Way OT: Air Force Won't Shut Down
[Ed-M: I'm allowing this - as edited - only on the ludicrously tenuous presumption that this also affects the Air Force football program. Comments disabled because obviously. Also be on notice that political sensors are running higher this week.]
This post is intended to clear up a few questions and rumors and I promise you it is as politically neutral as you can get. You don't care what I have to say about politics and I assure you I don't care what you have to say.
As you have probably heard, there is an impending government shutdown on the horizon (monday, actually). Here are a few quick bullets on what this actually means, which may differ from what you've already read / heard.
- This mainly affects governement civilian employees. In the event of a shutdown, they will not report to work on monday. This does not include congressmen, the president, etc.
- It's not clear on how much this will affect State employees although a lot of federal programs and grants that states receive may cease to exists, at least until congress decides what to cut and what not to cut.
- The military will not, I repeat, WILL NOT shut down.
The last bullet is the main reason I'm posting this because, well, I'm in the Air Force and it pertains to me. I've read a lot comments on blogs, forums, and other online media outlets of people worrying about that as well as fielded a bunch of questions from my family back home (I'm stationed just outside St. Louis right now although I'm from Mich).
"But the military are federal employees and the talking head on TV told me that they might not get paid..."
False. As per AF.mil:
Service members, the official said, "will continue to earn money" in the event of a shutdown.
But because there wouldn't be any money to pay out to service members during a shutdown, the official said, they would have to wait to be reimbursed.
"They will be paid once we have money again to pay them," the official said.
Essentially the government is going to be running a tab with all of us until a new budget resolution is reached.
Thank you in advance for your time and Go Blue!
Does this mean no mail?
Good question, I'll look into it.
Mail should run as usual. The post office is independently funded so the government shutdown should have no effect.
For those of us that still pay the majority of our bills with a check in an envelope.
(Boy do I get tired of my credit card companies suggesting I pay bills with my card. Yes, I could get 5% cash back. I could also get myself in a shitload of trouble credit history wise by accidentally maxing out.)
As long as they lock this thread for replies, it's all good. People here have a habit of piling on though, so the first negative comment is going to create a wave of copycat immaturity.
I just hope they don't take my OPERS...
This is good info and all, and not to sound like a dick, but if people want to know about this kind of thing there's always CNN, MSNBC, etc. It's not like it's inconvenient for people to type in the url of a news organization.
Thank God the military is still up and runnin. Someone needs to stop those damn Mongolians from tearing down our shitty wall.
edit - hope that didn't come off as being unappreciative of military service--not the case at all. Just a southpark joke.
they will reach another short term extension agreement while they hammer it out. If any congressman is ever outed at a specific impediment to getting our federal government funded, that could be a deathstroke for his office during the next election.
Private citizens will notice little difference in their daily lives unless the shutdown stretches more than a couple of weeks.
One bright spot for me is that the Metro would be a lot less crowded...
Although I think WMATA (DC's Metro transit authority for those not familiar with the Beltway lingo) will cut service to match the reduced ridership during a shutdown. I wouldn't be surprised if I had to wait a half-hour for a train on Saturday.
Good point, I should've thought of that.
The next time I read a political blog at CNN or NBC, I'm gonna be sure to ask for an update on Devin Gardner's spring practice performances in the comments.
Also, I'll be sure to title the thread with a cryptic title so no one has any idea what they're clicking into.
Go Bleaux.
I get your point, but I don't think the comparison is that apt. The majority of the readers of this blog (and Michigan students/alumni in general) are Americans, and thus this news is relevant to most of the readers. The reverse isn't true about a national website. It's also the offseason.
But, I do agree that it's probably best just to steer clear of politics entirely.
If you care about the government shutdown, go to CNN or Fox.
If you care about Michigan football, go to mgoblue, or mgoblog.
General relevance isn't a justification for skirting this Board's rules. There are many things you could argue should be posted here despite "general relevance" to this board's demographics (and please God don't start doing so).
However, Brian has his OT rules for a reason. He also has his Board post titles rules for a reason. The OP is 0/2 on these rules.
When a title says "Way OT", why did you come in here expecting spring football updates?
There's no reason to post a thread about the government shutdown (which has no relation to Michigan sports) on the Board and definitely no reason to do it without at least giving the reader an idea of what this thread covers in the title. However, I find that I cannot refrain from clicking on a thread with a vague title so the joke's on me!
All that said, thanks to the OP for his service to the country!
Does this mean that I don't have to teach ENGR 100 on Monday?
All politicans involved derserved to be fired! As a government employee I know how much BS goes on with similar events and this is totally avoidable! Republicansand Democrats have turned this country into a joke and untill good,honest Americans begin to get into office this country well stay a total clusterf*ck.
Just as inevitable as death and taxes, it was only a matter of time that someone felt the need to weigh in with their worthless opinion.
Can we all agree to pretend we didn't see this? We're doing so well...
Anything requiring a preface should never be posted. Why is this such a tempation for people? You have to be pretty dense to not see the pattern by now.
I just want to know why members of congress are getting paid on time but not the military
your service!!
Fyi, you'll get your tax refunds if you efile, but not if you file by paper. To that end, if there is a shutdown and you owe money, you probably want to mail it in since it would take that much longer to get it processed. Also, audits will be delayed.
Great title
It just pisses me off having one family member just get ambushed and is in Bethesda medical hopspital and another cousin in Afghanstan right now and these cry baby politicans cant agree on anything.
Your feelings are understandable. I think most of us can appreciate that.
However, it remains true that your comment didn't add anything, much less anything new, but instead seemed bound to plunge the thread into a toilet of hyperbolic political nonsense.
BTW I negged you for your first post, but not for this one FWIW.
Look- your opinion (No Joke it's Hoke) is certainly valid and relevant and no doubt important to you. That being said, both your original comment, and your explanation of it, are inappropriate, per the number one rule of MGoBlog. The OP "started it," and shouldn't have done so. But it doesn't make your comments justified in the sense of what is acceptable/allowable here.
Please note that I am not at all saying I find anything offensive about the message you are delivering in the two comments, just the inherent nature of such comments. I also realize that they were not/are not partisan. However, it's a short jump to "well if party X did this, we'd be blah blah," etc.
From the FAQ:
UNWELCOME, KTHX
- Politics
Ya, I'm stationed at Sheppard and the only people not reporting are contract employees. This means the commissary (Spelling ?) and bx should be closed, so if you're at a remote post stock up on groceries and the like. I do expect non-essential personnel to have some extra time off during all this because many of us rely on contract maintenance and the like.
I just mailed out 3 boxes of food to my cousin in Kabul lol hope the mail is still running there!