From the AP:
Now in its second week, the partial government shutdown
has taken its toll on the White House, where about 3 of 4 staffers have been
furloughed, barred even from checking the BlackBerrys they usually clutch like
worry beads.
* AND...???
Of the 1,701 advisers, assistants, number-crunchers,
butlers, chefs and landscapers who work at the White House on a normal day,
fewer than 450 are on duty, according to President Barack Obama's budget
office. The rest fall under an unfortunate label that has kept hundreds of
thousands of federal workers home: "non-essential."
* AND WE WANT "NON-ESSENTIAL WORKERS" ON THE
FEDERAL PAYROLL... WORKING AT THE WHITE HOUSE... WHY...?!?!
* FOLKS... WE'RE NOT TALKING 1 OF 4 EMPLOYEES DEEMED
"NON-ESSENTIAL," WE'RE TALKING 3 OF 4; WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU ABOUT
OVER-STAFFING?
* QUESTION: IF TODAY'S WHITE HOUSE EMPLOYEE HEADCOUNT IS
NORMALLY 1,701... WHAT WAS IT BACK IN JIMMY CARTER'S DAY... THE LAST TIME OUR
COUNTRY WAS IN SUCH DIRE ECONOMIC STRAIGHTS AS WE'RE IN TODAY? (AS YOU'LL
NOTICE, THE AP DOESN'T ASK - LET ALONE PROVIDE AN ANSWER - TO THIS QUESTION.)
At one entrance to the West Wing, a wall that normally
displays clippings from the day's newspapers hasn't been updated in over a
week.
* AND...???
* BY THE WAY... WHAT ARE THEY USING THE TAXPAYER SUPPLIED
BLACKBERRYS FOR IF THEY'RE LITERALLY CLIPPING NEWSPAPER ARTICLES TO A WALL...???
The staff of 90 that normally tends to the president's
residence has been cut to 15.
* AND...??? SO...???
* WHY IN GOD'S NAME DO THE RESIDENCE QUARTERS REQUIRE A
STAFF OF 90 IN THE FIRST PLACE? HOW MANY SQUARE FEET ARE WE TALKING? (I WONDER
IF QUEEN ELIZABETH HAS 90 FULL TIME STAFFERS FOR ALL OF BUCKINGHAM PALACE -
WHICH DWARFS THE WHITE HOUSE IN SQUARE FOOTAGE!) (AGAIN...
"INTERESTING" THAT THE AP DOESN'T SEEM INTERESTED IN SUCH QUESTIONS.)
In the West Wing, only a scaled-back menu is available at
the White House mess.
* OH...!!! THE HORROR...!!!
Trash cans are still being emptied and the bathrooms
maintained...
* I SHOULD HOPE SO! YOU'VE STILL GOT 450 PEOPLE WORKING
IN WHAT AMOUNTS TO A SMALL MANSION!
"The most evident impact is the lack of
voices," said Josh Earnest, Obama's principle deputy press secretary.
"There aren't a bunch of people yammering on the phone."
* AND THIS IS BAD HOW...???
Vice President Joe Biden gets to keep the single staffer
who works at his Naval Observatory residence, but his 24-person White House
team has been cut in half.
* SO HE HAS A STAFF OF 13. RIGHT? (1 + 12 = 13)
Like Obama, who is skipping a planned trip to Asia this
week, Biden also has had to trim back his schedule. His office said Tuesday
that he was calling off a trip to New Jersey Friday for Newark Mayor Cory
Booker's Senate campaign.
* AND THIS HAS WHAT EXACTLY TO DO WITH THE NATION'S
BUSINESS...??? PERHAPS BIDEN COULD INSTEAD USE THE TIME DOING... OH... I DON'T
KNOW... HIS JOB, MAYBE?
Last week Biden canceled a speech to the gay rights group
Human Rights Campaign and an appearance at a fundraiser for House Democratic
candidates.
* AGAIN WITH THE FUNDRAISING...
Even Obama pitched in last week as he left the White
House for a visit to a nearby sandwich shop without the usual entourage of
staffers who shepherd the media accompanying him. With more senior staff
filling in as "wranglers," journalists ended up trailing behind the
president, only able to see his back.
* SOUNDS LIKE THE PRESIDENT HAD A GOOD TIME HE OTHERWISE
WOULDN'T HAVE HAD!
"Let's go, wranglers!" the president teased his
staff, pausing to tell reporters to get in front.
The White House "advance" office, which
coordinates the president's travel, is just about shuttered.
* AND THE PRESIDENT STAYING IN WASHINGTON ATTENDING TO
THE NATION'S BUSINESS PERSONALLY IS A PROBLEM HOW EXACTLY...???
That's also meant fewer outings for Obama and first lady
Michelle Obama — a cutback that also reflects the touchy optics of pursuing
leisurely activities while federal workers are furloughed. Since the shutdown
started, Obama hasn't played a round of golf, as he does almost every weekend.
* POOR BABY...
And there was no fancy night at a restaurant for the
president and Mrs. Obama, who marked their 21st wedding anniversary Thursday.
* THEY LIVE IN THE WHITE HOUSE... EVERY DINNER CAN BE
"FANCY" IF THEY WANT IT TO BE!
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