Observations from Down Under on the Shutdown Blunder

G'day Mates!

I thought I should shut up about the Shutdown.  For many years, people have said, “You never shut up.” 

I plead guilty.  I used to say God gave us two eyes, two ears and one mouth and we should use them in approximately that proportion.  I said it - just didn't apply it. So why start now? As long as the Radical Wrong R’s don’t shut down the Internet, I think I’ll carry on until somebody shuts down the Shutdown.

Mean Eileen, Editing Queen suggested a more balanced attack. “Yes, Fox is a departure from CNN and MSNBC...and reality, but what is the press saying elsewhere? What would Julian Assange and Rupert Murdoch say?

So I zeroed in on The Sydney Morning Herald and found this wonderful illustration by Simon Letch. Funny thing, right above it was a banner ad for prostate cancer research…Groundbreaking Protocol in Atlanta. Survival Data on Over 14,000 Men! 

Of course I assumed that illustration had something to do with Prostate Cancer in America. But the copy didn’t confirm my assumption;

Contrary to obvious appearances, the Republicans in Congress who this week forced the US government into a coma are not insane. That doesn't mean this wasn't an insane result. It was, on almost every level. That includes the level of pure politics, with polling showing predictably that Americans see no need for this mess, and even Republicans acknowledging the electorate will blame them, not President Barack Obama.

They know this because that's what happened the last time they tried this in 1995, handing a struggling Bill Clinton a political gift he took to a landslide victory in 1996. The Republicans are not merely holding a gun to the nation's head, they're holding one to their own.

I won't rehash the entire article ... you can view it yourself at www.smh.com/au if you are interested. 

Suffice it to say the mess in DC has intelligent folk even on other continents wondering WTF, mates?