Unfortunately, I fly once a month in order to spend time with my son, so I wouldn’t be down with that.
Fortunately, I just got back from my most recent flight to visit him, so I have a couple of weeks to hope that the fucking Senate GOP does it’s job and tells Trump to fuck off with his wall and re-opens the government.
I hope the slowdown/shutdown hits Washington National Airport so members of Congress are directly impacted by it.
Not sure if this has been widely reported yet:
“The Trump administration ordered more than 30,000 employees back to work unpaid to prepare for tax filing season, which is set to begin next week. But of the 26,000 workers called back to the IRS division that includes the tax processing centers and call centers, about 9,000 workers could not be reached and about 5,000 more claimed a hardship exemption, IRS officials have told members of Congress, according to aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the numbers.”
The problem is that the sorts of crimes these rich people do are, by their nature, expensive and difficult to gather evidence for and then prosecute. So often they get ignored and go by the wayside unless somehow it either bubbles up enough into the public conscience to cause an outcry and/or they affect a large enough number of “regular people.” The Russia collusion and related stuff all tend to fall into the latter category of affecting a large number of “regular people,” if you consider subverting America’s democracy something that affects the country as a whole.
As much as it sucks and is unfair, it’s much easier to go after someone caught on security camera robbing a liquor store than it is to dig through the giant paper trail, shell companies, etc., that the rich use to hide their crimes. They don’t even need to try very hard as just doing these sorts of things gum up the works enough to let them get away with it, even if they do them badly.
Also, rich people can afford good lawyers, which makes it that much harder for the government as well.
Indeed. You never hear about a rich person having an overworked public defender telling them to just plead out because said public defender doesn’t have the time and/or resources to truly give them a good defense.
Its sorta strange being cognizant of just how much the people in my orbit fly. The answer turns out to be a lot. A lot a lot. I’ve never been a worrier about planes, hell when I was coming back from PAX South the plane applauded when we touched down the landing was so rough (and was followed by what seemed like a million years of sliding on runway ice (all the while I marveled how cool it was to rock so much and so quickly like that)).
But now I have a much more legit worry, and that is that my sister will have a rough time getting to or from San Diego. She’s flying out of JFK not LGA but still, those airports serve the same airspace, only a matter of time.
You’ve never been on a flight with a bunch of Portuguese people. It’s a Portuguese tradition to always applaud the pilot on any successful landing. 
Lol, no I have not. This applause was very unusual. So too was the turbulence. I mean the plane was pitched down and just rocking back and forth, I could see everyone’s heads moving in unison like a bunch of synchronized gyroscopes. The lady in the couple next to me clearly was having trouble because she was clinging to the guys arm enough that it made him visibly uncomfortable and wincing.
For my part I was pax poxing so this wasn’t doing my stomach any favors. Strangest mix of awestruck and sick.
It didn’t even end when we hit the ground, we had to turn last second because the arrival gate was changed last second and all the ice meant even when it ended it didn’t end. 10/10 would do again.
Aaaaand just like that, a three week deal to fund the government is reached:
"Congressional leaders and President Trump have reached a tentative deal to temporarily reopen the government and continue talks on Trump’s demand for border wall money, Capitol Hill officials said Friday.
With Trump’s approval, the pact would reopen shuttered government departments for the three weeks while leaving the issue of $5.7 billion for the U.S.-Mexico border wall to further talks."
I knew it. As soon as the shutdown started effecting rich people, there would be an end to it. Turns out no matter how rich you are, you can’t pay to get around not being able to take off in a plane.
I really hope this is the new face of the Dems when in opposition. Do what the GOP did to Clinton and Obama. Stonewall, impede, sue, drag it out, make them come to you. It’s the only way you deal with fascists short of more permanent solutions.
So… is the new normal going to be “3 weeks on, 3 weeks off now”?
If I was the modern dems… Yes.
Additionally, it’s the only way to make Trump realize that there was a 2018 mid-term election in which the Republicans lost the House and he’s operating in a divided government AND that the Legislative branch is a co-equal branch to the Executive.
I can’t also help but think that Trump is trying to jam the news with this, trying to overplay the fact that Roger Stone was just arrested, but both things can be true.
Oh boy! I hope this means they can arrest his ass, too.
Oh boy! I was wondering what that sack of shit was up to.
Only the best people…