When you work for an organization that borrows money it does not have and can not pay back, and then spends it stupidly, over and over and over again, the wise move is to seek some alternative form of making a living.
The shutdown and even the debt default is a pisant in the snow compared to the elephant in the room. The crash that is coming will make the Great Depression look like a good time.
Many will just whine about how unfair it all is. A whole bunch of people will starve to death. Almost all of the elderly and sick will die. Those who still understand the necessity of working for a living will learn to just ignore the dying because they are too busy trying to feed themselves and their families.
Quote: When you work for an organization that borrows money it does not have and can not pay back, and then spends it stupidly, over and over and over again, the wise move is to seek some alternative form of making a living.
Spent stupidly? You don't have a very good understanding of academic research do you? Every penny I spend is checked by my institution, then again by the NSF/NIH making sure I didn't so much as buy a soda with it. Not to mention funding academic research is potentially the best return on investment that the american people will receive from the money collected through taxes. Miniscule amounts of the GDP are spent to fund scientific discoveries, yet these are the things that have driven our country, and the world, to the point it's at currently. The reason we can point to things like breast and prostate cancer and say that these diseases are no longer death sentences. These cures come through government funds by way of the american people, and everyday I'm thankful that there exists a way for me to put my talents to use, rather than working in a factory like my dad did.
So thank you Ayn, i will keep your ideals in mind as I put in 60 hours this week trying to understand and ameliorate the effects of type II diabetes. You've given me, by way of a generous donation of 0.000001 cent per day, the chance to find a cure to this disease that may effect you or one of your loved ones.
Ok mac, so as I read the article you posted this is what I see... you are stating that the republican party should listen to the NYC bankers and lawyers who donate a lot of money to the party and not the common folk that make up the tea party and are politically active on a local level.. that is, after all, what your article is advocating.... So is that your stance on the issue? That the banking industry and the lawyers who donate a lot of money should have more influence on the party? I'm just curious... because I seem to remember you stating over and over again that the republican party exclusively looked out for the banking industry, the oil industry, and the big money donors at the exclusion of the little guy... which way would you like it?
Quote: When you work for an organization that borrows money it does not have and can not pay back, and then spends it stupidly, over and over and over again, the wise move is to seek some alternative form of making a living.
Spent stupidly? You don't have a very good understanding of academic research do you? Every penny I spend is checked by my institution, then again by the NSF/NIH making sure I didn't so much as buy a soda with it. Not to mention funding academic research is potentially the best return on investment that the american people will receive from the money collected through taxes. Miniscule amounts of the GDP are spent to fund scientific discoveries, yet these are the things that have driven our country, and the world, to the point it's at currently. The reason we can point to things like breast and prostate cancer and say that these diseases are no longer death sentences. These cures come through government funds by way of the american people, and everyday I'm thankful that there exists a way for me to put my talents to use, rather than working in a factory like my dad did.
So thank you Ayn, i will keep your ideals in mind as I put in 60 hours this week trying to understand and ameliorate the effects of type II diabetes. You've given me, by way of a generous donation of 0.000001 cent per day, the chance to find a cure to this disease that may effect you or one of your loved ones.
Thank you!
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
Quote: Spent stupidly? You don't have a very good understanding of academic research do you? Every penny I spend is checked by my institution, then again by the NSF/NIH making sure I didn't so much as buy a soda with it. Not to mention funding academic research is potentially the best return on investment that the american people will receive from the money collected through taxes. Miniscule amounts of the GDP are spent to fund scientific discoveries, yet these are the things that have driven our country, and the world, to the point it's at currently. The reason we can point to things like breast and prostate cancer and say that these diseases are no longer death sentences. These cures come through government funds by way of the american people, and everyday I'm thankful that there exists a way for me to put my talents to use, rather than working in a factory like my dad did.
So thank you Ayn, i will keep your ideals in mind as I put in 60 hours this week trying to understand and ameliorate the effects of type II diabetes. You've given me, by way of a generous donation of 0.000001 cent per day, the chance to find a cure to this disease that may effect you or one of your loved ones.
Just out of curiosity, Draft, I understand that you are doing your job and are passionate about it, but how much money is wasted by the bureaucracy around you? I've worked for the government, and I know the rules of spending. Almost all the time it's, "spend all you are allocated, or you will get less money next year". How many accountants are employed to make sure you don't buy a soda?
