Off Topic Chat. (MOD NOTE post# 3949 and post#5279)

solarwinds

The only problem with them leaving is that there is every chance they will be replaced by a green blob, so we would still be no better off.

tudderone

solarwinds wrote: »

The only problem with them leaving is that there is every chance they will be replaced by a green blob, so we would still be no better off.

The traffic light party, they turn from green to red

tudderone

Election on the 8th of Feb, expect all manner of twit at your door telling you lies in the next few weeks.

EoghanS

the only gob****es that call to my door are the Lefties and SF, and a fat lot of good they are

tudderone

EoghanS wrote: »

the only gob****es that call to my door are the Lefties and SF, and a fat lot of good they are

They are dangerous. Aodhan O'riordan and that lot of pinko's, bad news.

Grizzly 45

Be intresting to see if,for once,the established Irish shootting orgs will be proactive and actually do a "Rate your politican" survey on their personal,and parties attitude to gun ownership,further restrictions/loosening up,of liscensnesing ,and on hunting. Rating from A1[Total pro gun] to F6[total anti gun] Snail mailed and Emailed to them so they have no excuse to ignore it.[Which automatically gives them an F6 rating]
Be nice to know for once what exactly we are voting for on this issue alone.But this is Ireland,so....:rolleyes:

tudderone

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Be intresting to see if,for once,the established Irish shootting orgs will be proactive and actually do a "Rate your politican" survey on their personal,and parties attitude to gun ownership,further restrictions/loosening up,of liscensnesing ,and on hunting. Rating from A1[Total pro gun] to F6[total anti gun] Snail mailed and Emailed to them so they have no excuse to ignore it.[Which automatically gives them an F6 rating]
Be nice to know for once what exactly we are voting for on this issue alone.But this is Ireland,so....:rolleyes:

We all remember the pictures in the mejia of Biffo shaking hands with the lads down at the midlands rifle range, all smiles and bon homie. A few months later the centrefire pistols were gone and everything was restricted. The crowd here could tell you they were ar15 toting life members of the NRA in one breath and chuck us under the bus the next if it suited their purpose.

I dislike everyone of them, some slightly less than the rest, but always vote with a peg on my nose .

Rows Grower

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Be intresting to see if,for once,the established Irish shootting orgs will be proactive and actually do a "Rate your politican" survey on their personal,and parties attitude to gun ownership,further restrictions/loosening up,of liscensnesing ,and on hunting. Rating from A1[Total pro gun] to F6[total anti gun] Snail mailed and Emailed to them so they have no excuse to ignore it.[Which automatically gives them an F6 rating]
Be nice to know for once what exactly we are voting for on this issue alone.But this is Ireland,so....:rolleyes:

https://cdn-04.independent.ie/irish-news/election-2016/article34469916.ece/30b26/AUTOCROP/w620/FV16-1.jpg

My local TD is and always was a shooting enthusiast and makes no bones about it.

Cass

Rows Grower wrote: »

My local TD .............

.... is a f**king genius.

He makes stupid and provocative remarks which people criticise him for, then the people of Kerry get pissed that "the Dubs" (because anyone outside Kerry is a Dub) dare criticise their choice for office, and re-elect him by a huge margin each year.

He is the current head of the Healy-Rae dynasty. The family has earned tens of millions from the county and state over the years while claiming to be "for the people".

• They protested Irish water yet were paid over 1.6 MILLION by Irish water for machine and plant hire.
• Michael is the largest landlord in the Dail with dozen(s) of properties.
• Danny owns properties and a bar, which he never initially disclosed to the Dail.
• Three of their family are on Kerry county councils, and both Danny and Michael held the position before them.
• He has made provocative and outright stupid statements on shooing burglars and guns for self defense.
• He had his firearms seized after the tv show back in 2013 or so.
• They have promoted and called for drink driving to be allowed.

That is without going into the utter gibberish spouted by them such as Danny and his "only God controls the weather".

Only this week Michael was running a raffle he was to raise funds because in his own words: "Being an independent is not easy or cheap". Tickets were being sold 1 for €30, 2 for €50.

