And now, from the "Yet more examples of your government at work, folks..." and Yahoo! News...

Sudiegirl sez: Sad to say, government officials are not immune to idiocy, as we already know. Whether you’re Republican, Democrat, Socialist, or simply voted “Bill ‘n’ Opus” for the last Presidential election, sometimes politics make you extra-sensitive to idiocy. Whether it’s contrived or totally accidental, stuff like this makes the news, and it’s up to ME (although others can join the fray) to point out the obvious, and note a few other things in between. Hell, I’m good at it, plus I’m adorable when I do it. Enjoy, you happy people…Here’s Exhibit A!

Fla. Legislator Throws in Towel Over Pie
(I don’t know if anyone else is thinking of Johnny Bravo and his statement, “I like PIE!”, but I am and I’m NOT ashamed to say it!)

Fri Mar 3, 4:29 AM ET
A state lawmaker who was locked in fierce battle over a piece of legislation has thrown in his kitchen towel. (Well, better that than a meat cleaver.)

Rep. Dwight Stansel, a pecan farmer, waged a war of sorts this week when he challenged a fellow legislator's plan to make key lime pie Florida's official pie, The Miami Herald reported Thursday. (It’s nice to know that Florida is paying attention to the hard-hitting issues of the day.)

But Stansel, a Democrat from Suwanee County, met his match Wednesday when 30 people in Broward County signed a petition to defend the dessert. People railed against pecan pie on two morning radio shows, and one Florida food blog attracted several pro-lime postings. (I personally prefer cheesecake. I’d better not move to Florida anytime soon or they might burn my house down.)

So Stansel gave up. (I wonder how dramatic it was? Did he stand in the middle of the Florida House of Representatives and played out a death scene to rival Ali MacGraw’s in “Love Story”? Or maybe Greta Garbo’s “Camille”? “I give up knowing that the state of Florida does not value nuts as much as it should, and I am VERY DISAPPOINTED!”)

"Make it chicken pot pie," he said. "We got too many ... things to worry about besides pie." (Again, I hear Johnny Bravo…mixed with Homer Simpson…”Mmmmmm – pie!”)




And now, what happens when Dubya’s suggestion for UN leadership looks and acts like the cantankerous Wally Walrus from the old Woody Woodpecker cartoons? Let’s take a look!

Bolton's UN punctuality drive comes to early end
Thu Mar 2, 1:30 PM ET

An unpopular punctuality drive launched in the U.N. Security Council last month by U.S. Ambassador John Bolton came to an abrupt end on Thursday when Argentina took over the council's rotating presidency. (I wonder if the reporter left out the part where Bolton sticks out his lower lip, pouts, stomps his foot and says, “Fine, you’re just a BUNCH OF POOPYHEADS and I’m taking my ball and my bat and going home and YOU’RE NOT INVITED TO MY BIRTHDAY PARTY!”)

Bolton had cracked the whip while presiding over the 15-nation U.N. body in February, starting meetings precisely on time, even with empty chairs in the room, as part of a plan to modernise council operations. (Does Bolton LIKE to crack whips? Does he also like medieval torture devices? Inquiring minds wanna know, especially when a reporter uses a phrase like cracking the whip and then leaves you hanging like that!)

He had also called in ambassadors almost every morning of the month for closed-door briefings by U.N. staff on overnight global political and peacekeeping developments. (Interesting…and I’m sure they weren’t pleased at all…unless Bolton promised donuts and coffee for all.)

But Argentine Ambassador Cesar Mayoral made clear it would be a different story in March. (Which story? “Cinderella”? “Snow White”? Don’t leave me hanging!)

If ambassadors wanted to come on time, it would be up to them, he told reporters. (Interesting concept…another example of trusting the inmates with the key, so to speak?)

As for the morning briefings, "this is impossible," he said. "We aren't having a daily briefing each day." (They’ll just have to surf the Internet during work hours like everyone else.)

If an ambassador asked for a briefing on a particular matter, he would try to accommodate the request. But absent that, the council work program was simply too heavy, he said. (That’s a good point…ambassadors really do a lot. People don’t think about it, but there’s a lot that goes on in various embassies. Embassies and ambassadors help their citizens in many ways, and to have to deal with a grump-ass like Bolton is not my idea of a good time. I’m sure others share my view.)

Some ambassadors had grumbled in February that they already had too many commitments to attend the daily sessions.

Bolton has described the U.S. campaign to reform the United Nations as an "irresistible force" pitted against an "immovable object." (I’m sure Bolton’s significant other – if he indeed has one – would probably use those same words for him. Sounds a lot nicer than "f'ing jerk".)

Bypassing the U.S. Senate, President George W. Bush sent Bolton to the United Nations last August with instructions to shake up the world body after findings of mismanagement and corruption in the $64 billion oil-for-food program for Iraq. (Is that kind of like being teacher’s pet and assigned to be the class monitor? If that’s the case, I’d wanna give him a wedgie or a purple nurple. See the “Nelson Muntz” entry for clarification…)

Sudiegirl’s final opinion?

Well, I’m going to borrow this from Opus the Penguin and “Bloom County”:

“Government is the last refuge of the nincompoop.”

Thanks, Mr. Breathed, for that great line.