Federal Government Shutdown

New Threat Of Government Shutdown Under New Speaker Mike Johnson!

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A new threat of a government shutdown on Friday November 17, under the new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, is pending.

Johnson has division within the House Republican Conference, and just as former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, he cannot afford to lose more than four votes if all Republicans are present and voting on any budget matter.

And one member could call for a vote to dislodge the new Speaker from his perch, and new chaos and anarchy could reign.

Mike Johnson, an unknown individual until he was elevated to the Speakership, clearly is in above his head, and his extremist views and those of his wife are an alarm bell in the night.

Johnson wants two separate dates for funding, and he proposes no aid for now to either Israel or Ukraine, so it seems like a no brainer, with five days to go to the budget deadline.

If the government shuts down this Friday, it will cause all kinds of grief in innumerable ways.

Essential That Congress Pass Law Banning Government Shutdowns Now!

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The Republican Party is guilty of provoking government shutdowns as a regular tactic in the past 25 years, since the time when Newt Gingrich and the Republican Revolution came to power in the 1994 Midterm Elections under Bill Clinton.

It has undermined respect in our government, and hurt many people in the process, and it should never happen again.

Any attempt of any President to force a government shutdown should be opposed by both parties, ready to override a Presidential veto by a two thirds vote.

Since Federal Government workers are not permitted to strike, therefore the Congress has a responsibility to make it illegal to ever disrupt the nation as it has, due to Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and the Republican Party unwilling to keep their oath of office.

Effectively, they have been committing lawlessness, and hopefully, many will be wiped out of Congress in 2020.

Nancy Pelosi, The Most Powerful Woman In American History; And Ann Coulter, A Domestic Terrorist Who Should Face Charges Of Promoting Insurrection Against The Welfare Of The American People

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Two women stood out this week, one displaying her true greatness, and the other demonstrating that she is a disgrace who wishes ill for the American people.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stood up to President Donald Trump, and refused to bend on the Border Wall, and Trump has now caved in totally, not only on the criminal shutdown of the federal government, but also on delaying the State of the Union address.

She has proved to be, easily, the most powerful woman in American history by far, and the best Speaker since Thomas “Tip” O’Neill (1977-1987), and makes former Republican Speaker Paul Ryan look pitiful by comparison, having no guts or courage to stand up to Donald Trump.

When one thinks of other women who have played a major public role in American history, we can think of Hillary Clinton, who would have been the most powerful and influential woman in American history, had she not been robbed by Russian collusion of winning the Electoral College.

We can refer to several woman US Senators with longevity—such as Margaret Chase Smith, Barbara Mikulski, Diane Feinstein–and several Congresswomen, including Jeannette Rankin, Marcy Kaptur, Patricia Schroeder, and Nita Lowey—and Supreme Court Justices such as Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

But none have had the impact and significance that Nancy Pelosi has had in 33 years of service, and with a successful four year term as Speaker from 2007-2011.

At the same time, Ann Coulter has proved once again that she is a dangerous radical, out to undermine American government, through sowing hate and division, and proving she has no empathy for anyone except the extremely wealthy and powerful right wing forces in America.

She should have a complete collapse in her book sales, and should be ignored by the news media and cable tv shows, as she is effectively a domestic terrorist sowing insurrection, and she should be facing charges and spending years in prison for her anti American actions that are equivalent of treason.

For sure, when the history of recent times is written, Nancy Pelosi will stand out in a positive fashion, while Ann Coulter will be condemned to the dust heap of history, of traitors to America and its advancement.

Donald Trump’s Government Shutdown Creating Psychological Torture On Millions Of Americans, And Endangering Public Health And National Security: A Criminal Act Which Should Lead To Immediate Removal From Office

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Donald Trump’s Government Shutdown. now in its 34th day, is creating psychological torture on millions of Americans, and endangering public health and national security.

It is a criminal act, unsurpassed by any President in American history, a grab for absolute power by a tyrant who wishes to destroy our Constitution and system of checks and balances.

It should lead to immediate removal from office, not even wait until an impeachment trial, as it is endangering

a great economic depression;

a danger of nuclear war;

a public health and safety crisis regarding our food and drug supply;

the likelihood of a massive terrorist incident as horrible as September 11;

the danger of a disaster in air traffic;

the eviction from homes and apartments of millions of Americans, making them homeless; causing massive hunger and starvation;

the undermining of the health of the elderly, the disabled, the poor, and those with serious diseases;

the worsening of morale of such crucial government agencies as the Secret Service, Immigration and Custom Enforcement, Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, and innumerable other agencies;

the likelihood that many dedicated federal government agencies will see many of their work force permanently leave government service, creating a massive shortage of qualified people to take care of government services for 325 million Americans;

and causing America to become the laughing stock of the world, as the nation goes from one crisis to another every day, and every area of government policy getting worse by the days and weeks and months.

