Let me start by saying how deeply saddened I am for those whose futures have been plunged into uncertainty by the outcome of last Thursday's referendum in Britain and Northern Ireland. Though London, Scotland and Northern Ireland did not vote to leave, only Scotland has any chance of having its people's will observed.
I don't really care about the domestic promises and threats that were made, but just want to point out that the threats are playing out before us now and the promises have disappeared like a pint into Nigel Farage's gob.
Let's debunk the myths of the anti-democratic EU
The Commission President is Unelected - FALSE
European Commission President Juncker's mandate is as valid as any leader elected by a parliament, as he not only has to be proposed by a majority of member states (26-2), but also ratified in the EP where 751 MEPs are elected directly by the citizens or crown subjects of member states (422-250)
A cursory search will give these records totally debunking this unelected bureaucrats shit that has been peddled and swallowed hook line and sinker.
No Taoiseach in the history of Ireland has been chosen by the people, the Dáil has sole competence in this area.
We Have No Say - FALSE
Every 5 years the electorate of each member state elects the 751 seat parliament, some on a full national vote (like the Irish President) and others by constituency. The UK elected 73 Members of the European Parliament from 12 constituencies ranging from 3 seats to 10 based on population (i.e proportional democracy)
Much like in any member state - you would be right, the electorate has no say between elections, this is why things like protests and £12bn raids on social welfare occur.
Irish Government's Ignored the Will of the People By Making Them Vote Twice - FALSE
Irish government's did exactly the opposite - analysed the results - removed the 75% of reasons peddled in the campaign that had nothing to do with text on the ballot paper, and negotiated amendments to the treaties before putting amended treaties to the electorate for approval. Ireland has never voted twice on the exact same treaty text. Any claim to the contrary is a lie, an out and out lie.
I'm sure more questions will be raised in the course of the coming weeks, but what makes me even more sad than the loss of opportunity for those who have been plunged into uncertainty, is that last Thursday, lies prevailed and the truth lost.
There's a lot to be said for benevolent dictatorships!
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Say YES Engagement
This post will not win any awards for its flow or grammar (English was my poorest school subject bar maths), but I hope by sticking with it you get something from it, if not, skip to the last paragraph for the call to action.
Not since the civil war have the young been so active in the shaping of the future of our nation. Back then Ireland was a bastion of social progress; women had the vote, though it would be many years before they were equal. Be that as it was they fought that war as equals against families and neighbours for what they believed in. This left a gaping social scar on our national psyche for decades.Those young people held the courage of their convictions to build an Ireland that would become the Republic in 1949 and a republic that cherishes all of its children equally by 2015 (constitutionally at least).
Campaigners in the Marriage Equality referendum held the same courage of their convictions to go and fight another war. This time it was not a bloody war, it was a war for the hearts and minds of the nation. The no campaign didn't engage in the ground war as vociferously as the yes campaign, one can only assume because they didn't have the same support. They were afraid of the response they would get, but what they failed to realise is the yes campaign had much hurt to fear from a negative response, a negative response for the yes campaign would be personal, devastating; for the no campaign they had nothing to fear and I believe in the end that's where the innate decency of the Irish people won out.
I had many issues with my co-conspirators on the yes campaign. We had the truth on our side and should have left the bitterness and lies to the no campaign. There was a higher turnout and a higher margin to be had, but what's done is done and I certainly won't be crying over spilt milk.
To the point of this post:
Ireland has witnessed a revolution in the activism of its youth. Our youth has discovered that knocking on a door isn't scary as they may have thought. I've been enjoying canvassing for almost 10 years now and this campaign gave me an opportunity to put that experience in action, leading a canvass sweeping through housing estates in 45 minutes that could tie up an inexperienced campaigner for 2 hours plus, vital hours for the campaign. Those who didn't feel confident to knock found a place on the campaign, something they may not have known was possible before the superb YES Equality campaign led by GLEN and the ICCL. Hat tip to Tiernan Brady.
I heard many people say that they have voted now and they feel they probably won't again, the activism of this campaign shows that our youth do care when it affects themselves, their friends, their family, their neighbours, and even strangers who needed the help.
I believe in our democracy, more importantly, I feel many who got involved in this campaign have other issues which they care about, they may not be causes, but as was discovered during the Marriage Equality campaign you do not need to knock on doors to get active. I first came to politics 13 years ago. I was much more active than your average 15 year old in pestering local TDs on proper legislative issues (they don't exist to fix potholes and footpaths - phone your council offices).
