Newsweek’s Sarah Kliff attempts to put the inactivity on Capitol Hill in perspective.

As snowmaggedon continues to wreak havoc on the Capitol, the House has suspended all votes through Friday. Congress taking an entire snow week is rife with opportunities to mock the government’s uncanny ability to use any and all excuses to justify inaction. One editorial cartoon, a drawing of our nation’s capital blanketed in snow, comes with the tagline: “where every day is a snow day.”

But if you want to talk about really egregious government shutdowns explained with implausible excuses, just take a look at our neighbors to the north (incidentally, this Gaggler’s home country): using the Olympics as a partial justification, the Canadian Parliament is in the middle of a two-month shutdown.