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Author: TriSec    Date: 10/15/2013 10:18:36

Good Morning.

Today is our 4,391st day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing war, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 2,276
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,103

We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$ 1, 480, 724, 775, 000 .00


Let's take a look at the "slimdown" as our friends would call it, since we all know that no real Americans were harmed during the government shutdown.



FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — First, Robert Randles got “riffed” — removed from his building inspector job at the nearby Fort Bragg Army post as part of the military’s “reduction in force.”

Next, he got “sequestered” — forced to take an unpaid day off every week for six weeks this summer from his new job as an electrician at Fort Bragg.

Then this month Randles, a 50-year-old Army veteran, became a victim of the government shutdown. Along with 7,250 other civilian government workers at Fort Bragg, he was furloughed.

The shutdown sent shock waves through Fayetteville, a tough, vibrant military town that for decades has enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with the sprawling military reservation on its shoulder. When asked where they’re from, many Fort Bragg soldiers born and raised elsewhere reply: “Fayetteville.”

Fayetteville would still be a sleepy Southern hamlet without Fort Bragg and the Army’s adjacent Pope Field. The city’s very identity is inextricably bound with the military, from the gun stores and strip clubs along Bragg Boulevard to the “Iron Mike” paratrooper statue at the entrance to the city’s revitalized downtown.

Some unexpected — and welcome — news arrived Saturday when Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that about 350,000 civilian defense workers would be called back to work. A Fort Bragg spokesman said most of the base’s furloughed Defense Department workers would be back on the job Monday. In all, about 800,000 federal employees had been idled.

Hagel said the worker recall was possible after lawyers determined that the Pay Our Military Act, a measure passed by Congress and signed into law shortly before the shutdown began Tuesday, could also apply to civilian workers “whose responsibilities contribute to the morale, well-being, capabilities and readiness of service members.”


But I suppose we shouldn't worry about this too much. Since the bulk of our spending goes to the military these days, it must be a lean, mean, fighting machine, and couldn't possibly be overrun with Onion-like stories like this, could it?


New cargo planes on order for the U.S. Air Force are being delivered straight into storage in the Arizona desert because the military has no use for them, a Dayton Daily News investigation found.

A dozen nearly new C-27J Spartans from Ohio and elsewhere have already been taken out of service and shipped to the so-called boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson. Five more are expected to be built by April 2014, all of which are headed to the boneyard unless another use for them is found.

The Air Force has spent $567 million on 21 C-27J aircraft since 2007, according to purchasing officials at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Sixteen had been delivered by the end of September.

The Air Force almost had to buy more of the planes against its will, the newspaper found. A solicitation issued from Wright-Patterson in May sought vendors to build more C-27Js, citing Congressional language requiring the military to spend money budgeted for the planes, despite Pentagon protests.

Congress put the brakes on the expenditure, which was the right thing to do according to government watchers such as Mike O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institute. He said the planned additional purchase would have been “simply wasting precious taxpayer money.”

The military initally wanted the C-27J because it had unique capabilities, such as the ability to take off and land on less developed runways, according to Ethan Rosenkranz, national security analyst at the Project on Government Oversight. But when sequestration hit, the military realized the planes weren’t a necessity, but instead a luxury it couldn’t afford, he said.

“When they start discarding these programs, it’s wasteful,” he said.

O’Hanlon said their near-resurrection was largely due to parochialism.

“It’s too bad, and a waste,” he said. “I’m not sure the program was ever a white elephant, and yet given budget cuts I’m not sure it should be saved now.”


But that's just equipment...surely the party that supports the troops would want to make sure that things like training and support remains untouched...after all, the saying is "Train hard, Fight easy." A good deal of that readiness is the capability we have here in the United States to help our own citizens. When a natural disaster strikes, who is usually the first on the line?


Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's order to bring 400,000 furloughed defense workers back on the job this week was greeted with relief by many, but it didn't cover a crucial part of the military — the National Guard and Reserves.