Perhaps you are not fully aware of this, but the organization that pays your salary is involved in a few other things, in addition to your particular section of it.
They spend stupidly beyond all reason or comprehension. We are 17 trillion dollars in debt. If some incredibly small percentage of that is spent on something useful, well gosh golly gee that just makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it?
Are you truly so completely unaware of what is going on around you?
I've GOT IT!!!!!!
We need a DEBT AWARENESS campaign! What color ribbon should we use for that? I'd go with a medium-light brown, to represent "dumb as dog-crap."
Quote: Also, please consider the next government shutdown when the majority of America has been forced into the government run health care.
I think that the hotline telling people that they can't get care while the government is shut down might go something like this:
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: Every penny I spend is checked by my institution, then again by the NSF/NIH making sure I didn't so much as buy a soda with it.
So the government spends a nickle trying to account for every penny you spend. See this is the inherent inefficiency that is built into what you, and other government funded agencies, do. I'm not going to question the need for, or the benefit of, you research. I'm a big proponent of research, even government funded research. I worked around and even for the government doing construction and renovation work for GSA, FBI, FEMA, DoJ, etc for a long time when I lived in DC so while I may not have an understanding of your area of expertise, I do have a very good general understanding of government processes and how they work.
If I did 100,000 SF of office renovation for a law firm in DC, it might have cost the firm $12 million... if I did it for DoJ, it would cost $12 million... but the law firm would have one or two guys managing it on their behalf that I had to deal with, information would be passed, decisions would be made, change orders approved and we would all move on with the Project. Multiply that process by 10 to get anything done and approved in the government. The reason that people don't see the overt waste within the government is that the 4 people from GSA, the 3 people from the DoJ, the 4 people from the Anti-trust division within the DoJ, etc that it takes to agree to get every single decision made is cumbersome and inefficient and none of those people.. NONE OF THEM.. are required to charge their time to the project so there is really no way to tell exactly how much a construction project ultimately costs the government... because none of the bureaucracy associated with getting it done shows up as a cost to the project.
In the real world, if XYZ corp is building a project, they assign a project manager to make decisions, if they don't trust the project manager to look out for their money and their best interest, they fire him/her and find somebody else. In the government if they don't trust that person, they add another, more highly paid person to check everything they do.. and if they don't trust that person they add another layer... and another... and in reality, it's not a person, it's groups of people, all watching each other....
Quote: Spent stupidly? You don't have a very good understanding of academic research do you? Every penny I spend is checked by my institution, then again by the NSF/NIH making sure I didn't so much as buy a soda with it. Not to mention funding academic research is potentially the best return on investment that the american people will receive from the money collected through taxes. Miniscule amounts of the GDP are spent to fund scientific discoveries, yet these are the things that have driven our country, and the world, to the point it's at currently. The reason we can point to things like breast and prostate cancer and say that these diseases are no longer death sentences. These cures come through government funds by way of the american people, and everyday I'm thankful that there exists a way for me to put my talents to use, rather than working in a factory like my dad did.
So thank you Ayn, i will keep your ideals in mind as I put in 60 hours this week trying to understand and ameliorate the effects of type II diabetes. You've given me, by way of a generous donation of 0.000001 cent per day, the chance to find a cure to this disease that may effect you or one of your loved ones.
Just out of curiosity, Draft, I understand that you are doing your job and are passionate about it, but how much money is wasted by the bureaucracy around you? I've worked for the government, and I know the rules of spending. Almost all the time it's, "spend all you are allocated, or you will get less money next year". How many accountants are employed to make sure you don't buy a soda?
I also work for the government and know the rules of spending. The shutdown/sequestration pushed a TON of stuff to the right on my schedule, and this is stuff that needs to get downrange quickly.
Everyone I know in my sector works their tails off. If you want to get better bang for your buck, at least as far as the DoD goes, the following needs to be accomplished:
1. Don't mandate a fair deal for the contractors. Business is business, and they can take care of themselves regardless. If we have the opportunity to leverage the hell out of them in negotiations, let it happen.
2. Get the contractors out of Congress' pockets. This is probably the biggest thing. This is why we spend, for example, hundreds of millions on tanks we'll never use.
3. Revise the FAR so you don't have a million steps from the need date to the contract award. This would help in eliminating what wasteful positions do exist.
