[ryandrake]

Another similar example: Since it's tax time, I had to call a us gov office with a question. The first rep claimed "their system was down" and couldn't help me. I hung up and called back. The second rep was just nasty and stonewalled me by inundating me with security questions and refusing to "verify" my identity, so I eventually hung up and called back a third time. The third rep answered my question within a few minutes, and was a thorough pleasure to deal with.

I mean, I get that these guys might not be getting paid, with the government shutdown tomfoolery, but come on!

[kelnos]

Isn't it just DHS that's shut down? Presumably the people you were talking to are at the IRS, and they're still getting paid.