# Trump's Shutdown **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 11, 2019, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577 "2019-01-11T06:18:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/421 "2019-01-25T13:24:58Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Which PTB were doing such discouraging and was it official policy? I was in the military in 1984 and that was not what that meme was addressing. It was for people who wanted exemptions from some duties or were complaining excessively about how tough the military is on family life. Accepting people who already have dependents for enlistment as E-1 and paying “with dependents” allowances kind of prove the services really don’t mind Privates, Seaman Recruits, and Airmen Basic having dependents. Well, YMMV, and no, I don’t think it was an _official_ policy. As you said, the mechanics are there for getting them dependents’ and housing allowances but they were inadequate even in places cheaper to live in than coastal California like my last duty station in [Winter Harbor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Harbor,_Maine), Maine. But I have anecdotal evidence of a kid wanting to marry his high school sweetheart and his Chief, Division Head, XO and the chaplain successfully talked him into waiting until he’d a few more promotions under his belt. Even better than a housing allowance is to get base housing so you can live rent-free regardless of what the rental market is on the outside but there is a limited number and I never heard of anybody below the rank of E-4 getting it with E-6 being much more common. Oh, and anybody who is still E-1 after about six months in is pretty dumb or screwed up somewhere, not that an E-2’s pay is much better. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/422 "2019-01-25T13:25:00Z")
> [@HelenGawn](#): > > Trump has heard the insult “nancy-boy” flung around and thinks he insulting Pelosi by calling her by her name. He was trying out “Fancy Nancy” until an aide gingerly explained to him that it wasn’t much of an insult. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/423 "2019-01-25T13:34:56Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Ooh! I know her. She’s a personal friend. Not a wall expert _per se_ but a licensed Professional Engineer accepted as an expert civil engineer (which includes walls) in court. > > And yes, very smart and actually an expert, not that you really need to be to see that the ‘wall’ was impractical, not cost effective, and not likely to be effective at its purported goals. She was shocked the post went viral and never expected it to go much beyond her Facebook circle. > > She’s also gotten a lot of disgusting messages (predominantly, as you might expect, from white men) in response. She’s only shared a few of those, and they make you despair for humanity. She’s the first expert I’ve seen to provide actual facts about what it would take to build that wall and why what’s been put forward so far is so much shit. I truly regret the assholes, though. I’ve never understood the urge to abuse someone who is providing you with facts. Sometimes I think they do it because it’s the only way they can feel like manly men. I hope she’s reporting them to the local police. I’d suggest reporting them to the FBI, since if there were threats they’ve likely “crossed state lines” which would (I think, I am not a lawyer) put them under federal jurisdiction but of course right now the Feds can’t do anything because of having no money. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/424 "2019-01-25T13:59:40Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > One wonders if Trump’s stubborness on the Wall might be because he made some promises to bent-nose fellows in “the construction bidness”\*. Or if he just expects to enrich himself by operating through shell companies to receive the payments for construction. > > I’m not completely serious about this proposal, but I’d bet whatever cash I’ve got in my pocket that it’s not _just_ trying to fulfill a campaign promise/appease his base that’s motivating his obsession. > > 'Course, it might just be his racism… > > \*i.e. “the mob”- whether American, Russian, or whatever. No, it’s because he’s a narcissist. This is not political ('cause he’s not a politician), or about wealth or making more money, or about keeping a campaign promise–the man has never kept an authentic promise in his life. It’s about EGO, pure and simple. ME ME ME. I’m ME and people have to kowtow to ME and not diss ME. The man does not plan, he shoots from the hip. He has the attention span of a goldfish and cannot see the big picture. He has no long range vision about anything. He loves chaos and sows discord and conflict. [He loves it](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/31/donald-trumps-white-house-is-in-chaos-and-he-loves-every-minute-of-it/?utm_term=.fdf23e765af6)(this cite is from a year ago, back when he still had a staff). > [@](#): > > [Six common traits of narcissists](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/communication-success/201707/6-common-traits-narcissists-and-gaslighters) > > 1. Frequent Lies and Exaggerations > > 2. Rarely Admit Flaws and Are Highly Aggressive When Criticized > > 3. False Image Projection > > 4. Rule Breaking and Boundary Violation > > 5. Emotional Invalidation and Coercion > > 6. Manipulation: The Use or Control of Others as