Can you spare a dime? April 8, 2011 6:34 AM   Subscribe

Is there a government shutdown thread I'm missing somewhere? I've looked in AskMe and haven't noted anything on the blue. Is it being considered newsfilter?

I thought I'd be able to find some comprehensive information rather than all the msm confusion, just like the old finance and mortgage threads.
posted by infini to MetaFilter-Related at 6:34 AM (47 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite

It was shut down.
posted by Sailormom at 6:37 AM on April 8, 2011 [5 favorites]


I can spare two cents, but I don't think you wanna hear it.
posted by gman at 6:43 AM on April 8, 2011


Someone shut down the government? I hope they saved all their open documents first and didn't just power off.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:51 AM on April 8, 2011 [11 favorites]


I hope they saved all their open documents first and didn't just power off.

Evidently Mike Huckabee didn't save anything first.
posted by TedW at 6:56 AM on April 8, 2011


I think there isn't a post because no has made one yet.
posted by nangar at 6:57 AM on April 8, 2011


I too was wondering about this (US citizen living abroad, can't get good info and wouldn't even know where to start except here!) and it seems a shame that a one liner like "Glenn Beck sacked from Fox" is ok but this is not. I'm sure someone could make a good FPP about this stuff.
posted by like_neon at 6:57 AM on April 8, 2011


Here might be a good place to start if you are looking for further information.
posted by Mitheral at 6:57 AM on April 8, 2011


I was just wondering that myself. Is anyone putting one together? I will, if no one else is.
posted by troika at 6:58 AM on April 8, 2011


Only essential posters are able to make FPPs on this.
posted by GeckoDundee at 6:58 AM on April 8, 2011 [3 favorites]


ARACHY RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!1 SHUT DOWN TEH GOVERNMENT!!!!!!!!1!1111 DOWN WITH AMERIkkkA!!!!!!112345


Let me get this straight: so now, I'm less of an anarchist than congresspeople and more of a christian than people who call themselves that. WTF is going on in this world?
posted by fuq at 7:00 AM on April 8, 2011 [4 favorites]


it seems a shame that a one liner like "Glenn Beck sacked from Fox" is ok but this is not.

Well apparently it wasn't ok in the end.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:02 AM on April 8, 2011


Troika please do so, I'm waiting to learn more!
posted by infini at 7:03 AM on April 8, 2011


The government shutdown isn't news, it's friggin business as usual for the idiots that run this place. What is there to talk about?
posted by tomswift at 7:03 AM on April 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


We've decided to position it on Google News and several thousand other blogs distributed at key points around the internet. Find one near you!
posted by Wolfdog at 7:04 AM on April 8, 2011 [5 favorites]


What is there to talk about?

How is it even possible? (non USian who didn't take US Govt in senior year)

Google news just finds "eek yes" "oh noes" but how, why, the bean plating ...
posted by infini at 7:05 AM on April 8, 2011


Well apparently it wasn't ok in the end.

116 comments strong and going.
posted by like_neon at 7:05 AM on April 8, 2011


here you go, infini
posted by tomswift at 7:07 AM on April 8, 2011


The government shutdown isn't news, it's friggin business as usual for the idiots that run this place.

Idiots? OK, you're first up against the wall.
posted by the Cabal at 7:08 AM on April 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


infini... 800,000 of over 2 million civilian employees will not be at work. Military, TSA, air traffic, etc will continue.

It's like this, anything to keep the war effort going or anything that will make life difficult, yeah, those people will be working. Anything that actually HELPS citizens, we're shutting that shit down...
posted by tomswift at 7:09 AM on April 8, 2011 [4 favorites]


Is there a particular reason you haven't posted a question about this to AskMe?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:11 AM on April 8, 2011


Military, TSA, air traffic, etc will continue.

Continue to work. Won't continue to get paid.
posted by T.D. Strange at 7:14 AM on April 8, 2011


Here's the post. Let's see if it sticks.
posted by troika at 7:15 AM on April 8, 2011


Is there a particular reason you haven't posted a question about this to AskMe?

I had no idea that I could tbh else I would have!
posted by infini at 7:15 AM on April 8, 2011


The Washington Post website is full of detailed information on the possible shutdown and its implications. There are multiple stories on the front page today. You can even sign up for daily email updates.

For all the jokesters on here, I'm one of the people who will be affected (I'm a regular on metafilter, but actually found this thread when I was looking for shutdown news), so I find it less amusing than you do. You will find that most of us Feds actually take the concept of public service seriously, work damn hard, and would actually just like to be able to continue to do our jobs.
posted by gudrun at 7:20 AM on April 8, 2011 [16 favorites]


I had no idea that I could tbh else I would have!

Nah, as long as you're a member, you can ask a single question every seven days, so need to be shy, dive in!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:22 AM on April 8, 2011


Sorry deathalicious! If I'd just waited a few minutes more...
posted by infini at 7:36 AM on April 8, 2011


In the spirit of random posts, have you seen the trailer for the new Beastie Boys album?
posted by gman at 7:37 AM on April 8, 2011


Military, TSA, air traffic, etc will continue.

Continue to work. Won't continue to get paid.


Will continue to get paid, but will have to wait a week or two to pick up those paychecks.

