Download and print out your very own trading cards of the best Face Posters of Ireland 2009! Each PDF will be available for just a day or two, so be sure to check in frequently, so that you can…
Set One: Download the PDF today!
This week brought the return of Anita’s beloved “face posters,” the primary form of campaigning that we’ve noticed. These posters, of uniform size and a standard design, are attached to nearly every pole in the neighbourhood. Here are two examples near Baggot Street:
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The upcoming election (in Dublin) is for two levels of government: representatives to the local councils and to the European parliament. The newspapers lead me to believe that there is a close parallel between these elections and mid-term Congressional elections in the US. In both cases, the media and the parties take the results to indicate the popularity of the parties at the national level.
The falling popularity of two major political parties in Ireland would be no surprise to anyone who regularly reads the Irish daily newspapers. A recent poll covered by the Irish Independent gives the gist of the situation nicely, so I’ll link to four of the relevant articles here — along with some key quotes for those who want the shorter story.
First, a tiny bit of background information. (more…)
The Bugle is a bit tardy in reporting the 90th anniversary of the first independent parliament of Ireland. The celebrations in Dublin were understated and mostly for the political elite, but the pivotal moment, ninety years ago, is too important to let pass.
The idea of forming a government apart from the British Parliament was promoted for 15 years by Arthur Griffith, the founder of Sinn Féin. According to Michael Laffan of the Irish Times, many Irish voters at the time saw their representatives at British Parliament as lobbyists who could occasionally bring home pork projects (to put it in American terms). Why give up those lobbyists for the sake of an improbable ideal?
The equation changed when the three years after the Easter Rising added new factors. (more…)
Our Illinois friends and family asked us: “Did you hear about the Governor?” The short answer is “Yes.” I’d like your help in getting the long answer just right.
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I hope that your news source of choice has a piece on the 60th anniversary of adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This statement is almost certainly the most important text of the 20th Century. (more…)
Last week, Ireland’s Government presented its budget for 2009 with the theme, “solidarity and patriotic action in most difficult and uncertain times.” The prevailing response to the the Fianna Fail party, in particular its Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, was that they chose the right tune but played too many notes off-key. To put it in terms from the US election: Lenihan used a hatchet rather than a scalpel.
The proposal that generated the loudest outcry was the introduction of means-testing for medical cards for those over 70 years old. For the past several years, persons over 70 received a card that entitled them to free health care. With budget deficits looming, the Government chose to limit spending on health care for the growing number of Irish people living a longer time. The proposal was a means-test which would eliminate free care for those able to pay their own way, thereby introducing a tiered system of benefits.
The specific extent of means testing was more than a small step away from universal health care — according to the Irish Independent, more than 50% seniors would not qualify for full coverage. The response was immediate outrage. A protest was called for this past Wednesday, to bring that outrage to the door of the Dail on Kildare Street, just a few blocks from our home. (more…)
Ordinary Dubliners want to talk about the coming election for the US Presidency, given any excuse. In fact, the Europeans we meet want to talk about the coming election, given any excuse.
And everybody talks about the American economy, but especially Americans.
All that is by way of introduction to two podcast episodes that I found fascinating and accurate in representing the mainstream of English-speaking European thought about the US. (more…)
It seems like just a few months ago that we celebrated Constitution Day 2007. Today, it’s Constitution Day again for the United States of America, commemorating the signing of the new country’s constitution, 221 years ago, by the members of the Constitutional Convention. (more…)
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