The gas part is he is worth over €5 MILLION EURO.

Now none of this is a Healy-Rae only situation. Padraig Flynn showed the country what politicians are truly like when he said its not easy to run two houses in time, and it's relevant today, when most people cannot get onto the property ladder, rents are higher than before the crash of 2008, and people are being evicted on a scale never seen before due to vulture funds.. Also with over 35% of TDs being millionaires and landlords why would any of them vote for change that would curtail their lifestyle.

We as a country are naive and still subject to the "cap tipping". We vote the same lot in election after election and not because of our beliefs or opinions on their party or the candidate themselves, but because "its who we've always voted for".

An incumbent has a 70% chance of being re-elected simply by holding the seat. They are known, have access to a microphone all the time, access to Dail facilities such as printing services, etc. However the fault stil lies at the feet of the electorate.

The "cap in hand" attitude of the Irish is a slow to die remnant of British rule times when we dared not speak up against our "betters". We are a Republic which means the Government work for us, not the other way around.

Its true we have little in the way of alternatives. FF and FG hod the majority in pretty much every election for the last 100 years, but its time to stop and break that cycle. Meet your local candidate. Ask them the pointed questions and don't back down from the bulls**t they will spew. Demand proper answers. If they don't, don't vote for them.

Look outside the narrow world of shooting. I couldn't give a rat's arse what the local candidates to me think of shooting. I have bigger concerns on my mind.

• The tax haven status of Ireland which sees BILLIONS of Euro in tax go unpaid.
• The banks being tax free for the next 19 years after being bailed out with OUR money, even after one bank showed profits of 1.6 billion for last year alone.
• The wanton waste of public monies on Children's hospitals. 2 BILLION instead of €400 Million, which is still 8 times what it costs in other countries and still they are going ahead with it.
• The welcoming of vulture funds and predatory lending companies.
• The tracker mortgage scandal
• NAMA
• Irish Water
• Politicians using an Gardaí as their enforcers (Regina doherty)
• The homelessness crisis. 11,000 people homeless, and that figure is a lie because they don't count people in emergency accommodation, with over a THIRD of those being children.
• FF propping up a FG Government until such a time as they think the public has forgotten they bankrupted the country while lying to us about bailouts, and the extent of the fraud.
• A FG housing Minister that has survived two votes of no confidence because of FF
• A children's Minister with no Children
• A transport Minister that was given his office to shut him up (boy that worked out well) and who doesn't even have a driving license
• A heath Minister that barely has a leaving certificate and who got his seal of office from being the popular kid in the party rather than on ability.
• A Taoiseach that is is unelected
• A Taoiseach that sees the EU as the rightful "rulers" of Ireland and along with his FF counterpart says "Sovereignty is an outdated notion" Only took 100 years for them to hand away the freedoms that our founding Fathers died for.
• A finance minster that cycles to work but claims €9,500 a year in travel expenses because as he said himself "i'm entitled to it".
• Cushy EU jobs for failed ex-TDs, senators
• Cushy EU jobs for ex AGS Commissioner's that have failed to answer to what amounts to criminal charges
• TDs involved, almost weekly, in scandal after scandal relating to pay and expenses that they claimed while not here or because "they're entitled to it", that in any other profession would result in dismissal and possibly criminal charges.
• A police force so corrupt that the central statistics office won't accept their stats, and has been the source of multiple investigations for theft, corruption and abuse of powers by senior members of the force while suffering a drain in members due to corruption, intimidation of whistleblowers, and poor pay.
• A defence force that has active duty soldiers working two jobs to keep food on the table, and lead to other members of the force contemplating/carrying out suicide.

I could go on and on, but you either already know this or have stopped reading because you've no interest in which you're the problem (by the way i'm directing that to everyone reading this post, not anyone one person specifically, in case it reads that way).

In France they tried to raise the retirement age to 67, and after weeks of protest and shutting down the major cities, the decision was reversed.

Our Government is planning to bring in "hate speech" laws which if passed would see that ability to protest or even criticise the Government taken from us. And some people are actively supporting it. Think about that, they are protesting to have their rights taken from them.

