I realize this might mean I’m not a very nice person, but I take joy in the sadness of others.
But in my defense, this only happens when the sad people happen to be those who want to steal my money using the coercive power of government. Or when bad things happen to the political class.
So you can imagine how happy I am that sleazy lobbyists for the agribusiness crowd are distraught about the rejection of the pork-filled farm bill in the House of Representatives.
Here are some of the details from The Hill, but have your crying towel ready.
K street agriculture lobbyists were stunned Thursday by the House defeat of a $940 billion farm bill and were scrambling to figure out their next move. The bill was widely expected to win approval… “We were shocked. We were watching the vote on TV and in the final minutes were saying ‘what are they doing? This thing isn’t going to pass!’ ” said one commodity group lobbyist. “I’m shocked,” said another lobbyist. “Our job as agriculture is to go to the House and say Mr. Speaker what is your plan for getting this done?” The intense blame game that broke out immediately after the bill was rejected in a 195-234 vote will only make it harder to get a bill over the hump, supporters of the measure said.
Gee, I can barely type with my vision clouded by tears.
In my fantasy world, of course, we abolish the Ag Department, which would enable me to be even happier about the sadness of others.
P.S. I have another reason to be happy. With only a few more days before I reach the advanced age of 55, I managed to hit a ball out of the park at a softball tournament in Salem, Virginia. Courtesy of Google Maps, here’s a reenactment of the glorious event.
I did hit one out at a tournament in Virginia Beach last year, but my happiness was undermined when Georgia lost later in the day to South Carolina. Hopefully nothing bad will happen today to offset the illusion that I’m still a young buck.
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You’re not old! The definition of old is someone who’s more than 15 years older than you 🙂
The worst part of this uninterrupted stream of Farm Bills is that they have prevented the farm market from reconfiguring itself to meet modern times. The rise of the corporate farms probably means that the market should consist of large agribusiness at the top and part time farmers at the bottom – no family farms. Heck, people should probably also be growing their own Victory Gardens too. Nobody goes hungry and because people can grow their own if prices go too high, no monopoly power can take over. But these farm bills have continually stymied market reconfiguration.
At 55 you are a “Young buck” but to the stuff…well Ron Paul wants to do away with maybe 5 or so departments including that sucking sound the Ed. I think we will have our chance when his son, who is only a shadow of his brave Dad, runs and wins the next election. He`s the only one we can trust.
Great article Dan. Love your dry sense of humor and the fact that I finally found someone to commiserate with regarding crying towels and the fact that the AG bill did not pass! 55 is the new 29! Have a great birthday.
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The problem is simple. What if, at some point in our country’s history, we arrived at a point where we had just enough laws to live by? And what if we still employed 500 plus people who thought that their job was to enact new laws? I see a collission of interests at that point. And I believe it has already happened someitme in our distant past. This was the one mistake our founders did not anticipate. How do you simply tell everybody to go home when things are going just fine? Add lobbyists to the mix, and it’s a potent brew just looking to screw things up. I think Rick Perry- despite his inability to keep from tripping over his own tongue- had it right in his desire for a part-time government, and a post card tax return.
Dan:
You should be used to hitting the ball out of the park, with all your wonderful videos and interviews!