Blog Moved

I have joined a collaboration with several friends and now will be posting exclusively there, at killerbuffalo.com. It is a political blog, much like this one, but it intends to provide politically varied perspectives from the several authors.

Here is a link to the blog.

Thanks to everyone for the support.

Give Them an Inch and They Take a Kilometre: The Irish Fighting Back

The Irish have a long history of persecution. In 1919 they fought Britain for Independence in a war whose sole result was an internal strife that drove Ireland into civil war. Then in 1923, the Irish ended the Civil War obtaining only quasi-independence from the United Kingdom. And now, the European Union wants to strong-arm Irish voters into accepting a treaty that would take away their country's veto right. Not this time.

In addition to creating a President of the European Council and eradicating the Pillar System, the Treaty of Lisbon, backed by heavy support within the EU, plans to overhaul the way amendments are passed within the Union, replacing now required unanimity, with certain majorities specified by future amendments. The Treaty looks to consolidate European power, a move that for Ireland means limited sovereignty, something Irish voters have proven they are not yet ready for.

Still, whether they are prepared to accept them or not, these changes, eliminating required unanimity and establishing a central European figure, may be inevitable. Comparing 2008 Europe to 1780s America may be a stretch, but the Lisbon Treaty seeks to enact two of the major transformations that the American Constitution brought about, after years of opposition, in the footsteps of the Articles of Confederation. It’s only a shame that after nearly a century of hostile occupation, the vantage of the British-led EU remains unchanged.