he U.S. government has now been partially shut down for three weeks, the longest such closure in our nation's history. What began as an act of brinksmanship and political hostage-taking by Donald Trump in an effort to extort billions of dollars for his wall along the Mexican border has spiraled out of control. Trump and the Republican Party's gambit has left almost a million federal employees without pay, created a situation where some federal employees may even be made homeless, imperiled public safety -- including the country's food supply -- and in total betrayed the common good and the president's oath to protect the well-being of the country. When asked about the harm his shutdown of the federal government is doing to the American people Trump reportedly told Democratic Party leaders, “Then you won’t give me what I want.”