Atheistforums.com

Humanities Section => Political/Government General Discussion => Topic started by: SGOS on October 13, 2013, 07:31:07 AM

Title: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: SGOS on October 13, 2013, 07:31:07 AM
//http://governmentshutdown.noaa.gov/

OK, I get the point!  Shutting down the government is an inconvenience for the public.  Sometimes just a small inconvenience.  Now NOAA is not just about weather reports so I can decide if I want to go outside today.  It also provides vital information for ocean traffic and weather alerts that warn us of danger, and  NOAA says it's still going to provide that service.

But they must have sent the guy home who posts the information to the public after the teams of highly trained meteorologists spend thousands and thousand of dollars all day long accessing expensive government owned weather stations and satellites for this information.  They are still doing all their weather stuff at NOAA, but they put the guy that tells the public about it on leave.  Something smells fishy.  How much does that guy get paid to do his job?  It can't be like half of the daily budget that NOAA is still spending.  And if they are still going to pay that guy anyway after the dust settles, why the fuck don't they keep him on the job?

That paid furlough thing really gets me.  It's nothing more than a symbolic gesture that tells me two things.  Yes, I'd like to have government workers on the job, and Yes, I know the government is capable of wasting money on a whim.
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: Plu on October 13, 2013, 07:36:18 AM
It's starting to sound more and more like a ploy to say "see? something needs to be done. let's give all power to the president".

Let's hope that instant communication through the internet foils the plan. I'm pretty sure that a hundred years ago it would've worked easily.
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: SGOS on October 13, 2013, 08:12:24 AM
Quote from: "Plu"It's starting to sound more and more like a ploy to say "see? something needs to be done. let's give all power to the president".

Let's hope that instant communication through the internet foils the plan. I'm pretty sure that a hundred years ago it would've worked easily.
Yes, there's a hollowness about this whole thing.  I'm not sure what the real intent is.  Something so pointless doesn't really create any association with something else in my mind.  It's just pointless.
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: AllPurposeAtheist on October 13, 2013, 08:38:01 AM
Every pol is afraid of polls and losing votes come next election so it's a shutdown in name only for now, but if they don't get their act together it'll get much worse.
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: Poison Tree on October 13, 2013, 11:54:45 AM
Wait, are we supposed to be outraged because we have to click a link and go to the National Weather Service (a subdivision of NOAA) to get information from NOAA?
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: billhilly on October 13, 2013, 12:05:50 PM
They're gonna fuck around and blow the shutdown politics with this bullshit theater stuff.  Putting barriers around outdoor memorials, blocking scenic turnouts around Rushmore, locking old tourists in a hotel in Yellowstone, kicking old people out of their house because it's on leased federal land, and forcing privately funded businesses to close because they're on leased federal land is making the feds look petulant and petty.  WTF?  The tea party is supposed to be the bad guys in this deal.
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: SGOS on October 13, 2013, 12:30:07 PM
Quote from: "Poison Tree"Wait, are we supposed to be outraged because we have to click a link and go to the National Weather Service (a subdivision of NOAA) to get information from NOAA?
When I click on the two connecting links (one to the National Weather Service), all I get are more notices about the government shutdown, both offered with a dramatic fanfare.  :-D  But maybe I've missed a link somewhere.

But not all government services are shut down.  The one that amused me the most was:  "NASA Mission Control will continue supporting astronauts serving on the Space Station."  Who decided to support those moochers anyway?  Didn't anyone think about bringing them down?  Can't they just find their own way home?  :-D

Congress is still getting paid, even though they are refusing to do anything about what seems to be a significant issue confronting us right now.  Or maybe it's not that important.  The government does seem dysfunctional, however.  And that seems like a problem.

