We had such a small government when George Washington was President. There were just three Cabinet positions: the honestly named Secretary of War, who was responsible for both canons on the Hudson being aimed at England; the Secretary of Treasury, who carried the entire budget in his wallet; and the Secretary of Holding the President’s Horse. The Supreme Court only had one wig. And the Washington Monument was exactly the same height as George, and people said it looked exactly like him.
Q: So, how did government get so BIG???
A: By responding to the NEEDS of the PEOPLE!
Let’s look at the needs of farmers. In 1860, about 60% of America’s population lived/worked on farms. Farmers had many needs, and the nation needed a steady reliable source of food, so in 1862 president Lincoln created the Department of Agriculture. In his final message to Congress, Lincoln called the USDA “The People’s Department.” (That’s really true, and probably the funniest line in this essay.)
As time went by and the number of farmers increased, or at least their needs did, so did the Department of Agriculture. Even more time goes by and America becomes urban and industrialized. Farmers were soon able to produce more food than Americans could consume. Continual mechanical farm improvements kept decreasing the number of farmers until we have reached the point today whereby farm families constitute less than 2% of the population. This, in turn, resulted in the Department of Agriculture also getting smaller and smaller with each passing year, and today it is only a minor government agency with a really small budget.
If you are not rolling your eyes at that last sentence it’s because your brain is the size of a peach pit.
The Dept. of Agriculture is YUGE!! It employs about 105,000 people, 1t over 15,000 locations, in all 50 states, and even 80 foreign countries. They have a budget of about $150 Billion dollars. The BLS says there are 1.2 million farmers. Do the math; that’s 11.4 farmers per USDA employee! And all this time I thought farmers were strong sturdy independent types who don’t need no stinkin’ help from anybody. More math; we could eliminate the USDA by just giving the 50,000 poorest farmers $3,000,000 each, and they could all retire without ever having to stick their arms up a cow’s vagina again. Of course, I’ll grow 40DDD titties (I’m a male) before anyone allows a hundred thousand federal employees to be fired.
So, what do all these people DO – these workers who make, on average $68,000 per year?
Dept. of Agriculture Insiders View
Well, one group keeps a vigilant eye on the world’s oilseed (whatever that is) market. They fall under the Oilseeds and Products Group … along with the Cotton Group, the Tobacco Group, the Planting Seeds Group … which make up the Cotton, Oilseeds, Tobacco, and Seeds Division; which combined with AgExport Services Division, the Dairy, Livestock, and Poultry Division; the Forest and Fishery Products Division; the Horticultural and Tropical Products Division; and the Product Estimates and Crop Assessment Division … make up the Commodity and Market Programs of Foreign Agricultural Services; which when combined with the Farm Service Agency, the Risk Management Agency, and the Commodity Credit Corporation .. makes up the Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services …and combined with Rural Development; Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services; Food Safety; Natural Resources and Environment; Research Education, and Economics; Marketing and Regulatory Programs, blah blah blah, make up what is described in their publications as the “streamlined” Department of Agriculture.
Not counted in these figures are the 15,800 outside computer consultants which are needed because each and every one of these Groups, Departments, and Divisions, and about 75% of the employees therein are required to submit at least one Excel Worksheet and one Word Document in triplicate per week documenting how they helped the farmers of America, so that the BLS can lie about it in their monthly report.
And all this to what end? In 1862 there were about 650 obese Americans, most of them in Kentucky — due to fried chicken. In 2018, more than 150 million Americans couldn’t fit their fat asses in fifty-bushel basket even with a case of Vaseline and the jaws-of-life. Thank you, USDA.
As bloated as the USDA became, the same is true for every other government entity. The org chart for the Dept. of Education is even more convoluted. And to the same end. When Jimmy Carter formed the DOE in 1979 about 95% of high school students knew that Australia was an island continent. Today, the same percentage think it’s a small country in Europe!
The point of all this is the government responds to all the neeeeeeds of the people by getting larger and larger with each passing year. Although the Republicans kvetch a good game every two years about “reducing the size of government” we all know it’s Pure Politican Pandering. Most Democrats don’t even pretend. Well meaning politicians may be sincere in their pre-election promises, but once in office they discover that not only do the people have endless neeeeeeds … so do Corporations, which are now considered “people” also.
Just pretend the above airplane is a C-`130 Hercules
Let’s look at Lockheed-Martin, the maker of the USAF C-130 Hercules. In 1978 we had so many of them that the Pentagon said, “We have so many of them. Stop building them.” Really, read it here. Actually, John McCain, had the Government Accountability Office (GAO) do a study of how many more C-130s the Air Force would need between 1978 and 1998. The answer? Five.
But, Lockheed-Martin was near bankruptcy. The squeezed Uncle Sam for a billion dollar bailout, then got busted for using $22 million dollars of the bailout to bribe Pentagon officials to keep building C130s, which led to Congress passing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act … which led to Lockheed-Martin standing in the runway holding their dicks.
