05.11.07
General round up
In the capital for the day and exchanged views on the election with friends and canvassing everyone, including the hairdressers.
So here’s the day’s round-up
First, check out this site – Pick Your Party
“Researchers at the Department of Political Science, Trinity College Dublin, have set up a new website to help voters make an informed choice about which party to choose in the upcoming general election. Pick Your Party is designed to help voters to distinguish between the political parties, and decide which party best represents their views.
Users must simply decide where they stand in relation to a series of key political issues. This is then compared to the position of each of the six main Irish parties, using data from a survey of Irish political experts. The user is then informed which party is closest to them on each issue, and which party is closest to them overall.”
Update : Eeek. I did the test. On the 7 separate issues I came back Green on 4, one Sinn Fein, one Labour and one Fine Gael 
Shows you how tactical voting, constituency isses and 35 years of indoctrination can influence a vote irrespective of policy. See, if I lived in Dun Laoighre Rathdown it would be so different.
Ian Paisley
It’s so sickening. Such a nice old dear now isn’t he? Tommie Gorman on the news EULOGISING about Ian making the crucial move after Bertie gave him the walnut bowl present last year on his 50th wedding annniversary. yuck yuck yuck. We have cousins who live in Portadown who said 15 years ago, when Adams and Paisley have destroyed the middle ground they’ll settle for anything and divvy up the jobs between them. And here we are. Sunningdale. All that misery. All those deaths. And these are the great peacemakers who are supposed to inspire us all? Oh puke. Fine they’ve done it and there’s peace. But don’t rewrite history. These people are shits who either killed or inspired hatred and settled eventually for what they were being given 30 years ago.
The election.
You see, in one way party political parliamentary system is just a terrible way to run the country. To prove I am not completely blinded I want to single out Brian Cowen and Mary Harney as two ministers that I wouldn’t mind staying on in government. BUT Hanafin, Roche, Tim O’Malley, Coughlan, McD, USELESS shower. The Lenihans would be ok. Noel Dempsey I could live with. I’d leave even O’Cuiv, the nutter, on at the Gaeltacht. But you can’t pick them. You have to take the whole lot. And if it’s one out, then it’s all out.
Oh and Mark, who has been lurking but not commenting, says my opinions are completely wrong. Good job I am not very important then
But I think I did successfully canvass the hairdresser.
And I’ve asked FG to phone my big gay friend. We’ll see if they do. If they don’t, they don’t deserve the vote.
Meanwhile, over at public enquiry, Anthony’s been studying Bertie’s finances more closely…
And finally, twenty is in fine fettle…go check him out. This is my favourite
Update: no, this is better.
P O'Neill said,
May 11, 2007 at 10:13 pm
To sort of rework an old Churchillism, parliamentary government is the worst system — except for all the others. George Bush has given the conclusive demonstation on how presidential systems are a disaster. In fact, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the job titles of all the world’s leading headaches — Bush, Chavez, Ahmadinijad, Putin etc — is president. It’s just too much power for one person. IMHO, the Irish vice is different. It’s that the strange form of growth in the economy has disguised the size of the public sector and made it seem smaller than it actually is. Particularly at the top — too many ministers, too many special advisers, too much administrative and managerial bloat, and a government that’s trying to have all the trappings of a big country. Compare the Republic to similar “big small” countries like New Zealand and the Baltics. They run their government as much slimmer operations. I remember reading somewhere that there’s one cabinet minister in NZ with three portfolios. Far less room for mediocrity in that system. If revenues were tighter (as they may well be in the future), a lot of things that the government does now could either be dumped completely (e.g. the special advisers) or outsourced (e.g to the EU level).
Padraig O'Morain said,
May 11, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Yes, Sinn Féin are so blissfully unaware that all they have got is what they could have got 30 years ago and Paisley too. The presentation of Paisley and McGuinness as two hearty chaps enjoying a joke is sickening. I think of all the poor bastards kneeling in a dark place pleading for their lives……
CG said,
May 12, 2007 at 6:44 am
Pickyourparty was interesting! Ha believe it or not I am more FG than you, 3 FG, 2 Greens, 1 Labour, 1 SF. Still not planning to vote for em though. I don’t think the Greens deserve to be more socially liberal than Labour either really…. maybe they do though, I will check it out.
