Are service people getting fed?

Some background - a number of Catholic chaplains are under contract with the Armed Forces to come in and say Mass. As Defense Department employees, they've been furloughed. The Right is getting all hissy about how Obama is keeping service members from going to Mass.

I know at least some service messes are run by outside contractors. I assume those contractors haven't been furloughed, but does anyone know for sure? I know the commissaries are closed.

I think it rather odd that a Catholic priest with an assignment elsewhere is charging money to come in and say Mass - sounds like simony to me! I'm assuming the assignment provides sufficient income to live on.

I can see the Defense Department classifying all outside chaplains of any denomination as not vital to operations. At the same time, why get people riled up over a side issue?

Some people are not going to have as good a deal on health insurance next year as this year -

I may be one of them. Up until now, I've been covered by my husband's employer. It's possible that this year my husband's company may decide I should buy my employer's improved policy or go on the exchange.

So be it.

I've had a good policy for years while other people have gone without. If my spending more for my insurance is what it takes for people with pre-existing conditions (like my own son!) to be able to buy insurance at all, so be it.

Anyone here buy upgrades on a computer program or game on a regular basis?

My Windows 7 is 4 years old and is still loading updates to fix newly found problems all the time. I use a computer drafting program that issues a new upgrade every year with other upgrades through the year. People in my company never load the new upgrade until it has been out a few weeks. We let the early users find all the bugs, first.

I've never called any private company that wasn't "experiencing unusually heavy traffic at this time" so that i had to wait for my call "to be answered in the order it was placed"


So why all the amazement when the Obamacare web sites were overloaded this week and showing bugs here and there?

Wait - what? did I hear someone on Meet the Press more or less say that

Challenge: the family is getting together the Saturday after Thanksgiving -

I'll be prepping most of the food and bringing it to be re-heated.

We'll have left over turkey, of course, but I'm open to other suggestions.

So what do I fix to make a festive meal that doesn't shout "LEFTOVERS!"

Extra points for vegetarian fare that isn't eggplant parmesan.

Is the chairperson of your local Republican Party a Tea Bagger?

Mine is - a real nut case!

Did Miriam Carey have health insurance?

I've seen reports that she was fired from her job. It's possible that she lost her insurance then. I've also seen reports that she had medications in her home. If she had no or limited insurance, it's possible that she was skipping doses or splitting pills trying to make the prescription last longer. I doubt we'll ever know one way or another.

Wild speculation time - will John Boehner be able to end the shut-down?

Will he be able to get the debt ceiling raised?

Has anyone seen Joe Biden lately?

Question submitted by hedgehog