Presidential election in 2016? Do ya think Michael D is gona snuff it?

Thanks James for spotting the mistake I mean 2018. The General Election is 2016 not the Presidential Election. D’Oh

2019 I think. Every 7 years.

Methinks 2018 as Michael D took office at the end of last year.

Yeah you are right. Thought it was a couple of months ago.

Agreed.

@Rob

I can only assume that you are younger than 45. Working class people gave up on FF in the 80s which led to the election of a FG government under G Fitzgerald. During their tenure they took medical cards away from 16 yr olds and over who were in full time education and they increased college fees. When they decided to put VAT on childrens shoes the tide turned and the electorate were outraged. I’m sure however that you will remember Noonans stint as Minister for Health last time FG were in office (94 – 97) because of the contemptous way he treated women who had been infected with Hepatitus through contaminated blood and through no fault of their own, which resulted in the Lindsay tribunal.
I hope the lesson you are learning now, will remain with you for the rest of your days and that you will make the same promise to yourself, for the benefit of your family, that I did when I was 15. I’d sooner vote DUP than FG and as a staunch Republican that says a lot.

Ann, thank you for posting that. TTL

Rob. Listen to Ann. Excellent synopsis Ann. I can only hope that this latest disastrous stint of Fine Gael will be a final nail in their coffin. It’s an awful position to be in but I can almost not wait for whatever awfulness it’s going to take to bring down this Fine Gael led government. I really can’t understand why the people of Ireland thought Fine Gael were the antidote to Fianna Fail. It’s time we took a walk on the wild side and put the real opposition in.

The CBS have a lot to answer for.

It was a great speech alright Sean. A speech that is still very relevant today. Were we to substitute the British establishment for the EU establishment it seems like we are right back where we started. Seemed very relevant when 60% of us were being pushed towards a Yes vote in the EUref. I’ll post an excerpt for you Patrick. In case you didn’t get to hear it at school. It’s a good one…

“They think they have pacified Ireland. They think that they have purchased half of us and intimidated the other half. They think they have foreseen everything, think that they provided against everything; but the fools, the fools, the fools! – they have left us our Fenian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland unfree shall never be at peace”.

Maybe you should continue voting for your FF brigade, lol.

Fagan’s,

At least Mr. McGuinness speaks in the national interest (unlike the blueshirts). Listening to Enda Kenny sends a chill down my neck.

Because Ulster says “no, no, no”

I suppose Michael Collins took the ”violent path” too? Amazing how west-Brits dement themselves to double standards.

That O’Reilly is living in some kind of delusional world.

Not west brits. Just people who don’t condone violence & murder…

Yep, lets keep pushing envy as more Fine Gael people loose their support and credibility

Balanced budget? Nope.

Simpson-Bowles? Nope.

Unemployment? Nope.

Foreclosures? Nope.

Guess it’s more fun to “fan the flames of failure” than look for, or even discuss, our problems and real solutions.

Yep, you must be right, it’s all about ”violence and murder”

I’ll give you this, it makes for good and divisive theater. It’s fun to see the slime when many are drowning. Like the band who played on the Titanic.

It’s the economy, stupid.

Carry on.

O’Reilly. The sad reality of the last 40 years, is that while there were many that didn’t condone murder, there were even less in London and Dublin in power, who condemned both sides with equal vigour. It was all one side, if you read the Sunday Indo or listened to the likes of yourself. You would believe that the Nationalist population were in charge or subjecting others. You would never believe that the Loyalists had many times the paramilitaries that the IRA had, that most of them, that thousands of them were employed in the Ulster Defense Regiment or the RUC, that they were armed by the British state.

You can despise the Provo’s but if the likes of you had been as quick and vigorous in your condemnation and approach to the Loyalists or the RUC, then we would have had peace a long time ago. This state was not an honest broker, not by some measure.

Equality of contempt for all sides in the conflict, now that would be a more radical, appraoch for the lies of you, Harris, Hayes etc etc. A hell of a lot more than the likes of Paisley or McGuinness drinking tea together.

Fagan, you’re an out and out apologist… yeah, but they did this, they did that. Murder is murder, on any side and cannot be condoned…

Martin Mc not like Martin Luthur is still alive and still defending the cause maybe if he spent more time in the republic he would have been taken out like Michael Collins. Freedom Fighters and brave men the 3 of them ..they walked the walk ..

