Archive for December, 2006
Open invitation to Gay Byrne
I was informed during the week that Gay Byrne was recently on the radio singling out young male drivers as being the only problem on our roads. Apparently this interview was particluarly condemning of Ireland's and the insurance industry's favourite scape goat. It's a pity really that it has come to this: Gay Byrne was a respected national broadcaster for many years and did much for the airwaves. In his would-be "retirement" he wasn't let go by a demanding audience that saw him return to TV and most recently to take over the position of chairperson of the Irish Road Safety Authority. Gay's [...]
A new depth of shallowness
For so long now the majority of Western civilisation has lived life based on the shallow assumption that looks are everything. For so long people have been driven to distraction, to think that their teeth are no white enough, their bodies are not correctly shaped or God knows what else. Just this week I caught a trailer on TV for a new show called "Ugly Betty" - from what I can see it is a show about a supposedly ugly girl who is trying to make it in the business world. While the greater ending to this story may well be the so very tired cliché that her looks will no matter and she [...]
Out of debt, after death
I heard about this on the news yesterday and was simply shocked at the thought of old people signing over a maximum of 15% of their homes to the government so that nursing home fees can be paid after they pass on. I am almost without words that life long tax payers, having paid so much tax on their houses and everything else in life will now be giving a chunk of their legacy to the government to pay for their nursing. Where in the name of God is all this tax money going to? What is the yearly wage bill for the cabinet? At a time when everyone is being warned about interest rate rises and [...]
