Since the formation of the Irish State its government has been led by either Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael or as we have now, a combination of the two. Or to put it another way, the country has only even known a right-leaning government.
Meanwhile the left has always been fragmented, marginalized and kept at arm’s length in a variety of different ways, and calling the ruling “Civil War” duopoly out has always been difficult to do without finding yourself branded as “radical”.
Well fair play to Independent TD Catherine Connolly of the Galway West constituency for not only telling both Taoiseach and Tánaiste what she thinks of their policies, but also for doing it with amazing dignity. This is what the Dáil is meant to be for, representing the people, and I’m pretty sure there are a whole lot of Irish people who would like to say those words to this pair.
Next step is convincing enough voters to elect a government that can lead us away from the FFFG mindset (and btw many include the Irish Labour Party in that, one which Connolly herself used to be a member but left in 2006).
The Marriage Equality and Repeal the 8th referenda results were great, but if we’re not careful the losing minority could be organised and well-funded enough to fight back, just look what’s happening in the USA.
He clearly believes, like most uber rich probably do, that the world revolves around him. The entire human race is represented by three stick figures on each line and he is one of them.
More importantly for this web page, these varying depictions of the “left/right” nature of political thought are completely different each time, which to me proves that it is completely arbitrary. If Elon is proclaiming that they have these definitions for these particular years, why can’t we attribute our own?
Which leads me conveniently back to the most important point I want to get across in this blog, and you will see me repeat it in several posts. If you come across FPP and don’t leave it at least knowing that I firmly believe this, then I will have failed.
In my humble opinion, no matter what year it is, the true centre of a line representing political ideology is one that contains people who want a democratically elected government to provide equal opportunities for all of its citizens. As you go to the right, you have people who are supporting increasing amounts of inequality. As you move to the left, you have people who are more interested in fighting/punishing those on the right than actually working to establish/maintain that equality. Any other depiction of what is defined by “left” and “right” is an attempt to distort, usually from the “right” because they represent a minority of people but currently have a lot of power which they use to influence the masses.
THIS is what I’d like to talk about when it comes to Elon Musk, not whether or not he wants to add an edit button,. JLP
PS : It seems The Young Turks agree in this video and of course they put their own spin on it which is worth a listen. But sure what do we know, we’re just “woke progressives” right????
Rachel Maddow has been on hiatus for quite a while now, working on other projects which is a good thing for her because while her 5-nights-a-week MSNBC show is must watch TV, the “corporate Democrat” nature of the network clearly holds her back.
What makes her presentations so compelling, for me anyway, is that whatever the topical news subject might be covering, she not only goes back several steps in the timeline while researching it, she also seems to bring you through her own process of learning as well. So while she might open her show talking about something like the presidency of Boris Yelstin, her verbal corkboard shows takes you from there to the Q Anon conspiracy.
But far be it from me to provide anything else that might act as a “spoiler” for the classic Maddow experience contained within the following two videos, all that is left is for me to strongly recommend just watch them, enjoy and learn. JLP
I am not a member of People Before Profit. In fact, if anything I am skeptical about the Irish left in general and would avoid committing myself to a particular party and instead wait until election campaigns to determine which individual candidates I consider to be worthy of my first preference.
Just to be clear, the actual story featured in this article is meant to be the response of the PBP to President Zelenskyy’s address to the Dáil this week. But what the article actually does is present as news the reaction of other parties.
Apparently the PBP’s objection to further sanctions against the Russian economy is considered to be a “contradiction” given they recently proposed sanctions against Israel. On the surface, that seems a very straightforward way to characterise. However, the Russian sanctions have been widespread and increased gradually since the beginning of their occupation of Ukraine. Meanwhile Israel have no sanctions at all despite their actions against the people of Palestine.
So to summarize, the two situations are very, very different. For Russia, they condemn Putin’s actions but suggest that maybe continued sanctions will tend to hurt the people not those in charge. For Israel, they are calling for sanctions that will hurt the government.
This is why the best hope for peace is not rowing in behind our own government in its efforts to use the Ukraine crisis to militarise our society. The Irish government’s main interest is using the conflict to hammer a final nail in Irish neutrality. If they were serious about the defence of human rights, they would have stopped the US army from using Shannon airport as a transit point for flights to torture centres. In reality, they have been turning a blind eye to Irish neutrality, and are now using the rhetoric of the conflict in Ukraine as an excuse to disband our neutral position entirely. They want to draw Ireland closer to NATO and increase military spending.
Maybe THIS is why the Irish media wants to focus on a disingenuous claim of contradiction? So that nobody sees the (actually obvious) threat to Irish neutrality?
Again, I am far from a spokesperson for PBP. But I do see how the left is portrayed in the media which is clearly trying to shape a particular narrative, which usually means it is hoping a different one will not take over. JLP
I normally want these pods to be just 10 minutes but I go on a bit longer as I explain my side of the story after going down a COVID related twitter rabbit hole with Ewan McKenna on St Stephens’ Day.
Below you can see the tweet that got the “discussion” going.
Remember the most important rule folks. Listen to those who know what they're talking about, not those who go on twitter thinking they do. Especially when it comes to your health. https://t.co/wBpzQD0fA9
— 🎄🎵 "Jeff The Halls" Lee Pagano 🎵 🎄 (@JeffLeePagano) December 26, 2021
HERE ARE SOME OF THE REPLIES I GOT FROM EWAN’S MINIONS…
“Listen to those who know what they’re talking about!” is the shittest advice of 2021. Who? The corrupt rats on pharmas payroll? Media? Restriction junkies? My mate knows all about heroin, but I don’t listen to him when he tells me it’s class. I can think for myself, always.
Virtue signalling gobshite.
Wonder would Dr Harold Shipman’s patients agree? And Dr Jack Kevorkian. Dr Carl Clauberg, Dr Josef Mengele and Dr John Bodkin Adams to name a few ‘health’ experts.
Keep taking the OxyContin. It’s not addictive if you keep doubling the dose.
I know the drill..never question an expert. Ever. Under any circumstances. Even on matters which over lap with social policy. Nope never. Just obey. [reply > Not what I said but hey, see what you want to see, whatever gets you angry.]
Jeff, your wee nappy wearing mate blocked me before I could tell him some scientists and medical professionals I listen to.Pensive face Let him know. Robert Malone (Inventor on mRNA vaxx tech) : [His work has focused on mRNA technology, pharmaceuticals, and drug repurposing research. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been criticized for promoting misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.[ Mike Yeadon (Former VP at Pfizer) [Michael Yeadon is a British anti-vaccine activist[1][2] and retired pharmacologist who attracted media attention for making false or unfounded claims about the COVID-19 pandemic and the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.] John Ioannidis Sunetra Gupta Martin Kulldorf Luc Montagnier
First Person Plural 