Wednesday, September 29, 2010

OT: Matt Taibbi on The Tea Party

Not part of the normal IKN brief, but thanks to kind reader 'A' and his headsup, your humble scribe has been enrapt in this article today. It's unmissable and there are so many things worth excerpting, but just as one example of the wonderfulness on offer, here's an exchange between Taibbi and some attendees at a Palinfest:
"I'm anti-spending and anti-government," crows David, as scooter-bound Janice looks on. "The welfare state is out of control."
"OK," I say. "And what do you do for a living?"
"Me?" he says proudly. "Oh, I'm a property appraiser. Have been my whole life."
I frown. "Are either of you on Medicare?"
Silence: Then Janice, a nice enough woman, it seems, slowly raises her hand, offering a faint smile, as if to say, You got me!
"Let me get this straight," I say to David. "You've been picking up a check from the government for decades, as a tax assessor, and your wife is on Medicare. How can you complain about the welfare state?"
"Well," he says, "there's a lot of people on welfare who don't deserve it. Too many people are living off the government."
"But," I protest, "you live off the government. And have been your whole life!"
"Yeah," he says, "but I don't make very much."

The article is right here. Go read about the people trying to shape your (and my, sadly) future.