Don't be a willing participant in this coming election. Apathy is basis of their power. Read, educate yourselves. Let them know they are representatives of us, the people, and if they don't do their f**king jobs we'll vote them out.

One last thing and i'll end my rant. Learn how to fill out a ballot paper. The amount of people i speak to after any election and when they tell me how they filled it out i tell them it's either wrong or not what they think. Fill in all the boxes, number your choices from one (1) to whatever amount of candidates on the ballot. Don't be lazy. We have no one to blame but ourselves for what is to come over the next 5 years.


End of rant.

Boredstiff666

Cass wrote: »

In France they tried to raise the retirement age to 67, and after weeks of protest and shutting down the major cities, the decision was reversed.

Our Government is planning to bring in "hate speech" laws which if passed would see that ability to protest or even criticise the Government taken from us. And some people are actively supporting it. Think about that, they are protesting to have their rights taken from them.

Don't be a willing participant in this coming election. Apathy is basis of their power. Read, educate yourselves. Let them know they are representatives of us, the people, and if they don't do their f**king jobs we'll vote them out.
come over the next 5 years.


End of rant.

It wont work regards voting Cass because if the turnout is very low as to be irrelevant they will just say that a person who didnt vote didnt vote to remove the Gov.............so they have won.

They have a job for life and they are a higher order over us. They are our superiors and we love them. That is what they believe.

Regards pensions...........I remember when people retired from the factory were I worked on leaving school, they didnt last 2 years. Even at 67 the baby boomers are in full force claiming now and no governments economy can afford to pay them at the rates they do. So you are looking at collapse of the state pension system......soon.

Cass

Boredstiff666 wrote: »

So you are looking at collapse of the state pension system......soon.

Funny how there is never a fear of the social welfare system collapsing!

My Father retired this year after almost 50 years of working. His pension is a right, in my mind, for almost 50 years of work and tax paying. He is one of the lucky ones that he gets to retire at his age.

I read an article about a month ago of a man that because of when he was born will retire from his job, due to mandatory retirement by the company when employees hit 65, but will not be able to get his pension until he is 67 or 68 (i cannot remember which he falls into). So for two to three years he will have to either work somewhere else, sign on (social welfare), or use his savings.

I understand people are living longer and this puts a strain on the systems such as pensions, healthcare, etc. but as i said, and i know its a little simplistic, why is social welfare never said to be running out of money or going to fail? Yet pensions and other "state benefits" that working people pay into all their lives will?

If someone is lucky enough to have worked for 50 years, paid into a state contributory pension, as well as set up a personal pension, all the while putting a little aside in savings then they face being:

• Taxed on their salary
• Taxed on their savings
• Taxed on their pension

Not to mind they already paid tax on pretty much every other aspect of their lives. There is no one aspect of living in Ireland that is not taxed and like with fuel, multiple taxes (four to be exact).

Boredstiff666

Cass wrote: »

Funny how there is never a fear of the social welfare system collapsing!

My Father retired this year after almost 50 years of working. His pension is a right, in my mind, for almost 50 years of work and tax paying. He is one of the lucky ones that he gets to retire at his age.

I read an article about a month ago of a man that because of when he was born will retire from his job, due to mandatory retirement by the company when employees hit 65, but will not be able to get his pension until he is 67 or 68 (i cannot remember which he falls into). So for two to three years he will have to either work somewhere else, sign on (social welfare), or use his savings.

I understand people are living longer and this puts a strain on the systems such as pensions, healthcare, etc. but as i said, and i know its a little simplistic, why is social welfare never said to be running out of money or going to fail? Yet pensions and other "state benefits" that working people pay into all their lives will?

If someone is lucky enough to have worked for 50 years, paid into a state contributory pension, as well as set up a personal pension, all the while putting a little aside in savings then they face being:

• Taxed on their salary
• Taxed on their savings
• Taxed on their pension

Not to mind they already paid tax on pretty much every other aspect of their lives. There is no one aspect of living in Ireland that is not taxed and like with fuel, multiple taxes (four to be exact).

Agreed but you see when they came up with the idea. Very few men lived past 70 and the other health claims didnt amount to much because if you went in with something serious, you didnt come out. But now that aint the case.

