What if the government never reopens?

[duckworth969]

Our militaries last paycheck was paid by a private anonymous donor.

Federal bureaucracies will further starved until they collapse and can only be ”rescued” by the private sector.

No more congressional hearings.

Invasion of South American countries for their rare earth minerals and oil is here.

Court orders are continuing to be ignored and there’s no mechanism for enforcement.

ICE is not only armed with weapons, but now many of them are armed with cameras. I’ve seen them walk straight up to a vehicle, snap a picture of let’s say, a local city council member then leave as if that was their assigned task.

The East Wing is bring demolished to make way for a grand ballroom, according to Thomas Hartmann at least, patterned after one in St. Petersburg.

What a hot constitutional mess it all is.

[everyonematters]

1. This is something that needs to be contemplated. Are we sure we know what we are doing?

[haele]

14. The Pentagon , the CIA, and probably a few other agencies have planned for this.

My thinking is that for the rest of us, it's going to depend on the individual states and whether or not they can create regional compacts.

Red states and rural areas will probably run into failing compounds and mov-run outposts.

Those billionaires are going to find that it's really f'ing expensive to set up and sustain the infrastructure and a governing system to support a comfortable sense of participating in a world wide civilization from scratch.
If they all want to live in a Mad Max collection of small plantation style communities that feed on each other with the occasional Barter Town to provide the infrastructure, they can go for it, but whatever they think they're going to accomplish without a surrounding infrastructure just isn't going succeed. Their Robots and AI just can't compete with human beings, especially hungry masses of angry human beings that may currently be pacified, but aren't used to being obedient serfs.
We will face a collapse, just as Russia has. It just depends on whether or not the reductionist ideologues get smart sooner than later.

[LuckyCharms]

2. I've been having fleeting thoughts that it WON'T reopen.

Sounds crazy, but everything is upside down and it seems like nothing is impossible now.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. It would be a back-handed way of dissolving the two of the three branches of government.

[Turbineguy]

4. That's the whole idea.

Republicans in charge of no government.

[Emile]

5. Once our country is destroyed, maybe Canada will

take over.

[Walleye]

6. This "donor" who paid our military. Who is it? What are they expecting return?

[Emile]

8. SpaceX CEO wanting more government money?

[orangecrush]

15. Putin

[Walleye]

16. I agree he's behind all these dirty things That Trump is doing

Putin has been whispering in Trump’s ear for 30-40 years now. All Trump needs is somebody richer and more powerful than him to flatter him and he’s putty in their hands

[iluvtennis]

18. The Saudis? n/t

[Dave says]

22. The donor ponied up 130 million, about $99 for every active duty service person

There are about 1.31 million active duty serving right now. Nice gesture from the donor but essentially meaningless.

[AverageOldGuy]

7. We are renewing our passports

Lost our passports in 2005 in Hurricane Katrina.

Have an appointment next week to turn over our passport applications to USPS who checks out the application, collects the fee, then sends to State Dept. Daughter did this couple of years ago, took 4 weeks to get her new passport.

We are in our 80's, wife is insulin-dependent diabetic, must use a walker and then can only move around short distances.

We have checked and because of my grandparents, we can become basically permanent alien residents of Switzerland and we can afford it -- teaching pension, military pension, two social security. Not sure about medical care. Great Britain is also a possibility.

We grieve for our adult children in their late 50's and our two teen-age grandsons.

I served 28 years in the Army including in the bush in Vietnam for this shit???

[Diraven]

9. Trump would be king

He would rule by executive order and decree, with no oversight (even though there really wasn't any before since Republicans let him do anything).

[samnsara]

10. if the gop had a spine, a bunch would turn indy during the shut down and hand

Hakeem the gavel....and the purse strings and the tariff power.


and we the people will demand that damned ballroom be torn down beginning day 1

[lastlib]

11. Per the Declaration of Independence, WE the People then have the right....

"...to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Maybe we'd better start thinking along these lines. It might be the way to end The Felon's reign of error.

[Botany]

12. Hartman got the comparison of the ballroom to The Winter Palace from DU

N/t

[usonian]

20. Thom Hartmann is a DU member.

So is Egberto Willies.

Good people.

[Abstractartist]

13. Or

Since the armed forces are volunteer, many would quit, being they are not getting paid, it before that, a large vigilante group would storm the congress to take out the congress people …. Oh wait, that happened…..

[tinrobot]

17. The federal government collapses, his power evaporates, and the states take over.

Very happy to be in California if that happens.

Will be devastating for the South and red states, who need the federal assistance.

[Luvcatz14]

19. Why pay taxes then?

We’re not getting much in the way of benefits anyway, but if there’s no functioning government, none of us should have to contribute.

[Rebl2]

21. Exactly!

I believe republicans are trying to make our government collapse purposely. Just following putin’s orders.