RSS feedWhen does a quote become a phrase of common usage and free from attribution? Rather naively, several weeks ago I quoted a SMH writer with a classic line about Alexander Downer, without realising that he’d himself quoted the line from where else but the 5th February 2003 Hansard, and I’m assuming probably all the popularist media as well. That must have been one of the those weeks when I was stuck in a hotel room in Canberra hacking code or something, isolated from what was happening in the world. The embarrassing thing though is that my post is now the top Google result for conga line of suck holes, so the whole world can now revel in my complete inability to do research. Lesson learnt. The quote itself of course being originally from Latham:
Mr Howard and his government are just yes-men to the United States. There they are, a conga line of suckholes on the conservative side of Australian politics. The backbench sucks up to the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister sucks up to George W. […] In my book they are not Australian at all. They are just the little toriesthe little tory suckholes.
Amen brother, amen!