President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met last night for what was hoped to be the last meeting needed to reach a budget agreement but reports say that every time a deal seems imminent the Republicans up the ante. The two today are no closer to striking a deal, which means we could still be looking at a government shutdown as soon as tomorrow. And that’s real talk.—-
If the government were to actually shut down like it did back in 1995, there would be a backlog of hundreds and thousands of passport and college applications, the closure of national parks and the suspension of many government services such as Medicare. Not to mention the 760,000 people who lost their jobs during the shutdown in ’95. President Obama said this morning, "I remain confident that, if we are serious about getting something done, we should be able to complete a deal and get it passed and avert a shutdown. [A shutdown] would be inexcusable, given the relatively narrow differences when it comes to numbers between the two parties, that we can't get this done."
Union-backed Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg has declared victory by just 204 votes. This morning’s reports say that Wisconsin’s first statewide recount in 20 years is certain because of the small discrepancy out of nearly 1.5 million votes. If the result stands, the state’s highest court will be flipped to a 4-3 liberal majority which could play a part in blocking Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s anti-union bill, which is the target of several lawsuits.
According to a recent poll by NBC, Sarah Palin’s approval rating is at 25 percent, which is lower than George W. Bush’s worst rating and just one point away from being tied with Richard Nixon for worst ever. Refudiate is to Watergate as misunderstimated is to “When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Of the 25 percent who still favor Palin, 9 percent “strongly approve” of her.
A poll conducted by Public Policy Polling says that John Boehner’s own approval rating has fallen to 25 percent.
Reports last month of Glenn Beck’s crazy nonsense ceasing to spew have been confirmed by a press release posted on Beck’s website, The Blaze. Sometime “later this year,” Beck’s daily “news” program will be fizzed out. BUT Beck and Fox will transition into other television ventures. Culture shock-themed fear factor? Grillin’ with Glenn?
U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman yesterday approved the use of the name Hustler on downtown Cincinnati stores owned by magazine publisher Larry Flynt while a partnership dispute over his family’s pornography business is resolved.
The Reds are 5-0. Shazam!
What a government shutdown would be like, according to multiple reports: