Citizens of the United States have been held hostage over the last two weeks.

Every man, woman and child in this nation was held as a form of security by the Republican Party in an attempt to defund, derail and dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

On Oct. 1 the Republican Party put a gun to the head of Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty when they refused to agree to the national spending bill on the unsupported notion that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was not what the American public wanted.

During an interview with NBC News on Oct. 6, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) acknowledged that the house had approved a funding bill in July, which had passed with no restrictions against ACA and at a figure that was $70 million lower.

However, the GOP decided to withdraw their support last-minute.

“I and my members decided the threat of Obamacare and what was happening was so important that it was time for us to take a stand,” Boehner said. “And we took a stand.”

As a result the government shut down, and all nonessential services and personnel that were working on Sept. 30 did not continue their roles on Oct. 1.

So, much like a terrorist from any part of the world, Boehner and the GOP crawled to the top of their slimy soap box and made it clear that people would get hurt until their demands were met.

Just how many people though?

Definitely more than the 233 Republican house representatives that have finally managed to bring the U.S. government to a screeching halt.

Due to the shutdown 19,000 children will be unable to attend their Head Start programs. If we were to include the casualties of the sequester, approximately 76,000 children have had their education hijacked for the political grandstanding of a handful of disgraced and disgruntled capitalists.

For those looking for a paradox, it would seem that a shutdown is contradictory to the profit-mongering mentality of the Republican. After all, this little stint of theirs cost the United States’ economy  approximately $300 million a day, according to IHS, a global market research firm. None of this money is coming out of their paychecks, so they don’t have to be in any real rush.

The Department of Health and Human Services released contingency staffing plan for operations in the absences of enacted annual appropriations on Oct. 1. In the memo is a long list of federal programs, seemingly operating in the background of everyday life, which would no longer continue to function for as long as the government was shut down.

Temporary assistance for needy families, child care and welfare services, the FDA’s annual seasonal influenza program and routine food inspections can no longer be supported, according to the memo.

Mr. Speaker, members of the GOP, when you’re asking why President Barack Obama was reluctant to meet with you to discuss or agree on your abortion of a budget, remember this, the white house doesn’t negotiate with terrorists.