Bride of Rove could use some schooling on topic of bloated federal salaries.

Evidently, she thinks they don't exist, and if they do exist, it's alright because they are all ex-military.

My comment:
I can tell you I know of a federal employee making between 50 and 66% more in federal service than she would for the same work in the private sector, and she has no military background.

“so when Beck rants that the Federal workers should make what the military make … I have no idea what the hell to say to that.”

I know what to say to what I just quoted there. It’s a question. “Do you think even a few years of military service should award somebody a 200% raise for the rest of their life, when they are no longer in the military?

The absurdity of Walter Shapiro.

Just to cherry pick at an immediately obvious weakspot, Shapiro seems to have sympathy with the comedian Lewis Black. Here's Black:

"So in the name of fighting terrorism, we're willing to start wars, waterboard people and kill civilians with unmanned drones. But the one line we won't cross is our waistline."

Here's reality.

There is no absurd aspect to the protest. Wars, the waterboarding of the three people who were waterboarded, and the use of drones in war are all actually likely to do some good--in fact we already know they have. Molesting a 3 year old can do no good at all, it is useless and expensive "security theater".

As for "suddenly frisky", what is suddenly true is that the searches are suddenly not merely useless but now intolerable.