We Must be Talking

  The Irish Civil War               Gerry OShea The Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiated with British prime minister, Lloyd George, was signed in London in December 1921. The cabinet in Dublin narrowly accepted it by a vote of 4 to 3 with strong disapproval expressed by the president of that executive, Eamon de Valera. His opposition and the ominous closeness of the cabinet vote was reflected in the Dail debate when, after days of heated discussion, on January 6 th , 1922, sixty-four representatives voted for it with fifty-seven opposed. Some historians believe that if the vote had taken place before the Christmas break the Treaty would have been defeated. The clear holiday message from many Irish people was that they did not want a renewal of war. Michael Collins argued that the agreement ended British rule in most of Ireland after more than 700 years of occupation, but Eamon de Valera pointed out that they had fought for a republic and the Treaty requirement to pledge fealty to the Br

  Global Warming and the November Elections         Gerry OShea By far the biggest difference between the two main political parties in America resides in their differing approaches to the threat of global warming. Democrats want to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to counter what they see as impending weather disasters while Republicans, amazingly, refuse to admit that there is any real problem. No other democracy has a serious political grouping which simply denies that this problem exists. Former President Trump heard no Republican complaints when he withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, which was drawn up under the auspices of the United Nations and approved by 196 countries late in 2015. It set clear goals for reduction of greenhouse gases and required all signatories to account for their progress. Shortly after his installation as president in January 2017, Donald Trump withdrew America from this international agreement. He explained that he didn’t

  Catholic Church Challenges          Gerry OShea For the first time in history the number of people in the United States who identify as belonging to a church, mosque or synagogue is less than those who don’t associate with any established religion. Just 47% of American adults identify with a particular creed, down a prodigious 20% in just two decades. This decline can be directly attributed to the growth of “nones.” This burgeoning group covers people who declare no religious affiliation. The decline is particularly notable in younger age groups. Only 36% of millennials express any church allegiance while 58% of baby boomers remain loyal to some religious denomination. Overall, 21% fall under the ”nones” umbrella, a larger number than any denomination, except for Protestants. Among Christians, the decline is particularly noticeable among Catholics where the drop-off is twice the Protestant exit numbers. Non-college graduates showed a more pronounced reduction than college gradu