Chances of October 2019 shutdown?

Looking for informed conjecture from other DUers — how likely do you think it is that we’ll have another Federal govt. shutdown this fall?

Supposedly there has been some effort to keep us from going over a “fiscal cliff,” and maybe the Republicans’ appetite for this kind of cruel melodrama has diminished. But there is an appropriations fight looming, and I don’t trust them at all to negotiate in good faith.

I confess, my reason for asking is partly selfish — we have an October family trip planned to the Southwestern U.S., which will be considerably less fun if national parks & monuments are closed to the public. Plans B and C include trips to state parks and more citified activities.

Found the sources below — anybody have better information to share?

https://www.govexec.com/management/2019/08/senate-sends-2-year-budget-deal-trump-shifting-focus-shutdown-averting-spending-bills/158875/

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/26/congress-funding-bill-1681071

I believed elves lived in subterranean houses under the roots of old trees

in the woods near the lake our family often visited. My sister and I would actually see them, just disappearing underground as we approached.

I also believed that all kinds of exotic sea creatures might appear at the shore at the beach where we vacationed in summer, if only one were there at the right time. Ten-foot-long sawfish, hammerhead sharks, those weird bottom-of-the-sea fish with rows of glowing lights along their sides and alluring appendages sprouting from their foreheads to help them catch prey — these could show up, and did, right where I waded and swam every day.

"Blinded by the Light" -- you'll love it

I really enjoyed this big-hearted movie about a 1980s Pakistani-British teenager inspired by the music of Bruce Springsteen. And I’m not even a fan of “The Boss.” It’s directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) and features a soundtrack of not only Springsteen songs but also some great original music by A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire, The Hundred Foot Journey).

If you are a Springsteen devotee, you already know about this movie and saw it four times in its opening weekend. But even if you’re not, I highly recommend it. It’ll leave you with a lighter step and a fresh outlook on things — at least it did me.

There's never "enough time"

to fix a broken system that benefits Republicans, it seems... It’s never “the right time.”

You damn sure better believe they’d fix it lickety-split if the problem was hurting their chances.

I say we require paper ballots, and send them all to Oregon. Those folks up there seem to have figured out a good system for conducting fair and verifiable elections. Then again, they actually care about democracy.

Looks like the truth is getting its pants on,

after the lies have circumnavigated the globe several times.

Correct. He clarified that the OLC opinion was the reason they couldn't

Like Trump and all Trumplicans,

they will claim victory NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS.

We all need to remember that and not have a collective Sad every time they don’t cry Uncle — because these assholes never admit defeat, even when they get their clocks cleaned.

Mueller on Trump: Everything the Special Counsel's Report Says the President Did, Said or Knew

from Lawfare, 7/22/19:

The DJIA rose 244 pct. from 1/1/09 to 11/1/16

(6,948.4 to 16,953.3) following a deep recession, and 157 pct. since then (to 26,652.7), continuing the upward trend of the Obama economy.

Old white man coasts on the success achieved by his black predecessor, pretends his lucky break is the product of his own (non-existent) genius. Winning!

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/stock-market

Secure, private email provider recommendations

...well, as secure and private as possible, anyway, knowing that anything involving the Internet is "secure and private" only within reason. I'm not doing anything that would (or should!) attract law enforcement scrutiny, but I don't want my personal information and buying habits spread any farther than absolutely necessary. (As a Gmail user, I realize that cow has already left the barn... but I'm doing what I can to correct the situation.)

I'm getting ready to switch email providers and am looking for recommendations. I have both an email through my current blogging web host, Bluehost (using my custom domain) and a Gmail account (which I want to close due to the above-mentioned privacy concerns). I would not consider using an email address associated with my ISP (e.g., Comcast), partly for privacy reasons and partly because I don't want to feel trapped with my service provider. I'm getting ready to drop Bluehost as my web host -- that's a whole 'nother story. For now, I'll stick to the email component.

I'm weighing a few options for the custom-domain account (currently through Bluehost):

1. Migrate the custom domain to a new web hosting company, keeping the same email addresses. Main downside of this approach is that the custom email domain is the same as that I use for a blog, and I want to create some separation between the two.


2. Close the accounts associated with that domain and sign up with a new email provider. Main downside of this approach is the incredible hassle of informing numerous contacts and service providers of my new address(es).