Early Irish Vote Is 'Yes' to EU. In a dramatic aboutface, Irish voters gave the go-ahead to a vast expansion of the European Union expansion, endorsing a plan to push the union to the borders of Russia, first returns from a crucial referendum indicated Sunday. [AP World News]

Irrelevent humorous comment first: When I first heard about the treaty being voted upon, it was phrased as "The Nice Treaty".  I have to be honest, the city in France was not the first thing that came to mind, and I actually found myself wondering if they'd hired a PR firm to give it a name that would sound non-threatening.  What could be better than a "Nice" Treaty?(pronounded with a long 'i')  

That said, I'm glad to hear that it appears likely that the Irish will pass the treaty and that the EU will be able to expand.  Some Americans may think this unpatriotic of me, but I think it will be good for America to have a stronger, larger and more closely bound Europe to deal with.  The way that we're going these days, we need more friends who are willing to stand up to us and tell us when we're going that extra bit too far.

Living in a country that has had a reasonably stable government for over 200 years, its sometimes hard to comprehend the upheaval that the eastern European countries have undergone since the end of Communist rule there. For the citizens of those countries, however, being able to align themselves with the other European nations must offer a certain amount of comfort and, more importantly, hope. 

My personal hope is that the US will be able to maintain a good relationship with the EU, even as it expands, and that it will become a true partner - someone we can stand with, grow with, and work with, and one that will have the willingness to help us when the cause is just and the strength to caution us, when it is not.