Government Shutdown - Sep 2025 Thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many people are on the ACA? 8 percent. A small minority. How many people are Trans? A small minority. How many people are immigrants? A small minority. Need college loan relief? A small minority.

Trump has tricked the Democrats into take hardline positions on issues of concern to very few people.

24 million people use the enhanced ACA subsidies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Democrats completely played into Trump's hands. He WANTS TO SIDELINE CONGRESS. He is following the EXACT same playbook as Hitler did. It is not hard to see. I don't understand why the Democrats are so flipping dumb.

The problem here is that it's a lose-lose for Democrats AND CONGRESS (including the Republicans who are too scared or selfish to admit it). Accepting the CR and impoundment and accepting that these will henceforth be passed without negotiation is ALSO sidelining Congress, but with their votes to go along with it.

I don't think Dems stood up early or hard enough, but just giving up the tiny bit of power they have left isn't going to stop this in any world either.

The Republicans are going to burn it all down - and the Dems should let them. The sooner it all collapses, the sooner the madness will go away. If health care goes through the roof, people will stop getting health insurance, and the insurance companies will lose power. It's actually cheaper to self pay than to be on an ACA plan now anyways. My husband was in the hospital two years straight - one, before he was a citizen and got health insurance, and this year. Both for the same exact problem, same 7 days. It cost literally the same amount but we didn't have to pay the $1700 a month in health insurance.

The economy is hijacked by monopolies and billionaires. The only way to move forward is to let it all collapse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many people are on the ACA? 8 percent. A small minority. How many people are Trans? A small minority. How many people are immigrants? A small minority. Need college loan relief? A small minority.

Trump has tricked the Democrats into take hardline positions on issues of concern to very few people.

24 million people use the enhanced ACA subsidies

Ok. 7 percent.

[Anonymous]

Be the generals. Don’t react to the insanity. Keep your own counsel, talk quietly and seriously, and focus on doing the right thing for those entrusted to your care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many people are on the ACA? 8 percent. A small minority. How many people are Trans? A small minority. How many people are immigrants? A small minority. Need college loan relief? A small minority.

Trump has tricked the Democrats into take hardline positions on issues of concern to very few people.

About a quarter of the US are immigrants or children of immigrants. It's certainly a much bigger population than the millionaires and LGBT-haters that the Republicans target.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I need to get my passport renewed. Does the shutdown halt or delay passport processing?

I’m not sure about the processing but I know their offices are open because it’s fee-funded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many people are on the ACA? 8 percent. A small minority. How many people are Trans? A small minority. How many people are immigrants? A small minority. Need college loan relief? A small minority.

Trump has tricked the Democrats into take hardline positions on issues of concern to very few people. [/quote

I feel sorry for illegal trans people with college loans looking for free doctor visits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many people are on the ACA? 8 percent. A small minority. How many people are Trans? A small minority. How many people are immigrants? A small minority. Need college loan relief? A small minority.

Trump has tricked the Democrats into take hardline positions on issues of concern to very few people.

24 million people use the enhanced ACA subsidies

Ok. 7 percent.

7 percent until it's your family that can't afford healthcare. These kinds of remarks reflect what is deeply wrong with America. It's also part of a wider issue. There's another 27 million that don't are uninsured. And 1/5 Americans on Medicaid, which is facing steep cuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many people are on the ACA? 8 percent. A small minority. How many people are Trans? A small minority. How many people are immigrants? A small minority. Need college loan relief? A small minority.

Trump has tricked the Democrats into take hardline positions on issues of concern to very few people.

24 million people use the enhanced ACA subsidies

Ok. 7 percent.

7 percent until it's your family that can't afford healthcare. These kinds of remarks reflect what is deeply wrong with America. It's also part of a wider issue. There's another 27 million that don't are uninsured. And 1/5 Americans on Medicaid, which is facing steep cuts.

You, like the Democrats, are missing the point. Republicans have staked out the center, where most people are. The number of people on the ACA is not enough to elect anyone.

I agree it's important but focusing on a niche issue has the majority of America saying "Meh." There are massive, huge issues facing America - the complete control over the media by 6 companies. The control over the infrastructure - data centers - by a few niche companies. The fact that tech has gone mental for AI - which is virtually useless or even harmful for the rest of us - and will likely crash the economy. The fact that 7 companies are basically holding up our economy. The fact that even with insurance, health care is going to bankrupt many people. Even with ACA insurance, it still costs $100 to go to the doctor for many people. The fact that minimum wage is the same as it was in the 1970s. The fact that college is super expensive for people and most can't afford it, even with loans.