Clare from RTV – if you see this, you should recommend they link to it! ‘Twould smack my criticism of mycandidate.ie to the ground
And on a very different note – Ahmadinijad may be a President but doesn’t exercise close to the power of the other examples, he just talks loud. Witness how they rest of the govt shut him up during the difficult bits of the hostages business.
Tim said,
May 12, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Thanks for the pick your party tip, I surprised myself with 2SF 2Labour 1PD and 2Green. Not an FF or FG in sight, hardly surprising coming from a FG/FF mixed marriage family. I wouldn’t vote SF or Green or PD, which leaves Labour who normally get my vote when I manage to make it home for an election as Brendan Howlin is the local TD.
Susan Hated Literature » Blog Archive » Let the boasting and hubris commence said,
May 12, 2007 at 1:12 pm
[...] matched me in 4 issues, others that matched were, Labour(1), Fine Gael(1),and Fianna Fáil (1). Via GUBU. And I do tend to vote Green. And Independent. But Labour and Fine Gael are alright. I have voted [...]
Paul Newton said,
May 12, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Interesting test that, but the revisionism is even more interesting,
“Sinn Féin are so blissfully unaware that all they have got is what they could have got 30 years ago”
30 yrs ago, (Sunningdale 34 to be percise), there existed in the State of Northern Ireland a political, social, cultural and economic apartheid comparable with South Africa or Alabama that has been gradually eroded over time and finally bit the dust last Monday, yet instead of celebrating we’re demonising, and just in case your wondering what brought down Sunnindale, it was simply the exercising of that apartheid in the form of party endorsed civil disobedience.
as for Sarah’s rant “But don’t rewrite history. These people are shits who either killed or inspired hatred and settled eventually for what they were being given 30 years ago” if you can’t see the irony in that statement beginning with “but don’t rewrite history” then i’d be kinda wasting my time pointing it out. Are you Ruth Dudley Edwards in Disguise?
My father used to tell a story about visiting a rural house in the fifties, he worked on the rural electrification scheme, there was nobody home, but he heard a low moaning coming from the attic, when he went to investigate he found a six yr old boy who had been chained up there all his life, he was Down’s Syndrome,.and his parent’s were so ashamed of him that they locked him up there, pretending he was not part of the family, that he would bring down thier “reputation” and so he was ignored, thrown food and denied.
it’s exactly how we regard the traveller issue in this country and percisely how the republic has regarded the north for a very long time, but now it’s time to come down from the attic, I agree with Sarah that it’s hard to take Paisley being eulogised, but some things you just gotta suck up and move on.
As for the test, well strangely it threw up 3 SF, 2 Lab and 2 Green, which is roughly the way i intended to vote anyway, however the Lab candidate is a guy who could not get a nomination through FG and the Green is a guy who could not get a nomination through LAB, so it’s all a bit confusing really.
Reminds me of a Joni Mitchell song…. ” and the seasons they go round and round….etc
Sarah said,
May 12, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Paul, your criticims would be fair if I had been alluding exclusively to Gerry Adams, but I thought I was clear I meant Paisley and Adams. Of course it was Paisley et al who brought down Sunningdale. That’s my whole point! They brought it down, the Troubles went on for another 30 years and now what have the DUP got? Power sharing except this time with the ex-IRA instead of the SDLP. You tell me what Paisley got now? Apart from the top job of course…
Bea said,
May 12, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Cripes, seems I’m a closet Shinner. Did the test quickly and came up with 4 Green and 4 SF but if, as you say, there are only seven categories – it’s SF 4 and Green 3 (results disappeared before I could double check). Argh, wouldn’t dream of voting SF. Can Greens be trusted not to get involved with FF? I’m voting Labour, Green and FG – just not sure in what order.
Ivan Z said,
May 13, 2007 at 9:43 am
I find the comment about Paisley and Adams et al real strange – I wasn’t born at the time of Sunningale – but I do think that having real peace means acceptance of Ian Paisley and the constituency that he represents. Like it or not.
