Shutdown, Continued

Republicans still terrible. Government still shut down.

Senate leaders are reportedly close to a deal. We've heard that before! But as the default deadline looms, there's increasing pressure to just get this shit done already. So they're scrambling to put together a deal that would kick the can down the road to early next year, so we can go through this all over again.

Of course, that is no deterrent to the fuckery of House Republicans—who, if you can believe this (you can definitely believe this!), were trying to include in their DOA deal yesterday "a so-called 'conscience clause' that would exempt employers (citing religious objections) from having to provide coverage for birth control as part of the health care plans they offer employees. This idea has been on the Republican wish list for years—Obamacare already has this sort of exemption for churches, mosques, and other places of worship—and with Washington in full-on crisis mode, GOPers are looking to exploit current circumstances to win this long-running fight."

I say once again: My contempt for this shit cannot be measured on a scale fathomable by human intellect.