[PrestonSturges]

The President can declare a State of Emergency and use the various Executive Orders that have been piling up since the Defense Production Act of 1950. The Defense Priorities and Allocations System ("DPAS") has been updated every year. But the scope of the President's authority without someone declaring war on us is fuzzy.

[Lore]

The President already has authority to act, or not. In either case he would be in violation of the law.

[PrestonSturges]

The thing about Ted Cruz and his New Apostolic Movement dad is that they campaign together, and Rafeal Cruz's job is to tell the fundies that Ted has been "annointed by God" himself to put the snake handlers in the driver's seat (apologies to real snake handlers!).

It seems like the GOP never runs out of people annointed by God.

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/rafael ... -anointed-

[Sixstrings]

Moderate Repub congressman Pete King, 'This Party Is Going Nuts'

A sizable contingent of more moderate Republicans have watched with alarm as their party has been commandeered by tea party members and right-wing activists trying to kill Obamacare at all costs.

The absurdity struck home for Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) Tuesday as the prominent conservative organizations Heritage Action, Red State and FreedomWorks all came out against a last-second GOP leadership plan to avert a crisis that Democrats had warned was too far to the right.

"This party is going nuts," King told HuffPost. "So many people I run into who are normal people -- and I hate to use that term -- they just can't understand what's going on."

"On this one they can't even see both sides," King said. "They just think Republicans are crazy. That's it. They see no justification for any of this."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/15/government-shutdown-updates_n_4100137.html#605_things-are-very-bad

From Zerohedge:

Quote Goldman:

"A deal could still be enacted by October 17, but there are reasons to think it could go a little longer. First, although Congress has taken the October 17 deadline surprisingly seriously, the Treasury will still have funds after that date, and Congress knows this. Second, if the House amends the Senate bill or passes its own instead, this will delay enactment."

In other words, as a result of today's most recent fiasco, it appears virtually assured that no deal will be hammered in the next 30 or so hours before the first X-Date, and the US will enter the cross into the dreaded X-Date time horizon.

The only two questions then are i) who will negotiate the final deal and what will it look like, and ii) when will this take place. Because once the October 17 deadline crosses, which immediately removes the impetus for action, it is likely that the House will once again stall as long as possible, this time making the November 1 Social Security payout deadline the truly drop dead one, beyond which the US will indeed default unless there is some concrete deal on the table.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-15/house-republicans-fail-get-needed-votes-reminder-what-goldman-warned

What that's saying is that if we go past the 17th and still no deal (which looks like it ain't gonna happen), then the Big One is November 1st. Social Security checks. If this ain't fixed by then, we're in default, checks are not going out.

If not for the suffering and chaos, I almost wouldn't mind seeing that happen -- old folks have got to stop voting Republican, and it may just take no check in the mail for them to finally get it. Might be a good thing if they're reminded which party was for Social Security and Medicare and which party always tried to kill it. Folks (and business) need to learn which party shuts government down all the time and is all about radical firebrand chaos, and which party keeps government open and is for stability.

Which party is really what moderate Republicans used to be, and which party has fractured into a bunch of apocalyptic evangelical doomsday loons. <--- that will cease to be amusing to voters November 1st and all veterans and SS checks do not direct deposit.

[PrestonSturges]

The GOP wants to postpone the default fight until the middle of December, so the US will be paralyzed over Christmas. That would guarantee a recession right there.

If this issue is not solved this week, there will be devastating as it spills over in the Christmas shopping season.

I have the Heritage Foundation on CSPAN and all they are talking about is the WW2 memorial. Sure, leave it wide open and let's see someone cover it with gang graffiti. Nothing complements marble like fluorescent green Krylon. Yep it seems like this about nothing but war memorials.

The lack of comprehension among these people is terrifying as they talk about suing the government even though those federal courts will be closing.

It's like they created a political party of under performing 14 year olds who have discovered the invincibility of stupid. Imagine you had three teenage children and they discovered they could get anything they wanted from their parents by threatening to flunk out of school. They are probably going to take this strategy to the limit before they give up, and maybe the grownups have to kick them out of the house.

[Sixstrings]

If this issue is not solved this week, there will be devastating as it spills over in the Christmas shopping season.

If this ain't solved in time before Nov 1, Christmas is the least of our worries.

Checks that will not go out:

* 62.69 million Social Security checks. That is *devastating* to the economy. That's rent and mortgage payments not going out. Besides old folks and people with serious disabilities literally starving, it means all that money is not spent in the economy. That's somewhere around $62 billion dollars sucked out of the US real main street economy for the month of November.

* 2.44 million federal employee pension checks

* 856,677 military pension checks

* And whatever other veteran checks there are that go out. We're talking combat vets with brain injuries and missing limbs, who need their checks to pay the rent and buy food and keep the heat on.

The lack of comprehension among these people is terrifying..

I know. Tea Party is literally stupid, uneducated, and batsh*t crazy.

