Ok seriously: how does on explain to others how/why the US can just shut down when parties disagree? I literally have no words to explain it that make sense when I say them aloud. Not to belittle any of the hardships those furloughed will endure, but this is just embarrassing.
Gone are the days of statesmen and compromise… All we have left are politicians and hard liners… Sadly, we only have ourselves (the voters) to blame. Sigh.
(OMG was the last shut down really 20 years ago?!? The news keeps repeating that “20 years”, as if to hammer home that I am officially old. I remember dealing with its “trickle down” effects at work, when my engineering firm had a GSA contact for remediation of Nike Missile sites…. Not pretty for those furloughed nor the others whose work was tied to government contracts, nor those who provided services to govt employees, etc.)
Dez in India 
Yes, it is sad. A small minority trying to undo legislation that has been passed by Congress, signed by the President and reviewed by the US Supreme Court. What can we do? I do NOT want the democrats giving in on the ACA, but of course, in this horrible game of chicken, who will be the mother that is willing to give up the son in order to let him live and spare King Solomon’s judgment?