Budget, budget? Our state doesn't need no stinkin' budget

Lincolnland is a very poorly run state, and it has been for a long time. Presently there is no state budget, since last July, and not having a budget for the whole year is a real possibility.  Governor Rauner-round and the war lords of Madiganistan are at loggerheads. Rauner-round decided that he would hold the state budget hostage to force the war lords to pass anti-labor legislation that supposedly is pro-business, but they decided they could play chicken and have made no concessions, so the state is at an impasse. Both parties think the other party will get the blame, but there is plenty to pass around. Lots of organizations, lots of schools, lots of people are in dire straits, and it doesn't seem our politicians care, particularly the guy giving us the big Rauner-round. Turns out hostage taking is not a very good legislative strategy. This hasn't had a direct impact on yours truly, but you hate to see a poorly run state literally grind to a halt; at least the F1 was spared a layoff or cut in salary. Now add to this mixture, a lame-duck president, a native son, is visiting today to help matters out, not that he has done very well in terms of legislative action because of an inflexible majority in Congress. Perhaps the entire state should be put up for sale, scratched, dented, and bruised as it is, it still has good agricultural land. Can we let the free market forces decide?  Heck, everything else has been privatized, a solution to poor public management of everything from prisons to schools to traffic lights and other forms of gambling. So why not the state itself? Make an offer, please! Maybe you can figure out how to make things work. 

USA National Motto funny business

The current House of Representatives having found nothing useful to do wants to pass a non-binding resolution reaffirming "In God We Trust" as the national motto. Funny that because all the people who are so eager for this reaffirmation also argue for the original intent of the constitution worshiping what they think the nation's founders meant. Well, the founders were clear on one thing, the motto they adopted in 1782 as part of the USA's great seal is E pluibus unum, an affirmation of a nation built of states. In God We Trust was a political gesture born of the cold war and the communist scare of the 1950s. The Phactor clearly remembers when it became necessary to become a deist to pledge allegiance to our country ("one nation under God") which guarantees your freedom of religion by making you say something religious to be patriotic. Of course it just meant memorizing new words back then. Supporters argue that this motto is not promoting religion, and its secular nature has been upheld in the courts, so how can anyone be upset? If you want to test the idea that "In God We Trust" and "one nation under God" are secular in their intent, whether they promote religion or not, then why not be more inclusive and just make a tiny editorial change: "In gods we trust" and "one nation under gods". What to bet what will happen? No of course not. The howl would be enormous because those mottos don't wink, wink, nudge, nudge affirm the right religion. Secular my foot. Go ahead, test the hypothesis. Oh, yes, tried this one out on a Lutheran minister who was arguing that the slogan on our money was of a purely secular nature. He became purely purple.