Studying government is the art of saying “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!” twelve times a day and sincerely meaning each one. — Jon Sanders

So … the Obama administration wants to save the spotted owl by shooting barred owls:

WASHINGTON — To save the imperiled spotted owl, the Obama administration is moving forward with a controversial plan to shoot barred owls, a rival bird that has shoved its smaller cousin aside.

The plan is the latest federal attempt to protect the northern spotted owl, the passive, one-pound bird that sparked an epic battle over logging in the Pacific Northwest two decades ago.

Further down you’ll read Interior Secretary Ken “Elmer Fudd” Salazar calling it a “science-based approach.”

Stories like this, because I strive for accuracy, prompted me to began describing such highly idiotic things as being in the top percentiles of stupidest things I’ve ever heard. After all, it would be a Herculean task to sort among the ever-mounting pile of examples of clucking government inanity to find the ne plus ultra, the King Kamehameha, the heavyweight champ of stupidest things ever.

HT: Christine Harbin on Twitter.