I do remember back in 1992-1994, the castigation of Mary Robinson in The Sunday Independent when she shook hands with Gerry Adams. A long, long road had to be travelled to get where we are today. Where did you expect to travel to? That at the end of the road we would be all West Brits? I have never voted FG, maybe I will in this election as I want to vote against the Govt and Labour can’t be trusted. But on NI with the exception of the Anglo-Irish agreement FG has never led and I wouldn’t too high hopes that this would change in the future….
Tom N said,
May 13, 2007 at 2:23 pm
All it proves is that the standards to get a PhD in Political Science in Trinners are very low!
Sarah said,
May 13, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Ivan Z, you seem to be misunderstanding me too.
Of course peace is fantastic. What I am saying is that when the DUP/Loyalists and SF/IRA were offered power sharing in Sunningdale they said no way, we carry on our violence. The loyalists rejected power sharing as giving too much. The IRA said it wasn’t enough. 30 years later they have accepted it. They achieved NOTHING politically other than eliminate the middle ground politicians and got the ministerial jobs for themselves, oh and a lot of people killed and maimed in between.
It’s not about what we accept – its the incredulity at what these guys are accepting.
blankpaige said,
May 13, 2007 at 4:54 pm
One of the real infuriating things about history is that it is just that – history.
It really matters not that Paisley/Adams might have gotten together 30 years ago and didn’t. Maybe they could, maybe they couldn’t. You can always go back to an earlier time and said, if this did/didn’t happen….
What only matters is that they have come to an agreement. In twenty years, generations of children will not be born into a society that hates their neighbour for no other reason than a battle in Ireland between a Scotman and a Dutchman for the English crown.
All they have proven is that terrorism works until such time as people get feed up being frightened.
There is nothing to be gained by being holier-than-thou.
Sarah said,
May 13, 2007 at 5:10 pm
I’m not being holier than thou. I’m saying, stop the eulogising.
Dan Sullivan said,
May 13, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Paige, “What only matters is that they have come to an agreement. In twenty years, generations of children will not be born into a society that hates their neighbour for no other reason than a battle in Ireland between a Scotman and a Dutchman for the English crown.”
I don’t see why that will necessarily follow in the north simply from power sharing, after all the extremes have been rewarded and those who were most prepared to put aside tribalism were discarded.
Paul Newton said,
May 13, 2007 at 8:27 pm
As far as i can see, which often is not very far, this has a lot less to do with eulogising and a lot more to do with the fear within the main parties that SF could become a strong political force in the south, therefore it’s convenient to dismiss them as thugs, tribalists and knuckledraggers.
You can’t claim to be “misunderstood” everytime one of those sweeping generalisations (propoganda) is challenged, the south still refuse to accept SF as a political reality… may i quote Bea
“Cripes, seems I’m a closet Shinner. Did the test quickly and came up with 4 Green and 4 SF but if, as you say, there are only seven categories – it’s SF 4 and Green 3 (results disappeared before I could double check). Argh, wouldn’t dream of voting SF.”
This attitude is largely a result of a hegemony driven by the rather crowded centre right of Irish politics which now includes no less that FF/FG/PD/LAB/Green, but they won’t be able to keep it up forever, hopefully this election will create the first cracks in the dyke and over time even people like Bea will not be so terrified to vote via her conscience rather than via her………..
Any chance that the blog will become slightly more subjective after the election Sarah?
Sarah said,
May 13, 2007 at 10:19 pm
hmm Paul, I think you mean “objective” and of course, the answer is never
Sure that would be no fun at all. Everyone knows here that I don’t pretend to offer asute, informed analysis. It’s me with all my baggage. All I can claim is that I am transparent in my biases which is more than can be said for other journos.
And here I am taking another knock about Sinn Fein. Two things
1. Why are you all so pissed off and defensive about SF? I did headline the piece “Ian Paisely”.
SF haven’t quite been decontaminated yet IMHO.
2. Feck SF anyways. I always sided with the son who stayed at home in the parabel. Why the f*ck should the guy who went off and did everything wrong get the fatted calf when he came home? So yeah, shoot me,
Though I did admire this exchange Mary Lou had with a resident as detailed in the Irish Times
“Well, what is it?” asks Mary Lou.
“What are you going to do about all the blacks?”
And for 15 minutes Mary Lou explains the difference between blaming Michael McDowell’s policies and blaming the victims of those policies.
