The Government Shutdown Countdown Lowdown MEGATHREAD

[merithyn]

More liberal propaganda:

US Congressman (still getting paid) yells at Park Ranger (not getting paid), because the WWII memorial is shut down: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-123whqIRjY

Yeah. Brave Stupid man while the cameras are giving him a free sound byte.

This can't play well to anyone. If it does, we're doomed and should probably throw in the towel now.

[Caliga]

More liberal propaganda:

US Congressman (still getting paid) yells at Park Ranger (not getting paid), because the WWII memorial is shut down: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-123whqIRjY

I already posted about that in this thread.

Anyway, she was a lot more polite than I would have been.  I think I would have said something along the lines of "Fuck you and get back to work, asshole."

....

Ok, I wouldn't have actually said that.   But I would have been thinking it.

[lustindarkness]

Talking with some friends of mine who work for the government, I discover, to my amusement, that the "essential" employees are actually pleased and flattered that they are 'essential" and so have to continue to work, even though they can't get paid until the shutdown is over.  They consider themselves superior to the "non-esential" employees who are sent home and also won't get paid until the shutdown is over.

The fact of the matter is that the bureaucracy is using the tag of "essential" to deny a vacation to those workers they don't want to do without.  Some of the "essential" workers probably are essential, but a lot of them (like Congressmen and Senators) are not.

Yes, they all may or may not get paid, and who knows when, but in short: the non essential personnel are getting a paid vacation to play computer games while the essential personnel are at work. Makes perfect sense to me.

[Grey Fox]

Talking with some friends of mine who work for the government, I discover, to my amusement, that the "essential" employees are actually pleased and flattered that they are 'essential" and so have to continue to work, even though they can't get paid until the shutdown is over.  They consider themselves superior to the "non-esential" employees who are sent home and also won't get paid until the shutdown is over.

The fact of the matter is that the bureaucracy is using the tag of "essential" to deny a vacation to those workers they don't want to do without.  Some of the "essential" workers probably are essential, but a lot of them (like Congressmen and Senators) are not.

Yes, they all may or may not get paid, and who knows when, but in short: the non essential personnel are getting a paid vacation to play computer games while the essential personnel are at work. Makes perfect sense to me.

Oh, I love government

[Ed Anger]

Well you are.  But only when it's when they disprove of Obama.

I dunno... if there's one thing that could cause Spicy to back up Obama it would be a whole bunch of foreigners being mad at him. Americans are ornery like that sometimes, and I get the impression that Spicy likes it when foreigners are upset.

... or maybe that's Ed?

Me. I love it.

[derspiess]

Well you are.  But only when it's when they disprove of Obama.

I dunno... if there's one thing that could cause Spicy to back up Obama it would be a whole bunch of foreigners being mad at him. Americans are ornery like that sometimes, and I get the impression that Spicy likes it when foreigners are upset.

... or maybe that's Ed?

Well, I do piss off a foreigner at least once a day. 

But yeah, I do get a kick out of self-righteous foreigners being upset with us. 

[Ed Anger]

Well you are.  But only when it's when they disprove of Obama.

I dunno... if there's one thing that could cause Spicy to back up Obama it would be a whole bunch of foreigners being mad at him. Americans are ornery like that sometimes, and I get the impression that Spicy likes it when foreigners are upset.

... or maybe that's Ed?

Well, I do piss off a foreigner at least once a day. 

But yeah, I do get a kick out of self-righteous foreigners being upset with us.

The more paragraphs of frothing, the better.

[CountDeMoney]

But yeah, I do get a kick out of self-righteous foreigners being upset with us.

Who the hell doesn't?

"Hey, he can't treat our pledges like that."
"Only we can treat our pledges like that."

[11B4V]

I dont drink and yes I'm pulling your chain. Speaker Boinker would have caved 30 September, if it wasnt for the teabaggers. The lions share of this shutdown goes to the teabaggers and defacto to GOP. That is fact. The moderates of the GOP need to get their voice.

You weren't kidding when you said that you haven't made a serious post on Languish since 2003.  This one is a howler.

[Tamas]

More liberal propaganda:

US Congressman (still getting paid) yells at Park Ranger (not getting paid), because the WWII memorial is shut down: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-123whqIRjY

Yeah. Brave Stupid man while the cameras are giving him a free sound byte.

This can't play well to anyone. If it does, we're doomed and should probably throw in the towel now.

If the GOP goes through this without losing some serious face, your politics are really fucked up.

[derspiess]

If the GOP goes through this without losing some serious face, your politics are really fucked up.

So would you say that's something that would bother you Euro-types?   

[Valmy]

If the GOP goes through this without losing some serious face, your politics are really fucked up.

Well we only have two parties.  They know they only have to be better than the other guys.

[Tamas]

If the GOP goes through this without losing some serious face, your politics are really fucked up.

So would you say that's something that would bother you Euro-types?   

Oh yes. The state not handing money out is basically the only thing Hungarians care about, politically.

[Malthus]

If the GOP goes through this without losing some serious face, your politics are really fucked up.

So would you say that's something that would bother you Euro-types?   

I don't think that "bother" is really the right word for non-American reactions to the current crisis.

More like 'OMG, they can't really be that stupid ... can they?" with a side-order of concern that the stupidity in question may fuck up the world economy.

[derspiess]

That works as well.