Also with your mind set, the refugee/migrant who arrived 10 years before his 65th birthday will be on street with no pension or money starving in gutter.

I aint seen one yet have you?

Also your tax money goes to pay the very lucrative politicians pension and other things so it is/was really your money which was taken from you.

Rows Grower

Cass wrote: »

.... is a f**king genius.

He makes stupid and provocative remarks which people criticise him for, then the people of Kerry get pissed that "the Dubs" (because anyone outside Kerry is a Dub) dare criticise their choice for office, and re-elect him by a huge margin each year.

He is the current head of the Healy-Rae dynasty. The family has earned tens of millions from the county and state over the years while claiming to be "for the people".

• They protested Irish water yet were paid over 1.6 MILLION by Irish water for machine and plant hire.
• Michael is the largest landlord in the Dail with dozens of properties.
• Danny owns properties and bars, which he never initially disclosed to the Dail.
• Three of their family are on Kerry county councils, and both Danny and Michael held the position before them.
• He has made provocative and outright stupid statements on shooing burglars and guns for self defense.
• He had his firearms seized after the tv show back in 2013 or so.
• They have promoted and called for drink driving to be allowed.

That is without going into the utter gibberish spouted by them such as Danny and his "only God controls the weather".

Only this week Michael was running a raffle he was to raise funds because in his own words: "Being an independent is not easy or cheap". Tickets were being sold 1 for €30, 2 for €50.

The gas part is he is worth over €5 MILLION EURO.

Now none of this is a Healy-Rae only situation. Padraig Flynn showed the country what politicians are truly like when he said its not easy to run two houses in time, and it's relevant today, when most people cannot get onto the property ladder, rents are higher than before the crash of 2008, and people are being evicted on a scale never seen before due to vulture funds.. Also with over 35% of TDs being millionaires and landlords why would any of them vote for change that would curtail their lifestyle.

We as a country are naive and still subject to the "cap tipping". We vote the same lot in election after election and not because of our beliefs or opinions on their party or the candidate themselves, but because "its who we've always voted for".

An incumbent has a 70% chance of being re-elected simply by holding the seat. They are known, have access to a microphone all the time, access to Dail facilities such as printing services, etc. However the fault stil lies at the feet of the electorate.

The "cap in hand" attitude of the Irish is a slow to die remnant of British rule times when we dared not speak up against our "betters". We are a Republic which means the Government work for us, not the other way around.

Its true we have little in the way of alternatives. FF and FG hod the majority in pretty much every election for the last 100 years, but its time to stop and break that cycle. Meet your local candidate. Ask them the pointed questions and don't back down from the bulls**t they will spew. Demand proper answers. If they don't, don't vote for them.

Look outside the narrow world of shooting. I couldn't give a rat's arse what the local candidates to me think of shooting. I have bigger concerns on my mind.

• The tax haven status of Ireland which sees BILLIONS of Euro in tax go unpaid.
• The banks being tax free for the next 19 years after being bailed out with OUR money, even after one bank showed profits of 1.6 billion for last year alone.
• The wanton waste of public monies on Children's hospitals. 2 BILLION instead of €400 Million, which is still 8 times what it costs in other countries and still they are going ahead with it.
• The welcoming of vulture funds and predatory lending companies.
• The tracker mortgage scandal
• NAMA
• Irish Water
• Politicians using an Gardaí as their enforcers (Regina doherty)
• The homelessness crisis. 11,000 people homeless, and that figure is a lie because they don't count people in emergency accommodation, with over a THIRD of those being children.
• FF propping up a FG Government until such a time as they think the public has forgotten they bankrupted the country while lying to us about bailouts, and the extent of the fraud.
• A FG housing Minister that has survived two votes of no confidence because of FF
• A children's Minister with no Children
• A transport Minister that was given his office to shut him up (boy that worked out well) and who doesn't even have a driving license
• A heath Minister that barely has a leaving certificate and who got his seal of office from being the popular kid in the party rather than on ability.
• A Taoiseach that is is unelected
• A Taoiseach that sees the EU as the rightful "rulers" of Ireland and along with his FF counterpart says "Sovereignty is an outdated notion" Only took 100 years for them to hand away the freedoms that our founding Fathers died for.
• A finance minster that cycles to work but claims €9,500 a year in travel expenses because as he said himself "i'm entitled to it".
• Cushy EU jobs for failed ex-TDs, senators
• Cushy EU jobs for ex AGS Commissioner's that have failed to answer to what amounts to criminal charges
• TDs involved, almost weekly, in scandal after scandal relating to pay and expenses that they claimed while not here or because "they're entitled to it", that in any other profession would result in dismissal and possibly criminal charges.
• A police force so corrupt that the central statistics office won't accept their stats, and has been the source of multiple investigations for theft, corruption and abuse of powers by senior members of the force while suffering a drain in members due to corruption, intimidation of whistleblowers, and poor pay.
• A defence force that has active duty soldiers working two jobs to keep food on the table, and lead to other members of the force contemplating/carrying out suicide.

