This and That...

[Warph]

Shutdown Horrors: Sen. & Reps. have no one to serve them food!!!

"That's right, (D) Maxine Waters... NO FOOD!  No bananas... no fried insects and above all, no leafy veggies."

"WHAaaa..NO WAY"

(And that's not all, little lady.  Prepare yourselves, your friends, RINO's, and Demo-primates.  You may want to send the children out of the room:

Okay...Yes, Senators and Representatives have to hit buttons on their own in their private elevators and open their own doors... and get their own food... not to mention latrine service.  I just pray they can hold up under the strain.  Curse you Tea Party and Ted Cruz!

Not that I don't feel for anyone laid off, but... Do we really need to be paying for elevator operators (1) and door lackeys?  Isn't this just a wee bit elitist and out of tune with Democratic Republicanism?)

[Warph]

The day those who have been paying attention and have been dreading is now upon us... today marks the launch day that ObamaCare's exchange markets are supposed to open to American citizens for government-run health care sign-up — with the federal government shutdown also hitting the nation today, there's no telling how the markets will be affected. A majority of Americans don't want ObamaCare, and reportedly, only one in eight Americans even know about today's October 1 blast-off of the expensive, job-killing, freedom-robbing Obama health care bill/mandates.

"The blast-off" has been a huge, confusing, SNAFU fiasco so far.

The government's ObamaCare websites crashed earlier today — NOT a good sign:

Funny thing about Obamacare, the item at the heart of all the nonsense in Washington: The health insurance exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act opened for business today, and people have started hitting the websites. Only one problem: The Obamacare websites weren't working. As of 9:30 a.m., Healthcare.gov informed us: "The System is down at the moment. We're working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Please try again later."

[Warph]

164 Democrats Vote Against Funding Veterans' Benefits

HJ Res. 72


Vote summary: 264-164. Failed (required 2/3 majority).
This bill would have restored funding for American veterans' benefits. The 164 Democrats listed on this page don't think veterans' benefits are important enough to pay for.
 




---- YEAS    264 ---
Aderholt
Amash
Amodei
Bachmann
Bachus
Barber
Barletta
Barr
Barrow (GA)
Barton
Benishek
Bentivolio
Bera (CA)
Bilirakis
Bishop (NY)
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blackburn
Boehner
Boustany
Brady (TX)
Braley (IA)
Bridenstine
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Broun (GA)
Buchanan
Bucshon
Burgess
Bustos
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Cantor
Capito
Carson (IN)
Carter
Cassidy
Chabot
Chaffetz
Coble
Coffman
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Conaway
Cook
Cooper
Cotton
Cramer
Crawford
Crenshaw
Culberson
Daines
Davis, Rodney
DelBene
Denham
Dent
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Duffy
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Ellmers
Farenthold
Fincher
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Fleming
Flores
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foster
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallego
Garcia
Gardner
Garrett
Gerlach
Gibbs
Gibson
Gingrey (GA)
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gosar
Gowdy
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (MO)
Griffin (AR)
Griffith (VA)
Grimm
Guthrie
Hall
Hanna
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Hastings (WA)
Heck (NV)
Heck (WA)
Hensarling
Holding
Hudson
Huelskamp
Huizenga (MI)
Hultgren
Hunter
Hurt
Issa
Jenkins
Johnson (OH)
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Jordan
Joyce
Keating
Kelly (PA)
Kilmer
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kinzinger (IL)
Kline
Labrador
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Lance
Lankford
Latham
Latta
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Loebsack
Long
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lummis
Lynch
Maffei
Maloney, Sean
Marchant
Marino
Massie
Matheson
McCarthy (CA)
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
Meadows
Meehan
Messer
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller, Gary
Mullin
Mulvaney
Murphy (FL)
Murphy (PA)
Neugebauer
Noem
Nugent
Nunes
Nunnelee
Olson
Owens
Palazzo
Paulsen
Pearce
Perry
Peters (CA)
Peters (MI)
Peterson
Petri
Pittenger
Pitts
Poe (TX)
Polis
Pompeo
Posey
Price (GA)
Radel
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Ribble
Rice (SC)
Rigell
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Royce
Ruiz
Runyan
Ryan (WI)
Salmon
Sanford
Scalise
Schneider
Schock
Schrader
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Sinema
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Southerland
Stewart
Stivers
Stockman
Stutzman
Terry
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Tierney
Tipton
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walorski
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Wolf
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Yoho
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
Young (IN)



