Mr Bombastic

And now we get to watch all of that bounce off of his invincible ignorance.

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

I don't know whether I want to laugh at Straight up or beat my head against the intentional ignorance so I will just sit back and hope that some people read the information and got something out of it. On second thought I think I will just pour a home brew Irish Red beer and get back to the Thomas Sowell book "Compassion Versus Guilt" I was reading. Want a beer? I can fax you one.

Mr Bombastic

I could really use a beer, but you can't fax them, and I'm just about broke. I could buy a six pack, but I would be better off buying something to eat. On the other hand, I'm gonna starve for the rest of the month anyway. Might as well get a buzz.

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

Faxing beer is one of the standing jokes at AuntiE's parties. I am aware that beer is not faxable. Buy something to eat, more important than a beer.

Mr Bombastic

Says who? I can get one more decent meal, but I'll go hungry for the next twelve days. Might as well get a buzz. It will be most effective on an empty stomach.

straightUp Loc: California

An excuse is the only role religion plays in ANY conflict.


Actually, that's inaccurate. The Irish were given a choice just like the Scots were given a choice just recently. The Irish in the agricultural south voted for independence and became the Irish Republic (Eire). The Irish in the industrial north, just like the Scots, voted to stay in the Union. It was only a small group of separatists in N.Ireland that had a problem with loosing the vote and thought they could overrule democracy with terrorism.

Big Bass

Wrong! That was a long time ago. Recently, when the Brits and S. Irish/IRA were trying to broker peace, N. Ireland was the pawn.

straightUp Loc: California

Just because it was a "long time ago" doesn't mean it's wrong... And 1921 wasn't THAT long ago either. The Anglo-Irish Treaty granted Ireland complete independence but there was an opt-out for those in the North who wanted to remain part of the booming economic system that Britain represented in those days.


Well, there's a general statement that doesn't say much. How were they the pawn? Care to explain that?

In the meantime (in honor of St. Patrick's Day) here's some context...

Although, the Irish in the north (Unionists) voted to remain part of the UK mostly for economic reasons, there is nevertheless a strong cultural factor that inspired the terrorists to refuse the democratic decision and that factor is strongly tied to religious differences (which probably had more to do with cultural identity than the actual religions themselves, suggesting that once again religion was being used as an excuse).

Many of the people in northern Ireland actually come from the same stream of Protestants that populated the American colonies. These were various reformists from England and Scotland that were trying to escape the Church of England. These reformists actually fought a war in England against the church and against the monarchy that ran the church. The event is known in history as the English Civil War and it was fought between Christians. The primary motive for the reformists was to break free of the divine monarchy so they could establish congregational churches. After the reformists lost, many of them migrated to the colonies to distance themselves from the King... some of them went to the colonies in Northern Ireland and some went to the colonies in North America. But a lot of the Irish already in Ireland were Catholics which shared more in common with the Church of England (which is still often referred to as Roman Catholic "Lite") than with these reformists. So the conflict that took hold in Ireland was more about the cultural differences between traditional "conservative" Catholics and the reformist "liberal" Protestants that immigrated there. In fact when it came to blows, the Irish Catholics forged an alliance with the English Crown in opposition to the Reformist settlers in Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, in the American colonies the Reformists were less hindered (Indians were a lot easier to shove out of the way) and eventually they made a second attempt to break completely free of the crown, this time succeeding and consequently forming the USA. But in Ireland their was something of a stalemate that lasted all the way through the Industrial Revolution where Northern Ireland became the center for a massive shipbuilding industry which caused a lot of people in the north to reevaluate their loyalty as they saw the Irish in the south starving.

So it was never as simple as "wanting Northern Ireland back from the Brits" and although the common misunderstanding of the conflict makes this sound ironic, it's the Irish in the north that decided to remain British that share the common stock and cultural values with the founders of the United States, not the Catholics in the south. Maryland being the single exception.

straightUp Loc: California

You don't have to share your house to share your country dumb-ass. They are more than welcome to live next door. And BTW, when a little fantasizing faggot like you can't come back with anything more intelligent than "You are by far... the stupidest on OPP" I know I've won the argument and you're just pissed off about it.

straightUp Loc: California

Defending the freedom of religion is not anti-American... attacking those who do... is.


Pure, utter ignorance.


What an angry little man. I thought lobotomies were supposed to calm people down, not turn them into rabid dogs.

Big Bass

Still wrong, because this is now in a different context. The conflict should never been a catholic/protestant spat. The root of these problems is the schools. Protestant schools indoctrinated their kids to believe Catholicism was evil, and vice versa. The promulgators were the teachers, although, to some extent too, the priests of both disciplines. (Remember the Rev. Ian Paisley?) The kids grew up hating each other. This is one of the many reasons I regard the church with a bit of a jaundiced eye. It is hypocritical, when Jesus said, "Love thine enemy."

Big Bass

You forget - Islam is much more than just a religion.

Big Bass

Read this:-
http://www.angrypatriotmovement.com/refugee-gang-rape-horrifies-police/?bt_alias=eyJ1c2VySWQiOiAiMCJ9

cesspool jones Loc: atlanta

straightUp Loc: California

This is your response to my claim that the U.S.Constitution doesn't doesn't guarantee a Christian society?

What does Rhodesia/Zimbabwe have to do with the fact? Are you suggesting these places are examples of what can happen if we don't have a Christian society? Well, first of all, Rhodesia hasn't existed since 1979 and secondly, Zimbabwe (formally Southern Rhodesia) is 85% Christian, so I'm not sure what your point is.

Are you confusing these places with Rwanda where the genocide happened? Rwanda is only 2% Muslim and 93% Christian (49% Protestant, 44% Roman Catholic) and yes, they slaughtered each other. Both sides of the civil war taking part in the carnage.

I dunno eagle... figure out what your point is and get back to me.