So, they bypassed the Pentagon and went directly to bribing Congress. Their Lobbyists went batshit crazy funding many millions of dollars in donations to key representatives. One of those key people was Newt Gingrich, Congressman from Georgia, where the C-130s were built. So, Newt basically told the Pentagon, who really only wanted 5 more planes; –“Don’t be silly!! You want many many more than just five!!“. And so, to the tune of about $400 Million, the USAF ordered 256 C130s it did not want …. all because corporations also have neeeeeds.
Lockheed-Martin is still building newer-faster-better upgraded C130s today to the tune of several billion dollars — for use both domestically and overseas to our suckers, err allies. Domestically, the C130’s are usually sent to Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve bases to obscure and poor places like Harrisburg, PA. Their function is to fly around and look busy so that the local Congressman can show he deeply cares about his constituents by screaming — “Nooooo! National Security!!!” every time the Pentagon tries to shut down the base. From a beneficial military aspect, if the Russians ever try to take over Harrisburg, they’re in for one big helluva surprise! Don’t believe all this? You can read about it here and here.
Let’s do one more quickie … this is fun, right? “The Navy is not asking for a new helicopter carrier, but Trent Lott wants it to have one.” —- that’s the first sentence in this NYTimes article. And here is an excerpt from a CNN interview with Trent Lott (who served with distinction as a cheerleader at Ole Miss.).
PRESS: “Senator Lott, as you know, that $370 million is for the LHD-8 helicopter carrier the Navy says it doesn’t want. But you put it in there. It’s being built in your home state. This is just pure pork for Mississippi and nothing else, isn’t it?”
Summary: The Navy didn’t want the ship. Lott said, “You do so want it! Give me an estimate.” The Navy said “$295 million“. Trent said (actual quote) “wrong answer“, and that he was looking for something in the range of “$375 to $500 million“. So, the project got funded at $375 million. The ship ultimately cost $1.5 Billion. Great for the people at the shipyards in Pascgoula, MS … not so great for the rest of us.
Let’s go back to the USDA and talk about the Great Prune vs. Plum Debate. You will learn that on of the worse aspects of government is that government thinks all it’s citizens are idiots, and the bigger the government the more idiotic you become, which means government must become even bigger to handle all you idiots, which means … well, that avalanche never stops growing in speed and destruction.
Here you will learn that — “Prune trees were introduced to North America in 1856 by Louis Pellier”. Louis went to CA looking for gold but apparently wasn’t any good at it and so — as so many gold diggers are apt to do when their dreams are dashed — he decided to grow prunes. He is probably responsible for coming up with the California French Prune. It’s prized for “its smooth small pits”.
.
She said, “dried prunes have been known for decades by the common or usual name `prunes’. We are concerned that calling prunes by another name could be misleading to the consumer.” In effect, she is the Benevolent Goddess who is acting on behalf of her minions who have the IQ of, well … a California French prune. She also demanded the industry provide written explanations such as; (here)
“The effect on FDA regulations of renaming prunes.”
“International aspects of changing the name.”
“Results of consumer research including US and foreign studies.”
“Other labeling options and why they would be ineffective.”
“Why . . . the prune is marketed more successfully in Europe than in the United States.”
“A plan of action for educating consumers about the name change and information about plums and prunes.”
The name change from “prune” to “dried plum” was finally approved in 2001 … over two and a half years after the initial request.
It all sounds so hopeless. But, I know what you are thinking; — “All we have to do is drain the Swamp, and get the Right Kind of People elected!”
Let’s see if that’s true. Suppose YOU (yes, you, dear reader) are running for Senator. I would certainly vote for any person here on TBP, even the Village Idiot, with just one exception. (That would be the wackadoodle hyper-religious Fundy known as “Grace Country Pastor”. People like him would impose a Theocracy, reinstate witch burnings, start a nuclear war in order to bring on the Great Tribulation, and his State of the Union Address would take four days because he’d quote half of the Bible.)
Of course, I do realize that in all practicality you can never be elected. To get elected as Senator you would need a BUNCH of $$$$$, and pretty much the only way to get campaign money is to already be a member of Congress. Well, you could run if you had you own Stupid Rich Crazy Money — which means that here on TBP, only Llpoh could run. That won’t work either because speaking of running … he ran off to Australia. I apologize for the digressions.
Nevertheless, by some miracle you get elected as the new Senator from Pennsylvania, and your grand plan is to fight for the regular taxpayers. Except that once you get to The Swamp … you never again see any regular taxpayers. What you will see are lobbyists and other organized groups who are seeking Access to the Political Process. (Translation; “money”.) Here is the Basic Deal With The Devil: if you give them access, they will give you support. (Translation; “money”.)
You’ll be sitting in your new D.C. office when group — Brass Knob Polishers Union — from Intercourse, PA comes a knocking. They will tell you that they are last remaining Knob Polishers in America, and the entire town of Intercourse relies on polishing knobs to put food on the table. You will be shown mind-numbing spreadsheets and a slick Powerpoint presentation detailing how important knob polishing is to the nation and that district. You’ll hear terribly sad stories how this once thriving industry, and the cherished way of life it represents, is about to be totally swallowed up by the Chinese who employ woman slaves you polish knobs all day for a dollar and a half. They will somehow make it a National Security issue, and as far as they are concerned, it is the most important issue facing America today. They only want $25 million, which is less than a drop in the big fat federal bucket of moohlah, so you promise to “see what you can do”.
