Government shut down stuff
I’ve been shutting down my portion of the government this morning. It’s harder work than my real job. But some of us got this nice letter from the President; Message from the President to U.S. Government Employees-2. basically none of this is his fault – you know that’s real leadership.
The House passed a funding bill that was rejected, so the compromised – you know that cryptic term, that no one on the liberal (in the neo-liberal sense) side of government understands and the compromise was shot down. But somehow Republicans are “the party of “no”” according to my liberal friends on Facebook. And, oh, yeah, it’s all about race, too.
Republicans only wanted to do the same favor for individuals and families what the administration has done for employers – give us a break on the Affordable Care Act for a year. And, the administration was so prepared for the launch of that healthcare beast this morning that the website for signing up is down for four hours.
We’re in this shut-down mess because Congress hasn’t passed a budget since 2007 – when Democrats took control of the House and the Senate. I listened to Harry Reid call conservatives “anarchists” this morning. And he said that conservatives are doing the same thing over-and-over which caused this. I submit that the Democrats have been doing the same broke-dick things over-and-over for fifty years.
Reid forgot that for two years that the Democrat Congress’ only focus was defunding the Iraq War – a vote they took over-and-over again instead of passing a budget. Who knows what their excuse is now, other than the fact that they don’t want to do their job.
Me? I’m doing fine – I have three months of money stashed in my checking account since this budget mess started. Now I’m going to take a nap.
ADDED: From MCPO NYC USN (Ret.), apparently computers don’t trust the Affordable Care Act either;
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Congress sucks
Anonymous in Jacksonville: if you are deemed a Federal “essential” employee (and from your comments above, I’d guess you are), you will be paid for the time you work during the shutdown. Unfortunately, that pay will be delayed until authorizing legislation is passed. But you’ll still be entitled to the pay for work performed, albeit delayed (and probably w/o any interest). If you’re a civilian, unlike those in uniform you also have a choice. You could opt stay home. You might well get fired, but you won’t risk going to jail. Until the bill was signed Monday authorizing military pay during the shutdown, those serving in uniform were looking at literally being required to show up on threat of legal action with the prospect of their pay being delayed indefinitely. In contrast, Federal employees who were sent home and who are not working – as in somewhere north of half of DoD’s civilian employees – will only get paid if Congress decides to give them a pilon. Exactly that happened during the 1997 shutdown. However, given the public’s “bash the Feds” mentality today I wouldn’t count on it this time around. And, frankly, the private sector has been dealing with this kind of crap – and much more severe forms – for literally decades. So I’d guess Federal employees aren’t exactly going to get much sympathy from most the rest of the US public about this. Many if not most of the US public knows someone who’s “been there, done that” – and had it much worse for much longer that 2 or 3 days. Bottom line: yeah, this is all the result of childishness on the part of both Congress and the Administration. But from my perspective, anyone who’s still at work today for the Federal government (vice sitting at home on enforced absence) should count their blessings rather than complain. Why? Because you’ll eventually get paid. Those Federal employees currently on furlough and not working face the prospect of losing a major chunk of income – just like a sh!tload of private sector folks have over the last… Read more »
I have to say this,
Since it is my desire to see a Federal Government that is just a fraction of it’s current size, I can only hope and dream that the majority of the furloughed Federal workers use this opportunity to find gainful employment off the Tax Payers tit!
If I had my way it would be a permanent situation.
Seriously? Furloughing all of these hard-working employees is the right thing to do? Meanwhile, government assistance for the people who can’t, or don’t want to work, will continue for now. Why don’t I just quit my job and go get on government assistance? I can sit on my couch all day and eat bon-bons. But then, you guys would bitch that I’m sponging off of the government. I’m not asking for your sympathy, I could really care less for any of it. What I am saying is that shutting down our government rather than compromising is asinine. In the end, someone is going to have to compromise anyways, or we’ll never have a working government.
