What in the blue stars is going on? Now I know all you well-rounded readers out there know what a government shut down is, it's what happens when the government stops providing "non-essential" services. If it's not a necessity, Capitol Hill won't help distribute it to you. Cops, firemen, utility companies, the armed forces and the corrections system remain intact, but everything else ceases. This messes with a lot of people and a lot of jobs, and not the fun kind of messing with either. A wonderful thing to rise from the shambles of our economy. I'm being sarcastic, this is gonna be HORRIBLE for the economy.

Shutdowns usually occur when the legislative body can't decide on a budget for funding its government programs for the coming year. The executive body typically deepen this problem because their vetoes may be what's keeping the budget from falling into place in the first place.

This year the shutdown is looming at this point because of disagreements about how to fund Title X, an ominous name for Planned Parenthood. This is funny since most can agree this has smattterings of the whole Roe v. Wade issue right beneath the surface. Planned Parenthood gives abortion assistance. The government recently pushed and pulled, and always have push and pulled, and will always push and pull over the issue of abortion.

As far as I've kept up with the story, they may be at the beginnings of a compromise--something along the lines of distributing the funding to state governers to let them decide how to dole out the funds to Title X, but the dems aren't having that--at this point. President Obama is expected to check in by phone today. I'll see if he has, and what else is going on...