The country has changed for the worse. In past gov’t shutdowns the president worked to keep the gov’t functioning and tried to get opposing parties to the table. Today the President is throwing gas on the fire as the country is coming apart at the seams. Witness the decline of our civilian air traffic system. If the President was not motivated to intensify the effects of Gov’t shut down he would issue an Executive Order authorizing salaries for air traffic controllers. We now are at a point in this country where we expect the president to aggravate a crisis for his political advantag