4. Do whatever you can to take acquisition away from sole source situations. We've all seen what mess happens when the government has to deal with Lockheed for X or has to deal with Boeing for Y. If the government puts in the funds for R&D, we need to make more and better claims for data rights to shift over to competition.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
Quote: Perhaps you are not fully aware of this, but the organization that pays your salary is involved in a few other things, in addition to your particular section of it.
Wait, i'm employed by the US government? Since when? Last I checked I remain an employee of Brigham and Women's Hospital, regardless of where the funding for the lab I work in comes from.
Quote: They spend stupidly beyond all reason or comprehension. We are 17 trillion dollars in debt. If some incredibly small percentage of that is spent on something useful, well gosh golly gee that just makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it?
Again, I don't work for the US government. Brigham and Women's hospital, since the start of healthcare reform here in MA, has grown at an amazing rate. There is no way they're in any large amount of debt at the moment.
But, that's not your point. Your point is that if the country is in debt, why do we fund things like academic research at all? The short answer is that it pays off for the country in the long run. Science moves slowly, sometimes taking decades to start reaping the rewards. The human genome project finished in the late 90's. We're just now starting to get affordable genotyping and a large enough population of donors to start coming to some interesting conclusions regarding our species genetic diversity. That being said we're still not able to render treatments that are patient specific. It's on the horizon, but definitely not something you'll see in the next decade. Spending 2% of our GDP each year guarantees a longer, better, life for citizens in this country in the future. It's essentially like the putting a small amount of your own money into the safest, most guaranteed return, mutual fun available on the market.
The reason why that money is well spent is because the way in which scientific discovery proceeds and the peer-review process. Bad information slowly gets weeded out and replaced with good information until we can come up with a solid understanding of a topic. From there we can get therapeutics for disease or better technology to make our lives easier. The point being that good information always comes out of government funded research eventually. We further our understanding and knowledge about the world around us, which helps make life a little better for others and increase our own productivity to make further discoveries. It's like a snowball that starts an avalanche. A little bit of funding goes a long way.
Quote: Are you truly so completely unaware of what is going on around you?
I guess so. I honestly don't know what you're getting at other than "Debt is bad, so stop spending." I feel like this is all one big non-sequitor to be honest.
Quote: We need a DEBT AWARENESS campaign! What color ribbon should we use for that? I'd go with a medium-light brown, to represent "dumb as dog-crap."
Are you saying this is something I would come up with?
Rome fell because they allowed themselves to become decadent, and they allowed their republic to fall in favor of a dictatorship, not because they destroyed Carthage. Were you trying to make a point with that?
Also, please consider the next government shutdown when the majority of America has been forced into the government run health care.
Rome was attacked and destroyed. Your method of eliminating everyone will only make us closer to becoming a state like Israel that is in constant fear of being raided to all hell. Unfortunately we do not have the capabilities of Israel to be able to protect most everything in the nation. We really don't have a real problem with terrorist attacks, but we would if we started making more terrorists. You can't win ideological wars with bloodshed. Both our wars on drugs and terrorism is ideological wars.
Quote: There's no reason why we should be fighting two wars at the moment.
Actually, we'd get rid of a lot more waste in the military if our government would allow the military to fight the wars to win, not just 'kill the bad guys'. If someone attacks us, we should make war like the Romans did with Carthage. Go in, kill everything, destroy their infrastructure, then salt the earth so nothing grows there again. I'm quite sure the bad guys will think again before another attack.
Yeah, and what happened to Rome again?
Apparently you missed his qualifier to attacking, or do you recommend we just say "thank you, may I have another" when attacked?
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
Quote: There's no reason why we should be fighting two wars at the moment.
Actually, we'd get rid of a lot more waste in the military if our government would allow the military to fight the wars to win, not just 'kill the bad guys'. If someone attacks us, we should make war like the Romans did with Carthage. Go in, kill everything, destroy their infrastructure, then salt the earth so nothing grows there again. I'm quite sure the bad guys will think again before another attack.
Yeah, and what happened to Rome again?
Apparently you missed his qualifier to attacking, or do you recommend we just say "thank you, may I have another" when attacked?
So you're OK with destroying an entire civilization/nation. Killing everyone who knows about it and banning everything from that civilization? How do you kill an idea, sir?
So, it is your belief that your employer is some OTHER entity than the one that provides the money? If that you are saying, you not only need the ribbon but a sign to go with it.
Projects that pay off two decades down the road are going to benefit the Peoples Republic of China, not us.
