FINALLY the lie, that those who opt to terminate their pregnancies are more susceptible to mental illness, has been nailed.

YOU’RE not responsible for the crisis — but you’re sure as hell going to pay for it, is probably the most succinct way to summarise the Taoiseach’s hotly anticipated state of the nation address.

THE egregious libel of Fr. Kevin Reynolds is the nadir of RTÉ’s long tradition of broadcasting, but the increasingly vitriolic levels of abuse, directed towards the station, are hard to fathom.

EXHORTING the people to throw away their auld cynicism about politics before the last general election, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore promised that, this time, it would be different.

TRADITIONALLY, politicians aspire to enter cabinet so they can introduce reforms and policies that they passionately believe in. Regrettably, in Ireland, it seems to be more a case of getting bums on seats and crudely balancing books.

I WAS reminded of the above quote from Alice in Wonderland as I sat agog in front of the television on Monday night watching Crisis: Inside the Cowen Government — the biggest exercise in revisionism since David Irving’s last book launch.

The state yesterday dutifully handed over €713 million to unsecured Anglo Irish bondholders and will again stick its hands in our pockets and fork out a further €1.25 billion in January.

IT may have escaped your notice but the country has finally emerged from the economic crisis that has gripped it for over three years.

I HATE to be the one to tell you this but, according to a recent poll, almost two-fifths of you have lost your minds — to be precise, I’m referring to the 39% of the population who seem intent on making Seán Gallagher our next president.

ISN’T it amazing that whenever the Government announces a jobs’ initiative the total number of jobs that will be created is always some lovely, long round number?