Category: The State

Catholic Church: We'd love to pay tax but…

Catholic bishops have warned that violence could erupt here if current levels of economic inequality are allowed to fester (Nine News, 09.59).

The bishops strongly criticised those who had lowered the minimum wage and promoted the bonus culture which has let us down badly and has given rise to what can only be described as reckless gambling practices.

The bishops were appealing to voters in a document entitled From Crisis to Hope: Working to Achieve the Common Good.

In it they urged people to vote for a more cohesive and fair society.

Yes, that sounds really impressive – Working to achieve the common good, a fair society.

Predictably, however, the Catholic Church is on the side of politicians, bankers, judges and higher civil servants when it comes to who should actually pay for the ‘common good’.

Bishop John Kirby said he would have no problem with a wealth tax being imposed on the windfall profits that the church has earned from the sale of development land. But he underlined that the church had charitable status

In other words; we would love to make a contribution but we don’t actually pay tax – suckers.

Simon Kelly: Obnoxious, obscene and puke-provokingly sickening

It’s good to see that at least some journalists are beginning to express appropriate rage for what has been done to our country and to identify those responsible.

Carol Hunt, writing in the Sunday Independent, does not mince her words in her assessment of failed property developer Simon Kelly.

Some quotes:

Every single person I’ve spoken to this week begrudges you your big house (an old rectory set in five acres), your five properties you collect rent on in Liverpool, your €80,000 income and the fact that you can send your kids to expensive private schools and make the rest of us pay for it.

Every family that fears losing, or already has lost, their home resents the fact that you got away with your “spousal asset transfers” when you asserted,

“My house is in my wife’s name. There are reports that developers are transferring homes into their wives’ names. Any smart developer would have done that right from the start.”

Ultimately, we resent the fact that you don’t seem to realise that what you’re doing is disgusting, immoral and pathetic. And yet you’re still moaning. You complain that Nama (that’s us, Joe Public), which you’re into for about €200m, isn’t paying you a salary despite you submitting a ‘business plan’ to it. You’re “in limbo”, you say.

You’re not in limbo, Simon, you’re in fucking La La Land and so are the people who let you, and all the others like you, get away with this sort of shit.

And hearing about smug gits like Simon who are allowed to ruin the lives of so many people and yet maintain their own exalted standard of living doesn’t help.

What sort of insane, upside-down banana republic are we living in at all?

A reader from Kerry responded in the letters page:

In her excellent article on developer Simon Kelly Carol Hunt wrote that what he is doing is “disgusting, immoral and pathetic”. I want to add the words “obnoxious, obscene and puke-provokingly sickening.”

And I want to add the words ‘chronically stupid’ to the failed developer’s list of characteristics.

Most of those responsible for destroying our country have wisely kept their heads down particularly in very recent times as ordinary citizens begin to realise the full horror of what has been done to them.

Not scumbag Kelly though, he’s taking every opportunity he can to insult ordinary Irish citizens (his victims) who are being forced to pay for his greed, arrogance and stupidity.

A challenge to Haughey’s friend; Colm Tobin

According to writer Colm Tobin writers and artists should be raising a secret glass to the disgraced Taoiseach Charles J Haughey (Sunday Independent).

Since it is not fashionable, or even wise, nowadays to raise a glass to Charles Haughey, I will follow Anthony Cronin in suggesting that those of us who have cause to be grateful to him, and to his policies, should wait until we are at home alone, and then we should turn off all the lights and raise a glass to him in the dark alone. Tell no one.

The suggestion seems to be that the legacy of the criminal Haughey is under attack by sinister forces and therefore his admirers should be careful when celebrating his great work, they should only do so at home, in the dark, tell no one.

Perhaps, one day, when the dark forces who oppose the hero have been banished from the land the Haugheyites can once again emerge from their dark, lonely, glass strewn hideouts into the bright sunlight of accountable, transparent, democracy – so beloved of the criminal.

Tobin’s attitude can be summed up in one sentence – Haughey did me a favour therefore I will always remain loyal to him no matter what crimes he has committed against the Irish people.

This selfish, intellectually narrow mindset is one of the principal reasons why criminals like Haughey can safely live out their long careers plundering the resources of the state without the slightest concern that they will ever be brought to justice.

Tobin’s ignorance of the origin of the disaster facing the Irish people today can be seen from the following bizarre statement.

It might be a comfort in what will be not only a hard time, but a time of strange introspection in Ireland, when we are deeply concerned with our own dilemma, the puzzling question of how we got here, and who is to blame, and who should pay for the party it seems some people had.

The puzzling question of how we got here, of who is to blame?

I’ll put this as simply as I can for Mr. Tobin’s sake.

We got where we are because the Irish political system is corrupt to the core.

The criminal Haughey introduced the disease of corruption to Ireland and his party was the chief carrier. The disease spread rapidly through every level of Irish society particularly in the political, financial and public service sectors.

It is this disease, introduced by Haughey, that has destroyed our country and impoverished this and many generations of Irish people to come.

It is clear that Mr. Tobin has cause to be grateful to Haughey for favours granted but I would like to challenge the writer to put pen to paper and explain to the Irish people why they, the victims of the criminal, should be grateful.

