I’m sure this joke has been around a loooonnng time, but I only first heard it in college.

Q: “How can you tell when a politician is lying?”

A: “His lips are moving.”

A little harsh, however....

“I never obstructed justice.” “I’m not a crook.”



“Read my lips: no new taxes!”



“I did not have sexual relations with that woman Monica Lewinsky.”



“Saddam Hussein has gone to elaborate lengths … to build and keep weapons of mass destruction”

But what happens when certain politicians are confronted with evidence and facts so incontrovertible, that they have no choice to admit they were wrong?

They tell the truth, right?

Well, not really.

“It depends upon what the meaning of the word is… is…”



“I don’t think we force people. Our system of government is a voluntary tax system.... The fact of the matter is our system is a voluntary system.”

Perhaps Senator Reid missed the point that the people who are in prison who voluntarily decided not to pay, or whose assets the IRS seized, would beg to differ. But that’s a discussion for another time.

When I first saw Senator Reid’s rhetorical tap dance about voluntary taxes I thought it would be unmatched by any subsequent comments he might ever make.

I was wrong.

Now we’re told that the government taking over the banking system is not “nationalization.”

Really.

As Senator Reid told MSNBC, “It’s not nationalization, it’s protecting the taxpayers’ interests.”

According to Politico, “[Senator] Reid on Monday morning argued that the federal government has been involved in private sector for decades — taking over large chunks of the railroad and the highway system when those industries got into massive financial trouble.”

Yes, and Amtrak has operated at a loss for decades. It has only survived because of over $30 billion in subsidies during that whole period.

Don’t you feel protected now?

Occasionally, though, our elected politicians let their guard down, and in moments of candor, tell us lesser mortals what they really think.

They do so when they are giddily flexing their political muscles and relishing the power they wield.

Consider this past summer's unveiling of the new Capitol Visitor Center. Few will dispute that the building — both for crowd accommodation (three million visitors a year) and security purposes (shootings in 1998 and the attacks on 9/11) — was necessary.

But like everything else Washington does, the project ended up costing $621 million ($356 million over budget), and ran three years past its deadline.

Why did the company RTKL get the job for constructing the Capitol Visitor Center? According to the Wall Street Journal, “Incredibly…because it happened to be working on perimeter-security improvements at the Capitol.”

Hmmm. Let’s try again.

The Journal also noted, “There was no competition.”

That’s more plausible.

Anyway, what are a few hundred million dollars in today’s world when our government is bailing us out with trillions of dollars in more borrowed funds?

U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi — who is always willing to shovel generous helpings of taxpayer money at anything and everything — called this government boondoggle a fitting entrance to our nation’s “temple of Democracy.”

While the average American is struggling to pay next month's mortgage, or put food on the table, the “Temple’s” entrance (with its ironically Orwellian name “Emancipation Hall”) was completed with a 20,000-square-foot marbled-floor plaza, and adorned with a number of amenities, including “plentiful bathrooms (26 here), a restaurant (with 530 seats), [and] an indoor lobby where large crowds (up to 4,000 people) could be channeled into smaller spaces and gift shops.”

News reports never stated if the "introductory film" would include an upcoming release of the New Messiah as the next installment in the series. However, it was rumored that the commercial “1001 Best Free Stuff” will be aired every hour on the hour to remind the proletariat that we can reap the blessings of better living through coercive wealth redistribution.

The salesman — who looks like a Bizarro World version of the Riddler in Batman — will play the role of court jester.

Emancipation Hall, the New York Times glowingly observed, provides a nice view of “the dome of the mother ship.”

However, the most important amenity, as the Solons of the Capitol Hill “mother ship” view it, is something that’s hard to put a price tag on.

They won’t have to put up with smelly visitors anymore.

As Senator Reid put it so delicately,

My staff tells me not to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway.... In the summer because of the heat and high humidity, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the Capitol. It may be descriptive but it's true.