My passion as a teen was cars and I found a way to make a proposal to my TDs that involved something that gave me an opportunity to fangirl on cars. I sent my proposal to all 5 TDs in my constituency one replied. Though I couldn't vote for him, he invited me to his office to talk about my idea and once inside I suddenly understood that politicians are normal people too. Over the next 7 years I supported that TD until he was decimated in the Fianna Fáil revolution of 2011, yes, the only one to respond was a Fianna Fáil TD, and that's likely the only reason I joined Fianna Fáil. I stayed for various other reasons, but this is not a party political broadcast.
My call to action:
If you campaigned in 2015, on doors, online, packed envelopes, dropped leaflets, you are part of the political system now: stick with it. If your life is sport, campaign on sport and health; if your life is fashion, campaign on business and innovation; if your life is unemployment, take your campaign to the politicians who speak on social protection and jobs. Whatever you do; please stay engaged or Ireland returns to politics as normal. I will not push anyone towards any political party, but I will say pick one. Independents (with notable exceptions - Norris, Zappone, Murphy) lack the national focus that the Dáil and Seanad exist to serve. I believe (feel free to decide otherwise) that if you want a local politician, put them on your county council, not in the Dáil. Our country has suffered enough from local politics on a national stage.
Say YES Engagement, stay involved
Not since the civil war have the young been so active in the shaping of the future of our nation. Back then Ireland was a bastion of social progress; women had the vote, though it would be many years before they were equal. Be that as it was they fought that war as equals against families and neighbours for what they believed in. This left a gaping social scar on our national psyche for decades.Those young people held the courage of their convictions to build an Ireland that would become the Republic in 1949 and a republic that cherishes all of its children equally by 2015 (constitutionally at least).
Campaigners in the Marriage Equality referendum held the same courage of their convictions to go and fight another war. This time it was not a bloody war, it was a war for the hearts and minds of the nation. The no campaign didn't engage in the ground war as vociferously as the yes campaign, one can only assume because they didn't have the same support. They were afraid of the response they would get, but what they failed to realise is the yes campaign had much hurt to fear from a negative response, a negative response for the yes campaign would be personal, devastating; for the no campaign they had nothing to fear and I believe in the end that's where the innate decency of the Irish people won out.
I had many issues with my co-conspirators on the yes campaign. We had the truth on our side and should have left the bitterness and lies to the no campaign. There was a higher turnout and a higher margin to be had, but what's done is done and I certainly won't be crying over spilt milk.
To the point of this post:
Ireland has witnessed a revolution in the activism of its youth. Our youth has discovered that knocking on a door isn't scary as they may have thought. I've been enjoying canvassing for almost 10 years now and this campaign gave me an opportunity to put that experience in action, leading a canvass sweeping through housing estates in 45 minutes that could tie up an inexperienced campaigner for 2 hours plus, vital hours for the campaign. Those who didn't feel confident to knock found a place on the campaign, something they may not have known was possible before the superb YES Equality campaign led by GLEN and the ICCL. Hat tip to Tiernan Brady.
I heard many people say that they have voted now and they feel they probably won't again, the activism of this campaign shows that our youth do care when it affects themselves, their friends, their family, their neighbours, and even strangers who needed the help.
I believe in our democracy, more importantly, I feel many who got involved in this campaign have other issues which they care about, they may not be causes, but as was discovered during the Marriage Equality campaign you do not need to knock on doors to get active. I first came to politics 13 years ago. I was much more active than your average 15 year old in pestering local TDs on proper legislative issues (they don't exist to fix potholes and footpaths - phone your council offices).
My passion as a teen was cars and I found a way to make a proposal to my TDs that involved something that gave me an opportunity to fangirl on cars. I sent my proposal to all 5 TDs in my constituency one replied. Though I couldn't vote for him, he invited me to his office to talk about my idea and once inside I suddenly understood that politicians are normal people too. Over the next 7 years I supported that TD until he was decimated in the Fianna Fáil revolution of 2011, yes, the only one to respond was a Fianna Fáil TD, and that's likely the only reason I joined Fianna Fáil. I stayed for various other reasons, but this is not a party political broadcast.
My call to action:
If you campaigned in 2015, on doors, online, packed envelopes, dropped leaflets, you are part of the political system now: stick with it. If your life is sport, campaign on sport and health; if your life is fashion, campaign on business and innovation; if your life is unemployment, take your campaign to the politicians who speak on social protection and jobs. Whatever you do; please stay engaged or Ireland returns to politics as normal. I will not push anyone towards any political party, but I will say pick one. Independents (with notable exceptions - Norris, Zappone, Murphy) lack the national focus that the Dáil and Seanad exist to serve. I believe (feel free to decide otherwise) that if you want a local politician, put them on your county council, not in the Dáil. Our country has suffered enough from local politics on a national stage.
Say YES Engagement, stay involved
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