We have had two years now of crisis and anarchy, and it is just fortunate that there has been no major foreign policy crisis, but one can sense it is coming, and we have an incompetent, demented, unstable, ill tempered collaborator with the major enemy of the United States, Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, who wishes our nation ill!

Inspiring January 20s—1961 And 2009, And Then Depressing January 20s, 2017 And Today

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Today is commemorated as the Presidential Inauguration Day every four years, since the passage and ratification of the 20th Amendment in 1933, changing the date from the original March 4 from 1789 to 1933, to the new date starting in 1937 and every fourth year after.

The history of January 20 is one of two particularly inspiring Inauguration Days, those of John F. Kennedy in 1961, with his soaring oratory, and Barack Obama in 2009, with the largest Inauguration crowd in American history, and with this author and blogger in attendance with his older son, witnessing the historic event.

Kennedy was the youngest elected President, and the first and only Catholic President, and Obama was the first and only mixed race African American President, and both appealed to the highest ideals of the American spirit.

Already, both are rated in the top third or better of our Presidents, and both will always excite and inspire our image of what America could be.

But sadly, now we are in a crisis, which makes Richard Nixon look better, something thought to be impossible after the Watergate Scandal. We never thought we could have a worse and more corrupt President than Nixon, who with his manifest shortcomings actually had some positive contributions.

But with Donald Trump, we have a wrecking ball out to destroy American domestic policies since Theodore Roosevelt onward, and American foreign policies since Harry Truman onward.

We have a President who has collaborated and colluded with the Russian government of Vladimir Putin, and yet we have one third to 40 percent of the nation totally in delusion, and proving that as PT Barnum said long ago, “There’s a sucker born every minute!” People who should know better have their heads in the sand, as if they are ostriches, and nothing will convince this ill informed and morally deficient portion of the population to see the reality of the disaster we face.

Donald Trump gave a bitter, divisive Inaugural Address two years ago today, and has not stopped from his mission of total destruction, and division of our population with his insults, his racism, his nativism, his misogyny, his repudiation of our long time allies, and his promotion of the destruction of the environment and the concept of civil rights and civil liberties in our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

January 20, 2017, was not a day to celebrate, and January 20, 2019 is not either, as the Federal Government Shutdown continues, with the long range goal of the undermining of the Federal government agencies, and the destruction of the lives of millions of dedicated workers, and the collapse of the American economy, as we hurtle toward another Great Recession or maybe even another Great Depression.

It is impossible to have hope that we can survive this Trump disaster without long range damage and harm that will permanently undermine the future of American democracy.

Donald Trump, The Republican Party, And The Trump “Base” Have No Respect, Regard, Or Appreciation Of Government Employees

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Donald Trump, the Republican Party, and the Trump ‘base” have no respect, regard, or appreciation of government employees, and the role they play in the lives of 325 million Americans.

Everyone in America is impacted by the dedication of public servants who sacrifice their lives and families in many positions, and in all cases, have an effect daily on all of us.

But there are those who trash public employees as if they are freeloading, when they must meet strict standards for their jobs, and in so many cases, are not well compensated.

How would Americans live without the effect of such agencies as follows:

Department of Agriculture

Department of Commerce

Department of Defense

Department of Education

Department of Energy

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Homeland Security

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Department of the Interior

Department of Justice

Department of Labor

Department of State

Department of Transportation

Department of the Treasury

Department of Veterans Affairs

National Archives

The Library of Congress

Presidential Libraries

Smithsonian Institution

Federal Trade Commission

Federal Communications Commission

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Environmental Protection Agency

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Science Foundation

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Tennessee Valley Authority

Securities and Exchange Commission

Small Business Administration

Federal Reserve Board

United States Postal Service

Social Security Administration

National Transportation Safety Board

Amtrak

Peace Corps

Central Intelligence Agency

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Secret Service

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

National Park Foundation

The continuation of the Federal Government Shutdown is a rebuke not only to the affected government employees, but to all 325 million Americans, and Donald Trump will pay the price in public opinion polls, and in the analysis over time of historians and political scientists.

Donald Trump Engaged In War Against Federal Government Agencies And Workers, Pleasing Vladimir Putin

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It is becoming clearer by the day that Donald Trump is engaged in a full scale war against federal government agencies and workers, with his refusal to end the federal government shutdown, harming hundreds of thousands of workers and innumerable agencies.

He is promoting anarchy and division unlike any time since the Civil War, and this pleases Vladimir Putin manifestly.