But sure. Focus on college loan forgiveness (for the people who already have degrees) and the ACA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What have you guys been doing with the days off?

we have literally only had one full day off, dude. yesterday was still commuting back and forth for my half day of "orderly shutdown" ... for which my agency has refused to let us record hours so won't get paid for that. when i got home i spent a couple hours doomscrolling and eating my feelings.

today i had some physical therapy i had already scheduled (woo, i get two hours of leave "back") and met a friend for coffee.

not getting to the honey-do list unless this goes into next week.

You didn't get to record time for orderly shutdown? That sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many people are on the ACA? 8 percent. A small minority. How many people are Trans? A small minority. How many people are immigrants? A small minority. Need college loan relief? A small minority.

Trump has tricked the Democrats into take hardline positions on issues of concern to very few people.

24 million people use the enhanced ACA subsidies

Ok. 7 percent.

7 percent until it's your family that can't afford healthcare. These kinds of remarks reflect what is deeply wrong with America. It's also part of a wider issue. There's another 27 million that don't are uninsured. And 1/5 Americans on Medicaid, which is facing steep cuts.

You, like the Democrats, are missing the point. Republicans have staked out the center, where most people are. The number of people on the ACA is not enough to elect anyone.

I agree it's important but focusing on a niche issue has the majority of America saying "Meh." There are massive, huge issues facing America - the complete control over the media by 6 companies. The control over the infrastructure - data centers - by a few niche companies. The fact that tech has gone mental for AI - which is virtually useless or even harmful for the rest of us - and will likely crash the economy. The fact that 7 companies are basically holding up our economy. The fact that even with insurance, health care is going to bankrupt many people. Even with ACA insurance, it still costs $100 to go to the doctor for many people. The fact that minimum wage is the same as it was in the 1970s. The fact that college is super expensive for people and most can't afford it, even with loans.

But sure. Focus on college loan forgiveness (for the people who already have degrees) and the ACA.

They haven't staked out the center. Their policies are beneficial to an extremely small number of people at the very top. And they're particularly bad on the issues you raised as major problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need to get my passport renewed. Does the shutdown halt or delay passport processing?

I am sure.

Thanks. Do they still process the passport renewal?

My passport was renewed during that last shutdown, but I don’t know this time.

Consular services are operating normally this time around, so you should be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many people are on the ACA? 8 percent. A small minority. How many people are Trans? A small minority. How many people are immigrants? A small minority. Need college loan relief? A small minority.

Trump has tricked the Democrats into take hardline positions on issues of concern to very few people.

24 million people use the enhanced ACA subsidies

Ok. 7 percent.

7 percent until it's your family that can't afford healthcare. These kinds of remarks reflect what is deeply wrong with America. It's also part of a wider issue. There's another 27 million that don't are uninsured. And 1/5 Americans on Medicaid, which is facing steep cuts.

You, like the Democrats, are missing the point. Republicans have staked out the center, where most people are. The number of people on the ACA is not enough to elect anyone.

I agree it's important but focusing on a niche issue has the majority of America saying "Meh." There are massive, huge issues facing America - the complete control over the media by 6 companies. The control over the infrastructure - data centers - by a few niche companies. The fact that tech has gone mental for AI - which is virtually useless or even harmful for the rest of us - and will likely crash the economy. The fact that 7 companies are basically holding up our economy. The fact that even with insurance, health care is going to bankrupt many people. Even with ACA insurance, it still costs $100 to go to the doctor for many people. The fact that minimum wage is the same as it was in the 1970s. The fact that college is super expensive for people and most can't afford it, even with loans.

But sure. Focus on college loan forgiveness (for the people who already have degrees) and the ACA.

They haven't staked out the center. Their policies are beneficial to an extremely small number of people at the very top. And they're particularly bad on the issues you raised as major problems.

Oy, this is a big hill to climb. Ok, we know the Republicans are terrible at this stuff and are only working for the billionaires. This we agree on. However, their messaging is much different. You may not see their messaging as much because they probably aren't targeting you.

Intuitively, people know that the economy is a disaster for anyone not at the top right now. They know money is being hoovered up to the top and they are getting poorer and poorer. The Dems should be focused on this messaging (and do it in a way that actually reaches people because what they are doing now is hard to watch.) AND Dems need a plan to fix that. The ACA might be a band aid for a small group of people. But the rest of people feel they are going down with the ship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many people are on the ACA? 8 percent. A small minority. How many people are Trans? A small minority. How many people are immigrants? A small minority. Need college loan relief? A small minority.

Trump has tricked the Democrats into take hardline positions on issues of concern to very few people.

24 million people use the enhanced ACA subsidies

Ok. 7 percent.

7 percent until it's your family that can't afford healthcare. These kinds of remarks reflect what is deeply wrong with America. It's also part of a wider issue. There's another 27 million that don't are uninsured. And 1/5 Americans on Medicaid, which is facing steep cuts.

You, like the Democrats, are missing the point. Republicans have staked out the center, where most people are. The number of people on the ACA is not enough to elect anyone.

