Brian O'Neill

From USA Today: Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, in his latest effort to boost the role of religion in military life, announced the establishment of the Office of Religious Affairs during his Sept. 30 “State of the Force” address in Quantico, Virginia. “Accordingly, our department, therefore, has a sacred duty – first-class religious support wherever we send our warriors,” he said. He referenced Psalm 33:12, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,” and noted that President George Washington, who …

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From the Guardian: Andy Burnham has opened the door to the UK rejoining the EU, saying Britain could “go all the way”, as he prepares to reconsider Labour’s post-Brexit red lines. The prime minister used a series of interviews after his emotional Labour conference speech to spell out how wide-ranging his consideration of Britain’s future with Brussels could be because Brexit had caused “more harm than good”. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, shakes Andy Burnham’s hand as …

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Many of you will be familiar with the phrase, “Sucking the oxygen out of the room.” It’s when an issue becomes so dominant that every other issue doesn’t get a look in. This is what is unfolding with Drumcree. The media is consumed with Drumcree, as are all the politicians. But as Newton’s third law states, everything has an equal and opposite reaction. With all the focus on Drumcree, this means nothing else gets a look in, not education, not …

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There are many things from the ’90s you don’t mind seeing a comeback: Take That, Oasis, the return of vinyl, and even, more bizarrely, cassettes. But one thing that the majority of us were happy to see consigned to that last decade of the 20th century was the Drumcree dispute. It was one of the most toxic, acrimonious times during our long and inglorious history. But Drumcree was always there in the background, a little scab that could never heal, …

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The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not …

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In addition to our normal open Sunday, we have a politics-free post to give you all a break. So discuss what you like here, but no politics. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any …

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Thanks to the stable genius leader of the free world, Donald Trump, diesel in Northern Ireland has now hit £2 a litre. In Northern Ireland, diesel cars make up around 50% to 55% of all private cars on the road. Unlike the rest of the UK, where petrol cars are the majority (accounting for around 55% of all cars compared to under 30% for diesel), Northern Ireland has historically maintained a much higher proportion of diesel vehicles. This is largely …

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The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not …

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In addition to our normal open Sunday, we have a politics-free post to give you all a break. So discuss what you like here, but no politics. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any …

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From the BBC: A pay rise of more than £2,000 for Northern Ireland Assembly members (MLAs) is “grotesque”, the first minister has said. The proposals planned for next year would bring MLAs annual salary to £69,216. The increase will take effect from the first sitting day of the new assembly mandate next May, under draft proposals by Stormont’s Independent Remuneration Board. Speaking to the media at Stormont, she said: “This issue of wages is not in my agenda. It’s not …

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Former UUP councillor,ex peeler and happy Lundy Linzi Mclaren has announced that if she re-enters politics, it will be as a candidate for the SDLP. Telling Cool FM: ‘I’ve been on a journey. No one crosses that divide. I’m interested in a new Ireland.’  and says the party’s ‘energy and vision’ are encouraging, as she considers what she could bring to the SDLP if she were to run for election. Linzi McLaren comes from a policing background and says her …

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Thanks to the Great Orange One, it’s going to be an expensive winter for all of us, with petrol predicted to hit £2 a litre in the next few weeks, gas up 20% and home heating oil up 100% and predicted to jump even higher. We are all in for a tough winter. But there is a bright spark on the horizon with the government giving us all £63 towards our electric bills, from the BBC.  All households in Northern …

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From the Guardian: All four supporting acts for upcoming dates of Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour have withdrawn in solidarity with fellow opening act Macklemore, as backlash grows against his removal from the tour over onstage comments in support of Palestine. Finneas, the singer who was scheduled to open for Sheeran on six South American dates in November, withdrew from the tour on Tuesday afternoon, hours after Sheeran posted his own lengthy statement to Instagram explaining pressure from venue owners to …

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From the Guardian: Ursula von der Leyen’s dramatic offer to open the gate to Canada to become the EU’s first ever associate member (9:54) cannot be underestimated in political and trade significance. Canadian prime minister Mark Carney shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as he attends her State of the European Union address (SOTEU) to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France. It, at once, aligns what Canadian prime minister Mark Carney called the “middle powers” in …

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It has probably been the most high-profile story we have never covered on Slugger. The reason being that any discussion of the topic automatically got into conspiracy theories that I felt were hurtful to his family and friends. It was better to wait for the official investigation to release their findings, which they have today. From the BBC: The jury in the Noah Donohoe inquest has found it was possible, but not probable, that failings by the Department of Infrastructure …

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It was sad to read about the death of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s father, from the BBC: Prime Minister Andy Burnham has cancelled official engagements on Monday and Tuesday following the death of his father Roy, who had Alzheimer’s. He had been due to host a meeting of business leaders in Downing Street on Monday, and was expected to speak at the annual trade union TUC Congress in Brighton on Tuesday. In July, Burnham spoke about his father’s condition and …

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The rest of the leaders of the UK regions are ganging up on poor aul Blighty. They meet in Cardiff today to discuss their plans. From the BBC: The first ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have begun meeting in Cardiff to discuss “working more closely” including on constitutional issues. It is the first face-to-face meeting among the nationalist leaders since Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth was elected in May, with all three wanting their countries to leave the …

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The idea for Open Sunday is to let you discuss what you like. Just two rules. Keep it civil and no man/woman playing. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not …

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In addition to our normal open Sunday, we have a politics-free post to give you all a break. So discuss what you like here, but no politics. Comments will close at 12 pm on Monday. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any …

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From the BBC: Trump said a united Ireland would happen eventually and that the Taoiseach was “the right man over here to get it moving”. During his meeting with Micheál Martin at Farmleigh House, in Phoenix Park, Trump said a united Ireland would be a “fantastic thing”, but added: “now the UK would have something to say about it obviously but I think it would be a great thing, I mean, how can it be bad?” Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) …

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