My son is in the Army and he won't get paid. My friends work at military bases and they are off work and not getting paid. It is the ripple effect, it gets us all!

My mother continues to work for Department of Homeland Security because she is considered "essential" but she won't be getting her full pay and if the shutdown lasts longer she'll be working without pay--yet she has to somehow pay bills, and take care of my grandmother. I can't get my passport renewed because it's a "nonessential" service. I'm supposed to visit the UK at the end of the year but can't leave the country without a passport! The Tea Party loonies can't be allowed to hold our government hostage. That is a terrorist act! They should be fired and tried for committing a terrorist act against the American people.

Republican extremism has impacted me in this way:

Republican extremism has impacted me. I am worried that I won't have the money to buy medicine. I also worry about paying for food and vet care for my pets.

Congress is NOT doing their job. They do not negotiate, they do not know how to get past single-issue agendas, and they are controlled by special interests. They cannot pass a budget, which is perhaps the most fundamental task of our elected Representatives and Senators. Instead, they hold hostage 800,000 federal employees, withhold basic government services to all Americans, and put America's credit and credibility on the line, even as they bury our struggling economy at the rate of $1 billion per week. And, ironically, we elect and pay members of the House and Senate to do this. But this is NOT why we voted them into office. It's time to demand a recall vote, but the crafters of our Constitution did not authorize citizens' right to recall Members of Congress as they never envisioned that Congress would fail to do their job. The Constitution needs to be amended so that Americans do not have to be at the mercy of a Congress that is derelict in their collective duty.

Republican extremism will impact me in this way: Having just retired after 43 years of teaching, I am concerned about my state teacher pension and my Social Security. We could not handle our load.

It's disgusting to watch the Tea Party running things in Washington. And to think it's all about the greed of a few richest Americans! Republicans have ruined my life, and they continue to ruin more people's lives by running the government into the ground and then blaming it on my precious Obama. Please, Republicans, stop lining your own pockets at the expense of the working class!

My family is affected by this shutdown because my Marine husband has been furloughed from not one but two jobs: his VA position with the HAC and his Marine Corps Reserve position. Now I am off to figure out how we are going to pay our bills and feed our children. If this is what sixteen years of military service and Veterans' Affairs representation means to the powers that be in this country, then I am sad for the blind and greedy direction in which we are headed.

My first two of five children got their Head Start at its beginning in the 60s when we lived in Woodside Queens. Social Security and the Veteran's Administration Hospital have kept me going. Let it be known that I totally support Obama and his imperfect but breakthrough Affordable Medical Plan. I hope it morphs into a one-payer plan which is what it is meant to be before it collapses under the attack of the rich and selfish Republicans and their naive and ignorant followers in the Tea Party. All people in and out of all levels of government must demonstrate and speak out. Actions speak louder than words.

Republican extremism has impacted me: My application for fuel assistance may not be considered until the shutdown ends.

I have family, friends and neighbors who, in one way or another, are being affected by this group of narrow-minded politicians. It has had a domino effect that has interrupted the growth of our economy to such an extent that I am fearful about my pending retirement. I've watched the value of my 401K go up and down. I look forward to reaping the benefits of Affordable Health Care and shrinking the "donut hole" but if the Tea Party and Southern Conservatives have their way, I anticipate a hardship once I begin to receive coverage for my medications that I sorely need. The Tea Party scares the life out of me. They seem to be no different than a blossoming dictatorship that does not value the poor, children, minorities and women. They are holding us hostage and they have guns to back themselves.

I am no longer proud to be an American when I see such self-centered hypocritical people taking over our government.