according to a judge in mississippi, the constitution does not give any u.s. citizen the right to clean drinking water or accurate information during a pandemic.

so why do we pay them?

the u.s. census bureau stopped reporting on americans' diet in 2010.

 in 1916, jeannette rankin became the first female member of congress... 4 years before american women were permitted by men to vote.

during wwii, the united states government rationed shoes. civiliands were asllowed 3. not 3 pair. 3 shoes.

because the uk believes that loneliness is a public health concern, they have a minister of loneliness.

television stations and government agencies can play a tone via your television that is inaudible to you, but which can be identified by your smartphone, which responds by letting whoever generated the tone know who and where you are. if there are multiple people in the room, their phones will confirm that everyone is in the same place.

william langer, a former governor of north dakota, was convicted of a felony. when the police came to collect him, he barricaded himself in the governor's mansion, declared martial law, and declared that north dakota was an independent state that did not recognize u.s. laws. he was eventually removed from office and tried several times, and was elected governor again 3 years later.

the u.s. department of the treasury asks for and receives charitable donations to reduce the national debt.

the first film ever shown in the white house was 'birth of a nation', a silent film that advocated white supremacy, and was later used by the klu klux klan as a recruiting tool.

the number of government employees in the u.s. that are involved in the spy business in one capacity or another: 845,000 and counting.

general george washington told the continental congress that he didn't want a salary. instead, he had an expense account. he spent us$6,000 in 7 months - in 1780's money, mind you, which is like dog years in dough terms - on booze.

all told, in his 8 years as commander-in-chief, george spent somewhere around us$5 million in modern money on himself, money he loaned to friends who never paid it back, and ridiculously expensive saddles.

while his army starved at valley forge, general george washington threw himself a birthday party that included mutton, fowl, and a band.

when polled, most americans think that we spend about 21% of our federal budget on foreign aid, and that we should spend about 11%.

in reality, we spend about 1% of our federal budget on foreign aid.

the u.s. government permits itself to claim part or all of your tax refund if you or your parents received more social security money than you should have, even if the debt is more than 10 years old. they are also not required to tell you this before doing it.

in australia, if you don't do anything with your bank account for 7 years, the government claims the money, and won't give it back. they collect roughly us$360 million per year this way.

in the u.k., you pay 70 cents per minute to call the police to report a crime. this also applies to financial helplines, tax offices, the pension office, and other government organizations.

in 1986, the u.s. government gave itself the right to read everyone's email without a warrant or even notification, provided that the messages in question are at least 180 days old.

to topple a totalitarian government, it only takes 3.5% of a country's population, all participating in sustained nonviolent civil disobedience. (i wonder what the percentage is to topple an oligarchy? and, more importantly, what do you replace it with?)

the u.s. government has repeatedly ordered google to take down youtube videos of police brutality. google routinely refuses.

loyalty to the country always. loyalty to the government when it deserves it.

samuel clemens, also known as mark twain
(1835 - 1910)