Friday, October 18, 2013

What I learned from the government shutdown

A few observations:

1) Apparently, not a whole hell of a lot of the government was shut down.

2) Nonetheless, there does seem to be an abundance of “non-essential” employees (of whom I am a member in good standing), which at least suggests that there is, indeed, plenty of room for cuts in the federal workforce and the programs they administer.

3) The Tea Party and the elected representatives associated with it are (predictably) being portrayed as wild-eyed losers in the liberal media as a result of their failure to defund or delay ObamaCare – to which I respond, that the Declaration of Independence probably began to look like a bad idea to a lot of people during the winter of 1777-1778.

4) Most of the Republican Senate is a kind of political Jurassic Park, a zoo filled with small-brained mossbacks whose only genuinely beneficial contribution to the world will consist in their departure from it (and, by all means, stand not upon the order of your going).

5) Obama is a glorified faculty-lounge boor, a narrow-minded (as befits the typical academic, these days) petty tyrant who would reign rather than preside if he had the chance, and who gives every indication that he is actively looking for just such an opportunity. We have seen the alacrity with which he moved to annoy the populace in relatively small things when he didn’t get his way (e.g., shutting down open-air memorials and even scenic overlooks); picture that same petulant and manipulative temperament framing a response in greater matters when he finds himself thwarted or simply pissed off – health care, for instance. Would a president who concerns himself with choosing specific drone targets abroad shrink from directing the issuance of subpoenas on behalf of death panels? Somehow I doubt it.

6) I reflect, somewhat wistfully, upon my recent decision to purchase two 30-round magazines for my Ruger Mini-14; in retrospect, I rather wish I had ordered five.

8 comments:

bruce said...

Just as long as you don't illegally recreate.

JeffS said...

Come now, Paco, all is not lost! You can order more magazines any time.

rinardman said...

Apparently, not a whole hell of a lot of the government was shut down.

Hey, it takes a lot of people to make a shutdown seem an inconvenience.

Anonymous said...

Deborah .... Luck for you, Paco, the government is not inclined to reduce non-essential types. Otherwise, caution should be exercised.

It is popular among the Statists to loudly proclaim that Obamacare is the law of the land. Well, so was slavery.

Obama has many role models... Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, Kim Jong I'll (and In) for starters.

Jonah said...

What I learned is that stock markets dive and good stuff is had for cheap. Then the inevitable
"apocalypse avoided" headline and I cash in.

I figure on grabbing 10% gains every couple of months for the next 3 years.

Gregoryno6 said...

According to one of our local idiots the whole shutdown thingy was the work of - well, have a guess.
http://m.smh.com.au/world/tea-partys-carefully-laid-plans-didnt-follow-the-script-20131018-2vsb7.html#ixzz2i6v1EUFt

RebeccaH said...

I'll say this. Shutting down the national parks and deliberately inconveniencing tourists didn't accomplish much, and in fact, riled up a lot of people. What scares me is what Obama might think of to do next, when somebody stands in his way. It won't be national parks next time.

Mikael said...

"President temper tantrum" as my friend Bill Whittle calls him.

Or "He Who Must Be Obeyed" as I sometimes think of him. But don't tell anyone I said that, lest I annoy him. Gone are the days of the black helicopters, Now the time of the black drones! Be afraid. Be very afraid!