---- NAYS    164 ---

Andrews
Bass
Beatty
Becerra
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Bonamici
Brady (PA)
Brown (FL)
Brownley (CA)
Butterfield
Capps
Capuano
Cárdenas
Carney
Cartwright
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chu
Cicilline
Clarke
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Conyers
Costa
Courtney
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
DeFazio
DeGette
Delaney
DeLauro
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle
Duckworth
Edwards
Ellison
Engel
Enyart
Eshoo
Esty
Farr
Fattah
Frankel (FL)
Fudge
Gabbard
Garamendi
Grayson
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutiérrez
Hahn
Hanabusa
Hastings (FL)
Higgins
Himes
Holt
Honda
Horsford
Hoyer
Huffman
Israel
Jackson Lee
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Kaptur
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Kildee
Kind
Kirkpatrick
Kuster
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lee (CA)
Levin
Lewis
Lofgren
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lujan Grisham (NM)
Luján, Ben Ray (NM)
Maloney, Carolyn
Matsui
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Michaud
Miller, George
Moore
Moran
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Negrete McLeod
Nolan
O'Rourke
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor (AZ)
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Pingree (ME)
Pocan
Price (NC)
Quigley
Rahall
Rangel
Richmond
Roybal-Allard
Ruppersberger
Ryan (OH)
Sánchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schwartz
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell (AL)
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Sires
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Speier
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tonko
Tsongas
Van Hollen
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velázquez
Visclosky
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watt
Waxman
Welch
Wilson (FL)
Yarmuth

[Warph]

Factbox
Measuring the impacts of the U.S. Government Shitdown

WASHINGTON | Tue Oct 1, 2013

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Large sections of the U.S. government closed down on Tuesday after Congress was unable to reach an agreement on funding for the new fiscal year because of a standoff over healthcare reforms.

Federal workers and government functions have been divided between essential and non-essential services, and the effects will be felt in various ways - some acute, others barely noticeable.

Here is a roundup of some of the impacts:

FEDERAL WORKERS: As many as 1 million federal employees have been furloughed and the knock-on affect will be felt at companies that do business with the government, such as large defense firms and other contractors.

MAIL DELIVERY: Deliveries will continue as usual because the U.S. Postal Service receives no tax dollars for day-to-day operations. It relies instead on income from stamps and other fees to keep running.

AIR TRAVEL: Air and rail travelers in the United States should not feel a big impact. Security officers and air traffic controllers will continue to work as usual. The State Department's consular services will continue at home and abroad, meaning visas will be issued and passports processed for the most part - except in rare occasions when consulates are housed in government buildings closed because of the shutdown.

Most other State Department and USAID activities can be sustained at least on a "limited basis," said department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

SPACE TRAVEL: The shutdown idled most of NASA's 18,000 workers. Only 550 employees were considered exempt, including two American astronauts serving aboard the International Space Station and flight directors at Mission Control in Houston. Skeleton staff maintain key science and communications satellites but work on new missions, including preparations to launch a Mars probe on November 18, have been suspended, said NASA spokesman Allard Beutel. Agency websites went offline and NASA newsrooms across the country were closed.

SOCIAL SECURITY: Social Security and disability checks will be issued with no change in payment dates and field offices will remain open but will offer limited services, the agency said in a communique. Online services will remain open.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: Signup for the new U.S. health exchanges under the Affordable Care Act has begun as scheduled. [ID:nL1N0HQ1R3] The Medicare program for older Americans will also continue largely without disruption. Across the vast department and its sub-agencies, about 52 percent of staff will be furloughed - some 40,512 workers. Among the programs shuttered are the Centers for Disease Control's annual seasonal flu program, which tracks the path of flu outbreaks across the nation. The National Institutes of Health is not admitting new patients in most circumstances or starting new clinical trials.

