Marking Time

Sailors and Seamen know: Red Right Returning! We look to the markers and road signs of the sea: Buoys, and we know the rules of the Sea. Always Keep the Red Buoy on the Ship's Right, when returning to Home Port. So, that means, when leaving the docks and the port, Green on the starboard, or right side. But what to do with this one? It's Red AND Green?

We're into day 27 of the government shutdown. While for some, this government shutdown does not affect them, Many Americans, it does hit hard. If you happen to eat food, or drink water, or you know... breathe, the government agencies tht monitor pollution, inspect food for disease, or water for more pollution, ....well? Shut down!

Anyone with a kid applying to, or returning to college, Fafsa forms for financial aid, are not being processed. Some types of food stamps and housing aid are not happening. Anyone who is a Native American is getting screwed over for who knows how many times, and now, any form of federal assistance is not happening for them.

Locally, I spend a great deal of time at National Parks, shooting my images, or out on the water, boating. National Parks are open, with people leaving trash all over, getting lost, and in a few cases, simply dying. Without Rangers for Protection and assistance, people are getting hurt, or dying.

On the ocean, the US Coast, for only the first time since the Civil War, is going without getting paid. That's right, a branch of US Military, the men and women who daily risk their lives for others, is going without getting paid. ATONS, Aides to navigation, are getting serviced. Buoys drift. Less stations are manned. Less critical needs are being met. Inspections for safety are not happening.

Oh? Border security? Ports are not effectively being secured. And, in case you did not know, more illegal aliens come through legal ports, like harbors where drugs come through, and airports, than over land across the southern border.
This shutdown is hurting the men and women of the US Coast Guard. Many young families cannot afford to miss paychecks.
/rant

BTW, a Green and Red Buoy marks the center where two channels cross each other. The Men and Women of the Coast Guard check these markers, to ensure the tides and currents have not moved them. Unless of course, the President is a fool and insists on funding for a wall that simply does not address border security or stop drug smuggling.