The hotly disputed 'Duh'

Only in contemporary American politics is as big a "Well, DUH!" as this too hot for all but one public official to touch.

And that "Well, DUH!" realization is that we can't keep this mess up as a society and a country and avoid following the Roman Empire into oblivion. Only the U.S. comptroller general, however, has the guts to mention Jumbo in the family room.

That probably is because he's officially non-partisan in his position and doesn't depend on lying to voters like a $20 whore lies to a john about what a real man he is. Sayeth The Financial Times:

The US government is on a “burning platform” of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon, the country’s top government inspector has warned.

David Walker, comptroller general of the US, issued the unusually downbeat assessment of his country’s future in a report that lays out what he called “chilling long-term simulations”.

These include “dramatic” tax rises, slashed government services and the large-scale dumping by foreign governments of holdings of US debt.

Drawing parallels with the end of the Roman empire, Mr Walker warned there were “striking similarities” between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, including “declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government”.

“Sound familiar?” Mr Walker said. “In my view, it’s time to learn from history and take steps to ensure the American Republic is the first to stand the test of time.”

SOUND FAMILIAR, HE ASKS? As a matter of fact, it does.