Virag Pachpore
A common American citizen finds himself trapped in between the obstinacy of the Republicans, and prestige of the President Barack Obama over the proposed ‘Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act” or simply the ‘Obamacare Act’ that caused the US shut down ‘first in the past 17 years’. The shut down sent 800,000 employees home, closed national parks, and all operations of the Federal government.
The shutdown erupted after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives failed to come to an agreement with the Democrat-led Senate with regards to passing the federal budget. At the core of the issue was the GOP’s reluctance to accept Obama’s Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” which finally went into effect amid the shutdown, notwithstanding negative sentiment from the Republican Party.
“This Republican shutdown did not have to happen, but I want every American to understand why it did happen,” the President said. “Republicans in the House of Representatives refused to fund the government unless we defunded or dismantled the Affordable Care Act. They’ve shut down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable health insurance to millions of Americans, Obama said in his speech from Rose Garden, surrounded by people dependent on the healthcare.
The President even labeled this opposition of the Republican Lawmakers as “ideological crusade” and described it as “Republican shutdown”. He said by closing much of government an out-of-control faction of House Republicans was putting the nation’s fragile recovery at risk of an “economic shutdown.” “They’ve shut down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable health care to millions of Americans,” the President said.
The White House rejected a Republican plan to reopen portions of the US government as the first shutdown in 17 years closed landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and threw hundreds of thousands of federal employees out of work.
The crux of the US shutdown is Obama’s Healthcare plan and the opposition to it by the Republicans. Obama has majority in the Senates while the House of Representatives is dominated by the Republicans. These Republicans are very strong in their views on government spending. The US today has a domestic loan of $16.43 trillion that is 98 per cent of the total American GDP, which is quite higher. Ideally, the borrowings should be within 80 per cent of the GDP for any developed country. Obama’s healthcare plan envisaged more government spending on the medicare facilities and this has become the bone of contention.
There is a group of Republicans known as Tea Party group. The name has a historical reference as the Boston Tea Party had opposed the British colonial rulers during the American independence struggle. These conservative Republicans who are also called as ‘teapublicans’, opposed this new act. For Obama, the Healthcare Act is the first instrument signed under his seal as President and therefore, is a prestige issue to get it passed by the House.
Those who support them reacted against the Obamacare plan. One of the responses to this stand-off says; “The ideological crusade is on him. The American people clearly don’t want Obamacare. Obama has unconstitutionally delayed parts of the law himself. If he wants to put all those government employees back to work, then it’s time for him to back down on his ideological crusade. Or, does he only back down when dealing with terrorists halfway around the world?”
However, the average American has approved the Obamacare or Affordable Health care Act, as it ensures cheap health care facilities to them, which otherwise is a very costly and unaffordable affair. They do not favour the Republicans. If you do not want to obey the law of the land in the USA, then move to Russia. Of course Putin will listen to your complaints republicans. Isn’t he one of the republican idols that were admired on Fox news! The red in republican may mean they are really communist or worse fascists. They are trying to inflict as much damage as possible on the USA! Maybe they are a traitor crowd gone mad with minority power or they are just a bunch of lunatics! I hope they and their party goes down in flames! They sure hate America, and it shows by putting their ideas ahead of their service to the United States.
As far as the effects of this US shutdown on Indian economy are concerned the Indian exports would be the first to receive the blow. Nearly 60 per cent of the Indian export goes to American Government-run institutions and establishments. That will suffer in the first place should the shutdown continue further. Secondly, the US is spending more on renovation of the almost century-old infrastructure facilities. As the government uses its funds for the same, the infrastructure renovation would be the sufferer, which in turn affects the economic boost up.
President Barack Obama will have to face another test in the House on October 15, when the House takes up the issue of extending the loan limit. But with the government shut down, the political debate is likely to turn away from the relatively narrow issue of health care toward larger questions about the impact on the economy and the absence of expected services.
In the first move of its kind, the Jazira Club, a popular sports and country club in Cairo, Egypt, has, “in the context of what’s been happening in the nation,” just banned all entry to men wearing the traditional Muslim beard and women wearing the niqab, or full black mantle that conceals everything but their eyes. Nor is this new rule limited to visitors, but employees as well, some of whom have been dismissed for refusing to comply. Such is the open hostility that the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies have bred among secular Egyptians — including the millions who marched during the June 30 revolution — through their treason and terrorism. The male beard (with clipped mustache) and the female niqab are the quintessential indicators of “pure” Islam — which, far from being treated with honor or piety, growing numbers of Egyptians are now showing their open contempt for.
Just a week after jehadi attack in Kenya, Nigeria is the latest African country that faced similar loathsome attack by fanatics. In north-eastern Nigeria, on September 29, jehadis entered the Yobe State College of Agriculture in rural Gujba at midnight and opened fire at the students sleeping in dormitories, killing around 50; most of the students aged 18 to 22 years. The classrooms were burnt. The jehadis are believed to be from ‘Boko Haram’ terrorist group. The bodies of the deceased and around 18 wounded students were taken to hospital in Yobe State’s capital Damaturu, 25 miles away from the College. Some 1000 students of the College fled the campus to save their lives.
The situation of Nigeria is not much different from that of Kenya. In Kenya al-Shabab insurgents want to establish an Islamic regime, similar is the case with Boko Haram in Nigeria. Nigerian government is fighting Boko Haram since 2009-2010. Since 2010 Boko Haram has killed around 1700 people. Three states of North Eastern Nigeria are under a military state of emergency since May 14 this year. The official name of Boko Haram is “Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad” which in Arabic means “people committed to the propagation of the Prophet’s teachings and Jihad”. The group gained the name ‘Boko Haram’, which in local Hausa language can loosely be translated as ‘Western education is forbidden’, because the group is opposed to Western education. It regards schools as the symbols of Western culture.
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