NATIONAL PARKS: National parks have been closed to new visitors, and park roads, concessions and other facilities are now being closed. Overnight visitors have been given two days to depart. This will mean a loss of 750,000 daily visitors and an economic loss to gateway communities of as much as $30 million for each day parks are shut, according to the non-profit National Parks Conservation Association.

WASHINGTON, D.C., SIGHTS: Most popular tourist spots in the nation's capital closed on Tuesday. Barricades went up around some iconic locations, including the Lincoln Memorial, the Library of Congress, the National Archives and all Smithsonian museums. The National Zoo is closed and its popular live animal webcams were taken off line. All zoo animals will continue to be fed and cared for

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT: All military personnel will continue on normal duty status but about half of the Defense Department's 800,000 civilian employees will be placed on unpaid leave. The Pentagon has said it will halt military activity not critical to national security.

Officials have said military personnel, who are paid twice a month, would receive their October 1 paychecks but might see their October 15 paychecks delayed if no funding deal is set by October 7.

Most Department of Veterans Affairs services will continue, including the operation of VA hospitals.

MEAT INSPECTIONS: Department of Agriculture meat inspectors are staying on the job. Agricultural statistical reports have ceased publication, and the important October 11 crop report could be delayed depending on how long the shutdown lasts. USDA's main website, USDA.gov, has gone dark and has been linked to a page explaining the shutdown.

FEDERAL RESERVE AND OTHER FINANCIAL AGENCIES: Bank regulators, including the Federal Reserve and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, remain open because they do not rely on Congress for funding. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency pay for themselves and remain open. Loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will still be available during the shutdown. The Federal Housing Administration, which offers mortgage lenders guarantees against homeowner defaults, will continued to operate with limited staffing.

COURTS: The U.S. Supreme Court will probably operate normally, as it has during previous shutdowns, but a spokesman declined to share the high court's plans. Federal courts will remain open for about 10 business days and their status will be reassessed on or about October 15.

THE WHITE HOUSE: The Executive Office of the President planned to furlough about 1,265 staff and retain 436 as excepted workers. Among the staff retained will be 15 to provide "minimum maintenance and support" for the White House Cat Room. The White House Cat Room will remain open 24/7 for Liberal and RINO Congress Members until Shitdown situation is resolved.

[Warph]

Pic: National Park Services Putting Gates And Tape Around WWII Memorial To Keep Vets Out –

Update: Using Zip Ties To Put Up More "Closed" Signs

(Amazing to think officials in the National Park Service think this is a good idea)

[Warph]

GOP Congressman Reminds Obuma: "We Did Not Elect A Dictator"

(Obama begs to differ)

Via Raw Story:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/10/02/gop-lawmaker-to-obama-we-did-not-elect-a-dictator/

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) has been credited as the architect of the plan to tie funding of the Affordable Care Act to the continuing resolution to fund the federal government, a plan that led earlier this week to the legislative impasse that shut down the federal government.

"We've talked a whole lot in this chamber about the fact that there was a vote taken, that a president was elected – and indeed we did elect a president a mere nine months ago," Meadows said Sunday as lawmakers debated a measure to fund the government but delay ACA for one year.

"But I want to remind you, Mr. Speaker, that I was also elected some nine months ago, and we did not elect a dictator, we elected a president," Meadows said.

[Warph]

WWII Veterans Plan To Storm Lincoln Memorial Today,
Closed Due To Obama Admin Pettiness

Tough Old Buzzards

The same veterans group that managed to storm the gates at the WWII memorial yesterday is planning taking on the fences at the Lincoln Memorial today. This sounds like a capitol idea, pun intended.

Both memorials are open air memorials. The Lincoln Memorial is open 24 hours a day, normally. If you'll recall, it was wide open to having someone throw green paint on it in the evening a few months ago.

So that means the Obama administration is making a conscious effort to spend more in time and money to shut off something which is normally open.

How ridiculous is this effort by President Obama to make the people "hurt" so he can blame it on Republicans, just as he did with the sequester, which was also his idea?

We still don't have access to the White House, the people's house, allegedly because of the sequester, although Obama has spent countless of our millions since then on vacations, parties and golf.

When you have the opportunity to pass bills for veterans and national parks, unconnected to Obamacare, and then don't pass them, or spend more to close spaces then to keep them open, the reason is simply you want to continue to have people feel the pain.