Monthly drills and the paychecks that came with them have vanished for hundreds of thousands of part-time troops, including about 20,000 soldiers and airmen in the Texas National Guard.

But that's not all.

Training days are being erased from the books. Occupational and professional development classes have been canceled. Troops called up for temporary deployments in the United States and overseas have been called back.

While the shutdown has idled much of the force, the troops still can be deployed for essential missions, such as disaster response.

At Martindale Army Airfield on the East Side, five UH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters were idled on the flight line Wednesday, barred from flying because Congress hasn't passed a new budget.

A crew did a “run-up” on one, starting the engine and spinning the rotor blades, but the helicopter stayed on the ground — a bad place for a cantankerous machine that must fly to save lives.

“If you don't fix these things and use them the way they're intended to be used, they will break,” said Maj. Gen. William Smith, commander of the Texas Army National Guard. “And if we don't have dollars to fix them, then at some point, they'll all be broken.”

The standoff between Republicans and Democrats hasn't yet imperiled force readiness, in part because the Guard and Reserve are used to living on lean budgets.

But the possibility that lawmakers could be at loggerheads for weeks or months is a larger matter of concern for everyone from commanders to troops in the ranks.

Some worry about morale. Others fret over the potential for troops to lose their edge.

“The problems are certainly not isolated to the Guard. That said, who's not training this month? The Guard. What service had difficulties with sequestration furloughs? The Guard,” said John Goheen, a spokesman for the National Guard Association of the United States.


But no real Americans have been harmed....yet. It's still hurricane season, you know.
 

110 comments (Latest Comment: 10/15/2013 23:06:05 by livingonli)
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Comment by wickedpam on 10/15/2013 12:57:22
Morning

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 13:04:49
good morning!

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 13:31:13
Comment by Mondobubba on 10/15/2013 13:40:05



This makes me have a happy.

Comment by BobR on 10/15/2013 13:41:41
Hey TriSec - this story fits right into the theme of the second news item in your blog...

Comment by Mondobubba on 10/15/2013 13:41:51
Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 13:49:18
One of the biggest problems with Cantor being given the right to bring a vote to the floor is this:

The Speaker of the House (no matter the party) has to be available via phone, email etc to everyone.

The majority leader (a political position) does not. Eric Cantor can reject phone calls emails that are not in his district.

In effect, Cantor is now the leader of the house -- but has found a loophole to ignore the party with a (D) after its name.

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 13:49:40
Quote by Mondobubba:



This makes me have a happy.
I knew it would!



Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 13:52:34



some of the callers could be Giants fans pretending to be Jags fans!


Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 13:58:43
Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...


Seriously,Here we friggin go again...
The bill will ask for, among other things, a two year delay in a controversial medical device tax, and will require income verification for various aspects of Obamacare.

In return, the bill will fund the government through January 15, and raise the debt ceiling until February 7.


Comment by BobR on 10/15/2013 14:00:18
Quote by Raine:
Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...


Seriously,Here we friggin go again...
The bill will ask for, among other things, a two year delay in a controversial medical device tax, and will require income verification for various aspects of Obamacare.

In return, the bill will fund the government through January 15, and raise the debt ceiling until February 7.

"We will ensure Obamacare fails by not funding it the way it was designed"

And I'm quite certain that medical device tax is only "controversial" among Republicans

Comment by trojanrabbit on 10/15/2013 14:01:51
Good morning.

Maybe the South Dakotans who lost most of their cattle in the freak snowstorm and are now complaining that the Feds aren't there to help might think differently now. I doubt it. I feel sorrier for the cattle than I do for them.

My boss told me yesterday that I'm finally going to get a cube of my own (how this is different from what I was supposed to have a month ago I don't know, but anyway, he's a cat lover and he helped me through Lucky's illness....). I'm deciding for now to keep my little friend as my PC wallpaper. Actually I CAN move to one of the cubes now, but I'll have to move again in a few weeks.

