If I were a Fianna Fail Minister I would be embarrassed to go abroad to meet my peer group. I’d put a bag over my head. I’d put on an accent and pretend I was a county supervisor from Winnemucca, Nevada. I’d do anything to cover up the fact that I was [...]

Si! Is Mohamed el-Hutt, the proud and once-mighty king of Morocco, sat with one of his smoking hookahs, played by Mariah Carrie, American songbird and daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Booby Fischer. His real name, of course, is Mohamed the Sixth, but nobody is allowed to call him that to his face because they have [...]

Has been a really appalling week for the human race as I espect you have seen. First, last Sunday, Lewis Hamilton win the world car racing championship by coming fifth in Brazil, and now on Tuesday Barack the Obama win the American elections, the first half-black man in history to be president since Father Abraham [...]

Does anyone believe the Government know what it’s doing? I’m not talking about the budgetary U-turns or that sinking sensation one gets when viewing images of the troika of Lenihan, Coughlan and Cowen on our television screens. No, it’s the bank guarantee. First, the Government stated that the banks which sign up [...]

There is a blunt irony to the fact that as the Progressive Democrats leave the political stage, their socio-economic and political project largely made void by the financial events of this Summer, the competitive aspect of their project seems to have been transferred almost without modification to the leftish parties. The most striking aspect of [...]

Sarah Carey suggests the Government listen to the Opposition. Agreed. As a rule, we should all listen to each other. Of course, Sarah employs a sleight-of-hand. When she says ‘opposition’, she specifically refers to ‘Richard Bruton’ and ‘Fine Gael’. I guess Labour doesn’t count. But there you are - already commentators are laying down tasks [...]

The fiscal meltdown is the result of our economic decline, not the cause.  It seems straight-forward enough, but let’s put it another way:  our fiscal imbalance is a symptom of our economic malady, not the malady itself.  The reason why it’s necessary to continually repeat this is because the general political and media consensus is that we [...]

If there’s one country where ‘tax’ is an even dirtier word than in Ireland, its the good ‘ol USA. To argue for higher taxes in Omaha is no more popular than in Artane. And, yet, America is about to elect a politician whose platform calls for higher taxes on wealthy individuals and businesses [...]