* CORRECTION: Fianna Fáil TD, John McGuinness, also declared that he would be voting against the redefinition of Marriage. He topped the poll in Carlow - Killkenny.
“And Judas (Machabeus) said: Gird yourselves, and be valiant men, and be ready against the morning, that you may fight with these nations that are assembled against us to destroy us and our sanctuary.For it is better for us to die in battle, than to see the evils of our nation, and of the holies: Nevertheless as it shall be the will of God in heaven so be it done." (First Book of Machabees 3:58-60)
The First and Second books of Machabees recount how, in 167 B.C., the priest, Mattathias,refused to worship the Greek gods, sparking a rebellion of the Jews against Antiochus IV who had tried to supplant their religion with the veneration of his own pagan gods. Judas Machabeus and his brothers, sons of Mattathias, continued the war against the subjugation of their homeland and their religion.
In 17th Century Ireland the regiment of Owen Roe O’Neill identified its struggle for freedom of faith and country with that of the Holy Machabees of Old Testament Judea. O’Neill referred to his followers as his Irish Machabeans.
The same war between good and evil, one that has been waged from the beginning of time until now, still rages on. Inspired by the heroism of Machabeus, of Owen Roe O’Neill and their followers, the Irish Machabean is dedicated to resisting all the outrages being perpetrated against the Catholic faith and against the Irish people in our days.
Saturday, 5 March 2016
Is Election 2016 a Conservative Victory?
* CORRECTION: Fianna Fáil TD, John McGuinness, also declared that he would be voting against the redefinition of Marriage. He topped the poll in Carlow - Killkenny.
Tuesday, 1 March 2016
The Inconclusive Election
Social democracy is based on a socialist model for the economy. In other words, tax the rich, high taxes all round, high public expenditure and, thus, a high degree of government control of the economy.
But, aside from the moral problem involved in excessive taxation, there are some major flaws in the socialist model, making it unsustainable.
To start with, the public expenditure envisioned in the social democratic model could only be paid for with a birth rate that is well above replacement rate. Ours, although the highest in Europe, is still below replacement rate (replacement fertility rate is 2.1; our rate is 2.01).
And it doesn’t help when almost all of these winners for social democracy support policies in favour of contraception, abortion and same-sex “marriage,” all of which contribute to the aging of our population.
There just won’t be enough young people entering the workforce to sustain the future cost of pensions. On top of that there is the enormous cost of social welfare. Who will pay for that?
Of course – just tax the rich.
But one of the other fallacies of the social democratic model is that everybody should be equal. If everyone is equal, there will be no rich to tax. If everyone is equal there would be no need to redistribute wealth through taxation.
In such a world the state would play a much more limited role than socialists and social democrats tend to like.
The reality is that in order to raise taxes you need a thriving private sector. And the problem is that the private sector, burdened with excessive taxes and state control, is not able to reach its full potential within the context of a socialist economic model.
Even the Chinese Communist Party (much admired by Mr O’Toole) has figured that out. They came to the realisation that even a socialist economy can’t survive without some capitalism. That is one of the reasons the party has lasted so long.
Fianna Fáil and even Fine Gael are broadly social democratic in their outlook – perhaps a bit watered down compared to the more leftist parties, but still there is nothing in either party to really distinguish themselves from the social democratic idea.
Social democracy is unsustainable. In other words, the social democratic state has no future.
If Ireland is to have a future, we need to find alternative solutions – an alternative model, not just for the economy, but for society.
Thursday, 25 February 2016
Moral Choices Faced by the Electorate
Thursday, 18 February 2016
Elections, Politics and a Vision for the Future of Ireland
St. Paul was a man with a vision - to convert the gentiles to Christ. |
Saturday, 13 February 2016
Gang Warfare – Symptom of a Deep Malaise in Irish Society
Wednesday, 3 February 2016
“The Labour Party is the moral backbone of the government”
By the way, most people who campaign on controversial issues could wallpaper their houses with the hate mail and vicious comments they receive. On some issues feelings run strong, and the debate tends to get heated. We just have to try not to be so thin skinned about it.
But back to the issue at hand, neither of the words “moral” nor “backbone” fit well with the Labour Party.
If the concept of morality still has any meaning, then presenting Labour as a model of it is beyond satire.
Labour policies are still rooted in socialism – an ideology that has been condemned by the Church because, among other reasons, it explicitly rejects the idea of an objective moral order.
The party’s policy on Catholic patronage of schools is an example of this. The Church teaches that there is an objective moral law; that we are obliged to obey it; and that there are negative consequences for ignoring it. And Labour tries to prevent, to the maximum extent possible, that moral law from being taught to school children.
If the crime rates are high today, imagine what they will be like after another generation reared on the socialist idea of morality.
Socialism itself is morally bankrupt. It is a statist ideology, favouring state control in all areas of life, and undermining individual moral responsibility.
So it was natural for the Labour Party to support the so called Children’s Rights referendum, through which the state extended its reach into the private life of the family.
Was it moral for the government to steal €1.1 million of public monies to advocate for one side in that referendum? At least one Labour party minister was peeved that the Supreme Court found against the misuse of these public funds.
Does anyone really consider legalisation of abortion to be the moral solution to crisis pregnancy? Pragmatic maybe, but moral – definitely not! Redefining marriage – and at the same time redefining equality – is another example of Labour Party moral philosophy at work.
And here are some more: taxing the homes of people struggling to pay a mortgage and make ends meet; bailing out wealthy but imprudent investors and making future generations pay the price;
spending vast amounts of money they don’t own in order to build their socialist dream;... the list could go on.
So much for morality and the Labour Party... what about backbone?
The term backbone is usually attributed to people or parties for displaying courage. What courage did it take for Labour to promote its leftist and immoral ideology? Did they have to face condemnation and harassment from international bodies? Did they have to face tremendous opposition from the media?
Perhaps it would have been more accurate for Ms Ferris to have stated: “The Labour Party is the ideological driving force behind this spineless coalition government.”
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
Promises, Promises, Promises
An Taoiseach Enda Kenny |