Hooray..........the Shutdown is Over

Park rangers, Washington DC-area taxi drivers and museum guards can rejoice, the federal government shutdown is over.

WRAL-TV out of Raleigh, NC, listed all the House members who voted for and against the House bill that ended the shutdown. Every Democrat in the House supported the measure, but a fair number of Republicans decided enough is enough as well.

In the Tarheel State, the three Republican congressional members who voted to cease the shutdown were Congs. Howard Coble, Robert Pettinger and Patrick McHenry.

The Republicans who towed the arch conservative party line were: Renee Ellmers, Virginia Foxx, Walter Jones, Richard Hudson, Mark Meadows and George Holding.

The Democratic members from North Carolina are: David Price, Mike McIntyre, Mel Watt and G.K. Butterfield.

Both the Great Smoky National Park and the Wright Brothers National Memorial will now be in full operation once again.

http://www.ncdp.org

http://www.ncgop.org

http://www.thehill.com

For a look at how Virginia Congressional members go to our sister blog: http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

DC Week (8 of 8): Afternoon Tweets__The Shutdown May End By Sunrise????

From what we gather, and we don't have PBS talk show hosts Gwen Ifill and Charlie Rose to verify this, the federal government shutdown may end by late tonight. We put a strong emphasis on the word MAY.

So, we decided to post tweets about this crucial issue du jour instead of posting an entry about the new play "Love in Afghanistan" being produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. or the fact that Ford's Theatre can now perform its play "The Laramie Project" at the Ford's Theatre instead of an alternate venue.

But, we are hoping to find some time for those entries by the weekend, in the mean time, here are the links:

http://www.arenastage.org/

http://www.fordstheatre.org/



We also learned today that the term 'tea bag' is a dirty slang word, we won't say what it means, but you can find out what it means in the Urban Dictionary:.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Here are the tweets which mention New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (pictured top) and right-wing talk show host Rush Limbaugh (pictured bottom):

1. David Wolman (with "Wired): I guess bipartisan agreement is now what House Republicans say they've kneeled before Zod." (this is an apparent reference to the antagonist in "Superman II.")

2. The Fix: RT Omar Villa France_ "I'm curious to know who gets the Worst Week in Washington crown this week. And it's only Wednesday."

3. The Onion: "Blood-soaked Mayor Michael Bloomberg Announces Homelessness No Longer a Problem in New York City." ("The Onion" is a faux news publication)

4. Slate: "Ted Cruz is now basically the Sarah Palin of the Senate."

5. Mark Harris ("Entertainment Weekly"): "I assume the next step for the Tea Party is to start referring to the shutdown on 'The Noble Cause' and staging cosplay repleacements." (Cosplay is a type of Halloween costume).

6. Cong. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.): "Should have happened weeks ago. Sen. Reid announces deal to debt limit; reopen government."

7. Cong. Steve Pearce (R-Pa.): "Former White House official calls Obamacare roll-out 'excruciatingly embarrassing.'"

8. Politico: "Rush Limbaugh says GOP created 'one of the greatest political disasters I've seen in my life."

http://www.theonion.com

http://www.politico.com

DC Week (6 of 8): Cong. Reps from Blue States

Today, Cong. Chris Van Hollen (pictured top) made headlines when he was informed by Cong. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who was presiding in the speaker's chair, that Democrats in the House could not introduce legislation to end the government shutdown. The video of the spat went viral, and the incident was subject of stories in both "The Salt Lake Tribune" and "The Baltimore Sun."

Since the government shutdown has just concluded the 15th day of deadlock, we thought we'd post two boxers as the middle image.

The first image is of Cong. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) who should be mistaken for ventriloquist comedian Jeff Dunham. While the House has a reputation for being a group of grumpy old men, Denham is only 46 years and there are two House members on this list who are younger than him.

Denham is also one of only 17 House members (from both parties) who lives in a competitive district, according to "The San Francisco Chronicle."

