Jokes About Treason

Senator Jeff "He Broke Me" Flake is bowing out after one term on the Hill and is basically an empty suit with no legislative power so it's only natural that Chuck Todd would invite him on Meet The Press to find out what he thinks about things (note to NBC News: I'm available and happy to come on the air any Sunday because what I think and what Jeff Flake thinks hold equal weight). Here's what the Zonie Flake thinks:

Flake said, “I think the president stops — needs to stop calling Democrats or Republicans or others who don’t stand or applaud at every line that he has, that they are un-American. He also used that term, or treasonous. Words matter, and when he talks about fake news, for example, I gave another speech where I talked about how that gives aid and comfort to authoritarians around the world who are labeling their position or dismissing real dissent as fake news.”
He added, “So those things matter. I don’t think it’s a joking matter to say that somebody is treasonous and he ought to stop it.”

Well, I DO think it's a joking matter to accuse somebody of treason. I think it's very funny and I honestly don't think that anyone in this country would take it seriously even if the object of the joke was, in fact, treasonous. How would you even know anymore? I couldn't tell you and neither could Jeff Flake. A couple weeks ago you might remember the "Schumer Shutdown" when the Government was shut down over the DACA "Dreamers" (or some shit) for the weekend and then reopened Monday morning. Yeah, Jeff Flake voted with the Dems on that one and so did Mitch McConnell but for some reason no one termed the Big Gov. Shutdown the "Flake Freakout" or the "McConnell Meltdown" but I suppose there is some kind of reason for that. Last week the Senate voted on H.R. 1892 (Honoring Hometown Heroes Act ) which is A bill to amend title 4, United States Code, to provide for the flying of the flag at half-staff in the event of the death of a first responder in the line of duty and it might surprise Chuck Todd to learn that Jeff Flake voted Nay along with 26 other patriots, er, traitors, um, whatever. I wonder, what kind of person could vote against legislation that "authorizes the governor of a state, territory, or possession of the United States or the Mayor of the District of Columbia to proclaim that the U.S. flag shall be flown at half-staff in the event of the death of a first responder (public safety officer) working in such jurisdiction who dies while serving in the line of duty?" Then I read H.R.1892 and the sausage is a bloody mess filled with "FURTHER EXTENSIONS" that have nothing to do with dead first responders and everything to do with the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 which means money. Want to see how it's done on Capital Hill - check out on of the EXTENSIONS titled:

DIVISION D--MISCELLANEUOUS
This division amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to extend the Department of Agriculture Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) through FY2019. (EQIP provides financial and technical assistance for agricultural producers and land owners to implement certain conservation practices.)

And there are more EXTENSIONS after that - E = Taxes and F = Healthcare and that brings us to G.

DIVISION G--BUDGETARY EFFECTS
This division exempts the budgetary effects of division D and each succeeding division of this bill from Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rules and certain budget scorekeeping guidelines.

Where was I? Oh yes, treason, and while I wouldn't call H.R.1892, which is now known as the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, treasonous I wouldn't call it "good government" either. DIVISION C which accounts for all the Defense spending in the bill needs to be PAYGO, but all the other stuff, MISCELLANEOUS and otherwise, gets an "exemption" from fiscal restraint written into the bill. Just take a look at the 27 related bills that this monstrosity ties together and funds for the next two years.

It all makes me nostalgic for the Clinton years when patriots reformed government - "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow". If you want a hearty laugh you might want to take a minute to read a National Partnership for Reinventing Government - A Brief History  which recounts Al Gore’s efforts to solve the continuing crisis. The discerning mind will be incapable of reading this tripe without wiping away tears of laughter - honestly, The Onion couldn’t create anything funnier.

In general, we focused on how the government works, not on what it should be doing. We chose to target the overhead costs, not the organizational structure, of agencies. The Vice President asked that, to the extent possible, recommendations should be administrative changes, not proposals requiring statutory changes and that recommendations for "further studies" were not acceptable. Working against a six-month deadline ensured the work was crisp and not over-analyzed. Upon completion, we assigned a "champion" in the agencies to follow through on the implementation of each recommendation and in the early years we asked for a status report on progress every six months.

To help win buy in from the Federal Government agencies and, I suppose, make their respective “champions” look good, Al Gore created the Hammer Award.

What is the Hammer Award, you ask? Perhaps it's a tribute to Gore family patron Armand Hammer who knew something about reinventing government, but it was also much more:

The Hammer Award is presented to teams of federal employees who have made significant contributions in support of reinventing government principles.
The Award is the Vice President's answer to yesterday's government and its $400 hammer. Fittingly, the award consists of a $6.00 hammer, a ribbon, and a note from Vice President Gore, all in an aluminum frame. More than 1,200 Hammer Awards have been presented to teams comprised of federal employees, state and local employees, and citizens who are working to build a better government.

Note: The $6.00 hammer + $94.00 ribbon + $300.00 aluminum frame = $400.00

All the hard work that VP Gore did with his hammer two decades ago didn't make even a dent in the teflon Government. It only got worse and that's no joke.