Splitting Seams

The EU continues its disintegration:

Saying "something isn't right" with Europe, President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday called for profound changes in building the European Union as France was poised to take the helm of the 27-nation bloc.

"There have been errors in the way that Europe has been built," Sarkozy acknowledged

Now there's an understatement of truly epic proportions.

Sarkozy was hoping to lead the European Union into a new era of strength and unity, but Ireland's rejection of a key reform treaty meant to streamline EU decision-making has all but thwarted his ambitious agenda.

The French EU presidency's "first priority is to find a way to contain the problem to the Irish", said Sarkozy, adding that EU countries must continue ratifying the key charter.

See the mentality? Rather than acknowledging that there is a fatal flaw with the proposed treaty update, the knee-jerk reaction is to accuse the Irish of troublemaking. "It's those damned stupid Irish again!"

Emphasizing that the EU must address day-to-day concerns, Sarkozy said he would work for an Europe-wide cut in the value-added tax on restaurant bills and for a ceiling on the oil VAT to help consumers cope with soaring crude prices.

Sarkozy's proposal on the oil tax has received a cool reception from EU leaders, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel arguing that cutting the VAT would do nothing to encourage a reduction in consumption.

Of course not. But it would do quite a lot to cut into her pocketbook. That may be the most crucial difference between conservatives and liberals: conservatives see manipulation of taxes as a carrot; liberals see it as a big, nasty, rusty, spiked mace with which to BEAT THE STUPID PROLES OVER THEIR EMPTY HEADS! (obligatory mouth-frothing here)

The EU is doomed. It was doomed from the start, as are all Really Bad Ideas. The only people who can't see it are those deluded, desperate souls still trying to bail water out of the rapidly sinking Good Ship Europe.