There Auto be a Law

“This weekend ONLY! Fantastic Deals! All Applications will be Accepted” All Inventory MUST be sold!”

Few things actually frighten me anymore. I’ve dealt with the death of loved ones.. with collection agencies.. getting pulled over by local law enforcement when I knew I’d been going just a bit over the limit…even got fired a few times. Then there was that little stretch where didn’t file taxes... for ten years (which I’m sure will make another fascinating record for this journal).. that was kind of scary, but all resolved now.

When I was young, I remember watching a movie called “War of the Gargantuas”, a pretty creepy sci-fi movie of the Japanese variety which scared the wits out of me. (Looking back now, I think the scariest thing about that movie from today’s perspective was the horrific English over-dubbing.) I slept with the lights on for a month.

Back in my hometown our minister, Preacher Maddox, would attempt to literally “scare the hell out of us” on Sunday mornings,
but now I kinda think that whole “hell thing” may be more like the evil monkey in Chris Griffin’s closet… perhaps more fantasy than fact. (Seriously….so you lived 70 years and did the best you could and still didn’t “Accept Jesus”.. and that’s a reason to burn ForEVER?.. But I digress)

So as I approach my 50th year, there just aren’t a lot a lot of things that spook me these days.

Except for this one thing… that sort of sets me on edge…

The Car Salesman.

Not ‘A’ Car Salesman…. But THEE Car Salesman. Because there really is only one, eternally existing in various forms on every auto lot in North America. And I just don’t like dealing with them.

Come on... really? “All applications accepted!!”?? Of course they’re all accepted… that doesn’t mean necessarily that they are all approved now, does it?

“All inventory MUST be sold!!”?? Seriously, how can this possibly be news to anyone? I always thought the objective of any retail business was to sell all of their inventory. And I’m not so sure whether it’s the asinine nature of these statements that bothers me or perhaps it’s the volume level at which these commercials are broadcast.

The Great Cal Worthington

Here’s a little rule of the thumb that you may not know about car dealers and their radio ads: “The lower the intellect of the customer they’re trying to reach – the louder the voice of the announcer.” And you can mark that down;

No one ever had to yell at you to sell you a Mercedes.

This morning, I heard yet another brilliant one of these ads on the radio: “….but hurry!” They declared, “This Limited-Time Offer will not Last Long!!”

Ya think?? Can you imagine, just for a moment, a radio ad declaring that a “Limited-Time” Offer would last as long as you wanted it to? Dumbasses.

I have been driving my (fairly ancient) Chevy Blazer, for about 10 years now, and truth be told … it has seen better days. But I was never one to just go out and buy a new car on a whim. I’ve never said.. “I make pretty decent money,,, think I’ll just go get a new car. Although I know some people who are in and out of new cars all the time – it’s just not my thing.

The reason I go shopping for a new car is for the simple fact that the current vehicle has just been run into the ground and it’s either ‘switch’….or walk.

And so one evening this week, while pulling into the parking lot of the local “Bed Bath & I’m Sorry, we’re out of That”,,,, listening to the squealing of my fan belt,,, and no longer able to see what’s directly behind me because the summer sun here in the desert has destroyed the glue holding my rear-view mirror in place… it just occurred to me:

…it’s kind of troubling when a person makes a decent living, and pretty much in control of every facet of their life, But… still driving a P.O.S. vehicle because of an unnatural fear of a simple-minded man in a pair of high-water khakis and a logo-embroidered, short-sleeved shirt with a hellish, unnatural smile which never seems to go away – Yes… That Salesman guy.

So I said to myself .. nope… not going to run this time. Something needs to be done. I’m going to beat this thing and go find me a new car! Time to visit the dreaded salesman.

Now to be sure, I know there are the politically correct among us who will say “You shouldn’t say “salesman” .. you should say “sales PERSON”. NO, actually, I shouldn’t – because frankly they are NOT persons.. they are something else. They are some mutated form of the species, devoid of all the things which allow us to respond naturally to life … like a pulse, for example; or the ability to make eye-contact, or to smile with their eyes rather than with just their mouths. It’s uber-creepy and I don’t like it. I tend not to trust people in general, but when it comes to someone who’s trying to sell something that costs over ten thousand dollars… and they don’t blink – that’s a tough one for me.

