Still closed.

By the time you read this, the numbers will be higher, as will both our collective tempers and our national debt. Chart by enigma.io

I have been, over the past few months, struggling with trying to define just what this blog is about. Is it a mommy-blog? A design blog? Should I write more about art? Music? Parties I go to? Cute people I see on the street? Disasters around the house?

Right now I have chosen all-of-the-above. Except maybe the parties, because I rarely go to those these days (cut to: peacefully sleeping child) But today I add a new category: politics. I generally stay away from this, as I don’t feel that I add anything profound to the conversation. I still don’t, but right now it’s so all-I-am-thinking-about that I can’t help myself. I promise to go back to cute-stuff-to-buy and stuff-to-do-with-your-kids in the next day or so.

And I am not going to get profound here, but I do just want to wonder, out loud, why we are not all in the streets protesting this crazy government shutdown and the takeover of our democratic political discourse by a small section of extreme right wingers.

The above chart by enigma.io makes it all very real. We are digging ourselves a bigger hole by the minute, and it doesn’t look like we’re getting out of it any time soon. Which means that we will emerge (if we emerge) in far worse shape than we started. Owing more money, behind in just about everything. It’s overwhelming, when I pause to take it all in. I mean, we’ve done all this work, clawing and scratching ourselves out of the Bush-era financial mess only to be pushed right back down into the pit by this new generation of Texas style politicians.

You can go to the DSCC, or the White House to learn more and potentially help out, aka sign petitions and donate money which seems to be what we do about pretty much everything these days.

And speaking of our MO, if you want to drive yourself crazy by seeing what segments of the government are deemed “essential” as opposed to others, check out this story on the Huffington Post.