But I criticize Obama some on this too though Preston. Situation is very serious, he should have addressed the nation by now, I don't think people realize.

You've got Obama throwing his hands up, giving up, as the Tea Party hurtles us off the cliff. But he can't do that, he's still the President and needs to step up even if the Tea Party is utterly insane he can't just let them tank the whole country.

I totally get the "don't give in to hostage taking" thing, but it's time for some reasonable compromise. But nobody's budging, Obama called Boehner's plan too far to the right, while Boehner couldn't pass it anyway with his base saying too far to the left! Maybe Dems need to give them something substantial, Preston. A year delay on the individual mandate, some other things that honestly most Americans would be for, there's things Dems could compromise on but they don't want to. Give them that stupid medical device tax delay. Go ahead and make congressional staffers pay for their healthcare premium -- these are really small potatoes, it's time to compromise. We need some reasonableness here, and both sides have that responsibility.

I don't see Obama doing enough. He's acting like this is a normal sequester shutdown thing but we're bumping up against social security checks here. At minimum there needs to be a nationwide address with him at a desk like old Reagan used to do, let folks know how serious it is.

Enough of the press conferences and business as usual, if we get into national emergency territory then the president has to step up and let people know he's got it under control.

(I may be worrying too much, I think the House may at least pass a few week CR just to buy more time.. and Boehner always has the option of just grabbing 20 sensible Republicans and all the Democratic votes. If he will make that choice, and risk his speakership.)

[Plantagenet]

....the WW2 memorial. Sure, leave it wide open and let's see someone cover it with gang graffiti. Nothing complements marble like fluorescent green Krylon.

The Rs in the House passed a bill to fully fund the park service several weeks ago. The Ds in the Senate wouldn't vote on it----the Ds apparently want all the National Parks closed down.

[PrestonSturges]

Better to let them wreck the economy now rather than in an election year, when they might actually profit from these tactics. I think that is pretty clearly their strategy. And if they had the advantage of picking the timing, I think they could get big business on their side for a big Reichstag Fire moment that will sweep them into office with the support of business in 2014 and then 2016. Better to let them crash the clown car all by themselves right now, even though for us it is likely to cost us our house. But it's now or later.

[PrestonSturges]

....the WW2 memorial. Sure, leave it wide open and let's see someone cover it with gang graffiti. Nothing complements marble like fluorescent green Krylon.

The Rs in the House passed a bill to fully fund the park service several weeks ago. The Ds in the Senate wouldn't vote on it----the Ds apparently want all the National Parks closed down.

That's the GOP using the "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" strategy of stealing everything and then trying to be the hero by bringing it back, except the GOP only offers to bring back a few crumbs. In think in that version of the movie the Grinch would have ended up as a green Grinch skin rug.

[Plantagenet]

the GOP only offers to bring back a few crumbs.

Actually, the Rs have passed budget bills to fund the entire government except the ACA.

[PrestonSturges]

the GOP only offers to bring back a few crumbs.

Actually, the Rs have passed budget bills to fund the entire government except the ACA.

One of their big weaknesses was that they could not maintain a coherent message from day to day, and that the ACA fell off the radar screen very quickly.

[Plantagenet]

China considers stopping purchase of US debt, may unload current US Treasuries

China considers dumping US debt

China is the US's largest loan shark. Because of the difficulty the US is having in making the vig, China is thinking about stopping purchases of more US debt, and may even unload some of its current debt holdings.


Please buy more US debt. We need another loan to pay the interest on the last loan.

[PrestonSturges]

China considers stopping purchase of US debt, may unload current US Treasuries

China considers dumping US debt

China is the US's largest loan shark. Because of the difficulty the US is having in making the vig, China is thinking about stopping purchases of more US debt, and may even unload some of its current debt holdings.


Please buy more US debt. We need another loan to pay the interest on the last loan.

Yes isn't funny how the Tea Party talks about making the world "respect" America, but they have the world trying to figure out how to ditch America.

[Plantagenet]

isn't funny how the Tea Party ... have the world trying to figure out how to ditch America.

It wasn't the Tea Party that ran the US so deep into debt that we have to borrow more money just to be able to pay the interest on the debt we already have.

[PrestonSturges]

[PrestonSturges]

BTW I topped off my gas tank today, just in case we never see prices south of $6 again.

[Lore]

The Tea Party, same group by a different name.

[Lore]

So now the fight is to reduce government spending by cutting SS and Medicare to offset debt from an illegal war and tax cuts to rich guys.

[Pops]

Wow, the Rs have really come off the rails, they can't even decided what their ransom demands are now.

Make me wonder if the plan all along wasn't to kill the economy rather than just hold it hostage.

I guess they plan to make Gingrich look like a piker.

[PrestonSturges]

So now the fight is to reduce government spending by cutting SS and Medicare to offset debt from an illegal war and tax cuts to rich guys.

Yep tax cuts for the rich paid for by benefit cuts to the elderly.

And of course the "flat tax" schemes which are mainly a tax hike on the poor.