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Ireland Tag

Thank heavens that the Irish aren't threatened by the cultural appropriation that occurs on March 17th each year. While Americans don their green shirts, drink their green beer, and listening to great music (check's Mike's post for some wonderful songs), I thought it might be a fun idea to focus on the news coming out of Éire.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! If you have a chance to celebrate the holiday today, you may want to add some music to the experience. I am a longtime fan of Irish music and I'm happy to provide a few recommendations.

Newsweek published an article this week which took direct aim at Irish Americans. Who knew Irish-bashing was still alive and well in the 21st century? The author of the piece is named Van Gosse and teaches history at Franklin & Marshall College. He's not kidding, either. He obviously sees this as a serious problem:
Why Are All the Conservative Loudmouths Irish-American? Just as they used to play an outsize role in the Democratic Party’s apparatus, and in organized labor, putative Irishmen are now the face of the hard Right.

English actor, writer, and comedian Stephen Fry, who is perhaps as well-known for his leftist politics and atheism as he is for Blackadder or A Bit of Fry and Laurie, has run afoul of Ireland's 2009 blasphemy law. Gardaí, the Irish Republic's police, are investigating Fry for allegedly mocking Christianity on Irish television.  The investigation is a response to a viewer complaint.