We’re hours away from a government shutdown because Republicans want to use their hatred of lady parts to extract maximum budget cuts. Apparently John Boehner agreed to drop that rider last night, if we’re to believe Harry Reid, but then Boehner sent a 4am email saying he couldn’t sell it to his caucus. He’s not really in control.

According to information at the Reprieve web site, “Chadian citizen, Mohammed el Gharani was the youngest prisoner in Guantánamo Bay, arrested when he was just 14. In January 2009, a federal judge ordered his release and he was returned to Chad in June 2009.”

After his release, Gharani told the Miami Herald that after Barack Obama became president, his treatment did not get any better, including being beaten by a rubber baton and tear-gassed. During the years of his detention, he was subjected to solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, stress positions, and suspension from his wrists at least 30 times.

Exactly right. JoAnne Kloppenburg is, at this hour, within the 0.5% that would allow her to call for a recount paid for by the state. She should exercise the option. And extreme care should be taken with Waukesha County. This could all turn out to be perfectly legitimate. All doubt of that can and should be removed.

Feeling poleaxed by the audacious hopes it raised during the ‘08 campaign, Team Obama will attempt to lower expectations going into 2012–and nothing lowers expectations like proving yourself irrelevant.

I think there’s a notion out there, expressed on the right, that shutting down a bunch of government functions that they don’t like anyway has benefits in and of itself, and furthermore it saves the government cash in the short run. But that’s actually not true.

This has to be the shortest honeymoon in the history of American politics.

With less than half a day to cut a budget deal to delay or prevent a government shutdown, now would probably be a good time to familiarize ourselves with some of the facts about what a shutdown of the federal government would mean.

Embedded here is about the most straightforward and complete take on who and what will and won’t be affected by a federal government shutdown. Please share it with anyone you think might need the info, and if you have any additional news about a government agency, service, or venue, please let us hear about it in comments.

Polling shows the public divided on whether to blame Democrats or Republicans. The establishment media doesn’t want to be seen as choosing sides. And since there is an even split of powers in our Constitution, unlike many other democracies, there isn’t the clear accountability of being able to point to the party that controls this one specific chamber/office as the obvious offender.

With just hours to go until a shutdown, it’s worth noting that there is a slight disconnect within the Republican caucus. As the truth leaks out that Planned Parenthood – Planned Parenthood! – is at the heart of the negotiations, some Republicans are experiencing discomfort.

As Dick Durbin said yesterday, this isn’t about the deficit, it’s about bumper stickers.