there is no such thing as a joke

When I heard that President Bush was set to announce the deployment of National Guard troops to “police” the Mexican border, I joked, “Why are we sending troops when we could pay Custer Battles to do the same job?” Well, sure enough, I just heard on Morning Edition that under the President’s proposal, the Guard deployment will only be temporary—just long enough to allow for the hiring of private contractors.

I’m not laughing.