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Christmas messages from politicians

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    #62
    Cienciano
    Registered Users Posts: 14,262 ✭✭✭✭Cienciano


    I wouldn't care what's on the card tbh, I'd be offended by any politician sending me a christmas card. Wonder what the annual cost of this shíte is?
    McDook wrote: »
    Please never let me become the atheist who wants to spoil christmas for everyone else.
    Best one I saw last year was a friend who wouldnt take his elderly mother to mass christmas morning because HE didnt believe in it.
    Another atheist friend of ours saw how much it meant to her and brought her. I would have too if id known about it before hand.
    Some people are just dying to be offended.

    How the hell is someone giving out about a poxy christmas card which is sent out in mass by politicians, spoiling christmas for anyone?


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    #63
    SpaceTime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,088 ✭✭✭SpaceTime


    catallus wrote: »
    You are "very grumpy". I'll pray that you find the consoling light and warmth of the Christmas message in your heart some day. :pac:

    Whatever! :)


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    #64
    catallus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,106 ✭✭✭catallus


    All I'm saying is that sending these cards isn't the biggest deal in the world and that the idea of not voting for whatever corrupted vagrant who has chosen to chance his arm at politics just because he sent a card is lunacy. Hopefully the Spirit of Jesus will lead all of our electorate to gain prudence and wisdom. God bless.


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    #65
    Cienciano
    Registered Users Posts: 14,262 ✭✭✭✭Cienciano


    catallus wrote: »
    All I'm saying is that sending these cards isn't the biggest deal in the world and that the idea of not voting for whatever corrupted vagrant who has chosen to chance his arm at politics just because he sent a card is lunacy. Hopefully the Spirit of Jesus will lead all of our electorate to gain prudence and wisdom. God bless.

    Of course it's not the biggest deal in the world. But 99.999% of issues aren't the biggest deal in the world, it doesn't mean it's not an issue!


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    #66
    Kiwi in IE
    Registered Users Posts: 3,063 ✭✭✭Kiwi in IE


    catallus wrote: »
    All I'm saying is that sending these cards isn't the biggest deal in the world and that the idea of not voting for whatever corrupted vagrant who has chosen to chance his arm at politics just because he sent a card is lunacy. Hopefully the Spirit of Jesus will lead all of our electorate to gain prudence and wisdom. God bless.

    I would most certainly not vote for any politician who is likely to allow their personal religious beliefs to impact on their duties as a public representative! A politician who thinks it is appropriate to send a card with images of their religion to all and sundry, paid for with public money, is highly likely to fit this category.

    Does anyone here seriously think it is not an issue that public money is being spent on politicians sending cards to suck up to the very constituents whose tax money paid for them? And how is it appropriate for public representatives to use public money to purchase and send out religious paraphernalia in a supposedly 'secular' state?


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    #67
    Geomy
    Registered Users Posts: 1,296 ✭✭✭Geomy


    Why? Do you two really think that christmas card was anything less than a cynical mail-shot opportunity?[/quote]

    I don't know what to think now.

    I think this is more suited to a different forum, as the advantage is this dojo....

    What would mr miagi say ?


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    #68
    Turtwig
    Registered Users Posts: 26,578 ✭✭✭✭Turtwig


    Geomy wrote: »

    I don't know what to think now.

    I think this is more suited to a different forum, as the advantage is this dojo....

    What would mr miagi say ?

    Daniel-san, what forum should we move this thread to so that Master Geomy answers questions put to him?


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    #69
    pauldla
    Registered Users Posts: 2,247 ✭✭✭pauldla


    jimd2 wrote: »

    ...

    You don't believe in God, fair enough. You don't want to celebrate fair enough. However, Christmas is predominantly in this country a Christian celebration for the last hundreds of years but you want people to remove any images associated with Christmas as it is traditionally celebrated in Ireland.

    ...

    Is that what lazygal and Sarky said? I must have missed those posts.
    Obliq wrote: »
    Ewwwww, I don't like this thread. This (above) ^ , is the only thing I like about this thread. I would be happy enough to receive seasonal greetings with a religious slant from any representative of any religion (with the possible exception of the homeopaths), SO LONG AS they paid for the printing and postage themselves. Ends opinion.

    This, +1, with +2 for the homeopaths reference.

    I've been prepping students for Oxbridge interviews recently. One young fella is planning to study chemistry, as he wants to work in pharmacology eventually, so I asked him a question about homeopathy. He'd never heard of it, so I explained to him what it is (with the help of the internets, luckily I had one handy). The expression on his face as he realised a) what I was describing, and then b) that some people actually buy into this crap, was priceless. I sent him on his way with a link to the Ben Goldacre site.


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    #70
    Geomy
    Registered Users Posts: 1,296 ✭✭✭Geomy


    pauldla wrote: »
    Is that what lazygal and Sarky said? I must have missed those posts.



    This, +1, with +2 for the homeopaths reference.