So.. I take a deep breath; turn on my right turn signal (because that’s the one that still works. If it didn’t, I’d have gone around the block to make my turn from the other direction), pull onto the lot – and Let the Games Begin.

There they are… a small herd of them… standing out in front of the showroom… arms folded... some of them killing time with cigarette in hand.. completely lost in their own reality.
They look like a pride of lions sitting on a rock waiting for the next gazelle.

UNTIL.. you reach for your door handle and put one foot on the pavement, and then, as if by instinct, they all begin approaching slowly.. arms outstretched, like creatures in some bad zombie movie…

You can hear them through your closed window.. “Brains! Brains! Customers! Brainssss!! You roll your eyes and step out of the car, greeted by the first zomb… er….salesweasel, saying something that sounds like some part of an auctioneer’s chant, with no punctuation or breath in between words: “Good Afternoon, Sir, and Welcome to Con-Way Chevrolet How Are You Today What Can We Help You Find Today Sir??”

Was that even a sentence?? Seriously, dude.. are you trying to buy a fucking vowel??

He sounds like that same old tired DJ at every strip club in America – the one with the high, pinched-nose voice, who didn’t quite have the talent to make it in radio, but thought.. Ok.. I’ll be around naked women who will never want to touch me… and I won’t have to sell insurance for a living, but it’s still a job in “Broadcasting!”

(To explain what I mean by ‘that voice’, just pinch your nose and say this out loud and you’ll know the sound I’m talking about:
“Ok, gentlemen… these girls aren’t gonna show any skin without some participation on Your part, so let’s welcome to the stage...… AN – GEL (accent on both syllables) .. But don’t let the name Fool Ya, Gentlemen!!.. blah blah blah…"

In the first place, dude, stop calling them gentlemen. And in the second place, the fact that she’s taking all of her clothes off in front of complete strangers who are stuffing dollar bills in crevasses probably not seen by the maintenance department for some time, have not allowed the name “ANGEL” to ‘fool’ me in the least.)

Anyway…….back to the dealership: As the young salesweasel nears my car, I step out.. He’s approaching the car from just behind the driver’s side window… Like an officer pulling you over and doesn’t quite want you to have the visual advantage.

So I say to him: “Uh.. You know that’s a really good way to get pepper-sprayed, sneaking up on someone like that.” But somehow he is unfazed, and the smile never leaves his face:

“Oh I’m Sorry Sir We Just Like To Make Sure That Everyone Gets A Proper Greeting When They Come On To The Property, Sir Now What Can I Help You Find Today Sir?”

“Young man”,,, I say with a weak smile, pulling myself out of my car, “I’d bet a week’s salary that NO ONE comes onto this lot without getting a greeting”. (At this point in my not-so-young life I love using that “young man” thing.)

“You and I both know that squirrels and mice passing by the front gate do NOT pass by this lot and NOT get a greeting, just on the off-chance they might be interested in buying a car”, I observe pragmatically. (He’s still smiling, and ready to go. He’s got STUFF to say!)

Now, we’ve all been involved in conversations when we knew the person on the other end was just full of crap,


....but they knew that for the sake of keeping the peace we wouldn’t dream of calling them on it. But I’m not like that with the species I call by their Latin name: “Comunitcatus Bullshitus”.. I just tell them just like it is and let the chips fall where they may.

“I am not here to win friends and influence people”, I say.. I am here to get the best deal on a vehicle.”



He continues, “Well Of Course Sir You Just You Just Tell Us Where You’d Like To Be Sir and We’ll Do Our Best To Get You There!!” (Well, of COURSE he will .. why wouldn’t he? Isn’t that his sole purpose for being on the planet… to “get me there”?)

At some point, you realize these people are using a special code and language designed to round the edges on the questions they’re really trying to ask. This last sentence, for example, translated from “weaselspeak” simply means, “How much money did you fantasize about spending before we got a-hold of you, and we’ll do our best to make sure you spend it… and don’t forget add-ons.. like undercoating, etc……. “Sir.”

Hmm .. where would I like to be ….? “I’d like to be under the covers with Liz T. while she’s wearing one of my starched custom shirts with the sleeves rolled up, but she’s in school finishing a nursing degree somewhere in California right now, so that’s just not possible.”

