Waiting For Relief

 What do you suppose the folks in Congress will do with that forty-five day extension they gave themselves to stave off the closing of the federal government? I ask this on behalf of a concerned parent who approached me at the end of last week, asking if I was sure the school would be open on October 2nd, since she had been hearing a lot about the government shutdown coming. I reassured her, letting her know that the shutdown, if it happened, would affect federal government offices and employees and not state controlled entities like our school district. She left, feeling calmer about the state of affairs. 

I put my faith on the folks in Congress to do the right thing. 

Lo and behold, they managed to squeak out what amounts to a stay of execution for the budget. In a surprising show of bipartisan support, the House of Representatives voted three hundred fifty-five to ninety-one to pay for an additional month and a half while the whole thing could be hashed out before any National Park bears had to go without their snacks. As noted here before, these elected "representatives" were not working for their own interests. They were going to get paid regardless of the doors to the shop they watch over were closed.  Those that would be impacted would be the very people whom they claim to "represent." 

So we have some hope, right?

Here's another way to look at it: The House of Representatives had far more than forty-five days to prepare for this game of federal financial chicken. The self-proclaimed "America First Caucus" are bound and tied to their MAGAt talking points and holding any and all progress on the budget hostage to their demands. Pointy heads like Marge Greene and Matt Gaetz hold ideals that call for limiting legal immigration “to those that can contribute not only economically, but have demonstrated respect for this nation’s culture and rule of law.” It voices support for infrastructure “that reflects the architectural, engineering and aesthetic value that befits the progeny of European architecture.” If you are picking up a faint piquant of white nationalism, you're on the right track. 

This is the group that spent the months leading up to the budget deadline making up articles of impeachment and continuing the chicanery that their former game show host leader insists upon. What kind of mess can they create in a month and a half? Stay tuned. It's bound to be "interesting." Maybe they can work a deal to close the schools.