Besides all this, the simple fact is that Donald Trump doesn’t want to govern a republic, and I don’t see any evidence whatsoever that he’ll do anything but move the country away from that kind of system anyway.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Except for government workers - who are are currently STILL providing that service, but not getting paid. Do you need someone to formally introduce you to reality?
He did. There weren’t enough to make up the difference. We’ve actually mentioned this multiple times in other threads. Someone else in this thread mentioned the ten years it took to restore full capacity after that mess.
Designing, manufacturing, and maintaining are entirely different skill sets than air traffic control. You can no more take a designer and park them in a control tower and expect a good result than you can expect a plumber without any additional training to correctly re-wire the electrical system in your house.
It takes three years to train an air traffic controller for entry level positions. There is exactly one place in this country with the training facilities - and it’s closed due to the government shut down. Where, exactly, are these private sector controllers supposed to come from? Are we supposed to import them or something? Oh, wait… immigration is also closed…
The outcome is more likely to be a drastic reduction in air travel, possibly on that required for medical emergencies and law enforcement, than flaming wreckage falling out of the sky. I’m not sure people would be any happier with the cessation of civil aviation in the US, either.
The secret service isn’t getting paid either. Wow, great move - don’t pay your bodyguards. That can’t possibly end badly, could it…?
Is not paying people for the work they do part of that “proper role”?
I just want to say I really like your neologism “twatwaffles” and intend to use it where I can going forward.
By doing this, he increases the likelihood of making the shutdown’s impact - for everyone - much, much worse. There are too many little things that the government does - he can try to pick and choose who gets hurt by the shutdown but there will be things that he overlooks. Ultimately, the impact of having 800,000 incomes disrupted and a destabilized federal workforce will be the most serious one.
That being said, Trump and the Republicans have always wanted to destabilize the federal government. As corrupt as they are, it works to their advantage.
I’ve had a sudden thought. Zero out the paychecks for all the MAGAts who voted for Trump* and when the $5-billion is collected, then build the wall. Not to worry – their Dear Leader will compensate them when the check from Mexico arrives.
When I was more active politically I noticed that no matter what position someone might have, there would be a another person with (more or less) that same position who they wish would shut up and go away. WF is mine.
Even if it means collateral damage and friendly fire.
*Yeah, yeah, I know, secret ballot and all that. We’ll get the data from the NSA.
I’d like to add something: speaking as a freelancer, while customer satisfaction is indeed something I constantly strive for, I get paid when I fulfill their requirements, not when I “satisfy their desires”. Some of those motherfuckers are NEVER satisfied.
TSA workers are starting to feel a little betrayed and pissed off, dare I say?
I wish more ordinary Americans felt that way.
As for those shitkicking farmers who still support the president despite the fact he’s sending many of them to their graves, to hell with them. I used to have sympathy for the American farmer, but these are the same people who voted for Steve King and the same ones who voted for Trump and his bashing and scapegoating of illegal aliens. And the shit of it is, THEY’RE THE ONES WHO DEPEND ON MIGRANTS - ILLEGAL, LEGAL, AND OTHERWISE - MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE. It’s these fucking pigheaded, goat-fucking, Bible waving, shit kickers who’ve not just fucked all of us by voting for a Russian puppet, they’re too goddamn dumb to realize they’re screwing themselves.
Seriously, screw them: buy Canadian produce and Aussie beef from now on.
The federal judiciary is on the verge of near-collapse; they’re managed to keep going so far by repurposing court fees to pay the essential staff – clerks, court reporters, court officers, etc. – but the money’s about to run out; the court reporters I proofread for will see their last paycheck on the 25th. Criminal cases will be prioritized but will still be affected; civil litigation will likely grind pretty much to a halt. A goodly number of very large, very powerful corporations will not be happy about this.
Meanwhile, the families of Coast Guard men and women – you know, the people who protect our maritime borders? – are being told to hold yard sales to feed their families since they’re already not being pad.
No, asahi. I think your response of emotive retribution is plain wrong. If we ever get the pubbies where we want them politically, we should approach them with compassionate paternalism.
I know there will be a will to “stick it to 'em.” Resist that. Try to appreciate that the credulous, easily led masses have been taken for a ride. They have been used and abused for the purposes of the wealthy, and now probably for the foreign wealthy. They have been carefully taught to be churlish, and angry, and difficult, and impenetrable. They are kind of victims.
“Compassionate paternalism” sounds a little condescending, I know. But let’s face it- conservatives are going to be the Educated Man’s Burden going forward, if we are to salvage the republic at all. Turning the population against ourselves only serves the interests of our adversaries. If one group is more informed, more moral, more able, more clear-eyed, well then that group has to lead, and that is not going to involve purposefully stoking more divisions but rather finding ways to heal the rifts. If one group is better, they will have to make sacrifices to make the other group whole, in the service of the cause of unity. E pluribus unum, remember?
Please quit being so divisive and recognize that enemies, foreign and domestic, seek to divide our country and destroy our government. They have recruited our fellow citizens. We need to recruit them back, for the real American cause. Americans are not our own enemies, not naturally, not at our best. Let’s rise above.
I read somewhere (I forget where) that some Trump official implied that this whole thing would show the nation how little they needed large portions of government, and that a lot of positions lost now would never return…?
I’m not sure that’d turn out the way they think, or that they weren’t just scrambling to make up an ex post facto justification.
I saw that also. The funny thing is of course you don’t need so many people to do the job when the job’s not getting done because of no funding for the bloody job!
Yes the US secret police failed miserably in preventing Trump from gaining power. They are shadows of their Cold War selves. Perhaps decades from now the feckless anti-Trump operations will be revealed to the public similar to how the Church Committee unearthed all that stuff back in the day.
Wow this partial shutdown is better than I ever imagined. A good opportunity for private arbitration to take away even more service provision from government. They have already taken quite a bit.