So It Sucks Officially Then?

Well, it’s now official that if the US government shuts down in two days, military pay will be suspended. Oh, they’ll still be earning pay, which apparently makes some legislators feel like it’s not actually slavery — the just won’t actually be getting their pay. I’m so pissed off I could cry. Do you know how much money we have in our checking account right now? $17! As it is it has to last us until the 15th, Alan’s next scheduled payday. Now that may not happen.

What. The. FUCK?!

Are you fucking kidding me?

But are the legislators sacrificing their own pay? Of course not! They can’t afford not to get paid. Like a PFC or a Corporal can afford it? Most military families live paycheck to paycheck. Tell me that’s true of a US Senator. I fucking dare you.

I wrote the following email to all of my representatives… both Connecticut, where I’m still a registered voter, and Colorado: It’s about as polite as I can make it in my present state of mind. (You might be able to tell given the excess swearing you’ve already read):

My husband and I are both Connecticut natives now living in Colorado. We are living in Colorado because in 2009, to support his family, my husband enlisted in the US Army. Now, because of partisan bickering and stupidity, he may not be able to do that. Most soldiers and their families live paycheck to paycheck. They’re lucky to be able to pay their bills and put gas in their tanks to get to work everyday, let alone save anything for a rainy day.

And yet, was it the soldiers that you voted to continue paying in spite of a government shut down? No, it was yourselves. And in the meantime we have to borrow from family? Leave bills unpaid?

They say you can judge a man by how he treats those below him. You’d better start earning that paycheck you kept at the cost of our soldiers. ALL OF YOU need to get your heads out of your asses and keep our military from ending up on the street!

I don’t know if sending that will make any difference, aside from giving some legislative aids something to giggle about, but it made me feel better that I did something. What I really want to do is get in the car and go through things at the Capitol Building in DC. But then again, since I only have $17 in my checking account, I can’t afford the gas or the eggs I want to throw.

Besides, I have an interview in the morning. I only applied this morning, so hopefully the speed with which they scheduled an interview means they were impressed by my resume and application and that they’ll hire me fast. It’s at a Christian child care, but the place looks like it’s focused more on the child care than on the Christianity, so I have high hopes. It’s not too far from me either. The position is as an infant teacher, and even though I normally prefer to work with toddlers, at least with infants I’ll only have four kids at any given time. Anyway, I need to go iron an outfit for tomorrow. I may have to meditate too, just to get this awful agitating anger at the stupidity of the government out of my system.

~Liz