Bullsh*t Sandwiches and Emperor Palpatine

Senator Mitch McConnell, today, said that there is no possibility of solving the nation’s spending and debt problem, “as long as this president is in the Oval Office.” At the same time he proposed to give the president emergency powers to deal with the matter which would, as David Weigel noted today on Twitter, effectively render President Obama the real life Emperor Palpatine. This news came on the same day that the president awarded the Medal of Honor to Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry (the Boston Globe) for his gallantry and commitment to our nation and his brothers, with no concern for his own well-being.

It is particularly striking to me that these two news stories appear to be dominating today's completely arbitrary 24 hour news cycle. As a person who has previously had the honor of serving in our nation's armed forces, I find it incredibly disgusting that we, as a nation, are even debating not raising the debt ceiling, thereby not paying heroes like SFC Petry (Departemnt of the Treasury).

While I find this whole debate (and the fact that we're having it at all) to be a frightening clusterf**k, perhaps the most frightening aspect of the debate is the lack of any substantive information present in said debate whatsoever. When I speak to Joe/Jane Schmo Random American, and he/she doesn't understand what the debt ceiling is, or why it must be raised (or as Desmond points out, eliminated entirely), I'm hardly surprised as the level of our national discourse, even amongst candidates for President of the United States of America (CNN), is not only completely uncivilized, but utterly devoid of the maturity level that the 40-80 year old "adults" that are running this country should be giving it. Therefore, if we can't be civilized about it, why not avoid feeding Americans bulls**t sandwiches, and eliminate the problem entirely? So, I would like to reference Ezra Klein (Washington Post) and, I can't believe I'm saying this, but agree with Mitch McConnell's plan. It may make the Democrats look bad initially, but that's their own fault for allowing the "news" to be polluted with B.S. sandwiches masquerading as though they're made from Kobe beef.