The sudden decision by Obama to send special forces to Syria ‘to combat ISIS’ is fooling no one. For well over a year ISIS seem to have been able to act with impunity while the US seemed ‘unable’ to stop their progress or intervene.

America is a country (and not alone) that solves many of its ‘problems’ with death. It executes people who have transgressed society’s laws. It sweeps the problem of unwanted children under the carpet of abortion.

The government’s proposed capping of rents has been tried unsuccessfully in several other jurisdictions in the past, without solving the housing problem. It was tried in Italy in the 1970s but later abandoned because the net result was a drop in the amount of housing available as landlords exited the market.

Much has been made in the media and by western leaders – most recently taoiseach Enda Kenny - of the so-called Islamic States’ unpleasant habit of beheading prisoners and destroying ancient monuments.

I am normally a fan of Victoria White’s excellent and perceptive column. But her article on Nellie Organ (Irish Examiner, 27 August) displays a profound lack of insight into the central mysteries of Christianity, whether of Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant variety.

Of all the proposals to ‘force’ banks to reduce punitive variable interest rates, the most comically laughable is the proposal to ‘name and shame’.

Fergus Finlay (Irish Examiner, May 5) claims marriage is not being re-defined but merely ‘extended in definition’.

My hat goes off to Victoria White (Irish Examiner, April 23) for pointing out the hypocrisy in Europe’s stance on ‘illegal’ migration.

It’s that time of year again when the old canards about ‘Christians hijacking a pagan festival’ or ‘Christ’s exact date of birth isn’t known are wheeled out ( Letters December 13th).

The duplicity of the government knows no bounds. Enda Kenny has ‘ruled out’ a referendum on the issue of Irish Water.

The whole recent ebola ‘storm in a coffee cup’ incident underlines the absurdity of the world since September 11, 2001.

Frank Whelan says it’s obvious to blame God for the devil, because God allows Satan to exist (Irish Examiner letters, October 13). This is the same argument as to why God does not destroy bad people, and why he allows bad things to happen.

Joan Burton’s outburst about “extremely expensive phones and cameras” proves two things: Labour under Burton will be no different to Labour under Eamon Gilmore; the Government thinks the Irish people are not poor enough.

Animal rights organisation PETA’s latest campaign, showing a human leg served up with vegetables, is proof that they have lost the run of themselves.

The story of the babies’ cemetery in Tuam has revealed a rather schizophrenic streak within Irish society.

RTÉ Director General Noel Curran claims the current annual €160 licence fee is ‘too low’ and below the European average.

It’s a funny old world.

Your report on spiked drinks (Irish Examiner, Mar 22) mentions two plausible studies that suggest it is much rarer than we have been led to believe.

Jacob Goode (Letters, Mar 5) asks why, despite a ‘controlling and abusive’ institutional Church, people don’t ‘wake up’ and stop going to Mass?

In 1999 the Irish people passed the 20th Amendment to the Irish Constitution, the purpose of which was to recognise the constitutional importance of local democracy in the form of local councils and& local government.

In recent days, we have been subjected to the extraordinary spectacle of Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton being threatened with censure by her own party hierarchy — for trying to do what the party promised during its 2011 election campaign.

On foot of Phil Hogan’s orders, Revenue are supposed to send everyone ‘a guide’ in 2013 telling them what they think the house is worth (and the owner, pay) backed up by threats of invading your home, privacy and bank account if you beg to differ.

I would like to thank Sarah Opperman (Irish Examiner, Nov 6) for — perhaps unwittingly — providing one explanation of the motives behind the upcoming children’s referendum.

Among the many constitutional cost-cutting recommendations James Gleeson makes in his recent letter (Oct 1) is to cap politicians’, councillors’ and political advisors’ pay at €150,000 per annum.

One elderly lady to whom I spoke in the run-up to the Fiscal Treaty Referendum rounded on me angrily when I suggested a ‘No’ vote, asking: “Don’t you want your pension?”

At its recent conference Labour announced it would not be re-opening the Vatican embassy until such time as ‘the Vatican fully co-operated with this State in investigating cases of child abuse’.

In the wake of the RTÉ Prime Time Investigates scandal, Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte waffled on about ‘the need to restore viewer confidence in current affairs and news broadcasting’.

In The Screwtape Letters, CS Lewis argues that the most effective form of mind control is to get people to do what you want but make them believe that it is what they themselves want.

The comments made by Minister Pat Rabbitte concerning the broadcasting charge are insulting to the intelligence, to put it mildly.

I DON’T see why the Government should express either embarrassment or shock at revelations that the German parliament is examining our budget.

IT was amazing to see the images of the Occupy Wall Street protests that are currently unfolding in New York.

A NUMBER of recent letters to your paper have repeated the oft-made accusation (for so it is intended) that the Catholic church “came up” with the idea of celibacy to protect its property interests.

THE well-intentioned letter by Brian P O’Cinnedie (Letters, August 23) condemning the wearing of the burka contradicts itself when he calls Ireland ‘a Christian country’ yet tells us that “those who wish to impose their religion must be made to understand that the only law in Ireland is the law of the State”.

MINISTER Phil Hogan claims that the €100 property tax is to fund local councils.

THE general consensus seems to be that Dominique Strauss Khan’s political career is over regardless whether the allegations against him eventually hold up in court.

WHAT’S up with An Post these days?

MICHEAL JOB (March 19) seems to think pedestrians have little or no part to play in their own safety and all the “enforcement” should be on the motorist.

THE new Government is examining ways to reduce the €85bn bailout burden. Among the proposals is far-reaching privatisation of yet more State resources in a big sell-off. Great. This will help continue the trend of concentrating even more of the country’s wealth into fewer, private hands.

IT almost made me burn with rage when I heard French President Sarkozy’s griping about our “low rate” of corporation tax.

ANY cross-party support for the budget would be a ‘win-win’ for the political establishment. As our sovereignty is all but gone since Lisbon II, the EU is now dictating our fiscal policy.

BACK in June the Government decisively stemmed the flow of legal highs, effectively preventing many people from “escaping reality” down that route – a reality that the Government itself played no small part in helping to create.

OUR government has really messed things up, haven’t they? They started out with a country about to go into a boom.