It appears that we have had an 11th hour reprieve....the government is open for business.   Yesterday, my daughter recieved a very emotional overseas phone call from her Marine husband who had just emerged from Jungle Warfare training.  He was informing her that they may not be paid for a while if the government shut down occurs. I found this very difficult for 2 reasons.....it impacts my children....and I don't take kindly to that.  Secondly, my Son-in-law is on the other side of the world with many other concerns....and now this has been added to his shoulders? 

I have watched this issue play-out over the past few months.  I really do mean 'months'.  It's kind of like knowing you have a slow leak in your tire....and don't address it until you are traveling at a freeway speed and all of a sudden have to make a quick decision.....when the Tirestore may be miles away....may not be open....or may not service your brand of tire.  All of this could have been prevented.....despite your political affiliation.

Also, as in the tire analogy, I could have blamed my husband for not noticing or taking care of it....or my son....or my daughter for that matter.  I could have complained that the tire manufacturer did not do their duty and sold me an inferior product.  I could have complained to anyone who would listen.....instead of taking responsibility and addressing the situation....that I created.

This recently actually happened to me.  My co-workers told me I had a slow leak, my husband, my daughter etc kept telling me I had a slow leak.  I kept stopping to fill up the tire until I 'had time' to deal with it.  Well, I finally did deal with it....and a giant nail was removed from the tire which resulted in my having to to purchase a new tire.  This was my fault and I could not blame anyone else.  My husband had the 'tire guy' put the damaged tire in a bag in my back seat.  I was frustrated by this initially. My sweet husband said..."you need to go to the tire store and talk with "the tire guy" about this".  My husband arranged for me to have a little class as to why I had to purchase a new tire...which was not cheap.  It was expensive monetarily and personally. After I was shown how my neglect over time had damaged my tire, (and he was very nice and professional about it), that darn tire was finally removed from my car. I had to swallow some humble pie in that situation....and it wasn't pleasant.

It is time for our elected representatives to swallow humble pie.....and probably in large amounts.  Let's get to the heart of the matter.  It is ridiculous to believe that we can sustain and protect our future if serious attention is not made to the programs that are actually driving our economic collapse. It's time to deflate some tires in Washington and place the blame where it truly lies.

This is Senator Mike Lee from Utah explaining where some of the seeds of our current situation were planted, in his view of course.  See if you learn anything new or interesting from Senator Lee.