Bill Engval, one of the Blue Collar Comedy team, uses my title when presented with a statement or situation so clearly ridiculous as to defy common sense. For example, I might use it when confronted by the cadre of folks who feel that police lying in wait and springing a speed trap is unfair, despite the fact that they're breaking the law. After all, police should not be able to use stealth to catch people breaking the law - they should have to sit on the side of the road with their light bars bursting in air, so those who are breaking the law can quit before they are caught. I mean, heck, in Alabama they have those big signs with big orange letters that say: CAUTION - TROOPERS AHEAD.
Here's your sign.
I don't have TV where I'm living now. I mean, I have a television - I just don't have any service. As a result, the constant barrage of reminders that President Obama will speak on the economy tonight, likely laying out his plan for economic stimulus through an insfrastructure rebuilding program, is not really getting me excited. Don't get me wrong; I'd like to watch it, and probably would, if I had TV service. And it's not like I'm going to stroll into the nearest sports bar and ask them to change the channel from the Braves' game to the President's speech before a joint session of congress.
Here's your sign.
Which brings me to the impetus behind today's blog: in this article on MSN, writer Allison Linn puts forth that the occurance of joint sessions of Congress are rare. Her exact phraseology is: President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak to a rare joint session of Congress Thursday...
My takeaway from her usage is not that it's rare for the President to speak to a joint session of Congress (which it is), but rather that joint sessions of Congress themselves are rare.
You would think (I do, anyway) that in the midst of the worst econmic crisis since the late 1920's, our Congressional leadership might think it worthwhile to meet more often in an effort to evaluate the problems, and define and implement solutions. After all, isn't that why they were elected in the first place?
Here's your sign.
Perhaps our problem lies not so much with our Presidential leadership, but rather in the workaday habits of the House and Senate, where politics rules the day instead of good old-fashioned problem solving.
For those of you with TV service, enjoy the show. I'll read about it tomorrow morning...not that I expect such a rare event to foster any forward momentum.
Here's your...nevermind.
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