Comment by trojanrabbit on 10/15/2013 14:04:23
Quote by BobR:
Quote by Raine:
Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...


Seriously,Here we friggin go again...
The bill will ask for, among other things, a two year delay in a controversial medical device tax, and will require income verification for various aspects of Obamacare.

In return, the bill will fund the government through January 15, and raise the debt ceiling until February 7.

"We will ensure Obamacare fails by not funding it the way it was designed"

And I'm quite certain that medical device tax is only "controversial" among Republicans


And medical device manufacturers.

I would say it's a near certainty that Rafael will block anything coming out of the Senate to protect Cantor and Boner.

Comment by wickedpam on 10/15/2013 14:08:39
Quote by trojanrabbit:
Quote by BobR:
Quote by Raine:
Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...Here we friggin go again...


Seriously,Here we friggin go again...
The bill will ask for, among other things, a two year delay in a controversial medical device tax, and will require income verification for various aspects of Obamacare.

In return, the bill will fund the government through January 15, and raise the debt ceiling until February 7.

"We will ensure Obamacare fails by not funding it the way it was designed"

And I'm quite certain that medical device tax is only "controversial" among Republicans


And medical device manufacturers.

I would say it's a near certainty that Rafael will block anything coming out of the Senate to protect Cantor and Boner.



I can't even believe they are really considering this a "good compromise" - Reid you suck at this, McConnell is lying to you again.

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 14:09:24
They are going to try to impeach POTUS you know.

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 14:14:03
Comment by wickedpam on 10/15/2013 14:14:11
Quote by Raine:
They are going to try to impeach POTUS you know.


of course they are, they've been screaming about since before he even was inaugurated.

Wasn't Clinton impeached but he still held office and came out the other side even more popular. Just because someone's impeached doesn't mean they are going to leave office ala Nixon.

Comment by trojanrabbit on 10/15/2013 14:15:51
Quote by Raine:
http://31.media.tumblr.com/e8b9fb6d382c058a10d43b145b7743c7/tumblr_muotm4EgPl1qgaznao1_400.gif

http://31.media.tumblr.com/2beed6b45eaad12e598e93993d1c4a87/tumblr_muotm4EgPl1qgaznao2_250.gif

http://25.media.tumblr.com/147adf19ed7343950533f9978a9ba3e8/tumblr_muotm4EgPl1qgaznao3_250.gif

http://24.media.tumblr.com/daa07b32bc0bb9ab7f693d652251a04b/tumblr_muotm4EgPl1qgaznao4_250.gif


Boom.

The Iranian custom of hurling shoes seems to be warranted here.

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 14:16:07
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
They are going to try to impeach POTUS you know.


of course they are, they've been screaming about since before he even was inaugurated.

Wasn't Clinton impeached but he still held office and came out the other side even more popular. Just because someone's impeached doesn't mean they are going to leave office ala Nixon.
Yup. The house impeached him, the Senate didn't convict.


Comment by Scoopster on 10/15/2013 14:21:28
Mornin' all..

Well, I had a relaxing & productive weekend.. and profitable on the gaming front!

Comment by trojanrabbit on 10/15/2013 14:22:58
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
They are going to try to impeach POTUS you know.


of course they are, they've been screaming about since before he even was inaugurated.

Wasn't Clinton impeached but he still held office and came out the other side even more popular. Just because someone's impeached doesn't mean they are going to leave office ala Nixon.
Yup. The house impeached him, the Senate didn't convict.

And Nixon wasn't actually impeached, I seem to remember. He Palin'd out before they had the chance.

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 14:24:12
Quote by trojanrabbit:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
They are going to try to impeach POTUS you know.


of course they are, they've been screaming about since before he even was inaugurated.

Wasn't Clinton impeached but he still held office and came out the other side even more popular. Just because someone's impeached doesn't mean they are going to leave office ala Nixon.
Yup. The house impeached him, the Senate didn't convict.