    I've been prepping students for Oxbridge interviews recently. One young fella is planning to study chemistry, as he wants to work in pharmacology eventually, so I asked him a question about homeopathy. He'd never heard of it, so I explained to him what it is (with the help of the internets, luckily I had one handy). The expression on his face as he realised a) what I was describing, and then b) that some people actually buy into this crap, was priceless. I sent him on his way with a link to the Ben Goldacre site.

    I take it you won't be kissing anyone underneath the mistletoe then ;-)


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    #71
    Geomy
    Registered Users Posts: 1,296 ✭✭✭Geomy


    pauldla wrote: »
    Is that what lazygal and Sarky said? I must have missed those posts.



    This, +1, with +2 for the homeopaths reference.

    I've been prepping students for Oxbridge interviews recently. One young fella is planning to study chemistry, as he wants to work in pharmacology eventually, so I asked him a question about homeopathy. He'd never heard of it, so I explained to him what it is (with the help of the internets, luckily I had one handy). The expression on his face as he realised a) what I was describing, and then b) that some people actually buy into this crap, was priceless. I sent him on his way with a link to the Ben Goldacre site.

    I take it you won't be kissing anyone underneath the mistletoe then ;-)


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    #72
    pauldla
    Registered Users Posts: 2,247 ✭✭✭pauldla


    Geomy wrote: »
    I take it you won't be kissing anyone underneath the mistletoe then ;-)

    Depends on who they are, and where the mistletoe is.

    Edit: Isn't mistletoe pre-Christian?


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    #73
    Geomy
    Registered Users Posts: 1,296 ✭✭✭Geomy


    pauldla wrote: »
    Depends on who they are, and where the mistletoe is.

    Edit: Isn't mistletoe pre-Christian?

    Lol yes it's pre-Christian....


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    #74
    pauldla
    Registered Users Posts: 2,247 ✭✭✭pauldla


    Geomy wrote: »
    Lol yes it's pre-Christian....

    Then I shall allow it, as apparently my atheism only extends to an abhorrence of all things Christian. I'm quite shallow that way. :cool:


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    #75
    Geomy
    Registered Users Posts: 1,296 ✭✭✭Geomy


    pauldla wrote: »
    Then I shall allow it, as apparently my atheism only extends to an abhorrence of all things Christian. I'm quite shallow that way. :cool:

    Lol I hear ya :-)

    I'll take note of that...


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    #76
    SpaceTime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,088 ✭✭✭SpaceTime


    To be fair to Irish politicians, I got a good few political Christmas cards over the years and most of them were pretty non-religious i.e. normal Christmas cards.


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    #77
    Obliq
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,371 ✭✭✭Obliq


    SpaceTime wrote: »
    To be fair to Irish politicians, I got a good few political Christmas cards over the years and most of them were pretty non-religious i.e. normal Christmas cards.

    Same here. They all sent me into a spluttering rage over the waste of our money though. One year, I got 3 to my address - to me, my ex husband and my step son (all of voting age, only me still living at the address). Turns out my ex got one to his new address as well. Basically, if Timmy Dooley (FF) does that again, he'll get them all back to his constituency office with a very unholy christmas message inside.


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    #78
    Hotblack Desiato
    Registered Users Posts: 34,498 ✭✭✭✭Hotblack Desiato


    catallus wrote: »
    I'd rather you didn't vote at all if such a thing would sway you one way or the other.

    The point of any communication sent by a politician is to attempt to sway voters.
    Using taxpayers' or ratepayers' money for this sort of thing should be completely unacceptable however, religious message or not.
    Obliq wrote: »
    One year, I got 3 to my address - to me, my ex husband and my step son (all of voting age, only me still living at the address). Turns out my ex got one to his new address as well.

    The names and addresses come off the voting register, so if there'd been an election around that time you'd have got three polling cards through the door as well!

    Fingal County Council are certainly not competent to be making decisions about the most important piece of infrastructure on the island. They need to stick to badly designed cycle lanes and deciding on whether Mrs Murphy can have her kitchen extension.



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    #79
    Obliq
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,371 ✭✭✭Obliq


    ninja900 wrote: »
    The names and addresses come off the voting register, so if there'd been an election around that time you'd have got three polling cards through the door as well!

    I always do. Well, I got rid of the step-son's when he finally registered somewhere else, but now I also get my Aunt's, who moved to Cork a few years back. You know what they say though - vote early and often!


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    #80
    Brian Shanahan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,232 ✭✭✭Brian Shanahan


    catallus wrote: »
    ^^^^^

    I'd rather you didn't vote at all if such a thing would sway you one way or the other.

    So a public servant mis-spending public money, and pushing his religion on others, is not an issue to sway the electorate?

    It's this kind of attitude that leads to our political system being filled almost solely by the kind of person that makes it worthless for me to cast my vote.

    Thankyou very much Catallus (pity you didn't use the user name Catiline) for endorsing the same system which has repeatedly ****ed up my country.


