Wasting Time: President Trump slammed his hand on the table and walked out at the start of a meeting with Democratic leaders  yesterday, immediately after Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she wouldn’t negotiate building a southern border wall. 

  Trump stormed out calling the meeting “a total waste of time.”

  He later tweeted, “Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time. I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye, nothing else works!”

  Trump also yesterday reserved his right to declare a national emergency and build the wall anyway. “I have the absolute right to do national emergency if I want,” he said.

  The government now is in the 20^thday of a partial shutdown because Trump refuses to consider any spending bill that does not include money for his wall. Two more days and Trump can have the “greatest government shutdown of all time.”

 The President and the Press: Trump is complaining that comments he made at an off-the-record luncheon with reporters leaked. Someone did  violate the rules of engagement, reporting Trump saying his Oval Office address was “not going to change a damn thing.”

  He tweeted late yesterday, “Gave an OFF THE RECORD luncheon, somewhat of a White House tradition or custom, to network anchors yesterday – and they quickly leaked the contents of the meeting. Who would believe how bad it has gotten with the mainstream media, which has gone totally bonkers!”

  He followed that with, “The Mainstream Media has NEVER been more dishonest than it is now. NBC and MSNBC are going Crazy. They report stories, purposely, the exact opposite of the facts. They are truly the Opposition Party working with the Dems. May even be worse than Fake News CNN, if that is possible!

The Hidden Cost:The presumption might be that a government shutdown actually saves money, but history shows that it costs more. Government employees  don’t get paid during the shutdown, but when the it ends they get back pay for all the work they didn’t do.

  The government loses money on taxes and fees. Just one example, the entry fees at the national parks because no one is at the gate to collect the money. Employees of the Internal Revenue Service assigned to collect overdue taxes aren’t working.

  Companies that have contracts with the government but aren’t getting paid will be paid penalties.

  There are personal costs. Credit card debt and mortgage interest is piling up for furloughed employees. Even so, President trump claims he’s getting massive support from federal workers. “So many of those people are saying ‘it’s very hard for me, it’s very hard for my family, but Mr. President you’re doing the right thing, get it done.’”

The Roundup: Actress Ashley Judd’s sexual harassment lawsuit against disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein has been dismissed. Her lawsuit claiming that he blacklisted her because she refused to have sex with him can proceed. — Entertainer Lady Gaga has denounced her former duet partner R. Kelly, who’s been accused of all kinds of sexual creepiness. Gaga apologized for collaborating with Kelly on a 2013 song titled, “Do What U Want,” and vowed to pull the track from iTunes and streaming services. — Billionaire Tom Steyer, who ran a long television campaign calling for the impeachment of President Trump, says he’s not going to run for president.

Message, We Care:The US Coast Guard issued a five-page memo to its members outlining how to handle not getting paid, including a suggestion  to hold a garage sale. “Clean out your attic, basement and garage at the same time,” the memo cheerily said.

  Unlike the military, the Coast Guard is under the Department of Homeland Security, so they aren’t getting paid.

  The memo also suggested getting a second job, offering to babysit or house sit, and to turn your hobby into a money-making enterprise.

  The memo says, “Bankruptcy is a last option.”

The Social Pages:Amazon billionaire founder Jeff Bezos and his wife MacKenzie

announced yesterday that they are getting a divorce. In a joint statement they said, “After a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends.” 

  Bezos is reported to be seeing Lauren Sanchez, a former tabloid television reporter who is married to a Hollywood executive. The National Enquirer published pictures of them together.

  As the world’s richest person with a net worth of $137 billion, Bezos could be looking at a complicated and expensive split. If he ordered it on Amazon Prime, he could have had it by tomorrow.

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