I could go on and on, but you either already know this or have stopped reading because you've no interest in which you're the problem (by the way i'm directing that to everyone reading this post, not anyone one person specifically, in case it reads that way).

In France they tried to raise the retirement age to 67, and after weeks of protest and shutting down the major cities, the decision was reversed.

Our Government is planning to bring in "hate speech" laws which if passed would see that ability to protest or even criticise the Government taken from us. And some people are actively supporting it. Think about that, they are protesting to have their rights taken from them.

Don't be a willing participant in this coming election. Apathy is basis of their power. Read, educate yourselves. Let them know they are representatives of us, the people, and if they don't do their f**king jobs we'll vote them out.

One last thing and i'll end my rant. Learn how to fill out a ballot paper. The amount of people i speak to after any election and when they tell me how they filled it out i tell them it's either wrong or not what they think. Fill in all the boxes, number your choices from one (1) to whatever amount of candidates on the ballot. Don't be lazy. We have no one to blame but ourselves for what is to come over the next 5 years.


End of rant.

Now that's what I call a proper rant, a couple of untruths about the Healy Raes but it must feel like you have lifted the Titanic off your chest...

Cass

Boredstiff666 wrote: »

Agreed but you see when they came up with the idea. Very few men lived past 70 and the other health claims didnt amount to much because if you went in with something serious, you didnt come out. But now that aint the case.

I understand and said above i agree. Its an evolving situation and times may have to change to suit it, but like most things introduced by the Government its done on a whim with little to no forethought to consequences, piss poor planning and execution which can and usually does turn into a debacle.

Also with your mind set, the refugee/migrant who arrived 10 years before his 65th birthday will be on street with no pension or money starving in gutter.

Okay that is a curve ball. I made no mention of anything to do with migrants? I think you are mistaking me for one of these:



If so, please don't.

Cass

Rows Grower wrote: »

....... a couple of untruths about the Healy Raes

Such as?

but it must feel like you have lifted the Titanic off your chest...

M'eh, not really.

Cass

BTW Rows Grower, as i said in my post none of that was directed at you. It started off with a little bit about the Healy-Raes because you mentioned him, but turned into an all politicians "thing" before i was half way through it.

There was no attempt to insult or annoy you although i fear i may have done the latter unintentionally.

Rows Grower

Cass wrote: »

Such as?

M'eh, not really.

Danny owns "Bars" and Mike owns "dozens" of properties jumped out at me.

Rows Grower

Cass wrote: »

BTW Rows Grower, as i said in my post none of that was directed at you. It started off with a little bit about the Healy-Raes because you mentioned him, but turned into an all politicians "thing" before i was half way through it.

There was no attempt to insult or annoy you although i fear i may have done the latter unintentionally.

I take no offence from anything anyone writes on here, if I don't agree I'll let people know but even in real life I don't get offended too easily.

Boredstiff666

Cass wrote: »

Okay that is a curve ball. I made no mention of anything to do with migrants? I think you are mistaking me for one of these:



If so, please don't.

No didnt mean that. What I meant was there is no way those people could have paid in same as your old fella but some may be same age......so what happens?

Tricky one aint it?