Here are 10 House members from Blue states:


1. Chris Von Hollen (D-Md.), fifth dist., 54, budget committee

2. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), 48, 23rd  district, minority whip; financial services

3. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), 35, 15th dist., energy and commerce; foreign affairs

4. Pete Welch (D-Vt.), 66, energy and commerce

5. Jim Langevin (D-R.I), 49, 2nd dist., Armed services

6. Pete King (R-NY), 69, 2nd dist., Financial services; foreign affairs

7. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) 46, 9th dist., agriculture; transportation and infrastructure

8. Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.), 56, 5th dist., science, space and technology; transportation and infrastructure

9.Niki Tsongas, (D-Mass.), 67, 3rd dist., Armed Services; Natural Resources

10. Michael Grimm (R-NY), 43, 11th   dist., Financial Services


http://www.baltimoresun.com/

http://www.sltrib.com/

http://denham.house.gov/

http://www.sfgate.com/news/

http://vanhollen.house.gov/

http://www.rollcall.com

DC Week (5 of 8): Ten Swing State Congress Reps

Cong. G.K Butterfield (D-NC; pictured top) is one of only four Democrats representing North Carolina in the House as fellow Democrat Brad Miller got gerrymandered out of office.

Cong. Morgan Griffith (R-Va) and Cong. Mike Coffman (R-Col.; pictured bottom) are among the relatively new members of the House. Both have made provocative statements about the government shutdown which appear to be tailored to the Tea Party. Griffith was cited today by "Mother Jones," a liberal publication, for stating that it might be better for America in the long run if America went into default.

The oldest person on this list is Cong. John Dingell (D-Mich.) who at age 87 is the oldest member of the House. The youngest member of this list is Cong. Sam Graves (R-Missouri).

Here is the list:

1. Cong. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) 1st District. Age 66

2. Cong. Morgan Griffith (R-Va). 9th District. Age 55

3. Cong. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.). 6th District. Age 58

4. Cong. John Dingell (D-Mich.) 12th district. Age 87

5. Cong. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) 3rd Dist. Age 63

6. Cong. Sam Graves (R-Missouri). 6th District. Age 49

7. Cong. Ann Kuser (D-NH). 2nd dist. Age 57

8. Cong. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) 5th Dist. Age 50. (Ellison is the first and only Muslim in the House).

9. Cong. Steve Pearce (R-N.Mex.) 2nd dist. Age 66

10. Cong. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) 1st dist. Age 58.


http://thehill.com/

http://www.motherjones.com/

http://www.rollcall.com

http://www.c-span.org

DC Week (2 of 8): Tweets About the Nation's Capital and the Government Shutdown

With images of 1) Cong. Jim Matheson (D-Utah); 2) Mabry Mill, near Roanoke, Va., which has been closed due to the federal government shutdown; and 3) Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), we begin our first of two entries in this eight-entry series geared towards Washington, D.C.

"The Roanoke Times" reported that Mabry Mill, which is located on the Blue Ridge Parkway, could be reopen. Today, President Barack Obama said that states could re-open national parks with state funds. As a result, The Statue of Liberty, The Grand Canyon and Mount Rushmore are likely to re-open.

Cong. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) is considered to be the most conservative Democrat in the House, while Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is considered to be the most progressive Republican in the Senate. Both are reportedly working diligently to find the proverbial common ground to restart the federal government, which is now in Day 10 of a shutdown.

Here are the tweets:

1) Cong. Jim Matheson: "Glad Utah National Parks are open. Too bad we can't vote on a clean CR (Continuing Resolution) to operate rest of the government."

2) National Review (a conservative magazine): "Barack Obama can close our parks, but he's never block American enterprise."

3) The Hill: "Chris Christie (New Jersey's Republican governor): If I was in the Senate right now, I'd kill myself."

4) Embassy of Greece: "The Embassy and Consulate will be closed on Monday. Happy #ColumbusDay weekend."

5) Politico: "New York is donating $369,300 to have park service employees reopen the Statue of Liberty."

6) Bruce Bartlett (a Republican political aide): "David Frum: Will the Republican Moderates Please Stand Up."

http://matheson.house.gov/

http://www.roanoke.com/

http://thehill.com/

http://www.politico.com/

http://www.collins.senate.gov/public/

http://www.nationalreview.com/

DC Week (1 of 8): A Quote from George Washington

We start DC Week with a simple entry featuring a quote from America's first president George Washington. Of course, thanks to the likes of Cong. Eric Cantor (R-Va., forgive the editorial commentary), the Washington Memorial is closed as are all national parks in Washington, DC, and around the nation.

One fiasco that the shut down caused was the scheduled cross-country journey of a Tyrannosaurs Rex skeleton belonging to a 67 million-year-old dinosaur, whose name is Wankel T-Rex, from Montana to the nation's capital where it was to be displayed at the Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History.

Oh well................

