No Laughing Matter: Bureau of Public Debt Tries to Hire Cartoonist to Make Americans Forget Financial Crisis
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on July 18, 2009
Video Reminder: Stop Government’s Reckless Spending and Taxation, Fourth of July Tea Party Protest 2009: Gilbert, AZ
(background music: ‘God Bless America,’ Kate Smith)
Another lame idea from the government to waste more taxpayers’ money… enough already.
The Bureau of Public Debt, part of the US Treasury Department, decided to hire its own CARTOONIST to create amusing cartoons to “lighten up” work place meetings and make Americans forget that they are losing their jobs, losing their homes, facing skyrocketing taxes and rising Federal debt, paying for a non-stimulus package that has been wasted and given to political cronies, and can barely put food on the table. And these elitist weasels in Washington have the gall to mock tea party protests.
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While I’ve always thought laughter can cure many ills, it’s inappropriate and insulting that the Bureau of Public Debt, the department that has its spoon in the pot of the economic problems in the first place, would resort to such silly tactics. Families on the brink of financial ruin are not children to be placated with a stupid cartoon. Sen. Byron Dorgan put an end to the nonsense.
Fix the economy and we won’t need any goofy distracting cartoons. And don’t get any bright ideas about hiring clowns (we have plenty in Congress) or shadow puppeteers (Obama does that well enough on his own) to amuse the angry and devastated American public. Stop the outrageous spending and the bankrupting of our nation. And the hiring of cartoonists? That’s a shriveled cherry on the metaphorical sundae, a desperate “jumping the shark” tactic.
From The Hill:
Senator quashes Treasury’s bid for humorist
By Alexander Bolton
July 17, 2009The chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee quashed an effort by the Treasury Department to hire a cartoonist after the link to the job ad was posted on the Drudge Report.
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) contacted the Treasury Department to complain after Matt Drudge’s website linked to a want ad for contractors with the “ability to create cartoons on the spot about [Bureau of the Public Debt] jobs.”
The cartoonist was sought to provide presentations for the bureau’s management meetings, according to the ad.
“The contractor shall conduct two, 3-hour Humor in the Workplace programs that will discuss the power of humor in the workplace [and] the close relationship between humor and stress,” the ad stated.
Several conservatives on Capitol Hill found it highly amusing that the Bureau of the Public Debt found it necessary to resort to humor in order to ease the stress of management meetings at a time when the federal deficit is ballooning.
But Dorgan didn’t find it so funny.
“Of all the agencies, the Bureau of Public Debt should know that there is very little that is funny about today’s economic conditions,” Dorgan said in a statement. “I understand the need for motivation in the workplace, but I think we have a greater motivation to save the taxpayers some money.”
The bureau canceled its plan to hire a cartoonist after Dorgan intervened.
“I’m glad that the agency that deals with our public debt came to their senses and stopped their plans to hire a contractor to create cartoons in the workplace,” Dorgan said.
Wesley Denton, a spokesman for Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), a leading fiscal conservative, laughed when he heard about the Treasury Department ploy before turning serious.
“It’s ridiculous and shows how out of touch they are with regular Americans,” he said. “Other Americans are worried about putting food on the table and don’t have time to goof around.”
The Bureau of the Public Debt has apologized for attempting to hire a cartoonist.
“A recent procurement request for information (RFI) seeking a training consultant to aid managers has been canceled,” the agency said in a statement. “The RFI did not represent an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars, and we regret the early steps taken on this effort.”
Additional reading:
Newstin: Treasury Cancels Plans To Hire Cartoonist
The Other McCain, Hot Air: A Liberal Lecture on Economics (and Why It Won’t Work)
Cam Cannon, Big Hollywood: Obama’s Jedi Mind Trick: We’ve Been Put on Notice
GayPatriot: Does the President Ever Smile When He Speaks? and Despite 2008 Election, Americans Still Moving Right
Byron York, Washington Examiner: The RAT hiding deep inside the stimulus bill: The far-reaching — and potentially dangerous — provision that no one knows about
Hot Air Green Room: CNN Creates Misleading Headlines to Save Obama’s Credibility and Zero Percent Unemployment – Now!
