Euro slips in value....as Greece thinks about possible default

Ok, http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110525/bs_nm/us_markets_global the Euro is slipping in value against the dollar. Think about how remarkable that is. First, The US is currently trillions of dollars in debt. Second the Euro has been worth more than the dollar for some time. However, Greece is now openly talking about defaulting on its debt....even though it was bailed out once already. If Greece defaults...that will push the Euro down sharply. Frankly, Greece is running out of options. The country is already falling apart.....every time the govt tries to deal with it the Greek unions go on strike....causing even more chaos!! You see, the unions in Europe long ago learned something the US has been struggling with. In order for a union to remain in power in a company it must constantly try to increase benefits to its employees EVEN IF this action causes damage to the company that can lead to the company closing !!! A union that doesn't come up with always better wages and benefits will see a loss in membership. Now what the US unions didn't follow thru on was this. In order for a union to have political pull it needs its members to vote the way they are told by union managers/leaders. The unions, in turn...( after getting out the vote) need to get benefits from the GOVT in office ( thanks to the Union) ! If the Unions do that they become serious power brokers. The final thing the unions need to do at that point is to have grid-locking strikes every so often to remind the politicians who is the " REAL" power. Once the unions have that strong of political power they can then vote in...or rather have voted in for them...any benefit, wage, or law they want !! Always more and more of course. More vacation....higher minimum wages....health care, mandatory 1 month worth of vacation time....etc etc.  When the unions of Greece says jump...the govt usually does. In the United States....most unions can't count on their members moving in lock-step. Since they can't get out the vote as well as they should , the power of unions in the US is greatly diminished compared to its European cousins. To be sure , the US political parties " get it" that a percentage of voters can be " bought" by higher " entitlements" and other benefits. This is a serious long range problem for the US. Our very freedom.....democracy....is also our greatest weakness....as our political parties have learned they can always vote a raise for themselves and their constituents...even when their is no realistic way to pay for these increased benefits.

Gene Simmons gets it !!

KISS' Gene Simmons: Obama "Has No F***ing Idea What The World Is Like"

For a president to be sitting in Washington, D.C., and saying, “Go back to your 67 borders in Israel,” how about you live there and try to defend an indefensible border nine miles wide? On one side you’ve got hundreds of millions of people who hate your guts, on the other side you’ve got the Mediterranean. Unless you control, in Israel, unless you control those Golan Heights, it’s an indefensible position.

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/05/21/israeli-born-kiss-guitarist-gene-simmons-67-borders-obama-has-no-f-ki#ixzz1N8iRfcmZ

"The most pathetic body on the face of the planet." Simmons called the U.N. a "paper tiger" that allows dictators to spread propaganda. (H/T Newsbuster)

Rep. Cantor: Palestinians "Infused With Resentment And Hatred"

The Hill reports: Speaking to thousands of pro-Israel activists assembled in Washington for the annual gathering of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Cantor told the tale of an unnamed Palestinian woman who traveled from Gaza to an Israeli hospital for life-saving treatment. Some time later, he said, she returned with intentions of attacking the same hospital in a suicide bombing.

"What kind of culture leads one to do that? Sadly, it is a culture infused with resentment and hatred," said Cantor, one of just two Jewish Republicans in Congress. "It is this culture that underlies the Palestinians' and the broader Arab world's refusal to accept Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.

 

     I think this is a very realistic bit of commentary ! Too many elected officials don't live in the real world. They are surrounded by Yes men, and party hacks !! What works ( both left and right) often work  in theory....and not in real life. I think that is part of the reason ObamaCare is now granting " exceptions" to so very many companies. Its a well meaning idea....but some parts are just unworkable !

  As to the UN....it is a great idea....and is a JOKE in real life !! It has no real power...and all to often puts 2 bit dictators as committee chairs !