Shutdown Ends?

President Donald Trump announced today that his shutdown of the Federal Government was ending. At least for three weeks. After inflicting severe pain and hardship on the nation here is what the master negotiator achieved in concessions, nothing.

This President doesn't feel anyone's pain but is own, chiefly the growing blame Americans have placed on him and his party. In the past twenty four hours significant slowdowns began to occur at major northeastern airports. This was predicted to occur the longer the shutdown ran. In addition to this 14,000 I.R.S. employees didn't show up for work even though they had been ordered to, without pay of course.

Trump continued to say today, as he has maintained throughout his shutdown, that he has broad support from many of those federal employees he stripped of a paycheck and brought to despair. I call bullshit. No one supports you driving them into financial ruin or forcing them to work without pay, which is probably a violation of the 13th Amendment, because you are throwing a temper tantrum. I further call bullshit and condemn three specific people representing the President. His daughter-in-law Lara Trump, a paid employee of the Trump 2020 Campaign and wife of trust fund baby Eric. Her pathetic and condescending attitude toward the federal employees and sub-contractors not being paid, saying that this issue is bigger than any one person and they needed to just "hang in there", they feel for them. It's all about one person Lara, your father-in-law. You enjoy being his shill and that's your business but it would be best if you not tell people struggling to buy a loaf of bread to hang in there. Larry Kudlow, multimillionaire financial advisor to Trump, displayed gross ignorance of the existence of dictionaries when he thanked federal employees for "volunteering" to work. When the press pushed back on him and pointed out they weren't volunteering but were being forced to work without pay, his pampered little brain exploded and he said he wasn't commenting on "this" any further. Stay in your office Larry and keep working on ways to fuck over the little guy, it's what you do best. Finally, sleepy eyed Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who unlike our President is a billionaire. When he was confronted with the fact that many federal employees were having to go to food pantries he replied, "I just don't understand that...why don't they just borrow some money." This from a man that wears a $600.00 pair of slippers with the Commerce Department logo around the office. I wonder if taxpayer money bought those slippers? When this steel baron isn't napping, he's arranging tariffs to benefit his business interests and otherwise using his office to line ol' Wilbur's pocket. Congress needs to investigate Ross, including the slippers.

So what's next? A joint Conference Committee of House and Senate Republicans and Democrats should be meeting to create a long-term fix to keep the government open while incorporating border security in it, the sticking point will be what it has been, funding for the "wall". They are going to have to figure a way to convince the President he's getting something he wants without actually delivering on it. Can they do it? Or will we be back to square one with another Trump Shutdown in three weeks?

Ann Coulter has already blasted Trump by saying he now is the "the biggest wimp" as President, supplanting George H.W. Bush. Trump has not blasted her back, why not? This President doesn't care about decorum and will attack people daily but not Coulter, he's afraid of her. The conservatainers are going to crucify him. Hey, Mr. President, tell them all to shut up. Just pretend they're all running against you in a campaign.

Bread and circuses.

More to come...