It's bad, all right. The National Park Service has closed its parks and monuments. The National Zoo's beloved Giant Panda Cam has gone dark, even though it says it's sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund, and I didn't think Ford was shut down, too. U.S. Embassy Twitter feeds are not being regularly updated "due to the lapse in appropriations" necessary to do so (what?).
Finally, last night, packs of mountain lions were seen roaming the abandoned streets of Washington DC. That's right. As government retreats, nature, red in tooth and claw, advances.
Government Shutdown Theater aside, my sympathy goes out to anyone experiencing financial distress. All you can do is be prepared to ride it out, and remember that these lapses in appropriations rarely last more than a week or two. As a commenter told me, it's time to practice the ancient art of home economics until this shutdown blows over.
31 comments:
To The Home Economist: I made rice vegetable soup last night and chocolate chip cookies. My wife was impressed with the cookies but not the soup. Great post TSB! gwb
TSB: I think this is pretty humorous: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pentagon-to-recall-most-furloughed-workers-hagel-says/2013/10/05/eb7ed346-2deb-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html?hpid=z1
When I think about all the things that can't happen at Ft. Hood without civilians including electricity, lights, water and food...not to mention computers I'm surprised they lasted a week!
gwb
"packs of mountain lions", now we're getting down to some serious apocalypsing!
GWB: Yes, it looks like DOD will call almost everybody back next week. Makes sense, for the reasons you point out.
About 80% of USG civilian employees have been at work all along ("exempted employees" during the furlough) and about 83% of government spending has gone on without interruption. Yesterday, the House unanimously passed a bill to ensure backpay for exempted employees when full funding resumes.
The longer this mostly-theatrical shutdown goes on, the more the administration risks the public not noticing any difference in their lives with or without Big Government.
James: I'm getting my Mad Max gear ready. Thunder Dome, here I come!
TSB:"James: I'm getting my Mad Max gear ready. Thunder Dome, here I come! " I hope it isn't the same as the guy with the pistol on the ATV. Being open wheeled and in the desert wind and sand burn are gonna be tough!
The administration is losing this, perhaps badly. As you say people are noticing the lack of difference. This goes back to the sequester where doom never seemed to show up.
They also used the worst possible tactic with the Memorials. Adding to this the "red line" fiasco you have a lot people no loner listening and more and more opponents losing their fear.
They'll either make a big pr push this Sunday and try something dramatic this week, but I believe it's too late.
I think the Somali and Libya raids are a "Hail Mary" attempt on their part, but will avail them little.
TSB: This drama queen is loving 'Candy the Conflationist' Crowley vs Cruz and also Wallace vs Lew debating
which kind of unlimited spending we need. Candy has met her match with Cruz and Lew is no match for Wallace.
I'm wondering if we might get to a point where some actual shutdowns occur? Also great post on Tomdispatch on the huge military base building going on in Italy for Africom. gwb
James - That's an excellent point about the sun and sand burns. I'm running out for sunscreen now, while supplie last.
GWB - I just read that article on AFRICOM base building in Italy. Will Africa Command ever live in Africa, I wonder? I've been to Italy and I've been to some parts of Africa, and Italy is better, IMHO.
TSB: Keep putting out those great photos! This thing is getting more intense by the day!
Michelle Obama's twitter feed was one of the 1st things to go down
last week. Evidently that takes quite a staff but why couldn't they run her tweets along with the panda cam? Aren't we all vegetarians now? Also, I bet the staff in Venezuela was glad to come home after the 'Charge'was found to be plotting to bring down the electrical grid and ruin the economy by Maduro. gwb
TSB: That hearing on SS disability was great yesterday illustrating how
bureaucratic 'award incentives', crony lawyer/judge combos can keep the lid on obvious scandal for years and cost the taxpayers billions.
The parade of scofflaws trying to defend what they did was popcorn worthy! gwb (just like diplopundit described the smart people at STATE
who did their job and said nothing.
Hats off to Tom Coburn!
http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=0d1ad28a-fd8a-4aca-93bd-c7bf9543af36
TSB: Pepe strikes again! Putin and Xi
celebrate at APEC while Obama stuck in 'lockdown mode' in DC. gwb
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/World/WOR-03-081013.html
TSB: I think this is the 'silly shirt' event! Kerry looks fantastic in his purple bali high special. gwb
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_APEC_US_KERRY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-08-06-56-32
Of course we need to find the group picture for comparisons.
TSB: From the SS disability scam hearing: The Chief Administrative Judge (who stood by watching) paid tribute to 'judicial independance';
The psychologist when asked if he thought signing phony reports was an ethical problem replied 'I'm not a medical doctor' essentially saying psychologists don't subscribe to ethics. And the cement holding it all together were the BUREAUCRATS! (their job is to get rid of anyone with a conscience)gwb
TSB: I noticed that 'Babs' is very efficient at the haranging game. She writes one good one and then just repeats it every day... which brings me to some real news!! From the halls of montezuman to the shores of Tripoli! gwb (why isn't this news here? ..Oh ya.. Hillary)
http://rt.com/usa/italy-marines-libya-raid-896/
GWB: I love those silly shirts! Bill Clinton started that, did you know? He was always the party-hardy President. (How he hooked up with Hillary is a total mystery.)
