Chaos Theory: The House has approved a short-term spending bill to keep the government running, but in the Senate at least a dozen Democrats have said they’re against it, enough to kill the bill.
With about 14 hours to go, a government shutdown looks increasingly likely and President Trump told reporters, “It could happen. We’ll see what happens. It’s up to the Democrats.”
Blame is what they spread in Washington more than money. Controlling the White House and both branches of Congress, Trump and Republican leaders say it’s all the fault of Democrats who are holding out against the border wall and in favor of immigration reform and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. All are issues that could be dealt with separately, but the Democrats are using the funding bill as leverage to get some action.
Trump threw wrenches in the works yesterday via Twitter. He said, “If there is no Wall, there is no Deal!”
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told CNN, “We do need a better partner down at the White House.” He said, “I feel very comfortable and confident we are going to rise to the occasion because we all look like idiots. Not just the President has a problem, we all have a problem.”
He also said, “There are people around the president who have a irrational view of immigration — they always have and if you follow that lead we’ll never get anywhere.”
Denouncing the proposals she’s seen, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said, “This is like giving you a bowl of doggy-do, putting a cherry on top and calling it a chocolate sundae.”
The government does not completely shut down during a government shutdown. Hundreds of thousands of “non-essential” employees are sent home, but the military remains on duty. National parks close. Social Security, Transportation Security and the Postal Service carry on with their operations. And while it’s true that paychecks are withheld during a shutdown, everyone gets paid when it’s over, as if the whole thing never happened.
So actually, some government employees get a paid vacation.
The President and senior Republicans claim that a shutdown damages the military, but what really hurts is funding government with a string of what are called continuing resolutions. Short term funding prevents the military from doing long-term planning.
Housebound: Police have released more details about what went on in the so-called “House of Horrors” in California where 13 malnourished siblings were held, some of them chained to furniture. The 13 range from ages 2 to 29.
Riverside County Dist. Atty. Michael Hestrin said the children were fed one meal a day and forced into a reverse schedule, awake overnight and sleeping during the day. They were allowed one shower a year and if they washed their hands above their wrists they were punished. None of them had ever watched television. They hadn’t been to school. They’ve never seen a dentist.
All but the infant are suffering cognitive damage, nerve damage, and stunted growth because of malnutrition. The 29-year-old weighed in at 82 pounds.
The parents would buy tempting food like pies for the themselves, leave it on the kitchen counter, and prevent their children from eating any of it, authorities said.
They said the 17-year-old girl who escaped and called the police had been planning her break for two years.
The parents, David Turpin, 56, and Louise Turpin, 49, were charged with multiple felony counts of torture, child abuse, abuse of dependent adults and false imprisonment. David Turpin is also charged with one count of committing a lewd act with a minor.
The China Hoax: NASA says 2017 was the second-warmest year on record while the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration rated it #3. Either way, the last four years have been the warmest.
In the past 100 years, Earth’s surface temperature has risen by 2 degrees, attributed mostly to the release of human-caused carbon dioxide gases into the air.
High Temps: The Centers for Disease Control say a flu epidemic has hit 49 states, the first time in more than 10 years that an outbreak has been this severe. Across the country, at least 21 children have died. In California alone, 43 people under age 65 have died. Most of them had not been vaccinated.
Doctor in the Dock: Former Olympic gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar sent the judge in his criminal case a letter asking for an end to the parade of victims delivering statements about the damage he did molesting them. He said it was a “media circus” and too tough for him to handle.
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina told Nassar, “You may find it harsh that you are here listening, but nothing is as harsh as what your victims endured for thousands of hours at your hands.” The victim statements continued and may total 105 when it’s done.
Mapquest: The Supreme Court has blocked a lower court ruling ordering North Carolina’s legislature to re-draw its congressional districts in time for the fall mid-term elections. The congressional map had been thrown out as “an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander” in favor of Republicans.
It’s not clear why the Supreme Court put a hold on this. They are considering another case from Wisconsin that argues partisan gerrymandering can be so severe it violates voters’ rights.
Cowbells: A Dutch vegan who applied for a Swiss passport was rejected because the residents of the town where she lives found her “too annoying.”
Nancy Holten, 42, moved to Switzerland from the Netherlands when she was eight years old and has children who are Swiss nationals. Not only a vegan, but also an animal rights activist, she has campaigned against the use of cow bells because they are too heavy for the cows.
She has said, ““The sound that cow bells make is a hundred decibel. It is comparable with a pneumatic drill. We also would not want such a thing hanging close to our ears?”
The residents of Gipf-Oberfrick decided that the more annoying noise is Holten.

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