HAHAHAHA Off the taxpayers’ tit? Okay, well then let’s just open the grills to the federal prison I work at and let all the criminals walk right out the door. I just hope they don’t find their way to your neighborhood, cause some of them are real class acts.
“Why don’t I just quit my job and go get on government assistance?”
Go for it. If I had my way there wouldn’t be any.
And before some uninformed nimrod mentions the loss of VA benefits under my draconian vision, let me remind you that military benefits are the fulfillment of contractual agreements, not government welfare or assistance. Something our government STILL can’t get right, and the unwashed masses can’t seem to comprehend.
Prison work? Nothing the states can’t handle if it came down to cases, and it’d be a hell of a lot cheaper as well, especially if we can ever wrap our heads around dropping the idiotic ‘War on Drugs’.
Sorry, my brother in law is a retired state detention officer, now working in the private prison sector. Say what you will, but there still seems to be little that the government does that the private sector can’t do both cheaper and with a lot less waste.
If I remember correctly, JAX used to work for a private company and counseled veterans, she’s a veteran, too. Then when that job ended she went to work for the Bureau of Prisons. I’ve met JAX and she’s really not a whiner, and she’s working in a prison – the last place on the planet I’d want to call my worksite. JAX is a pretty tough chick and a mother. So I’m cutting her some slack in regards to her next paycheck, since I know her concern isn’t about her new wide screen TV, but rather her child.
@107.
Jonn, where is that “youtube” site you mentioned to me the other day?
I cannot seem to find it.
Click on the My YouTube Channel link in my sidebar towards the bottom in “Special Attention”
Read you ‘Lima Charlie’ Jonn, and I agree, I would NEVER want to work in a prison, and have repeatedly told my b-i-l how much I respect his ability to work in that environment.
JAX’s problems aside, doesn’t anyone find it ironic that the country can function with the overnight loss of approx 900,000 employees? Talking about the country here, not the Federal government. If 43% of the Federal civilian workforce can be furloughed as non-essential, why can’t we start permanently trimming people from the Federal government altogether?
Rhetorical question, I’m well aware of the problem we’ve created.
Jacobite. I would not go that far, however I agree with your premise. As a furloughed employee, I welcome the debate going on in Congress and realize that my personal inconvenience is certainly outweighed by the needs of my nation and the change we so badly need.
If had to remain furloughed for an extended period in order to improve may son’s future, I would gladly do it.
I just thought of something today, last month I accepted a job with a defense contractor. My start date was pushed out till mid November to allow for the time to get my security clearance. *my last one expired when I retired 5 years ago.
I’m going to have to call my hr rep to find out if the shutdown is going to delay my getting a clearance.
save yourself a call – if they have not got it done already, they can’t even verify your SSN. There have already been articles about potential homeowners unable to finalize mortgages due to that.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Jonn 🙂
I’m truly not a whiner. This does prove to me that the federal government is too damn large, and I also think we shouldn’t be incarcerating quite as many people as they do. Mandatory sentencing and the war on drugs are part of that problem for sure. But I also don’t believe it should have come to this–just shutting down the government. Both sides can’t always get everything they want. There needs to be compromise.
Here. This explains it all. We’re being held hostage by a bunch of coneeited, egotistical jerks. See, they didn’t say that before. They didn’t make that clear.
http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/02/20777759-leaders-say-no-shutdown-breakthrough-after-white-house-meeting?lite
So now you know exactly what all those dickheads in DC think of US taxpayers as a species. We’re just dust in the wind to them. The only thing that counts is having their own way.
And in case I wasn’t clear, that applies to BOTH SIDES, not one or the other.
Even the liberals out here in the Great NW are getting pissed.
They were cool at first, but now the grant money(s) and entitlement are drying up.
Kinda funny, but surreal.
They are actually taking a more neutral stance. In private, anyway.
Just get it fixed! And create term limits!
I am snickering over that, EllTee Green Thumb.
WAITREFF!!… ANUFFER SPPPHOT AN A BEEER, MAIK IT A DUB… *THUMP!*….