an Extension of Oneself > … > [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > Yeah this stuff. Trying to act like adults has not worked for the Dems for the past three (or more) years. Trump’s poll numbers are finally falling again. He’s looking like an ineffectual idiot. The Dems should NOT help him look like an effectual idiot. > > The Republicans needs to blink this time. Cross your fingers and hope Trumps numbers keep going down. The numbers are the lowest they’ve been in a year. Trying to act like adults has not worked since the beginning of Obama’s first term. I want to clarify: at no time was I suggesting that the Dems reach any compromise with thump or give in on anything. I was casting about for a manipulative trick to use to pull the rug out from under him while allowing him to delude himself that he had “won.” The examples I gave were Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner and a little kid being offered a nickel and a dime and he chooses the nickel because it’s bigger (thus thinking he has won, when everyone can see that was the dumb thing to do). But it’s much better if the Pubbies implode all on their own, like one of those buildings where they set the charges at strategic spots and then [push the plunger](https://goo.gl/images/uhRA51)… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/425 "2019-01-25T14:41:16Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > Hmmm… A giant statue on the border, facing south, with an outstretched and forbidding arm (I’m thinking the LotR Argonath here), could appeal to your Pres, come in way under 6bn, and be just as effective as the Wall. 😃 > > And when it inevitably falls down you can get an Ozymandias thing going. 🆒 [The poem for the pedestal has already been written. No sense letting it go to waste.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21295364&postcount=4774) ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/426 "2019-01-25T14:57:24Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > And when it inevitably falls down you can get an Ozymandias thing going. 🆒 Why wait for it to fall down? Pelosi: Hey Trump, we don’t want to give you a wall but we got something better. It comes straight out of a poem by Shelly. Trump: Is he the guy who owns all those gas stations? Pelosi: No he’s a very famous poet, known for his poem Ozymandias. Trump: Oh yeah the Ozmerandius guy, I know him. Used to come to Trump tower all the time, asked for my help writing poems. I told him Shelly … Pelois: Right, so in any case getting back to the poem its about a giant statue that a mighty king built of himself, and we thought that we might do the same for you. Trump: Oooh I like it. Pelosi: And at the bottom of the statue were written the words “My name is Ozymandias. King of kings. Look upon my works ye mighty and despair.” Trump: And mine will be of me and can have the same plaque but with Trump instead of Ozymardus? Pelosi: Exactly Trump: How big will it be? Pelosi: Well we were thinking about a scale of 30 to one. Trump: So if I’m 6’1", I mean 6’3" that would mean the the statue would be 6130 feet tall! Pelosi: Something like that. Trump: And the statue would be exactly like it is in the poem. Pelosi: We will build it exactly like the poem describes it. Trump: Great I’ll take it! Pelois: Oh just one thing, in order to keep costs down we thought it might be doing a handstand. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/427 "2019-01-25T15:01:55Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > [The poem for the pedestal has already been written. No sense letting it go to waste.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21295364&postcount=4774) Fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/428 "2019-01-25T15:11:10Z")
LaGuardia shut down entirely by FAA, citing lack of traffic controllers: > ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/429 "2019-01-25T15:15:13Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > LaGuardia shut down entirely by FAA, citing lack of traffic controllers: > > [https://twitter.com/CNBCnow/status/1088812445139910657?s=19](https://twitter.com/CNBCnow/status/1088812445139910657?s=19) Okay, that’s it. We now know the winners of the “his long will the shutdown last?” thread. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/430 "2019-01-25T15:18:44Z")
Closer reading shows that the FAA is not allowing incoming flights, but outgoing flights are still occurring. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/431 "2019-01-25T15:26:50Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > LaGuardia shut down entirely by FAA, citing lack of traffic controllers: > > [https://twitter.com/CNBCnow/status/1088812445139910657?s=19](https://twitter.com/CNBCnow/status/1088812445139910657?s=19) I wonder what effect this is having on General Aviation. If ATC needs to prioritize, it’s going to need to give time to monitoring and directing planes with hundreds of passengers. The guy in his Cessna isn’t going to be as important. Would they shut down ATC to small planes, leaving them grounded or on VFR rules only? ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/432 "2019-01-25T16:13:07Z")
