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ali-1411
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Obama and gov't shutdown
ali-1411
member
Anyone want to discuss?
First, I am so disappointed in Obama. I didn't vote for him but I had hope when he was elected. It was something different, things were bound to get better. But they haven't, not at all. We're still in Iraq and Afganistan. Economy still sucks. What has he done?
Is anyone affected by a gov't shutdown? They announced today that military paychecks would be delayed, nobody is happy about that. We don't think DH would be affected, he's not a federal employee but he does work on a federal contract.
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Re: Obama and gov't shutdown
I'm way more disappointed in the guys doing the voting than I am in Obama. They're bringing way more to the table than they need to, and seem to be nitpicking over issues that can be settled outside of this particular fiasco. It reminds me of when we're fighting for an I/T budget at work and people want to throw in the kitchen sink "as long as we're here."
ETA: That being said, I think that Obama does need to lock them in the room with nothing but coffee, bananas, and fiber muffins with no bathroom breaks allowed until they settle.
My DH's company (of mostly government contractors) is about 40% impacted. I think they have about 100 employees, and last I heard 41 of them would not be able to continue to get paid and would basically be suspended until its resolved. They can't really understand "why" the company can't cover the costs, either (which is really because the money isn't in the bank until they bill the gov).
I don't dig too deep into news, I only read MSN and our local paper. So there's probably something better out there but here anyway
MSN
Thank you!
My parents are going to DC for a weekend getaway this weekend. They're super bummed that pretty much everything will be closed.
Does that count?
This is exactly how I feel.
*snort* LITERALLY!
I'm about to commit message board sin and post and run. This line of thinking drives me crazy.
We're still in Iraq and Afghanistan?! Of course we are! There is no way in Hades that Obama was going to pull us completely out of that quagmire. That's not how occupations work. We can't just decide one day that we're done and leave an unstable mess. That sets us up for far more trouble than we're in now. The only way to avoid the sh!t was never to invade in the first place. Blame the Bush administration for that. Obama is left holding the bag. If we still have a military presence after Obama leaves office, whoever succeeds him will be stuck with the load. Welcome to foreign policy 101.
As for what the Obama administration has done so far, I suggest you consult this link (I'd post it but it has the f-word in it and I don't think Nest will let me.) It's a jumping off point to see what his administration has accomplished.
Anyone who thinks that any president is going to bring to fruition his campaign promises is sadly naive. NO politician ever lives up to the expectations they set to get elected. Not one. Ever. It's just the way politics works. It sucks, but I think the American people need to grow up a little bit.
As for the budget problem and the potential government shut down, blame Congress. If they can't get their sh!t together to pass a budget, it's on them. They're the ones screwing it up. The president isn't as powerful as you've been led to believe.
This isn't a flame against you, ali. I like you and I understand your frustration. I often feel the same way, but really, this line of thinking is unwinnable.
Like I said, I'm sorry to post and run.
This article may interest you: 27% of communication by Congress is taunting, professor concludes.
Oh I know all this. I was saying this back around election time. Even further, I don't think we should pull out, its still a mess around there. Hell, we're still in Korea, Germany and Japan.
And selfishly, DH's job security is kinda dependent on us still bombing things. Talk about mixed feelings in life....
I have to leave soon too, so I have to read the rest of your post and comment later
But my comment was really more vague and general, I guess. Yes, Obama was handed a complete mess. But I hoped we would have had better progress by now.
And this whole Republican/Democrat standoff is sickening. I'm reminded of school children spitting at each other on the playground.
Just to be clear - I think both sides need to get their butts in gear and get this worked out. I love the coffee-banana-fiber muffin idea. But - this is really all about the riders that keep getting attached to the budget. Even the 2 week extension has riders attached - riders for defunding PBS and NPR, defunding support of women's clinics (b/c of abortion but they don't separate that from healthcare), riders for defunding EPA. That is what this stalemate is over. We are 3 trillion in debt....they aren't squabbling about a measly few million dollars. And fwiw - the freshman candidates (Tea Party) are the ones unwilling to negotiate - not Boehner, the more senior Repubs or the Dems.
I also don't think people realize how bad the economy would truly be had many of the actions the government took not been done. No - the economy isn't fantastic. But we aren't in the depression we could have been with much higher unemployment.
