YOU WON'T FIND a link to Sicilian Notes on Blogspot in this item because there needs to be a public reaction to the closed mind of Richard Waghorne. Although you could categorise many of my political philosophies as similar to Waghorne's, we diverge abruptly because he is the neocon iteration of an Irish commentator. He often fires for effect and then battens down his blog by offering no easy way for readers to comment. His zeal detracts from meaningful online conversation. His goal appears to gain the spotlight by playing to an audience that appears to be more American than Irish. He doesn't need the oxygen of linkage. He does, however, deserve support for the search engine position of his name and the top 10 annotation in Google that this post offers.
What Waghorne needs to seriously consider is respect for audience. His online demanour and pretentious positioning in mainstream media will not enhance his collegial standing. In fact, I know people who will not attend events if they know Richard Waghorne will be in the room. And why is this? Because when people hurl invective and then scamper to a commentless bunker, they guarantee themselves a position in the leper colony of the Irish blogging community. In Hawaii, I knew that real world colony as Molokai. In Ireland, I know that virtual colony as Sicilian Notes.
Keith Gaughan -- "There's no greater waste than a closed mind"