O’Reilly

… “don’t condone violence & murder” as opposed to condoning theives, liars, conmen and traitors.

OReilly

I’d also like to ask if you are an admirer of Nelson Mandela. Here is a man that is revered and respected throughout the world and who went from being a prisoner in a South African jail to being President of a fully united and inclusive South Africa. If your answer is yes, then I would like to take this opportunity that Mr Mandela was also a freedom fighter. Before being elected President, Mandela was a MILITANTanti-apartheid activist, and the leader and co-founder of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the ARMED wing of the African National Congress (ANC), and as such he obviously condoned the use of armed force in the name of freedom for his countrymen. Hypocrisy and fascism make good bedfellows.

correction ^^.**I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that Mr Mandella**^^

Off topic…Journal can we please have an edit button?

Just to add, the same conservative government of thatcher that referred to Nelson Mandela as a terrorist in the house of commons also referred to Gerry Adams and Martin Mc Guinness as terrorists.

Nelson Mandelas statue now stands outside that very same building .

Does James have hallucinations? Are we all that stigmatized?

Shincity here on The Journal and thats for sure.

James,

I don’t care what you or other stigmatic s think. Having voted for FG previously I have been lied to and betrayed by Kenny. You will always blather on about the past because you never question logic when it’s staring you in the face. Recount Fine Gaels campaign to impose losses on Anglo Irish Bank and the u-turn subsequently.

“I don’t care what you or other stigmatic s think.” Really Rob???? Oh I think you do.

People like James Hunt, and his hero facing eviction find it unusual that someone could think independently which directly makes his argument embarrassing and insignificant.

Their notion of ‘the rhetoric from anti-SF blueshirts entails a distraction from their failures. So, common sense will also have contrary meaning with James.

Jesus Tim, who rattled your cage?

Why so ?

Cue commenter bragging about FG’s pathetic life.

It is ironic, given that one man, one vote came to America in the early 60′s, where as it was 1972 before it came to the North. Legislation was implemented in America ending discrimination in employment based on religion or race in the mid 60′s where as it was the late 80′s in the North. Both the North of here and the south of there were different but both very screwed up and awful places to live for the people who weren’t the right kind.

Is it just me, or is the word ‘ironic’ the most misused, and misunderstood word in the English language? There is absolutely a parallel to be drawn between the Irish nationalist population in the north during the campaign for civil rights, and with those who campaigned in the states for civil rights for the black population.

Its ironic because MLK pursued exclusively peaceful means to further his agenda, whereas the IRA (although it had(has) a perfectly legitimate aspiration in a united Ireland) decided to pursue it by bombing, killing and otherwise terrorising anyone who opposed them.

mattoid,

The IRA were defending the Catholic population from an oppressive occupational force and their loyalists. If you or any other foe men want to condemn the IRA, why don’t you campaign against Michael Collins? Why don’t you campaign with that as your number one manifesto?

Extreme partisan politics causes brain damage, as attested by this insane, ridiculous comment by Mattoid.

@Rob
Not quite sure what you meant by ‘foe man’ but I’m taking it that it was meant as a personal insult.
@Tim
I’m definitely taking it that the reference to insane was meant as a personal insult.
No-one can deny that the catholic population in the North were subject to disgraceful and unforgivable discrimination, as were the african-american population represented by MLK.
My point is that MLK succeeded in achieving huge change without resorting to violence, although I acknowledge that there is still much to be done there.
What has violence achieved in the North, other than leaving a wreckage of grieving families on all sides and delaying the peace process by many years?
Do you think the current developments in the North were achieved as a result of IRA violence, or as a result of the decision of McGuinness and others like him to put down their guns and start talking?
If this view makes me insane then its the type of insanity I can live with….

@Rob
Were the IRA defending the catholic population against oppression when they murdered schollboy Tim Parry in Warrington, Garda Gerry McCabe in Adare and others?

Clearly many mistaken recommendations on your comment.

What a wonderful way to pass the day watching Billy Wright pass a**y wouldn’t you agree PADDY Lyons

Actually Patrick, was the Mugabe policy of treating one half of his fellow countrymen as second class citizens not more the doctrine of your unionist buddies in power in the north until people like Mc Guinness took a stand?

Yes! Lincoln at Gettysburg. He nailed it in 10 sentences. All the rest are just fluff.