Shutdown:17 times the government has gone dark

While supposed policy-makers on Capitol Hill continue to make "Obamacare" a bargaining chip over extending the debt ceiling and keeping the government open, I guess things were worse in the 1970s. I didn't remember as a middle-schooler that the government shut down three times in 1977 over another social issue, abortion.

Since 1976, there have been at least 17 federal government shutdowns ranging from 1 to 21 days. Politico has pictures here.

A history of government shutdowns, American-style

How to Read a Political Poll

Meanwhile, at the United Nations....

 

 

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, while Ted Cruz came to the podium in the US Senate, President Obama spoke to the United Nations Security Council, but he did not meet and greet the new Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, who earlier spoke at the UN.

 

Why not? It's complicated, the NY Times reports:

 

UNITED NATIONS — It was the handshake that never happened.

 



While American officials say the near miss between President Obama and President Hassan Rouhani of Iran at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday means little to the ultimate fate of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, it does illustrate the acute political sensitivities that will affect both leaders as they try to embark on a diplomatic path.
      

After two days of discussions between American and Iranian officials about a potential meeting of the leaders, a senior administration official said the Iranian delegation indicated that it would be “too complicated” for Mr. Rouhani and Mr. Obama to bump into each other.

 

Read more

 

Prior to the new Iranian president's address, there were some hopeful signs of a diplomatic breakthrough with the U.S. and Iran, but some other signs that signal, "not so much."

 

Max Fisher's op-ed pieces in the Washington Post are thoughtful and informed. This one deals with international relations much more than comparative politics, but it contains some background that might be informative. (Thanks, Teaching Comparative blog)

Two great signs and a dubious one from Iranian President Rouhani’s first Western interview

 

One and a half months into his tenure, and just one week before he addresses the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sat down with NBC News on Wednesday. It was his first interview with the Western media since taking office, and it appears to be the latest move in his not-so-subtle campaign signaling to the United States that he's interested in ending decades of enmity…

Here are three important take-aways from the parts of the interview… The first two are great, positive signs… The third is a bit more complicated.

1. He's got the supreme leader's okay to cut a nuclear deal… If true, then for Khamenei to hand Rouhani that power would be a remarkably positive step just in itself, a sign of institutional weight shifting toward compromise and diplomacy.

2. He's pen pals with Obama. A few days ago, Obama revealed that he had written to Rouhani after his election… Rouhani didn't say much when asked about the letter, but his tone was positive and he did reveal that he wrote back to Obama…

3. He denied that Iran will ever build a nuclear weapon. This is the one point that's gotten a lot of positive attention but about which I'm a touch less sanguine…

It also strains credulity a bit. Western intelligence agencies tend to believe that Iran has not decided to build a nuclear weapon. But there are lots of signs that it is at least trying to give itself that option…

 

Below is the new Iranian president's address to the UN:

 

 

 

 

 

In the comment section, please share your thoughts (especially model-UN'ers) on what does this say about the United Nations. Is it still diplomatically relevant in our world today?

 

 

Political Warriors, You're the Government now, with the power of the vote

What a day for Political Warriors at quite a Democracy School, Waubonsie Valley. As the DJ in the student cafeteria was keeping energy level up, we registered more students to vote than ever before on one day as nearly 150 seniors took their first step to getting their voices heard by the government by registering to vote. Students were lined up all fourth period (sorry for the wait, but it was worth it)!

Waubonsie was taking part in the second National Voter Registration Day. From the NVRD website:

In 2008, 6 million Americans did not vote because they did not know how to register or they missed their state's voter registration deadline, according to the US Census. In 2013, we want to make sure no American is left out.

On September 24, 2013, volunteers, celebrities, and organizations from all over the country will "hit the streets" for National Voter Registration Day. This single day of coordinated volunteer, technology and media efforts will create widespread awareness of voter registration opportunities--allowing us to reach tens of thousands of voters or more who we could not reach otherwise.

Thanks to the 6 WVHS teachers (Mr. Fezz, Mr. Matune, Ms. Dougherty, Ms. Rose; Ms. Whit, Mr. Wolak) who served as deputy voter registrars during lunch hours. Thanks to the "Suffrage @17 Act" that became law after Warrior students helped lobby and petition for it, after Jan. 1 all the rest of the WVHS Class of 2014 will be able to register to vote before the spring primary. We will be right here to help you do it, Political Warriors.

To all you Political Warriors who resgistered today. This quote is for you: "I'm the Government!"

By the way, we also went sort of viral on social media. Tweets retweeted by NVRD:

National Voter Registration Day Tweets and FAQs

Chris Wolak @ChrisWolak1

@CelebrateNVRD 150 students registered for the first time @ WVHS today, like this Political Warrior! pic.twitter.com/Ks1a47Webc

 

 

Political Theatre: The Cruzbuster

(From CBS News)
Congress continued its steady march toward a government shutdown Tuesday with another round of posturing but little action to keep the government running past next Monday.

