And oddly enough, the government still has the same tax revenue comimg in it had before the shutdown. This is all over allocation. There is money sitting there.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Fear not and stay the course! HOLD! HOLD! HOLD!

https://x.com/GunOwners/status/1979192887897162232

Oh, I was fully resigned that these would go past New Year's if need be and be swallowed in the flood of submissions, not to be seen again until maybe a year from now. However. I will take this win, and be hopeful to have them perhaps within a few days, maybe a few weeks instead.

Fingers crossed.

The rest of it? Leave it shut down, let's make it plain where the president needs to start separating out the chaff.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Fear not and stay the course! HOLD! HOLD! HOLD!

https://x.com/GunOwners/status/1979192887897162232

Oh, I was fully resigned that these would go past New Year's if need be and be swallowed in the flood of submissions, not to be seen again until maybe a year from now. However. I will take this win, and be hopeful to have them perhaps within a few days, maybe a few weeks instead.

Fingers crossed.

The rest of it? Leave it shut down, let's make it plain where the president needs to start separating out the chaff.

Don't whine.

My last form 4 took 345 days.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:


Don't whine.

My last form 4 took 345 days.

Don’t whine.

My last couple came back in 48 hours. The future is now.

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
I’m a federal worker who is furloughed. The work keeps piling up waiting for me. I’m ready to get back for various reasons.

I would go back and work w/o pay if I were you, unless your building or office are locked out. If you end up back on the job with back pay you can have the satisfaction you demonstrated good faith and trust to your Federal service employer as a dedicated professional. I'm never been a federal employee, but I've done that myself. If you don't want to do that then look for a temporary job until they call you back, or use the time to restart in the private sector. Or if you're ready to retire anyway, then continue hanging out and see what happens.

If we were given the choice to work, I would. We were not given that choice. The Army is quickly realizing how much they rely on non-uniformed personnel to keep the Army running.

I was told that if I were furloughed, we were to leave our work laptops at work, NOT do ANY work at all, and we were specifically forbidden to even 'volunteer' to work.

The govt is rather picky about these things. . .

Will the Left end the charade now that they have had their tantrum parades?

This should do the trick

https://x.com/teneikaask_you/s.../1979929564693282975

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
Don't whine.

My last form 4 took 345 days.

Don't be salty. Both of mine were approved this morning, making for two business days and a wake-up. This is just in time to get my free pistol can this coming weekend slammed through with a quickness, and I'm thinking it'll also be time to start a 10/22 Gemtech Mist integral.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
Don’t whine.

My last couple came back in 48 hours. The future is now.

Seriously, it seems like the only federal agency that was actively trying to become more efficient, and in the end, I believe it was only because it was that, or the alternative was [gasp!] have control of something they like having control of taken away. Hard to justify a big, fat budget when you're averaging a year to process what amounts to a fucking NICs check with a cover letter on it. This shutdown including ATF examiners was actively screwing with what seems like the only part of federal government that cared about doing their job quickly and efficiently, I think it's fair to say that is some horseshit. A right delayed is a right denied.

And yet again, the rest of it? Leave it shut down. Let the food stamp faucet get shut off, that should be good for some righteous giggles. I processed EBT/SNAP purchases for a while, I know what that stuff gets spent on (including beer - I was compelled to complete a sale because the Rick James look-alike had "cash benefits on the card" he could use for it). The dems own this bullshit, let their constituents be the ones to feel the pain and squeeze them. They have no constitutional right to Ho-Hos and Corona on the taxpayer teat.

Let me see if I can summarize where were are.

The Senate Dems, lead by Chuckie Schumer, refuse to pass a clean continuing resolution, instead demanding $1.5T in new borrowing to pay (in part) subsides to people buying medical insurance through the Affordable Care Act (the other part reimburses hospitals for state-level costs for providing medical care to illegals).

The Senate Republicans said "No." Now they refuse to invoke the "nuclear option" of changing the Senate rules to require a simple majority to pass spending bills.

