Aussie politics. Viewed from a safe distance. I turn 54 today. But let's talk about something else. Peter Slipper -- the fellow who appears to be observing his nap time in the photo above, was until quite recently the Speaker of the House of Representatives in Australia. He got into trouble for a number of reasons, among them sexually harrassing emails and text messages he sent to a (male) subordinate, James Ashby. In the context of those messages, he made remarks about women that, when they became public, were labelled misogynist and fed into a campaign by the Liberal Party (a center-right party), led by Tony Abbott, to force Slipper to quit as Speaker. The ruling party in Australia since 2007 has been the Labor Party (spelled in the way with which Americans are familiar, the way that annoys Brits, without a "u"), and the PM is that party's leader, Julia Gillard. Gillard for a time seemed to be standing by Slipper in his efforts to remain Speaker. ...