This is the start of forcing congress to do something. That's a lot of voters effected and dissatisfied. Flights being halted is next up if they dilly dally, which will bring yet more voters highly dissatisfied.

Trump will pretty much have to steal the election to keep it in the Repub majority at the rate it is going. Without it, it's pretty much a slam dunk against them and they continue to irate more and more voters they need to stay in power.

Did someone plant a seed of a spine in congress?

"All of this is entirely preventable if the Senate chooses..."

This is political theater with people's lives. The Senate has always had an out, one they have used before. This time they hope to drag it out trying to make the Dems pay for the audacity of refusing to go along with status quo and get the public's ire against them. They have always had the nuclear option available to them at anytime they so chose to use it. So far they've chosen to leave things right where they are.

It tells you right away where the problem is all over again. That is to say, the Repubs are right where they want to be and won't be changing things until it's so bad they have to do something. It is highly unlikely they'll go along with extending ACA credits unless forced to by public opinion against them.

With control of all three sections of the government there is only one party at fault here, the Repubs.

"Trump is barely in the files ... "

Actually this was a sticking point in Pam Bondi appearing before a congress investigation. She was asked if the FBI (which had to return to get the contents of the safe they missed) had found the photos of Trump with two young women bare to the waist was found and if she'd personally viewed them. The first time she was asked, she attacked the questioner, the second time she was asked she refused to answer so she wouldn't perjure herself.

So Trump is definitely in more than just barely.

According to one article I read, it was artillery fired over I-5. As long as you can hear them going over, you're great. It's the ones you don't hear and short rounds do occur. Got a bunch once, that were undersized and did not meet military standards. We found out they didn't meet those standards when they were fired. In a fire for effect, maybe 20 rounds from the battery were lost between 200 feet out and the impact area.

Those airports airing this nonsense, are subject to the Hatch Act. Penalties can include, removable from job for employees involved, if federal employee reduction in pay grade, barred from federal service for 5 years, suspension, reprimand, and up to $1000. All because the Republicans want to try and hang their albatross around the Democrats necks.

The government shutdown is wholly owned by the Republicans having majority in all three branches of government. The Republicans can end the shutdown anytime they so desire, the nuclear option is there to be used. This shut down they want.

If this was anything other than political gamemanship, the senate has long had the ability to end the government shutdown at any time they desired. All that needs happen is for the Republicans to use the nuclear option to end it. It would remove the 60 vote requirement down to 50 votes.

This tells you it is nothing more than another way to extend the cruelty that has marked this administration while it seeks to establish a reason to give Trump his excuse to use the insurrection act at best or martial law at worst.

When viewed with this in mind, it reveals all the lying the Republicans are doing to keep things right where they are.

Johnson will not call the house back until they can manage some way to get around having to face the Epstein vote.

I can't believe we'll have another election until Trump is sure the fix is in. He'll do whatever to create the need for the Insurrection Act, including lying to justify it. Once it is activated, you can kiss elections goodbye. He'll move heaven and earth to keep the Epstein files buried. According to some reports, he's in photos with two naked to the waist young girls, which were in Epstein's safe. The FBI had to go back and retrieve them.

Pam Bondi refused to answer if the FBI had found those photos or if she had seen them. In otherwords, she didn't perjure herself. She just refused to answer the question and tried attacking the questioners to avoid the question the first time she was asked, the second time she just looked at them without response. While not admission, it's a strong hint as to why Trump doesn't want the Epstein files to surface.

You mean he didn't chose an enema of bleach or a UV light up the butt?

You mean the media is just now figuring this out?

All you need do is look for where Trump has had his fingers in deals to see, it is to line his family and his own pockets. It's consistent.

why is Pres Trump so focused upon invoking the Insurrection Act without any real reason to do so?

That's an easy one to answer. If he can claim Insurrection, he can delay or eliminate the upcoming vote. Because if he doesn't delay it the writing is on the wall, that he will lose the majority in the two branches he needs to back him up on his insane actions.

Democrats can end the shut-down at any time they want.

So can the Republicans. As it is the Republicans can't be trusted. They've had two years to straighten it out but instead have ignored Democrats input totally. Now they can't ignore it.

The Republicans have lied, stolen funds that were already allocated for projects by denying the spending, and put tons of misdirections out, like the idea that the Democrats want to include immigrants in the social security and medicare. That's a bald faced lie as they can not get that without being a citizen across the nation with the exception of California who does not use national funds but rather state funds.

By the polls the Republicans are on the losing end of this by voter opinions. The only way Trump will be able to keep a majority in all three branches is by activating the troops to guard the polls, allowing only his people to count the votes.

Of course the Republicans are all for shutting off funding. That's the point of this administration. Cruelty is their game. However they can create more problems for the middle and lower class, the better they like it.

Trump is trying to create the need to use the Insurrection Act. He needs this done before November 4 when the elections happen. He knows he'll lose the majority of Congress if he doesn't. Most likely his idea will be for his people to count the ballots, with a thumb on the scale, of course.

Both the history of voting which usually goes against the party in power as well as the majority of the polls indicate he won't have the majority after the election, meaning that he'll have far more trouble doing whatever he wants to do unchecked.

Hence the reason he is preparing the public with the announcement he's considering the Insurrection Act. Facts haven't mattered so much with Trump. He has no troubles with lying and it seems the party supporting him has no troubles with it either.

Likely this will be the reason that puts enough pressure on politicians to discover something called compromise. It used to be on display a lot in the halls of congress but in today's world, it's a rare critter to find.

Corporations will dislike the ability to move their people across the nation to do the business they need done. Through the back doors of communications the congress critters will receive notices that their campaign contributions will be in danger if they don't get their act together and restore the government's budget. It was the spur that provided the necessity to cure this problem last time the government was shut down.

Trump has been well known for lying and misdirection. His first term raised employment by all mass media needing fact checkers that had to be hired. Between lies and misleading claims, his first term was peppered by 30,573 by some accounts. He's not changed and he isn't tracking any better this term.

Project 2025 tracker website has been keeping track of what he's accomplished during this term. You can go see for yourself, it's not been a one day effort to set up this website. The goals are pretty much right down the line as to what has been done and what's left to be done, and how much towards fulfillment each has progressed.

If you are just waking up to this then you owe it to yourself to go look. Trump has been following it all along.

As usual, those that buy his talk and not his actions, continue to be fooled.

Trump has them pretty much all the main stream media cowed. Even if they win a $15 billon dollar law suit, it puts their finances in jeopardy just to fight off the government prosecutors/lawyers.

Have you not noticed how MSM dances around the Trump issues? Their wording is very careful. Then there is the Colbert and Kendal affairs. Both owners trying to obtain merger approval, knowing they have to kiss the butt of Trump for the ok.

These are reasons I no longer trust MSM. They've rolled over just like big law firms did. If they won't stand up for themselves, how can I believe them?

The answer is, I don't.