The last time the nuclear option was used was to... enact the Affordable Care Act.

Which, if the Dems subsidy demands are not met will see costs of policies double. Double.

Hmmmm... a subsidy or costs double, making the policy totally unaffordable.

Dear Dems: if it requires a subsidy such a policy was always, and remains today, totally unaffordable.

The Senate Republicans need to invoke the nuclear option to pass a clean CR and a new bill, one that repeals ALL of the Affordable Care Act.

And they want to keep the increased subsidiaries for the Affordable Care Act that were implemented during Covid and are set to sunset the end of this year.

All in all, it is mostly just Chuckie Slimer afraid the radicals in his party will primary him in his next Senate election.

quote:

The last time the nuclear option was used was to... enact the Affordable Care Act.

Not true.

This Democratic Lawmaker Just Admitted How They Feel About Those Affected by the Government Shutdown

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/...nt-shutdown-n2665340

“Shutdowns are terrible and of course there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously,” the lawmaker said. “But it is one of the few leverage items we have. It is an inflection point in this budget process where we have tried to get the Republicans to meet with us and prioritize the American people.”

That’s right, folks. Clark and her fellow Democrats view the suffering of federal workers and their families as “leverage” to be used against their political opponents.

The more I listen to the leading Dems and supporters try and explain their entrenched position of subsidies for forever, the nuttier they sound.

The ACA isn't affordable at all, otherwise no one would need subsidies. Likewise, the Repubs have achieved a good measure of savings, at least theoretically, with DOGE and the Big Beautiful Bill. Why would they want to spend the "savings" on Dem pet projects?

The Dems aren't winning this argument. All they have is, "But we're opposing Trump."

quote:

Originally posted by Flashlightboy:

The ACA isn't affordable at all, otherwise no one would need subsidies.

The follow on to that is then, by definition, subsidies are also not affordable because they are paid by ... the citizens. The very same people who cannot afford the non-subsidized thing are the ones paying the subsidy! There is no such thing as government money.

* This would not be true were the federal treasury operating in ongoing surplus and the subsidies were only going to a small number of truly poor people who have never and will never pay taxes.

** Inflation hurts low to middle income people the most, and is caused by the ongoing deficit spending on top of national debt. Thus the cost of the subsidy is hidden from them but is real, and it entraps their children into also paying for it in the future as they must pay off the national debt painfully one way or another.

quote:

Originally posted by Fly-Sig:

quote:

Originally posted by Flashlightboy:
The ACA isn't affordable at all, otherwise no one would need subsidies.

The follow on to that is then, by definition, subsidies are also not affordable because they are paid by ... the citizens. The very same people who cannot afford the non-subsidized thing are the ones paying the subsidy! There is no such thing as government money.

You both nailed it.

The ACA should be repealed. It would have been, but for the petulance of John McCain.

Congress Should Miss Their Paychecks Too

Authored by Tiffany Smiley via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

This week marks the third week of the government shutdown – and there continues to be no end in sight. This week, millions of federal workers officially missed their first paycheck. These workers are staring down the barrel of piling bills; many are unable to put gas in the car or food on the table for their families.

The consequences of a prolonged shutdown are stacking up fast. Federal services are grinding to a halt. Veterans’ career counseling and regional offices have gone dark. Flight delays and travel disruptions are wreaking havoc across the country. And for every week this drags on, the U.S. economy takes a $15 billion hit. A month-long shutdown means 43,000 more Americans are thrown out of work.

And yet, there’s one group that hasn’t missed a single paycheck: members of Congress. While working-class families are about to miss paychecks their livelihoods depend on, fat-cat politicians in Washington continue to get paid. It’s time for Congress to feel the pain they’re inflicting on millions of Americans.

Congress should miss their paychecks.

Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego displayed the hypocrisy out loud as the shutdown began. In an interview with NBC News, he defended his refusal to forgo his salary during the shutdown, saying, “I’m not wealthy, and I have three kids. I would basically be missing, you know, mortgage payments, rent payments, child support.”

Exactly, Senator. That’s precisely what millions of everyday Americans are facing right now.

Ask yourself – would this shutdown even happen in the first place if members of Congress couldn’t make their own mortgage payments or pay their own rent? If they were scrambling to fill up their gas tanks or stay on their feet? Not a chance.

My heart breaks for the families who are beginning to feel this impact while their members of Congress treat this like a political game. I’ve lived this struggle myself. In 2005, my husband Scotty was blinded by an IED suicide bomb while serving our country in Iraq. While he lay in a coma at Walter Reed, I was forced to navigate a system that offered no real support – not for him, and certainly not for me. I had resigned from my job to be by his side, while facing student loan debt and mounting care expenses. There were no safety nets, no clear guidance – just bureaucracy and silence.

That was 20 years ago. Shamefully, not much has changed. While I’m thrilled and thankful to see President Trump ensure that members of our military get paid, law enforcement, air traffic controllers, and millions of moms and dads are still missing paychecks.

I know firsthand what it’s like to take on the government with no help, no roadmap, and no reward. If we’re serious about solving these systemic failures, then we must start by holding Congress accountable – not just for writing policy, but for standing behind the people they claim to serve.

Meanwhile, our Democratic politicians continue to prolong the government shutdown – voting six times to keep the government shuttered. While Democrats vote for a continued shutdown, President Trump and congressional Republicans are fighting for a clean-funding extension that will immediately open our government. Passing this stopgap funding measure gives Congress time to pass its funding bills through regular order and continue this historically bipartisan process.

I’ll be blunt: Enough is enough. If the American people have to feel the pain of a government shutdown, members of Congress should be in the foxhole with them.

They should be the ones holding the empty bank account. Imagine the urgency if every member of Congress faced foreclosure notices. Some members, both Republicans and Democrats, have already pledged to forgo their pay; others, like Gallego, should join them and stand with the people they claim to represent. Withhold congressional salaries until the government is funded. And watch how fast the government gets funded.

This shutdown isn't about policy – it’s about power. Democrats are gambling with American families’ paychecks to score political points. Senate Democrats need to pass the clean funding extension or face the consequences of their own making.

Let’s end this farce and stop paying Congress. And reopen the government today.

https://www.zerohedge.com/poli...-their-paychecks-too

American Federation of Government Employees Calls for Passage of Clean CR to Reopen Government

https://www.breitbart.com/poli...r-reopen-government/

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest union in the country representing federal employees, is supporting the passage of a clean continuing resolution (CR) and calling on lawmakers to end the shutdown – precisely what Republicans have continued to call for and pass.

In a Monday post titled, “It’s Past Time to End This Shutdown,” Everett Kelley, AFGE’s national president, wrote that “both political parties have made their point, and still there is no clear end in sight” of the shutdown, which is now on day 27.

“Today I’m making mine: it’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today. No half measures, and no gamesmanship. Put every single federal worker back on the job with full back pay — today,” Kelley said, reminding lawmakers that he represents over 800,000 federal and D.C. government workers.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
The Senate Dems, lead by Chuckie Schumer, refuse to pass a clean continuing resolution, instead demanding $1.5T in new borrowing to pay (in part) subsides to people buying medical insurance through the Affordable Care Act (the other part reimburses hospitals for state-level costs for providing medical care to illegals).

The Senate Republicans said "No." Now they refuse to invoke the "nuclear option" of changing the Senate rules to require a simple majority to pass spending bills.

....
The Senate Republicans need to invoke the nuclear option to pass a clean CR and a new bill...

I agree. End the filibuster rule.

The Filibuster Explained

The procedure, whose use has increased dramatically in recent decades, has troubling implications for democracy.

https://www.brennancenter.org/...filibuster-explained