Update, The Irish not supine!

So the Irish threw out one government that was for giving in to the banksters and put in another that gave in to the banksters.  For all appearances, it looked like the Paddy just gives in.  That was the import of yesterday's post.

Well, today an article in the new York Times says it all in the headline, Half of Irish Homeowners Join Boycott of New Property Tax.  The Times quotes an Irish member of the Dail,  

“It is quite clear a mass boycott has really sent this government a significant message it didn’t want to hear,” Luke Flanagan, one of the parliamentary deputies leading the opposition to the new household charge, said in an interview on Monday. “When we started this campaign, even 25 percent support translating to several hundred thousand would have been phenomenal, but we estimate over a million people eligible to pay this tax have refused.”

It took a while, and of course the powers that be are no help, but at least a significant portion of the Irish have wised up.

I don't mean to be to critical of the people I share DNA with.  It is much easier to rebel and win against a foreign occupier than to resist the bureaucracy.

Wise up Ireland

So here you are, the poster boy, er poster country for doing the responsible thing. The responsible thing being letting the common folk suffer for the sins of stupid bankers and stupid investors. The Irish people know that if they don’t do the right thing, it will be the end of the world as we know it, again.

 What if you’re asked to do the right thing again? It appears Mr. and Mrs. Average Irish Citizen, you are going to asked again. According to your paper of record, The Irish Times, you may need a new bailout. That’s semi-officialese for you will need another bailout. Anybody surprised. In Les Temps, a Mr. Butler (some association with the Bank Of England) says it’s going to be a great deal. For more money you go from a 6% to 3% interest. It sounds like the debate in that circus called the US congress about the interest rate on student loans, somehow, it don’t make no diff. If you majored in the post modern novel, you ain’t paying it back at 1% or a zillion.

Rather than taking Bailout Part Deux, there is only one word I have for the land of my ancestors, Iceland. Could be wrong there, but since they told the bankers to go fry ice (a subject in their clime they might know something about) they have not sunk beneath the waves.

If you give in now, your are, the phrase au courant here in the new world is “kicking the can down the road.” Eventually it will be bailout 98. Moi, I doubt it will get to that. Some country braver and not smart enough to be completely stupid will say go to hell. The Greeks are a bet.

 According to most Irishmen,I’m a Yank. According to most Americans, due to my Mick surname, I’m Irish. I’ve affection for the land of my ancestors and hardly wish to see it suffer. Yup, there will be suffering no matter which course. If you give in, the suffering will be ongoing. If you say no, you take the medicine, suffer and get up and move on.

Do you really believe Brian Hayes when he knocks on your door?

Axis of Awesome and the only song you need to download

So, I've been telling my kids for years that popular music is the same song over and over again. Oh no, their special artist is a unique and brilliant talent, until they tire of him/her. I take it as a vindication when my son had me watch this. It does not matter what song you pay to download, they're all the same. Of course, this one is probably the best as it incorporates all the mediocrities into one.

With all the money spent on education, why is everybody so stupid?

Yesterday, on the car radio I'm listening with all my heart (not) to the news that the two parties are disagreeing about the interest rate for student loans. It's 3 something percent and could double. Oh my gosh, can't these solons be compassionate? Can't they solve anything? Well, no. The whole debate is a joke. The interest rate is a minor annoyance in the scheme of things. Little Brad or Heather spends four years at a nice school studying philosophy. It has been a rewarding experience. Something may have been learned, the brewery industry has been kept healthy. After the graduation ceremony when the relatives have all gushed, it's back to the room with the Muppet decor that they grew up in. If you can't get work that will pay off the $150thou what does a few percent on the debt really matter. Don't get me wrong, there is value to studying the soft majors, but not at any price. Besides, remember the Wizard of Oz granting a degree. You don't need it to actually be a philosopher. That's why Socrates never had to rip up all those please give letters from his alma mater. He was his alma mater. Let's call this bill what it really is, The Let's Keep the Faculty in Clover Relief Bill. Update, From the Huffer, Number Of PhD Recipients Using Food Stamps Surged During Recession.

Oh no, Taxajawea took away the fun.

Elizabeth Warren's got some splainin' to do. Except she doesn't. Her buddies are going to call anyone who call her a fraud a hater. truth is not an absolute defense here in the Peoples' Republic of Massachusetts. It seems the great great great grandmother who made her the trumpeted 1/32 Cherokee may have been Skandanavian. Unless someone in her fam stowed away when Leif was going home, the lass is 32/32 fraud. Yeah, I think she knew she was full of it. It's like the guys who claim to be Indians and have the drumming circle in my town. They look they have more relatives in County Cork than I do. Actually, she is going to put it behind her. I wish she would continue to claim that laughable 1/32. The jokes would have been fun. She may have been an Okie, but she is like any Yankee Puritan. always stopping people from having fun.