Aww, SHIT!… TAXI!!!!
And apparently, since some GOPers are still trying to delay the start of obamacare, they are also out of touch with reality, because they think they can still delay the start of it, per this article.
http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663303/s/31fdfc37/sc/7/l/0Lnbcpolitics0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C10A0C0A20C20A790A8450Emccain0Ein0Ethe0Emiddle0Ecan0Esenates0Egop0Eelders0Esolve0Eshutdown0Emess0Dlite/story01.htm
Well, I give up. Now it’s just becoming ridiculous.
@62 Ex-PH2, that must be why I didn’t get that scholarship. I entered all my info into one of those fake sites! Yeah…that’s why…
@65 Master Chief, sorry for pissing you off before what I assume was your morning coffee. Just throwing out the fact that it happens on civilian computers as well. However, I realize the ultimate irony of your screenshot.
While all you liberal-leaning, uneducated dudes are attacking the Republican-led House of Representatives, you are missing the main point. The Senate, while made up of elected representatives, are not following the wishes of their electorate. The Democrat majority are following the Socialist agenda of the President. No Democrat President since Johnson has advocated a strong US military and free capitalist society. Our current president has announced that he will not negotiate with his opponents (It’s his way or the highway.), he will not support any “middle ground” on resolving differences on ObamaCare (53% of Americans oppose the healthcare plan), and he opposes any reduction of spending. There would be no budget problem if Harry Reid had negotiated and passed a budget each of the last 4 years. He refused to bring it to a vote in the Senate. Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and YoBoma have taken this country down the tubes.
@122 Well said. You needn’t look any further for proof of what you’re saying than that absurd letter from Preaident Obama. You can feel the narcissism flowing through every word.
@122 – UH, dude, you might want to REREAD some of the posts regarding the ‘whois’ to blame business. It’s BOTH parties, not one or the other. GOPers AND DEMos.
In this continuing saga of pure asshat stupidity and selfishness, it’s abundantly clear that the only people benefiting from the shutdown are those who stubbornly refuse to budge one inch on what THEY want, regardless of party affiliations.
http://news.msn.com/us/budget-debt-unresolved-on-shutdowns-3rd-day
A quote or two from said article:
Senate Democrats made clear they will not agree to reopening the government on a piecemeal basis. “You can’t fall for that legislative blackmail or it will get worse and worse and worse,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., who is close to Boehner, said he doesn’t think the speaker is ready to push any measure that would fail to win the backing of most of his 232 House Republicans. But some Democratic votes eventually will be needed in the 435-seat chamber, Cole said, because some hard-core conservative Republicans are unlikely to vote to end the shutdown or raise the debt ceiling without major concessions from Obama.
So, if you bother READING instead of JUMPING to a conclusion, you find that buttheaded stubbornness is in full swing on both sides of the political spectrum.
Meantime, those who rely on programs like WIC are held in stasis: Food banks are bracing for a surge in requests for help if WIC runs out of money. http://news.msn.com/us/shutdown-jeopardizes-nutrition-program-for-poor-families
This program also ensures that poorer kids get at least two meals a day at school, but they get nothing on weekends unless there is a food pantry they can go to.
To the extent that the pain that gov’t inflicts on the middle class is extended to others, I’m all for it. No one dies of starvation in this country. We don’t have people dying in the streets of disease or injury either. The debt-ceiling issue is loomimg again. And it’s pure insanity. Can you imagine doing this on a personal level. You live well beyond your means and pay on credit. When you near your credit limit, you asked that it be raised–again, and again, and again. Each time, you are accomodated. Oh, and let’s imagine that the huge debt can be passed on to your children, grandchilden, and great-grandchildren. Would you do it? Of course not, if you have a modicum of decency and any sense of personal responsibility. But that’s where we are as a country, indecent and irresponsible. It has to end sometime. As far as I am concerned, let that time be now. But it won’t. They’ll raise that debt ceiling again and put off the inevitable.
