Government Shutdown

[Jaglavak]

House stenographer? Oh that poor girl. Can you imagine being forced to sit through every single minute of the inanity? The stupidity? The pimping and whoring? The sheer dipshitted ego swinging? Come on! If it were that or getting burned at the stake you'd have to think it over. I hope she gets the drugs and rest she needs. Poor thing.

[SmartAleq]

Haha, Joe Cool is inna WhiteHouse yo!

[Lounsbury]

The bystanders are all really quite grateful. Really.

Otherwise, I would like to credit Brian with insights he brought to me as an observer. At certain points watching this idiotic fiasco, I asked myself, "is it truly possible that there is a political wing in the USA so entirely incompetent in political action, in political argument so as to actually undertake tactics and strategy that are nearly guaranteed to have precisely the opposite effect from the intended aims?"

I then was able to briefly review Brian's posting and say: "Yes, in fact there is."

It became abundantly clear that the Republican party is in the hands of people like Brian and clothahump, which in combination explains its descent into gross incompetence. Once said party was in the hands of competent people, viz RVB. Now, it seems dedicated to making the wooley headed fools on the Left look sane and responsible, no mean feat really.

[Tuckerfan]

Originally Posted by SmartAleq

I get the feeling this is not going to work again, ever.

But that doesn't mean the GOP won't keep trying.

[Veb]

All for nothing, at great cost.

Standard & Poor's just said the shutdown took $24 billion out of the economy. The economy had shown some modest growth in September but could the Tea Party tolerate that? No. And House Republicans went right along with it. Anybody who doesn't recognize that the GOP is in sad, scary shape is willfully deluded.

[Brian]

Originally Posted by Glazer

Missed the point again. Side track the issue again. You don't have an honest bone in your body. Frankel as loathsome as he is has nothing to do with the issue at hand.

I suppose you will call it a sidetrack, but Lois Frankel is a she.

Veb, was Mrs. Frankel grandstanding when she read Yertle the Turtle on the House floor? Yes or no, if you please.

[Muffin]

Originally Posted by Chacoguy

See?

At least she didn't blow herself up or shoot anyone.

[JackieLikesVariety]

yet.

[Muffin]

Interesting fixation you have on Yurtle the Turtle there Brain. Nice to see that you have goals in life, just as Yurtle the Turtle did. I expect that things will turn out as well for you as they did for him.

[rayh]

Originally Posted by Brian

I suppose you will call it a sidetrack, but Lois Frankel is a she.

Veb, was Mrs. Frankel grandstanding when she read Yertle the Turtle on the House floor? Yes or no, if you please.

There are two possible answers to you question -

1. Yes. Now what?

2. No. Now what?

[THespos]

Originally Posted by Lounsbury

At certain points watching this idiotic fiasco, I asked myself, "is it truly possible that there is a political wing in the USA so entirely incompetent in political action, in political argument completely owned by outside interests so as to actually undertake tactics and strategy that are nearly guaranteed to have precisely the opposite effect from the intended aims?"

FTFY

[Jaglavak]

Yes that's true, but I think the system is even more broken than that.

[Brian]

Originally Posted by Jaglavak

Yes that's true, but I think the system is even more broken than that.

Why were people wetting their panties over THIS shutdown, and not the last 17? Especially on the Durp. Yes, Marley23 was only in high school, and other posters were still in their onesies, during the last shutdown, but that doesn't mean that it hasn't happened before. Why all the shock?

[THespos]

I think it's workable if you get the money out of politics, especially campaign finance.

Already, we're seeing commentary about the "Republicans who caved" facing well-funded primary challenges from yet loonier Tea Partiers. These folks probably wouldn't have to fear the loonies so much if their districts weren't so heavily gerrymandered. It's tough to act reasonably when everything you've built can be upended by some rich asshole with aspirations for global domination and more money than sense.

[Vandervecken]

Originally Posted by Brian

Why were people wetting their panties over THIS shutdown, and not the last 17? Especially on the Durp.

I don't know. Why don't you go ask them?

[Xploder]

Prolly banned. Just like (cough, cough) some of us here.

[Vandervecken]

Yeah, but you went out with a bang, not a whimper.

_{cunt, cunt, cunt, cunt...}

[Muffin]

Poor Yurtle, can't understand the difference between a shutdown and a default.

[Veb]

Interesting article about the Tea Party by a sociologist: http://www.salon.com/2013/10/17/tea_...ven_their_own/ Putting aside the standard overblown title, it does a good job of examining the "angry right", and what they're so angry about. The TP's big rallying cry is "take back the country". Mostly it's angry old white people who think they're losing control, so their answer is a forcible return to some amorphous, never-was good old days. The hook is, this time there's a cadre of very rich funders using them as levers for their own agendas.

