Another Windmill Down

From The Man of La Mancha:

The Duke:  I invent false information about a country and sell it to others stupid enough to believe it.
Miguel de Cervantes:  Seems a sound proposition. What brought you here?
The Duke:  A lapse of judgment. I told the truth.

Our long national nightmare is over.  The war is over.  Mission accomplished.  The Republican House has fought back against the forces of evil and bravely protected our country from the scourge of atheism that is robbing us of our global economic competitiveness.  Our proper place among the theocracies of the world has been assured. 

 

The House has passed a non-binding resolution reaffirming that "In God We Trust" is the national motto.  Armageddon averted.  Gathering storm clouds dissipated.  Climate change reversed.  Gays chastised.  Jobs created?

“In God We Trust” has been the national motto since 1956.  It’s been printed on U.S. coins since 1864 and on paper currency since 1957.  Yet, despite this long history, and despite the lack of any credible movement to change this, the GOP controlled House felt the issue worthy of floor debate and valuable legislative time.  Thank God (literally) there were no other pressing demands on the time of our duly elected officials to distract them from this Mission.

I have no problem with our national motto.  The fact is no one really did.  It's been in place for half a century, and I think it is a healthy reminder that we are not alone.  This resolution was a waste of taxpayer time to elevate a few lawmakers in the eyes of their congregations.  Perhaps these Congresspeople should be monitoring those gathering “mobs” demanding that the growing income inequality in this country be acknowledged as settled economic science, and preparing funding for the construction of more secure monetary fences around corporate America.  The reaffirmation of a motto that already exists does nothing.

On second thought, maybe it does something, something anti-business.  Isn’t this motto affirmation resolution just another example of the federal government endorsing the over-regulation of free markets?  I mean, it was God after all that supported the most egregious example of over-reach in world history with His signature legislative success, the passage of the Ten Commandments.   Sure, we can all agree that the bans against killing and stealing are reasonable limitations on a civil society, but once ‘coveting’ becomes illegal, we are weakening the vibrant omnipotent hand of our Job Creators.  Gordon Gekko, one of history’s great capitalist innovators, said it best that “Greed is good” and therefore should not be punished with burdensome regulatory oversight.  I think we can agree that the government has gone too far when it threatens eternal damnation in the fires of Hell for mere thoughts on how to negotiate a hostile corporate takeover.

One thing that the national motto does do quite effectively is divert attention away from nefarious human activities and legislative double crosses.  Pay no attention to those lawmakers behind the curtain, and instead, trust that your lot in life is predestined by God directly.  We’re denying you health coverage, but God will provide.  We are releasing the power of the investor class to submit to their own worst instincts, but worry not – it is all part of God’s Plan, if only you trust.  Stop looking to your elected leaders to help or protect you.  In God you should trust.  Wasn’t it Reagan who said, “Trust but verify”?

I am reminded of the classic joke about the man standing on his roof watching flood waters rise all around his home.  A boat comes to save him, but he refuses the boat.  “God will provide.”  A second boat comes to save him as the waters grow higher, but he refuses the help again.  “God will provide.”  As the waters reach him, a helicopter arrives and throws him a rope.  He refuses a final time, saying confidently that “God will provide.”  Eventually, the waters wash him away, and he perishes in the flood.  At the gates of Heaven, the man asks God why He didn’t provide as promised.  God replies, “Who do you think sent the 2 boats and the helicopter?”

At what point do we recognize that we need to help ourselves and hold these GOP knuckleheads more accountable for their actions or lack of actions?  At what point does the Congress address real problems with real solutions instead of imaginary problems with imaginary solutions? 

 

The non-binding resolution was approved 396-9, with 2 abstentions.  There is a rumor that the 2 representatives who abstained from the vote are being burned at the stake this weekend, but that is unconfirmed.

Nonsense 1 – Jobs Agenda 0.