Day: October 1, 2025

Not Everyone Will Be A Loser

It is official we have ourselves a shutdown…..people will work without pay, checks may be slow in coming and other services will be impacted….but there is one group that will continue doing what they do with no fear of losing income….

The first government shutdown since December 2018 is now in effect, meaning hundreds of thousands of employees are furloughed, and many more “essential” workers must clock in without pay. (The New York Times has a detailed visual breakdown here.) One group that will keep getting paid if the shutdown drags on? Congress. That’s thanks to the Constitution, which locks in congressional salaries—congressmen are currently paid $174,000, more if they’re in leadership—and keeps the money coming even if the rest of government grinds to a halt.

Not everyone on Capitol Hill is comfortable with that setup. Some lawmakers, like Democratic Sen. Andy Kim and GOP Reps. Kat Cammack and Rob Bresnahan, have publicly asked that their pay be withheld during the shutdown. But NBC News reports not everyone is following their lead. “I’m not wealthy, and I have three kids. I would basically be missing, you know, mortgage payments, rent payments, child support,” Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego told the network. The president gets paid as well during a shutdown, though President Trump donated his salary during his first term and says he intends to do so again this time around.

So the do-nothing Congress will continue to roll in the cash…..why is that?

These people have done very little substantive work in decades and it is their fault that the shutdown occurred then why should they be exempt from the consequences?

I say screw them!  Let them go without income until they find an answer to this silliness.  They should feel any pain that they inflicted on the people….they will not but it is a thought for a later day.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Time Has Run Out

It is here the sands finally ran out of of the hourglass and the dreaded governmental shutdown is now in the record books.

With the shutdown what can we expect to see from our government….

Plunged into a government shutdown, the US is confronting a fresh cycle of uncertainty after President Trump and Congress failed to strike an agreement to keep government programs and services running by Wednesday’s deadline, the AP reports. Roughly 750,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed, some potentially fired by the Trump administration. Many offices will be shuttered, perhaps permanently, as Trump vows to “do things that are irreversible, that are bad” as retribution. His deportation agenda is expected to run full speed ahead, while education, environmental, and other services sputter. The economic fallout is expected to ripple nationwide. “We don’t want it to shut down,” Trump said at the White House before the midnight deadline.

But the president, who met privately with congressional leadership this week, appeared unable to negotiate any deal between Democrats and Republicans to prevent that outcome. The AP previously published a look at what to expect:

  • Most Department of Homeland Security employees would continue to work, because much of the department’s workforce is connected to law enforcement or works in areas funded by user fees as opposed to Congressional appropriations.
  • Medicare and Medicaid programs and services will also continue uninterrupted, though staffing shortages could mean delays for some services, like the mailing of Medicare cards. The government has enough money to fund Medicaid for the first quarter of the next fiscal year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Also, eligible states will continue receiving payments from the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.
  • The National Park Service has not said whether it will close its more than 400 sites across the US to visitors. Park officials said Tuesday afternoon that contingency plans were still being updated and would be posted to the service’s website.
  • While FEMA’s core disaster relief functions would not be affected, at least in the short term, other aspects of the agency’s work would be impacted. Some grant approvals would be paused, and no new policies could be written under the National Flood Insurance Program, halting new mortgages that require flood insurance. Still, an extended shutdown could, in a worst-case scenario, exhaust FEMA’s existing Disaster Relief Fund, which stands at about $10 billion.
  • Air traffic controllers already certified and on the job would be among the essential workers who would continue during any shutdown but their pay could be affected. A shutdown could also set back the multibillion-dollar effort to overhaul and modernize air traffic control equipment.
  • At the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half the agency’s workers will be furloughed. Those still working include people who deal with infectious disease outbreaks and care for research animals and maintain laboratories. Federal officials said CDC would continue to monitor disease outbreaks.
  • Research and patient care at the National Institutes of Health would be upended, with about 75% of the staff furloughed. Patients currently enrolled in studies at the research-only hospital will continue to receive care during a government shutdown. Additional sick patients hoping for access to experimental therapies can’t enroll except in special circumstances, and no new studies will begin. Scientists face the prospect of costly laboratory research going to waste because most of the sprawling campus of the nation’s premier medical research agency will empty out.
  • Most of the Food and Drug Administration’s core responsibilities would continue, including responding to public health threats and managing product recalls and drug shortages. Some routine activities, including previously scheduled inspections of company manufacturing plants, will be halted. But the agency will continue to conduct inspections when it has reason to suspect a problem that could endanger consumers.
  • The State Department expects to furlough more than half of its remaining direct-hire personnel in the US, although embassies and consulates abroad will remain open and provide services to American citizens.
  • The Environmental Protection Agency says a contingency plan for a possible government shutdown would leave more than 10% of its staff in place to handle “significant agency activities” that are required by law or necessary to protect life and property.

That will give you an idea of what will continue working and what will be limited……

How long will this remain in effect?

What games will be played?

Stay tuned.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Clown Show At It’s Best

Yesterday was the biggest day for news…..shutdown looms but the big story was the meeting of top commanders with Hogsbreath and Donny.

Most of knew it would be a rally and not some major meetings of the minds…..and it did not disappoint.

Up first to address the military leaders was the idiot in charge of the War Department….