“Uhmm….Sir?”

“Oh…you meant “What’s your budget?” Yes.. I understand”, returning from my dream-like state – “I’ll tell you what.. why don’t we just look at cars, I’ll tell you what I like, and you make your best deal – and if I don’t like it we’ll simply shake hands and call it a day, fair enough?” “Certainly, Sir.”, still forcing a grin.

Damn! I’ve taken away what the young archer needs most: A Target!. Without the target dollar amount he’s unable to gain traction. He’s looking for something to ‘pin me to’ and I’m not giving it to him.

So, with the continued smile, which incidentally has not once left his face, he agrees and we move forward.

Back to my reading audience for a moment: Now, what I really need is a mid-2000’s semi-large SUV. Because I have to be able to haul my upright bass around the countryside, so it has to be large enough to accommodate my instruments and other necessities when I travel. I like the idea of a Chevy Tahoe, but that’s beside the point. We pick one out and get to work.

Throughout the afternoon’s conversation I hear him rattle on about a myriad of things, family, community, politics.. all in an attempt to establish some sort of what they call ‘rapport’ with me. It is somewhere during the middle part of this strained conversation that I begin to realize: “This person appears to be genetically pre-disposed to utter nothing of any lasting significance whatsoever, and I’m just going to have to endure.”

But now we’ve made it through to the final stages… The fun part - the part where he pushes a piece of paper on front of me with an amount on it and I get to say “yea or nay”, which, in the world of sales, is just plain stupid. I don’t like the idea of being pitted against someone who’s deliberately trying to make me feel uncomfortable – when in fact, I’m still holding all the cards! But even more importantly, knowing that his approach is all wrong, and I want to help him but for obvious reasons cannot.

What he should have done, just between my millions of readers and me… was to have me focus on two vehicles rather than one – gotten the best prices on both – and THEN sat down with me and both offers to ask: “Which One?”, rather than a “Yea or Nay” winner-or-loser-take-all kind of question. With the two-car option, which is geared to make it appear that I am in control, it makes it seem as if all the decisions are mine, but in reality.. either way, I’d have done precisely what he’d intended for me to do all along: Which is buy a car.

And so it all comes down to a number.. somewhere in the neighborhood of $17,600.00. Hmm.. not sure….. I’d kind of planned on spending that much, but is THIS car really worth it? Is this the best value for dollars spent?

I know that in the game of negotiations.. the first person who speaks loses…. But since I never lose, and frankly I’m done with the visit at this point. So I ask: “How about I give you a call by five and let you know either way?” His automatic answer: “Of course, Mr. Miller.. whatever works best for you.. “ And that’s the end of that.

Hell NO, that’s not the end of that! Of COURSE that’s not the end of that. You didn’t seriously think he was going to not at least Try to keep the conversation going.

Says the Salesweasel after a calculated pause: “Can I ask you one other thing, Mr. Miller?” (There’s Always one more question…..one more ‘word bridge’ to step out on, in order to keep hope alive) “Of course you can ask.. go ‘head.”

“Well, other than me making it affordable to you, is there any other reason we couldn’t do business today?”

I sit…. Rub my chin… looking down at the paper and the price... as if I’m seriously considering his approach. I’m surprised, as will be most of those reading this, that I am able to keep silent for so long. Finally … I say to him: “But you already HAVE made it affordable to me.” He looks puzzled.

“Don't you remember, from when we first talked, just a little while ago?” I said “I really don’t have a target price, so how about if I just pick out a car and you make the best deal possible, and if I don’t like it we’ll shake hands and part company.” So you've already MADE your best deal.. based on our initial conversation. And if that’s not your best deal…and you CAN go lower… then you’re basically full of shit from the start and I can’t do business with you anyway.” (Now it was MY turn to smile with my mouth, but not with my eyes)

The silence was deafening. And again, I almost felt sorry for him.

He rubs his chin again and forces a smile…..”Right you are Sir…” I’ll just wait for your call at 5:00.

Well……….that was then…..this is now.. It’s been about three months since that conversation took place, and I’m still driving the thirteen year-old blazer with the fallen rear-view mirror and the squeaky fan belt. Thanks be unto whatever god you pray to that I replaced the air conditioning last year.