As far as I’m concerned, this entire thing is a public exercise in pure childishness, with Harry Reid at the forefront and that cadre of hard-liner GOPers right next to him.
But this is ripe material for satire, and I have lots of material for another ‘Honk! If you’ book. LOTS of it.
Here’s a link to comments on the DAV’s Facebook page, if anyone is interested.
https://www.facebook.com/The.DAV?ref=stream
@114–There needs to be compromise.
You know that, I know that, pretty much everyone here knows that.
However, nobody inside the beltway seems to share your/our view on that.
While I’m grousing about this whole thing, Harry Reid, the hookers’ best friend in a pinch, isn’t returning phone calls and no one is answering the phone in his office.
Probably true for a lot of people.
Jax. This isn’t the first time Jonn has gone to bat for you. He owns the joint so that fairly puts the kibosh on taking you to task for anything you say, I guess. Enjoy.
First of all, for those of you currently taking part in whatever contest you think is running, please stop. Take it off of the table and put it back in your pants; it’s unsanitary. People are being hit by this snafu in different ways. Some harder than others. I am loathe to admit this, but my wife and I live on foodstamps. After nine years in the military, I am overqualified for jobs in my trained field. The only thing I was able to find is a housekeeping position where I am lucky if I actually get 20 hours in a week (at minimum wage). My wife works for a drycleaner and gets a little bit better money. All together, we make barely enough to actually have spending money for things like car maintenance, gas, and clothing. Well, our foodstamps were not renewed thanks to the government shutdown and now we have to decide which of our possessions to sell to be able to eat. On top of that, I was rubber stamped at 10% disability for my PTSD because 0bama wanted to look like he was clearing the backlog at the VA. I was supposed to have a reassessment on Monday, but I was called and told it will be rescheduled. It took me three months to get it in the first place. Yeah, this might be construed as me whining, but believe me when I tell you that I am not whining in my head as I read this to myself. I am more pissed because some people lack common courtesy that I know your mamma taught you (and if not your mamma, then your D.I.). Personally, I find the whole government mess to be the fault of both sides. Right now, I am leaning more toward the Dems and the Resident-in-Chief who wants military bases to become no-man’s lands as long as his secure golf course is open. If he doesn’t want to negotiate with Republicans, that it is his way or the highway, then he is nothing more than a Dictator. If you wish only to… Read more »
Flagwaver, I don’t take your comments as anything other than putting a face on the reality of this asinine situation. BTDT in my younger life. We each take calculated risks which sometimes we win and sometimes we loose. You and yours got the short end of this deal. But it is temporary. Hang in there.
In the short term, there is little I can directly do for you and others caught in this untenable situation except to offer a sympathetic ear and tell you that you CAN make it through I all.
Flagwaver, as soon as you claimed disability for PTSD, you lost all standing. i draw a 20% for a back broken in 3 places, and a shoulder destroyed by an IED. i dont complain because i function just fine and dont want to leach off of the funds set aside for those unable to take care of themselves due to disabling injuries suffered in the line of service. you, with a PTSD disability, are trying to milk the system, there is nothing wrong with you a good dose of “get over it” wont fix. my father, an 80s era 18C and geological engineer, worked at a radio shack as a salesman to keep food on the table for his family when the oil market went to shit under clinton. he didnt get food stamps or complain that the government should take care of him, he worked harder. so quit your bitching, get off your ass, and get a job. clean toilets, work in a Applebee’s kitchen, anything you have to do to take care of your family. quit thinking jobs are beneath you, and get off your lazy ass you worthless sack of shit! i have 2 bachelors degrees and a Ranger tab, i work as a cop because it was what was available and i needed work. with a military past, and no felony convictions, you can get hired on with department of corrections in any state (all are short handed), work full time and put food on the table and keep your bills paid. with a little more patience and time, you can get on with a police force. quit making excuses and trying to milk the system, you dont have PTSD, you have sandy vagina syndrome.