Boredstiff666

Anyway being as we will no longer be able to drive cars which use petrol or diesel. Use oil or gas for heating. Burn wood coal and turf on fires. Eat meat or drink booze. Fly anywhere, and a whole lot of other ****e.

What do you need a pension for?

Cass

Rows Grower wrote: »

Danny owns "Bars" and Mike owns "dozens" of properties jumped out at me.

Danny does own multiple properties including a bar (not bars) while Michael owns multiple properties in Kerry and tipperary which are in double digits hence the dozens comment as i don't know exactly how many, but he owns at least ten rental properties as well as industrial/business properties.

He is the second richest TD in the Dail. His Father served as does his Brother and his family sit on the council where they once held seats. So a Dynasty by all accounts.

So other than those two, what exactly is untrue about it or any of the rest of it? I'm asking seriously, not trying to catch you out. I've sourced the information from various news reports/articles, as well as their own websites, freedom of information reports, and Oireachtas reports. So if anything is untrue i'd like to amend my post as i prefer to give accurate and truthful statements so as not to undermine anything else within my post.

Cass

Boredstiff666 wrote: »

Tricky one aint it?

It is, but my concern for this election is those with more than ten years employment for the simple reason that anyone in the previous decades would face the same issues with pensions with ten years or less work history here.

Not to sound cold or anti-immigrant, which belongs on another forum or for another day, but the retirement age is only one topic of a laundry list of scandals, and issues which are plaguing this country and my fear is that we [the voters] once again put into power the "other side" thinking they'll change or make it better.

I mean FG got in because FF messed up so bad, and then FG made the last 10 years even worse with broken promises and policies of a unconstitutional nature which makes Ireland indebted and indentured to the EU for generations to come.

Boredstiff666 wrote: »

Anyway being as we will no longer be able to drive cars which use petrol or diesel. Use oil or gas for heating. Burn wood coal and turf on fires. Eat meat or drink booze. Fly anywhere, and a whole lot of other ****e.

What do you need a pension for?

Please, for everyone's sake, don't get me started on electric cars, taxation on fuel, Vegans or the climate "thing".

No one needs to hear me rant about those things, again. :rolleyes:

Rows Grower

Cass wrote: »

A simple typo, but not an untruth.

Danny does own multiple properties including a bar (not bars) while Michael owns multiple properties in Kerry and tipperary which are in double digits hence the dozens comment as i don't know exactly how many, but he owns at least ten rental properties as well as industrial/business properties.

He is the second richest TD in the Dail. His Father served as does his Brother and his family sit on the council where they once held seats. So a Dynasty by all accounts.

So other than those two "typos" what exactly is untrue about it or any of the rest of it? I'm asking seriously, not trying to catch you out. I've sourced the information from various news reports/articles, as well as their own websites, freedom of information reports, and Oireachtas reports. So if anything is untrue i'd like to amend my post as i prefer to give accurate and truthful statements so as not to undermine anything else within my post.

I see you've amended your original post now to take account of the mistakes I pointed out.

Danny owns 1 bar (which he inherited from his father and is also the family home to the best of my knowledge) and Mike is a landlord but my sources tell me he owns 14 properties which is a far cry from dozens.

It's no biggie but at the same time it's important to tell the truth.

Cass

Rows Grower wrote: »

It's no biggie but at the same time it's important to tell the truth.

You say it's no biggie, but you've twice now accused me of lying while you're focused on a single typo. I added the letter "s" either by mistake or from typing too fast, which does happen. I sometimes think faster that i can type and it results in typos.

However i've asked you to point out the untruths, which is a nice word for lie. So here they are again.

• They own multiple properties
• Michael is the largest landlord in the Dáil
• They are millionaires
• Michael is the second richest TD
• They protested Irish water yet made hundreds of thousands from Irish water
• They are a dynasty
• Three of the family currently sit on county councils where both brothers held positions
• Danny claims God controls the weather
• Danny failed to disclose his bar to the Dáil
• They advocated for drink driving

Which of the above is untrue?

Oh yeah a couple more seeing as how my mouth is warm.

