Why Dems may shut down govt, dont shrug off failed bombings and other commentary

Don’t bet on a deal to avoid a government shutdown when the “current stopgap spending measure expires on March 14,” warns New York magazine’s Ed Kilgore.“With just over three weeks until the money runs out, there have been virtually no real negotiations,” and “the two parties are perhaps farther apart than ever in their ideas about appropriate spending levels.” “Most important,” while Senate Dems can block any deal, Democrats are “horrified by the ever-proliferating power grabs undertaken so quickly by Trump and his agents — and by what they are doing with that power.” “Passively watching the whole crazy show” looks bad for Dems in Congress, “whose constituents are frantic for them to do something.” This may well be their only shot this year to do anything about it.Explosive planted on buses, meant “to detonate during the Friday morning rush hour, could have killed or maimed hundreds of innocent civilians” but for “a technical failure”; now the perps “must be hunted down, and those responsible — whether in the West Bank, Gaza, or Tehran — must face the consequences,” argues the Jerusalem Post editorial board.

Early signs are that Iran planned the attack while Hamas terrorists from the West Bank executed it; “if true, this is not merely a localized terror attack — it is part of a broader strategy by Iran to destabilize Israel through its proxies.” “A powerful, unambiguous response is not just necessary for deterrence — it is the only way to ensure that such an attack never comes close to succeeding again.”“Americans think government is wasteful” but “support for DOGE is lukewarm,” notes Reason’s J.D.Tuccille.

Pew polls show 56% “of Americans say government is ‘almost always wasteful and inefficient,’ ” yet “DOGE draws just a 39 percent ‘favorable’ rating” in the latest The Economist/YouGov poll.“DOGE faces obstacles from Democrats who recognize that the government is cor...