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    #81
    Brian Shanahan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,232 ✭✭✭Brian Shanahan


    pauldla wrote: »
    Edit: Isn't mistletoe pre-Christian?

    Everything about christmas is pre-christrian. All they did was take away the human sacrifice and move back the "birth of the baby Jeebus" about 6 months.

    Remember christianity is a very syncretic religion, most of its festivals are either stuff stolen while other religions weren't looking (if it wasn't nailed down), or if the stuff was nailed down after bashing in the heads of the heads of those other religions.


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    #82
    Sulla Felix
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,442 ✭✭✭Sulla Felix


    Brian Shanahan wrote: »
    Thankyou very much Catallus (pity you didn't use the user name Catiline) for endorsing the same system which has repeatedly ****ed up my country.
    Thanked, purely for the Cataline reference. :o


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    #83
    Brian Shanahan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,232 ✭✭✭Brian Shanahan


    Sulla Felix wrote: »
    Thanked, purely for the Cataline reference. :o

    Well the name would suit his attitude much better than Catullus given that Catullus refers to a poet who fell in love with Clodia Metellus or an anti-Marian former Consul.


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    #84
    catallus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,106 ✭✭✭catallus


    Brian Shanahan wrote: »
    So a public servant mis-spending public money, and pushing his religion on others, is not an issue to sway the electorate?

    It's this kind of attitude that leads to our political system being filled almost solely by the kind of person that makes it worthless for me to cast my vote.

    Thankyou very much Catallus (pity you didn't use the user name Catiline) for endorsing the same system which has repeatedly ****ed up my country.

    It is worthless for anyone to vote because politicians send cards out? Hyperbolise much? Your attitude towards our culture stinks to high heaven!

    The country isn't fcuked because of this. There are more obvious reasons. Your intolerance (which is shared by many on this thread) being one of the more obvious ones.


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    #85
    Knasher
    Registered Users Posts: 2,370 ✭✭✭Knasher


    catallus wrote: »
    Your intolerance (which is shared by many on this thread) being one of the more obvious ones.
    There is a difference between people disagreeing with you and people being intolerant of your opinion. And I can only assume you weren't being hyperbolic as you just called somebody out for it.


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    #86
    catallus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,106 ✭✭✭catallus


    Knasher wrote: »
    There is a difference between people disagreeing with you and people being intolerant of your opinion. And I can only assume you weren't being hyperbolic as you just called somebody out for it.

    Well that's patently incorrect for a start. If one disagrees with something how can they not be intolerant of it? Without being a whimsical relativist pansy, I mean.


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    #87
    Turtwig
    Registered Users Posts: 26,578 ✭✭✭✭Turtwig


    catallus wrote: »
    Well that's patently incorrect for a start. If one disagrees with something how can they not be intolerant of it? Without being a whimsical relativist pansy, I mean.

    Person A: I accept you right to believe that a computer virus makes you ill. I however think it's a stupid idea.

    Person B: People who believe a computer virus can make you ill should be tortured and burned!

    I'll leave you figure out who the intolerant one is.


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    #88
    Knasher
    Registered Users Posts: 2,370 ✭✭✭Knasher


    catallus wrote: »
    Well that's patently incorrect for a start. If one disagrees with something how can they not be intolerant of it? Without being a whimsical relativist pansy, I mean.
    If intolerance was equivalent to disagreement then it would be completely impossible to be swayed by argument.

    I think of a number of issues that I know I disagree with people on this board about, both as individuals and even against the majority. And while I respect their points and I think most of them are valid concerns, on the balance of things I still think they are mistaken. I disagree with their view, but I'm far from intolerant of it.


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    #89
    catallus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,106 ✭✭✭catallus


    Jernal wrote: »
    Person A: I accept you right to believe that a computer virus makes you ill. I however think it's a stupid idea.
    Person B: People who believe a computer virus can make you ill should be tortured and burned!
    I'll leave you figure out who the intolerant one is.
    My take on it is that person A is projecting the image of being accepting and tolerant, but is being neither and is being a hypocrite on top of it. Person B is intolerant and letting his intolerance fuel bloodlust. I fail to see the relevance of this to any of the preceding posts.
    Knasher wrote: »
    If intolerance was equivalent to disagreement then it would be completely impossible to be swayed by argument.
    Ye are both muddying the waters here. What's the point of raising such pedantic arguments??


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    #90
    oscarBravo
    Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 28,795 Mod ✭✭✭✭oscarBravo


    catallus wrote: »
    My take on it is that person A is projecting the image of being accepting and tolerant, but is being neither and is being a hypocrite on top of it.
    So in order to avoid being "intolerant", it's necessary not to believe that stupid ideas are stupid?


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    #91
    Knasher
    Registered Users Posts: 2,370 ✭✭✭Knasher


    catallus wrote: »
    What's the point of raising such pedantic arguments??
    Simply because of the irony of accusing somebody of hyperbole while heavily engaging in it yourself.


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