And Nixon wasn't actually impeached, I seem to remember. He Palin'd out before they had the chance.
Yup. I think JAckson was the only other POTUS to be impeached. (going to double check)


Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 14:27:26
Quote by Raine:
Quote by trojanrabbit:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
They are going to try to impeach POTUS you know.


of course they are, they've been screaming about since before he even was inaugurated.

Wasn't Clinton impeached but he still held office and came out the other side even more popular. Just because someone's impeached doesn't mean they are going to leave office ala Nixon.
Yup. The house impeached him, the Senate didn't convict.

And Nixon wasn't actually impeached, I seem to remember. He Palin'd out before they had the chance.
Yup. I think JAckson was the only other POTUS to be impeached. (going to double check)
My bad: It was Andrew Johnson. Not Jackson.


Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 14:28:15
Ironically -- Johnson became POTUS as the civil war was ending -- he was Lincoln's VP.

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 14:36:31
We told you about the emerging deal in the Senate — now, here’s its House counterpart:

Funding the government at sequestration levels until January 15
Raising the debt limit until February 7
Income verification for recipients of subsidies under Obamacare
Delay of the medical device tax for 2 years
A requirement that all members of Congress and members of the cabinet sign up for Obamacare, with no employer contribution
Ending the ability of the treasury to take ‘extraordinary measures‘ to avoid default in the future


Comment by wickedpam on 10/15/2013 14:36:50
Quote by trojanrabbit:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
They are going to try to impeach POTUS you know.


of course they are, they've been screaming about since before he even was inaugurated.

Wasn't Clinton impeached but he still held office and came out the other side even more popular. Just because someone's impeached doesn't mean they are going to leave office ala Nixon.
Yup. The house impeached him, the Senate didn't convict.

And Nixon wasn't actually impeached, I seem to remember. He Palin'd out before they had the chance.



true, he was a coward in that aspect - I don't see Obama as a coward or a quitter

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 14:38:08
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by trojanrabbit:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
They are going to try to impeach POTUS you know.


of course they are, they've been screaming about since before he even was inaugurated.

Wasn't Clinton impeached but he still held office and came out the other side even more popular. Just because someone's impeached doesn't mean they are going to leave office ala Nixon.
Yup. The house impeached him, the Senate didn't convict.

And Nixon wasn't actually impeached, I seem to remember. He Palin'd out before they had the chance.



true, he was a coward in that aspect - I don't see Obama as a coward or a quitter
Obama hasn't broken the law either.

Nixon was going to go to jail. There was no question about that.


Comment by Mondobubba on 10/15/2013 14:44:02



To remove a sitting president via impeachment requires the Senate to vote to convict the president of the charges brought by the House. Both Bubba and Andrew Johnson were impeached by the House, but the Senate failed to convict.

Nixon saw the writing on the wall and resigned to avoid being impeached and convicted.

(Mondo is done with a tasteful display of that fancy polisci degree)

Comment by TriSec on 10/15/2013 14:46:34
The Empire of TriSec once defaulted on it's debts. A number of years ago now, our economy collapsed. (I got laid off.) We went into austerity mode, and struggled to meet only the most basic of our obligations. (Roof, Lights, Heat, Food...) It was a titanic struggle for a number of years, but then things slowly got better. But there was a natural disaster that we didn't plan for (I got cancer), which depleted our last reserves. We could no longer stave off our creditors, so there were repercussions. (Housing court, near-eviction, and permanent, complete, default on any number of credit cards). Credit cards that were used to keep us afloat during the initial financial crisis...yes, we did "kick the can down the road", but the hoped-for better times never materialized.

Your takeaway from all this?

-Actions have Consequences.
-Plan for the Future.
-Have more than what you need for emergencies.

Lessons that our Republican friends have failed to learn during their entire privileged lives. Perhaps it should be a requirement for all members of Congress to "trade places" with their poorest constituent for a week during recess season - then maybe they'd understand.


