Sequestrian Dressage, Some There, There Dept. 0

Air travelers throughout the country were hit with cancellations and tarmac delays as long as four hours Monday, as the nation’s largest airports grappled with the onset of furloughs for Federal Aviation Administration air-traffic controllers.

“Industry-wide, the FAA plan could delay one out of every three people who fly, and the delays could be significant,” United Airlines says.

Some have wondered why the one sequestrian dressage dance step that upset Republican Congresspersons was the closure of certain air traffic control centers.

It’s because of a central myth of wingnuttery: the belief that the evul Fedrul guvmint doesn’t do anything useful.

Indeed, this may be a core belief of the nihilists on the right. In their view, government is not of the people, by the people, for the people, but is some kind of inherently evil other.

In reality, most of what most governments do is useful, stuff such as providing roads, hospitals, schools, garbage collection, scientific research, citizen protection, and many other things (with the possible exception of blowing up peasants all over the world because they look hinky to a gamer droning on in Nevada, yes, all over the world, tonight, all over the world you can hear the sounds of boom!).

Being reminded that the evul Fedrul guvmint does useful stuff strikes at the core of their nihilism, so they want the evidence to just

please

go

away.

Afterthought:

For example.