Tim Andrews, of the Australian Taxpayer Alliance, makes six points about the persecution of Israel Folau. All are worthwhile but the two below are especially salient:

# No matter what you think of the specifics here, there is a wider precedent at play regarding the principle of being able to use someone’s religious opinions as grounds to break contract. If this is allowed to stand, the wider implications are horrific and this is why I strongly feel it must be fought.

# I would also note that Rugby Australia, whilst technically private, for all intents and purposes is essentially a government agency (given their subsidies and the regulatory regime they follow) and as such should be held to an even higher standard regarding such things than a private company or organisation.

Tim’s point about Rugby Australia being “essentially a government agency” is a bit of a stretch, but it can’t denied that RA has been the beneficiary of considerable government largesse — $28.4 million over the past two years, according to its annual report (highlighted below).

Given that Australian taxpayers have been committed by our elected representatives to support the code, the near-silence of the political class in defence of free speech in no way encourages faith that they will be any less supine in defending other liberties.

UPDATE: Now that gofundme has banished Folau’s appeal for funds to underwrite his legal campaign, the Australian Christian Lobby has stepped into the breach. Donations can be made via this link.

The entreaties of the Left have persuaded gofundme to suspend Israel Folau’s online campaign to raise money for his legal action against Rugby Australia.

Having raised $765,000 from 10,319 people in just four days, the only indication the fund once existed is the notification reproduced above.

There are causes and then there are other causes, it seems. No one took down ‘Egg Boy’s’ gofundme page when he became a hero of the Left for smashing an egg on Fraser Anning.

One law for the Left. Their law for everyone else.

UPDATE: The Left is doing what it does best: silencing by fair means or foul all who dare to disagree. As relayed by news.co.au, a statement from Nicola Britton, GoFundMe’s Australia regional manager.

As a company, we are absolutely committed to the fight for equality for LGBTIQ people and fostering an environment of inclusivity. While we welcome GoFundMes engaging in diverse civil debate, we do not tolerate the promotion of discrimination or exclusion.

In the days since Mr Folau’s campaign launched, more than one million dollars have been donated to hundreds of other campaigns, large and small, across Australia. Those acts of kindness are the heart of GoFundMe.

Our platform exists to help people help others. Australians have shown themselves to be among the most kind and generous people in the world. We look forward to helping more Australians fundraise for causes they care about in the coming months and years.”

According to the terms and conditions on the website, users may not attempt to raise money “for the legal defence of … intolerance of any kind relating to race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender or gender identity, or serious disabilities or diseases.

Just to recap, a fund-raising service pledged to promote diversity finds a fundamental Christian just a bit too diverse. A fund-raising service for “the legal defence … of religious affiliation” deems only certain religious affiliations acceptable.

Folau will now receive none of the money donated by his supporters. Not a penny.

UPDATE II: Gofund me zaps Folau’s fund for his alleged “intolerance”. Appeals launched by those intolerant of Folau continue to accept donations. 

From Larry Cahill at Quillette:

Imagine your response to picking up a copy of the leading scientific journal Nature and reading the headline: “The myth that evolution applies to humans.” Anyone even vaguely familiar with the advances in neuroscience over the past 15–20 years regarding sex influences on brain function might have a similar response to a recent headline in Nature: “Neurosexism: the myth that men and women have different brains” subtitled “the hunt for male and female distinctions inside the skull is a lesson in bad research practice.”

Turns out that yet another book, this one with a fawning review in Nature, claims to “shatter” myths about sex differences in the brain while in fact perpetuating the largest one. Editors at Nature decided to give this book their imprimatur.

Ironically, within a couple of days of the Nature review being published came a news alert from the American Association for the Advancement of Science titled, “Researchers discover clues to brain differences between males and females,” and a new editorial in Lancet Neurology titled “A spotlight on sex differences in neurological disorders,” both of which contradict the book’s core thesis. So what in the name of good science is going on here?

Cahill’s review can be read in full here.

The late Professor Ian Turner, footy fanatic and Communist, claimed to have heard the best-ever grandstand insult:

“You rotten, bloody, poofter, commo, mongrel bastard!”

Alas, as noted in an earlier ER post, such language would today see Turner escorted from the ground. As for AFL chief Gillon McLachlan, his political correct soul would endure even more torment than is being currently inflicted on Rugby Australia’s hapless Raelene Castle by Israel Folau, whose legal fund to defend free speech is soaring by the minute. Quadrant readers who wish to see sports administrators return to, well, administering sports rather than what players and barrackers are permitted to think and say, might wish to contribute by going here.

Meanwhile, there are encouraging signs that the people who make AFL what it is — the passionate supporters who follow the code — have had enough. Quadrant contributor Christopher Heathcote writes:

Thanks for mentioning the fiasco at the footy. My cousin was there and said a mature-age gent two rows forward was pounced on by the security idiots for yelling out “You’re a maggot! You’re a maggot!” during an excited moment in the game. People nearby were irate at that response from security. When you can’t shout some utterly harmless insult, which is neither aggressive nor obscene, what is allowed?

Incidentally, while the silver-haired older fan was being harassed for his supposed naughtiness, someone further back called “Leave him alone, ya turds.” The security guards didn’t see who this was, then got agitated because, when they asked, no one in the rows would dob in the second voice.”

Unlike Americans, whose most fundamental belief is that governments and organisations are there to serve citizens, not vice versa, the Australian instinct to tug the forelock sees us grimly accept inflicted indignities. Take traffic revenue cameras, for example, which milk millions of dollars out of motorists slightly and inoffensively over the limit. In the US, someone can be expected to put a bullet in any new camera within days of its installation. Here we grumble, pay up and see additional cameras installed to raise more cash for underwriting Safe Schools, speech codes, human rights stickybeaks and all the other leeches from cronyism’s swamp.

Who knows where a little popular defiance might lead? Another sporting venue, a tennis court at Versailles (pictured above), played a pivotal role in bringing on the French Revolution. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to hear the MCG resound with 80,000 defiant voices chanting “Green maggots! Green maggots! Green maggots!” before the players took the field.

Such an eruption might just see the green maggots who run the AFL pull their heads in. Or, better yet, resign.

— roger franklin