Comment by wickedpam on 10/15/2013 14:52:59
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by trojanrabbit:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
They are going to try to impeach POTUS you know.


of course they are, they've been screaming about since before he even was inaugurated.

Wasn't Clinton impeached but he still held office and came out the other side even more popular. Just because someone's impeached doesn't mean they are going to leave office ala Nixon.
Yup. The house impeached him, the Senate didn't convict.

And Nixon wasn't actually impeached, I seem to remember. He Palin'd out before they had the chance.



true, he was a coward in that aspect - I don't see Obama as a coward or a quitter
Obama hasn't broken the law either.

Nixon was going to go to jail. There was no question about that.


exactly


Comment by BobR on 10/15/2013 14:54:23
Quote by Raine:
We told you about the emerging deal in the Senate — now, here’s its House counterpart:

Funding the government at sequestration levels until January 15
Raising the debt limit until February 7
Income verification for recipients of subsidies under Obamacare
Delay of the medical device tax for 2 years
A requirement that all members of Congress and members of the cabinet sign up for Obamacare, with no employer contribution
Ending the ability of the treasury to take ‘extraordinary measures‘ to avoid default in the future

This is a really shitty deal.

Comment by trojanrabbit on 10/15/2013 15:00:08
Someone at Fark came up with this. I think it's damn brilliant.

here is an updated version of the factsheet, I put together.

Feel Free to share. I am not worried about "credit."
Spoecial thanks to "COMALite J" for some extra special detail goodness.

Historical Facts about the Current Government Shutdown and Impending Default with Citations


In January of 1989 (While Reagan was still president) the republicans published a paper outlining a healthcar overhaul plan that included much of what is in todays Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act, also known as Obamacare

http://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/1989/pdf/ci_0891950494.pdf,

In October of 1989, they expanded the paper into a book

http://www.heritage.org/research/lecture/assuring-affordable-health- ca re-for-all-americans and http://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/1989/pdf/hl218.pdf

This was created more than 4 years before anyone even heard of Bill and Hillary Clinton,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2012/02/07/the-tortuous-co ns ervative-history-of-the-individual-mandate/

They pushed for this plan over the course of 2 decades, and they even supported this plan as late as 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthy_Americans_Act

Then When the democrats agreed to adopt this plan, the GOP suddenly (and at that point only) decided the plan was unconstitutional and posed a grave threat to the nation. And refused to support any aspect of it

They sued in the supreme court but lost

http://www.scribd.com/doc/98544934/Supreme-Court-upholds-Affordable- Ca re-Act

They ran presidential candidate who opposed the Affordable Care Act even though he had passed a nearly identical law in the State of Massachusetts

http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2011/10/20/how-a-conservat iv e-think-tank-invented-the-individual-mandate/

Obama was re-elected with the Affordable Care Act being a center piece of the election

http://www.politico.com/2012-election/map/

Republicans opposed the ACA because it hate elements that violated their Christian Faith

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/judge-rejects-states-lawsuit-challen gi ng-obamacare-contraception-mandate

While a Harvard study concluded that as many as 45,000 Americans die each year due to lack of health care coverage

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/09/new-study-finds-45000- de aths-annually-linked-to-lack-of-health-coverage/

Which is something some republicans have openly admitted to finding acceptable.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_big_idea/2011/09 /l et_him_die.html

and



Deciding that the Affordable Care Act was a serious threat to the nation, the GOP engineered a strategy of threatening a Government Shutdown to protest the Affordable Care Act.
To pull this off The Republicans strategized how to engineer the shutdown, and how to handle the spin

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/10/05/federal-budget-cri si s-months-planning/bhA7OHhAIBvNNincmzdtjJ/story.html

80 members of congress signed a letter to force the shutdown.

http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/jwithrow/does-your-senator-stand-wi th -mike-lee-against-obam


They said a shutdown would not be a bad thing

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/07/30/ted- cr uz-government-shutdown-wouldnt-be-so-bad/

They celebrated when it happened

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/republicans-shut-down-the- go vernment-but-they-cant-stop-obamacare-20131001

The House Republicans changed a long standing House Rule at the last minute to ensure the shutdown would stay in effect:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/the-house-gop-s-little-rule-change-t ha t-guaranteed-a-shutdown

When challenged about this, the republicans would not address the issue.



