The American people are very astute. I reported a couple of years ago that nearly two-thirds of voters identified the federal government as the greatest threat to the country’s future.
They’re right, and it’s also very scary, as illustrated by this Glenn McCoy cartoon.
With frightening legislation such as Obamacare, tax hikes, and Dodd-Frank, no wonder about two out of three people have a very or somewhat negative view of Washington.
McCoy does very good work. He has a great pair of cartoons on condoms and gay marriage, and I also like his cartoon on sequester hysteria, as well as how he portrayed gullible voters being bribed with their own money. In my opinion, though, his cartoon on media bias is the best of the bunch.
Break Out Your Crying Towels for Agriculture Lobbyists
I realize this might mean I’m not a very nice person, but I take joy in the sadness of others.
But in my defense, this only happens when the sad people happen to be those who want to steal my money using the coercive power of government.
Or when bad things happen to the political class.
So you can imagine how happy I am that sleazy lobbyists for the agribusiness crowd are distraught about the rejection of the pork-filled farm bill in the House of Representatives.
Here are some of thedetails fromThe Hill, but have your crying towel ready.
K street agriculture lobbyists were stunned Thursday by the House defeat of a $940 billion farm bill and were scrambling to figure out their next move. The bill was widely expected to win approval… “We were shocked. We were watching the vote on TV and in the final minutes were saying ‘what are they doing? This thing isn’t going to pass!’ ” said one commodity group lobbyist. “I’m shocked,” said another lobbyist. “Our job as agriculture is to go to the House and say Mr. Speaker what is your plan for getting this done?” The intense blame game that broke out immediately after the bill was rejected in a 195-234 vote will only make it harder to get a bill over the hump, supporters of the measure said.
Gee, I can barely type with my vision clouded by tears.
In my fantasy world, of course, we abolish the Ag Department, which would enable me to be even happier about the sadness of others.
P.S. I have another reason to be happy. With only a few more days before I reach the advanced age of 55, I managed to hit a ball out of the park at a softball tournament in Salem, Virginia. Courtesy of Google Maps, here’s a reenactment of the glorious event.
I did hit one out at a tournament in Virginia Beach last year, but my happiness was undermined when Georgia lost later in the day to South Carolina. Hopefully nothing bad will happen today to offset the illusion that I’m still a young buck.