As for Washington, his face is on our one dollar bills (I suppose those of you in El Salvador, Moldova and  Zimbabwe already knew that) and if one is to find a one-dollar bill at the Beach Bum Café in Honolulu, Hawaii, you can see where it originated_ perhaps it originated at a gas station in Passaic, NJ.

Here is our quote from the first prez:

"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism."

Oh, and we should add that there is a high school in Danville, Va., named for GW.

http://www.gwmemorial.org

http://www.mountvernon.org

http://www.wheresgeorge.com

http://www.beachbumcafe.com

http://www.danville-va.gov/

DC Week Teaser (2 of 2): No Pandas, No Problem

Yes, talking heads are bickering on CNN with Anderson Cooper acting as a pro-wrestling referee as we speak, and we imagine that over on Fox News Sean Hannity is blaming his jock itch on President Barack Obama (we don't go there that often, but we couldn't resist!).

On Thursday, we will start a week-long tribute to Washington, DC, the nation's capital, which many Tea Partiers who profess patriotism ironically seemingly hate with a great passion. For those of you in Uzbekistan, there is a federal government shutdown in the United States, which is affecting Washington, D.C., as well as national parks in such red states as Wyoming, Arizona and Utah.

The images pictured above are of: 1) Alex Ovechkin, the star player of the Washington Capitals (ironically, a Russian is the star player for the Caps!); 2) a panda..........currently the National Zoo which had been running a pandacam for a baby panda cub is closed due to the shut down; 3) Cong. Walter Jones (R-NC; he coined the term Freedom fries).

http://washington.org/

http://capitals.nhl.com/

http://jones.house.gov/ (Not an endorsement)

Teaser for DC Week (1 of 2): Meet the Dutch Ambassador

On Thursday, we will begin a one-week, eight entry series entitled "DC Week" (We chose not to name it "Washington Week" because we don't want Gwen Ifill, our favorite television political/government reporter, who host a PBS called "Washington Week" to sue us for $2.3 million).

We will feature all sorts of fun things, which we aren't quite ready to disclose yet, and we are also weary of the fact that Edward Snowden may have too much time on his hands, and in his spare, he may opt to surf the internet, where he could come across this blog.

The reason for this series is to support our nation's capital during a time of great economic turmoil for the city as the federal government, which oversees the Smithsonian Institute, is closed for business as is the city's historic Ford's Theatre.*

In case you are wondering about the images, they are of: 1) Cong. Gerry Connolly (D-Va., who represents the northern Virginia suburbs of DC); 2) The Lincoln Memorial (which is alas closed for business due to the shut down) ; and Ambassador Rudolf Bekink (pictured with President Barack Obama) who is the Dutch ambassador to the United States.

*- But, the current production of Ford's Theatre's play "The Laramie Project" may continue at another location in DC; we hope to have that info to you the blog-reader in Latvia by tomorrow.


http://connolly.house.gov/

http://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/

http://www.fordstheatre.org/

http://dc.the-netherlands.org/

http://www.washdiplomat.com/

http://washington.org/

Sports Desk_ Weekend Soocer Results from Obscure Countries Around the World

Today, we were debating if we wanted to post up a political entry making fun of Congressional Republicans, such as our pal Cong. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah, we actually don't know him), but then we also thought a UEFA Champions League update, but then we thought: "Well, everyone in Europe knows the scores and few people here in America care."

So, we decided to post scores from four relatively obscure countries, which don't make the ESPN FC highlights. Here, we will give partial scores from Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia. On our other blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time": http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com we shall provide partial scores from weekend play in Azerbaijan and Serbia.

As always, we like to salute soccer's bad boys, or players who got sent off with red cards, and this week's poster men are Macedonian international Vanco Trajanov who is also the captain for C. Burgas and Saudi Arabian international Mishel Al-Agmi who plays for Al Shoalah FC.

Here we go:

Bulgaria

Beroe 2 Litex Lovech 3

N.Burgas 0 Lok. Sofia 2

CSKA Sofia 3 C. Burgas 0

Lok. Sofia 1 Ludogorets 2

Tables:

1.Ludogorets

2. Litex Lovech

3. Botev Plovdiv

Saudi Arabia (very confusing, as all teams start with Al):

Al-Ittihad FC 2 Al-Taawan 1

Najron 1 Al-Ettifaq 0

Al-Nasr 2 Ah-Shoaloah 0

Al Nadha 1 Al Ahli 5

League Tables

1. Al-Hilal

2. Al-Nasr

3. Al Ahli FC

http://bulgariatravel.org/

http://www.air.bg/en/

http://74.81.82.58/~bulgaria/

http://www.saudiembassy.net/

Apocalypse Now 2: The Republicans on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Yes, for the very first time in the history of "The Daily Vampire," we are using four images as the U.S. House of Representatives in Congress, which is controlled by the likes of far right figures, such as Cong. Eric Cantor (R-Va., pictured top), is likely to close down the federal government.