All the while They accused the Democrats and Obama of not negotiating, even though the democrats tried repeatedly to negotiate

http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/19-times-democrats-tried-to- ne gotiate-with-republicans-20131007?mrefid=mostread


Which should not have been necessary since Harry Reid and John Boehner had a deal, that Boehner backed out of.

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/326425-reid-boehner-backed-out-of -d eal

And despite all of this, The Republicans attempted blame Obama for the Shutdown

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-republicans-b la me-obama-20131006,0,2739790.story


Some Republicans attempted to hide behind our veterans to blame the president

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/10/13/million-vet-march-storms-d -c -war-memorials/
and
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57605861/republicans-investigati ng -monument-closures-during-shutdown/

Despite the fact that sent American soldiers into a war
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2002/roll455.xml
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/107-2002/s237

That caused 4400 American soldiers to die
http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx

and more than 30,000 to be wounded
http://icasualties.org/Iraq/USCasualtiesByState.aspx

for no reason what so ever
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/7634313/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/c ia s-final-report-no-wmd-found-iraq/


But now that they think they can make some political gains, they suddenly want to support the troops
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/10/13/million-vet-march-organizers- co ndemn-sarah-palin-ted-cruz-tea-party.html

Other republicans admitted they have no idea what the shutdown was about.

http://www.salon.com/2013/10/03/gop_congressman_were_not_going_to_be _d isrespected/

Some openly admitted the shutdown was about "pride"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/05/dennis-ross-government-shut do wn_n_4050231.html?ref=topbar


The Irony is that the shutdown improved the popularity of Obamacare
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2013/10/11/boomerang-poll-reve al s-gops-government-shutdown-bolstered-obamacare-popularity-by-20/

Which had always been more popular when not called Obamacare

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/09/29/obamacare-affordabl e- care-act-obama-column/2892183/

which is more popular than the Republican led Congress

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-10-09/politics/42838288_1_h ous e-republicans-shutdown-senate-democrats

And when their strategy failed to gain support of the public

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/327161-poll-65-perc en t-oppose-tying-obamacare-to-shutdown-debt-ceiling-fights
They Decided that the shutdown fight was no longer about the Affordable Care act, but now spending and the debt
http://news.yahoo.com/republicans-see-shutdown-fight-shift-away-oba mac are-215949746.html

Meanwhile In 2001, The GOP President and GOP Congress

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Combined--Contro l_o f_the_U.S._House_of_Representatives_-_Control_of_the_U.S._Senate.png


Inherited a projected budget surplus and a projected elimination of the entire debt within 10 years.

http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/new/html/Fri_Dec_29_151111_2000.html

The GOP then passed a tax cut,

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/41463

waged an expensive war

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-03-28/world/38097452_1_iraq -pr ice-tag-first-gulf-war-veterans

and repeatedly voted to raise the debt ceiling with no demands on spending cuts.
2002 vote: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2002/roll279.xml
2003 vote: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/108-2003/s202
2004 vote: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/108-2004/h536
2006 vote: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/109-2006/s54
2007 vote: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/110-2007/s354

Then When a Democrat was in the Whitehouse, the GOP decided it was worth risking a default to place demands on spending cuts.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/boehner-u-s-will-default-if-ob am a-doesn-t-cave-on-the-debt-limit


Some Republicans are even calling for a default.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/05/19/173961/nunes-calls-for-d ef ault/

Forgetting that we did default, for a day, in 1979, and it cost us Billions.
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-07-10/business/35238255_1_tr ea sury-bills-default-debt-limit

And ignoring what economists are saying could happen if we default
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/17/us-default-markets-conseque nc es_n_901070.html

Some Republicans are even threatening to impeach the president if a default occurs, despite admitting they will not vote to raise the debt ceiling themselves

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/13/louie-gohmert-impeach_n_409 47 07.html

Others are threatening to impeach if the president invokes the 14th Amendment to prevent a default.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/06/tim-scott-impeachment-obama -1 4-amendment-debt_n_891521.html

Does anyone have any questions as to what this is really all about?