Right Pundits: Steny Hoyer: Second Stimulus Possible
The American Pundit: The Hypocritical Incompetence of Congress
Rasmussen Reports: Most Texas Voters Say Economy is Bad, Getting Worse
Living Jersey: Biden admits stimulus is a scam
Gateway Pundit: CBO DIRECTOR: US BUDGET IS ON UNSUSTAINABLE PATH and Unreal. With Unemployment at 9.5% Obama Says Stimulus Is Working and Palin Calls Obama’s Massive Spending & Economic Policies “Immoral” and Late to the Party — Rich Obama Supporters Realize He’s a Class Warrior and Joe the Plumber: Obama’s Answer Was “Right Out of Karl Marx’s Mouth” (Video) and Joe the Plumber Weighs in on Debate: “Obama’s Proposal Scares Me Because It’s Just One More Step Towards Socialism”
The K Ryan James Blog: Hopenchange: A transparent lack of transparency
Scared Monkeys: Joe Biden’s Idiotic Comment: “We Have to Go Spend Money to Keep From Going Bankrupt”
Leigh Scott, Big Hollywood: Has Liberalism Jumped the Shark?
Stop The ACLU: Obama Tanks In Ohio
Gunservatively!: Son-of-a-Stimulus!
Jim Blazsik: Obama vs Obama on the Stimulus
Steven Crowder, Big Hollywood: Lonewolf Diaries: The Truth About Dumb, Liberal Canadians and Their Lies
Hot Air: DeMint to Obama on health care: How’s that stimulus working out, champ? and Report: McCaskill’s staffers flip health-care protesters the bird and Biden: We must bankrupt the country to avoid bankrupting it and What top-tier economists use to analyze success
Mere Rhetoric: WaPo: Obama Staffers The Bestest And Diligentest Staffers Ever. Especially That Gibbs Guy. He’s Super.
Innocent Bystanders: The Stimulus Package that Forgot to Stimulate Anything
Michelle Malkin: Democrats reverse Obama on auto dealerships and Inside the monstrous Obamacare bureaucracy and Two Democrats in New York abandon ship, give GOP control of state Senate and Billionaire to New York: Screw you and Your TARP dollars at work and Sen. Coburn: Our Watchdog and Spawn of the Spendulus Updated and Document drop: Porkulus One is a failure, so let’s do it again! and Bailoutmania: Not “permanent.” Just forever… and Tim Geithner is a joke in China, too and White House pushing to gag stimulus critics
The American Pundit: Poor Babies: Obama Staffers Exhausted by the Stress of Wasting Money
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Washington Just Doesn’t Get It… Throwing More Money into a Second Porkulus Bill Won’t Fix the Economy and Yet Another Trillion Dollars of Taxpayer Money… Gregg Warns That Obama’s Bailouts Will Bankrupt America and The Obamas’ Personal Debt vs. Obama’s Demand That Americans Cut Back and Liberal MSM Headlines: Obama’s Effectiveness on Economy Crumbling, More Americans Negative on His Spending… Colin Powell Wrong about Taxpayers Wanting “Big Government”
My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy: Stimulus fallout
Radio Vice Online: Nice… Paychex founder goes Galt on New York – sort of
Suitably Flip: New Evidence Confirms: People Rational
American Elephants: They Lie, and Lie, and Lie in a Raw Grab for Power. Are You Going to Let Them Get Away With It?
