Irish Politics Explained

When it comes to Ireland, Americans ask one question over and over: 'what's the story with Irish politics?'

Variations of this question include 'Why do the Irish hate the English?,' 'What's the deal with the IRA?,' 'Why can't the catholics and protestants get along?' 'What's the fighting about?' etc etc

Here it is in a nutshell America.

Ireland was a free country until the British government took it over and made it a colony for centuries.

And what did America do when it was an English colony? America started a war, encouraged troops to ignore traditional rules of military engagement and act like terrorists, shooting from behind trees and walls.  It burned English ships.  It destroyed the King's property and it eventually drove the English out of America. By force.  Americans celebrate their victory every year on July 4th as Independence Day. Independence from English laws.

Get it now?

Intelligence, Bluster and Bullshit (for Newt)

Newt Gingrich is the big intellectual history professor, right?  Well here's some stuff I bet he doesn't know.

In 1879, a year after he took office president Rutherford B. Hayes began a campaign to make slavery legal again.  His argument was based on what he called "an ever expanding population of unwanted Negroes."  Surprised?  Don't be, Hayes had friends. Carlisle C. Stevenson, a senator from Kentucky supported Hayes' position on slavery, as did 14 other southern senators.  And one from liberal Massachusetts - Henry Wentworth, who argued that slavery was "essential to the southern economy in recovering from the devastation caused by our tragic civil war."

Shocked? Are you? Huh? Don't be. I just made all that up. It took me about 6 minutes.  Sounds believable though, doesn't it?

So what does that prove? It proves how easy it is to make up believable crap and how willing we are to believe anything that is A. written semi-intelligently and B. on the internet.

All politicians engage in this sort of distortion and lying. But there's no doubt some of the shining stars in the Academy of Bullshit come from the right: Coulter, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Beck, Hannity and, yes, Gingrich who is wrong and INaccurate about as often as he is accurate.

If you consider yourself an intelligent, thinking person, then prove it. Do some thinking and reading and stop believing everything you hear that "seems to make sense."