I didn't see the SS disability hearing, but I've seen the numbers. Apparently SS has become an alternative form of welfare. Demographically unsupportable, of course, so, like all things that cannot go on forever, it will stop.
TSB: Linda Thomas-Greenfield Asst. Sec State has explained to me that we are moving to set up democracy in Somalia ($140 million includes constitution, army trng to enforce it, build schools etc) No mention of the big Italy buildup and no signs the Somali's want this but democracy transplants are our specialty and we are looking for donor nations to step up. How noble can we get?? gwb
GWB: Democracy in Somalia for only $140 million? That's a bargain. Maybe after that gets planted all the Somalia cab drivers we have here can go back there. Hey, if they can learn to drive and follow the motor vehicle code, it should be a snap to learn democracy and follow a constitution.
TSB: I saw yesterday that the new NSA server farm has been suffering a series of big electrical explosions as they try to bring things online. They are calling in FLASH GORDON to check it out but I'm wondering if it isn't just cheap chi-com parts? gwb
http://nation.time.com/2013/10/08/fiery-metal-melting-explosions-at-nsa-data-center-stump-investigators/
TSB: Wouldn't it be something if the Chi-Coms were blowing up our snoop center? When experts are stumped for 12 months I think it's time to let an idiot have a shot at it: I think they will conclude the place is too damn big to prevent power surges that under certain conditions cause kabooms! Solution: You can only run 40% of it at a time. Signed: Somali taxi driver
TSB: My wife always says 'news is hard to come by in ingles!' In these couple articles she found today it looks like
2/3 of Libyans have left the country since we did that kinetic humanitarian overthrow in 2011. Is that possible?
And now the country is run by bands of armed gangs and about to go under? gwb
http://www.voltairenet.org/article178423.html
http://www.voltairenet.org/article180423.html
Here it is TSB: The official/un-official
shutdown clock! gwb
http://labs.enigma.io/shutdown2013/
TSB: Well, there you go! gwb (thanks RT)
http://rt.com/news/rebels-kidnap-libya-pm-963/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/10368524/Libyan-prime-minister-kidnapped-by-gunmen.html
Looks like this was retaliation for our recent capture in Tripoli. Will Obama send in the Marines to save the PM from
Geneva? (just kidding.. I'll be surprised if it makes the news here.) gwb
TSB: This post by Brandon Smith is really good on 'Shutdown Theater' when you consider what opportunities this 'crisis' presents for the establishment.
1.Obama could claim the right to raise the debt ceiling under the 14th amendment. (to save the country)
2. The Federal Reserve could step in and claim the right to pay the bills directly. 3. The establishment could decide to wait and then start a war.. so they don't take the blame for the collapse. 4. The IMF could easily end up 'saving' the US in the end and creating a new currency. = Bankers win! It's pretty obvious somebody is out to destroy the old USA and we are getting close! gwb
(http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-10/guest-post-possible-outcomes-shutdown-theater
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/10/11/u-s-captures-seniorcommanderofpakistantaliban.html
TSB: It looks like we caught a big fish in Afghanistan as he was driving home from peace talks with Karzai's government. Then today Sec. Kerry pops in to apply some 'diplomatique' to Karzai? At least we captured somebody who actually runs something instead of blowing him up. Of course the payback could be deadly. gwb
GWB: The Libyan PM incident was pretty interesting. He was briefly kidnapped - isolated? - by parties who may have been upset by reports from U.S. sources that he was secretly in cahoots with the U.S. capture of al-Libi.
I have no idea whether he was or wasn't, of course, but really, these official leakers are downright reckless with the lives of others.
"but really, these official leakers are downright reckless with the lives of others" they DON'T CARE!
TSB: Day 12 of the Apacolypse and things look very grim. What I like is that Sen. Graham is blasting EVERYBODY!! He must be watching the C-Span callers too. gwb
TSB: I love it that the House of Saud outsources it's Mecca security to the Isrealis. It's not that the Saudis don't have good intelligence but in a family like that duplicity reigns and everybody wants Abdulla's job. If we had a free press people wouldn't have to learn this in last year's thrillers. gwb
sthttp://www.amazon.com/Secret-Soldier-JOHN-WELLS-NOVEL-ebook/dp/B004H4XCXC/ref=pd_sim_b_2uff
I don't know about Israelis, but the Saudis did need to bring in French commandos to end the siege of Mecca in 1979.
http://www.amazon.com/Siege-Mecca-Forgotten-Uprising-al-Qaeda/dp/B0085SI2IG
Just goes to show that counter-terrorism is an ecumenical business.
TSB: 'THANKS BE TO ALLAH' Pepe provides references for all his revelations! gwb
http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/17253/
PS: That book was so good it had me
waking up at 2am to install Google Earth so I could take a street view
look at all the places he was describing in the slums of Mecca.
gwb
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