly - vote with your Feet.

It’s inconvenient, I know.

But drive past the Coles.

Go to the farmers market.

Shop at the independent grocer.

Heck, even IGA is more palatable, despite being cut from the same cloth.

We have to embrace that minor discomfort.

Because if we don’t, we are actively funding the very people who are trying to dismantle our communities.

We are handing the keys to the kingdom over to people who view us as livestock.

You have more power in your wallet than you do in a voting booth.

Boycott corporations who actively side with evil.

Vote for the kind of world you want your kids to grow up in.

-D-1