Friday, October 4, 2013

Observations from the Abyss 10.4

"We’re not going to be disrespected. We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is." Yesterday I finished my post yesterday with that quote from Marlin Stutzman who is a Republican congressman from Indiana. I bring it up again because during a speech he made in Rockville, Maryland yesterday afternoon President Obama answered Stutzman, "You have already gotten the opportunity to serve the American people. There is no higher honor than that." Later in his speech the President added, "If you're being disrespected, it's because of that attitude you got that you deserve to get something for doing your job." You can read the full speech here, that is you can read it if the White House site is up.

I heard somewhere that as the shutdown gets longer politicians will begin to say increasingly stupid things. The tension level increases, yesterday's events at the Capital only added to that, and they start to hear more and more from angry constituents. Publicly admitting you don't know what you are after is a good example. Another is Rep. Randy Neugebauer, a Republican from Texas, berating a Park Service Ranger at the WWII Memorial for not allowing the public to enter a park his shutdown had closed. To it's credit Fox News noted that "in his breast pocket, he (Neugebauer) carried a small American flag."

But, as should probably be expected, the stupid comments aren't limited to politicians and can show how a person truly feels. The following paragraph comes from Fox Business host Stuart Varney who was asked if he thought government employees should get back pay when the shutdown ends. If this sample doesn't make you ill enough you can listen to his full tirade here.

"No, I don't think they should get their back pay, frankly, I really don't. I'm sick and tired of a massive, bloated federal bureaucracy living on our backs, and taking money out of us, a lot more money than most of us earn in the private sector, then getting a furlough, and then getting their money back at the end of it. Sorry, I'm not for that. I want to punish these people. Sorry to say that, but that's what I want to do."

According to the website Celebrity Net Worth Stuart Varney is worth in excess of $10 million. Behold the New Age of the Robber Barons.