The woman wants to know who is buying all the houses for “the blacks” and who is buying “them their cars”.
Her daughter is living in Dublin 15 and never sees a white face. She’s had to struggle for everything and “these people get it all handed to them”. One black woman even pushed past the woman at the supermarket and she was so scared she got the security man to see her to her car.
“Well,” says Mary Lou, “bad manners are bad manners. It doesn’t really matter what colour a person is. Now don’t think these poor people who come here for a better life get it all handed to them.
“They rent their houses and they buy their cars. They’d get rent allowance the same as anyone else.”
“Hmmm,” says the woman “I’m very resentful.”
“Now don’t be resentful of the poor people who are visible,” says Mary Lou as she departs, “remember we all have people who went away to England or America and we would have wanted them treated well, wouldn’t we?”
It’s not that at the end of things the woman at the door is singing Up With People numbers, but she seems placated.
Her resentment is not uncommon, says Mary Lou, shaking her head. Especially when you get to other parts of the constituency where people still have nothing.
“You have to explain that life is hard for everyone and it’s the system that turns people against each other.”
That was impressive. Pity she’s so bloody humourless..
graham said,
May 14, 2007 at 9:08 am
It sickens me that a spiteful, hateful man who has been part of the problem for so long in NI is suddenly being treated as one of the heroes. Ian Paisley did nothing but spread hate and encourage violence for the last 30 years. I just don’t get it.
Yes, it’s history and for the sake of the future we have to forgive and forget etc, but we don’t have to treat him like a hero.
Twenty Major said,
May 14, 2007 at 10:57 am
In twenty years, generations of children will not be born into a society that hates their neighbour for no other reason than a battle in Ireland between a Scotman and a Dutchman for the English crown.
heh
Paul Newton said,
May 14, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Sarah, you’re taking another knock about SF because you keep alluding to them as if they are a bunch of unrehabilitated murderers and back robbers who are hijacking the political process and should really be left out in the cold by all right minded and clear thinking intellectuals like yourself, and then when challenged you go into the “i’m misunderstood” mode.
If that’s what you really think… then say it.. back it up… and let us all have the debate.
If it’s not what you really think… then it would be lovely to debate the election on the issues and policy (as your beloved leader is so keen on saying) and stop trying to smear with the same brush that Dr. Paisley has recently decommissioned.
Either they have a right to participate in the political process or not… perhaps you’d prefer they did not… but while they are you should refrain from the thinly veiled innuendo that anyone who votes for them has blood on thier hands.
Rant over.
Paul Newton said,
May 14, 2007 at 12:12 pm
re twenty.
Might be a reference to a skirmish in a meadow that started this whole feckin thing.
P
Sarah said,
May 14, 2007 at 12:29 pm
“you keep alluding to them as if they are a bunch of unrehabilitated murderers and back robbers who are hijacking the political process and should really be left out in the cold by all right minded and clear thinking intellectuals like yourself”
Well, I suppose I’d concede that they are rehabilitated. But I still prefer my public representatives to be people who never murdered as opposed to people who used to murder. So I’m old fashioned….
Bea said,
May 14, 2007 at 1:58 pm
“This attitude is largely a result of a hegemony driven by the rather crowded centre right of Irish politics which now includes no less that FF/FG/PD/LAB/Green, but they won’t be able to keep it up forever, hopefully this election will create the first cracks in the dyke and over time even people like Bea will not be so terrified to vote via her conscience rather than via her………..”
Sorry, my conscience dictates that I vote only for those who are committed to the democratic process.
Paul Newton said,
May 14, 2007 at 6:53 pm
ah the unreconstituted enjoyment of it all, go on Bea, explain to us where the shinners are not committed to the democratic process?
and don’t be giving us that codswallop about people not going to the guards, i don’t remember too many friends of Burke Haughey Lowry or Cosgrave calling crimeline
Leon said,
May 15, 2007 at 11:53 am
What do you mean rehabilitated, it was noble and right to fight for this country. This country is worth killing for.
To crawl and slaver in the muck and hold your hand out for what millionaires will shit into it is not rehabilitation it is treason.
Either they are traitors now or they were criminals then. You can’t have it both ways.