Federal Shutdown Begins After Lawmakers Fail to Reach Deal

Hold on tight, gentle readers. It looks like this will be a wild ride

For the third time during the Trump administration, the U.S Government is being shut down, despite GOP ownership of the Legislative and Executive branches, demonstrating the unfitness of the Republican Party to govern. The Standard-Examiner carries four different stories this morning, which we'll reel out in no particular order:

• Federal shutdown begins after lawmakers fail to reach deal
• Open and closed: shutdown's varied impact on parks, tourists
• Access to parks in US Southwest a mixed bag during shutdown
• Partial government shutdown likely to extend past Christmas

The impact of this blunder will be significant, Gentle Readers:

The gridlock blocks money for nine of 15 Cabinet-level departments and dozens of agencies, including the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Interior, Agriculture, State and Justice.
The lack of funds will disrupt many government operations and the routines of 800,000 federal employees. Roughly 420,000 workers were deemed essential and will work unpaid just days before Christmas, while 380,000 will be furloughed, meaning they’ll stay home without pay.
Those being furloughed include nearly everyone at NASA and 52,000 workers at the Internal Revenue Service. About 8 in 10 employees of the National Park Service will stay home and many parks were expected to close.

Although partisan politicians are scrambling to place blame, there can be little doubt in whose lap this blunder belongs:



Hold on tight, gentle readers. It looks like this will be a wild ride.