Metering flights, slowing down the flow into an airport or even issuing a “ground stop” to prevent aircraft bound to a particular destination from taking off, happen all the time. But they’re ALWAYS for weather, or if there’s an emergency at an airport. Issuing flow restrictions or ground stops based on staffing is simply unprecedented. I’ve heard word that in addition to LaGuardia and the New York area, en route traffic control centers in Boston and Jacksonville are also seeing a high number of controllers calling in sick. I think some federal employees have had enough of working for free. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/433 "2019-01-25T16:20:17Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I wonder what effect this is having on General Aviation. If ATC needs to prioritize, it’s going to need to give time to monitoring and directing planes with hundreds of passengers. The guy in his Cessna isn’t going to be as important. > > Would they shut down ATC to small planes, leaving them grounded or on VFR rules only? Current rules for providing air traffic services are “first come, first served.” ATC doesn’t prioritize based on aircraft size, or whether you’re an airliner opposed to a Cessna. Changing that would be a radical and massive upheaval in how ATC services are provided (and, as a matter of fact, one of the fears many have if the air traffic system is contracted out or privatized, rather than being a federally provided system as it is now). Obviously at large, busy hub airports there are restrictions and requirements for entering the airspace that might have smaller, private aircraft jumping through some extra hoops, but if Private Pilot Joe Taildragger gets a landing slot at O’Hare in his single-prop Taylorcraft, he gets the same service as Lufthansa 243 from Frankfurt. (The controllers might not be too happy about it, though.) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/434 "2019-01-25T16:31:36Z")
If causing this level of chaos for basically NO reason (except ego massage) doesn’t prove that thump is incompetent and nuts, then I don’t know what would prove it. And I don’t want to know. Of course, he does love chaos… ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/435 "2019-01-25T16:43:27Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > Metering flights, slowing down the flow into an airport or even issuing a “ground stop” to prevent aircraft bound to a particular destination from taking off, happen all the time. But they’re ALWAYS for weather, or if there’s an emergency at an airport. > > Issuing flow restrictions or ground stops based on staffing is simply unprecedented. I’ve heard word that in addition to LaGuardia and the New York area, en route traffic control centers in Boston and Jacksonville are also seeing a high number of controllers calling in sick. > > I think some federal employees have had enough of working for free. Yeah, gotta think that the multiplying disruptions in air traffic will be the straw that finally breaks the camel’s back regarding the shutdown. I’m just worried there’s going to be a major air disaster before Trump realizes it’s time to throw in the towel. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/436 "2019-01-25T16:51:37Z")
Putin is winning. As I’ve been saying for 30-odd days, the shutdown is part of the treason. They are intertwined more than most want to believe. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/437 "2019-01-25T17:00:36Z")
Could the light be dawning…? > [@](#): > > Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) tore into Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday, saying the record-long government shutdown was McConnell’s “fault,” according to The Washington Post. > > Frustrated Republican senators lashed out at each other and Vice President Pence on Thursday during a private GOP lunch. > > “This is your fault,” Johnson told the Republican leader, according to the Post. > > “Are you suggesting I’m enjoying this?” McConnell reportedly fired back. > > Johnson’s spokesperson, Ben Voelkel, confirmed the confrontation to the Post. > > Voelkel said Johnson was expressing his frustration with the two opposing bills to reopen the government that both failed in the upper chamber shortly after the encounter. > > McConnell aides declined to comment on the luncheon to the newspaper. [Source](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/426922-gop-senator-reportedly-slams-mcconnell-over-shutdown-this-is-your-fault) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/438 "2019-01-25T17:10:53Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Closer reading shows that the FAA is not allowing incoming flights, but outgoing flights are still occurring. For obvious reasons, that can’t last for very long. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/439 "2019-01-25T17:14:16Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > For obvious reasons, that can’t last for very long. Oh, I think that could go on for a l-o-o-o-n-g time, and the last person departing can turn out the lights. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577/440 "2019-01-25T17:16:37Z")
Any significant disruption of air travel will kill the Las Vegas economy; I’m not sure how long this valley can last without our steady diet of tourist’s money. And that might be just days away from happening. [Cuomo blames airport delays on ‘federal madness’](https://apnews.com/edec1713cd484b7081302c10a454260d) [FAA: Increase in sick leave causing flight delays](https://apnews.com/e1520436b4664d8ab000bf134d9d6722) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-shutdown/827577.md?page=23)