We are beyond broke. We are looking at "broke" in the rearview mirror. It does not matter how noble your purpose is, the money is gone. It does not come from a magic boot in the sky. You cannot continue to punish productivity and reward the total lack of it for any significant period of time without the economy totally collapsing from within or being absorbed from outside.
The time to carefully pick and choose which programs to keep and which ones to end is long past. No one had the guts or sense to cut anything. Now, in order for this nation to survive, the cuts need to go right to the bone. Earn your keep or cease to exist.
But not this program! Not that one! This will continue until millions of people will be sitting in stunned amazement, wondering why it is that they no longer receive checks in the mail.
Quote: Rome was attacked and destroyed. Your method of eliminating everyone will only make us closer to becoming a state like Israel that is in constant fear of being raided to all hell. Unfortunately we do not have the capabilities of Israel to be able to protect most everything in the nation. We really don't have a real problem with terrorist attacks, but we would if we started making more terrorists. You can't win ideological wars with bloodshed. Both our wars on drugs and terrorism is ideological wars.
Attacked and destroyed. What caused them to be attacked and destroyed? Could it be that they became decadent, with an overbloated government that was no longer effective or feared? Could it be that they trained the barbarians that came knocking at the gates of Rome? Oddly enough, they did. Most of the Roman soldiers at the end were from somewhere other than Rome. And now we outsource some of our military hardware to countries like China.
So, you really think if we went in and destroyed Afganistan down to the last person, they radical muslim reaction would be to attack us again? I'm fairly sure we'd run out of radical muslims before they ran out of targets. We make more terrorists because we don't finish the job. Rome was not attacked by the Cartheginians ever again. In fact, were no Cartheginians once the Romans were done. That's something we will have to consider in the near future.
Quote: Just out of curiosity, Draft, I understand that you are doing your job and are passionate about it, but how much money is wasted by the bureaucracy around you? I've worked for the government, and I know the rules of spending. Almost all the time it's, "spend all you are allocated, or you will get less money next year". How many accountants are employed to make sure you don't buy a soda?
Well, most positions that award grants from the NSF/NIH are unpaid and by invite only; something to beef up the CV and show your dedication to making the community stronger and more competitive. As for the administration around me responsible for keeping us honest and/or getting everything in order for submission, they are employed by Brigham and Women's. We have a department that specializes in working with us on formatting and submission times for all the different funding institutions so that we stand the best chance possible of getting an award. These are the types of practices that while costing money, make the hospital a better research institution overall because we bring in more grants than other institutions that don't do this. More grants means more cutting edge research which leads to patents and then money for the institution. Those patents then get implemented or sold, which leads to new companies and new products for consumers. Again, this takes years.
To be honest, I can't answer the accountant question accurately. But I will say that I receive calls weekly about something I have ordered, wanting justification for it. Usually these are glucose strips we use to check our diabetic mice, so it might be less often for other labs. It could be that computer program flags items we order and then go through to an actual person to follow up on, or it could be that there is a cadre of accountants pouring over the thousands of orders that go through the hospital in any given week. Like, I said, I'm not sure. And I agree, there are probably places that could be cut funding-wise to reduce bloat ... but that holds true for any business up to and including the US government. What I'm not in favor of is having someone outside the institution come along and dictate what is or is not bloat. Some jobs, while seeming menial and easy to an outsider and could be done in addition to another persons job, in fact cannot be done by just one person. Unless that person is reviewing the overall structure and division of labor within a department, they can't and shouldn't feel comfortable coming to that conclusion.
That kind of segues into something else. No other field in the country has the ire of current conservatives like research does. Look back to the 2008 election when McCain/Palin were harping on someone "wasting money doing research on fruit flies" as an example. On the surface fruitfly research looks inane, afterall what similarities do they have that we could possibly be interested in? The answer to that is lengthy, but in essence we share many similarities in how genes interact molecularly to create the form of the animal. Not everything is similar, but the way molecules and genes interact on the fly level is the same as at the human level. Certain genes (Hox, Fox, Il, etc.) interact to form the fly into what we know as a fly. These same genes are conserved evolutionarily (with some modification) and through these same interactions (with differing amounts of modifcation) make animals have their characteristic "look." Biologically speaking, it's important to understand the very basics of the molecular interactions in order to understand our own biology from the point of fertilization. Fruit Flies reproduce in days, are easy to feed, and can be harvested for their protein and/or DNA very quickly after experiments. This makes them a great model for understanding basic molecular biology. By demeaning this research field, the presidential hopefuls revealed an ignorance of the sciences as a whole as well as the import that underlies the continued funding of basic science research.
