As is the normal modus operandi for the Fianna Fáil, they have reneged on more of their election campaign promises, when Brian (can’t balance the books) Cowen announced that the tax cuts that they used to get reelected are now renounced. Brian has a 1 BILLION Euro surplus one year, and the next, they are struggling to give themselves a 14% pay raise. Where is all that money going, there can’t be that many brown envelopes in the entire country. I guess if you do your finances out of a suitcase full of money, anything is possible.
Truth
Pride and Honor
Having watched one of my favorite movies, The American President a movie I usually cry over, with a feeling of pride and honor. I realized that at no time in resent memory could I ever express such Pride and Honor over a real politician. With the gross lack of any real Honor, Respect and Pride in our current crop of standing politicians, I crave more, I want to respect my elected leadership, I want them to represent Honor, Humility and Pride in me as a citizen as I would have in them. I hope that my fellow Irish citizens feel that way also, that tomorrow they will go to the polls and vote for the persons they most Respect, not because they are clever, witty or jolly. But because they represent Honor, Respect and Trust, who will do the right thing for us, not just for themselves. To be Strong and Truthful, believing in us as much as we believe in ourselves. Deep in the Irish spirit there is that Honor, and there is that Pride, we can do better, we have earned that right. We are free by our own hand, and we require the respect that brings, and we require that our political leaders represent to the world that pride, and honor we have in ourselves.
Troop withdrawal to take place during a Democratic Presidency
Reposted from March 22, 2006 @ 13:15
It looks like the republicans and in particular GW Bush will dump the problem of withdrawing the troops from Iraq into the hands of the Democrats. This and the massive debt, discredited government services and wrecked economy will now be the fault responsibility of the Democratic party.
As the sole beneficiary of a divided and embittered country the Democratic party will have to set about undoing the damage and repairing the moral and spiritual values of the American people. Instilling trust and a belief in a free and independent representative form of government will be no small task in the face of such divisive tactics used by the NeoCon’s during the ‘Republican Years’.
Months ago I wrote about the republicans attempting to stage the collapse of the Federal Government during a Democratic Presidency and this could all be a next stage in their plan. Assuming I still have my tin hat on. But I believe that old adage that “You should not attribute to conspiracy, that which you can explain by incompetency”. And therefore I believe that George, and the republicans have discovered that they Have no plan, or ability to plan for anything related to Iraq. And are willing to wait for a Democrat to figure it all out.
UPDATE: Didn’t I say this a year ago:Bush policy to bequeath Iraq to successor
at the Irish Blog Awards
Tomorrow night at Irish Blog Awards we should have someone holding up the laurel wreath and repeating;
All fame is fleeting!
Anonymity can not be preserved!
Your 15 minutes are up!
Republicans are making Democrats
Prior to World War II, Americans were, much like they were before 9-11, mostly isolationist, self centered and generally ignorant of the world outside of the United States. The former, because they were turning away from Bloody World War I, and were trying to forget. The later was a forced ignorance of the world engineered by the Mass media owned and controlled by conservative big business, mostly sympathetic to GOP motivations. Years of manipulation with of the Idea that the media was ‘Liberal’ has convinced Americans that the isolation and selfishness was an American Ideal.
As an unexpected outcome of WWII, millions of Americans were introduced to the rest of the world, troops stationed all over the world, and even prisoners-of-war brought to the U.S. for internment influenced the population that there were people living in the rest of the world. People who did not share the american way of life. And Americans learned and gained an understanding, even a desire to know other cultures.
The current situation is a bit different, just as Pearl Harbor was different than 911, an unexpected difference is the decision to keep prisoners far away from the general population, partly to keep them from becoming ‘human’ and partly to keep them away from the U.S. Constitution, and the rights that it confers.
With control of the media the republicans have attempted to prevent interaction both with the truth, and any element that might make ‘foreigners’ less than the ‘evil’ monsters that the GOP needs to continue the war on the U.S. Constitution, for Iraqi oil, and to boost the Defense Industrial Complex. But keeping troops in enclaves (to prevent interaction with the Iraqi population) has lead to the uncontrolled situation that troubles Iraqi security, that prevents the Iraqi from learning about Americans, and from American troops from learning that Iraqi people are human also.
This isolation hasn’t worked, and soon American troops will be returning to the U.S. with a deeper understanding of the outside world, something the GOP did not want. And just as the U.S. became more democratic, more liberal, dare I say more international after WWII, so it will after Iraq. The Republicans are making Democrats out of Republicans, my father, a lifelong republican, is now thinking of voting Democrat. So will the pendulum swing from the GOP to the democratic party. Time will tell, the sooner the better.
Remiss
I have been seriously remiss in posting here, as I’ve been a bit too focused on myself and I apologize. The world needs my words of wisdom (like it needs a third foot to stick in it’s mouth) and I will return to my duties shortly.
