Another big Friday news day

Briefly, here's what's been happening:

1.  The #3 person at the Justice Department has resigned after many years as a highly respected career attorney to go into the private sector.   People who  know her say she's fed up with the work environment at the DoJ under Trump and Sessions.   She's the one who would have become the overseer of the Mueller investigation if Rod Rosenstein gets fired or has to recuse himself.   Now who?

2.  The president announced that he will not declassify and allow to be released the Democratic rebuttal to the Nunes memo.   Even though the Dem's memo had already been run by the FBI and the Justice Department for any redactions they felt were needed.   Trump obviously is turning it into a political weapon -- because the Dem's memo refutes what Trump claimed "completely vindicated" him in the Nunes memo.

3.  The White House Secretary had to resign yesterday because of credible accusation by two ex-wives of serious and documented domestic violence.   Today's story is about who in the WH knew what, when.   Gen. Kelly seems to be lying -- and asking staff to lie for him -- about when he knew.   He was told months ago that this was why Porter's security clearance hadn't come through.   Kelly's defense is probably that he didn't believe the accusations against Porter until he saw the ex-wife's black-eye picture.   That's the only way it makes sense;  othewise, he is simply lying.  So speculation is rampant about Kelly having to resign.

4,  A second White House staffer, a speechwriter, also having trouble getting an FBI security clearance, had to resign because of allegation by his ex-wife of spousal physical abuse.

5.  Vice President Mike Pence attended the opening ceremonies for the Olympics in South Korea, sitting just feet away from the leader of the North Korean delegation, Kim Jong-un's sister.   Pense snubbed her, and he tried to throw cold water at every opportunity on the North and South's attempts at a thaw and the opening for talks.   Pense kept reminding the media, in every statement, not to be fooled by the North's "propaganda."   He reminds me of the odd uncle at a family gathering, standing off, aloof, with that bland, half-smirk on his face.

6.  Oh, yes, by the way.   From midnight until 5:20 am Friday, the government was shut down -- again.    And, again, it was because Congress hadn't been able to pass a budget bill, this one for spending.  This time, it was Rand Paul who refused to allow the vote on the bill that had bipartisan support.   Paul was making his point about the addition to the deficit from this spending bill.   I agree with him that the deficit and national debt are too big.   But it's more the fault of the Republican's big tax cuts than of this important spending bill, which provides both for the military and for domestic spending.

7.   But in the wee hours, when Paul finally allowed  a vote, the bill was passed with bipartisan support.   And the shutdown government was reopened.  The news here is that for the first time in a long time, we actually have a two year budget, instead of all these short-term bandaids.  That's the big news, not the 5 hour and 20 minute shutdown.

No, that wasn't the week's news;  that was Friday's news.   At least the headline items.

Ralph