What do you get when you cross Tim Geithner and Jay Carney?
Ollie Rehn.
Yes, Ollie Rehn (from Finland) is the chief bean-counter for the European Parliament. In this hilarious piece introduced by our pal Nigel Farage, Rehn gives the most boring speech you ever heard talking about economic integration in Europe as the other members of the parliament let go with cat calls. The speech is so boring it is hysterical. Meanwhile, as this speech was being given, Cyprus announced-then dis announced- that it was going to sequester and seize 10-15% of its private bank accounts to meet the demands of the EU's bailout requirements.
Great theatre.
This speech underlines one of Europe's two great crises. Their decades long system of cradle to grave socialism has run out of money. Yet they cling to this absurd notion of the Euro and economic and political integration because they don't trust themselves not to go to war with each other unless they are one big happy family. Thus, while the barbarians are literally inside the gates, the last few Europeans gather inside the Euro Parliament and play a perverse game of Monopoly with paper funny money. It is all quite surreal.
And this is where we are headed too, folks-thanks to our own Ollie Rehn.
President Obama was elected to lead a nation that agreed to union over 200 years ago. Are we one nation, or are our states as different as the nations of Europe? Would you rather live in the Peoples Republic of California, or in the USA?
ReplyDeleteBad analogy Gary... once again, you've shot all your patriotism in the foot just to score a miniscule brownie point against a man you didn't vote for.