The Big Beautiful 2025 US Government Shutdown

[Abbot Mythos]

What I find peculiar about this particular government shutdown is how little coverage it's received in the news media to date. Perhaps my perception of the situation is biased, or flawed, but I don't think so.

In any case, I found this article be be of interest:     Opinion | This key group will end the government shutdown

As per author Robert Reich:

"I don't have a crystal ball, but I have a good idea how this shutdown ends. Trump and Republicans will cave (he won't admit he's caving, of course, but he will cave).

Here's why: Air traffic controllers.

Like other federal workers, the controllers aren't being paid now (they'll get back-pay when the shutdown ends). But unlike most other federal workers, their workloads and stress loads have been soaring."

And so, we shall have to wait and see.

[Abbot Mythos]

And so, we shall have to wait and see.

It's beginning to look like Robert Reich may be right about who will end the government shutdown:

Air traffic staffing shortage hits O'Hare amid government shutdown; delays possible

[Abbot Mythos]

US could dismiss air traffic controllers who fail to work during shutdown, transportation secretary says

Now it's getting interesting.

[Faust]

Honestly I think the ATC workers are probably the one group who could really humiliate this government. All it would take is a couple of days of an all out work stoppage and it locks up the gears of billions while also making the government look very weak.
They are playing with fire.

[Abbot Mythos]

Honestly I think the ATC workers are probably the one group who could really humiliate this government. All it would take is a couple of days of an all out work stoppage and it locks up the gears of billions while also making the government look very weak.
They are playing with fire.

The air traffic controllers have to play this game very carefully, as it's actually illegal for them to go on strike here in 'Merica.

[Faust]

There's lots of professions with that clause though. Our police went on strike with mass sickness, the "blue flu".
ATCs have a bunch of clauses about not going to work impaired.
They should all go out tonight and get hammered.

[Faust]

https://gizmodo.com/sean-duffy-threatens-to-fire-air-traffic-controllers-as-10-call-out-sick-during-shutdown-2000670689

Ten percent out sick today, and the government threatening to fire them. If they actually follow through with it I see that figure rising to 50 and closing down some of the bigger airports as a demonstration.

[Abbot Mythos]

https://gizmodo.com/sean-duffy-threatens-to-fire-air-traffic-controllers-as-10-call-out-sick-during-shutdown-2000670689

Ten percent out sick today, and the government threatening to fire them. If they actually follow through with it I see that figure rising to 50 and closing down some of the bigger airports as a demonstration.

This is not Europe, this is 'Merica. And, right now, 'Merica is under the control of a greedy, openly lawless, brazenly vindictive, extreme right-wing regime. I remember what happened to the American air traffic controllers back in 1981 under an older, greedy, but covertly lawless Republican administration. (One of the great ironies of that historic occurrence is that, under a later Democratic president, Washington National Airport was renamed in honor of Ronald Reagan, the guy who fired over 11,000 air traffic controllers.)

Again, the air traffic controllers have to play this game very carefully. The best lawyers money can buy can not save them in our courts, and I do not believe the Democrats possess anywhere near the political clout to save them, if they're too heavy-handed.

[Faust]

That's true, if they strike they need to do so decisively and completely, force immediate action.
They should force closure of all airports and hold with that until they get guarantes and support

[Abbot Mythos]

I'm filing this one under "How to Not Win Friends and Negatively Influence People:"

Democratic troop pay bill blocked in House amid shutdown

As per this article:

"A Democratic effort to pass a bill paying active-duty military members during the government shutdown was blocked on the House floor Friday by the GOP.

The presiding Republican, Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois, gaveled a brief pro forma session to a close before Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.) could make a procedural move to try to pass the legislation by unanimous consent."

I suspect a few of the Republicult's™ opportunistic elected officials will temporarily break ranks over this particular issue.

[Pergamos]

I'm filing this one under "How to Not Win Friends and Negatively Influence People:"

Democratic troop pay bill blocked in House amid shutdown

As per this article:

"A Democratic effort to pass a bill paying active-duty military members during the government shutdown was blocked on the House floor Friday by the GOP.

The presiding Republican, Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois, gaveled a brief pro forma session to a close before Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.) could make a procedural move to try to pass the legislation by unanimous consent."

I suspect a few of the Republicult's™ opportunistic elected officials will temporarily break ranks over this particular issue.

This seems like it will make declaring martial law more difficult, now if Trump sends in the troops not only will some refuse the unlawful order, others will say "fuck you, pay me"

[Abbot Mythos]

This seems like it will make declaring martial law more difficult, now if Trump sends in the troops not only will some refuse the unlawful order, others will say "fuck you, pay me"

The POSOTUS and his  Republicult's™ opportunistic appointed and elected officials are twisting themselves into contortions over paying our troops during their government shutdown.

As of this posting, the POSOTUS has directed Sieg Heil Hegseth to 'use all available funds' (Meaning all available Pentagon funds.) to pay our troops during his shutdown, in order to avoid involving the U.S. House of Representatives. And, that's because, otherwise, the U.S. House of Representatives would have to be called back into session to approve the required funding. Further, the consequences of calling the U. S. House of Representatives back into session includes having to swear in newly elected Representative Adelita Grijalva, who would be the decisive vote needed to force a House of Representative's vote on releasing more Epstein/Trump Pedophile documents.

Now, the quick and dirty numbers I could find indicate the government needs about $16 billion/month, or about $8 billion/bimonthly, to meet military and military family payroll, etc. And, I have no idea how easy, or hard it is to scrape up that amount of money by taking funding away from other ongoing Pentagon operations.

So, you may be right.

[Abbot Mythos]

This is an interesting development:

GOP senators worry about Trump, Hegseth shutdown moves

As per this article:

"Republican senators have questions and concerns about how President Trump is managing to pay more than 1 million military service members during the government shutdown and are seeking more information about what funds he is dipping into to achieve his political ends.

Republican lawmakers are glad that active members of the military and their families around the country didn't miss their first paychecks of the shutdown on Oct. 15, but they're frustrated that Trump once again appears to be trampling on Congress's power of the purse."

Now, as per Article 1, Section 9, Clause 7 of the the Constitution of the United States:

"No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time."

So, it would be nice if GOP Jesus Johnson also took an interest in preserving "Congress's power of the purse," since that's what our Founding Fathers intended when they wrote the Constitution of the United States back in 1787.