Five minutes after they leave your office you are meeting with the Association of Organic Racoon Breeders, who will back you up against a wall with 2×4’s, and you’ll soon be amazed what a huge industry raccoon breeding is in America, a much needed service since so many citizens randomly club these animals to death. Next comes the Federation of Manufacturers o Rubber Bands That Hold Lobster Claws Shut in Supermarket Tanks, and if you don’t help their beleaguered workers than you are no better than the cowards who stood by and did nothing when Hitler invaded Hungary.
And so it goes day after day after day. An endless stream of people who want you to do something for them … a “something” that never results in saving taxpayers any money. You look around and immediately realize you are not alone. Every other politician is also fighting for the neeeeds of their special interests. And so you say to your counterpart in CA — “Hey, I’ll vote for the Dried Plums For Every American Act if you help get me $25 Million for my district of knob polishers.” He gets a several million dollars worth of access from knob polishers, and dried plum growers from America and around the world now love you. You are meeting needs all over the place, in your district and out, and you’re feeling damn good about yourself as you master the art of the deal.
You almost immediately learn that part of that deal is that it is a bad idea to ever vote against spending money on anything. The taxpayers whose money you actually saved won’t know about it … but, the interest group you voted against will know about it, and will be all over you like stink on shit forevermore. Vote for cutting the size of the Dept of Agriculture by 100 employees, and farmers will hate you. Vote for reducing the budget of the Dept of Education by $1,000 and the teacher’s union will hate you. Dare to even suggest that retirees pay One Extra Dollar towards their prescription drugs and AARP will be at your door the next day beating you sensless with their handicapped placards.
And so it goes … this great game of access and support. Pretty soon you are like every other schmuck in Congress stuck doing basically only three things; handing out money, looking for money, preparing for your re-election (no doubt as a fiscal conservative). You started out as a good egg. But, you wound up as minced meat. The House always wins.
I know that this has been a pretty negative article against government. Perhaps you’d like to ask me; — “Surely, there must be SOMETHING good about government??” Yes, dear reader … yes there is!!!
It’s called Social Security — this is where the government sends YOU money!!!
How cool is that?? It is the best thing ever devised by humans. Yet, there are people who call this beautiful gift a SCAM, and they want to abolish it. These people are usually Millennials or self-loathing Boomers. Do not listen to them.
Question Of The Year: So, what can be done about this?
My gut feel is …. not a damned thing.
In the history of this country, please point out which year government actually became smaller. Instead, it gets bigger and bigger and consumes more and more resources of every kind (money, natural resources, and people). Any actual cuts are imaginary, just for show, and never permanent. Government debt grew by $1.2 trillion this year. Trump wants another branch of the military, the Space Force. Every government agency WILL get more money than the previous year. To significantly cut the larger budget items — especially the military — will result in millions of jobs lost, and perhaps a full blown Depression, or worse.
Actually, Americans want even more government! A stunning 62% of American agree with this (here) — ” “we need a strong government to handle today’s complex economic problems”. Only 35% want less government. And God help us when the Millennials come into power. A remarkable (in a bad way) 54% right this very moment prefer Socialism over Capitalism (here)
There is no peaceful solution. The entire structure of our government needs to be torn down, and re-imagined (can we please truly follow the Constitution this time??!!) from the ground up. I just don’t see any mechanism by which that an be accomplished peacefully. The current governance of America is just way too big, far too complex, amazingly corrupt, and with waaaay to many pigs at the trough (free shitters and other beneficiaries) for a peaceful way out of this mess. The only thing I hope for is that this Big Fat Bitch of a Pig (USGov) keeps on eating and growing, and eating and growing …. until it explodes from within, collapses, and lies helpless on the ground (so that Real Patriots have a chance to descend upon The Bitch Pig and stab it death ourselves.)
Of course, another American Revolution Part II would do the trick. But, 1) I’m a peace loving guy and 2) I don’t think there are enough Men With Brass Balls left in America to do the job (most American men are now little pansies who would rather spend time polishing their knobs.)
The End.
I just want to say that I was under a self-imposed time deadline to get this done … noon today. It is likely I won’t get to the library tomorrow, and I need to leave shortly today, and they close at 5 today.
Why am I saying this? Because I did NOT proof-read ANY of this article. It was type and go. So, there may be significant typos, and/or grammatical errors. Soooo, preemptively speaking, you grammar Nazi types can just Bite Me.
I’m only a Grammar Nazi when it comes to people who cannot grasp the difference between spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors.
Thanks for the prune tip.
Were the SecWar’s Canons a double entendre?
Kinda had those figured for the Supremes.
