Let It Burn <http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/07/04/let-it-burn-3/> by John Cole
Meanwhile, in Minnesota: <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/us/03minnesota.html?ref=politics> With no sign of a budget deal in sight, Minnesota awoke on Saturday to Day 2 of a state government shutdown, and, if anything, more confusion not moreclarity about how one actually carries out this sort of thing. Consider these nuanced rules: the state's Department of Revenue says it still expects people to pay their taxes, but it will not be sending out refunds. Residents may renew their driver's licenses in certain locations, but no actual driver's exams will be offered. The Minnesota Zoo is closed to visitors, but a "Music in the Zoo" concert series, including a performance on Saturday evening by The Monkees, of 1960s fame, was to proceed (though no non-human animals were to be on display). Any questions? If so, you may not wish to call the state in search of clarity. Some closed Minnesota departments are, of course, not there to answer the phones. Or their email. Or to update their Websites; many departments, in fact, redirected Web visitors to BeReadyMn.com for a rundown of the state's contingency plans and a sense of which services, deemed critical, have gone right on. And so, as Minnesota's politicians, whose clash over how to fix the state's deficit led to a shutdown that began Friday, took what some described as a cooling-off period with no further negotiations this weekend, Minnesotans were left to navigate what it really meant to close a state a scenario rarely undertaken in the nation and, it seemed by Saturday, one with few sure, simple rules. I'm increasingly of the opinion that we need to give the wingnuts what they want. Shut it all down. No police. No firemen. No National Guard. Just let the god damned state burn. I am so fed up with these fanatics and lunatics, I just want them to get a good solid dose of what they really want. I'm tired of protecting them from themselves. And I'm tired of the underclass of very poor wingnuts who make no money, rely on the state and the feds, but vote for these nutjobs because the baby jeebus tells them to. Maybe a couple months without the services they need to survive will knock some sense into them. http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/07/04/let-it-burn-3/ <http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/07/04/let-it-burn-3/>
