This is the concept that has been on my mind as the Trump administration has progressed, and the fear of it happening has accelerated with the shutdown.

[link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascading_failure|
A cascading failure is a process in a system of interconnected parts in which the failure of one or few parts can trigger the failure of other parts and so on. Such a failure may happen in many types of systems, including power transmission, computer networking, finance, human body systems, and transportation systems.

Cascading failures may occur when one part of the system fails. When this happens, other parts must then compensate for the failed component. This in turn overloads these nodes, causing them to fail as well, prompting additional nodes to fail one after another.

it's really unnerving to watch, but that happened in a short, but very intense amount of time.

this "slow motion" tragedy reminds me of the concept of turning around an aircraft carrier. It takes 5 miles for it to slow down before it can even begin to turn.

at what point will we be "too close to land" to execute a proper turn?

what will be the checks and balances that will fall and cause the runaway failure?

once the feds close this friday and air traffic control all but ceases to function within a month and people who were "furloughed" from their jobs will start seeking other employment; at what point will our government become unsustainable? "drowned in a bathtub", if you will, to quote that bastard norquest.

more over, what truly terrifies the living shit out of me, is just how naked this nation will be to any form of attack since HLS is basically none functioning now.

I know this is a little bit of a "hair on fire" moment for me, but I can help but to game out the frightening possibilities.

Of all the terrifying possibilities, this is actually the least from my mind.

Namely because people seem to forget that any foreign powers or independent agents (terrorist cells, etc.) who would want to do the US harm are reading the news and observing what is happening over hear.

And my guess is they probably have less incentive to attack us now than any other time. We're weak, scattered and hobbled and getting worse. A major attack would probably galvanize the US public and motivate the government (Possibly in misguided ways, but I'm sure no one wants to be the next Iraq).

I mean a cyber attack.

Cancer patients, and others, who can't afford their medications and treatments. And the worse case scenario, an airline incident caused by exhausted, distracted TSA agents or air traffic controllers. I'm actually a little surprised a near or full blown tragedy hasn't happened, yet.

He will just consider it collateral damage and blame it on the Democrats, despite them giving him options to open and start paying just the most critical departments.

inspectors are not on the job either, that's another scary thought.

We are very vulnerable now.

Salads are off the menu.

And they will start shutting their doors, Nursing homes will start releasing patients...whether anyone admits it or not, the entire healthcare system is supported by Medicare.

Depraved, deranged, dangerous

And Kushner and other greed giants in the the trump administration.

...is a FEATURE of the shutdown for Trump.

There are LOTS of "advantages" in continuing the shutdown: Weaken the US & forcibly "shrink" government the way he and Putin want, as well as stopping the Dem congress and new freshmen from setting up district offices or carrying out normal business.

As for 800,000 working families in gov't jobs who are struggling or soon to be financially destroyed by this, he doesn't give a rat's ass about them.

This is about destroying our government and consolidating power under TRUMP and TRUMP alone, shrinking gov't to nothing, removing all the ethical and experienced people in it and replacing them with Trump sycophants whom he'll just fire if they don't lick his balls in the ways he prefers.

It's a feature, not a bug

the vultures are just waiting for the sell offs to begin.

Putin has zero incentive to prevent the car from going off a cliff -- he's not in it.

the possibility that Trump is an actual traitor who on behalf of a foreign adversary is consciously doing as much as he can to destroy the United States from within without firing a shot--before he finally has to jump in a plane in the middle of the night and defect to Russia. Perhaps he is smart enough to have known all along that his criminal past would eventually be revealed and has planned his exit strategy accordingly, figuring that a few more years of relative freedom in Russia under the protection of Putin will be better than the rest of his days spent in a U.S. prison.

that WIC stopped and that food stamps end later this month.

This is horrid - he is hurting the most vulnerable.

That shitweasel in the WH has plunged us into this national nightmare because he is worried about border security (so he says), but WHO patrols our coastal borders ? The Coasties, that's who. Either he wants security or he doesn't, but he can't have it both ways. I'm retired from the NAVY, and Coasties are some of my best friends. It is breaking my heart what is happening to them right now.

Every American should be screaming from the rooftops over this. It's an outrage and a slap in the face to the Coast Guard. Admiral Shultz has said it perfectly.

I hope your son gets through this. Tell him that this old salt is thinking of him.

When it gets bad enough, people will take to the streets. That's all the A'hole in Chief needs to call out the military (who have not missed a cent in pay) and take over industries.

Hitler (yea, that rule should be suspended when the shoe fits) didn't spring out as a full on Nazi, he was a minority figure that finagled his way into power then crushed any opposition. He took advantaged of low info voters with a grudge and racist hatred of outsiders and the elite.

I realize government isn't like a light switch, but the people who've been out will re-enter with full knowledge of how to get government back up to speed.

The real damage is to the people who've lost their necessities of food, clothing, shelter. Those should be immediately restored.

An immediate law should mandate that any third party entities must also restore government employees to full faith and credit ownership and transactions.

The one thing I'll bet government employees have learned from this is which party not to vote for.

THEY are destroying America.

said they wanted to shrink the federal gov't. They absolutely LOVE this occurrence. Making people poor means they will become more attached to whatever measly paycheck the corporate overlords will give.

America is under attack. Never forgive and never forget what repukes chose for America.