The Sky is Falling (Again)

Have we had our fill of bogus predictions yet? The Watchman has!

• The sky is falling! The sky is falling! --Chicken Little
• “Everything that can be invented has been invented” --US patent office, 1899.
• “There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.” – Albert Einstein, 1932.
• Y2K will cause massive disruptions around the world!
• By 2010 there will be 50 million environmental refugees as a result of global warming! – United Nations, 2005.
• If we don't pass TARP, the financial system will collapse!
• If we don't raise the debt ceiling by August 2^nd, financial Armageddon will ensue!

Durbin Admits Theft

Image by afagen via Flickr

One of the Watchman's cardinal beliefs is that if you let a politician talk long enough, he/she will eventually tell the truth on himself/herself.  A truckload of lies come first, of course, but often the truth outs in the end.

Today, United States Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) stumbled into such a truth when he compared the Congress to thieves:

"The bottom line is those who want to push a balanced-budget amendment are saying 'I can't promise you that I won't steal again, but I will vote for the Ten Commandments,'" he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Bravo, Richard!  This is as apt a Congressional  analogy as ever you have spoken.  Congress is like a band of thieves, stealing bread from the mouths of citizens -- and most egregiously from the mouths of citizens not yet born.

However, your analogy, like all analogies and most especially like all political analogies, breaks down just past that initial truth.  A representative voting for a balanced budget amendment to the constitution is not like a thief voting for the Ten Commandments, the enforcement of which the almighty holds in abeyance until the end of the age.  It's like a thief, voting for God to strike him dead the next time he picks a pocket.

And that's a vote we should all get behind.

Obama: The Second Term of Jimmy Carter

Wow.  Compare this downer with the Watchman's previous post on sexy Paul R-Y-A-N!



Thanks Laura!

Chris Matthews' Freudian slip:  refers to Obama as President Carter

Who Says Wonks Aren't Sexy?

When Atlas shrugged I knew you’d carry the weight
That PX90 program has you in great shape
But more than than you’re stimulating my brain
Your Roadmap to the Future has lit this girl’s flame

Paul R-Y-A-N, he’s gonna cap that spending
Budget Hunter, Surplus savior’s got me dreaming
Paul R-Y-A-N, he’s got the camera’s waiting
Raise those polls and ratings

CHORUS

It’s more than a crush
It’s a wonky fascination
Driven by fiscal reformation
If you’re deficit or debt, he will tear you apart
Paul Ryan has the Roadmap to my young gun heart

You’ve got the way to make me fall
And the means to follow through
Entitlements are something made for me not you
Obamacare repeal is seduction for free
The Patient Choice Act is victory

Paul R-Y-A-N, he knows money
Like a bad romance, he makes a dime worth a damn
Paul R-Y-A-N, he’s talking savings baby
He’s a hawk, don’t get caught
Thinking that money is free

Midnight Laundry

The following appeared as a Letter to the Editor in the July 13th edition of the Naperville Sun:

A recent survey by North Central College Students shows that 57% of Naperville electricity buyers do not understand the benefits of the $22 million smart grid now under construction by the city. Allow me to give you the Cliff Notes version: You'll save money on your electricity bill if you are willing to do your laundry in the wee hours of the night.