CNN’s website tracking the impact of the government’s shut down, lists in excess of 85 agencies either boarded up or partially closed…
The 800,000 furloughed workers come from all the big names you’d expect; Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Departments of Commerce, Education, Energy, Interior, Justice, Labor, Transportation and Treasury.
Those government employees are joined in their impromptu vacations by others from the EPA, EEOC, FDIC, FCC, FTC, IRS, GSA, NASA, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, SBA, USDA and US Trade…to name only a few.
No telling when they’ll be back to work, but they should take this time, enjoy the families, go to the beach or play some golf. The weather’s still great; the scenery can’t be beat – go hit that little white ball!
Bear in mind though, they can’t do this at courses run by the National Park Service that were all forced to close.
“This is horrible, this kills our business,” said a representative from the Historic National Park Golf Courses of Washington, D.C., which administers East Potomac, Langston and Rock Creek Golf Courses. “We have gorgeous weather and thousands of government employees at home who would love to be out golfing.”
Now, if these career government employees had properly buttered the figurative bread of their military brothers and sisters, they could still play. Few have any idea the U.S. military operates 234 golf courses at bases around the world, as a cost of at least $140 million a year.
And guess what? 100 percent of them are OPEN FOR BUSINESS!
According to a report by Bloomberg.com, “While President Obama has made sure the shutdown has forced the closure of grocery stores on military bases, the golf courses on those bases remain open. That includes three 18-hole courses at Andrews Air Force Base, where the President often plays because of its close proximity to the White House.”
Obama’s played at Andrews over 60 times since taking office, closing in on a total of 150 rounds total.
What else can’t we do during the shutdown? Pay military death benefits.
When we lose a solider, his family gets an average of $100,000. But remember, we are shut down; we can’t pay that. So we’ve turned to the charity Fisher House Foundation. They’ve stepped forward to make sure 26 families, so far, can cover expenses while they figure out what life will hold for them down the road, with a husband/wife, mom/dad, son/daughter now gone – a life lost serving our country in a place we have no business being.
What other important functions have we made sure we can we do; deliver Cookie Monster, uninterrupted, to your kids TV every morning. Romney wanted him dead, took a contract out on his life, but we wrote a check for $445 million to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on the first day of the shutdown.
We can’t pay for our dead soldiers, but we can play golf and listen to NPR.
And FYI, tomorrow is the day I refer to as “My NPR Saturday.”
Tim Graham of Media Research Center’s Director of Media Analysis said, “PBS has hosted two “very friendly” interviews with President Obama in recent weeks.”
“It certainly looks like ‘you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours,” he continued.
What have we come to on both sides of the aisle? Hold your comments from your uninformed point of view blaming it on just the Republicans; our President is doing his share of gamesmanship. There’s an enormous pant load of waste in each person’s lap who pretends to be “representing” us.
I hate bumper stickers but I saw one that really stood out;
IF YOU AREN’T OUTRAGED, YOU AREN’T PAYING ATTENTION
I don’t know when the statements about the weather you refer to were made, but since you bring up NPR, on All Things Considered this evening they made a statement about all 46 Republic Senators braving the downpour to meet with Obama. As if solving this thing is some how heroic like 10 years of war our service men and women have been fighting. Both parties are different sides of the same coin and outrage is how the American people should feel.
Thanks for your comments, Bubba. Weather comment just meant gorgeous Fall time of year.
Former President George W. Bush said President Obama should not be criticized over his frequent golf outings.
Bush, who himself was criticized for his golfing as president, called the rounds “important for the president.”
“I see our president criticized for playing golf. I don’t. I think he ought to play golf,” Bush told “In Play with Jimmy Roberts.”
Bush said he knew what it was like “to be in the bubble” and saw getting off the White House grounds as an important way for the president to clear his head.
“I know the pressures of the job,” Bush said. “And to be able to get outside and play golf with some of your pals is important for the president. It does give you an outlet.”
http://thehill.com/video/administration/323943-george-w-bush-its-good-for-the-president-to-be-out-playing-golf
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Your point being?
Thanks for your comment, Lee. I guess I had two points that I will attempt to explain. One, he plays a LOT of golf. If you look at his schedule on line, he doesn’t seem to over do it at the office!
Yes, he’s in a bubble, yes it ages every man who does it, but this was the man who in his acceptance speech said this was the day the oceans would begin to calm and a new peace would fill the air with rainbows and unicorns.
Bush spent time on his ranch, I’m aware of that. I’m not a golfer, maybe that makes me look at it differently. I had a small ranch in Garnett, KS, sitting in a 750 acre lake. Maybe I more closely align with GW’s way of unwinding.
Or maybe, dude plays a LOT of golf. Some things are OK in moderation, some you need to stop before you need glasses.
And finally, I did a lot of stories this week, I may have just ran out of words and was struggling to get to 600.
No, pretty sure I meant, dude plays a LOT of golf.
The man who REALLY hit the little white ball a ton, was Dwight David Eisenhower. I looked it up once, he played golf over 850 times when he was president.
The truth is, I think America would be a lot better off if all the politicians, including the President took at least half of the year off and did anything BUT their jobs. Napolean used to let his mail sit for 3 to 4 weeks after he got it, because he knew that most of the problems people were complaining about would solve themselves without his intercession by the time he opened the mail.
Speaking of Napolean’s mail, he wrote Josephine while he was campaigning in Russia and told her in NO uncertain terms, NOT to bathe, because he was going to be home to see her in 2 months.
I sh*t you not.
Chuck; I’m on my way down to YJ’s, in the Crossroads, for breakfast. Thanks for ruining THAT moment!
Two months? I bet Harley finds a place to shower more often than that.
🙂
Maybe some dry toast?
I relayed the story the Chelle; she jumped up and ran to the bathroom, I’ve not seen her since.
Of the 3 WDC golf courses you mention, only East Potomac is interesting enough to play.
Moreover as all 3 have crime issues — where ‘issues’ equals a high probability of being robbed on the course or worse — I say leave them shuttered.
Robbed on the COURSE???? That’s amazing.
Why are you so surprised? It’s happened more than once in KC; it shouldn’t happen on the East side of WDC? Pshaaaw….
Nick, I’m not a golpher and hadn’t heard the story. Just find being robbed on the golf course something one wouldn’t normally think of…..
Granted, it used to be unthinkable. But, like WDC, there are courses in east KC where it is starting to be considered part of the course’s degree of difficulty…
On the swope park course you pack your 12ga. between your sand wedge and putter.
Well, that one I would have assumed! (That doesn’t make me racist, does it?)