Gay marriage:

Alan Wearne writes: Re. “Our same-s-x marriage story: still think it’s immoral?” (17 November, item 11). 94 years ago the ALP was split over conscription. In the early 30s it was split over the directions to take re the Great Depression. 20 years on from that it was shattered by attitudes to Communism on the one hand & the white-anting antics of Roman Catholic crypto-fascists on the other.

Can it be that another great division is going to occur this time based around attitudes towards…(wait for it!) marriage between homosexuals and marriage between lesbians? Well this just might happen if Joe De Bruyn gets his way.

Sure the ALP has always been a very broad church for those from the just-right-of-centre leftwards and leftwards, but if you were to go back 20/30/40/50 plus years and announce that this would be the big dividing issue for the party in 2010 folk would be roaring with bewilderment and threatening certification. Think on it!

The NBN:

Wendy Lohse writes: Re. “When it comes to releasing reports, the Coalition are hardcore hypocrites” (Friday, item 1). Thanks for the article about opposition calls upon the government to release the NBN business plan. How short our memories are when the media shouts the Coalition demands repeatedly. Night and Day.

We seem to have a government comprised of dozing dodos who remember no more than I.

President Obama’s trip to Asia would cost $200 million a day:

Steven McKiernan writes: Re. Friday’s Editorial. Didn’t Jon Stewart and Colbert both take this story down? Well thanks for catching up. ABC’s Hungry Beast had a go earlier.

Vegans:

A Drury writes: So Geoff Russell (Friday, comments),  any vegans who suffer from ill health because of a lack of Vitamins B12 and D, Iron, Calcium, Iodine and Choline should presumably not get any Medicare benefits for their health treatment?

Pedant’s patio:

Andrew Crook’s grandpa and former ABCTV national newsreader Martin Royal writes: Re. “Brumby government facing fresh child protection crisis as lawyers plead for help” (Friday, item 5). A brief observation, if I may be so bold. You may not realise it but you have a tendency when using the link word “however” to precede it with a lowly comma. It deserves better: indeed, it commands (!) a higher respect.

Anything from a full stop to a semi-colon should satisfy the most magisterial of opinions.