It’s just kind of astounding that so many of these businesses go out of their way to perpetuate every bad stereotype about them. And it really is true that those who do not learn from past mistakes are doomed to repeat them. But while you really can’t legislate against ‘stupid’, you can still get your point across by voting “with your feet”,,, and even then, the whole thing still leaves you feeling that somehow …

There Auto Be a Law…

Update: Since this was written last year (and now finally posted) I did eventually end up getting a great deal on a Jeep Liberty which is a pretty nice ride. It's functional, and it gets twice the milage of the old '98 Blazer. And I did NOT get it from Con-Way Chevrolet.

StRaying The Course

~”….Now, for when (not "if" but "when") Russia decides to set their foot over there I sure am glad that Bush already has us standing and waiting. It's going to happen, it's just when is it going to happen.....All in the name of Oil….”~

Recently, a well-meaning friend made this comment on an earlier post: "And He is Us." I started to respond with a comment in that same section, but it sort of took on a life of its own and I felt it significant enough to warrant posting in this forum. Enjoy.

First things first:
So that someone reading will understand when I use the word ‘poster’ here.. I am referring to the person who Posted the response to my blog; as in “one who posts”.


MY RESPONSE: to the delusional tirade, or notion that The President knew what he was doing all along:

I was going to ask the 'poster' "is that your final answer"?? - and are you SURE that this is the point you want to make? I wanted to mercifully give you some avenue by which you could back out.. to give you the opportunity to say.. "Gotcha! I was just kidding." But since I know you well old friend, I'll forge ahead.

However, before I do:

Let's first of all define and illustrate (that would be "explain" for those of us educated in government schools) the concept of an incorrect premise vs. a correct premise:

If I were to ask you if your mother still "works the corner" at Peachtree and Sixteenth street - Yes or No?? You could not Answer that with a yes or no.

The reason you cannot answer with a yes or no is for the simple fact that your mother does not, nor has she EVER worked the corner at Peachtree and Sixteenth. My question to you is based on a completely Incorrect Premise; the premise your mother ever worked ANY corner anywhere; which in fact, she has not.

Your comments on this blog speak to a premise that is non-existent in this debate. (Like the politician who would not dare answer the question he had been ASKED, but will instead answer the question he WISHES HAD BEEN ASKED).

I understand that your hatred for liberalism (whatever that is) is so strong that you will defy logic to support ANY supposed opposition. But in this case...the so-called opposition is so unbelievably and provably spot-on that it is difficult to imagine any rational person taking exception.



My point was, and still is, that they claimed there were weapons of mass destruction - and there were none. They said THEY KNEW... that these were not suppositions... They KNEW. They lied.



Our Commander in Thief NEVER, EVER made assertions about protecting Iraqi or Iranian oil deposits from the Russians, with regard to the march to war in Iraq. What he did tell us however was that Saddam Hussein had "Weapons of Mass Destruction" and that he was a "Threat" to our national security. He spoke of "Mushroom Clouds" and "Unmanned Aircraft", possessing capabilities which would allow them to easily deliver "Chemical Weapons" to any of our major cities. THAT's what the President said.

Think about that for a moment - The Commander in Chief of the world's preeminent fighting force and intelligence gathering apparatus NEVER EVER, EVER, EVER TOLD US that we needed to protect 25% of the world’s light crude (as YOU Said) or that we needed to keep the Russians out of the thing they’d long hoped for: a Warm Water Port. I might have even been able to accept that, HAD THAT BEEN THE PREMISE he chose to send us into battle. But he didn’t.

He ……Never ……Said those things.

What he SAID was that we were in "Grave and Immanent Danger".

What those “Democraps”, as you call them, DO understand, for the most part …is the English Language, and those words or assertions NEVER CAME UP …in English.

(For the record, I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican, as I cannot see any difference in either party other than the spelling of the names. I am a registered Libertarian)

He NEVER said “All in the name of oil” Never said that, my friend. He said: “Immanent Danger”.

And when ambassador Joseph Wilson went to Nigeria, Africa to substantiate the claim that Iraq was purchasing yellowcake uranium from them, and came back with the news that there was no sale of yellowcake uranium from Niger to Iraq – his wife, Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA operative was thrown under a bus and out-ed by our very own vice president and his own henchmen, destroying years of networking and undercover status for many covert operatives working in the area.

