Almost two weeks into the federal government shutdown, there are still 800,000 employees sitting at home, waiting for Congress to approve a budget and allow them to get back to work. Meanwhile, members of Congress have not had any hold placed on their paychecks, and a growing number of people are not happy about it.

Former Marin Assemblyman Bill Bagley is a gregarious and genial man. Those who drive highway 101 just beyond the Golden Gate Bridge might recognize the freeway, named for this Republican, that begins just before the Waldo Tunnel on the Marin side of the structure. Yes, a Republican once represented the now liberal enclave that is Marin County. But Bagley wasn’t the kind of Republican we see all too often today.

Habemus Papam! We have a Pope! The centuries-old tradition of locking 115 men in a room until they make a decision still works today. This brings us to an old idea for getting rid of gridlock in our political system.

Mayor Reed should come out of the closet. No, not that closet. I’m talking about the closet inhabited by local politicos who call themselves Democrats, because it suits their electoral ambitions despite plainly conservative fiscal—and social—values.