Well Stucky, there is a peaceful way to change the Federal government. The writers of the Constitution knew that it would need changes along the way and the the Federal government might not want to make those changes, especially if it reduced their power. Read Article V. It provides two methods to change the Constitution. The first is for Congress to propose Constitutional amendments and for 3/4 of state legislatures to ratify those amendments to become a part of the Constitution. That is the only method that has been used since the beginning. But, the writers also added the second method (thanks to a skeptical George Mason who wanted the states alone to have a method to propose and ratify amendments). That method is for 2/3 of state legislatures to call for a Convention of States. This forces Congress to call a time and a place for the Convention and to propose (suggest) a method to be used for ratification. After that Congress is a bystander. The President is a bystander. The Supreme Court is a bystander. State governors and their supreme courts are bystanders. The state legislatures then choose and send delegates (originally called Commissioners) to the Convention where they can propose amendments to be considered by the legislatures. Any proposed amendments must be ratified by 3/4 of the state legislatures. Article V does not put any limitations on their proposed amendments. They could make it a relatively short Convention by proposing one amendment that abolished the three branches of the Federal government, all departments and agencies and all laws created by the Federal government and returning the power of all governance to the states. They could propose an amendment to replace the Federal government with a king. Or, they could just create numerous amendments that would vastly reduce the power of the existing Federal government. After ratification by 3/4 of legislatures (38 states), any of these amendments would become the law of the land. The Constitution would continue to exist, but maybe not the Federal government.
The key to making this happen is for voters to demand that their state legislators use their vast power to correct a runaway Federal government by calling for that Convention of States.
It’s funny how republicans used to call for limited and smaller government. Now they want the same bloated sized government the democrats want. No difference between republicans and democrats at ALL. NONE!
Stucky,
Haven’t read the whole thing and I have to go back to work, a phenomenon unfamiliar to Democrats. However, in about the fourth paragraph, I think you meant 11.4 farmers per USDA employee, not 11.4 USDA employees per farmer. Just thought you might want to correct that.
Yup. That’s what I meant. Thanks.
Shit. I really should have taken another 15-20 minutes to proof read it. I’ll not make that mistake again.
That’s the only correction needed other than grammatical that I saw.
Stucky, we in KY are NOT obese, we are just big boned! Very funny article on a Saturday afternoon….Thanks!!!
Be back later, going out to get a bucket of fried chicken.
hahahaha! I put that fat-Kentuckian thingee in there just for you. Really.
That and the moon shines over the mountains in gallon jugs, doesn’t it still? I once saw the Stephen Foster Story during a visit to Louisville as a child. It had a profound impact on my views of Kentucky.
(mix in the confusion I may have felt when Three Dog Night made their own version at the same era of my life!)
http://www.myoldkentuckyhome.com/2003/mokhlyrics.htm
My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night (1853)
Words & music by Stephen Collins Foster (1826-1864)
1.
The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home,
‘Tis summer, the darkies are gay,
The corn top’s ripe and the meadows in the bloom,
While the birds make music all the day.
The young folks roll on the little cabin floor,
All merry, all happy and bright:
By’n by Hard Times comes a knocking at the door,
Then my old Kentucky Home, good night!
CHORUS
Weep no more, my lady,
Oh! weep no more to-day!
We will sing one song for the old Kentucky Home,
For the old Kentucky Home far away.
2.
They hunt no more for possum and the coon
On the meadow, the hill, and the shore,
They sing no more by the glimmer of the moon,
On the bench by the old cabin door.
The day goes by like a shadow o’re the heart,
With sorrow where all was delight:
The time has come when the darkies have to part,
Then my old Kentucky Home, good-night!
(CHORUS)
3.
The head must bow and the back will have to bend,
Wherever the darkey may go:
A few more days, and the trouble all will end
In the field where the sugar-canes grow.
A few more days for to tote the weary load,
No matter, ’twill never be light,
A few more days till we totter on the road,
Then my old Kentucky Home, good-night!
(CHORUS)
Three Dog Night Old Kentucky Home lyrics
Turpentine, dandelion wine
Turned the corner and I’m doin’ fine
Shootin’ at the birds on the telephone line
Pickin’ ’em off with this gun of mine
I got a fire in my belly, fire in my head
Gonna hi-di-hi ’til I’m dead
Sister Sue, short and stout
She didn’t grow up, she grew out
Mama thinks she’s pretty and she’s bein’ kind
Papa thinks she’s lovely and he’s half blind
Don’t let her out much except at night
I don’t care ’cause I’m all right
Oh, the sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home
And the young folks lay on the floor
Oh, the sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home
Keep them bad times away from my door
Brother Gene, he’s big and mean
He don’t have much to say
He had a little woman that he’d whoop each day
But now she’s gone away
Got drunk last night kickin’ mama down the stairs
And I’m all right and I don’t care
Oh, the sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home
And the young folks lay on the floor
Oh, the sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home
Keep them bad times away from my door
That was hilarious as usual, Stuck.
We have to get a divorce. It’s the only way. You are right that the younger crowd is a bunch of pussies. But we have always underestimated our young so maybe we will be surprised. I don’t believe for a minute that they are all mindless robots. That is what the establishment wants us to believe.
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20171003-proof-that-people-have-always-complained-about-young-adults
It doesn’t matter that you don’t want war, it’s what they want.
