As you are reading this, you know that we have somehow avoided a shutdown until November. We know how this will go. The jackasses in Congress will do nothing for 40 or 41 days and then will make up a new crisis to explain why they are holding a gun to the country’s head. It’s as infuriating as it is predictable. I get the fatigue. I really do.

I’ve been called a number of things here. Neville Chamberlain is one of them. You can call me whatever name you want. I really don’t care all that much. The pushback is not on that level. People have been calling me names since I was in first grade. It really is nothing new and the intellectual level of namecalling is not really much beyond that of the first grader.

The question at hand was essentially how we should handle these brinkmanship moments we always seem to find ourselves in. It has been suggested that we play matador and let them win a round. Then, the people would see what a shutdown or default would do to the economy and those folks would never win another election again. If it only it were that easy.

This is very simple. There are three reasons why I disagree with this tactic. First, I know people that would be affected by furloughs. Sure, they end up getting paid following a shutdown, but that doesn’t ease their pain during the furlough. They are often scared and depending on how long they’ve been a civil servant they may not have enough of a nest egg to keep them afloat if a shutdown lasts more than a few weeks.

Real people will get hurt. This point can’t be repeated often enough. Of course, none of us are literally in position to prevent that or not, but from a collective point of view I don’t want to have that on my conscience. I don’t want to watch people suffer and think, “I could have prevented that, but chose not to.” To me that’s not really a choice at all.

We could call that two different reasons. There are the people you know that will suffer and also the people you don’t know. However, that may not be the biggest problem. The biggest problem is that the whole strategy rests on the belief that people will see who did this and remember on election day. Yet, the same assholes that did this back in 2018 are still there. They are the ones doing it again and they are the ones that conservative voters are cheering for.

Again, this can be one or two reasons based on how you interpret it. There are people now that simply will not see who is responsible even when it is plain in front of their face. There are others that will be angry in the moment and still somehow still vote for those sons of bitches anyway. So, in effect you are letting them burn it down for nothing. Some of these irrational voters will vote for the irrational actors that lie the match. These irrational voters will watch them throw gasoline on the fire and still think it is the fire fighter’s fault. In that world you have to keep fighting. You hope you sway just enough voters to keep fighting. It’s incredibly depressing. It’s incredibly exhausting. It’s incredibly frustrating. Unfortunately, the alternative is really no alternative at all.

Remember that back in June, Trump caved on his cruel and illegal policy of separating children from their parents on the border.  Even though many kids remain separated , the stated strategy of tearing families apart was reversed.  Well, just now, Trump caved again, agreeing to a short term continuing resolution to reopen the government, and it doesn’t include money for his idiotic wall.  What changed?  Public opinion really did start turning as television reports of weeping federal employees hit the air waves.  Then Christopher Wray, director of the FBI, spoke out to all of his employees about how angry he is over the shutdown; the commandant of the Coast Guard spoke out publicly in opposition, and then, the FAA ordered a ground stop this morning at La Guardia airport in New York citing a shortage of controllers to safely move aircraft through our airspace.  Apparently, this was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and the tsunami of opposition to his shutdown FINALLY got through the orange ferret sitting on his head.  And he caved.

Trump is now right back to where he was two weeks before Christmas except that millions of Americans have been injured from his folly and his poll numbers are lower if that was even possible.  Oh, and he lied about how so many federal employees wanted him to keep going on the shutdown which is outrageous.  His “deal” to reopen government is only for 3 weeks.  We’ll see what the Dems do.

The funny thing? Trump did get his wall, and her name is Nancy Pelosi.

It’s starting to happen.  The air traffic control system is breaking down because of Trump’s shutdown for nothing.  LaGuardia was ground stopped completely due to shortage of controllers, and Newark, JFK, and Philadelphia are experiencing significant delays.

I predict the government shutdown will be over this weekend, a huge loss for Trump and his supporters.

Dear John and Ted,

I know you won’t actually read this entire letter (if at all) so I’ll put the demand to each of you up front:

GET OFF YOU ASS AND DO YOUR GODDAM JOB.

Let’s be perfectly clear: Donald Trump promised the American people that he would build a “big beautiful wall” along the entire US/Mexico border and that Mexico would pay for it. First, the notion of a 5th century solution to a 21st century problem is idiotic on the face, and everyone, except for mindless sycophants, knew that.  Second, the promise that Mexico would pay for this farce was bullshit, and everyone, except for the same mindless sycophants, knew that, too.  If each you had just a moment of frank honesty, each of you would concede that even the concept of Trump’s wall is stupid.

Now that we’ve established the idiocy of this notion, let’s talk about the greater idiocy of shutting down the federal government for politics.  ALLOWING the president to do it is worse, and each of you are complicit.  Let’s be more specific – the fact that 800,000 federal employees are not being paid is outrageous.  Requiring almost HALF of those employees to continue working without pay is unimaginable by normal people.  The fact that each of you have defended this negligence and criminality is also unimaginable.