I don't know whether to laugh about this or be pissed off.  Really!  I don't know what to think.  It's like a bunch of 3rd graders are running the government.  I should be pissed about that, but it's kind of funny in a bizarre way, thinking that the government is being run by school children.
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: Poison Tree on October 13, 2013, 01:20:39 PM
Quote from: "SGOS"
Quote from: "Poison Tree"Wait, are we supposed to be outraged because we have to click a link and go to the National Weather Service (a subdivision of NOAA) to get information from NOAA?
When I click on the two connecting links (one to the National Weather Service), all I get are more notices about the government shutdown, both offered with a dramatic fanfare.  :-D  But maybe I've missed a link somewhere.
For me, the first link "See Weather.gov (//http://www.weather.gov/) for critical weather information" takes me to a map will weather alerts, just like I've always found, and clicking on my state brings up a bigger map of it, both of which say "Due to the Federal Government shutdown, NOAA.gov and most associated web sites are unavailable. However, because the information this site provides is necessary to protect life and property, it will be updated and maintained during the Federal Government shutdown. " at the top
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: SGOS on October 13, 2013, 01:45:13 PM
Quote from: "Poison Tree"
Quote from: "SGOS"
Quote from: "Poison Tree"Wait, are we supposed to be outraged because we have to click a link and go to the National Weather Service (a subdivision of NOAA) to get information from NOAA?
When I click on the two connecting links (one to the National Weather Service), all I get are more notices about the government shutdown, both offered with a dramatic fanfare.  :-D  But maybe I've missed a link somewhere.
For me, the first link "See Weather.gov (//http://www.weather.gov/) for critical weather information" takes me to a map will weather alerts, just like I've always found, and clicking on my state brings up a bigger map of it, both of which say "Due to the Federal Government shutdown, NOAA.gov and most associated web sites are unavailable. However, because the information this site provides is necessary to protect life and property, it will be updated and maintained during the Federal Government shutdown. " at the top
Well call me a liar!  Honest!  It didn't work when I tried it before.  I put in my local zip and it would just ignore it.  Then I put the name and state of a nearby town, and it ignored that too.  But when I clicked on your link, it accepted the nearby town, even though it was the same site I had used before.  So I'm not feeling the crisis now.  And I was in the mood to be in a snit.  Oh well, that was a waste of perfectly good indignation.   #-o
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: Colanth on October 13, 2013, 09:41:01 PM
Quote from: "SGOS"But they must have sent the guy home who posts the information to the public

...
How much does that guy get paid to do his job?
Plu and I both know how much a "guy ... who posts ... information" on a website gets.  And in a year it's a LOT less than the government spends in one second.  Even the guy who writes the site doesn't get paid enough to put a visible tick in the federal budget.  The guy who decides to not bring a clean budget bill to the floor of the House makes a LOT more.
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: AllPurposeAtheist on October 13, 2013, 09:51:34 PM
The dumbfucks who caused a?l this shit got up cheering in a fake crowd at the memorials in DC acting like the imperial president caused it. Ted Cruz and that slimy cunt..
I'm a vet and could care less if its a bother. We have much bigger fish to fry, but these seditious tea party fucks will do nothing but deflect blame and never admit fault.
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: lumpymunk on October 13, 2013, 10:11:50 PM
fuck em.
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: Poison Tree on October 13, 2013, 11:50:00 PM
Quote from: "lumpymunk"fuck em.
Is "tea party" an STD?
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: The Whit on October 14, 2013, 11:40:24 AM
http://www.hpe.com/opinion/x559273386/T ... government (http://www.hpe.com/opinion/x559273386/Thomas-Sowell-Who-shut-down-the-government)
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: Jason78 on October 14, 2013, 01:06:52 PM
Quote from: "billhilly"They're gonna fuck around and blow the shutdown politics with this bullshit theater stuff.

It might be bullshit theater to you, but over here it's prime time entertainment.

 :popcorn:
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: Poison Tree on October 14, 2013, 01:47:03 PM
QuoteAll spending bills must originate in the House of Representatives, which means that congressmen there have a right to decide whether or not they want to spend money on a particular government activity.
And, of coarse, all spending bills must be approved by the Senate and--failing a two-thirds majority in both houses--the president, which means that senators and the president also "have a right to decide whether or not they want to spend money on a particular government activity."

QuoteThe Senate chose not to vote to authorize that money to be spent, because it did not include money for Obamacare.
And a subset of house republicans chose to stop a continuing resolution (apparently agreed to by Boehner, Cantor and Reid) with $64 billion in spending cuts from even reaching a vote because it did include money for Obamacare. The house also chose not to authorize the senate version of their spending bill.

Both sides have failed to reach an agreement. Both sides have decided that their position on Obamacare is more important than keeping the government running. If we accept the article's argument, wouldn't we have to conclude that, any time a bill is approved by one house and not the other, the blame should be placed on the house the bill did not originate in?
Title: Re: NOAA Shuts Down
Post by: billhilly on October 14, 2013, 01:48:24 PM
Quote from: "Jason78"
Quote from: "billhilly"They're gonna fuck around and blow the shutdown politics with this bullshit theater stuff.

It might be bullshit theater to you, but over here it's prime time entertainment.

 :popcorn:


Oh I bet it is.  Probably should have invested in popcorn a month ago.