Politics online
In the category of ‘Dud’ with all the censorship, poor biased reporting, or just plain NO reporting on politics. How could this be surprising. Americans embrace politics online! Especially from the Mass Media in America, owned primarily by Big Business, who are the last to challenge the status quo. How would you ever hear the real facts about politics?
Polls and politicans, Truth is who you trust.
I find this amazing, when political polls indicate a rise in popularity like when Fianna Fáil soars in poll as Opposition suffers decline. Everyone in the captive press spew hours of dialog about how such results could have happened. But when polls are negative, they spend that same effort trying to demonstrate that the polls were flawed, or biased.
The press can not get it into their heads that the positive poll, while reflecting an unexpected result could be flawed, or even false in it’s results.
Politicians shaking hands
You know that you can believe what politicians say when they shake hands in front of the press and say … well, anything!
Just as much as any other time that their mouths are moving.
Why don’t the Americans riot against Bush
If the Hungarians can riot about a government that lies to win an election as here:
The violence erupted at the state TV building following a largely peaceful rally calling on Mr Gyurcsany to quit.
In a leaked tape, Mr Gyurcsany admitted his government had lied to the public.
His comments, which were recorded just after a general election in April, have prompted calls for his resignation from opposition parties.
Why won’t the American’s riot against Bush, a master at lying to the americans? Mr. Gyurcsany only lied about the economy, Bush has been caught flatfooted in more lies than you can count. Why is he still in power, because the truth in the U.S. died a long time ago, that’s why. And the press have failed in their responsibility to report the facts to the american people.
Catholicism moving back into the Dark Ages
Just when you thought that the Catholic church was becoming modern, they take a turn into the Dark Ages when the Pope sacks astronomer over evolution debate. Religious conservatives everywhere must be rejoicing that truth and knowledge will be suppressed. And you wonder the Catholic Church is loosing members. They would rather defend child molesters in their ranks, than a scientist teaching knowledge.
The truth the press fails to publish
When the press complain about bloggers, they always claim that bloggers do no research, and fail to verify their information before publishing. In recent Pew research 58% of bloggers do, research. Witness the alternative, that ‘professional’ journalist do research, and verify their data, then do not publish the truth, to support corrupt politicians. New York Times’ Eavesdropping Story Wasn’t The Only One Squashed For Bush During 2004 Campaign
Make’s you wonder who to trust, bloggers who publish information when they find it, or professional journalist who suppress the truth for political gain?
Not a very hard decision, is it!
The constitution does work
Federal Judge Orders End to Warrantless Wiretapping
“It was never the intent of the Framers to give the president such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights,â€
9/11 education lacking in both Islam and the West
The Sunday Times had an interesting article that indicates that a majority of Muslims in the U.K. believe that there was a U.S. conspiracy that led to the attack of 9/11 and that is was not a Muslim attack. But these same people believe that muslims bombing the U.K. on 7th, was a necessary reaction to the U.K. in Iraq. There seams to be a serious conflict in this thinking. Mind you the information from the hearings on 9/11 held in the U.S. were at best suspect. But there is also the same beliefs in the U.S..
Fundamentally the real issue is education, and the lack of any clear information from any of the governments involved combined with the press who have been negligent in investigating and reporting the real truth. Communications seems to be the tool of the war maker. Communicating the facts may be the only way to halt this relentless move by both the Islamic and Christian fanatics towards a war that is meaningless. But in the face of things from both sides of the conflict, transparency is the one thing that neither will allow, a transparency born of honest and direct communications. Both sides believe that manipulation of the media will some how grant them righteousness where none exists.
Truly we are entering a new dark age, where both religions twist the truth to enforce secular control of people by clouding the mind and poisoning communications.
Cuba, and Bush’s Democracy
In a world where Bush calls the U.S. Constitution “a goddamned piece of paper!”. When Bush calls for democracy in Cuba and assumes that any constitution is worthless, doesn’t he just define the Cuban government? Isn’t he wishful that he too, wants to be the autocrat of the world? Emperor George the first? Isn’t it amazing when Rice broadcast dismissed by Cuba is taken with surprise. While the Cubans are hardly free, or in many cases well informed. They are still aware of the nature of Bush regime, and believe they are better off where they are.
The Bush Democratic machine is a sham when they claim to support democracy, then withdraw support when Hamas wins an election, when one democracy, attacks another democracy in the the form of Lebanon vs Israel. When they support Egyptians voting for a one party candidate and call it democracy, but condemn it when the same vote happened for Saddam before they attacked them.
Bush and is followers do not have any concept of democracy, freedom or liberty, and never will. They continue to twist the meaning to one that supports them, and only them in power.
Meaningless words do not make a democracy. A constitution, made of laws which apply to everyone, and a government that is held to those laws which protect the rights of citizens of that country makes a democracy. And when Bush is finally held accountable for those violations of the U.S. Constitution, then we will have democracy.