Manhattan Diary


Manhattan Diary

by Cahir O'Doherty
Cahir is the Arts Editor of The Irish Voice, our sister publication.

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Manhattan Diary for November 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 07:59 AM

If Ireland can't pay, Ireland shouldn't pay

Today, as the talks between the EU and the IMF on an $112.5 billion Irish aid package conclude, the wealthy and the well-connected scoundrels who dumped their debts onto the Irish people still look like they might get away with it.

Those self-serving bankers, developers and politicians who treated Ireland like their own private casino have just handed their fellow citizens a 19 century diet of austerity, poverty and heartache (because, they suspect, they'll never fight back).

And if you ever imagined the people responsible for this disaster would share in the losses, or acknowledge their culpability, then today you've had your fingers rubbed on the fiery braille of what's really happening.



Friday, November 26, 2010 at 08:30 AM

Irish public to rescue its bankers - why?

At what point, I wonder, will the penny drop? The rest of Europe is looking on with incredulity as the average Irish citizen - instead of protesting - just shrugs.

There have been no shattering public protests, no riots, just - for the most part - sad acceptance. So far.

Why? Why are they going so quietly?



Wednesday, November 24, 2010 at 08:25 AM

Defending DADT to end DADT?

You can't get there from here. Essentially, that's the explanation being given by the Obama administration for their multiple - and increasingly incoherent - decisions to appeal discharges under the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy.

Yesterday afternoon the Department of Justice appealed a September ruling ordering the Air Force to reinstate lesbian flight nurse Maj. Margaret Witt, who was suspended in 2004, and ultimately discharged under DADT.



Monday, November 22, 2010 at 08:23 AM

Gay sex workers can use condoms, women can't

A new book to be published by Pope Benedict contains some surprising news. Condoms, the German pontiff says, can (reluctantly) be used in the battle against HIV. But only in certain cases, not all.

"In certain cases, where the intention is to reduce the risk of infection, it can nevertheless be a first step on the way to another, more humane sexuality," the Pope said.

The Pope cited male prostitution as an example of when people could use condoms.



Friday, November 19, 2010 at 08:23 AM

Excessive GOP partisanship hurting the national interest

Why are we not talking about this? This week we learned that minority leader Senator Mitch McConnell's priority is winning power, whatever the costs. Even if it means he has to completely contradict his own course to do it.

According to former President George W. Bush's new memoir "Decision Points," in 2006 McConnell asked the commander in chief of the United States to draw down the number of troops in Iraq in order to help Republicans survive in that November's elections.

You read that right. At the time McConnell was pugnaciously defending the war effort in Iraq he was privately pleading with Bush to diminish that same effort in an attempt to save Republican seats.



Wednesday, November 17, 2010 at 08:09 AM

Willow Palin's homophobic outburst startles nation

Just as her mother aims to charm America with an outdoorsy portrait of her Alaskan fairy tale life, along comes her potty mouthed daughter to harpoon the whole enterprise with a disastrous post on Facebook.

Responding to teenage critics of her mother's reality show, young Willow Palin unleashed a shocking tirade on another teen, calling him "so gay" and "such a faggot."

Whilst it's fair to say the majority of America's teens have at one time or another used the term gay as a pejorative, it's uncommon to hear the f-bomb unleashed so casually these days. Because at heart kids know it's just wrong.



Monday, November 15, 2010 at 08:20 AM

John McCain wants study of DADT study

Just as this blog  predicted, Senator John McCain yesterday called for a new study of the soon to be released Don't Ask, Don't Tell study. The reason he wants it is already clear, to delay the inevitable integration of the U.S. military.

But at this point his objections are starting to have the ring of French farce. Complete with slamming doors and raised voices in his own home, presumably.

What McCain's really looking for, it seems clear, is to keep gays from serving openly without the threat of DADT.



Sunday, November 14, 2010 at 12:38 AM

Cindy McCain caves to pressure on DADT

Yesterday Cindy McCain apparently caved to pressure, issuing a clarification of the statements she made in support of the LGBT community in a viral ad campaign this weekend.

In the NoH8 campaign McCain had voiced her objection to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy - a view that for the first time publicly contradicted her husband John McCain's hardline stance.



Friday, November 12, 2010 at 08:09 AM

Cindy McCain blasts husband over Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Cindy McCain is now starring in a hard-hitting public campaign that directly tackles Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

If the United States government is sending the message that LGBT people are second class citizens McCain asks, can we really be surprised when they're daily harassed, bullied and attacked in our nations schools and streets?

Her stance puts her at powerful odds with her own husband, Senator John McCain, who enthusiastically supports Don't Ask, Don't Tell and will likely continue to even when a much anticipated internal military study next month confirms that the policy's repeal will have minimal impact on our armed services.



Monday, November 08, 2010 at 04:41 PM

National Organization for Marriage shredding equality, not saving it

We all need to start paying attention to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and The Family Research Council.





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