Free again… to have another Shay’s Rebellion.
Hey, wait a minute. You yourself have stated on more than one occasion that you are one of the preeminent knob polishers in these Us of Ass.
Campaign finance reform!!! That is the one biggest solution to the problem you have presented.
No self financing. Make illegal all donations. ANYONE who wants to run gets $X and X amount of media time. X number of debates and that’s it.
“…In the history of this country, please point out which year government actually became smaller…”
The only time that comes to mind was under the presidency of Calvin Coolidge (Silent Cal).
He kept government spending flat, but also managed to pay off one fourth of the existing national debt. He also fought against any and all farm subsidies, vetoing all the ones that had been passed.
His revenue acts reduced federal taxes so that by 1927 only the wealthiest 2% of taxpayers paid any federal taxes.
He showed that it can be done, but after a hundred years of politicians feeding at the public trough they are not likely to go back to being responsible and the non-productive and useless eaters among us are well established.
I agree that nothing short of a complete re-boot will work today…
PS: Nice article Stucky
Ahhh … Calvin Coolidge. I had no idea if the growth of American government ever decreased … and I ran out of time to look it up. Thanks for providing a valuable update. Too bad he couldn’t keep it going.
I have my own unsubstantiated theory; as a country grows in population, not only do needs increase, but the people themselves become collectively ever more stupid. Most high schoolers today can’t pass an 8th grade McGuffey’s Readers test from the 1800s!
These stupid people then elect ever dumber and ever more corrupt political representatives, and these politicians eventually become so goddamned stupid that their only response to every issue is — “More Money!!” …. and, thus, the Treasury is depleted, and the nation comes to ruin.
Look at Rome. In the early days when Rome was still a republic, its Senate was a highly revered institution that stood for wisdom, dignity, and virtue. They were far from perfect. But the men who served in the Senate during the early republic were heavily responsible for building the most advanced civilization the world had ever seen up to that point. Now add some time. Within a few hundred years, the Senate had become a corrupt joke, filled with venal criminals, weak sycophants, and mediocre minds, and these bastards contributed heavily to the fall of Rome.
I think America is like that. In a mere 240 years we’ve degenerated from a George Washington to a Diane Feinstein. Good Lawd, we’re fucked!
What passes for scholars generally rate Coolidge as a ‘failed’ president. Most likely not because of what he ‘did’ do, but rather because of what he ‘didn’t’ do that would have made him great in their view.
He didn’t start any wars.
He didn’t expand the size of the Federal government.
He didn’t pass new regulations that interfere with people’s lives and livelihoods.
He didn’t have a corrupt administration. (and scholars do so loooove the Clintons).
To American intelligentsia and scholars (the ones that Stalin called “useful idiots”) he was a poor to bad president.
We need more bad presidents like Coolidge…
He was the only really good yankee.
And that’s why the academics are killed after the revolution – they’re useful idiots who outlive their usefulness.
What does that tell us about “scholars”?
All members of the collectivist Death Cult?
Don’t forget that decreasing the amount of silver and/or gold had a lot to do with Rome’s fall, as does the Federal Reserve in the U.S. today. Inflation is a killer of countries.
He can be admired also for giving the shortest speech on record when he got to the podium and said, “Goodbye.”
Actually, after World War II, taxes were cut about 1/2 and we experienced growth, but it was put forward that the war economy contributed to the end of the Great Depression, rather than the tax cuts.
That was just concise enough to make the case for enveloping all the departments and agencies into just one Department of Puddin’ and Pie.
A fresh take on an old story.
This vintage version from sometime around 50 years ago when I was in Jr. High School.
Love Steppenwolf. Thanks for that.
Stucky, I am entertained.
I have been known to grow a few prunes but just for myself without uncle’s troops. No one wants to wash their fruits and vegetables or buy an imperfect example of one in this country so i have no hopes of selling anything until the event you speak of occurs.
If you want to see something interesting go to Google Earth and enter into the search box (Patton Village, CA) .
Then look about 4 miles north of that point. What’s there?
A1M1 Abrams tanks (a couple thousand?)
Armored Personal Carriers (a couple thousand?)
MRAP Vehicles
Artillery
And MUCH more, many THOUSANDS of pieces of Military Equipment.
What’s it doing there?
Dude. Learn how to use the internet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amedee_Army_Airfield
They store their army shit there because it is dry and nothing rusts.
If I didn’t know any better I would think this was written by a K Street insider who gets off the metro at Farragut West, knowing that this is all going to blow one day.
Even Ron Paul wasn’t shy about diverting pork to the Houston area. He freely admitted that as long as the milk is flowing, build an aqueduct from D.C. to Houston. Why should another district get money sent by Texans?
I consider it to be the biggest game of Hungry Hippo ever conceived. With hippos the size of C-130’s that consume marbles of cash as big as pallets.
You know the game is almost over when D.C. looks like an imperial city rather than the provincial backwater it was meant to be. Until the 1950’s several governments considered D.C. to be a hardship post. Every seedy bar from even 10 or 15 years ago has been replaced with a white tablecloth joint. Yet, for all the marble cladding being thrown on nondescript six story buildings, the place still has a feeling of being touched by evil. You begin to perfectly understand why The Exorcist was filmed there.
