ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

One Positive Effect of U.S. Government Shutdown October, 2013

Updated on May 25, 2014

While Much of the U.S. Government was Closed Down, Congress Still Played Games

Source

"It's an ill wind that blows no good...."


Like the majority of Americans, I was appalled when Congress allowed the closure of most U.S. government services at midnight October 1, 2013 after an extremist faction forced its party to try to hijack the Affordable Healthcare Act. I hope there are some saner heads within the GOP and that moderate Republicans will wrest control of their party from that small bullying group. Our country needs bipartisan cooperation and compromise for the good of the country and all of its citizens.

Every day this issue remained unresolved and our government departments were shuttered weakened us as a nation. This type of political impasse, increasingly common in a government where certain groups ignore the good of the country and all its people, can irrevocably harm our economy and our international standing. Because this is a volatile issue, I hesitated before I wrote the title to this hub and included the words, "positive effect." Now I will explain why I used them.

This is my first political topic hub, but it is not, as you may think, a hub about the government shutdown. Instead, my focus is on one aspect of that situation that may be seen as positive, even though the overall action of government closure was negative. Hence that old saw, "It's an ill wind...."

I refer to the continuing resolution that was passed in March, 2013 with a rider sneakily attached at the last minute--the Monanto Protection Act. This abominable and unprecedented protection for a huge biochemical company originated with the Senate Appropriations Committee in 2012, and its language was perfected to Monsanto's liking by Missouri Republican Senator Roy Blount working with Monsanto personnel. Missouri, you see, is Monsanto's corporate home.

The Monsanto Protection Act, when it became known, sparked outrage among Americans who are against GMOs, tens of thousands of whom signed a petition against it written by the nonprofit Center for Food Safety. Groups protesting the insertion of this rider without Congressional hearings or public input via a letter to Capitol Hill included 129 food retailers, farming organizations, organic food companies and consumer organizations.

This unpopular legislation would have prohibited courts from preventing Monsanto's sale or planting of any GMOs challenged by organic or other non-GMO farmers, public health groups or anyone concerned about the health and environmental effects posed by those GMOs.

In effect, chemical giant Monsanto would have been given carte blanche to plant GMO crops even if their legality was challenged. Even though there are no long-term studies showing their health and environmental effects. In spite of independent study results showing GMOs are harmful. With no recourse to anyone through the country's court system because it would be hamstrung by such legislation.

Can you believe this? Citizens who recognize the stranglehold deep-pocketed and powerful corporations such as Monsanto have on the country through their donations to Congressional campaigns could believe it...and they didn't like it. There was a firestorm of dissent across America.

Senator Barbara Mikulski, who succeeded the late Senator Daniel Innouye as chairperson of the Appropriations Committee in December, 2012, worked hard to kill the Monsanto Protection Act during budget battles preceding the government shutdown. She included language in the Senate budget bill version that would have caused its demise. That version is a moot point at this stage, but the original resolution expired and, with it, the Monsanto Protection Act.

It isn't likely this overwhemingly unpopular rider will reappear in any future budget or farm bills before Congress. The people spoke...and this time they heard us in Washington. There's a lesson here for American voters that "We, the People" do have power. We simply have to use it.

Grassroots efforts build strength from numbers of citizens who become actively involved. Get involved. Sign petitions. Make phone calls or write letters to your Congressional representatives and let them know where you stand on issues. Protests didn't have to end when the decade of the '60s ended. "We, the People" have voices...we have votes...we can make our wishes known. Let's continue to do so, in increasingly large numbers. Congress is supposed to work for us. Every senator and representative of the House needs to be reminded of that fact because they appear to have forgotten their duty. Any politician who was voted into office can be voted out--no matter how full his or her campaign chest is with money from big corporations. "We, the People" have that power. If we don't use it, we are giving away our country and our rights.


Source


Thanks for reading and supporting this HubPages writer!


Please vote and leave comments. Your feedback is valuable to me.

NOTE: I am the author of this article, and it is owned by me in entirety. It is not available for use by reproducing in any form without my express written permission. If you see all or any part of this article (as written) on another site, please notify me where it can be found. Theft of a writer's work is plagiarism, and stealing another's words is no less wrong than any other theft.


© 2013 Jaye Denman

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)