Joe
You speak in tongues. To use words like "intelligence", "reasoning" and
"rational" in the same breath as "politicians" (of ANY nation or group
thereof) is a paradox. To use them with the EU in mind is a downright
contradiction. Just analyse why someone chooses a career in politics, be
it as a village councillor or as a president/prime minister. The words
that spring to mind are "gravy train", "glory", "influence", "respect",
"money", "corruption". The words farthest from the mind are
"constituent", "democracy", "honesty", "representation", "people",
"welfare". I have met many politicians in many countries, some of them
high-ranking. I would say that their first care is ensuring continuity
by re-election and thus security. Their second care is nearly always,
what is in it for me? There may be exceptions, but they are rare birds.
In the case of EU politicians, they are even more remote from the people
they purport to represent, they will vote the most outrageous laws, such
as the maximum curvature of cucumbers (this is not a joke).
This may appear "sad" and cynical, but it is something I have to live
with in my everyday life. Do you know how many regulatory instances have
been introduced in the EU? 10 years ago, it was over 80,000, certainly
doubled by now.
Take the Constitution of the USA. It has 7 articles over 4 hand-written
pages, with 27 subsequent amendments. Take the proposed Constitution of
the EU, as rejected, rightly, by France and the Netherlands. It is a
closely-printed book 5 cm thick. Even the very abbreviated summary at
http://europa.eu.int/constitution/download/oth180604_3_en.pdf is 15
pages long and tells almost nothing, other than it may be modified by a
unanimous decision of the EC after consultation and ratification.
Democracy? All my eye and Betty Martin!
No, I don't believe there will be a blind eye turned to minor
infractions. Why? Because the ECJ has the power to inflict swingeing
fines on hundreds of thousands of euros per day on member states that do
not ensure the directives are adequately enforced. This is a regular
procedure. For example, a private landfill (small) owner on a Greek
island did not respect the Greek law promulgated according to a EU
directive. Greece was fined, I think EUR 50,000/day until they could
show that the landfill was modifified according to the law or rendered
inoperational.
Brian
Joe Fjelstad wrote:
> In a message dated 2/11/2006 7:52:41 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> Once a law has been passed, it would require
> little less than a nuclear bomb to cause it to be broken up, no matter
> how ill-conceived it may be.
>
>
>
> Hi Brian,
>
> That is a sad statement Hopefully there will be an easier accommodation. It
> may be that it will just be treated like speed limits in the US ;-)
>
> Still, considering all of the fantastic thinkers and scientists that Europe
> has blessed this planet with, I must remain an optimist with the faith that
> science and reason will eventually prevail in one of their most recognizable
> birthplaces and homelands. I trust that the genetic heritage of intelligence
> and reasoning cannot really be lost and that we are likely just presently
> living in one of the troughs of the ebb and flow of rational thinking... ;-)
>
> Very best,
> Joe
>
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