Any colour so long as it is YES
It looks like we are to have another Lisbon Treaty referendum.
There is one major difference this time though – we will not be allowed to vote ‘no’.
This is the Irish solution to the European problem.
Biffo has been frantic all year, licking up to Brussels. It is blatantly obvious that he is ignoring the wishes of the Irish in preference to saving face.
I have stated before my objections to the politicisation of Europe but that is beside the point.
What amuses me is that they are changing the treaty to suit the Irish. They have already stated that this cannot be done. So, if it cannot be done, then we must be voting for the same treaty?
I am also annoyed at their arrogance. This is supposed to be a democracy, yet, when the will of the people is expressly stated, their attitude is to tell us that we are wrong and that we must change our minds. Which is more important? The democratic wishes of the Irish, or the wishes of an elite clique in Brussels?
Frankly, I am sickened by my government. I am ashamed of them and their embarrassing obsequiousness.
Having fucked this country over for the last ten years, they now have the gall to ask us to vote again.
What’s worse, they are telling us in advance, that we have two choices –
Vote YES, or vote YES.
Words fail me.
I hate to see this in the news again. Remember the initial reaction of the government after our NO vote? The first was to blame the result mainly on the fact that the opposition’s posters were better than theirs (I’m sure the Irish population wasn’t at ALL insulted by that bit of analysis).
The second was to say, “Well we’ll just have to vote again”, in other words, until they get the result they want.
Okaaaaay….
So Grandad, are you voting Yes or No this time?
Brings me back to my school days…
“We’re going to stay here, doing this over and over until you get it right”
Democracy rocks.
But on the other hand, just imagine for a minute if the great bastion of democracy that is America had taken this attitude of voting until the right answer was obtained.
No Invasion of Iraq
No Guantanamo
No George Bush
9/11 – who knows?
Although we would also have lost a lot of comedy moments.
I see we get a referendum on a United Ireland in 2016. I wonder how many times we’ll have to vote on that one?
Re. your article: http://headrambles.com/2008/11/17/joke-of-the-year/ I think this is ultimately what it’s all about.. piss the people off so much that they just don’t care anymore. “Ah feck it, we’ll vote ‘yes’ – look at all the crap that happened after we voted ‘no’ – anything’s has to be better than this?”
So …. are you making placards and planning a demonstration? and…. can anyone come?….
Susan – My reaction is the same. The airwaves are going to be full of it. You won’t be able to go anywhere without tripping over tacky posters and placards spoiling the landscape. Which way will I be voting? You have two guesses. A choice of NO or NO.
TBA – Not only are we back to our schooldays, but we are being treated like naughty little children. If we vote NO this time, we will all get detention.
Jimbo – The problem with America is that they don’t know how to hold an election. A year to vote one bloke into the White House?
Dorothy – Sadly you are right, and it will work. The public will be browbeaten with horror stories and lies, until they just give in and vote yes.
Kate – The time for demonstrations is past. The Lads in the village and I are gathering our weapons.
This fucking country! Pardon my profanities but between FF and the flaming green party idiots in power it’s a small wonder that there hasn’t been a revolution here yet.
Maybe we should take a leaf out of the Greek’s book. Every time they riot they get a change of government.
So you get to vote yes or yes and you are complaining? There’s no pleasing the Cantankari. Save up a good fart for the voting both.
An Irishman goes to the Doctor with botty
> problems….
> ‘Dactor, it’s me ahrse. I’d loik ya ta teyhk
> a look, if ya woot’.
> So the doctor gets him to drop his pants and takes a
> look.
> ‘Incredible’he says, ‘there is a £20 note
> lodged up here.’
> Tentatively he eases the twenty out of the man’s
> bottom, and then a £10 note appears.
> ‘This is amazing!’exclaims the Doctor.
> ”What do you want me to do?’
> ‘Well fur gadness sake teyhk it out, man! ‘shrieks
> the patient.
> The doctor pulls out the tenner and another twenty appears,
> and another and another and another etc…..
> Finally the last note comes out and no more appear.
> ‘Ah Dactor, tank ya koindly, dat’s moch batter.
> Just out of interest, how moch was in dare den?’
> The Doctor counts the pile of cash and says ‘£1,990
> exactly.’
> ‘Ah, dat’d be roit,” says the Irishman
> (Wait for it………..scroll down.)
>
>
>
>
> ‘I knew I wasn’t feeling two grand..’
>
>
>
That looks like Klingon.
We voted a couple of times on the Divorce issue, do you have a problem with this? or would you prefer people to be trapped in unhappy marriages?, for us to divorce from Europe now would be tantamount to suicide
Please do not vote on this issue as a protest against our muppet government nor as you pronounced the last time through ignorance……..poor excuse!
