Arrgh

One of the joys of public service is that you regularly get to see people rip your work to shreds for reasons or malice, political advantage, or just because they can get away with it because the reporters are idiots who believe every negative thing they hear and will never be convinced otherwise. A year ago we announced we were embarking on a major public policy initiative, one that put us at the forefront of progressive thought on a complex and controversial issue, that required that we buck most of our political brethren and flash a bit of a finger in the face of the feds. Lots has been done since then, including bringing a wide array of disparate viewpoints to the table to hammer out the framework of an agreement on this issue. People are talking about how to solve this problem, rather than denying the problem exists. Wherever I travel, people want to touch me just because I have even tangential involvement in this thing. We're kicking ass.

And so the other night, after the laziest Sunday I can remember (shopping, followed by watching the Yanks lose, followed by watching Liege-Bastogne-Liege, peaceful evening, and Kill Bill), I happened to hit the local cable news channel for three seconds and found footage of 5 idiot protesters who had managed to drag a stupid reporter and a cameraman out to the Capitol on a Sunday to say that a year later, we haven't done anything. The reporter intoned that "People are saying nothing has been done," which I guess is true in a general sense if the only people you listen to are these 5 idiots, none of whom we've even heard of before.

So, my only possible response, being both highly agitated and a huge "South Park" fan, was one I don't exactly want to repeat here, but let's just say it involved the words "suck," "my," and "balls." In that order. Patient spouse, also a fan, helpfully suggested, "Shouldn't you add 'salty'?" She was right, it did sound better that way.