A frustrated President Obama faces an increasing tide of resistance to the deficit spending he thinks should go on forever. The old snake oil of tax increases on the Evil Rich isn’t selling, as anyone with a pocket calculator can see there’s no way to balance the budget with taxes unless even the lowest taxable income brackets pay over double what they’re paying now.
Maybe it’s time for some new voodoo on Capitol Hill. The parliament of Kyrgyzstan, a country so frugal that it sold all but one of the vowels in its name, has a provocative idea for cleaning up government. The Associated Press reports that it held a “traditional ceremony” this morning, in which members of parliament “sacrificed seven sheep in what they call a bid to drive evil spirits out of the chamber.” The meat from the slaughtered sheep was donated to homes for the elderly and disabled after the ceremony.
The Kyrgyzstan parliament has thus far been an unhappy place. The previous president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, was deposed in a violent uprising. Debates between representatives have been known to degenerate into fistfights. If things improve after today’s ceremony, why not give it a try in Washington?
Just one problem: where are we going to find any sacrificial lambs that Congress isn’t already using?
And, dear God, what happens if they try sacrificing the wrong sheep?
