Are You Feeing The Pain Yet?
Posted by Michelle Moquin on October 15th, 2013
Good morning!
I’ve got two feelings on this government shutdown thing.
- No, I am not happy about the shutdown because many are feeling the pain. Including the elderly with respect to health concerns, and care for our children, etc.
- On the other hand, sometimes we need to experience what it is like to not have what we take for granted…sometimes we need to feel the pain in order to move forward and make the changes that need to be made. Perhaps when those who voted republican see how the repubs have screwed things up, they will have a change of heart when it comes to handing out the keys again. (I can HOPE can’t I?) And…perhaps…yes I am going to say it again…the Dems will get it together and take the keys back. If something doesn’t happen in 2 days…oh boy, some are really going to feel the pain.
Government Shutdown Pain Spreads
BY CAP ACTION WAR ROOM ON OCTOBER 10, 2013 AT 6:02 PM
7 Ways the GOP Shutdown is Hurting Americans
House Republican leaders are at the White House right now presentingtheir plan to give the nation a six-week reprieve from certain economic doom by agreeing that Congress will pay the nation’s bills through November 22.
We’re glad the Republicans recognize that we absolutely cannot risk an economic shutdown by defaulting on our obligations. As President Obama and Democrats have made clear and continue to make clear, it is non-negotiable for Congress to pay the bills Congress itself has already racked up.
Nevertheless, House Republicans are still insisting on prolonging another crisis – the government shutdown – for absolutely no reason. Republicans started this government shutdown in a failed attempt to deny affordable health insurance to millions of Americans but it should not go on a minute longer, whether it’s over Obamacare, hurt feelings, or any other reason.
Here are seven stories of the pain that is rippling across America thanks to the GOP shutdown:
- Shutdown Leaves Maine’s Poor Without Heating Assistance As Winter Approaches: Maine has no home heating aid money left from last season as the shutdown wears on the temperatures fall.
- Child Care Subsidies Jeopardized By The Shutdown:While many states should be able to cover the costs during the shutdown, some may not have much money to fall back on.
- Jobless Claims Spike As Government Shutdown Cripples Thousands Of Contractor Jobs: About 15,000 of last week’s unemployment benefit applications came from laid-off government contractors.
- Some Of The Neediest Schools Running Out Of Money As Shutdown Continues: The shutdown is delaying payments that some schools near Native American reservations and military bases need to keep operating.
- The Ongoing Government Shutdown Is Preventing The National Institutes of Health (NIH) From Admitting New Patients To Clinical Trials: NIH clinical trials are typically the last resort for people whose illnesses haven’t responded to other types of treatment. Since the shutdown began last week, just a handful of desperately ill patients have managed to get a spot in an experimental trial at the so-called “House of Hope.”
- Five Ways The Government Shutdown Is Threatening Our Health And Safety: The government shutdown is compromising everything from workplace safety to food security to public health research.
- Republicans Downplay The EPA’s Closure During The Shutdown — Except When It Hurts Their Districts: Some think it’s better when EPA’s not allowed to protect clean air and water. But Rep. Steve King (R-IA) said on Wednesday that he didn’t see why EPA couldn’t just continue writing a biofuels standard he supports.
BOTTOM LINE: Enough is enough. The longer the GOP keeps the government closed, the more Americans and our economy will suffer. It’s time for Speaker Boehner to allow a vote on a clean funding bill to end this shutdown crisis and re-open the entire government.
*****
MICHELLE’S BOTTOM LINE: Enough is enough. The longer the GOP is driving this car, the more Americans and our economy will suffer. It’s time for the Dems to get back into control and vote the repubs out and end the racist party of no.
Thoughts? Blog me.
Peace out.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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October 15th, 2013 at 8:27 pm
I just saw a quick FB news flash that house resmugnicans are starting impeachment proceedings, seriously?? Typical, one people go out in a limb they then have to defend the limb, that tree is gonna tumble peeps…it’s just a matter of time…
- ZL
PS Anonz, can you go for blood faster please?
October 15th, 2013 at 8:28 pm
Once* people go out on limb (sorry)
October 16th, 2013 at 10:39 am
I work for the VA and we are considered essential employees but the people who write our checks aren’t so we may not get those checks this month.
October 16th, 2013 at 10:41 am
Wow the storm had winds measured at about 70 mph. I was near the beach and it was scary.
October 16th, 2013 at 10:43 am
Hafa adai
It’s been a week since I landed in mainland China to cover the 6th East Asian Games, but I’ve had little time to explore.
Tianjin is 4,600 square miles, or more than 20 times the size of Guam. It has a population of 13.5 million divided among 16 districts, and is just 120 kilometers away from the Chinese capital of Beijing.
From my brief travels, Tianjin appears to be a city built with plenty of room to spare, with plenty of gorgeous structures crafted in opulence, but with many plain, boxlike buildings, too.
Its roadways are wide, sprawling, six or eight lanes wide even in the bustling cities, and intra-city roads are proportionally bigger too.
