Intelligence shutdown
When a woman in Omaha, Nebraska, complains to national news that the shutdown has impacted her personally because "I've been getting tens of calls a day from telemarketers pushing opioids and other painkillers, and the hotline I've been calling to complain is not being staffed" I wonder if we should reopen the federal government as an adult daycare facility. I get that she was a former addict and these calls were an unwelcome reminder and potential trigger, but do we need to pay folks in Washington, D.C., to remind concerned citizens they still have the ability, shutdown or no, to hang up their phone?
When Rocky Mountain National Park is closed but then plows its roads, what message does that send, if not a mixed one? It is currently free to enter Rocky, and most people I know don't need a map or a guide or a ranger to remind them of their God-given ability as human beings to put one foot in front of another on a path. So it seems like (according to Rocky's PIO, who is apparently giving this advice on furlough, or is she too important to furlough?) the Park is actually more open and inviting to those folks who apparently believe the shutdown is horrible and unwarranted and no non-essential government employee is getting paid (which is much different from "will not be receiving back pay for not working, i.e, the American dream/hustle").
I have been the beneficiary of airline travel through at least four different airports during the shutdown, and entered the U.S. through customs in one instance, so obviously risk sounding like a hypocrite. I am very grateful travel has not been disrupted in the last 25 days, but maybe it is high time it should be, so both sides can stop traveling to Puerto Rico or McAllen, Texas, and get back around a table and work out a compromise. If we cannot compromise (and Democrats, you are equally to blame) as a nation, we should just give up and throw in the towel. How is it every Presidential election in the past five not won by a Democrat is somehow illegitimate, and needs to be examined throughout its entire term for ways to negate it? How is it Democrats don't understand about reaping what is sown? If you don't want the wall, Democrats, propose some way for our borders to not be porous gateways for those who weren't born here. What is the point of being a citizen, or having to take a driving test, or paying taxes, if no benefits accrue?
Is the shutdown irreversibly harming American business and the U.S. economy? Well, let's look at the stock market's performance since December 21, the last day the government and Rocky were "open". Is this Doomsday? The chart more resembles a hill I'd like to climb. Despite all the frantic pleas to open food banks to furloughed workers and give everyone free meals at restaurants while being on (eventually) paid vacation, how have the core of American investors behaved? Remember when everyone and their dog was touting the wisdom of the masses? Here is the only poll I'll believe: The Dow is up 2000 points since we gave non-essential workers a one-month (soon to be overpaid) vacation. No one is that concerned about getting the government reopened to protect the status of the American economy. No one is that worried about where we will come up with the fund to pay them, and pay them extra for their suffering. Somehow, the U.S. is chugging along just fine.
More shutdown, please.
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| Except for those that are open but not charging admission fees |
I have been the beneficiary of airline travel through at least four different airports during the shutdown, and entered the U.S. through customs in one instance, so obviously risk sounding like a hypocrite. I am very grateful travel has not been disrupted in the last 25 days, but maybe it is high time it should be, so both sides can stop traveling to Puerto Rico or McAllen, Texas, and get back around a table and work out a compromise. If we cannot compromise (and Democrats, you are equally to blame) as a nation, we should just give up and throw in the towel. How is it every Presidential election in the past five not won by a Democrat is somehow illegitimate, and needs to be examined throughout its entire term for ways to negate it? How is it Democrats don't understand about reaping what is sown? If you don't want the wall, Democrats, propose some way for our borders to not be porous gateways for those who weren't born here. What is the point of being a citizen, or having to take a driving test, or paying taxes, if no benefits accrue?
Is the shutdown irreversibly harming American business and the U.S. economy? Well, let's look at the stock market's performance since December 21, the last day the government and Rocky were "open". Is this Doomsday? The chart more resembles a hill I'd like to climb. Despite all the frantic pleas to open food banks to furloughed workers and give everyone free meals at restaurants while being on (eventually) paid vacation, how have the core of American investors behaved? Remember when everyone and their dog was touting the wisdom of the masses? Here is the only poll I'll believe: The Dow is up 2000 points since we gave non-essential workers a one-month (soon to be overpaid) vacation. No one is that concerned about getting the government reopened to protect the status of the American economy. No one is that worried about where we will come up with the fund to pay them, and pay them extra for their suffering. Somehow, the U.S. is chugging along just fine.
More shutdown, please.
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