STOP the madness.
Stop all the madness now. It's out of control. The madness is totally out of control and must be stopped.
I thought we hit peak madness in NSW this year when the NRL decided it would be an excellent idea to fly four teams of rugba league players to Vegas to play the opening round of next year's competition on March 2. Won't that clash with Supercars in Newy? Madness.
What could possibly go wrong? Perhaps the whole Vegas caper will turn out to be a responsible gamble and the US public will become committed fans of the game that its administrators call the "greatest game of all". Maybe. Otherwise, weed is legal in Nevada and will be available for delivery to your hotel room next March.
Could there be any truth to the rumour that the NRL have commissioned a collector's edition cannabis infused gummy bears in rainbow colours? The rumour speculates that the gummies will be presented in commemorative wrapping paper with beautiful hand-drawn illustrations of 12 yet-to-be-revealed Rothmans medal winners from the 70s, 80s and 90s. NRL head of football Graham Annesley says the league is "ready for any circumstances". Bahahaha.
Likewise, I also doubt the rumour that there will be rugba league themed poker machines installed at the Las Vegas Harry Reid international airport a week before the double header. Imagine winning a jackpot by diagonally lining up six Dally M winners. Other prizes on offer include a front-row table at Kylie Minogue's house residency at The Venetian where she will perform NRL team theme songs in a disco medley.
But there's more madness. A bigger madness than rugba league in Sin City.
Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore is once again waving the flag to allow pets on public transport and she has the support of the Greens and the Animal Justice Party. This triumvirate of flea favourers want pet owners to be able to take their fur-babies and other pets on trains and buses, and presumably into the back seat of the Uber on a shared ride from Kings Cross to The Rocks on a loosey-goosey long weekend Monday morning at 2.30am.
It's true that plenty of countries allow pets upon public transport. It's also true that folk dancing among consenting adults is permitted in many nations. But that doesn't make it right. What's next? Emotional support snakes on a plane? Free range cane toads on the light rail?
Before the pet owner's union gets all bolshie on me for suggesting that pets are lovely but not on public transport, I admit to accepting that what is already occurring on much public transport in NSW is far worse than a yapping shih tzu whose owners are too tight to shell out for a citronella bark collar.
Public transport patrons in Newcastle are already required to tolerate plenty of animals onboard.
You can't say a word to them for fear of ending up on a social media reel picking a knife out of your abdomen. They carry out screeching phone conversations in quiet carriages, have their headphones turned up to 11 and put their stinky feet on the seats opposite. They ignore their screaming urchins, and their shameless flatulence occurs more often than the Blanc de Blanc Spiegeltent appears in Civic Park.
Madness, all of it.
Regular readers will recall that the Herald has published - for many years - readers' letters about inconsiderate owners who won't pick up their dog's poop along the Bathers Way. What about the owners who think the "dogs always on a leash except in a designated leash free area" rule doesn't and never will apply to them?
Or the dogs on the beach at the Cowrie Hole almost every day. Or cats going doing what their DNA demands and killing whatever they can because their owners think it's cruel to contain them inside the house or in a cage run? Madness.
Too many pet owners are too irresponsible to allow pets aboard public transport where the onus for responsible and considerate behaviour towards others is too-often completely disregarded.
Advocacy for pets on public transport - without any plan for dealing with irresponsible pet owners - is a madness that will not be stopped.
