Government Waste, "Freedom Flotilla", and Nuke the Gulf (of Mexico)

A Story about Government Waste (Pun Intended, HAH HAH!)

One day, government contractors came to my place of work to fix the bathroom that I didn't realize was broken.  I'm not a plumber, so I'm not sure if the weeks of work they spent on the bathroom would have been completed earlier by a private sector firm in a non-government contract situation, but that's not the direction this story is going in. They accommodated us with Port-o-Potties, which I am morally opposed to using when it comes to movements bowel in nature (shitting). One day, the situation would have it that I was given a longer than usual work break, and seeing that I needed to go numero dos, I was relieved that I had the time to walk over to a nearby building and enjoy the convenience of their bathroom facilities. Upon getting there, I learned that the mens bathroom had but one stall, which I learned upon knocking, was currently occupied. "No biggie", I thought, "I can wait it out." So I sat down in the lobby and started reading the news on my phone.

Fifteen minutes have now gone by, and I'm feeling a sense of urgency in the hinterlands of the United States of Reed. "Hmm, better go check to see if it's empty," said the Zach Braff-esque but less homosexual voiceover in my head. I discovered that the stall was still full, and being the non-confrontational (mostly out of fear that a General or some asshole NCO could be behind that door) sailor that I am, I started to tread back to the lobby. I considered going to the Port-O-Potty and trying the gargoyle/hover technique, but I felt that each step I took was like a turn of Jenga, and sitting still would probably be the best strategy until the bathroom was liberated. Now, normally I'd just let loose in the pantaloons, but that day I happened to be wearing my dress whites, and I didn't want to get called out for having a dirty uniform.

But I digress... Eventually, after a full 30 minutes of waiting, some asshole civilian government worker emerged with a fucking novel in his hand. He looked like a slob, altogether fat, messy, and lazy. He knew somebody was waiting for the bathroom, as I had gone in twice and knocked. He not only wasted 30 minutes of his time at work, but also mine. To be honest, this is not even close to being one of the most obvious examples of our bloated bureaucratic system and it's inefficiencies, just the one that is most intimate to me. Also, what fun would it be to write a blog post about how I had to fill out paperwork to buy a meal, the paperwork got lost, but I photocopied 3 versions of it to show proof of purchase, thus wasting paper and time whilst accomplishing nothing in particular? No fun at all! 

The problems with our government bureaucracy are much more serious than my stupid bathroom story, but other people have already written about that, so I'll leave that work to them. Powerline's John Hinderaker breaks it down in his post, "Two Americas." It has a graph and everything for those of you who don't do the whole "reading thing." Choice quote:

"There are, indeed, two Americas: the increasingly straitened world of the private sector, where jobs are competitive, money is scarce, and job security is, for many, nonexistent; and the lush world of the government employee, where competition is more or less unknown, salaries and benefits often double those available to private workers, retirement is ten or more years earlier than in the private sector, and it may take a felony to get fired. This is the central economic conflict of our time, between lavishly compensated and ever more gluttonous government employees, and wealth-creating private citizens who are increasingly unable to support their public-sector masters in the style to which they have become accustomed."

As summed up by me, the issue is that the private sector actually creates the wealth that our country has, while government jobs are often just jobs for the sake of jobs. People getting paid not to create, but just to exist, to buff up our employment statistics. Apparently, the U.S. used bureaucracy to defeat the Nazis... who is using bureaucracy to bring down us?

AP doesn't know the difference between "government" and "big government." With such competence in reporting, I'm truly surprised as to how the newspaper industry is failing...

Tom Maguire notes that at least some reporters are starting to wise up to reality. What's so incredulous is not that this asshat (WaPo's Richard Cohen) didn't realize that criminals commit crimes (uh, duh?), but rather his admission that his realization of this fact is bad news for liberals. The quote:

"those disposed to attribute criminality to poverty -- my view at one time -- have some strenuous rethinking to do. It could be, as conservatives have insisted all along, that crime is committed by criminals. For liberals, this is bad news indeed."

Israeli Flotilla

I'm going to quickly revisit the Israel flotilla incident as details and reports pop up. Roundup of links worth a glance or two:

Jihadis on board the ship, surprise surprise. 

Netanyahu speaks... also, some numbers about the "humanitarian crisis" in Gaza (the scare quotes are there to tell you that there's no real humanitarian crisis in Gaza, at least, not the same crisis that all those buttfucking terrizts and sympathizers are whining about). Most important info: Gaza is so full of supplies that the saturated market is lowering prices. Furthermore, Hamas refused the humanitarian aid shipment when Israel tried to deliver it... some crisis.