I won’t be holding my breadth.

Copy to:
Colm Tobin

Noonan confirms Lenihan as a liar

Interesting to note that Michael Noonan has effectively (and rightly) called Brian Lenihan a liar over his postponement of the injection of a further €10 billion into the banks until after the election.

Noonan said he did not believe the decision had been approved by the Cabinet, ECB or the IMF. This suggests that Lenihan was acting as a rogue minister outside of Cabinet and made the decision purely on the grounds that it was good for Fianna Fail.

This sort of behaviour is only possible in a seriously dysfuntional state.

Fianna Fail: Sticking firmly to its low principles and values

Mary Hanafin was on the radio this morning saying that Fianna Fail wanted to reach out to voters with the same principles and values that the party has always shown.

We witnessed a good example of those ‘principles and values’ just yesterday on Six One News (21.15) when Fianna Fail’s most accomplished liar Brian Lenihan pulled yet another stroke by postponing the injection of 7 billion into the banks claiming, falsely, that he no longer had a mandate for such actions.

Irish politicians: No level too low to get at the loot

Even in what passes for normal times in Irish politics the payment of almost €90,000 as compensation for loss of ministerial salaries is grotesque in the extreme (Irish Independent)

In these times when the bulk of Irish people are suffering enormous difficulties as a direct result of the incompetence, greed, corruption and arrogance of the body politic such payments verge on the criminal and treasonous.

Here are some reactions from the political creeps who feel they’re worth it.

Fianna Fail leader Michael Martin:

The existing severance payments stand and that’s the way it will be.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan:

They had been part of the pay arrangement for many years and had been accepted by former ministers of all parties.

Translation: You peasants out there will take any amount of cuts we, the ruling elite, impose on you even if your pay arrangements have been in place for many years and that’s the way it will be.

Green Party leader John Gormley: (Irish Independent).

These are things we aren’t thinking about at the moment. We’re just thinking about the election, but we will see obviously after the election.

Any bets that this alleged man of principle and accountability will loosen his greedy grip on taxpayer’s money? Let’s ask him after the election.

Former Communications Minister Eamon Ryan:

I would have to find out and look at it. Those are details when you’re working flat out in government and now on an election, it wasn’t the first thing on our mind.

Well I don’t think Mr. Ryan will be working flat out in the next government so, like Mr. Gormley, we’ll ask him again after the election.

Tanaiste Mary Coughlan, Mary Hanafin, Eamon O’Cuiv, Brendan Smith and Pat Carey also have their greedy heads in the trough because, apparently, they’re worth it.

Mary's despair

Letter in yesterday’s Sunday Independent

Demoralised and insulted by cuts

Sir,

It’s bad enough that he is on a two-day week. It’s bad enough that his salary has been cut time and time again. It’s bad enough that he is expected to work for nothing if the need arises. (Yes, for nothing.)

It’s bad enough that he is insulted with a cheque for €1 and 10 cent per week from the Department of Social Protection.

It’s all bad, but now the new social charge has cut his paltry salary by €70 per month.

He is not a young, newly qualified employee. He is a proud, mature, loyal and totally demoralised professional man with 35 years’ experience.

Shame on our so-called betters for bringing Ireland to this.

To save my husband’s embarrassment please don’t print my name and address, just call me ‘Mary’.

Name and address with Editor

Finucane and the headless chickens

I see today’s Marian Finucane Show (Sunday) was cancelled. Instead, RTE had a brood of very frightened, headless, chickens in the studio.

They were frantically running around trying to escape the fox of reality that they (finally) see approaching our failed state.

Actually, one of the chickens did have a head. Mary Lambkin, professor of marketing at the Smurfit Graduate School of Business accused Tom McGurk of being sensationalist when he suggested that those responsible for our financial disaster were getting away scot free.

We have NAMA and all sorts of structures and we have judgements being taken, the legal process is being worked through.

It’s a huge complicated problem, there’s an awful lot of people involved but I think there is a sincere and systematic attempt going on to tackle that and I don’t think it is fair to say that people are being allowed to just walk away from these great big debts.

How do I know Lambkin was the only chicken with a head? Because it was obviously firmly attached to the neck sticking out of her arse.

Living in a parallel universe

Some quotes from The Late Debate (Wed. 26th Jan).

Journalist and historian Tim Pat Coogan.

Michael Martin is an honourable man, he’s courageous, and he has a straight forward mind.

Coogan then went on to express anger at the complete lack of accountability within the political class for the mess they and the banks had made of the country.

Like the 30% of people who believe Martin would make a fine Taoiseach, Coogan remains completely blind to the connection between the new Fianna Fail leader and the destruction of our nation.

Coogan asked the politicians on the panel if they would support the bringing in of a retrospective law to punish the people who are responsible.

Fianna Fail TD Barry Andrews (In anger).

The only other time that a retrospective law was used was in Nuremberg when war crimes and genocide were created post the armistice (sic).

Now I think to approximate genocide and the crimes of Nazi’s which is effectively what you’re talking about is…(interrupted)

This has to qualify as the most bizarre, stupid, straw man argument in history.