Slugger O'Toole

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Latest comments from Old Mortality (see all)

Old Mortality has commented 298 times (3 in the last month).

1. Comment on Futile Border Poll campaign to launch
   on 29 April 2013 at 6:11 pm

   Morpheus
   You surely don’t think politicans will sit on their hands on an issue as big as this?

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2. Comment on Futile Border Poll campaign to launch
   on 29 April 2013 at 6:09 pm

   There’s not much doubt about the outcome of the fantasy polls in South Armagh as no ‘business opportunities’ will be lost as a result. However, it might be less overwhelmong come the real thing.

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3. Comment on Futile Border Poll campaign to launch
   on 29 April 2013 at 2:46 pm

   Morpheus
   ‘Regardless the report would educate the electorate, north and south of the border, on all key issues before they are asked to vote on anything.’

   I think most Irish politicians won’t need an independent report in order to acquaint their electors with the unpleasant consequences of unification.

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4. Comment on Are we settling for a society where the dominant communities are going to remain separate?
   on 19 April 2013 at 3:48 pm

   RoC
   ‘To trap two ethnic tribes, of similar numbers, in a small confined geographical area and put them fighting against each other for control of the state both culturally and politically was a recipe for.. the abnormality of Northern Ireland.’

   Except that they weren’t similar in numbers when Northern Ireland was created, unless you think a roughly two-to-one ratio is similar.
   Quite unpredictably and inexplicably, the minority, in spite of constant persecution, social and economic oppression, flourished numerically. This is almost certainly a unique phenomenon in western Europe during the 20th century.

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5. Comment on NI = a hub of multi-millionaires; a dearth of patents; a society of minorities; differing community narratives
   on 10 April 2013 at 10:28 am

   Alan
   How is a ‘multi-millionaire’ defined? Does it include everyone with net assets of more than £1m which isn’t that much these days especially for anyone who happens to own property in London? The figure for Belfast is hard to believe.

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6. Comment on Thatcher: Reagan without the charm – or the opposition
   on 9 April 2013 at 5:18 pm

   Ruarai
   For some reason my comment has disappeared but I was really thinking about Thatcher in the UK context alone and not in comparison with Reagan.
   I accept your observations on the US but I think the difference there was a weaker ideological division and a much lower proportion of employment provided by the state which meant that the threat to democracy was much less.
   It’s a quite different matter in the UK.
   Actually, I think Thatcher was more of a petit bourgeois reactionary than a fearless champion of the free market. She resisted the removal of mortgage tax relief, for example, and was very keen on keeping middle class tax benefits like company cars. And so terrified was she of the doctors that she shied away from NHS reform.

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7. Comment on Thatcher: Reagan without the charm – or the opposition
   on 9 April 2013 at 2:28 pm

   Ruarai
   Here’s another shortcoming of democracy. A left of centre party gains power and proceeds on a relentless expansion of the state to the point where it provides nearly half of all employment. The right of centre opposition promise to roll back the state but are defeated and in its second term the government continues to expand the state to the point where it accounts for more than half of all employment. It wins the next election comfortably.
   For the sake of democracy, every so often you need a government that will put the boot into the state.
   Thatcher was Reagan with intellect.

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8. Comment on The Welfare Mission
   on 8 April 2013 at 2:52 pm

   ‘Osborne and the Conservatives do have to be congratulated for trying to start the debate on the Welfare State’

   I don’t think that’s accurate. Have you forgotten Tony Blair asking Frank Field to ‘think the unthinkable’. He did, but it was too much even for New Labour. A missed opportunity. How much easier would it have been to implement in an expanding economy.
   At least the coalition are doing something in less propitious circumstances.

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9. Comment on Origins of the Northern Irish conflict: Gerrymandering and mistrust…
   on 5 April 2013 at 10:01 am

   PaulK

   ‘That gerrymandering didn’t really do that much harm?’

   Not quite. It’s more that the absence of gerrrymandering wouldn’t have done that much good. There just wouldn’t have been the money to build the houses and invent the jobs. Ratepayers, even nationalist ones, wouldn’t have stood for it. Voting cards are no more edible than flags.

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10. Comment on Origins of the Northern Irish conflict: Gerrymandering and mistrust…
    on 4 April 2013 at 3:36 pm

    Gerrymandering. Where would we have been without it?
    All those councils that would have been under nationalist control would have built thousands of houses in which they would have installed nationalist voters who would all have been employed by the councils. Yes, it would have been wonderful.

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