News Blog

News Blog

In Your Facebook: Gov't Shutdown Thoughts

The Weekly is taking full advantage of the intricate social romp known as Facebook. Every week we will look to shine a paisley spotlight on an issue, topic, video, photo, tweet, event or anything that may be trending like hell. We will post a prompt Monday (and re-post throughout the week)—and the digital floor is open for commentary. Give us insight, questions, links and any other interesting or hilarious bits you can find to enrich and enlighten the topic at hand. Every Friday we will compile your comments and web fodder into a down and dirty, muddled blog of viral proportions.

In this, the first installment, we delve into the highly charged topic of U.S. budget woes resulting in a government shutdown.

Liz Clark declares.. It doesn't help, it makes things worse...WORK IT OUT CONGRESS!

It seems Congress agrees with you Liz, as both parties have expressed their concern over a possible shutdown, but it doesn’t make the employees of Salinas’ Social Security Administration Teleservice Center feel any better about things. They picketed Wednesday with signs that mirror your capitalized exclamation. By the way, if you’re doing any traveling abroad and need a passport or renewal, I’d get on it sooner rather than later.

Coleen Dunham murmurs... I've seen elementary school children better behaved and possess greater problem solving skills. This is just sad. :/

I applaud the comparison, Coleen. Disturbing as it is, turning your nose up and not cooperating seems to be business-as-usual for our party-centric elected officials in Washington, you’d expect that from vegetable-loathing youngsters. One of the battlefields in the budget war involves the cutting of funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Both PBS and NPR would be affected, and shows like Sesame Street and Arthur could be in danger. It’s scary to think of a world without Big Bird, Elmo and the rest of the educational characters many parents rely on to keep their kids from behaving like a stubborn and misguided U.S. Senator.

Mark Cunningham shouts... Woohoo!

Mark is obviously all set for shutdown. I’m sure his ecstatic sentiments are shared by some, but its a sad reality when citizens of the land of the free and home of the brave could care less if their government came to a screeching halt. I guess it all comes down to what your country can do for you. And that’s obviously not draft and agree on a valid budget.

Brian Rozema shares... If they shut it down, does that mean the politicians have to shut up? i hope so

One could only hope Brian, but if the past is any indication (and more often than not it is) this won’t be the case. Politicians have a job to do that in no way has to do with shutting their mouths at any time. This governing stuff is terribly complicated, so much so in fact that I found myself wondering if our senators and representatives are cut from the same cloth as the much heralded Charlie Sheen. Sheen explains, “[I’m] a total fricking rock star from Mars, and people can't figure me out, they can't process me. I don't expect them to. You can't process me with a normal brain." Whether they shut up or not, it appears we have normal brains and no amount of pondering will elucidate us any further.

Roy Jordan says... Native American revenge finally realized...

Uh… I… Someone want to help me out on this one?