The facts are on Israel's side, says Marty Peretz. Too bad perception is reality, and the whole world will continue to screech about Israel's Nazi-Apartheid-George Bush-Darth Vader-Sauron-Baby Murdering regime. Yes, Marty, I realize that the boat was full of terrizts who even shot live guns at the Israeli troops. Yes I realize that these terrizts wrote wills and planned to martyr themselves on this voyage. 

Joe Biden, who I've always loved not as a politician, but as a person (he can't hold his tongue, he says some funny shit), stands up for Israel with some strong words. Good shit, Joe, I'm just disappointed you didn't throw any F-bombs in there.

Miscellany

Frank J said Nuke the Moon back in 2002, in order to achieve world peace. 2010 Update: Nuke the Oil Spill! Apparently the Russians have been doing it for years.

Yahoo on why you should date a military man. If not for self-interest, I'd correct them and write an accurate article, but you know, self-interest... Date a military man, have double D's, be down for a 3-way and help save 'Mrrrkah. And for best results, make sure it is me that you date and 3-way with.

NBC's resident conservative: "LEAVE OBAMA ALONE!" (h/t: Hotair) Yes, David Brooks tells James Carville to be softer on Obama... you can't make this shit up.

Lou Reed, former member of the Velvet Underground who took his surname as tribute to me, is having a concert for dogs (h/t: Hotair). That's really a walk on the wild side, Lou... let me rephrase, that's fucking stupid, Lou. On the other hand, it conjures up warm memories of Derek Zoolander asking the question that would come to represent a generation, "What is this, a school for ants?" Yes, first we had a school for ants and now we have concerts for dogs. Progress!

Comments

[dsfsdfdsfsdf]

This is the dumbest, and most hypocritical, article I've ever read. You worked (or work) for the government (military) and went to a government-subsidized university, I can see why you hate government jobs and subsidies.

Your argument is that government jobs are cushy? How about teachers? Policemen? These are cushy jobs now?

During the time that America was most prosperous, it's because the government provided jobs to its citizens. We built infrastructure. America grew. Now there is too much control in the hands of corporations. God forbid tax money *gasp* be spent providing the poor with jobs so that they can spend money and help out other businesses. This is a great country; it's citizens deserve the opportunity to work for living wages.

[ShrinkWrapped]

Congratulations Reed, you have your first troll!

[The Viking]

Well, I wouldn't be so quick to label a troll Dad. (S)He uses decent grammar, attempts to use facts as a foundation for his comments, and his argument is coherent, although a little off the mark. If it were not for his/her first sentence and the fact that his/her name is dsfsdf, I'd say it's somebody trying to have an honest debate.

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, and respond in earnest. I don't think I'm being hypocritical, and I think you're making the same mistake that the AP made in being unable to recognize the difference between supporting small government and wanting NO government. I believe in a smaller, smarter government, and that even applies to Military. That said, even the most staunch libertarian believes in the government having a role in defense and law enforcement, and I'm not a staunch libertarian as I see it.

And sometimes, I do feel a little bit guilty about some of the benefits I get. The economy is in a slump, and it's pretty insane that some of the pensions and benefits one can get retiring at the young age of 38. But the target of my post (as tongue-in-cheek as it is) is not teachers, cops, or soldiers (although they are not without problems, myself included).

The problem with cutting government funding is that if you cut public education, people freak out about how you hate children. If you cut defense funding, you're a terrorist. It all needs cutting, as we have no money. So yeah, I find it objectionable that the public employeesphere is sitting just fine with their iron ricebowls while the rest of the nation is suffering. I'll respond more thoroughly tomorrow, but I'm tired now so it's bedtime for the Viking.

[HP]

A blogging family moment, I love it.

For the troll: Have a look sometime at how many staff positions exist for every line position. That is, for every soldier on government pay, how many bureaucrats spend every day behind desks making sure each t is dotted and i crossed (and if you think I've got that backwards, you've never dealt with these folks) in their payroll, records, et cetera? For every cop, how many folks sitting comfortably in City Hall managing the last detail? A hint: The ratio is high.

As for cutting money, I advocate the National Endowment for the Arts. Everything else is somehow "for the children", and of course you'd be an evil heartless communazi bastard to try to touch it...but isn't art more or less by definition something that nobody actually NEEDS?

[Le khang]

See I read mr Viking.