Posted on 02/21/2005 2:26:50 PM PST by Pokey78
Steyn ping!
Amazing how he churns out these little gems day after day.
"This week we're toasting the end of an idea: the death of "the West"."
Whew.
Regrettably, I fear Steyn is right.
Henceforth, who in the EU can the U.S. count on? The UK seems bent on subsuming her sovereignty in the Eurinal and, thus, won't remain a reliable ally for long. Great Britain may well be Canada Mk II.
At some point, Poland is likely to become less independent in her thinking and actions, as well. When Berlusconi steps down, how long will Italy maintain a pro-American posture?
When it comes to crunch, as it almost certainly will, will any of these nations have the gumption to survive?
When he dies, I get dibs on his brain.
With Steyn and Coulter and Horowitz on our side, how can we lose? I agree, Steyn is consistently brilliant. One of the great political essayists of the era.
Steyn travels a lot and sees all types of people in all types of places. That, plus his natural perception, give him a perspective lacking in any other "journalist".
He's consistently right about European-American relations, and almost always way ahead of the rest of the media. And wraps it all in humor so the bad news goes down more easily.
Ping for "Europoseurs"!
He is my favorite. Coulter is good, but Steyn is the best. He puts into words what I think but can't articulate.
Aside from the funky formatting, this was GREAT! Thanks for the ping, Pokey!
He definitely has an unparalleled gift for quickly sizing up the amount of BS in any situation and describing it with a humor that highlights the serious issues involved. The best of all worlds.
""But, in the broader sense vis-à-vis Europe, the administration is changing the tone precisely because it understands there can be no substance. And, if there's no substance that can be changed, what's to quarrel about? International relations are like ex-girlfriends: if you're still deluding yourself you can get her back, every encounter will perforce be fraught and turbulent; once you realise that's never gonna happen, you can meet for a quick decaf latte every six – make that, 10 – months and do the whole hey-isn't-itterrific-the-way-we're-able-to-be-such-great-friends routine because you couldn't care less. You can even make a few pleasant noises about her new romance (the so-called European Constitution) secure in the knowledge he's a total loser.""
Money paragraph...gotta love Steyn
"Rumsfeld made a point of not setting foot on German soil until Berlin put an end to that nonsense"
Wow! Now that is telling.
Thank you for the ping. Steyn amazes me. I really miss him in the National Post up here.
The concept of a "long standing alliance between Europe and America" is nothing but a myth. Throughout the 19th Century, we fought wars, directly and indirectly, declared and undeclared with England, France and Spain. In 1902, we nearly came to blows with the Kaiser over his plans for Venezuela. After great reluctance (and shear stupidity on the part of a one Wilhelm Hohenzollern), we entered WWI. The politics of war and peace left a bitter taste for us: we didn't even ratify the stupid treaty that was supposed to solve all problems for all times. As a result, the public was reluctant to get into "another mess in Europe" now called WWII. We helped oust that maniac with the hokie mustache and then propped up the western half of the continent so as to keep the other manic dictator and his successors out.
We are a nation mostly populated by people who fled Europe for a better life here. If Europe is so great, then why did we leave? And there's the problem with Europe: the smart ones either came here or went to Australia.
Twice in the last hundred years enough; is saving Europe from their own problems a third time since 1917 too much? Maybe not; but don;t bet on it.
This analogy nails it! Things will get very ugly in Europe in the not-so-distant future. Thanks Pokey!
The smart ones come from all over the world - making it the only consistently ever-improving gene pool on the planet.
Maybe a few well-paid and well-fed researchers for starters.
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