I’m Mad

I’m mad, mad as can be. If I typed with my pinky out you’d say I was cultured and therefore angry, but I don’t and I’m not. I’m mad.

Mad it took DC so long to admit how much of my money they waste. Mad that the Republicans realize, all of a sudden that waste and corruption is wrong. Like it just started last week.

Mad that the Democrats still want their slush funds, even though they have to know money laundering is wrong, but without it how could politicians get rich working in DC.

And like always, they expect us, you and me, to believe this bullcrap. The politicians lie with a straight face about how shocked they are to find fraud, waste, and abuse, yet they had to know. How could they not? They approved the bills that allocated the money. Didn’t they ever look to see what was happening?

No, no they didn’t. At least not any of them who might be interested in honesty and transparency. Of course the bureaucrats knew, they were the ones that designed, maintained, and hid the results from the world.

And of course no one ever asked how Nancy Pelosi or Mitch McConnell or the rest of the slime got rich on their government salary. No one ever asked “how can you work in a city with one of the highest costs-of-living, make $172,000/year, and after a term or two be worth multi-millions of dollars?” Let me tell you, the answer isn’t honorariums for speaking engagements, that’s for sure. As we’ve said in past articles, one way or another every politician is bought and paid for. In this case it looks as if they’re paid for by our tax dollars. A lot of our tax dollars. And bought and paid for politicians is probably the least expensive fraud that’s been committed.

All of the corruption that’s been uncovered in the last weeks seems to show that fraud, waste, and abuse are the de jure modus for DC denizens. And where the politicians get to act dumb and tell you they didn’t know what was happening, it’s a sure thing the bureaucrats knew. The politicians too. They had to know.

Without the Washington DC Janissaries, the plot would never have thickened. A concerted program of hiring people who agreed with the Progressive Movement’s goals and aspirations eventually led to a bureaucracy that reflected the Democrat Party’s life-view. Once they had power, and the politicians, being the lazy SOBs we know they are, allowed them to take over responsibility for programs and processes that are the responsibility of the House and Senate, not the employees.

The perfect storm you say? The will meets the opportunity, amplified by a lack of morals and a deep-seated desire to keep your virtually no-show job? Yes to all the above, and a whole lot more.

I’m not a big proponent of foreign aid, but some is surely needed. Programs like PEPFAR which focuses on combating HIV/AIDS and is very successful, should be supported. PEPFAR saves lives. Drag Queen shows in Ireland don’t.

I’m supportive of saving lives, however I could care less about people who demand you “follow the science” until they don’t agree with the science. Millions of dollars down the toilet, and the left complains, threatens, and demonstrates when USAID is ordered to shutter any non-life saving programs. You can’t make this garbage up.

Before you start thinking that I don’t like Democrats, I’ll say you’re wrong. I don’t dislike anyone. I may dislike their politics, however I won’t shun someone over their beliefs. That’s not to say I won’t take every opportunity I can to criticize politicians. Any politicians. Any party. Why? I’m critical of politicians – of course there are some exceptions – because their only allegiance is to getting reelected. The only time most of them care about their constituents is starting about nine months before their next election. The rest of the time we don’t exist. And it seems that politicians are as easy to corrupt as anyone else. Ask Bob Menendez, the poster child for Senators for sale.

Washington is the “big leagues” in American politics, while state government are the farm teams, the AAA clubs, if you will. Politics in state governments is just a smaller version of DC, complete with RINOs, DINOs, and true believers from both sides. The problem in state government – identical to the feds – is that in order to get anything done you have to sell your soul.

DC or state government, a new legislator shows up full of energy to go out and get things done. They find that without friends, no one will support or vote for their legislation. In return for support they have to support someone else’s bill, and they may not agree with it.

Add to the mix the ever present lobbyists. They represent special interests – a nice way to say they represent people who want what they want whether it’s good for the country or not – who will pay handsomely for the proper support of their pet projects. And golly gee, here’s all these politicians who need campaign money and Cadillacs and beach houses. Bernie Sanders never worked a private sector job in his life. He’s a millionaire and owns three homes. He’s one of Pfizer’s biggest contributions, a captive of big pharma. A costumed monkey who dances to big pharma’s hurdy-gurdy with his cup ready for contributions.

And most politicians take money, gifts, perks, whatever they think they can get away with, and become the special interest’s hurdy-gurdy monkey just like Bernie. Look at this report from OpenSecrets, depicting the top recipients of “contributions” from big pharma:

According to data from OpenSecrets, covering the period from 1990 to 2024, the top recipients among current and former members of Congress are:

1. Kamala Harris (D): $11,341,349

2. Joe Biden (D): $9,128,291

3. Barack Obama (D): $6,041,678

4. Hillary Clinton (D-NY): $4,622,654

5. Mitt Romney (R-UT): $3,378,614

6. Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT): $2,878,132

7. Anna Eshoo (D-CA): $2,251,281

8. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA): $2,205,039

9. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ): $2,174,161

10. Bob Casey (D-PA): $2,063,304

11. Mitch McConnell (R-KY): $2,027,732

12. Bernie Sanders (I-VT): $1,953,613

13. Brett Guthrie (R-KY): $1,846,983

14. Fred Upton (R-MI): $1,815,432

15. Raphael Warnock (D-GA): $1,763,425

16. Richard Burr (R-NC): $1,642,876

17. Patty Murray (D-WA): $1,616,081

18. Scott Peters (D-CA): $1,583,488

19. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY): $1,557,928

20. Robert Menendez (D-NJ): $1,491,425

These contributions often align with the roles these members play in health-related legislative committees, highlighting the strategic nature of political donations by industry stakeholders.

See anyone you recognize? How about a couple of Presidents and a couple of wannabe’s?

And then we wonder whether they’re really on our team or not. If you pay the piper, you get to choose the music. All this makes me mad. Little people get royally screwed for the most minor of things, and politicians get away with major felonies.

But now, the Deep State seems to have been getting away with fraud, waste, and abuse. It’s all to keep the country moving in the direction their masters told them it should move, to protect their mostly no-show jobs, and to strengthen the Deep State. They are happy Janissaries.

When federal employees are not in the office 90% of the time, and there’s no monitoring their compliance with actually working from home, it’s not a far stretch to think getting rid of a large portion of the federal workforce isn’t a good idea.

The rationale given for DOGE, for putting the whiz-kids in federal agencies to review the books, and for the assignment of specific people as the President’s cabinet is to reduce the cost of government without reducing the level of service. That’s a worthy goal, and if President Trump gets halfway there, it will be a success. In fact, any savings will be a success.

The President’s buy-out program seems more than fair, so the soon to be ex-federal employees are being treated fairly. It looks like the only losers will be the inheritors of the largess the money laundering schemes provide.

I can’t say I feel badly for anyone who has profited by the poor management practices of the federal government or the corrupt way our money was spread around for stupid, amoral, illegitimate, illegal purposes. If the groups who benefited from this scheme to defraud the American public include CIA or NSA, or the drug cartels, then I’m happier than ever that DOGE is on the job. Now to punish the offenders and recipients.

Cicero is credited with saying “Virtue is its own reward” and that is true, however reducing the cost of government and the deficit is a pretty good incentive.

And seeing some politicians and bureaucrats lose their jobs or go to jail won’t make me sad.

In any case, maybe I won’t be as mad.

At least for a little while.

Jack Sotallaro

Continuity planning, civilian and military