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U.S. Government: Sorry, We're Closed
theodp writes "CNN reports that the U.S. government shut down at 12:01 a.m. EDT Tuesday after lawmakers in the House and the Senate could not agree on a spending bill to fund the government. Federal employees who are considered essential will continue working. But employees deemed non-essential — close to 800,000 — will be furloughed, and most of those are supposed to be out of their offices within four hours of the start of business Tuesday."
That would require having balls. Such're just increasingly redundant legal fictions over there...
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
Ah I suppose there are better places to put this but fuck it. Not like its going to make an ounce of a difference anyway.
First of all yes our gov is fucked. Governing systems, be they your guild/clan/local chapter of Whatever I Like club, are never perfect. Due to personal interests, ego, poor leadership, outside interests, and likely a number of other things I'm not listing here. However when we are talking about government at our federal level we have taken it to a whole new level of crazy with allowing money to be infused into the system in a scale that I don't know that has any equal unless you go back a few decades. (I hear that in the 1920's the plutocrats were crazy out of control, as they are now, but I don't know what mechanisms where in place. Still, nearly 100 years ago so lets keep focus on this age.)
Next huge failure is our media. Not too long ago news reporting was considered a break even, or even a loss leader for things like TV, profession. Journalism and all the integrity that went along with it. Then that changed when it was realized that money could be made off the "news cycle" and journalism, by in large, went right out the window. Most media now is classified as entertainment. That is right. It is not as much news as it is there to sell you ideas, stuff, or even your info.
As such our media LOVES the idea of calling things down the middle. That lets them have the "gladiator fights" that keeps the eyes glued to the TV sets, web pages, or glossy mags.
"This axe murderer things he should be able to kill 10 people without punishment! This person over here things that they should not be allowed to kill anyone. SOME people say that they should compromise. What do YOU think? Is 3 a fair number? Tune in at 11 and find out!"
In short yes gov is always fucked, ours currently is particularly fucked, but that does not mean calling it down the middle is always correct. There is a vested interest by those who make money off such things in pushing that idea. And by in large it works. People LOVE the idea of compromise.
So all that being said our current situation is NOT even. The extreme right, be it types like the Koch brothers and also the religious right, has taken over the GOP. They have 0 compunction about doing ANYTHING to get their way. Including using issues that normally never anything more than rubber stamps that both party's did to just move the day to day governance along.
They did so last year with the debt ceiling (a separate issue that is going to come up again very soon) causing the US to lose part of our best in the freaking world credit rating. They have used the filibuster at a rate that has never been seen. They seek to win at any costs and use the idea of compromise as leverage to let them kill 3 people all the fucking time.
And so yes, the Dem's have issues. They enabled this ultra-right wing GOP to think that if they just can kill 3 people and call it a day everyone will be happy. Hopefully they will grow a spine and say no this time.
Finally if you don't agree with this then you are either ignorant of the facts, been brainwashed by the media, or are one of the ultra-right GOP teabaggers. And I really don't give a shit what you have to say.
Really, I know what I'm doing...Ohhhh, look at the shiny buttons!
So what's your point. If you can't do something properly you should do whatever it takes instead? You can't ask someone you don't know 41 times to give you $1000 and if they refuse the 41st time tell them they need to give you the money or you'll key their car and then claim they are being unreasonable.
There's a democratic president who got elected on a platform including this bill, there's a democratic senate and the majority of voters voted for democratic congresspeople. The Republicans can't do this legitimately because the voters chose not to give them the power to run the country so they're using economic vandalism to try and get their way instead.
It is not like they went through the normal process to pass the ACA in the first place.
The ACA was passed using Reconciliation(something that previously was only used for getting budgets passed), so it seems reasonable that another budget-related method is used to adjust it ore remove it.
It does seem a little hypocritical that Obama, who always seems to be calling for compromise, is refusing to compromise now that something he values is at risk.