@Bob What difference does it make if the crisis is artificial or not? Anybody who works for a corporation knows that most of the crisis that come about are because someone didn;t do their job, or it was an unforseen consequence, or it maybe something everybody knew could happen but didn;t expect it to actually happen.

In the long run though --- when your boss says you have to have your butt in on Sat or Sun or both to deal with the situation -- you do your job.

This crisis is in the artificial category because it was intended never to happen! Both sides -- yes BOTH sides agreed to the Sequester, along the same lines of logic as MAD was a deterrent to nuclear war. However in this case --- the nuke went off !!

Also, this legislation was copied from legislation that the Republicans used a number of years ago for the same reason -- what goes around comes around ?

In any case --- I condemn Both Sides -- Republicans and Democrats --- for leaving town in this crisis.

We have a Tuesday through Thursday workweek for Congress --- nice work if you can get it --- ooops-- did I say work? They don't have a clue how to get the Real Work done ...

What difference does it make? You're kidding, right?

Didn't we just go through this same nonsense a little over a month ago? How many times are we going to allow ourselves to be used as pawns because someone slaps the "crisis" label on a legislative impasse that differs very little from those we've experienced and survived in the past? You stated it yourself, right here...

"Also, this legislation was copied from legislation that the Republicans used a number of years ago for the same reason -- what goes around comes around ?"

And yet, here we sit, able to discuss it, almost as if the entire nation didn't collapse upon itself last time around. Amazing, isn't it?

In the time honored tradition of threatening the demise of school systems, rampant crime waves as the result of police cut backs and unattended to fires burning out of control wiping out block after block of residential areas due to a loss of firefighting jobs, we're now, again, faced with threats of everything from increased inconvenience to a scourge of mid-air collisions if we don't attend to this "crisis" immediately.

They've cried wolf one too many times for me. I'm not buying it. Let them go home where they're less apt to come up with a "solution" that ends up costing us dearly in the long run.

I think Obama set a new standard when he went to bed while the Benghazi incident was ongoing and then went to a Vegas fundraiser the next day.

He went to vegas? whats that, like 3-4 times now? Funny, I distinctly remember him telling us NOT to go to vegas...

@Greg I don't disagree with you that this crisis may not be as severe as advertised --- however, Perception is Reality --- and it is the same Members of Congress who are running around saying the sky is falling, who are then going home to play golf or whatever.

They have had Plenty of Time to do this Work --- it never had to be a last minute decision making process.

They are severely hurting the Perception of our Country and our Government to the rest of the world, and Wall Street and to the average citizen who is depending upon Congress to keep our country great --- too bad they are mostly ego centric do nothings.

We taxpayers take good care of our elected officials, there's no doubt about that. The anti-public employee sentiment should extend to our elected officials too. In D.C. is where the entitlement mentality and biggest moochers are to be found. If they had to stay at their desk until the job is done there might be more activity and less job-perpetuation. The interns, who do most of the actual work (reading, researching, and spoon-feeding talking points to the politicians), can go home for the weekend.

David T.- The House Republicans passed two bills dealing with the sequester, they caved on the fiscal cliff legislation that allowed Obama the largest tax hike in 20 years and are still awaiting action by the Senate Democrats to pass something regarding the sequestration.

The way it used to work, and successfully I might add, is that once a bill passes the House, then the Senate can pass their bill. If they are different, then both sides conference to work out a compromise. Harry Reid has brought nothing forward, not even the President's plan. So here we sit because Harry Reid can't muster enough votes to pass anything, which means until he can come to some type of agreement with Seate Republicans, or at least 7, nothing gets done.

I believe the media and liberal pundits have been barking up the wrong tree. The House Republicans have done their job and now it is up to the Senate Democrats. The compromise won't come until Harry Reid puts forth a bill.

Can't the same be said about those in the House? If the Senate is just going to reject it, why bother?

What compromises have the Dems been willing to make?

JP Nelson- Until the Senate Democrats put something on the table, there IS nothing to compromise. As a matter of fact, the House didn't do what Norquist asked, they let Obama raise taxes. The single highest tax increase in 20 years.

And I don't know where you get the idea that budgets are only about income. They are also about cutting back if not enough income is coming in, something your side refuses to compromise but doesn't have the guts to put it on the table.

I guess this is why we don't get anywhere. If you are a Senate democrat, you just don't have to do anything and if the sky falls, its the other guys fault. And if you don't believe them, they'll give you Obamaphones, welfare, or what ever you want just so you do believe them.

16 years of debt under Regan and Bush is equal to four of Obama?
You are good with a calculator, but missing some facts. We can't go back and impeach Bush for the "read my lips" comment.
But we could go after Obama for his shredding of the constitution, and efforts to Bankrupt the Country. Obama; making the dream of his father come true.