Their call to limit academic research in this way goes back to an outsider telling an expert what is, and is not, "good research." Recently, people like Virginia Governor hopeful and current DA Ken Cuccinellihave called for greater oversight into academic research, mainly in regards to climate change but like I outlined above even in the case of basic biology research, when we already have a large amount of oversight. So much so that many people would call the administration overseeing the grants "bloat." But, that is what is required in order to keep the proper paper work handy in case someone comes calling asking for the files on your grant to make sure nothing untoward is happening with those funds. We can't simultaneously cut the bloat, yet require more oversight because "these people can't be trusted."
We don't work off of that "spend what's allocated or have your budget cut next year" motto. We compete for the available monies bi-annually and oftentimes only see a 5% funding rate, meaning only 5% of applicant recieve any money whatsoever. The rest have more submissions available to them on the project they just submitted before they can't submit it again. These are then given out for three years, at which time you can write another minigrant asking for an extension, detailing the work you've done in the previous 3 years and maybe get the extension. If the extension is denied, the money dries up and anything unused goes back to the government. We essentially operate on a 3-5 year schedule.
Quote: So, it is your belief that your employer is some OTHER entity than the one that provides the money? If that you are saying, you not only need the ribbon but a sign to go with it.
Projects that pay off two decades down the road are going to benefit the Peoples Republic of China, not us.
We are beyond broke. We are looking at "broke" in the rearview mirror. It does not matter how noble your purpose is, the money is gone. It does not come from a magic boot in the sky. You cannot continue to punish productivity and reward the total lack of it for any significant period of time without the economy totally collapsing from within or being absorbed from outside.
The time to carefully pick and choose which programs to keep and which ones to end is long past. No one had the guts or sense to cut anything. Now, in order for this nation to survive, the cuts need to go right to the bone. Earn your keep or cease to exist.
But not this program! Not that one! This will continue until millions of people will be sitting in stunned amazement, wondering why it is that they no longer receive checks in the mail.
Again, my employer is Brigham and Women's hospital. Saying I work for the government is like saying the cashier from the CVS works for me because I purchase a protein bar from her daily on my way into work.
As for the rest of it, nothing but conspiracy theory and fear-mongering. China isn't out to get us. The collapse is as imminent as it was 30 years ago when people were predicting runaway inflation to end with us beholden to the USSR and speaking russian.
Again, my employer is Brigham and Women's hospital. Saying I work for the government is like saying the cashier from the CVS works for me because I purchase a protein bar from her daily on my way into work.
Good luck with that... some folks think the Browns work for us because we buy tickets, jerseys, and hats
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
Again, my employer is Brigham and Women's hospital. Saying I work for the government is like saying the cashier from the CVS works for me because I purchase a protein bar from her daily on my way into work.
Good luck with that... some folks think the Browns work for us because we buy tickets, jerseys, and hats
Quote: That kind of segues into something else. No other field in the country has the ire of current conservatives like research does. Look back to the 2008 election when McCain/Palin were harping on someone "wasting money doing research on fruit flies" as an example. On the surface fruitfly research looks inane, afterall what similarities do they have that we could possibly be interested in?
I have no problem with research, as long as that research is meaningful. I recall in the 80s that there was research into why dogs bark, and if tomatoes scream when cut. Dogs bark because they can, and tomatoes do scream. What do we learn from this? Nothing really, but that type of wasted money I can do without. If the research is for curing diseases, like cancer or diabetes or other life ending nasties, I can see the reason. I still don't know why the government sunk cash into shrimp on treadmills, but I want to know why that money was spent.
Government grants are different from contractor awards, but they still kind of work the same. Lots of cash gets pissed away for no reason, with no life changing reason behind the research. Global warming research is the latest I will point out. The models are wrong, the results don't match, and these guys are manipulating the numbers to keep the grants. The scientists running the research are pursuing the answers the government wants them to find, and that needs to be stopped. The results should be without bias, or they're useless.
Good luck to you in your endeavors in the medical field.
“Now they are coming out and saying [the President] will negotiate, but it’s the Republicans [fault]. Let me just give you a list of what has happened, what they have closed down,” Glenn said. “And this is what you need to tell your friends. This is what you need to Facebook. This is what you need to tweet: 15% of the government is shut down. What business is so lean that, if they shut down 15%, they go into massive chaos? Certainly not the government… So here’s what’s happened. And you tell me who’s negotiating and who’s inflicting pain.”