I just went by the stairwell that was used in that movie the other day.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dc+stairwell+used+in+the+movie+exorcist&t=samsung&ia=about&iax=about
They tore the gas station down and I’d bet are putting up million condos.
Nice Work. What would happen if all of a sudden all the fat was trimmed from government, all the people in West Philly decided to look for work, no more lazy people anywhere. Bring all the military boys home. Everybody wanted to work! Now what? We are so far down the rat hole there is no way out.
Cost overruns have become so common as to be a joke among lawmakers and contractors alike.
It’s not just the F-35 Turkey, or the LHD-8 helicopter carrier either. They get the most attention, but all corporations and contractors bid a low price to get the contract and then just bill Congress (as in Joe and Jane taxpayer) for any and all cost overruns.
Maybe we‘re just using the wrong constitution.
From The Constitution of the Confederate States of America
Section 9 – Limits on Congress, Bill of Rights
10. All bills appropriating money shall specify in Federal currency the exact amount of each appropriation and the purposes for which it is made; and Congress shall grant no extra compensation to any public contractor, officer, agent, or servant, after such contract shall have been made or such service rendered.
The US Constitution under the same section leaves it open.
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
Guy Fawkes likely had the right idea.
I would love to go into detail about my experiences with the USDA but I’ve got sausages to stuff, so I leave you with this- they have very, very little to do with farmers or farming. It is the government agency that interfaces with the Industrial Agriculture Complex, but that’s a very different animal, no pun intended.
I have dealt with maybe a half dozen or so USDA reps and with one exception- a holdover from the Carter years- not one had any practical experience or first hand knowledge of farming. They were all paper pushers with multiple degrees and severe Peter Principle syndrome and their interests were predominantly focused on moving up and on to D.C. or getting out and doing something else. The structure of the State level departments made it impossible to pass information from one agent to the next- they rotated in and out during our brief involvement about once every six months- so that we had to repeat everything we’d previously done from scratch. We simply walked away from further involvement because whatever it was they could have done to help us, nothing was ever productive. And while I have always heard of subsidies and grants, at the level of beginning farmer or rancher there were never any funds left over as they always used formulas that promoted the industrial producers. Get big or get out is still their mantra. Small farmers are a nuisance to them, ConAgra/Monsanto type operations were their target client.
Governments and their workforce exist for their own benefit, not the taxpayer, not the supposed beneficiaries of their programs. Everything they do is predicated upon their budgets and a justification for their existence. There may be exceptions to this rule buried somewhere in these departments, but I’m sure that they are weeding them out.
And to be clear about the Earl Butz school of cheap food- that era is coming to a close for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which being the total degradation of soils due to USDA standardized practices focused on monocultures and industrialized production systems. You want to know how well the USDA has benefited the nutritional well being of the average American, all you need are two function eyes and half as many brain cells.
Great article, you always provide grist for deeper cognition. Very Socratic of you.
That comment alone is worth posting.
Great article, HSF.
Based on that comment, everybody better start a garden.
The Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky, Northern Tennessee and Northern Arkansas and Southeastern Missouri region is an alluvial plain which was once the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, with shark teeth and whale bones regional finds near the foothills of the Ozarks just a couple miles from my childhood home. The land was drained as part of a Federal Work project (Little River Drainage Project) that probably was in operation in some form or another for decades after the drainage was actually done. We all understand that a federal agency, once formed for any purpose, has a hard time letting go. The agency becomes a living breathing entity that wants to survive its original purpose.
The Little River Drainage District… now I’ve got to go see. Yep… still here in some form.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a federal project to drain the alluvial plain of standing water was undertaken and farmers like my own grandfather purchased tracts of the land from various land barons/trading companies for as little as a dollar an acre. My grandfather and his brother purchased a total of 160 acres: four tracts.
The idea of it being “drained” was a joke to many, but the effort was ongoing and since the entire region depends on the Diversion Channel to stop the floodwaters from covering the area again! (Many times as a child, the Diversion Channel would be threatened and farmers would take their equipment to reinforce the levies.) If the Diversion Channel ever goes, the entire region will be underwater, so it is said.
https://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/watersheds/150HeadwaterDiversionChannelAllPages.pdf
The groundwater situation in the region is probably dire, with the aquifer beneath the region sometimes signalling it is far lower than anticipated, but the rains do seem to come to replenish the water table from year to year. Perhaps the rains come after cloud seeding; perhaps they come naturally, a result of the giant storm systems we see crisscrossing the nation on a regular basis now. The rains are often torrential downpours, almost tropical.
The soils are probably an ecological nightmare. Think about it. Since I was a small kid, the big farmers around the region used any and all chemicals they could get their hands on that might kill a few pests or stop some kind of pesky weed. My own father did not, but that was as much a matter of economy as it was philosophy. He did not like adding chemicals other than certain mineral addititives (calcium/lime/etc) but he did use some types of bug sprays on some of his crops. So, he wasn’t a “purist.”
