Friday, February 22, 2013

WARNING: You are about to be Exposed to "Washington Monument Syndrome"

Mainstream media is warning us. NYT writes:
Airlines and airports across the country are preparing for across-the-board federal budget cuts due to hit next week as if they were a hurricane, although with even less certainty about how many flights they will have to cancel and how many passengers will be stranded. The federal government is warning about delays that could begin in March, as the first cuts take effect, and reduced takeoffs and slower security lines that could worsen in April with furloughs.[...] 
To handle such a major staff shortage but still maintain safety, federal aviation officials said they would accept fewer airplanes into the system, the same tactic they use in bad weather. That means that in places where airplanes normally follow one another with a six- or seven-mile gap, there might be a 10- to 20-mile gap. As a result, passengers may sit on tarmacs and endure delays as they wait for planes to push back from the gate.[...] 
There could also be longer security lines at airports because of anticipated furloughs of Transportation Security Administration workers. In addition, deplaning from international flights could be slower because Customs and Border Protection agents are expected to work fewer hours.
FOX News reports:
Travelers soon could be forced to arrive at the airport many hours before their flight to deal with an expected logjam at TSA checkpoints brought on by automatic budget cuts set to go into effect March 1 -- if Congress and President Obama cannot reach a deficit-reduction deal.

According to recent warnings, the D.C.-imposed travel nightmare could include longer waits at security checkpoints, customs and even on the tarmac if the across-the-board budget cuts hit.
What's really going down? It's "Washington Monument Syndrome" theater.  Tom DiLorenzo explains:
The game is this: Whenever a politician is "threatened" with a minor slowdown in spending, the first thing to do is to eliminate police, firefighters, ambulance services, school buses, etc. -- everything that inflicts the maximum discomfort on the victims of the government monopoly (a.k.a., taxpayers). The booboisie then wake up from their American Idol stupor for a moment to raise a fuss, and the proposals to slow down spending growth disappear. (It's called the "Washington Monument Syndrome" because the head of the National Park Service shut down the Washington Monument in the '60s in response to Congress's temporary refusal to fund his complete spending wish list. Tourists from every state complained to their congressmen, and the Park Service wish list was fully funded).
DiLorenzo, also, explains why MSM is playing this newsreel right now:
Faced with the threat of federal government spending increasing by "only" 7 percent instead of some higher, pie-in-the-sky amount, the Obammunists are busy crying "BUDGET CUTS!!!!!" knowing full well that no one in Washington has proposed "cutting" a red cent from the federal budget.  The Republicans play the same lying game, lying incessantly about non-existent "defense cuts."  (In Washingtonese, if one proposes a $100 billion spending increase, and actual spending increases by "only" $90 billion, they call it a $10 billion budget cut).
The only cure for this syndrome is a sense of humor, to not take anything said by government or MSM seriously. Buy some popcorn and observe. As H. L. Mencken wrote:
Life may not be exactly pleasant, but it is at least not dull. Heave yourself into Hell today, and you may miss, tomorrow or next day, another Scopes trial, or another War to End War, or perchance a rich and buxom widow with all her first husband's clothes. There are always more Hardings hatching. I advocate hanging on as long as possible. 




13 comments:

  1. The sad part is that much of the populace is going to buy into this manipulation hook, like, and sinker.

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  2. Dilorenzo nails it. Stocking up on microwavable popcorn.

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  3. My grandfather's response to the Washington Monument shutdown was that Congress should sell it off. He suggested Ringling Brothers or Disney, and was hoping for latter, since it would decisively prove that Mickey Mouse could do a better management job than the DC clowns.

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  4. Been hearing this garbage for the last week around my area (Utah). "Look out, waits at the airports will get longer!" "Oh, no! Your food will be poisoned if these cuts go through!" "World ending on March 1st when the sequestration goes into place."

    I'd really like to see these cuts go into place and watch the whole system go down...or not. :)

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    1. Agreed, let these cuts happen. Perhaps enough people will realize that the direct taxes on air travel that are supposed to fund these "services" are a hoax that do no such thing.

      Let's give the free market a year to fund and manage the system, unencumbered by the meddling Feds. Of course, the vultures managing the "private" air carriers fear this more than anything else.

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  5. The U.S. National Park Service could face serious staffing shortfalls if across-the-board budget cuts from sequestration kick in on March 1, and tourists would likely lose access to some popular attractions.In a policy memo released to the Washington Post on Wednesday, NPS said sequestration would force the agency to cut into its already slim operating budget. The automatic cuts would slice off an immediate 5 percent from the agency’s budget that would “defer the replacement of vacant staff positions,” reduce temporary seasonal hiring, and cause the furloughs of permanent staff if cost reduction targets are not met, the memo said. The cuts would also reduce the amount of money spent on park maintenance, equipment purchases, travel and educational programs.“Most parks have already minimized expenses in these categories over the past few years and will not be able to achieve significant savings in this area,” the memo said.All 398 national parks are determining the specific impact of budget cuts on their operations, the memo said, warning that major attractions would need to reduce staff and hours at the peak of the summer tourist season.Popular destinations that would be affected by sequestratrion budget cuts include:Cape Cod, where a visitor center servicing 260,000 tourists annually would be shuttered.Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where 5 campgrounds would be closed.Yosemite National Park and Yellowstone National Park, where the opening of new roads and visitor service centers would be delayed.The Blue Ridge Parkway, where fewer seasonal rangers at visitor centers would be hired, possibly affecting 584,000 visitors.

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    1. The irony is, many of the folks who now can't spend their money at these closed down attractions will have to spend their government provided income elsewhere...

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    2. SHUT THEM ALL DOWN !!!!!!!!!!!!

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    3. And I care about this because why?

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    4. Sell them to private investors and watch in amazement as they become huge profit centers.

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  6. The crooks running this country have to be blame it,they care about themselves, big government means big but BIG WASTE OF MONEY, LES CUT
    THE SALARIES OF EVERY ELECTED OFFICIAL IN THE FED AREA, and see how
    much money We can save...

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  7. Lets not only cut salaries (HOW DEMEANING) but send them home. Let them screw up their own local economies for a while.

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