Ali, I totally get how you feel. I have actually felt quite frantic often over the past month as so many things I care passionately about (NPR, Planned Parenthood, Teach for America, etc) get defunded. But Obama has done a ton of stuff, as PP said, and most of my incredible frustration is with Congress. I actually can't listen to the news right now because I get too worked up
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Ditto AJL. The American economy is like a massive barge...it can't just stop and turn on a dime. The fact of the matter is while the economy may still suck compare to the high life of the early and mid-first decade of this century, that was an unsustainable boom that ultimately led to the crash. And compared to a year ago, or even six months ago, the economy IS actually better. Unemployment rates are falling, interest levels have stopped plummeting (which, though it was nice for consumers, is a sure sign that those companies aren't having to drop the rates so drastically to goad consumers into spending), etc. So, the barge has slowed, stopped, and reversed direction. Yeah it's slow, but that's the nature of the game.
As for the gov't shutdown, I've never thought much of politicians. But now to have them be more interested in their own personal political agendas than be wiling to make the concessions necessary to avoid shutting down the government and halting funding, paychecks, etc. makes me despise them all that much more.
MY DH is military and will need to be paid but likely won't (although I am hoping it is in the bank now)
I dont think this is Obama's fault but I do think that it is the fault of Congress. They need to stop acting like whiney brats and get thier shitt together.
As I tell people that are being complete a$$es, my DH has been in the military for 19 years to defend your right to be an a$$. He does his job willingly and with great sacrifice to both him and our family sometimes. Maybe they can get the job done we pay them for instead of being whiney brats.
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this.
1. I am SO freakin' tired of biased media. FFS- not a single one of them is honest or straightforward.I think they have significantly contributed to the division of thought in America, for lack of better term. Totally the reason we cancelled our Statesman delivery.
2. I do partially blame O because he went into the presidency with an "agree with me or get-lost" attitude, and I think that tone has carried throughout his presidency.
3. I agree w/ the comment re: the freshman Congress. They really need to step back.
Maybe he learned it from watching Bush? This was a major criticism from the left about Bush when his administration made the decision to invade Iraq. I believe the phrase was, "Either you're with us or you're with the terrorists." From that point forward, the rest of his time in office took on the same tone.
I personally don't understand why Democrats aren't pissed off at their Democrat congressmen. Hello - this budget should have been dealt with and passed last September, but the Democrat-run House did nada at that time because of the upcoming elections. They could have easily passed their budget then, pushing it through any opposition because they had the numbers, just as they did with the health care bill.
(not that I necessarily want any Democrat budget, but I think it's ridiculous that the freshmen tea-partiers are being blamed when this should have been taken care of before they were ever elected.)
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This. Not to mention that ever since then it seems as though if you're against war, you're against the military. That's complete bull. I have a number of my family members in the military and I support all soldiers, but don't support the current war(s). To me, not wanting them to die in war is supporting them too.
I pretty much agree with everyone on the fact that Congress is to blame.
Also, I don't have time to look it up, but was told (by a usually reliable source) that even if we do go to government shut down Congress has written in that THEY still get paid. Is that true? Cause if so I'm even more mad. Congress needs to be paid the AVERAGE American salary and we need to get rid of career politicians.
Lots of my friends and family were furloughed when this happened in 1995/1996. I'm finding it hard to get worked up about it this time around. It sucks that so many innocent people have to pay for crappy political antics, but blame games don't solve the problem. Beyond that, I have no official opinion on the matter.
Now this, I *do* have an opinion on. I agree with you to an extent. Campaign promises are jokes, but there are a lot of people that bought into Obama thinking that he was different from other politicians and would be the change he promised to be. And Obama's campaign didn't do much to educate them on the reality of that expectation. And why should they? They want their guy to win.
I'm cynical and jaded, but even to me it seems a bit much to say that the voters shouldn't have believed he would do what he said. The campaign played into that image and into the trust of the voters. When you do that and fail to meet the expectations that you set, you deserve some disappointment and criticism.Congress doesn't have it written, per se. Its in the constitution how much Congress gets paid. Its so Congress can't wheel and deal on promises of higher salaries or threats of lower ones.
If you are only getting your news from local channels and your local newspaper, you might want to try The Economist or The Guardian or NPR news. Those outlets are a little more reputable and, in my opinion, give information rather than biased reports or snippets with no substance.
this x 100. congress has had the budget to approve for OVER A YEAR. get some shits done, already.
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Dem Congress didn't do sh!t because they were worried about elections. Rep Congress is try to do too much *** because they're worried about the NEXT election. They all suck, none of them have the best interests of ANYONE but themselves in their minds, and the idea that one party is to blame and one isn't is so very laughable.
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The idea that anyone thinks there is any difference between the two parties is what's laughable. Blue? Red? I think it's pretty much a vibrant shade of purple on Capitol Hill these days.
Yup. They're all a bunch of pandering a$$holes.
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