• They hold position 1 and 2 for clocking into the Dáil but not voting.
• Michael claimed phone expenses for roaming charges because he can, even though roaming charges were done away with over 3 years ago.
• In the last three years they have claimed €190,000 in travel expenses on top of their salary (the highest two of all TDs)

If it makes you feel any better i have the same disdain for my local TDs. Not a peep out them for the last 9 years except around election time. They have not kept one promise and one of them has actually done a complete 180 on his previous stance on fieldsports which i got into an argument on the phone with him.

Two of them have claimed over €160,000 between them in the last three in expenses on top of their salary while also missing out on almost 90 votes.

Two, that i know of, are landlords and millionaires and also elected because of previous family members holding the seat.

So they are as "guilty" in my eyes for the problems we face as your two.

As i said in my first post this is not an attack on you, on the people of Kerry or even the Healy boys specifically. They are poster boys for the problem, but by no means the only ones nor the sole beneficiaries of the gravy train that is public office.

I laugh at Sinn Fein too. They do their usual "we don't want the pay rise" bit but yet their party members in the North have claimed full salaries and massive expenses even though Stormont has not sat for over two years. So while nurses, firemen, police and other services struggled they were well paid for sitting on their arses.

Pearse Doherty is the exception and in my mind is wasted in Sinn Fein or should be party leader, however his exceptional work on the insurance front and with his sight now on the bankers i cannot overlook his parties views on, God help me, firearms and hunting. They support the antis, and have had party members show up with protestors at coursing meets and against fox hunting. They also have a serious issue with civilian ownership of firearms.

Labour, well less said easily mended.

Greens. Look at Eamon Ryan. His speech about car sharing and no concept of rural issues like no buses, trains or taxi services, but we should all share cars. The same man that was in Government when we went for the bailout, that tried to destroy stag hunting, and will eviscerate rural Ireland if they got a glimmer of power in an upcoming coalition Government.

Independent, well Shane Ross and his "gang" showed that a carrot can persuade anyone to compromise their values. Plus as a non party small group they are ineffective and even less so as individuals.

So where does that leave anyone intending to vote?

Grizzly 45

You wanted to know why social welfare never runs out?? It's the weekly protection money the Irish govt pays to keep the lid on society...

Boredstiff666

Cass wrote: »

Please, for everyone's sake, don't get me started on electric cars, taxation on fuel, Vegans or the climate "thing".

No one needs to hear me rant about those things, again. :rolleyes:

You might get moderated:D

Cass

Boredstiff666 wrote: »

You might get moderated:D

Grizzly 45

Hard to belive that when I shot a copy of that "Longslide 45 ACP with lazer sighting" in CA now well over 30 years ago.That laser was the state of the art in laser technology.Now they are cheap as chips and just as good as that scope sized monster that was sitting atop it.Was one sweet shooting gun too.

solarwinds

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Hard to belive that when I shot a copy of that "Longslide 45 ACP with lazer sighting" in CA now well over 30 years ago.That laser was the state of the art in laser technology.Now they are cheap as chips and just as good as that scope sized monster that was sitting atop it.Was one sweet shooting gun too.

What was worse, the weight and size of it on the gun or the small generator needed to power it. An unwieldy machine for sure.

tudderone

Cass wrote: »

Its true we have little in the way of alternatives. FF and FG hod the majority in pretty much every election for the last 100 years, but its time to stop and break that cycle. Meet your local candidate. Ask them the pointed questions and don't back down from the bulls**t they will spew. Demand proper answers. If they don't, don't vote for them.

Look outside the narrow world of shooting. I couldn't give a rat's arse what the local candidates to me think of shooting. I have bigger concerns on my mind.

