This appears to be the 13th government shutdown in the 249 years that the United States has been in existence. The first was a 10 day shutdown in 1976, the year of the counbtry’s Bicentennial. Before that, for 200 years, there was never a shutdown of the American government.

But, you ask, what about governmental shutdowns in other countries around the world? At least, that is what I wanted to know. So I asked ChatGPT.

The answer is that government shutdown of the type we have are unique to the United States. Other countries may have governmental crises after no confidence votes, but the underlying bureaucracy has always continued to function.

You might call this an example of “American Exceptionalism”. You might also call it an abject failure of American legislatures, session after session. I have quoted him before and will quote him again. Walt Kelly: We have met the enemy and it is us.

Donald (“Makes Me Vomit”) Trump agrees with Kelly’s Pogo. Trump knows that we are the enemy. That is why he is sending troops into Washington, Portland, Memphis, Chicago, and eventually everywhere but Palm Beach. This is why he is going to use “war ravaged” American cities as training grounds for potential fighting abroad, and thus use American citizens and residents for military target and bayonet practice.

And his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth knows how to spot  enemies. They are “fat admirals and generals” walking around the Pentagon, troops with beards (no more “beardies” as he calls them) or long hair, women whose bodies don’t look like Hulk Hogan’s, or flag officers who don’t follow an exercise routine “every day”. The only acceptable grooming traits are tattoos, especially those of Crusader crosses.

And, excuse me, we are not to call Hegseth Secretary of Defense any more, even though that is what he is. We are to call him Secretary of War. Why? Because we are not to think of him as being here only to defend the country. We are to think of him as Offensive. I do.

Trump has, of course, hinted that he welcomes this shutdown. What authoritarian leader wouldn’t? He now believes he can himself decide what functions are “essential” and which are not. Anything non-essentiial will be shut down. Some, he will try to cripple so thoroughly that they will never recover. Those functions that shut down will include all those functions that show how the economy is doing. Inflation? Dunno. Job market? No idea. Those functions that benefit blue states? History.

What if Congress gets its act together? (A long shot, I know) it won’t matter because by then, Trump will have destroyed the ability to restart many programs, and besides that, he and his OMB puppeteer, Russell Vought, believe that a functioning Congress is irrelevant anyway. They can ignore anything Congress does (so why should Congress do anything?). As Alexander Haig said when Nixon resigned, “I am in charge here.”

A new adventure is beginning. Donald Trump has further extended his dictatorial control of the country by freezing all government functions that don’t serve his deranged agenda. The courts will try to fight him, but sadly not including the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will bow down, in most instances by votes of 6 to 3. They will take cases prematurely, rush out decisions too quickly, and will see no need to issue explanations of their thinking.

You know the old saying, “Buckle your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride”? We can’t do that anymore. They have taken our seat belts away.

And, yes, I do hope someone proves me wrong.