@Steve Hmmmm Liar is a pretty strong word --- wouldn't "politician" suffice !!

And even though I do vote for candidates of both parties depending upon who is running --- I am more than happy to have voted for Obama. After all he did save us from a deep Depression in his first term .......... and now he is playing hardball with the Republicans who refuse to even think of compromise or the good of the people -- they have had way too much kook aide to drink, me thinks.

What compromises have the Democrats proposed, David?

Saved us from a depression? The worst is coming yet, David.
Me thinks you smoke too many blunts.

Recession, not depression
Doubling the deficit instead of cutting it is a pretty big lie. Then increasing it year after year is fraud. And you supported this again in 2012.....

The economy grew .1% in the last fiscal quarter. That isn't saving anything. That is hanging by a thread to another recession.

JP Nelson:
Apparently you missed the whole point. Obama has blew a bigger wad in 4 years than any other President did in 8+ years.
Even using your math skills, Obama is the biggest failure in history.
Forget about blaming Bush, that ship has sailed, sunk, and been forgotten.
If you want to bitch about incompetence, go after the worst offender.

JP: The Afghan war continues, over 4 years into this Presidency.
We have a looming war on Iran coming soon.
N. Korea may be next.
We are funding the Muslim Brotherhood in Eqypt.
But Obama claims the sequester is so terrible.
It makes me think he is looking to bankrupt this Nation before the end of his term.

David T.- they gave him his tax hike, but have made no spending cuts. And remember, just because they cut the amount of increase, does not equate to actually cutting the budget.

Put the blame where it should lie. Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats have offered nothing and have done nothing since passing the ACA. Since 2010, they have done nothing but blame Republicans. It may work for their re-elections, but does nothing to move the country forward.

J.P. Nelson- Its not up to the House to pass something the Senate will rubber-stamp, neither is it up to the Senate to pass something the House will rubber-stamp. that's why they each pass their own bills then conference to compromise. That is how it works. The Senate hasn't passed anything. Nothing. No budget in over 4 years. That is why I blame them. Harry Reid is a coward.

James: You seem like an intelligent person. I am sure you are well aware of the cause for the rise in unemployment.
I did not point the finger at Clinton for giving MFN status to China because it is water under the bridge. We can't go back and fix that mistake.
Obama is in the White House, we can force him to change before it is too late. (at least that is our best hope)

James: Funding is not the issue- the overspending is the problem.
Say you own a business with 1000 employees, and generate a profit (revenue) of $2 Million. As the owner you can give bonuses to your employees. But if that profit drops so low that you must borrow 40% of the money to make payroll, you can't give a bonus. Nor can you continue on that path for a very long time. Eventually you have to cut your costs, reduce benefits, just to try to keep the business alive.
This is what we need the Government to do. The spending is unsustainable.

The sustainability has to do with the ratio of deficit to GDP.

The deficits under GWB were between 2 and 5% of our GDP. Since Obama has been in office, the deficits have been around 10% of our GDP.

James: Keep playing into the hands of the politicians. By playing the blame game, no one is held accountable.
FYI: you may want to educate yourself on funding Wars. The US has had a bigger GDP to Debt ratio once before. The difference between then and now is huge. Today we do not have a booming economy, thus the ability to pay down debt is almost impossible.
CUTS are the only answer.
Keep blaming Bush. How has that worked out for you?

There you go. At least with Clinton, we had jobs.
Though Clinton is the reason there are no jobs left here.
China has them all; America's Most Favored Nation.

I agree.

Maybe they just go home. Why would that be such a bad thing?

Actually, it's in the "Local Voices" section. For some reason (perhaps lack of content being generated in a different fashion), some editors have starting listing "Local Voices" posts in the "News" sections as well. So this article actually shows up in both places, depending on which Patch community you're using as your front page at the moment.

Bob, I just thought it was funny that it got a different headline and has shown as the "top" news story under the News section of the Shorewood Patch for a while now.

I think it is Patch's way of creating news. They take a local voice story and play it with a 'local guy says this...' angle to make it "news".

It seems like every article has two or three lives on Patch these days...

@ Born Free A little exaggeration --- you have a very liberal definition of " a little" --- interesting how you go ad hominem when you can't think of anything intelligent to say --- but tell us, do you think that our members of congress (both parties) are working too hard? Do you think they are getting the job done? Would you like to have their Tuesday through Thursday work schedule? --- do you even work --- if you do --- is there any mental activity involved in your work ?

You need to prove monetary damages in order to sue and collect for libel. Just because your feelings are hurt are not cause, you need to prove that words on Patch cost you $$$$.

@ann....No problem and it can be potential damages too.

Total B.S.