Politicians

Poor kids to go without lunches and vaccinations, meat sold without being inspected, firemen and cops laid off, illegal aliens released from prison, 17,200 teachers fired, airports closed, long lines at airports, and 700,000 workers laid off. Egypt in ferment? Syria at war? Austerity-ridden Greece? Nope. The United States of America as described by President Obama now that the sequester, an across-the-board cut in some domestic and military spending, is in effect.

Dysfunctional, the much used adjective to describe our political class, generally taken to mean deviating from norms of behavior, is a poorly chosen adjective. The president and the Congress have shown no sign of deviating at all from some norm—this is their norm. Economists have taken to using the phrase “the new normal” to describe the condition of our economy—slow growth, zero interest rates, high unemployment. The phrase might better be applied to our politicians. Or, since dysfunctional doesn’t accurately describe what is going on in Washington, “ludicrous” or “ridiculous” might do.

A male Greek politico attacked two female politicians on national television: