Teh OFFICIAL Govt Shutdown Thread!

[Matt Collins]

Who's got a countdown timer? :cool:

[VoluntaryAmerican]

Be very afraid! Look at all the terrible ways the 37% government shutdown will ruin your life.



CNN

10. Vacation all I ever wanted: Need to get away? Well, you can't. At least not to national parks. Or to national zoos. Or to national museums. They'd all be closed. That's 368 National Park Service sites closed, millions of visitors turned away.

Were you thinking more along the lines of a trip to France? If you don't already have a passport, you might have to bid that adieu -- you might not get your blue book in time. The last time the government threw a hissy fit, 200,000 applications for passports went unprocessed. Tourism and airline revenues reeled.

But according to the State Department's current shutdown plan, offices will remain open because they generate enough in fees to support their operation. Any offices located in a federal building affected by the shutdown, however, may not be able to open.

9. Holiday. Celebrate: Don't come to work if you're a federal employee. You're on furlough. (Offer not valid for workers in "critical services," such as air traffic controllers, hazardous waste handlers and food inspectors.)

Do take some time to celebrate. In previous shutdowns, everyone who stayed home was paid retroactively after peace returned to Washington.

8. I won't back down: The good news (for you) is that the men and women in uniform would continue to keep you safe. The bad news (for them) is that they'd be paid in IOUs until the shutdown ended. In January, Sens. Mark Udall, D-Colorado, and Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, introduced legislation that would have protected pay for the troops during a shutdown, but it didn't get anywhere.

Rep. C.W. Young, chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, told the Air Force Times, "All military personnel will continue to serve and accrue pay but will not actually be paid until appropriations are available."

Their mid-October paycheck would be the first affected. In addition, the congressman told the paper, changes of station would be delayed, medical offerings would be scaled back, facility and weapons maintenance would be suspended and most civilian employees would be furloughed until appropriations are available.

Scenarios of the shutdown

7. If you drive a car, I'll tax the street: You may be thinking, "No functioning government, no need to pay taxes." Think again. The Man would continue to collect taxes. U.S. bonds would still be issued. And other essential banking functions would go on.

6. Wait a minute, Mr. Postman: You know that whole "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night" thing? Apparently, the U.S. Postal Service works through shutdowns as well. Sorry, you won't catch a break from the junk mail. But hey, you may already be a winner!

5. I want a new drug: Oh, the irony. The Republicans want to defund Obamacare in exchange for funding the government. But the health care act at the center of this storm would continue its implementation process during a shutdown. That's because its funds aren't dependent on the congressional budget process.

4. Pass the ammunition: Not so fast. A shutdown would affect the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Translation: That gun permit you wanted processed wouldn't happen anytime soon.

3. Money (that's what I want): Well, if you own a small business and needed a loan from the government, you'd have to wait. If you were planning to buy a house and needed a federal loan, you'd have to wait. If you're a veteran, you might have to make a few trips to the mailbox before that check arrived.

If you're on Social Security, however, don't worry -- probably. Social Security payments were sent during the last shutdown. President Obama's expected to keep workers on the payroll to process checks. But would there be enough employees to process new benefits for the newly retired?

2. Anything dirty or dingy or dusty: Oscar the Grouch is a company of one. No one loves trash. But if you live in Washington, expect it to pile up if there's a shutdown. There wouldn't be anyone to collect your garbage. Washington's budget has to be approved by Congress. No budget for the city = no trash collection. And, according to The Washington Post, D.C. produces about 500 tons of garbage each week.

1. I'm proud to be an American: Perhaps the biggest hit would be to the collective psyche. America is the largest economy in the world and a beacon for how democracy ought to work. To watch elected lawmakers engage in a high-stakes staring contest with no one willing to blink is no way to do business. A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll found that 51% will blame Republicans if the government closes its doors. The U.S. has operated without a budget since 2009 and has avoided a government shutdown with last-minute deals. It's been one stomach-turning sequel after another.

Not only does the government run out of money on October 1, the nation is set to hit the debt ceiling and go into default in mid-October. Together, they serve -- in the words of CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta -- as a dysfunction double whammy.

Shutdown threat imperils immigration reform

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/23/politics/government-shutdown-daily-life/index.html

[enhanced_deficit]

Once again a UK paper is punking all US news media sites by providing fastest live updates on shutdown battle :

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/30/us-government-shutdown-congress-deadline-live

[JCDenton0451]

Who's got a countdown timer? :cool:

[Mod edit]

[enhanced_deficit]

[Mod edit]

You should be able to make your arguments without personal insults.

[JCDenton0451]

You should be able to make your arguments without personal insults.

No insulting here, I'm stating fact. [Mod edit]

[jj-]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSEoMGCtwTg

[enhanced_deficit]

Are you sure Harry Reid will reject the House Bill and shutdown the gov knowing that it will freeze many military contractors/EPA spending (with global warming contriburted by $400/gallon gas burning in Afghan war around the corner)?

Too soon to say. Obama might jump in as a leader and tell Harry to accept the House of Represenatives approved Bill.

BTW, anyone knows if TSA will be groping Americans with same efficiency or they might be impacted too?

[jj-]

A separate law was already passed to fund the military.

[VoluntaryAmerican]

No insulting here, I'm stating fact. [Mod edit]

37% of the government. What the hell are you smoking? We are advocates of smaller government, right?

[anaconda]

And this is all we had to do to shut down this beast? If only they had said so in the first place..

[anaconda]

I think this individual mini specific funding bill strategy is a potential stroke of genius.

[Neil Desmond]

And this is all we had to do to shut down this beast? If only they had said so in the first place..
Yeah, talk about being handed what you want on a silver platter. :)

[Neil Desmond]

http://countingdownto.com/countdown/377811

[jj-]

384854771997224960

[kathy88]

Apparently I need a [mod edit] translator app.

[ClydeCoulter]

From theguardian



Multiple reports are coming out that that House rules committee is going to meet at 10:30 to appoint conferees to a conference committee -- basically, a negotiation with senate conferees to work out a joint package. Would they have time to pass such a thing before midnight? Obviously not.


Oh, and Kathy, you sure the [mod edit] do! :D

[enhanced_deficit]

All right, stop the countdown:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/30/us-government-shutdown-congress-deadline-live

less than 1m ago (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/30/us-government-shutdown-congress-deadline-live#block-524a34ede4b02f9317c92434)
The Washington Post reports that the House *will not* attempt any more votes tonight. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/washington-braces-for-the-first-shutdown-of-the-national-government-in-17-years/2013/09/30/977ebca2-29bd-11e3-97a3-ff2758228523_story.html?hpid=z1)
House Republicans decided they would not attempt to pass any more bills late Monday to fund the government, setting in motion the first shutdown of federal agencies since 1996, according to two senior GOP advisers. The shutdown will begin early Tuesday.



BTW, Drudge sitting out news night today? His site hasn't been updated for hours it seems.

[ronpaulfollower999]

Guys, enjoy it while it lasts.

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/webcams/giant-panda.cfm

[CaseyJones]

http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/parks-and-recreation-ron-swanson-government-shutdown.jpg

[69360]

Well I was hoping this didn't happen because the GOP is going to take the blame in the media. Well that ship sailed already. So wonder how long this goes on and if the public realizes they don't miss or need what was shut down?

[devil21]

Just like the sequester, the only stuff that gets shut down is the stuff that people actually use and enjoy in day to day average American life. It's basically like they're punishing the people while keeping the special interest gravy trains rolling like usual. Pisses me off.

[heavenlyboy34]

Well I was hoping this didn't happen because the GOP is going to take the blame in the media. Well that ship sailed already. So wonder how long this goes on and if the public realizes they don't miss or need what was shut down?
Who cares? The only people who switch parties or do anything else major over this stuff is insignificant. Not to fear-the government will continue screwing you over even if it kills you.

[ronpaulfollower999]

Panda cam is still working for me.

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/webcams/giant-panda.cfm

[Bastiat's The Law]

Just like the sequester, the only stuff that gets shut down is the stuff that people actually use and enjoy in day to day average American life. It's basically like they're punishing the people while keeping the special interest gravy trains rolling like usual. Pisses me off.

Is the public becoming smart enough to see through this tactic though?

[mad cow]

Panda cam is still working for me.

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/webcams/giant-panda.cfm

Repeats.

[jkob]

Just went outside, I can confirm that the sky is in fact still there. I repeat, the sky is still there!

[jkob]

What A Government Shutdown Means For You according to The Onion

http://www.theonion.com/articles/what-a-government-shutdown-means-for-you,34052/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=Quote:4:Default

lol

[Occam's Banana]

It's basically like they're punishing the people while keeping the special interest gravy trains rolling like usual.

It isn't just *like* that - it *is* that. Things are about to go into "high-profile, maximum-visibility damage infliction" mode.
Of course, nothing the elites actually give a damn about will be touched or substantively affected ...

[devil21]

It isn't just *like* that - it *is* that. Things are about to go into "high-profile, maximum-visibility damage infliction" mode.
Of course, nothing the elites actually give a damn about will be touched or substantively affected ...

I try to hold out hope that Occam's Razor is indeed true. It's getting harder.

[randomname]

Here is a handy list from Russia Today of the possible effects American citizens and the rest of the world could face now that the US Government has shutdown. The last government shutdown lasted 21 days, from December 1996 to January 1997, and cost the administration of US President Bill Clinton cost an estimated $2 billion, according to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.

1 Countdown to US default looms
A halt of US government operations would drag the world’s biggest economy closer to bankruptcy, something unprecedented in US history. If no budget deal is done, the US would bump up against their “debt ceiling” and run out of money by October 17. By then, the US government would have less than $30 billion cash on hand, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has calculated.

2 Hundreds of thousands of federal employees on furlough
A one-time layoff of 800,000 people working for the US government would erode the earlier projected economic growth of 2.5 percent for the fourth quarter of 2013 by about 0.32 percentage points, according to a forecast by Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody's Analytics. That projection assumes a two-week shutdown. If it drags into a whole month, the loss of GDP would rise to 1.4 percentage points.

3 Troops’ paychecks stopped
About 1.4 million military active-duty personnel would keep on working, but with their paychecks delayed. Approval for troops’ paychecks is dependent on Obama’s proposed 2014 federal budget being passed by Congress.

4 Women and children’s nutrition program threatened
Pregnant women and new moms who are poor and facing “nutrition risk” won’t be able to buy healthy food, as a looming shutdown would put bracers on the $6 billion Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC).

5 $85 billion in cuts to federal programs
When a shutdown was last threatened in March 2013, it would have resulted in $85 billion in automatic cuts in spending on federal programs – many aimed at alleviating social hardship. The cuts, known as sequestration, would affect grants to local organizations and funds that keep those programs running.

6 Housing loans halted
US federal programs that provide for about 30 percent of all new loans in the housing market – a backbone of the country’s economy – will be shut down. Government funding of new businesses will also be halted, as well as workplace health and safety inspections.

7 Trade talks scuppered?
US plans to have a Pacific trade deal, the Trans Pacific Partnership, signed with the US’s Asian partners could stall, as Obama may decide not to travel to this weekend’s Bali, Indonesia meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation nations. While he could still go if no deal is done by then, it could be a gift for his Republican opponents if Obama was seen to be jetting off to a tropical paradise at a time when federal employees were sent home without pay.



8 Visa delays likely

Thousands of Americans may not be able to get passports for foreign travel, and tourists travelling to the US will likely face delays in visa processing. During the last government shutdown in 1996-97, some 20,000-30,000 applications remained unprocessed daily.

9 Space program on hold
Space agency NASA will be hit the most, as the agency will need to furlough about 97 percent of its employees, though it will continue to keep workers at Mission Control in Houston and elsewhere to support the International Space Station, where the two NASA astronauts currently on board, Michael Hopkins and Karen Nyberg, may not know whether they have jobs to come back to.

10 National parks, museums and zoos would close to the public
State-funded museums, art galleries and zoos across the country would keep their doors closed Tuesday, leaving thousands of employees furloughed and visitors unable to see attractions. US national parks, from Yosemite to the Shenandoahs, as well as Washington’s National Mall, Lincoln Memorial and Constitution Gardens, would also be closed.

[singe22]

woo this is great news!

[ronpaulfollower999]

Shame that the national parks shut down. I thought they were pretty much voluntarily run anyway?

[Danke]

[Mod edit]

[randomname]

Markets up .5% on gov shutdown.

LOL.

[randomname]

USDA = non-essential :D

"Due to the lapse in federal government funding, this website is not available.
We sincerely regret this inconvenience.
After funding has been restored, please allow some time for this website to
become available again."

www.usda.gov

[phill4paul]

USDA = non-essential :D

"Due to the lapse in federal government funding, this website is not available.
We sincerely regret this inconvenience.
After funding has been restored, please allow some time for this website to
become available again."

www.usda.gov

D.O.E. = non-essential :D

"ED Shutdown
Thank you for visiting ED.gov. Due to a lack of appropriations effective October 1, ED activities have been curtailed and most employees are on furlough. ED.gov will not be updated during the shutdown. Updates will resume and ED will return to normal operations as soon as funding is restored."

http://www.ed.gov/

[phill4paul]

No inconvenience at all, honestly.


