July 22, 2009 --

Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) apparently was not pleased to hear that the Treasury Department planned to hire a cartoonist to lighten the atmosphere for its employees.

According to an Associated Press report, July 17, the plan to bring humor into the Treasury Department workplace was squelched by the senator’s statement, "...there is very little that is funny about today’s economic condition."

Of course, there is, senator (or do you prefer, these days of immediate given-name usage, "Byron").

The day LPR learned of your grim view of the situation at Treasury, LPR also learned that Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, received multibillion dollar profits in the third quarter. Isn’t that a hoot? How did these financial institutions turn around so quickly, so vastly. What activities reaped such a harvest after the American people, as taxpayers assembled, loaned the banks billions of dollars? If the banks are not lending, just how are they making money?

If the American people treat themselves as favorably as our representatives treat themselves, there will be so much joy across the land, no office need inject artificial humor into the workplace—the area near the water fountain; the notes pinned to cubicles, will do just fine. Obviously the experience with the huge banks tells us: Humongous stimulus works – real well.

If, however, we taxpayers lack the skill at self-aggrandizement that seems to be part of the DNA of officials, there is much to be irreverent about – and doesn’t laughter accompany irreverence?

For example –say this three times, quickly and see if you can keep from laughing: “Senator Al Franken.” He sure got into the spirit of things pretty fast, asking Judge Sotomayor , at her Supreme Court nomination hearing, about a Perry Mason episode (an episode with the actor Steven Franken one of the characters – I don’t think this Franken mentioned that Franken).

He clearly missed the chance for some fun not asking, on the New Haven firefighters case: "So, to Mayor DeStefano, Judge Sotomayor -- or do I repeat myself -- you accepted his decision to throw out the exam results?"

LPR thinks the apparent White House demand that members of Congress vote on legislation first and read the new law later is as funny as sentencing first and getting the verdict later. Imagine – extending the concept of transparency into invisibility.

How about the cost-effectiveness, healthcare-wise, basis of mandatory remediation in living? This way, no aspect of living is beyond the reach of Washington., D.C., upon a showing (by mere assertion) that the bill will reduce healthcare costs, and increase revenue through fines or taxes. Isn’t this how we justified seatbelt legislation, huge taxes on cigarettes, among other PISH (Protecting the Individual in Spite of Him/Herself) laws?

What is the best way to lower health costs? Right. Lower the population. How soon till we get "term limits" on people so that we can solve the problem of rising health costs for seniors?

Seems to LPR that there is little that happens in Washington, these days, that is not funny. Only thing is – this is no joke.