quite possibly the worst sound in the world

is a US senator laughing.

the self-satisfied "gang of six" were on npr while i made my breakfast, and one of them told a "joke" (ha ha ha, we're crushing america!) and the others chortled along with it.

then one of them went on to say that the senate is a body of patriots all doing what they think is best for america.

but even an outrageous lie like that isn't as grating as hearing laughter from such wastes of space. i would enjoy laughter from thomas jefferson or abraham lincoln, flawed patriots, but patriots nonetheless. today's senators are patriots only in the sense that they love living in a country where they're set for life with giant corporate kickbacks.