The 545...

My mom sent me an email containing a column by Charlie Reese, along with a poem and a list of taxes.  While the column was indeed written by Reese, it wasn't something published recently (as the email implied) – it was published in 1995 (and actually written 10 years before that!).  The rest of the email was a mashup someone decided to do.

The Reese column is a famous one, and worth reading if you've never seen it.  What I find most interesting about it is that its observations (like those of Mark Twain or H. L. Mencken) are just as pertinent today as when they were written.  Here's the conclusion of Reese's famous column:

We have annual deficits and a huge federal debt because that's what majorities in Congress and presidents in the White House wanted. We have troops in various Third World rat holes because Congress and the president want them there.

Don't be conned. Don't let them escape responsibility. We simply have to sort through 260 million people until we find 545 who will act responsibly.

Go read the whole thing.