And that, Mr. Usurper President, is sick.

[Warph]

Dirty Harry Reid Tries To Explain Gaffe About Not Helping
Kid With Cancer, Blames Ted Cruz

("Dirty" sticks his foot in his mouth and it's
Ted Cruz's fault?  That ol' senility thing kicking in again, Harry?)

HARRY REID: So, What I told Dana Bash who is a fine reporter, is that we care about all these things, we care about our state parks, our veterans, but we can't fall into that trap. Here is the trap, of the Cruz-led Republicans, and that is this. Listen, we'll cherry pick. We'll open this today and this tomorrow, and finally at the end everything will be open except the money to finish Obamacare. But what Dr. Coburn has said, this is ridiculous, because Obamacare if nothing happens, about 90% of it is funded anyway. But they are so mercenary, so determined to destroy the president's signature issue that they would go to the extreme of shutting down the government.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/10/02/reid_tries_to_explain_gaffe_about_not_helping_one_kid_with_cancer.html

[Warph]

TV Network News Stories Blame GOP Over Dems For Shutdown 21-0

(I don't want to hear anyone saying anything about liberal media bias, because that's just crazy talk... Right??)

Via Washington Secrets:
http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/2536734#.Ukx3gRXBXBQ.twitter

The nation's big three news networks are falling right into place for President Obama and the Democrats, blaming the Republican Party for the government shut down by a whopping 21-0 story count.

According to a survey by the conservative media watchdog, the Media Research Center, in 39 stories during the two weeks leading up to the shutdown, CBS, ABC and NBC blamed the failure to cut a budget deal on the Republicans 21 times, both parties four times, and Democrats zero times. In 14 stories, nobody was to blame.

[Warph]

Report:

Less Than 1% of Visitors To Obamacare Exchange Websites
Are Signing Up For Health Insurance

***California's program registered an estimated 0.58 per cent of website visitors in its first day

***A Connecticut congressman boasted that his state took 167 applications for Obamacare services on day one, a rate of 0.59 per cent

***Obama administration won't say how many Americans signed up on the central website that covered insurance exchanges for 36 states

***Kentucky's 5.3 per cent application rate seems to be the nation's highest

***Other states wouldn't provide statistics, or tracked only the creation of new online accounts, not numbers of completed applications

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2442115/EXCLUSIVE-Less-1-cent-Web-visitors-signing-Obamacare-state-health-exchange-websites.html#ixzz2gcjVY9H9

(I'm guessing this is the reason the White House is refusing to release the number of people who signed up for Obumacare)

Via Daily Mail:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2442115/EXCLUSIVE-Less-1-cent-Web-visitors-signing-Obamacare-state-health-exchange-websites.html#ixzz2gbbWAF6w

Hokey Baloney Shutdown mashup: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney briefed reporters on Wednesday, live-streamed on a website that the administration complained was partially inactive due to the government's slimmed down operations

Yeah... I'd sweat it too, Sport

As President Obama's signature health insurance overhaul effort began to enroll new participants on Monday, some states running their own insurance exchanges saw huge levels of website traffic but paltry interest in signing up.

California, the ultimate blue state whose federal lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in support of Obamacare, turned less than 1 per cent of its Web visits into 'Covered California' participants on Tuesday.

'We had over 5.7 million hits to our website as of 3 p.m. yesterday,' Covered California spokeswoman Kelsey Caldwell told MailOnline Wednsday.

'7,700 consumers began their application process yesterday. ... 4,143 applications are pending,' she added. 'We received 23,269 calls yesterday to our service center.'

Caldwell couldn't say how many of the 5.7 million website hits were from unique Californians. But assuming 712,500 online visitors saw eight different Web pages each, the sign-up rate was 0.58 per cent.

Connecticut saw a similarly low rate of interest. Democratic Congressman Jim Himes tweeted after 8:30 p.m. Monday that his state's health exchange had 'received 28k visitors, and took 167 applications for health insurance. Day 1.'

That indicates just 0.59 per cent of Connecticut residents who sought information about their state's Obamacare program on Monday decided to become part of it, according to Access Health CT spokeswoman Kathleen Tallarita.