This means that real-life Ranger Smiths (middle image, from "Yogi Bear") and the actors in the Ford's Theater production of "The Laramie Project," about a riveting anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming, may not go to work when the sun rises in the morning (this is just speculation, especially with regards to Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC, though it is a national park).

So, here are some tweets from the right and the left and maybe even one or two from the center:


1. LOLGOP: "If House Speaker John Boehner is really going to ofer a clean bill, all Freedwomworks is going to break loose."

2. WXII News (NBC affiliate in Winston-Salem, NC): "Panda cam at the National Zoo to go dark in shutdown."

 3. Southpaw: "The Speaker just did an impression of the President of the United States on the House floor."

4. DenverPost: "#CoFlood: Colorado National Guard flood work could be delayed by shutdown."

5. Ford's Theatre: "'The Laramie Project' is so real. It'll be a real treat to everyone who comes to see it,' Cokie Roberts."

6. WashingtonPost: "Employees who witnessed the Navy Yard shooting will be exempt from shutdown furloughs."

7. Philly City Paper: "Republicans succeed in taking away the Liberty Bell because of Obamacare or something."

8.National Review (a conservative publication): "Obamacare's operating system might be fixable; it's faulty economic logic sure isn't."

9. Markos Moulitsas (liberal editor of "The Daily Kos"): "Reminder: Obamacare more popular than shutdown, Congressional Republicans."

10. Huffington Post: "Government shutdown looms after moderate GOP rebellion fails."

http://www.nationalreview.com/

http://www.dailykos.com/

http://citypaper.net/

http://thehill.com/

http://www.c-span.org

http://www.fordstheatre.org/

http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

UPDATE: Oct. 1, 2013..........It now appears that Ford's Theatre will not be able to perform "The Laramie Project" at the Ford's Theatre because the theatre itself is a national park and the U.S. federal government has shut down. The matter is made more confusing by the fact that the theatre, as a stage group, is private. Ford's Theatre put a Facebook message up that it was looking for alternative stages for the production of the play, which was well-praised in the DC-media. Our sincerest thoughts go out to the actors, stage-hands and set designers as they work through this difficult situation.

Image to Fill Space: Le Car

Tomorrow will start the official kick-off for a short blog week: Among the items, we will discuss are ways to contact your Congressional representative on Capitol Hill to prevent a government shutdown, results from college volleyball games across the nation and perhaps some international soccer scores.

For now, we leave with image of Le Car, a French car that was popular around the world some 30-40 years ago.

Greetings to our blog readers in Gabon, Guyana and Sri Lanka: These were the three remote countries that came to mind!

UPDATE: It just came to our minds: That if we mention "Breaking Bad," Bob Odenkirk and 'pink teddy bear' that our hits may increase somewhat.

Tweets Considering All Things Considering Washington DC: (2 of 2) The Great Train Robbery

With a government shutdown looming as the House Congressional Republicans are acting like great train robbers of the Wild West (pictured, forgive the editorial commentary, but we stand by it), we thought we'd look like at some tweets from all perspectives in the nation's capital.

Let's get started (not all tweets pertain to the train robbery):

1) Suzy Khimm ( a liberal journalist who has written for "Mother Jones" and "The Washington Post"): "Republicans have abandoned any pretense that the debt limit fight is about debt."

2) David Corn (a liberal journalist who is an editor for "Mother Jones"): "Obama: 'See what the prices are, and make up your mind. '//Letting the market work. What a socialist!" (Corn is referring to the Obamacare squabble)

3.) Washington Diplomat: "NSA spied on Indian embassy and U.N mission. Edward Snowden file reveals."

4.) Jeff A: "#GOPDemands: All people who work for the government should get Obamacare." (Ok, here's our token Republican here).

5) The Hill: "Senator Barb Mikulshki (D-Md.): GOP can huff and puff, but they won't blow Obamacare away."