Glenn laid out just a few of the things that have been inexplicably affected by the government shutdown:
“Treatments for children suffering from cancer. The Republicans have agreed to a compromise by funding the part of the government, including the National Institute of Health, which offers children with cancer last‑chance experimental treatment… The NIH was told by the President, ‘You can’t start any new testing of anything.’ As soon as the Republicans found out about it, they said, ‘Not a problem. Let’s make sure that we fund the NIH. We’ll pass a special bill to fund the NIH so we can save children,’” Glenn explained. “If that’s what you really picked out of the 100% of the pie, you only need to shut down 15%, if that’s what you pick, we’ll fund that. So [Republicans] said, ‘We’ll pass it.” The President said he will veto it if it gets to his desk. That’s the compromise.”
“World War II Memorial is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It doesn’t have a staff to it. It is maintained with private financing, built by private financing, maintained with private financing. The White House knew in advance that these flights come in all the time… And so what do they do? They put a chain‑link fence around the World War II Memorial… You have your National Park Service coming out and saying, ‘We were told to inflict as much pain as possible,’” Glenn explained. “Then when the GOP finds out about it, the congressmen remove the barricades. When one of the park rangers says, ‘Hey, you can’t do that’ and starts yelling at the people in the wheelchairs, what happens? The president raises the stakes and then says, ‘I’m going to put guards around that memorial.’ So he’s spending money. Does that seem reasonable to you? By the way, the GOP has offered to cover any costs to keep the memorial open for the greatest generation.”
“Then there’s the furloughed military chaplains. The military chaplains are not allowed to work for free. They have all said, ‘We will celebrate mass. We will do our services. We will do baptisms for free.’ They have been told they will be punished if they do it,” Glenn explained. “So you have a baby to be baptized; the military priest cannot baptize your child or he’ll go to jail. He can’t celebrate mass anywhere for free or he will go to jail. Does this sound reasonable to you at all?”
“In the Florida Keys small businesses, hunters, and commercial fishermen can no longer practice their trade,” he said. “They have tried to close down the ocean. The Feds are saying, ‘You can’t do any fishing on the ocean.’ Does this seem reasonable to you?”
“The American Forces Network, AFN, these are the people that carry shows like mine, they carry shows like… 50% of the shows have to be liberal. But they also not just broadcast the news and talk,” Glenn said. “They also bring our Armed Forces all of the sporting events, all the football games and everything else. The golf course at Camp David is deemed essential, but AFN carrying the football games, carrying them, carrying them. Not doing them. Carrying them… By the way, Camp David, the golf course and Camp David is open.”
“The D‑day Memorial. The GOP has offered to compromise and fund all of the National Parks,” Glenn explained. “The President has said he will veto any compromise on legislation. So the D‑day Memorial in Normandy has now been barricaded.”
“Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home, is privately funded. The Feds blocked the visitors from entering the parking area because the National Park Service maintains the lot… No federal money is used to operate any of these parks. In fact, the federal government makes money through the operation of these parks,” Glenn said. “He had them all closed down and so the 400 to 500 private employees have been furloughed. And by the way, they don’t get any of their money back. They’re just destroyed. Because, I forgot to tell you: The GOP and the Democrats did get together in some emergency legislation. They don’t give a crap about the 400 to 500 employees that are privately. But those government workers, they raced to make sure they knew, ‘Oh, don’t worry. You’ll get your money.’”
“A self‑sustaining colonial farm that hasn’t received a dime of government money since 1980 has been closed for the first time in 40 years. The National Park Service has succeeded in closing the farm to the public. In the previous budget dramas, the farm has always been exempted because the government pays nothing, provides no staff, nor do they provide any resources to operate the farm,” he explained. “The President has closed the Vietnam Memorial. The GOP passed the compromised legislation that would fund the memorial, keep it open to the public, but the president said he would veto it.”
“The operator of a 51‑room inn located on U.S. Government‑owned land in North Carolina abandoned his defiant stance on Thursday to keep his property open despite being ordered to shut down as part of the federal government shutdown. October is this inn’s prime season,” Glenn said. “The GOP has offered a compromise to open this particular park, but the President said no to that compromise. So here is a private individual that will lose out on the money that he makes in his prime season. State troopers, by the way, have blocked the customers have entering the parking lot. How much are they spending on the state troopers? Again, Park Service ranger said, ‘We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can.’”
