How the West Was Won

I’m just saying.

You know how the West was won?

By the federal government, that’s how.

The federal government bought Louisiana.

The federal government sent Lewis and Clark to Oregon.

The federal government sent the US Army to invade California and steal it from Mexico.

The federal government sent the US Army to kill every Native American who objected to the notion of Manifest Destiny, and created federally funded and administrated reservations upon which to segregate the survivors and their descendants, thereby eliminating competition for Western lands.

The federal government provided financial incentives for the robber barons to build the railroads.

The federal government subsidized ranchers by leasing them federal lands for two cents an acre upon which to graze their cattle.

The federal government gave 160 acres of land to anyone who would live on it for five years.

The federal government built hydroelectric dams for at that time cheap and plentiful energy, which allowed developers to build air-conditioned housing in hot places.

The federal government built an Interstate Highway system.

The federal government bailed out the airlines after 9/11.

The federal government bailed out the banks in the last Depression, and again in this one.

The billionaire Koch brothers, now busily funding the Tea Party’s efforts to deconstruct the federal government, exist and thrive because of a United States created by the federal government.

Can we spell hypocrisy?

‘Cause they can’t.

I’m just saying.

Chatter Koch brothers