• The tax haven status of Ireland which sees BILLIONS of Euro in tax go unpaid.
• The banks being tax free for the next 19 years after being bailed out with OUR money, even after one bank showed profits of 1.6 billion for last year alone.
• The wanton waste of public monies on Children's hospitals. 2 BILLION instead of €400 Million, which is still 8 times what it costs in other countries and still they are going ahead with it.
• The welcoming of vulture funds and predatory lending companies.
• The tracker mortgage scandal
• NAMA
• Irish Water
• Politicians using an Gardaí as their enforcers (Regina doherty)
• The homelessness crisis. 11,000 people homeless, and that figure is a lie because they don't count people in emergency accommodation, with over a THIRD of those being children.
• FF propping up a FG Government until such a time as they think the public has forgotten they bankrupted the country while lying to us about bailouts, and the extent of the fraud.
• A FG housing Minister that has survived two votes of no confidence because of FF
• A children's Minister with no Children
• A transport Minister that was given his office to shut him up (boy that worked out well) and who doesn't even have a driving license
• A heath Minister that barely has a leaving certificate and who got his seal of office from being the popular kid in the party rather than on ability.
• A Taoiseach that is is unelected
• A Taoiseach that sees the EU as the rightful "rulers" of Ireland and along with his FF counterpart says "Sovereignty is an outdated notion" Only took 100 years for them to hand away the freedoms that our founding Fathers died for.
• A finance minster that cycles to work but claims €9,500 a year in travel expenses because as he said himself "i'm entitled to it".
• Cushy EU jobs for failed ex-TDs, senators
• Cushy EU jobs for ex AGS Commissioner's that have failed to answer to what amounts to criminal charges
• TDs involved, almost weekly, in scandal after scandal relating to pay and expenses that they claimed while not here or because "they're entitled to it", that in any other profession would result in dismissal and possibly criminal charges.
• A police force so corrupt that the central statistics office won't accept their stats, and has been the source of multiple investigations for theft, corruption and abuse of powers by senior members of the force while suffering a drain in members due to corruption, intimidation of whistleblowers, and poor pay.
• A defence force that has active duty soldiers working two jobs to keep food on the table, and lead to other members of the force contemplating/carrying out suicide.

I could go on and on, but you either already know this or have stopped reading because you've no interest in which you're the problem (by the way i'm directing that to everyone reading this post, not anyone one person specifically, in case it reads that way).

In France they tried to raise the retirement age to 67, and after weeks of protest and shutting down the major cities, the decision was reversed.

Our Government is planning to bring in "hate speech" laws which if passed would see that ability to protest or even criticise the Government taken from us. And some people are actively supporting it. Think about that, they are protesting to have their rights taken from them.

Don't be a willing participant in this coming election. Apathy is basis of their power. Read, educate yourselves. Let them know they are representatives of us, the people, and if they don't do their f**king jobs we'll vote them out.

One last thing and i'll end my rant. Learn how to fill out a ballot paper. The amount of people i speak to after any election and when they tell me how they filled it out i tell them it's either wrong or not what they think. Fill in all the boxes, number your choices from one (1) to whatever amount of candidates on the ballot. Don't be lazy. We have no one to blame but ourselves for what is to come over the next 5 years.


End of rant.

Well it popped up on my phone this morning that fg and verruca have fallen 12 points in the polls, well behind ff. I don't know how true or not that is, but it looks likely that mehole martin and the FF gang will be back in the drivers seat in feb.

Einstein is reputed to have said " The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result". So the insane Irish public are about to do the same thing they have been doing for decades and in 2025 will be wondering why things have not improved.

With the British (rightly) exiting the eu, France is in turmoil with a president as popular as a dead sewer rat on your dining table, Italy is a basket case, massively in debt, the most popular politician/potential leader is Salvini who hates the eu, Spain is another country in trouble, massive youth unemployment (50%), the anti-eu Vox party gaining support all the time, ditto Portugal. The Austrians, Poles, Hungarians etc have flipped brussels the bird plenty of times at this stage, they want to be in europe but not dictated to by it. Even the Swedes and Germans are turning increasingly to rightwing parties, who are critical of the eu. A time might come where Germany, who are the only ones really putting money into the eu might decide that enough is enough, and cry stop.

But in Ireland's media :rolleyes:, the eu is depicted like the old catholic church/vatican used to be, a utopia where all wrongs can be righted, plenty of free money about, and when you fcuk up at home (a la Phil Hogan) you can get into a job in which you are grossly incompetent, and grossly over paid.

What happens if the eu collapses ? Where will Ireland be then ?