“The President has forced residents out of their private homes – the government shutdown being felt close to home for some locals. They say they’re being forced out of their private homes on Lake Mead because they sit on federal land,” Glenn said. “Acadia Park, Maine, ‘We’ve been training at two years at Crossfit for this hike, no kidding.’ She said the shutdown now is going to keep everybody off of Acadia Park.”
“A historic restaurant opened during the last shutdown, forced to close. An iconic Philadelphia restaurant been forced to close its doors and turned away book parties because of the government shutdown,” he said. “That is a private restaurant. They won’t get any money back.”
“There’s a road that goes through a Colorado park,” Glenn said. “The forest service announced the Pitkin County commissioners to order that Maroon Creek Road be shut down at the height of the tourist season, ahead of what is supposed to be one of the busiest weekends of the fall. The road is to be closed at T Lazy 7 Ranch pending the resolution of the shutdown.”
“And here’s my favorite. We joked about this. They actually did it. They are now blocking access to trails, roads, and programs at South Dakota’s most popular attraction,” Glenn explained. “The National Park Service has now placed cones along the highway outside of Mount Rushmore this weekend, barring visitors from stopping and looking at the mountain. You cannot stop on the road. And they have officers there to ticket you if you do.”
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture has gone turned off its entire website in response to the government shutdown, leaving farmers, reporters, and others with no way to access any of the agency’s information online,” Glenn said. “The USDA’s total website goes far beyond response of other federal agencies. Seems to be part of an effort to make people feel the effects of the shutdown. Thursday morning calls to the USDA’s press office seeking an explanation were not answered.”
“The President has closed the Military Commissary. Military members and veterans and families who shop at the local tax‑free store were shocked to discover that the store’s doors had been locked. They have closed the PX. This is where you go and you shop if you’re a military family. This is at Andrews Air Force base. They have shut the commissary and they have shut the PX,” Glenn said. “So you can’t go buy any groceries, you can’t go buy any clothes, any medicine. You can’t go buy meat, nothing.”
But, not to worry, while the American people are adversely effected by the closing of privately funded businesses, monuments, and memorials around the country, the President can still enjoy some R&R at his favorite golf courses.
“However, the President’s golf course remains open. But he said that’s because the golf course is paid for by private funds. Wait a minute. So is the World War II Memorial. So is the farm. So is the restaurant. So is the damn road that you just put cones on,” Glenn said. “This is a strike and a slap across the face. This, I’m warning you, America, this is the sign of a dictator. He is slapping you across the face and saying, ‘You will behave. You will do what I tell you to do or I will punish you.’ If your friends don’t wake up and see the nonsense and see what they are in store for, when you’re spending money to put cones on the highway so people can’t stop and even see Mount Rushmore, we get everything we deserve. And we are about to get a lot.”
Quote: “Then there’s the furloughed military chaplains. The military chaplains are not allowed to work for free. They have all said, ‘We will celebrate mass. We will do our services. We will do baptisms for free.’ They have been told they will be punished if they do it,” Glenn explained. “So you have a baby to be baptized; the military priest cannot baptize your child or he’ll go to jail. He can’t celebrate mass anywhere for free or he will go to jail. Does this sound reasonable to you at all?”
No, this sounds like a straight up violation of the Bill of Rights ... just wanted to say something before the inevitable, "It's from Glenn Beck, so disregard the information, blah blah blah" ... I've actually heard quite a few things like this. Basically the administration is holding national landmarks hostage while allowing every other bloated bureaucracy to continue to try and inflict pain on the voting public while blaming it on the other party.
“However, the President’s golf course remains open. But he said that’s because the golf course is paid for by private funds.
Wait a minute. So is the World War II Memorial. So is the farm. So is the restaurant. So is the damn road that you just put cones on,” Glenn said. “This is a strike and a slap across the face. This, I’m warning you, America, this is the sign of a dictator. He is slapping you across the face and saying, ‘You will behave. You will do what I tell you to do or I will punish you.’ If your friends don’t wake up and see the nonsense and see what they are in store for, when you’re spending money to put cones on the highway so people can’t stop and even see Mount Rushmore, we get everything we deserve. And we are about to get a lot.”