Apparently the only Real parties to be in “Immanent Danger” were those who understood (Please see the ‘Downing Street Memo’) that this whole Iraq thing was totally bogus, and would seek to expose the madness and lies.

From the United States Senate Iraq Report, July 2004:

1999
An Algerian businessman, Baraka, allegedly arranged a trip for the Iraqi Ambassador to the Vatican, Niger and other African countries.

2001
On 11 September 2001, terrorists attacked the United States.

On 15 October 2001, the CIA issued a report, credited to a foreign government service, that Niger planned to sell several tons of uranium to Iraq.

On 18 October 2001, the CIA wrote a finished intelligence report that said, in part (36-37)
According to a foreign government source, Niger as of early this year planned to send several tons of uranium to Iraq under an agreement concluded last year.

Iraq and Niger had been negotiating the shipment since at least early 1999, but the state court of Niger only this year approved it, according to the service.

There is NO corroboration from other sources that such an agreement was reached or that uranium was transferred.

United Nations Security Council (UNSF) Resolution 687 prohibits Iraq from purchasing uranium although the transfer would not require the application of safeguards.

In view of the origin, the uranium probably is in the form of yellowcake and will need further processing to be used in an uranium enrichment plant.

Iraq has NO known facilities for processing or enriching the material.

The quantity of yellowcake to be transferred could support the enrichment of enough uranium for at least one nuclear weapon.

On 20 November 2001, the Director General of Niger's French-led consortium said "there was no possibility" that Niger had diverted any of the 3,000 tons of yellowcake produced in its two uranium mines.

2002
On 5 February 2002, the CIA issued another intelligence report from the same foreign government service. This report included more detail and indicated that the agreement between Iraq and Niger totalled 500 tons of uranium a year.

In a 15 February 2002 report, the DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) aserts: "Iraq probably is searching abroad for natural uranium to assist in its nuclear weapons program."

NOTE: that two key qualifiers observed in the original CIA report are unchanged: there is no new source corroborating the claims and no new data on Iraq's (in)ability to process yellowcake. Also, there is no evidence offered to counter Niger's denial. However, the DIA reports to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld.

This is from the United States Senate Report on Iraq, for the love of God – And even if any of the Complete Fabrications (those would be "LIES" to you and me) were even remotely true – none of them reflect the PREMISE that you, the poster, established in your response to my blog, which was that we were actually there to KEEP RUSSIA FROM GETTING IT’S HANDS ON A WARM WATER PORT SUCH AS IRAN.

I could go on all day, literally, and put up one fact and truth for every lie the administration wants to tell, but A: I don’t have the time, and B: nor do I have the space.

What I do have, however, is the wonderful use of modern-day technology to show them in their own words just what miserable, lying, treasonous bastards they are:



"Misperception"?  Wow!

In conclusion –

Liar in Chief??…..you be the judge.. EITHER…. We went to war….to keep Russia from getting their hands on a Warm Water Port…. And to control 25% of the world’s light crude...

OR…… as the President Said, we went to war because Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.. and we must act Now.

I’d have just much rather seen him come out and tell it like it REALLY is/was… rather than to have to wonder constantly about what other lies were being told to me.

(You see, a liar isn't a liar because he tells lies,,, he tells lies BECAUSE he is a liar... and can't stop... any more than the alchoholic can stop drinking 'any time they want.'

"A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." (James 1:8 KJV) )

But what is disconcerting to me in the extreme is that it's not just that he seems to lack the ability to do that ..... apparently, what he lacks is the capacity.
_____________________________________________________________

Addendum:

The story is told of a man in a mental institution who is convinced that he is dead. His Doctor, his wife and his children exasperated, keep telling him he is not dead. But he continues to insist that he is dead.

They try telling him, "Look, you're not dead; you're walking and talking and breathing; how can you be dead?" But he continues to insist he is dead.

Finally, after a bit of inspiration the doctor, thinking that the man simply doesn't have enough information; that once he is shown by way of medical fact and data that there is no way that he can be dead - will see the light and come to his senses.

So the good doctor pulls out some medical books and is able to demonstrate to the man that dead men do not bleed. After some time, the man is able to admit that dead men do not bleed.

