What a Government Shutdown Means

The Weeping Orange Boner Boehner, from MSNBC

When a new party gains control of all or part of the government, they love to say "the grown ups are now in charge." I'm not sure who, but I'm pretty sure somebody has said the same about John Boner Boehner's Republican House of Representatives. Though the boner does do quite a bit of crying for an adult, doesn't he? And he sure has the adult practice of "taking my ball and going home" tantrum thing down pat.  He demands X number of dollars in cuts (but no new taxes!), and ultimately--as they often do--Democrats caved. And Boehner says no, now you have to cut this much! Or I'm shutting it down!!! I almost expect him to say, "I know you are, but what am I?"

Worse, the Republicans are lying to us. "Nobody wants a shut down" they say, and then they turn around and get thunderous applause for promising to shut 'er down! Great, now they're getting catch phrases from Larry the Cable Guy.  Lord knows why they want the government to shut down. Most likely, it will be a colossal--and expensive--mess to clean up. Way, way more trouble than it's worth. And exactly what would our consequences be? Do they care?

[Excerpt]

As shutdown looms, agencies brace for impact

The National Zoo would close, but the lions and tigers would get fed; Yellowstone and other national parks would shut down. The Internal Revenue Service could stop issuing refund checks. Customs and Border Patrol agents training officials in Afghanistan might have to come home. And thousands of government-issued BlackBerrys would go silent. . .

Read more at: MSNBC