[Brian]

Originally Posted by Vandervecken

I don't know. Why don't you go ask them?

Ok, now I am asking you guys, here. Why was this such an earth-shattering event, compared to the last 17 times?

[Muffin]

Look up, son, ah say, look up.

[Xploder]

Originally Posted by Vandervecken

Yeah, but you went out with a bang, not a whimper.

_{cunt, cunt, cunt, cunt...}

And I had fun too dammit!

_{now it's going through my head again...shit, time to go play L4D2 and get rid of the tune.}

[Vandervecken]

Originally Posted by Brian

Ok, now I am asking you guys, here. Why was this such an earth-shattering event, compared to the last 17 times?

Originally Posted by Veb

Standard & Poor's just said the shutdown took $24 billion out of the economy. The economy had shown some modest growth in September but could the Tea Party tolerate that? No.

Asked and answered. The economy is in a fragile state, and all of this mucking around just made things worse. And where are we today? Right back where we started. What did the shutdown accomplish, exactly?

[Glazer]

Originally Posted by Brian

Ok, now I am asking you guys, here. Why was this such an earth-shattering event, compared to the last 17 times?

The Internet

[Brian]

Originally Posted by Glazer

The Internet

Good point. But that also explains why it's overwrought handwringing, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, over what amounts to a bump in the road.

[Muffin]

Well, Yurtle, we'll have to disagree by about twenty-four billion dollars as to what constitutes a bump in the road, and far more importantly, whether a USA default constitutes a bump in the road. You really should work on comprehending the difference between a shutdown and a default. But of course you are not equipped to do this.

[Brian]

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

The bill includes extra funds to fix flooded roads in Colorado, a $3 million appropriation for a civil liberties oversight board and a one-time payment to the widow of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who died over the summer.

It also includes an increase in authorization for spending on construction on the lower Ohio River in Illinois and Kentucky. The bill increases it to $2.918 billion.

The Senate Conservatives Fund quickly called that language the "Kentucky Kickback," and said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) secured that as the price of his support for the bill. Taxpayers for Common Sense says the bill would increase total authorized spending by $1.2 billion.



Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-actio...#ixzz2i0Hr7fZg

[Erving#6]

Originally Posted by Brian

Good point. But that also explains why it's overwrought handwringing, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, over what amounts to a bump in the road.

24 billion dollars lost, nothing to see here.......

[Brian]

Originally Posted by Erving#6

24 billion dollars lost, nothing to see here.......

What was lost during the last 17 shutdowns, most of which were orchestrated by Democrats?

[Vandervecken]

Originally Posted by Brian

What was lost during the last 17 shutdowns, most of which were orchestrated by Democrats?

I don't know - do you? If not, why don't you go research it yourself, so you can answer your own damn question. Otherwise, what's the point of your post?

[Brian]

Originally Posted by Vandervecken

I don't know - do you? If not, why don't you go research it yourself, so you can answer your own damn question. Otherwise, what's the point of your post?

I don't understand the partisan squealing, as if this shutdown was something new.

[Muffin]

Originally Posted by Brian

I don't understand

[pats the Brain on the head]There, there, Brain. Don't worry your pretty little head.[/pats the Brain on the head]

[rayh]

Originally Posted by Brian

What was lost during the last 17 shutdowns, most of which were orchestrated by Democrats?

Well the last one in 1995, orchestrated by the republicans, cost $2.1 billion. Cite.

[Brian]

Originally Posted by rayh

Well the last one in 1995, orchestrated by the republicans, cost $2.1 billion. Cite.

You're downright funny, if you think that RT is a reliable cite for anything. It's a propaganda agency, funded by the Russian government.

P.S. I suppose it's too much to ask why leftists like you and mswas continually quote it?

[Erving#6]

Originally Posted by Brian

I don't understand the partisan squealing, as if this shutdown was something new.

A shutdown hasn't happened in the last 17 years, but I guess that doesn't matter either, huh?

I am more upset about a President who went into 2 wars and cut taxes during them as well, brilliant. "Deficits don't matter!"

[Brian]

Originally Posted by Erving#6

A shutdown hasn't happened in the last 17 years, but I guess that doesn't matter either, huh?

No, it doesn't matter. It's not new. How old were you in 1995?

[rayh]

Originally Posted by Brian

You're downright funny, if you think that RT is a reliable cite for anything. It's a propaganda agency, funded by the Russian government.