However, most of the farms in the region are now owned and operated by corporate farmers, some of them family owned corporations. There have been decades of industrialized farming which have probably turned the soils in the region into giant fielsd of potting soil, replenished with nutrients via chemical additives after each year’s harvest. There are many farmers who will declare any and all of the GMO and chemical-assisted farming to be nothing but good because it feeds a lot more people than before! Harvests are triple, even quadruple what they once were, so that can only be good, right?
Of course, when the bountiful harvest is really just quadruple the amount of high-fructose-producing corn, it really does not provide a lot of nutrients at all, does it? Just a bunch of corn-fed porkers headed for slaughter.
It is amusing that you suppose the constitution is might be followed, next time. The constitution made America what it is today. It was a coup against the revolution to begin with and it was never followed.
And yet they claim the American revolution is the only one that succeeded because it did not result in further bloodshed.
i agree, Mike. I say bring back the U.S. Confederation.
You are quite lovely. You think that social security is great, but what you seem to fail to realize is that the dept of agriculture is simply a better version. What the people at the DOA, DOE, other alphabet agencies, banks and government dependent manufacturers have figured out that you haven’t is that it is much better to get the government to start sending you money while you’re still young enough to enjoy it. Why wait until you’re over the hill?
I loved all the jokes. You can get your point across much easier that way. Excellent article!
Now I would like to point out that Mexico is on track to attempt this very thing, eliminate the political graft and excessive taxation. They have politicians stuffing satchels full of their agencies’ money so that little is left over to actually provide any government services to their taxpaying clients. If all goes according to plan, we shall soon see Mexico declaimed as a ‘communist’ state and serious talks about invasion will be bandied about due to some feigned threat to Brownsville, TX.
That’s not going to happen. AMLO (Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador), the recently Mexico’s elected president is a dirty and corrupt socialist/communist appearing to be a frugal and honest politician. When he was governor of Mexico City (the country’s capital), it handed out free money to elderly people ( I think it was from 60 years old).
He covered his own corrupt bureaucrats (filmed taking bribes in U.S. dollars, cash of course, and then published in mainstream media).
As all politicians, he just said what most lazy ass Mexicans wanted to hear: “Free money, and all your responsibilities covered by the government”.
Fuck’em all.
“AMLO (Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador), the recently Mexico’s elected president is a dirty and corrupt socialist/communist appearing to be a frugal and honest politician.”
Wow, that didn’t take long. I guess you can say Mary Agnes’s comment was prescient.
It seems to me that you are projecting like a true fuck. Corrupt politicos appearing to be frugal and honest, handing out free money to people over 60, saying what most lazy-ass Americans want to hear; all their responsibilities covered by government?
Haven’t we heard of a couple of cities planning to hand out free money to random free-shit families in Oakland and Chicago?
How did the govt get so big? By promising shit for votes. Dems promise free shit to just about anyone. Repubs promise free shit to business, farmers, etc. Govt drones are hired to provide the free shit and shuffle the papers. And free shit never gets reduced or eliminated – it just grows.
Thanks, Stuck.
Bureaucracy begets more bureaucracy…
The “Iron Cage” we as a species cannot escape.
I always find your articles interesting, thank you for that.
As a side note, most 20th and 21st century government agency’s and all this pork spending would never been unavailable without the FED. 1913 the beginning of the end.
Stucky said,
Cue the “your momma is so fat” jokes…
Our “Big Fat Bitch of a PIG is soo fat…i had to roll over 3 times to get off it after being fucked last time by it and I was STILL on top of her.
Maybe someone or some “thing” needs to kick it in the stomach a la that gluttony scene from the movie “Seven”
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S4VWKK922zY
I’ll play.
Our big fat bitch of a pig is so fat…you have to roll it in flour to find the wet spot.
Our big fat bitch of a pig is so fat…that when it jumps up in the air, it gets stuck.
The big fat bitch is so fat it sent me a box of silver wound dressing costing $389 for ten AND send me a refill order for a dozen more boxes. That’s almost $5000 worth of silver wound dressings! But, wait…I am getting it sutured and closed in less than two weeks! I can’t possibly use the first box much less the refills?
The inflated costs on anything the federal government purchases explains a lot. I bought a box of wound dressings at the local pharmacy for around $7 for a box of ten. Does a tiny bit of colloidal silver really increase the efficacy and value to $389 or is it the fact the Veterans Administration is on the hook for buying them?
Don’t worry, WIP. I probably could order the refills and sell them on Ebay, but I won’t. But, it does explain a bit.
All the good knob polishers work for the love of the job, not the money.
Cut the flow of moolah and the job gets done better.
Stucky
Great article, very funny. You’re on a roll, two in a row on the website. I’ll post it tonight.
But don’t be mad, Stuck, if Robert forgets. It happens. Well, maybe not to you. ?
Uncola
I did get your last article up yesterday, two days late. I screwed up, my deepest and most humble apologies. And I did get Stucky’s article up last night.
