The Sequester: The Sky Has Fallen!

They actually went ahead and let it happen.  GOOD.

I was sure both sides would come swooping in at 11:59 last night and announce breathlessly that a deal had been reached; our heroes had saved the day.  [swoon]  Maybe both sides have finally figured out that the public is getting bored with these phony “crises” being created and then magically resolved at the last minute.

Everyone was warned that these automatic budget cuts would happen if a deal couldn’t be reached.  As Paul Krugman said, these cuts were “designed to be stupid.  The whole point was, this was supposed to be a doomsday device that would force the parties to reach an agreement. Of course, they didn’t, and here it goes.”

It’s been amusing to watch conservatives pleading and groveling to spare the Pentagon from any budget cuts.  Since these defense cuts have made us so helpless and vulnerable, there’ll probably be a terrorist attack any minute now.

Making these budget cuts across the board is the only way to do it.  Any dimwit could balance the budget overnight by just deleting those programs he/she doesn’t like.

The first sequester casualty:  the Blue Angels might be getting their wings clipped.  I saw them perform in downtown San Francisco a long time ago.  Thrilling to watch, but a little nerve-wracking seeing them dart between and among the skyscrapers.  Occasionally the San Francisco Chronicle would print a letter pointing out the danger of having jets swooping so close to skyscrapers.  And there were always a few responses to the effect of “You F#%$&! pansy!”  “You hate Freedom!”

And a Chronicle columnist once wrote that the Blue Angels were so loud, they almost drowned out the rap music coming from somebody’s car stereo.