I agree it's important but focusing on a niche issue has the majority of America saying "Meh." There are massive, huge issues facing America - the complete control over the media by 6 companies. The control over the infrastructure - data centers - by a few niche companies. The fact that tech has gone mental for AI - which is virtually useless or even harmful for the rest of us - and will likely crash the economy. The fact that 7 companies are basically holding up our economy. The fact that even with insurance, health care is going to bankrupt many people. Even with ACA insurance, it still costs $100 to go to the doctor for many people. The fact that minimum wage is the same as it was in the 1970s. The fact that college is super expensive for people and most can't afford it, even with loans.

But sure. Focus on college loan forgiveness (for the people who already have degrees) and the ACA.

They haven't staked out the center. Their policies are beneficial to an extremely small number of people at the very top. And they're particularly bad on the issues you raised as major problems.

Oy, this is a big hill to climb. Ok, we know the Republicans are terrible at this stuff and are only working for the billionaires. This we agree on. However, their messaging is much different. You may not see their messaging as much because they probably aren't targeting you.

Intuitively, people know that the economy is a disaster for anyone not at the top right now. They know money is being hoovered up to the top and they are getting poorer and poorer. The Dems should be focused on this messaging (and do it in a way that actually reaches people because what they are doing now is hard to watch.) AND Dems need a plan to fix that. The ACA might be a band aid for a small group of people. But the rest of people feel they are going down with the ship.

I generally agree, except that the Republican messaging isn't going for the center. It is targeting people far right of center, but those people have very strong opinion on those issues.

The Democrats message policies with greater support, but many people don't have as strong of feelings on those issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many people are on the ACA? 8 percent. A small minority. How many people are Trans? A small minority. How many people are immigrants? A small minority. Need college loan relief? A small minority.

Trump has tricked the Democrats into take hardline positions on issues of concern to very few people.

24 million people use the enhanced ACA subsidies

Ok. 7 percent.

7 percent until it's your family that can't afford healthcare. These kinds of remarks reflect what is deeply wrong with America. It's also part of a wider issue. There's another 27 million that don't are uninsured. And 1/5 Americans on Medicaid, which is facing steep cuts.

You, like the Democrats, are missing the point. Republicans have staked out the center, where most people are. The number of people on the ACA is not enough to elect anyone.

I agree it's important but focusing on a niche issue has the majority of America saying "Meh." There are massive, huge issues facing America - the complete control over the media by 6 companies. The control over the infrastructure - data centers - by a few niche companies. The fact that tech has gone mental for AI - which is virtually useless or even harmful for the rest of us - and will likely crash the economy. The fact that 7 companies are basically holding up our economy. The fact that even with insurance, health care is going to bankrupt many people. Even with ACA insurance, it still costs $100 to go to the doctor for many people. The fact that minimum wage is the same as it was in the 1970s. The fact that college is super expensive for people and most can't afford it, even with loans.

But sure. Focus on college loan forgiveness (for the people who already have degrees) and the ACA.

They haven't staked out the center. Their policies are beneficial to an extremely small number of people at the very top. And they're particularly bad on the issues you raised as major problems.

Oy, this is a big hill to climb. Ok, we know the Republicans are terrible at this stuff and are only working for the billionaires. This we agree on. However, their messaging is much different. You may not see their messaging as much because they probably aren't targeting you.

Intuitively, people know that the economy is a disaster for anyone not at the top right now. They know money is being hoovered up to the top and they are getting poorer and poorer. The Dems should be focused on this messaging (and do it in a way that actually reaches people because what they are doing now is hard to watch.) AND Dems need a plan to fix that. The ACA might be a band aid for a small group of people. But the rest of people feel they are going down with the ship.

I generally agree, except that the Republican messaging isn't going for the center. It is targeting people far right of center, but those people have very strong opinion on those issues.

The Democrats message policies with greater support, but many people don't have as strong of feelings on those issues.

Disagree about targeting people far right of center but I think you are spot on with the strong feelings. Have you ever watched Alexander Nix's brilliant speech at Concordia? Alexander Nix worked at Cambridge Analytica - I worked for the parent organization, Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL). This is the one speech all Dems should watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Dd5aVXLCc

The main point of the speech is using Big Data to determine where people fall on the OCEAN personality scale - the most scientific personality measure. Then, they divide the population up - not into demographics but psychographics. Something like 2200 different categories. Democrats say, "We are winning suburban moms but losing young men." Alexander Nix says, do you think the way other suburban moms think? Are you afraid of the same things? No. Alexander Nix divides people into what they are afraid of, what their habits are, what they care about. What makes them emotional.

Then, his messaging is based on this. So for example, you own a private beach. You want to keep the riffraff off of your beach. You decide to post a sign. The democrats post "Private Beach. Keep off!" Maga posts "SHARK SIGHTED!" Who is more likely to keep people from swimming at the beach?