Absolutely never any need to apologize. I was just chiding you. Do know, however, that I peruse your site because I find your daily selection of articles intriguing – as well as your comments which often precede them; especially mine
Hate to admit it, that was well done.
Late to the party, but in reading the article and commentary referencing polished knobs, stuffed sausages, brass balls, fried chicken, Vaseline, and John Q getting porked by Uncle Sam, I felt a little dirty. But also little hungry and, therefore, quite disturbed overall. Well played, Stuck. Well played.
This was my favorite:
Stuck!!! Brilliant!!! The “Gifted Amateur” does it again. Thanks.
What a great article, Stucky.
I’m not far from Columbia SC and they have a huge Agriculture center. I have no idea how many ” work ” there but it’s big. I hope I have made the big ” transfer ” to the next life before this shit show hits the brick wall. Been thinking more about dying lately.I guess that’s good in a way. As long as my mom and cat are ok I’ll be at peace.
Stucky , mabe dying and death could be the topic of your next post.
Great article Stuck. We have a system of cartels and fiefdoms like hogs at a trough. Taxpayers get what comes out the other end.
well, my son. you have nailed it. posted you on twatter. keep it up. stay angry.
Having worked for small and large cities, a County and the DOE, I can assure you the pattern always follows bacteria in a petri dish, all making a living polishing knobs, one way or another, until the supply of knobs run out.
Not likely. The Federal Government today is of, by and for the knobs.
Government will only collapse when people stop wanting their knobs polished. Including the knobs employed by the government, who only employ other knobs. All government is about knob-polishing on one level or another.
Small City (Issaquah): One Department Director polishes all knobs.
Large City (Seattle): Six Departments of four Divisions that each have a Section devoted to polishing Department and Division knobs.
Large County King): 14 Districts with six Departments that…
Federal Government (Department of Energy): Secretary Perry empties his hat full of hammers to make room for everybody’s knob.
Got knob?
C’mon! The only way to stop a blob is to freeze a blob. Even Steve McQueen knew that long before he escaped the German POW camp.
Much fun had by all.
Don’t worry, Stucky. The fantastic miracle at the tootsie roll center of the tootsie pop that is the FedGov is nothing can grow forever. What goes up must go down. Eventually, the system will no longer be able to expand and it will contract. Rome took a while to contract, but it went away. When the FedGov goes, I suspect it will be the experience of a lifetime for most, the experience of a millennium for the world, and we will be forever remembered as,
“America? That place was fuuucked up!”
I just gave it a quick read-through and have an additional couple of thoughts and questions.
When reading through the plum/prune dilemma you presented, I could not stop worrying about the fig. Does the fig have the same image problem in the middle east as the plum?
Isn’t it always about the money?
Our elected officials in DC have an image problem now, don’t they? More and more people have come to view them as what they are: politicians.
I think that if we managed to get rid of all of the politicians and send only honest people to DC, the image problem would correct itself, would it not?
The Military Industrial Complex sets these psychopathic morans up with nice young (too young) girls or boys and films it. Cosquentiallly, both the red and blue team pass the bloated military budgets.
The budget under rising interest rates will force the shrinking of the federal government whether we like it or not. President Trump, however, seems to be finally making progress on ending the Wars for Jooz started by the Cheney Administration. Assad is back in control of Syria, ISIS is history, John McCain is dead, Hillary Clinton is on a B-rate sitcom, the U.S. is working on peace with North Korea, Trump met with Putin. Things are looking good for America First and bad for the (((neocons))).
I had either no access or was just unavailable for the past three days. I am tickled pink that this hit 70 comments especially because it was a three day Dago/Wop weekend.
Thanks all for the compliments. It gives me strength to keep on keeping on.
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Thank You, RGore.
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“all this pork spending would never been unavailable without the FED. 1913 the beginning of the end.” —–Copperhead
1913 is arguably one of the worst years in American History. I’m thinking of doing a 2nd “government” article titled something like —- “Dear Millennials: ALL government is inherently evil, including ours.” It would be a basic “primer” type deal …. since Millies want even more (unbelievably) government intrusion …. and maybe a little tutorial could help extricate their heads out of their asses.
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“Stucky , maybe dying and death could be the topic of your next post.” —– BL
I’ll do one on MY death. I watched my dad die over the course of about six weeks. And now I’m watching my mother die …. that open wound we went to the Wound Center for over about 14 months has reopened, it’s getting infected, and my mother REFUSES to go to the hospital. I saw it briefly this weekend when she changed her bandage and I literally almost puked in my mouth. I hate to say this, but until she actually dies (God rest her soul), I don’t think I’ll ever have another happy day in my life. Really.
Stucky- I only posted once to this thread which was about being big boned and going out for a bucket of chicken, I think you have cornfused me with another poster.
That said, keep em’ coming Stucky, no matter the subject on which you may write. 🙂
Edit: Sorry about the health issue with Mamma Stucky, without the enzymes to heal that, topical treatment will be of little use.
Oops! So solly. It was “bb” who requested I write about death.
Maybe you should get the silver bandages from Maggie. Since your mom refuses any other care.
What “silver bandages”?? Do they really work? Links to product? TIA