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed a rare assembly of the top US generals and admirals on Tuesday, though his speech didn’t reveal any major surprises. Hegseth reiterated points he has previously made: He wants a less “woke” (a word that idiots use because it is easy to remember than one of those 50 cent words that educated people employ) fighting force and a warrior mentality. Highlights from his speech in Quantico, Virginia, via NBC, the AP, the New York Times, and the Washington Post:

  • Ethos: “The era of politically correct, overly sensitive don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelings leadership ends right now at every level,” he said. Specifically, “no more climate change worship, no more division, distraction, or gender delusions.”
  • Watchdog: He said the Pentagon’s internal watchdog has been politicized and will be overhauled to discourage anonymous and “frivolous” complaints. It’s the “no more walking on eggshells” policy, he said of the inspector general’s office. “Of course, being a racist has been illegal in our formations since 1948. The same goes for sexual harassment. Both are wrong and illegal.”
  • Non-toxic: He also promised to push back harder against complaints of “toxic” leadership within the military. “We’re undertaking a full review of the department’s definitions of so-called toxic leadership, bullying and hazing, to empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second-guessing.”
  • Fitness: “Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” he said. “Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon. … Whether you’re an Airborne Ranger or a chairborne ranger, a brand new private or a four star general, you need to meet the height and weight standards.” He said all members of the military, at every rank, will now have to pass a fitness test twice a year.
  • Women: He said a new combat field test would require troops to meet the highest male standard, with no separate standard for women. “I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape, or in combat units with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as men,” he said. “This job is life and death. Standards must be met.”
  • Facial hair: “No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression,” Hegseth said. “We don’t have a military full of Nordic pagans.”

What a douche!

Next up was our Clueless Leader, who by the way served NO time in the military but fancies himself an expert….

As usual he rattled on and on…..

President Trump followed up defense chief Pete Hegseth’s speech to the nation’s top generals with one of his own, though he didn’t lay out any new military initiatives. The president spoke for about 70 minutes and hit a wide range of topics. Some highlights via CNN, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and USA Today:

  • Training grounds: Trump said he suggested to Hegseth that “we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military,” referring to places where Trump has authorized National Guard troops. “We’re going into Chicago very soon,” he added.
  • Retaliation: Trump told the generals that if military vehicles were struck by bricks or other objects during protests, “you get out of that car, and you can do whatever the hell you want.”
  • Silence: Trump was struck by his silent reception at the start of his speech—the generals weren’t sending a message, just sticking to military protocol. “I’ve never walked into a room so silent before,” Trump said. “Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, you’re not allowed to do that,” he joked. “If you don’t like what I’m saying, you can leave the room. Of course, there goes your rank, there goes your future, but you just feel nice and loose, OK?”
  • Name change: Trump said he expected more pushback from Democrats over the decision to rename the Department of Defense the Department of War. He suggested he’d worn out his critics.
  • Submarines: At one point, Trump recalled how he deployed two nuclear submarines near Russia after comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. “It was really a stupid person … mentioned the word nuclear,” he said. “I call it the n-word. There are 2 n-words, and you can’t use either of them.”

An inspirational speaker this moron is not….this was babbling….I am sure that the generals were duly impressed with the stupidity.

Both of these people are loose cannons and will do more harm and make us less safe…..the more they plot and plan the worse the situation will become.

The only way to describe the speeches is a ‘clown show’.

Did you watch any of the acts?

I know I am critical….but others were not impressed either….

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attempt to rally America’s military brass at Quantico Tuesday seems to have fizzled, with many officials left questioning why hundreds of generals were summoned in person—just hours ahead of the government shutdown. “Could have been an email,” shrugged one of the multiple defense officials who spoke to Politico anonymously after enduring what many described as a partisan spectacle rather than a strategic briefing. Per the Hill, Hegseth referred to it as “liberation day” for “America’s warriors,” who, he said, “kill people and break things for a living.”

Some sources say the 90-minute event felt similar to a campaign rally, including a speech from President Trump, who encouraged attendees to “just have a good time.” As for Hegseth’s call for stricter fitness standards, some worried the move that could limit women in combat. Critics, both in and out of uniform, saw the meeting as a distraction that risked shifting the military’s focus away from foreign adversaries and toward policing American streets, with Trump floating the idea of new quick reaction forces for potential domestic unrest and Hegseth suggesting the rules of engagement, meant to protect civilians, are “stupid.”

Some officials joked about calculating the cost of the event using ChatGPT (one called the event a “total waste of money” that veered dangerously close to a “loyalty test”), while others simply tuned out: “At this point, I am averting my eyes,” said one source. Security experts raised eyebrows at the wisdom of assembling so many senior leaders in one place, suggesting the risks outweighed the benefits. “It’s an inexcusable strategic risk to concentrate so many leaders … to convey an inane message of little merit,” a former senior official said. It’s not clear how much the meeting cost, but many of the leaders had to fly in from across the globe, Reuters reports.

A colossal waste of time and energy…..but what do you expect from masters of wasting time and energy?

Side note:  Hogsbreath is determined to bring religion to the Pentagon….

The new Pentagon worship service was among the first indications that Hegseth planned to inject religion into his profile as secretary. The gathering has taken place in the middle of the workday and is billed as Hegseth’s personal project: A sign that appears to have been posted in the Pentagon earlier in September described the event as “SecWar’s Prayer Service,” inscribing the words over a painting of St. Stephen being stoned to death.

Under his leadership, the Department of Defense — which, like Hegseth, has rebranded as the Department of War, a secondary name — has also shared at least three faith-themed videos. Like the Lord’s Prayer clip, two of the videos featured a montage of images of the U.S. military. But instead of a voiceover, the clips slowly overlaid the footage with two Bible verses from the Bible’s 18th Psalm and the Book of Joshua. One of the videos was captioned: “We Are One Nation Under God.”

This asshole is a menace to this nation and its people…..

I need a drink.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”