He has, since he took the Presidential oath, refused to fill many high government positions, and now has shown his total disrespect for federal workers, including denying them pay raises, as well as furloughing many, and others forced to work, but with no pay.

This will soon cause an economic crisis, and many workers will lose their homes or apartments, their autos, and their health, as well as cause great psychiatric stress. Many businesses that work around federal agencies are losing their business, and will disappear, and many workers will leave and go to the private sector, causing great shortages of personnel in key security, law enforcement, and other areas of the federal government.

And the closure of national historical sites, museums, and other tourist locations will harm those areas economies, and disappoint many who had planned tourist trips to these sites, in particular in Washington, DC, but also all around the country.

With so many people living paycheck to paycheck with little funding in reserve, the lives of ordinary Americans will be harmed, and now for the first time, even those whites with only a high school education are finally starting to turn against Trump, as they are now seeing the destruction and damage he has wrought.

Learning that Trump is now seen as clearly colluding with Russia, and took the translator notes from the summit in Helsinki with Putin away from the translator and any other government officials, who have no idea what happened at that summit in July, makes the constitutional crisis we face very more terrifying.

Donald Trump And Wasteful Spending: His Adult Children, Massive Tax Cuts To Wealthy, And Government Shutdown Causing Salary Payments To Government Workers Who Cannot Do Their Work

Ronald 5 Comments

Donald Trump is the master of wasteful spending, and is on the way to the worst example yet of total recklessness with the national budget.

Other Presidents have added to the national debt and to unbalanced budgets, but had the excuse of engaging in foreign wars, and promoting domestic programs that caused the problems.

But Donald Trump has wasted taxpayer money to provide security to his adult children who are doing private business deals (Donald Jr and Eric); giving massive tax cuts to the wealthy, who already had the tax cuts under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush; and now the federal government shutdown, three weeks in duration and continuing, where close to 400,000 workers are furloughed, but will be paid their lost wages when the shutdown ends.

Meanwhile, the waste of money on the shutdown will reach $6 billion by the time this shutdown ends, if it does in the next two weeks, and after that, ever more waste of taxpayer money will occur.

But Donald Trump, who has never known a rough day for economic survival as 80 percent of the nation has experienced, goes about his merry way, promoting reckless spending for wealthy people, and for his spoiled, privileged sons, just as much as he was treated by his own dad decades ago.

Senator Mitch McConnell The Ultimate Villain In Government Shutdown, Only Concerned About Himself And His Wife In Trump Cabinet

Ronald 31 Comments

The ultimate villain in the Federal Government Shutdown is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who could end it by calling for a Senate vote to end the shutdown.

All he has to do is call for a vote on the resolution that was passed in December before the holidays almost unanimously, and the crippling shutdown could end.

But McConnell will NOT do anything to defy Trump, as he has a massive conflict of interest, in that his wife, Elaine Chao, is the Secretary of Transportation.

McConnell and his Republican colleagues are totally afraid to oppose their own President, but what they are doing is making the Republican Party brand more toxic, and one can be assured that the party will lose seats in the US Senate in 2020, and likely will lose control to the Democrats.

And top of the list to defeat is Mitch McConnell, if he chooses to run for a seventh term, as he will have served 36 years in the Senate by the end of 2020, and is up for reelection.

Donald Trump Border Wall Oval Office Speech Accomplishes Nothing

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Donald Trump is claiming a national emergency on the southern border with Mexico, even though there is no crisis of terrorists trying to cross the border, based on government statistics.

In fact, only SIX people were picked up at the border with Mexico in the first six months of 2018.

This “national emergency” is about Donald Trump wanting to please his 35 percent base of supporters on the building of a wall which is impractical, ineffective, and will cause a tremendous government expense in the tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money, when Trump said Mexico would pay for the Wall.

Rightfully, Mexico has refused, so now Trump wants Americans to bear the burden of a wall, which in many areas, would not logistically be possible, in areas of desert, mountains, and waterways.

Rather, the answer is technology, drones, and more personnel on the boundary.

Meanwhile, government workers are being victimized by having no pay during the government shutdown, and many vendors at government sites are being put out of business, Meanwhile, native Americans and the poor are being denied food stamps and health care, and we will see a rise in deaths due to this government shutdown, soon to be the longest in American history, and totally unnecessary and outrageous.

It is time for the Republicans in the Senate to move to open up the government, as closing the government is a disaster that accomplishes nothing, and the only way the GOP has any chance to keep the Senate majority in 2020 is by demonstrating independence from the President, who likely will be gone before the year 2020 arrives.

Already, discontent with the stalemate has been voiced by Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Cory Gardner of Colorado, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.