Vets On The Watch: Government Lies To Get Agenda Passed
Breitbart.com: Rising unemployment accelerates foreclosure crisis
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The Patriot’s Mind: How Obamacare will Cripple the US Economy
CNSNews.com: Joe Biden: ‘We Have to Go Spend Money to Keep From Going Bankrupt’
Temple of Mut: Detention Won’t Change a Delinquent
NewsBusters: MSNBC’s Shuster Relies on Media Matters to Hunt for Truth About Conservatives
Neoavatara: Failure You Can Believe In: Obama Stimulus II
About the author
Excellent piece. Why not a turtlebahn cartoon showing turtles living large in their soon to be constructed the $3.4 million dollar tunnel you wrote about early?
That would be almost as humorous as The Huffington Post story on the host of the MSNBC program, The Ed Show, challenging Rush to a debate. Did you hear about that one?:
The C Dawg came us with his own take:
The story reported by Huffington Post that MSNBC The Ed Show host, Ed Shultz, had issued an on-air challenge to Rush Limbaugh to debates, calling Rush a “coward”, apparently has flaws.
The conservative blogs quickly jumped on the story, questioning whether the program was actually televised. Blog spokesman C Dawg, reports that their investigators have been searching for anyone who actually saw the original airing of the bombastic challenge.
Nielsen Ratings confirmed low ratings for the show for the night of the alleged airing of the program, stating that their survey showed that one family in San Francisco may have seen it. A Moveon.org reader who phoned in to that he had watched the original program, waffled, when questioned later under oath, an oath sworn to “Mother Nature”, at his insistence. His sworn affidavit says that he thinks he “might” have seen the program, but his mind was foggy on the subject, after a night of peyote and Red Bull. “Dude,” he said,” I’m not sure now. Is that like the one where the cool horse talks?”
Huffington Post founder, Arianna Huffington, after arguing that the Nielsen ratings and the MoveOn caller’s affidavit did not prove anything, is said to be examining another July post. This, now questionable post, was published on July 3, 2009 by the Post.
Referring to their opponents as “sissy boys”, Joe the “Plumber” and Todd “ First Dude ” Palin have challenged Ed, “ The Mouth ” Shultz and Keith “I wish I had O’Reilly’s ratings” Olberman, to combined wrestling match and snow machine race wearing only Speedos, on the frozen Alaskan tundra at Anwar, calling the two opponents, “sissy boys.” Olberman, lowering his voice an octave, responded that he was no sissy boy; he used to work the sports beat where some of his best friends are football players. “Masculine” through association failed to convince the “Plumber”, who refused to retract the slur….
FOX is said to have agreed to televise the “Plumber”, Palin, Shultz, and Olberman matches in a double header with Shep Smith and Anderson Cooper in an arm wrestling contest.
NBC’s Katie Couric is said to want a piece of Sarah Palin, challenging Gov. Palin to a newspaper reading contest. Palin, who demanded that Polaris snow machine repair manuals would be included with the New York Times, said that she would whip Couric, “like a rented mule.” When told that PETA and SMUT (the Society of Mule Utilization Transportation) had filed ethics charges in Alaska over the remark, Palin laughed and said,” Nanny Nanny Boo Boo. I’m no longer a governor, so shame on you two!”
Sources close to CIA Chief Panetta confirmed that Panetta likes the trend towards public challenges. Said to be secretly getting into shape, training with CIA agents, Panetta plans to issue a challenge to Nancy Pelosi to an ultimate caged fighting match. The winner will be awarded the coveted, “I’m Not A Liar, She is” Trophy. Panetta promised a full report to congress.
This is not Schultz’s first debate challenge/rating boost. See Wikipedia report http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Schultz.
Schultz-Prager exchange:
Schultz has engaged in a minor conflict with talk-show host Dennis Prager. Prager defended controversial comments made by William J. Bennett on the September 28, 2005 broadcast of his morning radio program, which Schultz characterized as being racist. Prager asserted that Schultz had quoted Bennett out of context and Schultz challenged Prager to a debate. Prager accepted the challenge but Schultz never responded. No debate has taken place and the issue appears to be dead. [citation needed]
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