WTF USA?!

[leelastarsky]

"Dear friends of the Earth Observatory,

As you may know, the U.S. government is facing a shutdown due to the
end of funding. As a result, the Earth Observatory site will not be
updated for the duration of that shutdown (and may not be available at
all) which may begin tomorrow, Saturday April 9.

We hope that there will be a quick resolution to

Comments

[ninepointfivemm]

No, Obama, et al were the ones who decided on the NASA shut-down.

[droxy]

That's correct. The cuts were announced at NASA.

[of_polyhymnia]

That seems to have been avoided.

Basically, there's been a standoff about the budget for the entirety of 2011, and we've been squeaking through on temporary budgets. There was a complete impasse between the Democrats and Republicans over the budget bill, which had a lot of extras attached - like cutting all funding to Planned Parenthood. So I'm inclined to blame the GOP, but then I'm liberal.

But they've passed an actual budget this time (I think), and passed an hour before deadline of "everything stops".

There's an article here that will be better at explaining than me.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/reid-says-impasse-based-on-abortion-funding-boehner-denies-it/2011/04/08/AFO40U1C_story.html

[of_polyhymnia]

Clarification: had there not been a new budget, all government funding would have shut down until one was passed. That means NASA, museums, monuments, as well as day-to-day gov't employees.

[leelastarsky]

as well as day-to-day gov't employees.
Such as the Republicans who were blocking everything? No wonder they managed to come to an 'agreement!'

[naomijameston]

Oh, no, the members of Congress would still be paid. :) Just, you know, the little people who would suffer.

[bzzinglikeneon]

I see the person above me explained the issue very well, but I wanted to jump in for the sake of clarification and say that Obama did not shut down NASA; his budget just proposed a shift from NASA's focus on space exploration, which is very expensive.

[leelastarsky]

Thankyou for the clarification. But I'm not sure I understand why cutting the space exploration budget would shut down a website that seemed purely educational and info-sharing? Could they have pulled the plug on NASA completely?

[bzzinglikeneon]

No, I'm sorry, I was kind of confusing there: I was more addressing that first comment here, which I presume was about "Obama shutting down NASA," which is one of the rumors flying around since he proposed that budget. The site you posted about was thinking they would be down due to the issues in that second comment up there, about the budget standoff. But they reached an agreement at the 11th hour, so it should be fine.

[droxy]

They needed the couple of million to fund mandatory Arabic language education in Texas Public schools. (that's true)

[ani_bester]

It's on both parties. Nobody understands "negotiations" and both parties have spent pretty much out of control

[bonsaibetz]

No, not really the GOP/Tea Party. The Democrats were supposed to pass a budget last OCTOBER, just before the November elections, but they decided to be chicken shit and not pass a budget because that would put the Democrats who were in risk of losing their seats to Republicans, so they wimped out and deiced to play the mañana game. The Democrats still lost the House and the new Representatives elected in were elected by their constituents to stop this endless spending crap and cut, cut cut. They did as the voters asked and the Democrats balked.

But a budget agreement was reached at the 11th hour last night, but Obama still cut NASA.

so what's going to happen now?

[starnightmuse]

i keep hearing of all this cuts and it's freaking me out

Re: so what's going to happen now?

[bonsaibetz]

Don't worry. The GOP caved. The GOP won't be around to rub it's hands together with insect glee while it tries to poison you with malicious purpose. It lost the will to destroy everything fluffy and cute and good. It threw the evil Emperor Tea Party into the power core, and will now die in peace to be roasted on a funeral pyre by lit by Reid and Obama, while Ewoks feast of food grown White House's organic garden.

Re: so what's going to happen now?

[starnightmuse]

Um... is that sarcasm? as in, the opposite happened?

because the choices of words, as in not speaking in plain english and being cryptic make it seem so.

or just having a very extensive wit and vocabulary?