Ornette wrote:The 2nd google result: http://swampland.time.com/2013/09/29/explaining-the-shutdown-to-your-kids/

Thanks, that's a ridiculously simple explanation. The whole situation seems so...childish...for everyone involved. NPR should be interesting, tomorrow.

I suppose I should've asked my new legos a couple weeks ago.

Can anyone articulate a rationale for the shutdown that doesn't involve Republicans being a bunch of prissy stupid fuckers trying to double-dip for purely ideological reasons and fucking over a huge swath of government employees in the process? I ask this on the assumption that it isn't POLITICS to ask for an objective assessment of a subjectively insane act by a large group of people that happen to all be members of the same political party.

If October 9 comes and goes without a resolution (not many people seem to think this is likely), the VA shuts down and the 168 hours I need to pass my externship start piling up. FML

From what I understand, this came about because the Democrats and the Republicans could not agree on the budget by the deadline. Because of this, the government cannot pay for anything (except "essential" departments: the military, the weather service, Congress itself, and a few others) because it has no budget. As I understand it, it's like you not getting a paycheck because the accounting department screwed up.

Basically what happened was we had two petulant children refusing to work with one another and, in the process, shut down the government of one the single most powerful nations on earth.

More or less something like this.
10 Republicans: DEFUND OBAMACARE
20 Democrats: NO!
30 GOTO 10

I hope that didn't come across as "too partisan". Personally speaking, I'm not a fan of either party.

I have lived with state-funded medical care for the whole of my not inconsiderable life. It has saved my life multiple times (TB, cancer, heart attack). The idea that any people are prepared to shut down a government in protest at the early steps towards such a facility just makes me shake my head in disbelief.

Oh boy, I sure can't wait to check out the news on Evageeks where politics aren't allowed so I wont be constantly seeing insults thrown at my party! I can tell this is going to be grea-

Republicans being a bunch of prissy stupid fuckers trying to double-dip for purely ideological reasons and fucking over a huge swath of government employees in the process?

Nowhere is safe....

TheFriskyIan wrote:Nowhere is safe....

Your party's been hijacked. Either get out of Dodge or do something about it, but don't expect people to be okay with that shit (particularly when it gets them furloughed or working for no pay).

pwhodges wrote:I have lived with state-funded medical care for the whole of my not inconsiderable life. It has saved my life multiple times (TB, cancer, heart attack). The idea that any people are prepared to shut down a government in protest at the early steps towards such a facility just makes me shake my head in disbelief.

Yup. This is perhaps the one respect in which USA tends to come off as horribly backwaters to europeand and I'm no exception. Reading posts like this never fails to shock me even without fucknuttery that is going down for a change.

At the risk of sounding hypocritical I do need remind everyone here of the no politics rule. The initial question by Catamari and answering it is agreeable but we're slipping into purely political comments without just neutrally explaining whys and hows or contributing to topic with genuine news.


Well, this might seem politically charged to some but I was amused and occasionally surprised by results of Reader's Digest "The most and least honest cities" test.

Funny that I've always felt like Helsinki is ruder and colder than most other cities here (capital thing I guess) but based on this they're veritable saints. I was also positively surprised by how New York fared.

PIGS though... what the fuck, Portugal? What the fuck?

Mumbai came second, and that's good to see. If the experiment had been repeated in another Indian city - Delhi, for instance - it would have fallen in one of the two lower categories for sure.

Although it's very much a NO POLITICS rule in effect, we've created threads on controversial topics before to let people vent. If things got too heated, we just locked them.

Silly Greenpeace -- September 18th is not International Act like a Pirate Day!

I don't see anything funny about their predicament.

Xard wrote:
PIGS though... what the fuck, Portugal? What the fuck?

Wow, everybody hates us. Lisboa is the least honest city AND we are pigs? I mean, nobody takes any of that crap seriously but still...

Screw those guys.

child of Lilith wrote:I don't see anything funny about their predicament.

I giggled when I read about the vegan that couldn't eat prison food. The guy without a gallbladder, less funny. How do you get ahold of a boat and scale an oil derrick (allegedly) without also thinking ahead to the third world hellhole your ass will get hauled to if you get caught?

Good news for those who fly a lot: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/10/faa-panel-wi-fi-is-safe-on-planes-even-during-takeoff-and-landing/

Ornette wrote:Good news for those who fly a lot: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/10/faa-panel-wi-fi-is-safe-on-planes-even-during-takeoff-and-landing/

Oh wow, common sense at last. Quick, put these guys in Congress!

...It... It finally happened...

Catamari wrote:From what I understand, this came about because the Democrats and the Republicans could not agree on the budget by the deadline.

Not a budget, a CR. And yes, this is an important distinction. A CR is just a "continuing resolution" that extends spending authorized in the last successfully passed budget (2009), and whatever modest expenditures they've managed to throw on top since. If we had been passing budgets year after year, neither the shut down, nor the debt ceiling would be an issue. At least, not short-term.

Ornette wrote:Good news for those who fly a lot: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/10/faa-panel-wi-fi-is-safe-on-planes-even-during-takeoff-and-landing/

Ah, the FAA has been in rather top form lately. With this, and their recognition to regulate sub-orbital craft separately from either spacecraft or aircraft (Aircraft = horizontal, Spacecraft = Vertical Sub-orbit = 45 degrees), they may just be where they need to be usher in the next iteration of the Aerospace industry. Now if only we could start seeing NextGen before it becomes "the gen before last".

Hornets gone wild in China.

[url]http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/03/world/asia/hornet-attack-china/index.html?sr=fb100313hornetchina10a[/url]

U.S attacks Al-Shabaab in Somalia

USA USA USA!

I actually don't mind this strike at all. If anything I wish they were succesful.

Xard wrote:U.S attacks Al-Shabaab in Somalia

USA USA USA!

I actually don't mind this strike at all. If anything I wish they were succesful.

Been waiting for something like that. Wish they had just sent in some drones and flattened the place.

Park Service closes Florida Bay.

Because of the funding lapse, the Small Business Administration will only fund emergency loans, which means loans now in the works have come to a halt.

“Anybody who’s been waiting for a loan closing can’t close their loans because the bank isn’t closing without the SBA guarantee,

Oh so that's what they do... but, why?