Government Shutdown 2011: Disaster Averted?

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R) just before the House voted
(source: NPR)

I'd like to start off this post with apologizing for my inactivity this past week--last week, there was a lot of stuff going on (some personal things, including the play--my final production in high school :[ ) and I just wasn't able to post. But, sitting down to write this blog is somewhat nerve racking, considering all that has happened in the past week! So I'm going to start off talking about something that many people have been talking about, with either panic, confusion, or indifference. And that is the possibility of a government shutdown.

So lets start with the basics: what exactly is a government shutdown? When I first heard the term, I pictured all of the lights in the White House just going off, and a red panic button. The diction in that phrase is panic-inducing, and while it is a serious situation, it certainly isn't as though our government will literally "shut down."

So, here is the definition as provided by Wikipedia, and I think it's a pretty accurate one: "In U.S. politics, a government shutdown is when the government stops providing all but 'essential' services. Typically, services that continue despite a shutdown include police, fire fighting, postal service, armed forces, utilities, air traffic management, and corrections."

Not quite as scary as living in anarchy, but still far from an ideal situation. But, what pushed the United States to the brink of a government shutdown? It seemed to come almost out of nowhere.

The gist of the situation is this: the spending plan that the government has been operating under expired on Friday, and Democrats and Republicans have been fiercely battling over what the new spending plan would include. Mainly, the debate has been over public funding for Planned Parenthood and the EPA, which Republicans want to cut funding from and Democrats do not.

This seemingly never-ending battle between Democrats and Republicans is mainly the reason why the government was almost forced to shut down. After heated debate, a compromise wasn't even able to be reached until there was literally less than an hour left until midnight, which is when the bill expired and the government would have shut down.

Luckily, the government shutdown didn't happen on Friday, as a compromise of $38 billion in budget cuts were approved. Yet, many people admit that this won't be enough. In fact, just yesterday, the Republican-dominated House of Representatives passed a budget plan that would cut trillions off of the high U.S. deficit, without one vote from a Democrat. Whether the plan will pass in the Democrat-dominated Senate is extremely unlikely.

So, we're practically back at the beginning. The only thing that could get Republicans and Democrats to compromise on something was the imminent threat of a government shutdown. But is the disaster completely averted? In my opinion, no. I think the "disaster" in this situation, is more than the possibility of government shutdown--that was just a result. I think the real disaster is the unwillingness of Democrats and Republicans to work together to reach some sort of compromise. And this is what will happen in the future: Republicans will pass a bill in the House without any Democratic votes, and the Senate will shut it down. That process will just repeat and repeat, because no one feels the need to compromise until repercussions are knocking at the door.

While Republicans and Democrats remain stubborn and unwilling to compromise, our country has and will continue to suffer. In order to move forward and ensure that our country doesn't fall so great into debt that we can no longer function properly, Republicans and Democrats have to be willing to compromise. In a democracy, the mantra "My way or the Highway" will just be met with a lot of red lights.

The Future of Israel

source: NPR

Amidst all of the unrest happening in the Middle East (specifically in Libya),  a question has lingered on the minds of many American Jews: what does this mean for Israel?

I've seen people have this concern all around me, and most of the people I've spoken with seem to have the same concern: on one hand, they want to support the countries in breaking free from tyranny and establishing democracy. But, they fear what will happen to Israel if this is the case.

And it's easy to see why people are concerned. Israel's history with her neighboring countries has been messy and violent. The stability of Israel is brought into question nearly every day. And, in recent weeks, violence in Israel has been steadily increasing.

But what happened? Wasn't it just in September when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas began peace talks? Why the sudden outbreak of violence after what seemed to be steps towards improvement?

Some, such as University of Maryland professor Shibley Telhami, believe that the unrest in the Middle East has been a major setback for Israeli-Palestinian peace. He says: "There's a lot of pressure in the Arab world as a consequence of these revolutions, including from Egypt, on the Palestinian Hamas to make up, which has not been kind of the trend in the diplomacy. So all of that sets it back, for sure. But to assume that it's going to go away is almost laughable, almost laughable."

But the question still remains: will peace ever be attainable?

Especially now, with the relationship between Israel and Egypt's new government unknown, there is fear that Israel may be eradicated. In fact, a recent article from the Jerusalem Post  warns that if demographic trends in Israel continue, its statehood may cease to exist.

So, leave your thoughts in a comment below. Is Israeli-Palestinian peace achievable? Will Israel ever be accepted by neighboring Arab countries, or will the tension always exist?