The Shutdown in 10 Infuriating Sentences & The 10 Saddest Government Shutdown Goodbye Notes 4&1OKT13

JUST the facts on the federal government shutdown, with links to articles backing up their statements, from Mother Jones.....

At its core, the dispute over the budget and the debt ceiling isn't complicated at all. But it is full of misconceptions and urban myths. Here are the 10 facts worth remembering past all the obfuscation:

1. Democrats have already agreed to fund the government at Republican levels.
2. Despite what you might have heard, there have only been two serious government shutdowns in recent history, and both were the result of Republican ultimatums.
3. Democrats in the Senate have been begging the House to negotiate over the budget for the past six months, but Republicans have refused.
4. That's because Republicans wanted to wait until they had either a government shutdown or a debt ceiling breach as leverage, something they've been very clear about all along.
5. Republicans keep talking about compromise, but they've offered nothing in return for agreeing to their demands—except to keep the government intact if they get their way.
6. The public is very strongly opposed to using a government shutdown to stop Obamacare.
7. Contrary to Republican claims, the deficit is not increasing—it peaked in 2009 and has been dropping ever since, declining by $200 billion last year with another $450 billion drop projected this year.
8. A long government shutdown is likely to seriously hurt economic growth, with a monthlong shutdown projected to slash GDP in the fourth quarter by 1 percentage point and reduce employment by over a million jobs.
9. No, Democrats have not used debt ceiling hostage taking in the past to force presidents to accept their political agenda.
10. This whole dispute is about the Republican Party fighting to make sure the working poor don't have access to affordable health care. 
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    Political Blogger
    

    Kevin Drum is a political blogger for Mother Jones. For more of his stories, click here. RSS |TWITTER

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      30 Ways the Shutdown Is Already Screwing People

      The government shutdown is bad news for children, children with illnesses, and people who care for children with mysterious illnesses. Also: unemployed goats.

    • Can Obama Disrupt the Shutdown Narrative?

      Perhaps it's time for a "have you no decency" moment.

    • No, the House GOP Isn't Standing Up for Kids With Cancer

      The National Institutes of Health has become a symbol of the shutdown. But the GOP's preferred budget enshrines massive cuts.

    • Now the Government Shutdown Is Stopping Blood Drives

      Canceled federal agency blood drives threaten to leave DC-area hospitals in short supply
      .http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/10/shutdown-debt-ceiling-explained
      

      The 10 Saddest Government Shutdown Goodbye Notes

      "Only websites necessary to protects lives and property will be maintained."

      —By Dana Liebelson

      | Tue Oct. 1, 2013 12:34 PM PDT

      You probably haven't heard, but the US government has shut down as of midnight on Tuesday, and it won't reopen until President Barack Obama and Congress quit bickering over Obamacare. Online, some government agencies appear to be in denial about the shutdown—the US Mint is still tweeting about coin laser imprints, and GOP.gov is running normally. But most of them are shuttering their Twitter feeds and websites, and leaving sad goodbye notes. Without further ado, here are 10 of the most tragic:

      1. The National Zoo promises that someone's still feeding the animals. But, sorry folks. No pandacam!

      

      2. USA.gov wins the politeness and optimism award.

      

      3. The US Geological Survey doesn't beat around the bush.

      

      4. The Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade informs us that, until hisinterns come back, small businesses are screwed.

      

      5. US Fish and Wildlife Service leaves duck-stamp enthusiasts hanging.

      

      6. The NSA isn't updating its site, but it's probably still spying on you!

      

      7. The National Archives and Records Administration is basically in chaos.

      

       

      8. The Government Accountability Office takes the opportunity to remind Americans that it won't be doing any government oversight while the government is shut down.

      

      9. The White House thumbs its nose at Republicans.

      

      
      And one bonus non-governmental Tweet: (we initially labeled this as an official NASA account, but a NASA spokesperson clarified that it is not.)

      10. The NASA's Voyager 2 goes nihilistic.

       

      
      
      

      

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      Dana Liebelson is a reporter in Mother Jones' Washington bureau. Her work has also appeared inThe Week, TIME's Battleland, Truthout, OtherWords and Yahoo! News. RSS | TWITTER

      • 
        

        Should Obama Reveal His Inner Pissed-Off President?

        With a government shutdown looming, it might be time for the chief executive to tell voters what he really thinks of the House Republicans.

      • Here's Why the Public Blames Republicans for an Imminent Government Shutdown

        Because Republicans said all along that's what they wanted.

      • 48 Ways a Government Shutdown Will Screw You Over

        Who is affected when the government doesn't show up for work? Poor people, people with immune systems…basically everyone
        
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      http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/10/10-best-government-shut-down-suicide-notes