11 Things Washington Post Readers Think Government Screwed Up in 2011

Katherine Mangu-Ward | December 27, 2011

The Washington Post does its darnedest to turn its readers into libertarians today, with a handy post-Christmas lineup of the top government failures of the year—under the Perryian headline "The biggest government 'oops' of 2011." The rankings are taken from an online poll which drew 7,500 votes. A couple of my personal favorites:

6.) Fast and Furious: Two years ago, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began permitting small-time straw purchasers to pass firearms to middlemen, who trafficked the guns to Mexico. But the scandal erupted this year. As a result, ATF’s former acting director and top agency officials were reassigned and Arizona’s U.S. attorney resigned. Republican lawmakers want Attorney General Eric Holder to fire subordinates and have warned that impeachment is an option.

10.) USAJobs.gov Malfunctions: Cutting the unemployment rate may be a priority of the Obama administration, but the Office of Personnel Management didn’t help matters much. The agency relaunched the federal jobs site in October, but faced swift criticism from users who complained of slow loading times and misplaced résumés. The problems lingered for weeks. Perhaps federal job-seekers should turn instead to privately owned job sites that also post federal openings?

Plus expensive Justice Department muffins, Solyndra, and much much more!

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American Indian Holocaust|12.27.11 @ 9:50AM|#

Capitalist Government Triumph!

Spencer|12.27.11 @ 10:11AM|#

is this different from every other year?

sarcasmic|12.27.11 @ 10:18AM|#

I'd like to see 11 things the government didn't royally fuck up.

Heck, I'd settle for one.

|12.27.11 @ 10:19AM|#

acceptable alternative response:

"only 11?"

sarcasmic|12.27.11 @ 10:21AM|#

To be fair the headline does say "biggest".

|12.27.11 @ 10:32AM|#

I stand by my statement still.

Civilization = Government|12.27.11 @ 10:23AM|#

There is no Civilization (city-State) without State-level politics.

So when you say:

It would be more honest to say:

I'd like to see 11 things agricultural city-Statism (civilization) didn't royally fuck up.

The great non sequitur committed by defenders of Civilization, is to leap from the necessity of Society to the necessity of Civilization.

|12.27.11 @ 10:31AM|#

Libertarians are prepubescent girl-raortping, minority-hating, violent, statist, illogical, immoral, inconsistent, subhuman, and completely retarded ideologically. Furthermore, the horticultural city-state is a terrible evil, and we should all aspire to live in a non-city state typology.

There. You've officially convinced us. The door is THAT way.

*raortping, yeah, but raping as well.

|12.27.11 @ 10:33AM|#

I was hoping that "raortping" was some new thing I hadn't heard of. Darn It.

|12.27.11 @ 10:35AM|#

It's the act of libertarians indoctrinating prepubescent girls to accept the horticultural Marx-Mises city-state in their hearts and minds before RAPING them.

What, you didn't know?

|12.27.11 @ 11:00AM|#

I know, I was about to look it up and open a Wikipedia worm hole into the time I should spend working.

Almanian|12.27.11 @ 12:05PM|#

Res, evidently -omeone say doesn't have the -ecret say -ode cay....

*nods head toward wylie*

Res Stupida Americana|12.27.11 @ 11:00AM|#

Agriculture city-Statism isn't equivalent to horticulture, although the words are often conflated by the ignorant.

Agriculture or Permaculture [Horticulture]: Why Words Matter
by Jason Godesky | 13 June 2007
www.rewild.info/anthropik/2007.....ds-matter/

For instance, the Amazon Rainforest is a horticulturally gardened artifact of man.

1491
by Charles Mann
The Amazon rain forest may be largely a human artifact
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/a.....1491/2445/

Agriculture burns it down and creates desert.

|12.27.11 @ 11:28AM|#

Morphing and sock-puppeting are banning offenses on most forums. Both are forms of deception.

Don't feed it, people.

-|12.27.11 @ 12:23PM|#

There are no rules in anarchy.

|12.27.11 @ 10:52AM|#

2.) Government Shutdown Averted: No matter what you think of the size and scope of the federal government, most would agree it’s supposed to keep functioning. This year, on four separate occasions, agencies faced the prospect of shutting down because Congress and the White House couldn’t agree on spending levels. The confusion spurred weeks of preparations that were eventually shelved and bad feelings among federal workers already enduring a two-year pay freeze.

"Bad feelings among federal workers" hmmm. I feel their pain. My gums bleed for them. Truely.

|12.27.11 @ 10:53AM|#

That list is amazing, because this is the #2 screwup:

In other news, the government wasted a few hundred billion on fraud and Solyndra, but that wasn't nearly as bad as an almost-shutdown and bad feelings among the already well-heeled government workforce.

Apatheist|12.27.11 @ 11:20AM|#

Yeah I'd rather they "endure" a search for a new job that doesn't require them to ride on the backs of taxpayers.

Chatroom Crank|12.27.11 @ 11:05AM|#

That number two confused me. So the government screwed up by averting the shutdown? I agree with that. But I doubt the editors at the Post will.

Krampus Kristen |12.27.11 @ 11:15AM|#

I remember during Shutdown Scare 2011©, the local DC news interviewed some dude who they identified as a Federal IT Manager. This Federal IT Manager was whining about how he lives hand-to-mouth. If you're living hand-to-mouth on a Federal IT Manager's salary, you need to take a good long look at your lifestyle. And quit your fucking whining.

Just Sayin'|12.27.11 @ 12:25PM|#

Seems like you're whining about somebody else whining.

Pope Jimbo|12.27.11 @ 12:46PM|#

When you pay the 1st whiner's wages, it entitles you to whine as much as you want.

If the whiner of the 1st part doesn't like it, they are welcome to go get a job in the private sector.

Same principle works for kids.

Just Sayin'|12.27.11 @ 1:04PM|#

Regardless of the "sector," nobody likes a whiner, especially a whiner who whines about other whiners.

Maxxx|12.27.11 @ 11:54PM|#

What about whiners whining about whiners whining about whiners?

Fist of Etiquette|12.27.11 @ 11:43AM|#

11.) OPM’s Snow Day Miscue: An early dismissal for federal workers in January tied up traffic for hours.

How provincial.

|12.27.11 @ 12:21PM|#

I only came over here to see if KMW was going to talk about when she got her big chance to go on TV and talk about how Ron Paul had no chance to win the nomination because Romney and Cain are teh awesome!

I|12.27.11 @ 12:27PM|#

I think KMW has been reassigned to the Food Desk.

|12.27.11 @ 12:47PM|#

If you're living hand-to-mouth on a Federal IT Manager's salary, you need to take a good long look at your lifestyle.

You're a heartless monster, Kristen.

How can you sleep at night?

Kaon Kristen |12.27.11 @ 2:20PM|#

I know - I'm in a bad mood because my monocle is in the shop and my top hat has water stains!

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