Comment by wickedpam on 10/15/2013 15:01:22
Quote by BobR:
Quote by Raine:
We told you about the emerging deal in the Senate — now, here’s its House counterpart:

Funding the government at sequestration levels until January 15
Raising the debt limit until February 7
Income verification for recipients of subsidies under Obamacare
Delay of the medical device tax for 2 years
A requirement that all members of Congress and members of the cabinet sign up for Obamacare, with no employer contribution
Ending the ability of the treasury to take ‘extraordinary measures‘ to avoid default in the future

This is a really shitty deal.



how the hell does Reid think this is good?

Comment by Scoopster on 10/15/2013 15:06:05
A friend of mine mentioned that the medical device industry is very spread out through the whole country, and that their lobbyists therefore have influence over a great number of Congressmen, both Democrats and Republicans.

The fact that it cuts some of the funding support from the ACA is just a bonus for the GOP.

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 15:06:29
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by BobR:
Quote by Raine:
We told you about the emerging deal in the Senate — now, here’s its House counterpart:

Funding the government at sequestration levels until January 15
Raising the debt limit until February 7
Income verification for recipients of subsidies under Obamacare
Delay of the medical device tax for 2 years
A requirement that all members of Congress and members of the cabinet sign up for Obamacare, with no employer contribution
Ending the ability of the treasury to take ‘extraordinary measures‘ to avoid default in the future

This is a really shitty deal.



how the hell does Reid think this is good?
I'm not sure if the Senate will accept this deal. The house bill has to go back to the senate and I am sure it will be altered.


Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 15:09:22
Quote by Mondobubba:



To remove a sitting president via impeachment requires the Senate to vote to convict the president of the charges brought by the House. Both Bubba and Andrew Johnson were impeached by the House, but the Senate failed to convict.

Nixon saw the writing on the wall and resigned to avoid being impeached and convicted.

(Mondo is done with a tasteful display of that fancy polisci degree)



Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 15:12:45
Eric Cantor sounds like he's on speed.

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 15:14:00
NEW Talking point:

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment


Comment by Scoopster on 10/15/2013 15:14:02
Is this a live press conference?

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 15:14:39
Quote by Raine:
NEW Talking point:

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment

Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment Special Treatment
and that's the unconstitutional part they are talking about at Think Progress.


Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 15:15:08
Quote by Scoopster:
Is this a live press conference?

Yes.

Do they or do they not sound a little manic?

Comment by trojanrabbit on 10/15/2013 15:15:10
I'm trying to clean up the wall-o-text, but if it's too much I can get rid of it.

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 15:16:08
I swear Art from Chicago has to be a made-up character.

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 15:16:42
Quote by trojanrabbit:
I'm trying to clean up the wall-o-text, but if it's too much I can get rid of it.
No, keep it. I'm gonna go check it all out later.


Comment by wickedpam on 10/15/2013 15:16:47
What the hell is Art talking about?

Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 15:17:31
White House Rejects House Plan
SHARE The Obama administration is not interested in what House Republicans are offering. “”The President has said repeatedly that members of Congress don’t get to demand ransom for fulfilling their basic responsibilities to pass a budget and pay the nation’s bills,” Amy Brundage, a spokesperson for the White House, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the latest proposal from House Republicans does just that in a partisan attempt to appease a small group of Tea Party Republicans who forced the government shutdown in the first place.”


Comment by Raine on 10/15/2013 15:18:00
Quote by wickedpam:
What the hell is Art talking about?
I don't know. I feel kinda bad for him right now.


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