The risk to the US economy is clear to anyone who understands basic arithmetic; every day this catastrophe is allowed to continue, billions of dollars get flushed down the toilet.  Unseen, though, is the risk to millions of Americans caused by this shutdown.  The federal air traffic system is at great threat;  air traffic controllers, who are working unpaid in a high stress job also now have unpaid overtime forced on them due to high absence rate, presumably because many controllers are having to work other jobs to put food on the table. It’s only a matter of time when one of these overworked and overstressed controllers makes a mistake; the results of that mistake can be catastrophic.  Like controllers, TSA agents are working without pay.  The front line of our security system is weakened by overwork and the stress of not getting paid.  The Coast Guard, who has responsibility for protecting our ocean fronts and maritime shipping, is unpaid.  The FBI is now seriously hamstrung in protecting us from terrorists to other criminals because of this shutdown. It goes on and on, and the fact that you are allowing this kind of flagrant risk taking is unconscionable.

Ignoring fact that Trump is singularly unqualified from holding any public office, much less the presidency, YOUR  job is to protect the Constitution, our country, and our state from him.  Let me remind each of you about the oath that you took when you assumed your positions:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

“…I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…”  Sorry, guys, you are failing miserably at keeping this part of the oath.  You are both neglecting your jobs for politics.  I can only assume that keeping power for yourselves and your party is more important than protecting Texans, and indeed all Americans.  Ted, Michael Bennet certainly put you in your place after you stood in the Senate yesterday and lied (again) about who’s at fault here.  Just like during your shutdown in 2013, you are again lying to the American people about this shutdown.  John, you regularly peddle absolute bullshit with the weight of a college professor as you neglect your job.  One of your most despicable lies fed the Benghazi “investigation” which ultimately found nothing.  To prostitute yourselves to this president is shameful, and I think, deep down, both of you know that.

The train wreck simply has to stop. NOW.  Trump lost the battle over his wall before he ever started it because it was based on a lie.  Rudy Giuliani has destroyed his reputation because of his lying for the president.  Each of you are destroying what’s left of your integrity by lying for this president, and by neglecting your responsibility to act as a check on the executive branch.  You can fix that, though, and you can do it today.  All you have to do is stand up on your hind feet and do your goddam job.

Open the government.  Period.  A single page resolution would do that.  But that is not enough; it’s time to outlaw the use of debt ceiling brinksmanship and government shutdowns as political bludgeons to extract concessions from the other side.  There’s no reason for it, and it must be stopped. NOW.

Enough of this nonsense is enough.  Stop helping Trump take hostages.  Stop demagoguing immigrants and Democrats.  Stop letting your own cynical politics dominate your presence in Washington.  It’s your job.  Do it.

In probably one of the most shocking examples of absolute tone deafness (since Donald Trump last opened his yap), billionaire and bottom fisherman Wilbur Ross put on full display the problem within the current infestation of the White House – complete and abject lack of understanding or empathy towards American workers, especially those who happen to be on the federal payroll.

Today, in a jaw dropping moment, Ross, who’s made his money Hoovering up distressed companies and firing people for profit, remarked on CNBC that he didn’t understand why federal employees who’ve been furloughed are going to food banks and homeless shelters.  He said they should just be able to go get a loan since it is “essentially a government guaranteed loan”.  To add insult to injury, Ross dismissed the crisis, saying that “it’s only 800,000 people who only make up .3% of GDP.”  He completely ignores the multiplier effect of those people having no money to spend and the huge risks they’re taking in everything from air transportation to food safety.  What an ass.  Here it is, but you’ll have to hold your nose to listen.

As demographics move against Republicans, they have become more and more desperate to cling to power by changing rules, moving the goal posts, and just outright cheating.  Beginning around 2002, lead by Tom DeLay, they raised gerrymandering to an art form, making it almost impossible for Dems to win in thousands of state and federal districts around the country.  Voter suppression with dog whistle “voter ID” bills around the country has kept untold numbers of perfectly qualified voters from voting.  Every election, they come up with some fake crisis to drive their mouthbreathing base to the polls.  In between, to keep everyone on edge, they’ve started using debt limit showdowns and now government shutdowns to get what they want.  Let’s be clear – by threatening the nation’s credit and millions of federal workers, Republicans are hostage-taking, plain and simple.  Trump, the trashy reality television star, is rashly using the latest shutdown as a bludgeon as this preferred alternative to actually legislating and governing.  This winner take all mentality that has infected Republicans is tearing the country apart, making life miserable for millions, and costing the economy billions all over his 5th century solution to a 21st century problem.  The Dems know that they simply can’t cave on this issue, because then Trump would use the tactic every single time he didn’t get what he wanted from the legislative branch.  Republicans in the Senate are in lock step behind Trump, cynically wrecking the lives of millions of Americans while their dear leader plays games.  It’s cruel.  And stupid.

Enter Mark Warner, US Senator from Virginia.  He’s called bullshit on the shutdown by introducing the Stop the STUPIDITY act, which stands for:

S-hutdowns
T-ransferring
U-nnecessary
P-ain
I-nflicting
D-amage
I-n
T-he (coming)
Y-ears

The bill is designed to take this particular hostage-taking tool away from Republicans.  It’s common sense and simple.  It provides for continued funding of the government at current levels if a new appropriation bill fails to pass, adjusted for inflation.  It also ceases funding for the legislative and executive branches until a funding bill is passed.  I like the idea of this bill a lot.  Let’s inflict pain directly on those causing the problem, not innocent government workers and military who are serving their country.  I know the chance of it passing this Senate is low, but when something terrible happens due to the shutdown, and it eventually will, there could be enough pressure on Repubs to grow spines and stand up on their hind legs.

To not pass a bill like this certainly is STUPID.