The shutdown has been shut down

After shutting down the U.S. government for 16 days and driving the nation toward the brink of default, a chastened Congress voted last night (Eastern Daylight Time) to reopen federal agencies, call hundreds of thousands of civil servants back to work, and raise the US$16.7 trillion debt ceiling. An agreement struck by Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell ended a stalemate created last month, when hard-line conservatives pushed GOP leaders to use the threat of shutdown to block a landmark expansion of federally funded health coverage. “We’ve been locked in a fight over here, trying to bring government down to size, trying to do our best to stop Obamacare,” House Speaker John A. Boehner told a Cincinnati-area radio station. “We fought the good fight. We just didn’t win.” Of course they didn't. Their campaign was successful, but only in undermining popular support for the Republican Party. One side had to cave in eventually, and it was only fitting that dozens of anxious GOP lawmakers were ready to give President Obama almost exactly what he requested months ago: a bill to fund the government and increase the Treasury Department’s borrowing power with no strings attached. The Senate overwhelmingly ratified the deal 81 votes to 18, with more than half of Senate Republicans voting yes. A few hours later, the House followed suit, approving the measure 285 to 144. Eighty-seven Republicans joined a united Democratic caucus in approving the measure, allowing Congress to meet a critical Treasury Department deadline with one day to spare. But enough about that because a 32-year-old mom has drawn a firestorm of online criticism over a photo she posted on Facebook (pictured) to promote her fitness expertise that some say amounts to bullying. Maria Kang of Sacramento, California, shared a glossy shot of herself in ab-revealing workout gear along with her brood of three boys ages three years and under, below the caption "What's your excuse?" "I felt that if others can overcome incredible challenges to be in shape, why would my story be any different?" Kang, a sometime model and TV fitness expert who also owns a residential care home for the elderly, explained on her personal website. Here's my excuse: staying "in shape" is for those who are vain or have no self-esteem.