Yesterday, I and a number of other volunteers for the University for the South East campaign finished our 120 mile run from Waterford to Dublin where we staged a rally outside Leinster House and handed a letter of support for the university over to the Dáil. Thanks to all the national press people who were there and showed their continued negative bias towards anything that the South East deserves by failing miserably to cover one ounce of an incredibly big event, spanning 3 days.
In other news, Bertie stole our thunder with his “shock” resignation. Personally I saw it coming for ages now and feared that it would happen on the very day that we were staging a rally at Leinster House. He even came close to shedding a tear for our sins of badgering him into submission, you and Jesus, Bertie, you’re some man! Some would say that the dismissal of Robert Mugabe would be more akin to this event. I’d swear he did it to spite us but that would be paranoid.
I was in the Dáil when Bertie turned up at 1545h to engage in questions – there was a standing ovation and I walked out in disgust shortly afterwards, that so many people who had turned up for a rally to give a university to the South East should put their hands together and applaud the man that has lead a government that is still refusing to give a university to the South East, that has sat back and watched while unemployment in the region has grown to about 10% of the people who are of working age, and a political leader that has been engaged in the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the state while having the gall to seek new legislation to stop the tribunal investigating him – the man with nothing to hide! Shame on all of you who attended that Dáil session with me and put your hands together; hypocrisy in motion and you wonder why nothing ever changes, for shame on you all.
I have always said that the measure of success in a democratic country is the number of elected independent representatives; it shows independent thought and a willingness to listen to issues that are not just party policy, it shows that people have their ear to the ground rather than buying the shirt of the most popular football club. Ireland ranks somewhere around dictatorship on that scale. We have heard nothing in the news but bad press that is damaging the entire country on an international stage with rumours of a corrupt government. We hear nothing but bad news for the South East and yet when push comes to shove everyone falls into line and gets behind Bertie. What the f**k! Am I the only person left on the face of the planet that views politicians as tools to get a job done rather than a soccer team that I will support for life? For Christ’s sake Ireland, wake up!