Congress, with Apologies to The Beatles

Music by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Lyrics by John Lowell
To the tune of "Fool on the Hill"

Day after day,
Alone on the Hill,
The 535, the can't pass a budget bill
But nobody votes against them
Even though they are just fools,
And, they can't break their stalemate

But the fools on the hill,
See the government shutting down,
And they don't seem to care,
If the debt should go down

Bills introduced,
Must smell like dung,
535 screaming at the tops of their lungs
But nobody hears the others
The sounds they appear to make
They don't seem to notice

But the fools on the hill,

See the government shutting down,

And they don't seem to care,

If the debt should go down

Nobody seems to like them

We know not what they do

And they don't have any feelings

But the fools on the hill,

See the government shutting down,

And they don't seem to care,

If the debt should go down

Ooh, ooh,

Down and down and down,

And they never listen to us,

They know we think they're fools

They know we don't like them

But the fools on the hill,

See the government shutting down,

And they don't seem to care,

If the debt should go down

Ooh,

Clowns and clowns and clowns

A Pithy New Take on March Madness

Most of America just doesn't get it. They think that March Madness is comprised of the nice round number of 68 basketball teams and ends on April 4 at Reliant Stadium in Houston. They have their brackets and they lament every time one of their picks bites the dust. They say that the team that messed them up is a bracket-buster.

But, every good Enrolled Actuary knows that is not the real March Madness. OK, John, you've lost your mind, what is going on here?

March Madness starts this Sunday afternoon and including the post-event wrap-up, it runs essentially continuously through Thursday at noon. And, it doesn't change venues from year to year. There's a (program) grid, but there are no brackets. The headliners don't wear shorts. They don't do chest bumps and if they rise above the crowd, it's by walking up a few steps.

OK, I'll let you in on it. It's the 36th Annual Enrolled Actuaries Meeting jointly sponsored by the Conference of Consulting Actuaries and the American Academy of Actuaries. It's at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in the northwest corner of Washington DC. This, my friends, is the place to be. This is where you go to be seen. This is where you can have your own brush with fame.

In all seriousness, it's a great meeting. It has more government attendance than any other similar meeting. The speakers are almost all highly-rated. The Conference staff runs the meeting as perfectly as any meeting anywhere. You're not signed up yet? You can still get in. Register here.

You can't afford to miss it. The referees don't blow any calls. There are no bracket-busters. There is no home court advantage. And, what's more -- you get continuing education credit.

Be there or be square!