@Robert: “it’s a small wonder that there hasn’t been a revolution here yet” Therein lies the problem… it seems that we as a nation are incapable of standing up for ourselves. Surely we’ve been been a ‘free-state’ long enough now to shake off that legacy. We’re probably the only country in the world that would put up with all the crap our government throws at us. It’s time we had a revolution. Who’s first up?
revolution ! lets start the government off with evolution first 🙂
I’d be more comfortable with the outcome of the last referendum if it hadn’t been conducted in a cloud of lies and deceit, and if the government had taken its head out of its arse and presented a coherent case in favour. I believe the Yes case was not presented at all, because our government are a crowd of half-witted, self-serving, incompetent crooks who were obsessed with saving their own skins after Bertie and could think of nothing else.
Of course there were many people who took a principled and considered view of their anti-treaty position, and I respect that, but I have serious misgivings about the climate in which the referendum was conducted. In my personal opinion, it was tainted by the involvement of deeply sinister forces, represented by Ganley and his Libertas vehicle on one flank, and the ultra-rightist Cóir on the other.
I’m not going to say anything about the pros and cons of the treaty. I was in favour, but many of my friends and family were against and that’s fine. I have no problem with that as long as the debate is informed and balanced. People will make their own minds up about how they vote, but I hope they debate the actual issues this time, instead of the canards thrown out on all sides, both for and against.
It’s been suggested that people should vote against the treaty because it’s too complicated. In that case, thank God we don’t have a vote on every piece of legislation we enact or nothing would get done. My mortgage agreement was too complicated for me to read line by line, but I still signed it on the advice of my lawyer, who was paid to check it out. I don’t understand a quarter of the language in my various insurance policies but that didn’t stop me taking them out. I can’t understand women at all but that doesn’t stop me …
All I can say about the Commissioner issue is that it’s horseshit! We were going to lose a permanent seat on the commission whether the Lisbon treaty was passed or not, and anyway the commissioner is not a national representative. We suffer from too much clientelism in Ireland, and the commissioner red herring is a symptom of that national illness. People seem to think of the commissioner as a sort of super-county-councillor, our very own Euro-cute-hoor string-puller. A multinational Jackie Healy-Rae.
The new deal is ludicrous. Now we’re going to have dozens of commissioners, none with a real job to do. The Commission will be just like a real Irish organisation — the HSE for instance.
Likewise, the treaty has nothing to do with abortion or conscription.
I also hope people don’t use such an important issue as a way of hitting back at the government for being incompetent and corrupt idiots, which they are.
All I hope, really, if there’s going to be another referendum, is that people will debate the actual issues and not the diversionary nonsense that was thrown out the last time.
Robert – profanities are not only excused, but are virtually essential. I am hearing the word ‘revolution’ used more and more these days. Bring it on!!
TT – Knowing our government, they are going to claim they can’t afford an election, so they will just assume we all vote ‘yes’, just to save the expense. So no farts in the polling booth. 🙁
Bock – He’s American! 😉
Roy – There were substantial differences in the proposal being voted on in the divorce issue. By definition, this has to be the identical treaty [as they cannot change it without re-voting in all other counties]. This red herring has been thrown up before, but it is a non-argument.
Dorothy – Please get to the back of the queue if you want to join the revolution!
Peter – That is a veiled insult to our primate ancestors.
Bock – Your comment crossed with mine.
Well said. Not only was there a lot of crap spoken during the last referendum, but the whole thing was handled in an unbelievably cackhanded fashion, even by our government’s standards.
Unfortunately, it is going to be more of the same. I can guarantee that we will get daft statements like “Europe would have helped us out with the pig crisis if we had voted yes”. There will be lies and intimidation, as the government is in a state of panic over this. They will stop at nothing to get the vote they want.
It is going to be nasty.
Saw this while in Dublin over the summer. I can’t believe they are holding another referendum, when it was made clear that the Irish people don’t want to ratify the Lisbon treaty.
I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about, because I’m here in the states and we don’t keep up on politics over there as much as we should.. but I’d like to learn, so I follow as closely as I can and I.. oh.. wait..
..there’s a MASH marathon on! Later, dude.
You all are having fun when there are only a couple of dozen members in your union. Try it 50 (or 54 if you ask Obama). As for Democracy, the US of A has always been a Republic. The only votes that count are those of the politicians. As recent events have shown anyone with enough connections or money can become one. We have the best government money can buy.
So, we’re voting yes, then?
Shannon – Brilliant! Since I broke the news [*cough*] all hell has broken loose on the airwaves tonight. It has started , Folks. It has started.
RhodesTer – Go back to sleep.
Jim C – We don’t have as many countries [or States, as they will doubtless soon be known] but we have the same caliber of backstabbing, bribe taking, egotistical bastards that you have over there. 😉
Maxi – Whatever.
Well, as long as you’re being levelheaded about it.
This whole voting thing fails to grasp my attention…
* continues to drive over innocent civilians and outrun the cops *