P.S. I suppose it's too much to ask why leftists like you and mswas continually quote it?

Cite that the figure quoted is wrong.

[Brian]

Originally Posted by rayh

Cite that the figure quoted is wrong.

You made the claim, it's up to you to prove its veracity.

[mswas]

Originally Posted by Muffin

I wonder what Cruz and the rest of the nutters will do next to top this one?

In January and February they will probably play this hand again, blissfully unaware that it isn't going to work just like it keeps not working.

And then...the Democrats are going to look really good in mid-term elections.

[rayh]

Originally Posted by Brian

You made the claim, it's up to you to prove its veracity.

It's true, I made the claim. I produced a cite to back up my claim. You dispute the accuarcy of my cite. It is up to you to disprove it or provide a better cite.

[Brian]

Originally Posted by rayh

It's true, I made the claim. I produced a cite to back up my claim. You dispute the accuarcy of my cite. It is up to you to disprove it or provide a better cite.

No, it's actually not. RT doesn't provide any substantiation for their "facts". I simply don't believe them, and if you were an honest poster, neither would you.

[rayh]

Originally Posted by Brian

No, it's actually not. RT doesn't provide any substantiation for their "facts". I simply don't believe them, and if you were an honest poster, neither would you.

Just saying you don't belive them is not good enough. Either disprove or provide another cite. Otherwise you are just bullshitting. Put up or shut up.

[Xploder]

Originally Posted by Brian

No, it's actually not. RT doesn't provide any substantiation for their "facts". I simply don't believe them, and if you were an honest poster, neither would you.

Right there folks. Right there is why arguing with this moronic asshole is beyond pointless. "I don't believe it so it isn't true. I'm not listening to you. La-la-la-la-la." ad nauseum.

While it may be fun to poke the troll with a stick it's starting to become sort of cruel - like holding a cookie juuuuust out of a four year old's reach.

[Muffin]

I quite liked Obama's speech on the dysfunction that led to the shutdown and near default, and the resulting harm. In particular, I am glad that he pointed out the necessity and the good of government, and the importance of making it work, rather than tearing it down. I have a lot of respect for that fellow.

[Brian]

Originally Posted by rayh

Just saying you don't belive them is not good enough. Either disprove or provide another cite. Otherwise you are just bullshitting. Put up or shut up.

That's not how it works, on the internet. You can't just throw up a website link and expect it to stick. Your "cite" needs to be reasonable and reliable. RT is neither. But it says a lot about you, for quoting it.

[Muffin]

From Business Insider re. what would have cost less than the shutdown:

Almost 1.5 NASAs. NASA's 2014 budget is $16.6 billion.

Sent 554,413 kids to private college. The college board estimates it costs an average $43,289.

Or 1,078,119 kids to college in their home state. That costs an average $22,261 according to the College Board.

Every American could get 15 $5 Footlongs from Subway. That's 4.8 billion sandwiches.

Buy everyone in India a single long-stem rose from 1-800-Flowers FREE. India has a population of 1.2 billion.

11 days worth of Social Security. The U.S. spent $773 billion on Social Security in the fiscal year 2012.

Paid for the damage of Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Frances combined. 2004's Hurricanes Frances and Charley cost $9.85 billion and $15.1 billion, respectively.

Purchasing homes for 87,944 "average" Americans. The average new home price in the U.S. is $272,900, according to the 2010 Census.

Purchasing 8.3 billion free school lunches for children. Under the National School Lunch Program, the government reimburses a school $2.86 (or more) for a free lunch.

Buy 7.1 billion gallons of gas for Americans. The average gas price right now is $3.36.

Screening 1,41,176,470 women for breast cancer for free. The average cost of a mammogram is around the Medicare rate, $170, though of course prices vary based on location and insurance.

[rayh]

Ok another cite

In fact, shuttering government offices has actually cost taxpayers money—an estimated $2 billion in today’s dollars the last time it happened in 1995 and 1996, when the government closed for 27 days.

[Erving#6]

Originally Posted by Brian

No, it doesn't matter. It's not new. How old were you in 1995?

I was 25, man you are a desperate man.

[Brian]

Originally Posted by rayh

Ok another cite

MSLSD. You guys are so cute. Why do you cite things from only one viewpoint?

It makes discussion rather boring.

[Brian]

Originally Posted by Erving#6

I was 25, man you are a desperate man.

If you were 25 at the time, did you rant and rave about it then? And, pray tell, how was this shutdown somehow worse?