Some of them do listen.

Not many of them, but some of them.  By 'them' I refer, of course, to our congressional overlords humble elected public servants.  Responding to the growing chorus of concerns over the SOPA/PIPA 1-2 punch making its way through Congress, one of the Senate version's original sponsors has now decided to ask the Majority Leader to withdraw the bill.  Good for you, Senator Rubio.  And, as usual, he provides a clear and concise reason for his decision.  His explanation is a toned-down version of what most of the concerned folks have been saying all along - this is too broad a power to grant a power-hungry government.  There are better ways to combat online piracy, even if it can never be eliminated entirely.  This statement puts Senator Rubio on record along with several former supporters of the bill, including several co-sponsors.  He's not the first to back down, but he's the most recent and certainly the most articulate.  That's why he's mentioned here today.

They don't all listen though.  The good people of Nevada were kind enough to return a corrupt senile jackass to the Senate last year and the good people of the Democrat caucus were kind enough to leave him in charge.  So what are his plans now?  Apparently he's content to admit that the bill is a problem and move forward anyway.  Yeah, seriously.  He hopes to sort it all out with a managers' amendment later on.  No, I'm not kidding.  Listen to the man himself.  (And in case you need a preemptive debunking of his horseshit talking point about protecting jobs, I would refer you to my earlier thoughts on the subject.)

What was I saying about perception again?

Something comes to mind when I think of the folks working in federal agencies. Hard work isn't really it though. I'm sure there are plenty of government workers who come home at the end of the day feeling like they gave it their best shot and whatnot. The trouble is that the results of their work are absolutely awful when taken in the aggregate. And their pay and benefits are astronomical when taken in the aggregate.

Against this backdrop - yeah, Mr. President, I've met harder working folks in just about every walk of life. The truck driver who has to deal with your asinine regulations is working a lot harder for a lot less money than the federal workers who developed the regulations. The farmer who has to deal with your asinine regulations is working a lot harder for a lot less money than the federal workers who developed the regulations. The gazillionaire CEO that you love to pretend to hate is working a lot harder (for a lot more money in this case) than the federal workers who are paid to make his job more difficult. You know, at least until you pay him back with a federal job of his own.

I guess this shouldn't be terribly surprising, coming from the highest-paid federal worker in all the land.  We hear on a regular basis that this fella is working tirelessly on behalf of the American people.  All those golf games and vacations and lavish parties at the White House are just a form of hard work, you see?  The proles in the private sector - the ones paying the bills - simply wouldn't understand.  So the next time you meet a federal agency employee, maybe you should tip your cap and offer to wash his car or buy him some groceries or something.  After all, you won't meet anyone who works harder.