The left's magic pudding of complaint

by John Butler of the John Butler Trio

The Magic Pudding is a classic Australian children's tale about a pudding that never runs out.

It's a concept that comes to mind whenever I hear from the ever-whining Left.

With a Democrat in the White House and Iraq ceasing to be a major issue, thousands of people who were once busy making protest banners and papier mache heads of conservative leaders have little, if anything, to do.

The result is the rise of a movement to stop the Afghan War. This is nothing if not proof that regardless of external realities, lefties have a certain amount of things that they simply must complain about - it's a veritable magic pudding of complaint.

Of course, like all wars, the Afghan War is a bitch, and the associated deaths of non-Taliban forces are tragic. However, the fact that this war is being fought means that there is a front line for Muslim fanatics to go to, and the fact that international special forces are able to assist them with their martyrdom in the remote hills of Afghanistan - rather than say, the shopping centres of Belgium - is a win-win for everybody.

The other winners include Afghanis who like to vote, girls who might benefit from education, women who want to work outside the home, and gays who would rather not be executed. Economically, Afghanistan is also benefiting from billions of dollars in aid from NATO countries.

Because of the human rights benefits associated with ridding the world of the Taliban, the Afghan War has been known as "the Good War". It's a cruelly ironic description for soldiers at the front line, but nothing has changed, except for the fact that the lefties are getting bored.