For the third time this year, a congressional stare down threatens a government shutdown. Let me start with you, senator W. and ask you if there is a point at which you think this is embarrassing?

Yes, it is embarrassing.

Are we there?

Can we once again inflict on on the country and the American people the spectacle of a near-government shutdown? I sure as heck hope not.

The US government runs out of money at the end of this week, unless a temporary spending bill is passed on Capital Hill. Inside the house version is money to replenish the Federal emergency management agency, FEMA, which assists disaster victims, tornadoes in Joplin, hurricane in the Northeast. The remarkable thing is that basically congress can't agree on something everyone is for funding FEMA. The crux of the matter is how and when to decide how to pay for it. Senate Democrats have rejected the House version saying Republicans are proposing to pay for increased FEMA funds with cutbacks in programs that create jobs. Nobody is budging, ergo stalemate, a looming shutdown and the politics that ensure.

I'll give the Senate Democrat leader most of the credit. He manufactured the crisis all week about disaster when this is no crisis, everybody knows who are going to pay for every single penny of disaster aid that the president declares and that FEMA certifies. One point about who to blame or not to blame on this current, hopefully non-shutdown is that there is a group. And I do believe that it is mostly centered in the House in terms of some of these tea party Republicans who say on every issue. We're going to make this a maker break.

Pointing figures about an impending shutdown can be good politics, but an actual shutdown is likely to hurt any politician in a 50-mile radius of Washington. Odds are good they'll figure this out, they have till Friday. Candy C. CNN. Washington.

So what you know this government shutdown, maybe, maybe not. As many as 800,000 thousand government workers could be sent home, so if you mom or dead is one, they might be home without pay. Applications for things issued by the government like IRS tax refunds, passports, visas, those could be delayed. And national parks could be closed as well as the national zoo, although zoo animals would still get fed. The list of things that would stay open is longer, we still get our mail, criminals would still be chased and prosecuted, anything to do with public safety keeps on running.