Flagwaver, I’m on a budget so tight it squeaks. I know what you’re going through. But so far, I have not had to hit the food pantry, and I have only a cat to feed as the extra plate on the table. (No, Mikey does not eat off the table.)
However, there are food pantries nationwide, and if you contact the Society of St. Andrew (food pantires in 850 cities), they might be able to direct you to one nearby.
http://www.endhunger.org/contact_us.htm
There is also this group: http://www.foodpantries.org/
Nobody as to go without, despite the gubbmint’s attempts to force that on us.
You all do realize that this entire business of shutdown, no compromise and overbearing parks/facilites/services, etc. closure has far less to do with lack of funds available than it does with political grandstanding. Right?
I would actually bet real money – say, a nickel – that Harry Reid got the word to ‘hold your ground regardless’ or something from bodaprez or his mentor directly.
Then when the GOPers appear to have broken, they can do their little triumph dance and say ‘See? It wasn’t OUR fault. It was all those stubborn Republican persons.’
It’s quite a piece of political theater, but the majority the American public, per Twitter feeds and other social media, don’t buy it. This ain’t 1997.
my father told me from the time i was young, “those that do not work do not eat”. i went to bed with out dinner on a few occasions because i didnt get the yard mowed, or some other chore. now, you and your whole family get to suffer the consequences of your laziness. you dont work, you dont eat! get off your lazy ass and get a job! dont give me this overqualified bull shit, there are countless jobs you can get that dont care if you have any qualifications or what yours might be. dont blame the government because you are going hungry, point that finger right in the mirror where it belongs!
Flagwaver,
Your situation may indeed be something I can’t comprehend, but I personally have never lived anywhere where there wasn’t some kind of local food bank available, so it makes it hard for me to accept that you have to sell something ‘valuable’ to eat. Hell, if you lived around here I would willingly help you out myself.
I have family that will get hit by the food stamp issue if it pops up here, and while I’ll be concerned for their welfare, it’s tempered by the frustration I feel when I know they wouldn’t be in the position they’re in if they had taken some friendly advice in the recent past. Almost every- single- individual- case that I’m personally aware of doesn’t need to exist. Those folks I know have made personal decisions that have landed them where they are either through misplaced pride, an unwillingness to operate outside of their comfort ‘box’, laziness, or simple stupidity.
I don’t personally know you so I can’t speak to your specific situation, true bad luck does happen, I’ve just never seen it, everything I’ve seen have been bad decisions, something I shouldn’t have to pay for. If your’s is a case of really bad luck, I’m sorry, it sounds like you’re working hard to get out of it and I really do hope things look up for you soon.
As for the situation in Washington, I stand by what I’ve said earlier.
PH2
My dad donated a lot of time and used to work extensively with the St Andrew’s Society there in Chicago. A great organization all the way around.
Times is more tuffer here twoday.
I have run outta smokes, down to half bar of Irish Spring, no more fillet mignone in frig, box of Lucky Charms almost gone, can’t find any quality Brazalien coffee, I have watched all the re-runs of Rosie O’Donnell … and my vision is getting blurry. Please for God’s sake send money to: admin@kmria.com
Smitty, I was able to claim PTSD because I have been denied for everything else as non-service connected. As to credibility from you, because of the Government Shutdown, I currently have no fucks to give. The PTSD rating comes from me being able to sleep only about three hours a night among other problems. However, because Walter Reed lost me medical jacket, I cannot prove any of my other injuries. Replaced right kneecap from IED, crack in skull from IED, joint damage to right shoulder due to early wolf slings before the better model came out, shrapnel damage to upper back due to mislabeled live grenade in a box of training grenades, arthritis in left foot after having a rack of M-16s dropped on it from three feet and breaking four bones. As for getting a job, I have one. The only job I could find (if you will get off your high horse enough to read) is a pissy part time job. I put in for at least two jobs a week through both craigslist and the local employment department, but I get maybe one call a month and am overqualified after the interview. This is why I don’t typically post my personal statuses here or elsewhere on the internet, because of people like you who feel that I don’t have it tough, yada, yada. Well, guess what, I don’t think I have it tough compared to some people. It is just going from a tight situation to a tighter one. I use the local food bank. They give about a week’s worth of food to families once a month. We are able to keep to a decent level of nutrition, but that’s about it. The fact is that with the loss of the foodstamps (which we don’t fucking abuse and I’ll have words with anyone who says otherwise), it puts us in a difficult position since we literally have no ability to save money. Everything we make goes into rent, utilities, keeping the car running, and food. Hell, I haven’t been able to take my wife out for… Read more »
Chief. You had my deepest sympathies until you invoked the name of Rosie “She Needs Riveting in Multiple Places” O’ Donnel. Now, I hope you find no change in your neighbors’ sofas and that your left sneaker gets a flat.
