The Hunger Games come to America

  You may have read about pop star Justin Bieber's recent bizarre behavior, the latest his appearing at the airport half naked to go through security. 
  (While most of us feel like that's what we're reduced when going through airport security, take a look at Bieber here and tell me that's normal for a pop star. I mean, I know young fellas showing their underpants is all the rage these days in spite of admonitions that the style started in prison as a symbol of availability and that even peopleofwalmart.com got in on the ridicule and maybe Bieber's just looking for any excuse to show off his abs, but this behavior is getting pretty cuckoo bird.)
  Obviously there's concern over Bieber's state of mind, and indeed his past behavior indicates he may be developing some serious mental issues.
  Sociologically what's interesting to me, however, is that Bieber also seems to be suffering from the ego enlargement that infects so many celebrities who surround themselves with sycophantic suck-ups who toady to their every whim such as removing all the brown M&Ms so his/her majesty won't have to be tainted by touching them. Or something.
  I don't usually delve into pop stars' behavior because this blog isn't intended to be like TMZ or Perez Hilton but I've been struck lately with the prima donna-ish behavior of most of our elected politicians, many of whom are exhibiting a rude and bold disregard for the public who foot the bills for their limousines.
  Once they get into office, taste the power of having their own personal toadies, limousine chauffeurs, private gyms and trainers, permanent reservations at exclusive restaurants, unlimited funds for any heart's desire and the right to scream "Don't you know who I am?" to any underling, they change.
  The concept of being judicious with money seems to be an unreasonable demand. Like the singer who spends $36,000 on every manicure, politicians have no trouble whatsoever spending enormous amounts of cash on themselves, the people who surround them. 
  We are indeed becoming a 2 tiered society, much like the Hunger Games, except that totally out of touch, selfish 1 percenters are the politicians and those who live in the thriving DC area and the unwashed masses include everyone outside the Washington, DC, area.
  Recent days, admittedly, things have gotten worse, as money is thrown here and there in the millions--even billions--while punishing school kids and airline travelers:

• Six months late and for the first time in four years, the Senate finally (yawn) got around to submitting a budget. Who cares how much debt we're accruing for the next generation?
• Obama's too busy golfing with Tiger Woods to even bother to submit a budget yet. Apparently we have problem with optics since the reelection.
• The Democrat Senate has never passed a budget submitted by Obama. Apparently budgets are for the little people. If we could only print our own money. Sigh.
• The Obamas have no trouble telling YOU to sacrifice, but even their children get separate exclusive vacations at great expense to the taxpayers. Thousands of dollars to spend on a trip for POTUS's  teenagers and their friends to the Bahamas but no White House tour for you.
• Taxpayers also flew an Obama daughter and her friends to Mexico for a break.
• Biden blew almost $600,000 just on hotel accommodations for one night in Paris rather than stay at the American Embassy.
• Biden spent $460,000 on one night of hotel accommodations in London.
• Biden spent $320,000 on limousine service for that one night in Paris.
• Taxpayers spend half a million dollars on water bottles for lawmakers.
• Just before releasing illegal criminals into the country and just as Napolitano threatened that lines will increase for the little people at the airport because of a 2% cut in this year's raise, the TSA spent $50 million on new uniforms, far more than even the Marines spend on uniforms.
• We know you're impressed by those TSA personnel, many of whom are criminals themselves, strutting around with their coffee cups, occasionally barking orders for you to hurry up the line. Just remember those outfits were personally fitted to each of them and cost $1,000 apiece but they had to buy their own shoes.
• Obama found the money to designate 5 new government memorials in blue states, including Ohio.
• Thousands and thousands of new federal jobs have been posted just in the past few weeks, in spite of sequester threats.
• In spite of relatively low costs, the White House refuses to allow children tours through the "people's house."

  Of course, it's not all about money.
  It's about power. 
  And threats to the taxpayer that they'd better stay in line.
  And decisions that affect our lives negatively regardless the cost.
  And  unbelievable waste, including government investment in cronies' businesses which yield little or nothing in the way of a product. It's the Tea Party's fault, the cronies claim, because prior to citizen protests, this would have been a "simple, noncontroversial tax credit."
  Yeaah. We got that.
  One has to wonder if, like Bieber, a crack-up is imminent.