I agree that there are a lot of Yahoos on the Hill, but this is not all
*posturing.*  The issues that divide the two sides are enormously
important, and the media more inclined to treat this as a battle royal,
and to stress the inconveniences and pains generated as a by-product,
than to explore the long-range impact of altering the way we have viewed
the public world (not just the public sector) in this century.  The right
seems to feel that the nation has voted to rescind any form of
connectedness other than the "free" market (and the military).  The left
has lost any clear sense of the rationale underpinning the construction
of a civil society and a humanistic civilization.  So the whole country
is tremendously unprepared for the debate that is taking place.  It's
sad, indeed, that Vermeer and the processing of complaints about unfair
labor practices, etc., have to be held hostage to this battle.  But in
the long term, questions of great moment are being decided, and it's
nonsensical to wish that these guys would just be able to bargain their
way to an agreement over a cup of coffee.  Of course, a real resolution
of these issues would take much longer to evolve, but we don't have a way
other than the clattering mechanisms of our 18th-century government to
reconcile such a condition of belligerence.  Issues of such significance
were also being debated in 17th-century Holland, while Vermeer painted.
I only hope that those who can are creating art at this moment that will
long outlast the political careers of these Yahoos.