Forget FOD - FTA

There is an old soldier's song that as near as I can tell originated in the British army around the time of the Napoleonic Wars. It functioned then, and continues to function, "as an informal channel of protest against circumstance and against oppressive, incompetent, unpopular or overbearing military and political authority."

The chorus goes something like this. 

F*** 'em all
F*** 'em all
The long, the short and the tall...

That seems particularly appropriate today as the news comes that the congressional 'super committee' tasked with reaching a deficit reduction agreement announced that it has failed to do so.

Facing harsh reaction from financial markets and a frustrated public, the congressional "super committee" negotiating a possible deficit reduction agreement announced Monday it has failed to reach a deal.

Not surprising, really, especially in light of the ongoing failure of congress and the president to behave like mature responsible adults and do their duty.

Our nation’s total debt is now larger than our entire economy. Unemployment is painfully high and growth is painfully slow. Since taking office, the president has accelerated Washington’s reckless spending spree, has added trillions of dollars to the debt, and has refused to present a credible plan to put Washington’s fiscal house in order.

Meanwhile, Congress is divided. Republicans control the House, Democrats the Senate. As required by law, House Republicans presented a budget in committee, brought it to the floor, and passed it earlier this spring. It was an honest, detailed, concrete plan to put our budget on the path to balance and our economy on the path to prosperity. But Senate Democrats, during this time of national crisis, failed even to present a budget plan — in open defiance of the law and the public they serve.

It is now over 900 days - almost three years - since the senate has passed a legally mandated formal budget. In that same time period, the president has likewise failed to propose anything remotely resembling a meaningful budget or budgetary plan to restore fiscal sanity. One can certainly build a compelling argument that this is primarily the fault of the democrat party. After all, they control the senate and the presidency. Yet we are certain to be deluged by the legacy media with a torrent of headlines and stories spinning the failure of the super committee as the fault of obstructionist republicans, who stubbornly refuse to make the evil rich pay their fair share.

In my opinion, however, there is ample blame to spread among members of both parties. I would argue that long-term members of congress have for years put their own personal desires to get reelected and amass power and wealth above the best interests of our country.

250 members of Congress — or 47 percent — have a net worth of more than $1 million
... (for comparison purposes, the percentage of millionaires in the general U.S. population is 1%)

Last year, the combined net worth of Congress skyrocketed to more than $2 billion — a 25 percent increase from 2008...

Meanwhile, the average U.S. family lost 23 percent of its net worth between 2007 and 2009, according to figures released by the Federal Reserve this year...

As far as I'm concerned, every damn one of them, with the possible exception of those elected in 2010, should be tarred, feathered, and run out of town on a rail.

They are the true 1%...