Short Stories, Long Odds

J Berthume: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/pictures/2004/07/31/mn_deficit31.jpg

J Berthume: so there’s the problem

J Berthume: … and here’s the solution!: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/0.91/public/-/2/hi/business/3529818.stm

imacowboymonkey: i don’t totally understand it, but i know it’s bad times

J Berthume: yeah. some how or other, congress gave itself the power to forgive its own debt

imacowboymonkey: that doesn’t work in the real world

J Berthume: no, no it doesn’t

J Berthume: i can’t call up Sallie Mae and be like "Okay, after much careful thought, I’ve decided that you just have to keep giving me money, and I’m never paying you back”

imacowboymonkey: can you even imagine what people think of america when stories like this come out? we’re like the 80′s teen comedy bully, who everyone hates, but always comes out on top, then dunks the nerdy hero’s head in pudding.

J Berthume: yeah, except we don’t lose or learn anything in the end

J Berthume: we are an unresolved stereotype

imacowboymonkey: "SWEEP THE LEG, JOHNNY!"

J Berthume: exactly

J Berthume: but see, in this version of the movie, Johnny sweeps the leg, wins the trophy, enslaves Pat Morita and fucks Ralph Macchio’s girlfriend in the dojo parking lot

J Berthume: also: on the hood of that classic yellow truck

imacowboymonkey: great. we’re the cobra kai of the world.