When it’s not making us take our shoes off, it’s trampling our civil
 liberties and ‘building’ centers that don’t exist. Enough already.

Are you nervous, America?

If nothing happens before Friday, the mighty Department of
Homeland Security (DHS)—
every bit as much a WTF legacy of George W. Bush as those
surreal White House
Christmas videos that featured Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson
talking to Barney
“the First Dog” like the Son of Sam killer—will lose its funding
due to a budget fight
between congressional Republicans and President Barack Obama.
And when DHS funding ends, then…well, nothing much, actually,
it turns out.
Without funding, about 30,000 “non-essential” DHS employees
will be told
not to show up for work. The other 210,000 or so workers who
are considered “essential”
and “exempt” will still have to punch the clock, although most
of them won’t get paid until
after the budget stalemate is ended. Not optimal, but not the
worst outcome, either.