Finally, in the midst of "taxes are voluntary," and "banks aren't being nationalized," we get the truth about the tourists (constituents): they smell.

I can just see the new TV commercials:

Capitol Visitor Center?                                         $621 million
View of the "mother ship"?                                  Breathtaking
Not having to put up with smelly tourists?              Priceless.

For everything else, there's the Federal Reserve.

Seriously, though, what is the solution to this tragic-comedy?

For starters, we should take their government credit cards (like the Fed), pull out our trusty pairs of constituent scissors, and promptly dispose of them before they do us any more favors.

And, we must find representatives who will actually be true to their oath of office to uphold the Constitution. That is vital.

Before I forget, there is one last thing.

I can honestly say that not all of the visitor center construction was a complete waste of taxpayer money.

The Wall Street Journal observed that the center was outfitted with one useful feature: “for congressmen, it offers … a secure 1,000-foot-long delivery and trash-collection tunnel.”

Indeed.

So, please, start preparing now to use your ballot box Hefty bags on the next election day, and when that time comes, send the unrepentant, self-anointed socialist demigods packing down that tunnel.

Capitol Hill will smell much better, but not for the reasons Senator Reid claimed.

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danwhitehead1 said:

Again - - - Why am I not surprised? More and more often, the swine who have the gall to consider themselves as rulers and the private wage-earning, tax-paying citizens as subjects are showing more and more often what loathsome scum they truly are. It will get worse, but just remember this: Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18 Arrogance and stupidity are very close cousins.

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February 24, 2009
Votes: +4

danwhitehead1 said:

	Another thought I wonder why we're always surprised when liars lie, thieves steal and swine act like swine?
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February 25, 2009
Votes: +0

weed said:

update the treasury told congress today that they will provide 'unlimited' capital to the banks until they become solvent again. unlimited!!! no more stimulus packages that must go before congress and pass a majority. that could be too risky, particularly if the one just passed is ineffective. the general malaise that we are now suffering through has become a major political risk for obama and company. he promised so much, and failure to deliver will be political suicide for himself and his party. they will try to make this work, regardless of the cost to each and every one of us. i am so f---ing mad i can't see straight, and this is my resolution. i will not do business with any entity bailed out by the feds; no citibank, no bank of america, no aig, no general motors, no chrysler. they can throw money at these irresponsible, greedy failures, but they will not get 1 penny of my business, not 1 penny!!!

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February 25, 2009
Votes: +2

Disgusted said:

... What is really sad is that most Americans, by their vote, believe the lies our so-called leaders spout. They believe, that the war in Iraq, Afghanistan etc. are all about us fighting for our freedom. That we need the Federal Reserve. That the UN is a Peace Keeping Organization. What they don’t understand is that our wars are all about helping the UN in their efforts to Dominate the World. That the Federal Reserve is Un-Constitutional. Election after election Americans vote to keep in office and vote in new legislators who, with the exception of a few, are conspiring to destroy this Nation. Apparently, for far to many, the Constitution is know more than a worthless document. The Founding Fathers and all who fought and shed blood to establish this Great Nation must be rolling over in their graves. I’m sure God is, to say the least, very disappointed. We all have to answer to God for wrong choices we make and that applies to how we vote. The Savior Atoned so we can repent however, repentment is more than words it calls for Action. For those who believe the planes that flew into the twin towers were flown by terrorists from the middle east have been greatly deceived. The perpetrators of 9/11 were the Insiders for the purpose of giving us an excuse to war on Afghanistan and Iraq. The insiders used a tactic that has been used throughout history. They first created a problem, 9/11, and then they instilled fear in the people and blamed someone else followed by offering the solution, war and, we the citizens are going to pay for it both financially and in lives lost. If we don’t start learning from history we are going to lose this country. If we lose this country the war to get it back will pail in comparison to the Revolutionary war fought to establish this Great Nation. WAKE UP AMERICA!!!!

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February 26, 2009
Votes: +1