More news on yesterday’s fiscal cliff deal; now we discover that the Senate, that august deliberative body (not the emphasized word) received the 154-page bill for deliberation three minutes before voting on it.

Three minutes, True Believers.  Three.  One more than two.  One hundred and eighty seconds.  Excerpt from the linked article:

Multiple Senate sources have confirmed to CNSNews.com that senators received the bill at approximately 1:36 AM on Jan. 1, 2013 – a mere three minutes before they voted to approve it at 1:39 AM.

The bill is 154-pages and includes several provisions that are unrelated to the fiscal cliff, including repealing a section of ObamaCare, extending the wind-energy tax credit, and a rum tax subsidy deal for Puerto Rican rum makers.

The bill avoids the fiscal cliff by making permanent the Bush tax cuts for individuals making less than $400,000 per year and couples making less than $450,000 and by putting off the automatic spending cuts (sequestration) from last year’s debt ceiling deal until March.

A rum tax subsidy for Puerto Rico?  Wind-energy tax credits?  Seriously?  Is it any wonder that Congress’ approval ratings are lower than dirt?

And it’s not over yet.

(The young woman to the left is not in Congress, and has nothing to do with out-of-control Federal spending.  Her appearance here is purely gratuitous.)

The next big battle will be over raising (again) the Imperial Federal Government’s debt limit, from “nuts” to “freaking insane.”

The whole thing is like kabuki theater.  Lots of posturing, lots of drama, lots of posing for effect – and it’s all just a show.  In the end, we leave the theater behind, and find ourselves in the same mess we have been in all along.