Everybody shares these roads and highways, from commercial haulers to buses, to cars of every shape and size, to young people on fast bicycles and old people on electric cycles.
Traffic signals are the traditional red, yellow and green colors, but they are LEDs that offer countdowns — so you know exactly how long you have to wait before not being able to move when it’s busy.
Motorists are only slightly more organized but just as opportunistic as Philippine drivers. Many will often drive into oncoming traffic to get around a line, bleating their intent on horns as they weasel into openings ahead.
I’ve spent most of my time in the Hexi (ho-Ashi) district, between my hotel, the main press center and the sports venues in Tuanbo, Nankai and Xiquing (she-ching) districts. I’ve played “Frogger” across busy eight-lane highways and seen areas where five, even six levels of raised highways gently curl around each other.
The sports facilities are world class. It seems no expense was spared to make the venues athlete- and spectator-friendly and the exteriors were built as if architects and designers held competitions for each one. Like the famed Bird’s Nest that surrounded the Olympic Stadium five years ago, metal lattices and facades surround many facilities, equipped with light shows pretty enough to stop you in your tracks at night.
Few signs in English
Shopping malls can stretch for blocks, and roads are lined with multistory buildings that make highways seem like a thoroughfare through the world’s biggest strip mall. There are few signs in English, but I’ve been quickly able to spot the occasional KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King.
There is barely any traffic surrounding some of the sports facilities, and it seems no one is around until you get inside. The wide roads are flanked with tall, equidistant streetlights that seem to stretch into eternity.
Every once in a while, you’ll see another example of Chinese luxury — such as the humongous statue of Tianjin-born kung fu master Hoa Yuan Xia — who guards the entrance to a cultural center and family playground.
Fall weather has been mostly pleasant, though Monday’s forecast calls for rain — and that means temperatures in the 50s, say the locals.
Blanketing everything in sight is a gray haze of pollution, which obscures distant buildings when it’s light and cuts visibility to a football-field length when it’s heavy.
It’s as if someone tried to clean the world around you with a dirty rag.
During the day, the smog erases the clouds in the sky and turns the sun into a dull orange. It doesn’t hurt to glance at it for a bit.
Many people smoke cigarettes. Although malls, gyms and offices seem to be smoke-free, every bathroom and stairwell reeks of tobacco, and to a lesser extent, hotel and elevator lobbies.
No one seems to notice, I suppose, since they deal with the smog 24-7.
There’s not much else to complain about. Parking lots and sidewalks are mostly free of litter, and the food I’ve purchased has been reasonably priced. There are plenty of expensive restaurants offering unpronounceable delicacies, but I haven’t had the time to indulge.
The next few days don’t look good for free time either — Guam’s still got cycling, dragon boat and judo, and maybe bowling, coming up until Tuesday when the closing ceremonies are scheduled, and then I leave this strange, wonderful city on Wednesday.
I’m a little envious of some athletes who’ve made it to the Great Wall, and to malls for shopping and even nice restaurants. But then again, I’ll return to Hong Kong, which has everything that I want and more.
Except a Great Wall — nobody else has a Great Wall.
I’ll just have to save that for another time.
October 16th, 2013 at 10:47 am
Howie, my question is are the aliens responsible for this? A tropical disturbance east of the Marianas is bringing heavy rains and winds to the island.
According to Guam Homeland Security, the disturbance was 335 miles east-northeast of Guam as of yesterday afternoon. It’s drifting west-southwest toward the northern Marianas.
Paul Stanko, senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Guam office, said the storm system has the potential to organize into a stronger storm. However, that won’t happen until it moves west of Guam.
Until then, however, residents should expect heavy rain and thunderstorms.
High winds of about 30 miles per hour also are expected. These conditions will continue tomorrow and possibly Friday.
October 16th, 2013 at 10:49 am
Hafa adai Howie, if it is true, can you do something about this? Local water and power agencies begin to prepare for the oncoming storm.
Art Perez, spokesman for the Guam Power Authority, said the power agency has been clearing vegetation off of power lines all day and will continue to do so throughout the evening as the weather permits.
Perez also said that residents have called in sporadic power outages in isolated areas around the island.
An outage occurred before lunch today from Yona to Talafofo, Perez said.
Crews removed bamboo from lines at the intersection of Route 10 and Route 4.
Power has since been restored.
Heidi Ballendorf, Guam Waterworks Authority spokeswoman, said the agency is putting all 100 water wells on back-up generator power to continue to provide everyone with water during the storm.
October 16th, 2013 at 9:16 pm
To my lost alien.
The falling moon takes with it my secret fears
Which, in the night, why my sky is starless,
Cause these eyes empty of you fill with tears
How I dread sleeping in the Kingdom of Darkness
You have left me a spirit in flight, I run around restless
My alien lives in a world I wish to be mine.
He, in all his magic, knows not of harshness.
Through the forest of humans I run blind.
Into this morning, I’ve not stepped before.
My alien sees as well in the darkness as in the bright light
His hopeless enchantment is of lost yore.
Being with him is like living in Heaven everyday
First he took my heart, then my last breath away.