Both the Democratic and Republican leaders in the Senate seemed poised to speed up a vote on a spending bill from House Republicans that would have funded the government through Dec. 15 but stripped out funding for the Affordable Care Act. Many Senate Republicans were prepared to vote for the measure, which they favored, and Democrats were ready to get their hands on the bill so they could amend it and restore funding for the law.
But that possibility ground to a halt as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, took to the Senate floor to deliver a lengthy speech (that technically is not a filibuster, because of the Senate's procedural rules). He began talking at 2:41 p.m. ET, announcing that "I intend to speak against Obamacare until I am no longer able to stand."

• Gov't shutdown deadline looms but infighting continues
• Both parties to blame if government shuts down, poll says

Though he can't prevent the Senate from voting to end debate on the House proposal tomorrow, Cruz can speak throughout the night to draw attention to the issue and stop the vote from happening early. Although Cruz fully supports defunding the healthcare law, he has expressed concern that allowing the Senate to consider the measure will only allow Democrats to amend it and put the funding back in.

"Anyone who votes to cut off debate is voting to allow Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid [D-Nev.] to fully fund Obamacare," Cruz said on the floor of the Senate. His strategy does not appear to have gained traction with most of his fellow Republicans.

"I think we'd all be hard-pressed to explain why we were opposed to a bill we were in favor of," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., after Senate Republicans gathered for their weekly lunch meeting.

House members are set to return to Washington Wednesday, but there won't be much they can do about funding the government until the Senate sends back a revised version of their bill. That may not happen until Sunday, because of procedural hurdles - which would force the House to act quickly to avert a government shutdown on Oct. 1.

"We'll deal with whatever the Senate passes when they pass it," said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "There's no point in speculating before that."

Reid and McConnell both spoke favorably about the possibility of waiving certain rules to speed up debate. But, while McConnell told reporters that he didn't object to speeding up the votes, "any one senator can object to any effort to shorten the process." That is what Cruz is doing with his speech.

A live stream can be viewed here.

Ezra Klein ‏@ezraklein 4h

Ted Cruz’s filibuster is an excellent argument against Ted Cruz’s filibuster http://wapo.st/1fzutN7

 

Done with the Cruzbuster? Come to Wonkblog’s Obamacare debate tonight! http://www.washingtonpost.com/postlive/conferences/wonkblog-debates-obamacare/ …

 

Here We Go Again: More Governing vs. Politics

This is from the debt ceiling debate last January, but we are getting close to "shutting down the govenment" again. Grrrr.

The Government did shut down in 1995-96 during another period of divided government with Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R) and President Bill Clinton (D) in the Oval Office. The Washington Post's Chris Cilizza and CNN have more below. (Thanks, US Gov Teachers Blog).

Government Shutdown and Newt Gingrich

'The First Amendment is my Permit'

In speaking to Waubonsie Valley High School government students on the eve of National Constitution Day, Monday, youth organizer Kelly Hayes was vocally critical about the actions of her government (both national and local).

In relating to students her involvement in the Occupy Rogers Park and the protests she helped organize during the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago, Hayes said, "NATO is a War Machine of the Global 1%. They may mask it in humanitarian mission speak, but War is War. I think citizens have the right and responsibility to hold government accountable."

In her discussion, Hayes touched on the ideas of what she called a distubing trend of First Amendment Freedom of Speech becoming Freedom of Speech, 'Of the Rich, By the Rich, For the Rich.' As part of the Occupy Movement and a Non-Violent Direct Action Trainer, she said the cost the City of Chicago required for the permits to march to Petition the Government on a variety of issues (NATO, to Chicago school closings, etc. ), the $1 million mandated insurance policy for a march, and the distance any protests could "lawfully" be from the NATO summit, well, spits in the face of Constitutional freedoms.

"First of all, $1 million to march, is just wrong, I understand why some of our organizers wanted a permitted march. But I don't need a permit. The First Amendment is my permit,'' Hayes said. She related a march on May 12, 2012 that grew and somewhat surpisingly, got to the gates of McCormick Place, where the NATO Summit was being held. "The permit they gave us was nowhere close. We had veterans throw their medals in the direction at McCormick Place, so it was powerful imagery. But we were nowhere close, so we kept marching. It would be like if you had an issue with someone or something and you had to go four blocks away to spit at them or it. It might make you feel better, but it wouldn't have much of an impact."

Hayes said the movement DID have more than a disruptive impact, and she welcomed getting arrested for the cause of standing up for a Constitutional Freedom. She said the City of Chicago had originally planned to controversially close up to 150 community schools. They closed just 50. Hayes says the citizen advocacy had an impact.

"It was making the invisable, visable, and it definitely had an impact,'' she said.

Hayes, like other First Amendment Advocates are seldom popular. Much of what she said in the WVHS auditorium did not have a wave of support from the Political Warriors in the audience. However, one wonders reading the quote by Thomas Jefferson on the shirt sold at the US Constitution Museum this summer, that we should be reminded that we should all be glad that our Constitution has energetic, if ecentric, friends like Kelly Hayes.

Happy Birthday, Constitution from We the People.