The doctor then takes the man's hand and a needle and pokes the end of his finger.

The man begins to bleed. Armed with his new awareness he looks at the wound and says:

"Well, what do you know? Dead people DO bleed!!"

Aaannd ... STAY Out!!

Rapture is fine, then it's smoke up the chimney
A law suit is longer by far..
How Glorious were your 12 years in Congress
Compared to the Thirty Years' War

Toothaches, deep-rooted.. but bliss, it's a rover
A time comes to bid it so long...
For it's better that something should be good and over
Than rotten, and still going strong.

How sweet were the moments when you were in clover
Sometimes you don't know 'til they're gone...
So celebrate late companions 'cause that is what they did...
And live for wine....persons.... and song.

And I VOTED for you!!

You had 12 years in which to honor the original intent of the Founding Fathers, restore liberty, decrease the size and scope of government and federal control over our lives. In that time you nearly Doubled Government Spending. TWELVE years to stem the flow ... actually, the INVASION of immigrants, pouring across our border - the cascading, torential waterfall of illegals eating away at our wallets to the tune of 60 billion - WITH A "B" - dollars a year. Monies we could have, and would loved to have used for funding our own retirments, sending our children to college, vacation and travel, supporting our own favorite charities rather than the ones that are forced down our throats by an all-powerful, imperial federal government.

You allowed and funded a completely MAD Commander-in-Thief to go to war based on the false premise "They have Weapons of Mass Destruction". He landed on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (ironically, namesake for the president we reverently call "Honest Abe") in a Flight Suit (Funny, he could find that flight suit NOW, that he is no longer needed in the Texas Air National Guard - o well) to arrogantly declare in front of all the world and that big, block-letter sign to see:

"Mission Accomplished".

And now three years later there are still 50 - 100 of our troops dying there every month.

This is the man who stood on top of the crumbling, still-smoking remains of the World Trade Center with a bullhorn declaring "I hear you, America... and soon, the people who knocked these towers down will hear you..." Only a year later to be seen on national television, in a prime-time interview when asked about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden: "So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you." (White House press conference, March 13, 2002) Yup... they hear us loud and clear, sir... they hear us snoring.

Regarding those weapons of mass destruction: Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, actually said (and I've heard these words coming out of his mouth) ".... not only do they have them, but we know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat." (May 30, 2003 - ABC Interview)

The Vice Commander-in-Thief actually said more than a year ago: "I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency." (May 30, 2005 - Larry King Live). Looking back now, a statement so bizarre I cannot wrap my mind around it.

Scandal after scandal... while the party of the supposed Moral High Ground completely went to sleep... And brushed off the concerns of the electorate as you might brush the dust from your coat sleeve. For TWELVE years...

So what DID you do with all this time...? We know what you DIDN't do ... so the question now must center around what you did do. So you instead focused on probably the most pivotal issues of our, or any other time. You chose the road less traveled... and made the TOUGH decisions. I mean, any wimp could have chosen the road to war against a country which did not attack us, nor had they the capability.

Nope... you instead chose to champion those two essential causes most central to maintaining our liberty and way of life: Gay Marriage and Flag Burning.

Whew! I simply cannot tell you how much better I sleep now that our duly elected representatives, in the aftermath of the destruction of two of our most revered cultural symbols, The World Trade Center and the Pentagon, took up the causes of Gay Marriage and Flag Burning??!! (I know, I know, someone will bring up the fact that I didn't want them to go to war and that this particular paragraph sounds like they didn't focus enough on war. HINT: Osama bin Ladin was NOT from Iraq.

And on and on it goes - Look.. I'm NOT anti-Republican - at least not in the literal sense or the true spirit of the word. But what I am against is Elected Officials who hold a sacred, public trust and swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States looking me square in the eye and lying. And while I KNOW beyond the shadow of any doubt, this next bunch will do exactly the same - But at least (most of) the former thugs in pinstripe are no longer receiving a check every month funded from my paystub.

To hear people like Limp.baugh and Neal Boortz (once actually heroes of mine) talking as though the American people have really done it now... These supposedly smart, learned men who failed, at least from the view of this eye, to understand that it is NOT the voters who didn't get it - but the failed band of miscreants in Washington who left us no choice.

And that, as Forrest Gump would say, is all I got to say about that.