NASA ✔ @NASA
Sorry, but we won't be tweeting/responding to replies during the government shutdown. Be back as soon as possible.


NASA ✔ @NASA
Due to the gov't shutdown, all public NASA activities/events are cancelled or postponed until further notice. Sorry for the inconvenience.

http://www.nasa.gov/

[phill4paul]

Was thinking about scrolling through some more agencies and departments but..... I don't have enough time in this life.

http://www.usa.gov/directory/federal/

[EBounding]

So who stops people from entering the national parks?

[Matt Collins]

I'm in DC this week, hoping that the shutdown will help minimize traffic. :cool:

[phill4paul]

I'm going to drive around town today and see whose cars are sitting in the driveway. Then I'll know who the non-essential government leeches are.

[69360]

So who stops people from entering the national parks?

They barricade the entrance and keep a few park rangers on to guard. Acadia is shut down here.

[FindLiberty]

All those "closed" park gates should have just been left OPEN. This one "gov shutdown" instance alone proves it's all BS manipulation (without publicly mentioning back-pay promised for "vacationing" fed/gov employees).
They barricade the entrance and keep a few park rangers on to guard. Acadia is shut down here. What's next, will the fed/gov cut off our power, water and food supplies? IT TAKES JUST THREE MAGIC WORDS FROM THE POTUS TO ESCALATE MATTERS: "Internet Kill Switch"

[UtahApocalypse]

They barricade the entrance and keep a few park rangers on to guard. Acadia is shut down here.

Actually the last time they shutdown Teton NP had twice as many ranger's on duty to guard it then when it was open.

[JK/SEA]

Actually the last time they shutdown Teton NP had twice as many ranger's on duty to guard it then when it was open.

i got an idea...lets get as many people we can to visit National Parks this weekend....

[ronpaulfollower999]

Yosemite National Park, closed for its own birthday (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2013/1001/Yosemite-National-Park-closed-for-its-own-birthday)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Tunnel_View%2C_Yosemite_Valley%2C_Yosemite_NP_-_Diliff.jpg


Yosemite and all the US’s national parks, monuments, and zoos were closed at midnight last night, after Congress failed to pass a new budget.

The government shutdown comes at an ironic moment for Yosemite: today is the park’s birthday, and it won’t be open for its own party.

[Matt Collins]

My aunt is giving me a rash because her husband is retired military and now works civilian for the Army and may not get paid.

[ClydeCoulter]

Yosemite National Park, closed for its own birthday (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2013/1001/Yosemite-National-Park-closed-for-its-own-birthday)


And, the birds stopped singing,
The wind stopped blowing,
The trees wilted from lack of attention.
The paths became overgrown,
No man can find his way,
The cubs wander
In search of their mothers,
As the mountains crumble at their feet.

Oh, government,
Oh, government,
How you have failed nature
and mankind alike.

/sarc

[Lucille]

http://isthegovernmentopen.com/images/obama.gif

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-01/shut-day-humor-government-closed

[randomname]

So Obama can't blame the House Republicans anymore at this stage. Pretty brilliant, they can now claim to be willing to fund everything, but Obamacare:


If the president was hoping to shame the Republicans into caving and passing a clean Continuing Resolution, by constantly blaming them about the broader government shutdown, he will have to shift his strategy. Moments ago Reuters and other wire services report, citing Republican Peter King, that House Republicans plan to pass three funding bills today to reopen Federal Parks, veteran programs and fund for the District of Columbia. In other words, little by little, the GOP will provide funding for everything... except Obamacare, which they will keep as a trump card up their sleeve until the debt ceiling negotiation comes to a head some time in the next week.

The question then becomes whether the Senate and Obama agree to pass partial funding measures, or throw these back at the House, even if in doing so they losee leverage and talking points, as the GOP can now claim they were willing to fund virtually every aspect of government but the healthcare act.

If this is indeed how the Republicans plan to proceed, the government shutdown, either en masse, or partially may extend far longer, and the debt ceiling debate will be even more contentious than most expected.

[Cabal]

http://isthegovernmentopen.com/images/obama.gif

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-01/shut-day-humor-government-closed

Obama = non-essential.

[randomname]

This strategy had been posted by Pat Buchanan a few days ago:


Fix Bayonets!
Friday - September 27, 2013 at 1:41 am
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By Patrick J. Buchanan

After his narrow defeat by Gerald Ford at the Kansas City convention in 1976, Ronald Reagan was seen as a has-been.

