Comments on: Comments please..

By: Damien

Damien — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 13:46:54 +0000

@james I must start blogging again then

By: James Lawless

James Lawless — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:00:13 +0000

Thanks for all the feedback folks!

@Conor – not sure what you mean by safe cigarrettes? Do you mean non-carcinogenic? TBH although I indulge the odd time myself (cigars) I’ve gotten used to the clean air of a modern pub. I’m not sure I would fancy going back to the old smog filled snugs whether the air was carcinogenic or otherwise..

@Damien thanks for that I agree. The blogosphere tends to behave as a collective and I think the likes of myself and yourself provide an important counter balance. Life is never black and white and it’s a much richer world with diversity. Politics cannot be reduced to populist soundbytes. There’s a wider world out there that needs to be heard.

@Des thanks for your regular comments, they always give me food for thought. I particularly liked your folk memories piece, it struck a number of chords with me. I was in Connemara at the time with limited web access but I picked it up one day and reflected on it for a few days after. I was staying at the time in a hill cottage previously occupied by a bachelor farmer. Some the folk memory you describe would have been current up till very recently in that place. I’m aware you’re a relatively recent web convert but you have been prolific enough in your uptake. Good luck with your own blogging efforts, give me a shout if you ever want compare notes.

By: Des Groome

Des Groome — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:57:41 +0000

James,
I only recently started to contribute on politics.ie and to blog on my website. I have more opportunity lately as my work is now more managerial than in the field, on the hoof( literally) as before.
I think I need a dedicated website/blog page to reach more people though. I am chairman of the Kildare Chamber which I use as a soap box as well.
Like you I am very pro-Lisbon and will issue press releases on the importance of Europe for the business and farming community throughout September.
By the way I think P.ie needs more balance – It seems to be full of rabid Trade Unionists/Socialists. But Maybe thats just the prevailing trend being reflected .
I ama great fan of Obama also. Remember he is a very Christian man and will scare the right by setting out a radical stall, but will then reform in a more compromising moderate fashion to bring everyone along with him. So I like the way he seems to be declaring policy wars… but then moving forward to reform softly.

By: Damien

Damien — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 11:27:29 +0000

I don’t comment here much, but I enjoy reading your posts (through RSS). It’s great to see more people discussing politics online, particularly when your viewpoint is often different from many commenters on other sites. Diversity of opinion is always important in politics.

By: Conor

Conor — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:25:10 +0000

Yep, the comments add a lot to the blog.

Now, question for you:

If they invent safe cigarettes, should they lift the smoking ban?

[YES] / [NO] ?

By: James Lawless

James Lawless — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:55:57 +0000

Thanks Donal! Have another go at the test. It does take a little while so pick a quiet time (its more complicated than those random facebook quizzes!).

Post back your result and let’s compare notes.

By: Donal

Donal — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:09:59 +0000

I thought your post on the ‘Political Compass’ was very good. I was trying to talk the test myself afterwards but it was taking so long that I had to postpone it. The questions did make you think about your own political opinions.

By the way, I’m not sure if it’s just me and my browser set-up but I find your posts easier to read in Google Reader rather than on your blog site itself. Maybe you could tweak the size or the font.

I like the tag cloud idea on the side.