

Report on the Government Shutdown if It Were Happening in Another Country - denzil_correa
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2013/09/30/potential_government_shutdown_how_would_the_u_s_media_report_on_it_if_it.html

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the_watcher
All the coverage of the government shutdown issue seems to ignore the fact
that the ease of obstructionism in the US system was by design. There are
valid arguments about the wisdom of that design, as well as that design's
utility in the modern world, but it's sad that most of the coverage I have
seen doesn't even address this.

This article, in particular, doesn't address the point of view that actively
limiting the government might be a net positive (although his cabbie might
bring it up if the answer to his question about lawmakers knowing what they
are doing is "No.)

~~~
wwweston
> that design's utility in the modern world

Is it the modern world?

I'd think it's more a function of an uncompromising and highly state-hostile
political philosophy which could and has arisen at other times.

I guess there's an argument that technology allows a magnifying effect for
extreme voices that might otherwise be marginal.

~~~
the_watcher
I don't know if you are responding to the point you reference. I was simply
pointing out that obstructionism is easy in the US by design. You can disagree
with the designers, or disagree that the design still works today. But you
can't disagree that the design exists.

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greenyoda
That was certainly a thought-provoking parody. More accurately, it should
probably be described as "if it were happening in a _Third World_ country". I
doubt that if the US media were reporting on some government issues in the UK
or Germany, they'd use language like "sleepy capital city", etc., just as a UK
paper wouldn't use that kind of language when talking about the US.

For example, here's an article on the US government shutdown as _actually_
reported from another country (the UK):

[http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/30/senate-
defeats-...](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/30/senate-defeats-
spending-bill-obamacare)

And The Guardian even provides a helpful list of which government services
would be affected:

[http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/29/us-
government-s...](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/29/us-government-
shutdown-services-affected)

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fleitz
Does the shutdown mean the government won't be able to print money and give it
to banks?

Does it mean US troops will be withdrawn from foreign lands?

Will flights grind to a halt as no one can pass through TSA?

Will America be surveillance free as the NSA shuts down?

Or is the extent of the shutdown that tours of the whitehouse won't be given?

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j_baker
All essential government operations (military, intelligence, security) will
continue. Non-essential employees (passport processing leaps to mind) will be
furloughed.

~~~
autodidakto
Scary examples: The apparatuses of a police state stay, the ability to leave
the country goes away...

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ianstallings
Apparently people voicing their concerns through representatives is an act of
rebellion. The media sure can't get enough of this story. With inflated
language, talking about collapse, teetering on the edge, rebellion, etc. This
_is_ government in action. They don't always agree and that's called
democracy. I don't get all doomsday-prune-canner just because non-essential
workers are gonna stay home for a few days.

~~~
j_baker
It sounds like you missed the tongue-in-cheek tone of the article. It's quite
interesting to me to see how the media would report on these events if they
were happening in another country.

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the_watcher
I agree that it was an interesting thought experiment, and definitely will
make me think twice about drawing conclusions about the internal political
issues of another country from an article in The Economist. But the article
explicitly called Senator Cruz's filibuster a rebellion, which is simply
untrue.

~~~
j_baker
...which makes you wonder, when the media calls something a "rebellion" in
another country, what is it really?

~~~
the_watcher
An interesting question, and one I'll keep in mind when reading about other
countries from now on. Coup d'taut's by military organizations can probably
safely be called rebellions, but purely political disagreements I will be much
more wary about drawing conclusions.

