Damien Mulley

I was thinking a song should be performed at the start of the blog awards to warm up the crowd. This got stuck in my head the other day and I hope it does in yours too. Very infectious. It was suggested that the In Fact, ah folks sing it or the Freedom Institute folks. Guys WTF happened to your blog?

Anyway, here we go…

Sung to the tune of Proclaimers – 500 Miles

When I wake up, well I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who blogs something new.
When I go out, yeah I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who photoblogs something new.

If I get drunk, well I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man whose posts are all askew.
And if I podcast, yeah I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who’s bitching all the way through.

But I would blog 500 lines
And I would blog 500 more
Just to be the man who blogged 1000 lines
To be a google traffic whore

When I’m walkin, yes I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man thinking about posts to do.
And when the admoney, comes in for the work I do,
I earned it for blogging something taboo.

When I log on, (when i log on) oh I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who’s got nothing better to do.
And if I slow down, well I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man who’s losing traffic to someone new

But I would blog 500 lines
And I would blog 500 more
Just to be the man who blogged 1000 lines
To be a google traffic whore

na na na, na na na
na na na, na na na
lika lika lika lika lika la, la, la
na na na, na na na
na na na, na na na
lika lika lika lika lika la, la, la

When I’m lonely, well I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man whose blogging about being blue.
And when I’m dreaming, well I know I’m gonna dream,
I’m gonna dream about winning a blog award or two.

When I go out, (when i go out) well I know I’m gonna be,
I’m gonna be the man with the laptop next to you.
and when I come home, (when i come home) yes I know I’m gonna
be,
I’m gonna be the man who’s blogging at home with you,
I’m gonna be the man who’s blogging at hommmmmmme with you.

But I would blog 500 lines
And I would blog 500 more
Just to be the man who blogged 1000 lines
To be a google traffic whore

na na na, na na na
na na na, na na na
lika lika lika lika lika la, la, la
na na na, na na na
na na na, na na na
lika lika lika lika lika la, la, la
na na na, na na na
na na na, na na na
lika lika lika lika lika la, la, la
na na na, na na na
na na na, na na na
lika lika lika lika lika la, la, la

But I would blog 500 lines
And I would blog 500 more
Just to be the man who blogged 1000 lines
To be a google traffic who-ooo-re

Not a bad idea. Will update when I get back from college. I think there is a better way to do this and I’ll blog about it when I get back.

Gender: Male. *Growls*

Age: 19-30

Nationality: Irish

Country of residence: Ireland

Sexual Orientation: Homosexual

Do you have a disability? No

How would you describe your political philosophy?
I don’t like bullshit. I like transparency. I believe politicians should be less drawn down party lines and more along personal philosophy lines.

Level of education (primary; post-primary; third-level; graduate; professional)
Third level student in Law currently.

If you were to vote on party lines which party would you choose (Ireland)?
I have voted Fianna Fáil in the past as a thank you for helping out my family. I have also spoiled ballots. All the parties in Ireland need to cop on a bit more and engage with the public a huge amount more.

If you were to vote on party lines which party would you choose (UK)?
Not qualified enough to comment.

If you were to vote on party lines which party would you choose (USA)?
They’re all the bloody same. A two party system allows for too many good versus evil, black versus white arguments. It should not be about someone versus another which is divisive. It should be who is more suitable. If there were multiple partys we might see less of the rhetoric and more getting on with the job. I don’t like a lot of Republican ideals but I think the democrats certainly didn’t deserve to win the last two presidential elections. Gore lost more than Bush won in my view. Gore is at last growing some balls but is too bitter. Still the Gore of today would be a better candidate than hanging chad Al.

Where do you stand on the EU?
Great idea, Ireland should be bloody grateful but it has turned into a bureaucratic mess and needs a great deal of streamlining. I also think it is expanding far too quickly.

Did you support the invasion of Afghanistan?
If they were going to go after the terrorists then they should have been visiting Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. They’re not all holed up in caves in one country you know.

Did you support the invasion of Iraq?
No. Funny how two days after the invasion soldiers were acting as body guards for people in the industry I work in. The dictatorship in Iraq needed to be addressed, as it does in every other country where there are dictators. Funny how these invasions only happen where there is oil or routes oil pipelines go through. Again, the industry I work in have a lot of people working in Afghanistan too. We also have people working in all the known axis of evil countries, despite the bullshit embargoes, American companies make billions from these countries. There are genuine justifications for invading or freeing countries from dictators. I don’t think this one was about getting rid of a dictator.

Do you continue to support either or both of those conflicts?
I feel sorry for the soldiers in Iraq and the Iraqi people. America discovered the WMDs alright, it was themselves. They’ve stirred up such a hornets nest now that to leave at this stage would create a very very pissed off people all ready and willing to blow up anyone with fair skin and who believes in freedom.

What do you believe is the single biggest issue facing Irish politics?
I think the fact that the electorate really don’t give a shit at this stage and keep on saying “they’re all the same. ” Merge them all into two parties at this stage and we’d still have the same politics. Someone needs to come along and disrupt it all. Keep them *all* on their feet because they all need watching and the public also needs to take a greater level of interest. We need an Eddie Hobbs for politics (is FG still considering him for Cork?) though with more reality and less Michael Mooreism.

What do you believe is the single biggest issue facing European politics?
America.

What do you believe is the single biggest issue facing international politics?
America. Actually I don’t know. Needs more thought.

Are you, have you ever been, and do you ever wish to be involved in politics in a party political manner?
Yes.

Who would you have voted for in the past US Presidential Election?

Nader.

So, who wants to meetup sometime in April? Date not set yet, we can arrange that in the comments as well as location. Dave? Conor? Steven?? Ryan? Gavin? Tom? Donncha? Donal? Frank? et al?

Fiona says she thinks abortion should be legal. I have a feeling this will get quite emotive and probably personal judging by those in the Blogosphere who are against abortion and those who are keen supporters of the right to bodily integrity. Fiona also seems to lay down a challenge:

I have yet to hear a rational, non-emotional and non-theological argument against legalising abortion in Ireland.

I’ll definitely be tuned into this one because I think it is going to be topical for a long while in Ireland and seems far more emotive than the divorce debate ever was.

Edit: Forgot to mention that from my blinkered view of this I have never seen any debate about how to prevent unwanted pregnancies and how to create a society where unwanted pregnancies is a rare thing. There’s the Crisis Pregnancy Agency but they seem to also try and “help” women to change their mind about having an abortion. What do pro-choice people say about a group like this? Is it a front or a genuine organisation?