The storm never happened. This morning it admitted defeat and became a remnant low off the coast of Louisiana – pulled apart by Winter Storm Atlas, which has spread misery and destruction across the US.

The cold front associated with that storm is dumping rain on us locally, and its passing might mean switching from air conditioning to heat. I’ll wait to see.

Cruz the Confused and Incomprehensible was on the Sunday talk show circuit proclaiming that the shut down of the government must be followed by defaulting on the National debt [violating the Constitution and common sense] to attack Obamacare. [What we really need in this country is a cure for electoral dysfunction…]

After a lot of parsing and legal opinions, the Department of Defense is recalling most of its civilian work force. My Mother will be happy that the Commissary will reopen, and the troops will be happy that they will be able to receive the promised pay. Among those who got laid off were the people who actually prepare and disburse the payroll – a small oversight on behalf of Congress.

Of course the suppliers who deal with government contracts and their supply chains are totally screwed up because of the interruption. The super-efficient ‘just-in-time’ inventory control systems don’t react well when major customers suddenly stop buying. This is going to end up costing a lot of businesses a great deal of money. I would guess that the government shut down will increase the deficit – the amount dependent on how long it continues. Large enterprises take a long time to restart after an interruption.