I’m a disappointed that Flagwaver came on here and bared his cirumstances to us, and was soundly thrashed for it. He indicates he’s hurting, and he got kicked for his pains. If he can’t talk to us, who can he talk to?
Flagwaver. Just one thing you might try as far as extra assistance: go talk with your local Catholic parish. Sometimes they run the local food pantries, and sometimes not, but they will help you or get you pointed in the right direction if they can. They may be able to help with some of your bills, too. I know this because our local parish does this, and it doesn’t matter if you’re Catholic or not. You might try there.
And as far as jobs go: it sounds like it’s your disability, not your overqualification, that is causing your problem. While it’s considered discrimination to turned away someone who is disabled, it’s not to turn away an overqualified person. My ex, who is a disabled vet, also had this problem.
This is the video about civilian employees at Lovell FHCC not getting paid during the shutdown:
http://wgntv.com/2013/10/04/no-pay-for-va-civilan-employees-during-gov-shutdown/
Another little tidbit tweeted out to us via the Reuters news network: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/04/usa-fiscal-retroactive-idUSL1N0HU17L20131004
Smitty, not everyone who is out of work or doing part-time is lazy, despite what you think. I know you’re pissed off. Aren’t we all? That’s no reason to flay someone else alive.
What is going on in WDC is the height of the ridiculous. If the Democrats want to lose popular support and votes because Reid refuses, in his arrogance, to negotiate anything, what does it say about them? If Reid is getting his instructions from on high, he’s at least as stupid as I’ve always thought he was.
But stuff like this is the reason I work for myself, and it’s beginning to pay off, a little at a time.
This has turned into the testerone v. estrogen thread so I’m done with it. I’m a ridin’ off, Sal, just me and my trustee steed and a saddle bag filled with jerky and hardtack. Adios muchachos!
Smitty, if we ever meet in person, I’ll feed you your fucking teeth.
Flagwaver. Take your case to your State Department of Vets Affairs. I find it difficult to imagine your injuries did not rate more regardlesds of lost records. Your state will fight for you as that is their job. Most state Vet reps know the system inside and out.
What state are you in? And what do you need right now?
@146 BELIEVE ME when I tell you there are days when even I get fed up with all the estrogen I carry around, Bubba. It’s not like it’s a shirt that I can go toss in the laundry hamper!
former11B, good luck
flagwaver, your story is so full of holes, it might be mistaken for swiss cheese. would you like to claim those medical records were lost in a fire in st louis too? or 2 IED injuries didnt rate a PH because they were some secret squirrel shit? State jobs give preferential hiring to military personnel regardless of what your field was. here is a thought, that i thought was pretty clear, look for a job outside your supply field. go to your local applebee’s and wash dishes, they will hire you full time at better than minimum wage. apply to department of corrections, a corrections officer makes better than minimum wage and you can get over time at will. there are countless jobs available, you just dont want them.
i have gone hungry because i didnt work. it sucked but i didnt even think of claiming the government needed to give me anything, not even food. if you want something, earn it. if you want more, work harder.