Quote: “Then there’s the furloughed military chaplains. The military chaplains are not allowed to work for free. They have all said, ‘We will celebrate mass. We will do our services. We will do baptisms for free.’ They have been told they will be punished if they do it,” Glenn explained. “So you have a baby to be baptized; the military priest cannot baptize your child or he’ll go to jail. He can’t celebrate mass anywhere for free or he will go to jail. Does this sound reasonable to you at all?”
No, this sounds like a straight up violation of the Bill of Rights ... just wanted to say something before the inevitable, "It's from Glenn Beck, so disregard the information, blah blah blah" ... I've actually heard quite a few things like this. Basically the administration is holding national landmarks hostage while allowing every other bloated bureaucracy to continue to try and inflict pain on the voting public while blaming it on the other party.
Well that blame is well suited and even moderates can see it. However, that doesn't make shutting down NASA's website and block off land right.
Quote: Well that blame is well suited and even moderates can see it. However, that doesn't make shutting down NASA's website and block off land right.
While I don't agree with that either ... shutting down a government managed website is a far cry from straight up violating the second amendment and blocking people from accessing public lands.
The bigger joke about the second one is that they are basically re-routing funds to pay for security people to keep people out of the parks, rather than to maintain them, so they aren't even saving money on it.
Quote: Hey, CHS, what Carthaginian "ideas" have survived to the present day?
Can't think of a single one, myself. The elephants were good PR but were actually a bad idea.
Most of our ideas stemming from the Greek philosophers were based on Carthage. Senates, elected officials, Constitution and trade unions are all from Carthage. I'm sure if we took math into the equation we could also find a lot of math and science advancement came from Carthage.
In the situation that Erik is proposing we'd be running a 1984 state.
Quote: Well that blame is well suited and even moderates can see it. However, that doesn't make shutting down NASA's website and block off land right.
While I don't agree with that either ... shutting down a government managed website is a far cry from straight up violating the second amendment and blocking people from accessing public lands.
The bigger joke about the second one is that they are basically re-routing funds to pay for security people to keep people out of the parks, rather than to maintain them, so they aren't even saving money on it.
We're banning people from owning guns? I agree on all your position. I don't think we should be in this position, but the gov't aren't fools, they know what will produce results. They can do anything as long as they can't keep the moderates on their side. Safe to say, no moderate listens to Glenn Beck so who cares what he says?
Oh I agree a few people are loyal workers but until we can do away with both parties and let people run on their own merit we are screwed. Adding a third party will just leave us with three parties of idiots. Our whole system of government needs a major overhaul.
Quote: I don't think we should be in this position, but the gov't aren't fools,
Oh i have to disagree with that 110 percent. Both parties are idiots in congress and the senate.
Define idiot... they are idiots if you define it as doing their job and representing the American people... if you define it as manipulating the system to maximize their own benefits and future earning potential, then they are all brilliant.
Quote: Oh I agree a few people are loyal workers but until we can do away with both parties and let people run on their own merit we are screwed. Adding a third party will just leave us with three parties of idiots. Our whole system of government needs a major overhaul.
Parties only help consolidate all the money in politics. And I disagree with you on the 3rd party idea. I believe a few third parties say that they don't accept contributions from PACs and Corporations. Erm. I mean people. I also don't believe third parties are idiots, but then again I vote Green (shock of the century).
Quote: Hey, CHS, what Carthaginian "ideas" have survived to the present day?
Can't think of a single one, myself. The elephants were good PR but were actually a bad idea.
Most of our ideas stemming from the Greek philosophers were based on Carthage. Senates, elected officials, Constitution and trade unions are all from Carthage. I'm sure if we took math into the equation we could also find a lot of math and science advancement came from Carthage.
In the situation that Erik is proposing we'd be running a 1984 state.
Not at all. I was proposing that our people are free, and we don't let anyone mess with us. Please don't put words in my mouth, as I think the current government is closer to a 1984 totalitarian government than at any time in our history. You've also failed to notice, as you are focusing so much on Carthage, that elected forms of government have existed through history. The Greeks and Romans also had representative forms of government. You might also want to look up the Iriquois influence on the burgeoning United States, as they had a representative form of government.
My second point with the Romans, is that they allowed their government to fall after they let one person take too much power for himself, and willingly anointed that person 'emperor'. Right now, our president is making huge power grabs for himself, and could possibly be setting himself up for a kingship. He's even stated it before, that he wishes he could be like the Chinese grand poohbah, and be able to dictate orders for the people.
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