Whereas government contractors forced on furlough actually won't get paid.
posted by DU at 7:44 AM on April 8, 2011


Burhanistan: "My plan is to stalk a billionaire who already has his spaceship ticket to the secret biodome resort on Mars, murder him and assume his identity, and then escape with the rest of the über-elites at the last possible safe moment as society crumbles and the biosphere implodes. Best of luck to everyone."

Here. You'll need this.
posted by zarq at 7:45 AM on April 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


DCist has some good info, too.
posted by inigo2 at 8:20 AM on April 8, 2011


There's no rule that every interesting US event needs a thread. If you have some terrific links about the shutdown, craft an excellent post. There's always room for great posts.
posted by theora55 at 9:09 AM on April 8, 2011 [5 favorites]


Burhanistan, I think I can help you with your pushing-a-tycoon-in-a-molten-metal-vat plan. Why don't you come down to my pig farm and we can discuss?
posted by boo_radley at 9:23 AM on April 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


I my mind I have heaped piles of favorites upon theora, bedecked with rubies and gold.
posted by Diablevert at 9:38 AM on April 8, 2011


theora55: "There's no rule that every interesting US event needs a thread. If you have some terrific links about the shutdown, craft an excellent post. There's always room for great posts."

And Jello!
posted by Splunge at 9:41 AM on April 8, 2011


I don't get coming in here and wondering why a post hasn't been made about [subject]. I get that people want MetaFilter News instead of doing the investigative work themselves, but it would be far cooler to make the posts you want to see.

I too was wondering about this (US citizen living abroad, can't get good info and wouldn't even know where to start except here!) and it seems a shame that a one liner like "Glenn Beck sacked from Fox" is ok but this is not.

Er, who said it wasn't okay? Just because it doesn't show up here doesn't mean it's not allowed.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:49 AM on April 8, 2011 [1 favorite]




As a DC Capitol Hill resident I'm planning on getting a new TV in the looting so I'm not too stressed out about it.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 10:01 AM on April 8, 2011 [4 favorites]


I can confirm, the government is shut down until tuesday.

yes PA, but we control the Dynamo stations.
posted by clavdivs at 10:07 AM on April 8, 2011


For posterity, here's the post I was working on last night before I had to leave earlier than expected this morning and forgot to post it:
Brother, can you spare 38.2 trillion dimes?

Unless the Republican House and Democratic Senate agree on a 2011 budget plan by midnight EST, the United States will suffer its first government shutdown in over fifteen years, suspending nonessential services and furloughing some 800,000 federal workers indefinitely. While most reports highlight quibbles over just how many billions to trim from the budget, the true impasse lies in a series of bold policy riders attached to the budget proposal passed by the House GOP. Among many other things, they would bar EPA regulation of CO2, prohibit prisoner transfers from Guantanamo Bay (again), cripple FCC net neutrality rules, limit abortion rights in myriad ways, strike down dozens of environmental and economic programs, and deny funding for the Democrats' landmark 2010 healthcare reform bill -- measures President Obama has deemed a dealbreaker. With polling split and Tea Party rider supporters spinning viciously to shift blame for the deadlock on Obama and Senate Democrats, it remains to be seen whether a shutdown will backfire on Speaker Boehner as it did for Newt Gingrich back in 1996. But this fight is only the first salvo in the upcoming funding battles -- House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan has drawn harsh criticism for his radical 2012 budget roadmap, which calls for trillions of dollars in cuts along with deep tax breaks and the privatization of Medicare. With Congress at its most polarized since the Civil War, is there any hope for compromise in Washington?
posted by Rhaomi at 10:42 AM on April 8, 2011 [9 favorites]


Congressman Peter DeFazio of Oregon was on a radio show this morning and pointed out that it is the 83 new members of Congress who are causing the impasse. He said the Teaparty are afraid that some funds will got to pay for abortion. Federal funding of abortions is already illegal.
posted by Cranberry at 10:48 AM on April 8, 2011


(non USian who didn't take US Govt in senior year)

Well you haven't learned anything then, have you?
posted by codswallop at 11:05 AM on April 8, 2011


He said the Teaparty are afraid that some funds will got to pay for abortion. Federal funding of abortions is already illegal.

What's shocking about the Tea Party is not just their actual politics and beliefs, but that the people they elected, for the most part, don't understand their own government. There is a fundamental lack of knowledge that is exasperating and scary.
posted by DrGirlfriend at 11:33 AM on April 8, 2011 [7 favorites]


Let me tell you kids about the terrible shutdown of 1996 (or maybe '95 or '97). The water continued to run, police continued to make arrests, fires were put out, and bridges still stood. It went on for a while and no one really noticed. Some people complained, and eventually things went back to normal. We got into a few wars and a bridge fell down. It's pretty difficult to tell the different between running or not in the short run.
posted by cjorgensen at 1:53 PM on April 8, 2011 [2 favorites]


cjorgensen writes "The water continued to run, police continued to make arrests, fires were put out, and bridges still stood."

Is water, police, firefighting or bridge maintenance a federal responsibility anywhere but DC? I guess FBI and SS but there are still plenty of cops available at state/ county/city level.
posted by Mitheral at 2:41 PM on April 8, 2011


Is water...a federal responsibility...?

They're certainly involved.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 8:37 PM on April 8, 2011


Posing a threat, you bet it's fuckin' up the government!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:11 AM on April 10, 2011


Looks like we can take the plastic off our windows. The crisis was averted!
posted by cjorgensen at 2:50 PM on April 10, 2011


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