6) Rudolf Benkirk (the Dutch ambassador to America): "Only feathers and a bird are natural than a Dutch man or woman on a bicycle. #ThinkBikeChicago"

UPDATE: We decided to add the black-footed ferret which was tweeted about by the National Zoo. To see that tweet, go to our sister blog: http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

http://thehill.com/

http://www.motherjones.com

http://www.washdiplomat.com/

http://dc.the-netherlands.org/

Tweets Considering All Things Washington DC (1 of 2)

Just because we have a photo of Sen. Ted Cruz, that does NOT we are endorsing him.

Here are some tweets about Washington, DC, today, and not just Congress and the federal government (well, this entry is):

1. Politico: "Delay is not a major blow to Obamacare, exchanges for individuals are still expected to open on time."

2. Hunter: "Obama is supposed to negotiate with ppl who refuse to negotiate even with their own party. Yeah, that will work."

3. The Daily Show: "Ted Cruz cites a children's book about a stubborn jerk who decides he hates something until he's tried it."(They are referring to "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss)

4. Tea Party Cat/Top Conservative Cat: "#GOPDEMANDS: All liberals must watch all 21 hours of Ted Cruz's filibuster until they proclaim him as a savior."

5. Cong Virginia Foxx (R-NC): "Americans aren't interested in spin, they're concerned about whether they'll be paying more for health care on Jan.1"

6.The Onion: "It was a gamble, but 'it paid off'...............45th President of the United States: Ted Cruz."

http://www.politico.com/

http://www.theonion.com/

Government Shutdown Update_ We Aren't Sure...

If anyone thinks showing a toilet is in bad taste, then they should know that our original intention was to have a Paul Gaugin painting for this entry. But, since many of those paintings feature necade native women from and Tahiti and they might offend the delicate sensibilities of Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, we thought this might be more 'appropriate.' Incidentally, Cuccinelli was named our "Worst Person of the Year" for 2010. Actually, we did not spell his name right one, but since he is a Republican we refuse to apologize for that!

But, ironically, Cuccinelli, a far-right winger, himself is not responsible for the possibility of a federal government shutdown in Washington, DC. His 'brothers in arms,' like House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) are.

According to the "Huffington Post," Boehner told reporters that his side was close to a resolution, but as noon eastern time that appeared not to be the case, according to what we gathered from articles in "The Hill" and "The Washington Post."

But, if there is no government shutdown, and we are not exactly sure how it will affect the National Gallery in Washington, DC, one can freely go to the current Paul Gaugin (1848-1903) exhibit which runs through June 5.

According to the NGA's web site, 120 of Gaugin's works will be on display and they will presumably cover all the periods of the artist's relatively short life. Gaugin, at one time or another, lived in Peru, France, Martinique and Tahiti. We could not conclude one way or another if he ever made it to Istanbul, Turkey.

However, if there is a federal govenment shutdown, it will not affect the status of the Topkapi Palace, The Blue Mosque and Saint Sophia, all of which are major tourist attractions in Istanbul, my late father's hometown.

For more info on the National Gallery, one can go to www.nga.gov or call their main info line at 202-737-4215.

And, if you are heading to Turkey, three web sites I recommend are turkey.org, tourismturkey.com and goturkey.com; we would comment on the fact that Miss Turkey is promoting the new 'turkey burger' at Hardee's (an American fast food chain that originated in Rocky Mount, NC), but truthfully we aren't sure what to make of the promotion!

Quote of the Week- James Joyce

During the month of March, we will be quoting both philosophers and famous people from Ireland. Today, we start with famous people from Ireland, and when one mentions Ireland and they are an English teacher, they are most likely perhaps to think of the great novelist James Joyce (1882-1941). (Ok, or maybe Oscar Wilde too).

Joyce's 1922 novel "Ulysses" is considered to be one of the very best in the English language, which reminds that I should look for the Cliff Notes the next time I'm in a used bookstore (well, it is reportedly a hard novel to read).

There is also The James Joyce Pub in Baltimore, Md., which is already taking reservations for their St. Patrick's Day celebration at 410-727-5107. Alas, since we live pretty far from Balto and that time of year is busy for us teachers, I can not make the celebration myself!

This weekend, the band James Gallagher and Off the Boat, a group that specializes in Irish music plays at the Baltimore pub on both Friday and Saturday nights.

Here is our quote from Joyce who was also known for his wit:

"A man of genius makes no mistakes; his errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery," James Joyce.

We gather that according to "The Washington Post," today's trending topics are 'government shutdown' and 'Donald Rumsfeld memoir." We have nothing to say about either topic, but hopefully the mere mention of those terms will have folks flocking to the blog! Insallah, Joyce himself would have approved!