Establishment media claim to believe in democracy or "majority rule." Not in Northern Ireland, it seems. There, a minority of conservatives has been able to stymie progress and practically scuttle an international agreement and a popular vote, because politicians and the press permit an intransigent few to misrepresent the facts and call the shots. A year ago last May, voters in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic approved the so-called "Good Friday agreement." The agreement, long in coming, had been drafted by politicians who represented just about every constituency with a stake in Anglo-Irish peace. In the North, voters [...]
