"When Governments Do Something Right"
by Radio Far Side
"What shall we discuss today? The world’s become so completely unhinged I’m having a hard time deciding which issues to play with. I suppose the most exciting news is the US federal government shut-down. Nothing says peace and prosperity more than an unfunded government. I guess that Big Beautiful Bill that added a trillion or two to the debt pile just wasn’t enough to satisfy that great salivating maw we lovingly call the “authorities”. Trump had this opportunity in his first term to rid the nation of 800,000 “non-essential” government employees. Will he be smarter this time? Not holding my breath.
For those outside the US, or who slept through civics class, it’s times like these that the US government runs out of lucre to operate non-essential functions, because the children in Washington D.C. haven’t yet agreed on the new budget, which normally takes effect on 1 October. What happens is one arm of the Uniparty or other gets their panties in a bunch over useless and wasteful spending (not their pet projects), or wants to make the president look bad because Congress can’t make a decision. In this case, it’s a little of both. So here’s what keeps going:
• Military & national security: Active-duty military, border patrol, air traffic control, intelligence agencies.
• Law enforcement: FBI, DEA, federal prisons, Secret Service, TSA.
• Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid: Benefits still go out (trust funds aren’t subject to annual appropriations).
• Postal Service: Funded separately through postage revenue.
• Air travel: Flights keep moving; controllers and TSA officers still work.
• Federal Reserve & Treasury debt payments: These are outside the normal appropriations process.
Basically, everything the government shouldn’t be doing keeps going, especially those in the banksters’ or Congress’ interests (see debt payments and payroll). Everything else has the plug pulled and workers furloughed for the duration of the shut down.
This is one of those rare moments in a nation’s history when freedom truly does ring. It never lasts for long; the bastids certainly don’t want folks getting used to real freedom. The fact that there are “non-essential” government functions is itself a cause to taxpayer revolt. I recall one of the most salient lines from the Declaration of Independence, “He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.”
Unfortunately, the blue goonies at the airport boarding areas are considered essential, though to whom we are not informed. I wonder how long a shut down would have to last to start cutting into “essentials”? Whatever that time is, lobby your Congresscritter to keep it going at least that long.
At this moment of fleeting triumph, we should bow our heads and remember the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and especially Big Balls, who was viciously attacked by a gang of bureaucrats angry that he was actually being effective in his position. There was a time, lo these brief few months ago, when it looked like Trump was serious about his campaign vows, back before the new slogan “War is Peace” took hold in those lofty marbled halls in New Rome.
Savor moments like this, folks. Gather your children and grandchildren around you and impress on them the joy of unfunded government. Take them outside to breathe the air free of EPA, and Departments of Education, of FCC and FDA. Embed in them the desire to prolong that feeling as long as possible, whenever the opportunity arises. Remind them that once upon a time, humans took care of themselves, without the need for legions of agents climbing all up in their bidness.
I’m tempted to go down to the embassy and see if it’s still functioning. Don’t know that it’s worth braving Jakarta traffic, though. It’s the only embassy in the city that looks like a prison, with a bomb-proof entry and concrete walls 12-feet high topped with concertina wire, and an office building with curious steel shades over all the windows on all 12 floors. By comparison, the Russian embassy is surrounded with a hedge and a wrought-iron fence. And they invite me to parties, unlike my own dour gang.
So, while we enjoy this brief moment of peace and prosperity, it behooves us to mark the occasion with something special. I’m whipping up a batch of Wolf-style Texas chili, with a hint of chipotle and adobo, and just a sprinkle of cocoa powder (secret ingredient), because it’s been 17 years since I’ve had such a delicacy, and well…that’s too long. I figure I’ll have more than enough to get into some old-time chili dogs while I’m at it, piled with finely diced onions and aged cheddar.
I consider shutting down the non-essentials is a fine beginning, but we need to dig into a lot of the “essentials,” as well. I once thought Trump was on the side of sanity and liberty, but clearly I was wrong. So, I’ll take the little break that’s offered and remember better days."
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