Came the Carter-Torrijos treaties of 1977, however, which gave away the Panama Canal, and the old cowboy strapped on his guns:

“We bought it. We paid for it. It’s ours. And we’re gonna keep it.”

America loved it. Bill Buckley said we must recognize reality and transfer the canal. GOP Senate leader Howard Baker was the toast of the city as he led 16 Republicans to vote with Jimmy Carter. The treaties were approved.

Reagan’s consolation prize? The presidency of the United States.

Voters in New Hampshire in 1980, remembering his lonely stand, rewarded Reagan with a decisive victory over George H. W. Bush, who had defeated Reagan in Iowa. When Howard Baker came in, he was greeted as “Panama Howie,” and did not survive the primary.

The Republican war over whether to bow to the seemingly inevitable and fund Obamacare is a Panama Canal issue. How one votes here may decisively affect one’s career.

Ted Cruz may have, as Richard Nixon used to say, “broken his pick” in the Republican caucus. Yet, on Obamacare, his analysis is right, his instincts are right, his disposition to fight is right.

These are more important matters than the news that he is out of the running for the Mr. Congeniality award on Capitol Hill.

If Obamacare is funded, the subsidies starting in January will constitute a morphine drip from which America’s health care system will not recover. If not stopped now, Obamacare is forever.

Senate Republicans should be asking themselves why Cruz and Rand Paul, two newcomers to the Senate of decidedly different temperaments, are being talked of as credible candidates in the presidential primaries of 2016?

Answer: Both are clear in their convictions, unapologetic about them, and willing to break some china to achieve them. And that part of America upon which the GOP depends most is increasingly frustrated and angry with those who run the national party.

Americans don’t want a dignified surrender on Obamacare. They want someone to drive a stake through Obamacare.

And the question that is going to be answered in coming weeks is: Is the GOP willing to shove its whole stack into the middle of the table, for a showdown over Obamacare? Or will the House GOP in the end cast the decisive vote to make Obamacare permanent?

For, as columnist Terry Jeffrey writes, “[M]ake no mistake.

If Obamacare is funded and implemented it will be because Republican members of Congress decided to do it.”

As Terry notes, Congress has absolute power over the public purse. Article 1 of the Constitution says, “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law.”

The law authorizing President Obama to spend more money for Obamacare expires Sept. 30. If the House refuses to vote for any bill that contains new Obamacare funding, Obamacare is dead.

Thus the Republican House controls the fate of Obamacare.

But if we don’t fund Obamacare, comes the Republican wail, Harry Reid will let the government shut down, the American people will blame us, and all of our pundits say we can’t win this fight.

For sure you cannot win if you do not fight.

But if a Democratic Senate refuses to pass the House-passed continuing resolution funding the government, because Obamacare is not in the bill, who is shutting down the government?

If Obama vetoes any continuing resolution funding the government that does not contain Obamacare, who is shutting down the government then?

Who is putting the U.S. economy at risk to protect a bollixed program the American people do not want and Congress would never approve if they voted on it today?

What House Republicans have lacked is not courage, but a political and communications strategy.

Having provided a continuing resolution to fund the government, except Obamacare, the House should next begin passing CRs — one for each department. A CR to fund defense and veterans affairs. A CR to fund State, the CIA and Homeland Security. A CR for justice, transportation, energy, etc. One every day.

Would Harry Reid refuse to fund the U.S. Army and Navy unless John Boehner’s House stuffs Obamacare into the defense budget?

Do Republicans really feel incapable of winning this argument?

Are Republicans so tongue-tied they cannot convince America of the truth: They have already voted to fund the government.

If Republicans capitulate and lose this battle, and this unwanted mess passes into law, there is something deeply wrong with the party.

Two weeks ago, a brave Congress, listening to America, stood up and told Obama: Your red lines be damned; we’re not voting for war on Syria.

Now House Republicans need to tell the country: Come hell or high water, we’re not voting to fund Obamacare. We will pass a CR on everything else in the budget, but Obamacare is not coming out of this House alive.

[ronpaulfollower999]

Good idea, for now. We'll see what happens when the debt ceiling comes up.

[James Madison]

So who stops people from entering the national parks?

Why, paid government employ---

...clever girl.

[Matt Collins]

I'm in DC this week, thankful that the traffic is lighter :)

[Aratus]

Matt... is it possible to stop by that big WW2 memorial and take a photo
of the next group of veterans who'll have to go around, over or thru the
new barricades and tape? i am hoping you have the time to do something
like that, and you have enuff common sense not to roil any gov't servants
who may be shoe~ing people away in the way & manner our potus asked 4.