It’s everyone, to a greater or lesser degree. Since Bertie and Baldrick let the economy go out of control over the past 10 years, inflation went through the roof, and costs everywhere spiralled out of control. So everyone from the guy shovelling the muck, to the lad drafting the plans, to the politician taking the brown paper bag, were demanding top dollar so they could pay 4 Euro for a cup of coffee, 200 smackeroonies for a pair of jeans, or 1/2 million for a 2 bed duplex apartment in Ballygobackwards.

It pretty much topped out just as Nancy Pelosi introduced the great ‘Burdy Aye-hurn’ to the bigwigs in Washington.

Now the air is coming out of the balloon at the rate of knots, poor old Baldrick is left pumping the balloon, while Mr Aye-hurn has escaped in a parachute, is writing his memoirs, and is now making his pitch to be our President.

You couldn’t make it up.

Paddy.

Nobody duped them. They duped themselves. Typically Oirish, latching onto what they thought was ‘money for nothing’, they invested of their own free will.

Any losses they made were fully deserved.

Paddy.

Think you’re on to something.

I reckon our descendants deserve another public holiday in the years to come. Are you thinking of the Budget 09 commemoration? Best to wait til the good weather. Don’t be too Catholic and suffering-minded about it. April has enough public hilidays. July would be good? Can we have a vote webmaster?

Oops, there’s a load of men (no Israeli Amazonians, dammit! Just big red-haired mulchies . . . . .This country is so messed up) dressed in combats at my front door. I wonder is that Sinn Fein or Willie O’Dea out canvassing? Anyway, I’ll be back in a mo. They’re probably after the “Tax relief for political porn movies” draft document I penned for the ‘Get me elected to any party at all costs’ party of Ciarán Cannon’s. Hey with all those ‘cute’ hoors, someone needs to make a movie! Just please don’t make me watch it. Jaysus, I’m in fear of the national galleries and museums lately! My eyes, God help me, my eyes!

On a more serious note (note to yon G2 eyes re previous paragraph, I’m a leader of a majority opposition party, ipso facto I am of zero national security threat), is there a way for us to initiate, from here, a sustained writing, mailing and activism campaign much like the revered Zionists do to put pressure on the US of A. . .

Tim’s contacts: – Is there a way to make this systematic and launch mass e-mail campaigns to these people.

e.g. http://www.idealware.org/articles/online_advocacy_tools.php

Petition sites!

David & Ronan, I understand that not every battle and inch of ground can be defended or used as a rallying call.

But, as Furrylugs alluded to with his Article 42 (?), is there a beach-head (I’ve asked this before, posters) that we can latch on to as the supreme turning point of this crisis and say “This! This is sacred. Thus far and no further” david, is it the bad bank (they’ve agreed to to this, I hear), is it reduction of loan principals, is it clearing the decks of FAILED executives, is it our creation and nurturing of a new Irish social norm here whereby we begin matching off key scenarios with key defined outcomes? In other words, INBS, we say such and such should happen and then we get ACTIVE on that point. Unified. If its the unprogressive nature of the income levy (due to Revenue saying they can’t include it in the regular progressive tax system midway through a year), that we then DEMAND that it be compensated back to those who are being robbed when the levy gets internalised within the tax system i.e. next year.

Every idea that looks fine at the outset gets watered down or re-directed by politicos. We need to focus our energies. I am not sure this is what David would want. But no matter what forum is being read, a technology-led activism platform needs to be set up and I do not think that Candidate.ie is it, unless I am terribly wrong.

Coincidentally, Madam has a view on this http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2009/0320/1224243118719.html

Thank you.

Did I get them all through, or not?

Jeez, that was a “job ‘o ‘ work”!