What No Government Shutdown - How Come? - Updated 10/8/26

 

Another government (Partial) shutdown. According to the Department of Homeland Security's September 2025 funding lapse plan, most employees will be classified as exempt, requiring them to work through the shutdown. Although they will not receive pay during the shutdown, they are guaranteed back pay once the shutdown concludes. 

Here's who's affected: 

• Department of Defense: Nonessential civilian staff furloughed (military personnel continue to be paid under special rules).
• Department of State: Many consular and administrative staff may be furloughed.
• Department of Transportation: Parts that rely on annual appropriations may be affected.
• Department of Health and Human Services: Some programs slowed or suspended.

I wrote about this insanity last year: https://qualityg.blogspot.com/2025/10/another-government-shutdown.html

Again, I state three simple solutions:

Government shutdowns have become a recurring feature of US politics, the product of partisan stand-offs over spending that force federal agencies to halt a wide range of services.

So, what is the solution to avoid these high school antics and sissified back and forth threats. First of all, no one can leave congress for their home state the month before a balanced budget is do for approval. Second, negotiations must be on going (No leaving the capital) until a resolution can be found before the shutdown date. 

Thirdly, and most importantly ONLY congress people should NOT be paid (With a daily $500 fine) during a shutdown. All other workers should continue to be paid. And NO retroactive pay after resolution for a balanced budget. 

Congress needs to get over themselves. Most people could care less and don't even know why you are having a shutdown. When I am at the gym and one of these so-called politicians come on the television everyone starts to laugh regardless of party. You people live in your own minds and social media bubbles. 

Updated 3/30/2026

Yep, The House and the Senate are gone again (just like last year during the shutdown) on a two-week recess starting Friday, March 27, for Passover and Easter, and left Washington, meaning it could take some time for the chambers to reconcile the differences in their legislation.

There are some congress people who are withholding their pay as to support the workers who are not. One Senator from Ohio (Moreno) introduced a Bill (To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose a daily tax on members of Congress during a lapse in appropriations) to impose a tax on congress members during a shutdown. A worthy effort but will not get passed or even brought for a vote.

You people are a sad representation when you continue to put party politics over working people and military people putting their lives on the line for us in the Middle East.

You are nothing but Lemmings.

Updated 4//21/26

Yep, the government is still in a partial shutdown but not many seem to care. Perhaps congress should only work part-time since they don't do much except go on social media and cable news talk shows and show their stupidity.

https://www.shutdowntracker.com/

Updated 4//30/26

The Government Shutdown is now over. Not much fanfare in the media news because it no longer serves a political purpose. So, when will the next shutdown take place? Probably the end of September 2026. This should be very interesting to see which party will hold the other responsible before the mid-term elections. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dhs-shutdown-house-vote

Updated 5//14/26 - Finally a Senator makes a stand - Government Shutdown Ends

Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican who proposed the resolution, In a May 14 vote, the Senate resoundingly approved a measure to temporarily pause members' own salaries when funding for one or more agencies lapses because of congressional inaction. The next hurdle will be the House of Representatives. I would still like to see a daily fine ($500) that must be paid and NO retroactive pay, sorry you lose.

Updated 10/8/ 26

What No Government Shutdown - How Come?  - That's easy, because of the Mid-Term elections. Neither political side wants to take the chance of losing votes because people are laid off and government agencies are shut down. How pathertic you politicians are to use people as pawns to make the other side look bad or to push/stall your agendas at the expense of hard-working people.

I say again, you are pathetic. Wait until next year, I'll be updating this post with the next round of shutdowns.

School Report Cards - Has anything changed?

I originally wrote the Post below 21 years ago in 2005. In the past few months, the University of Michigan has been in the news about removing letter grades for their freshman class in the college of literature. Why? because of mental stress. https://www.npr.org/2026/08/12/nx-s1-5928197/university-michigan-freshmen-letter-grades-pilot-fall-2027

They have now rescinded this position. https://www.wxyz.com/news/university-of-michigan-drops-plan-to-replace-letter-grades-with-pass-fail-for-some-first-year-students

Wow - You don't try and fix a process after the product (student) has already been built. If you want to change the grading system, then it has to be standardized up front (Elementary School) before becoming a rule. Mental Stress? Read my example below from my time spent at a catholic school when report cards were passed out. Hey, I didn't even mention what happened when you brought a bad report card home! 

2005 - School Report Cards - Who is Failing Whom?

It’s that time of the year again when education grading periods end and report cards are sent home to parents. Some siblings in the same school but different grade levels are getting praised while others are getting grounded. How do you know that the “A” child is doing better than the “C” child? Because the teacher told you so, did you look at all the papers brought home? Did you compare grading scales? Do you care?

I can remember back in grade school (Catholic) when the pastor would pass out cards. You could tell he was coming because he smoked cigars and the halls would fill with smoke. Everyone would sit still and pray that they did not get lower than a “C” in any subject. Father would sit in the front of the room in a big chair and call us up one by one. One time the kid in front of me got a “D’ in geography. Father threw his card on the floor and told him to pick it up, when the kid bent over Father whacked him with his cane across the buttocks. Another time he kicked a kid in the butt as he bent over. He did not hit girls, just humiliated them until they cried. This happened twice a year all through grade school. 


Now, do you still believe in grades? Most of you know that I do not and I have written about it several times. How about “Report Cards?” Should they be standard across a school district? How about the country, after all when a child moves from one district to another is it their fault if the grading system is different? What about the math teacher in my son’s high school who fails over 60% of her class on a regular basis while her counterpart gives “A’s and B’s.”
Some say so what, but when it comes to GPA and getting into a college why should a child be penalized because one teacher is too strict and one is too easy.

I have seen systems where 94 – 100 is an A, versus the old standard of 90 – 100 is an A. I have also seen report cards where below 70% is failing. WHO IS FAILING WHOM???

I have written before about calculating the Grade Point Average. If we have to have grades at least develop a fair system for how much effort a student puts in to learning as opposed to an "AVERAGE" which mathematically when used by itself (Should use measure of Central Tendency - Mean, Mode, Median and Range) is worthless. I say this because GPA by itself is a poor means of measuring one’s academic knowledge. In fact, the way a student's GPA is calculated depends on the school he/she attends. Averaging the GPA in my opinion is worthless. Why don't schools assign points per Grade ( A = 4, B =3, C = 2, and D=1). If you want a 5 for Honors or AP classes that is fine. Simply total up the final score 6 As, + 1 B = 27). The more points you have the better. This would also encourage more students to take more classes instead of the minimum in order to graduate. Is a student who takes 5 classes and gets all As (GPA = 4.0) doing more than the student who took 7 classes in the example above who would have a GPA of 3.8 under the current way of calculating GPA (27/7).

In some teachers opinion an excellent cannot be achieved because no one is perfect, where as others give them out like candy. Some parents will move to an easier district if their child is in sports, while others will even go across the country searching for the right match.

While I still don’t believe in grades (I say – you pass upon completed demonstration of applying your knowledge, if not, you are given additional learning until you do so, grades and grade levels are not important just learning) I know I am not going to see paradigm shift in education until we start seeing education as a basic fundamental right of all citizens. We must reduce the cost of education; we must respect our teachers and pay them a fair wage. We must keep politics and the governmental officials out of the decision-making. We must control the destiny of education. 

So maybe the next best thing is to consider standardized report cards, at least it will start to create a more level playing field. The time has come to consider this change. This must start at the Elementary School Level.