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Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Thursday, October 09, 2025

The Republican government shutdown has entered its second week and shortages of air traffic controllers have strained operations and disrupted flights across the US. More workers are calling in sick, leaving fewer staff to handle demand. Within 72 hours travelers endured nearly 12,000 flight delays and 200 cancelled flights. Travelers are starting to cancel trips and avoid airports until the Republicans reopen the government, which may not happen for several more days or weeks. That means a longer stretch of time for key workers, air traffic controllers and security screeners, to go without pay. Travelers will see "erosion of service" as frustrated air traffic controllers and TSA officers get tired and call in sick. Reagan National Airport became the latest this week to report delays because of staffing issues. Other affected hubs include Chicago, Newark, Denver, and Nashville, and the tower in Burbank CA had to shut down for several hours.

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The Republican Party's ongoing US government shutdown is costing the American economy an estimated $400 million per day in lost wages alone, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This figure does not include broader economic impacts, which will grow as the shutdown continues. In 2025 Dummkopf Trumpf and the Republican-controlled Congress enacted legislation transferring the greatest amount of wealth from the bottom to the top in US history for the sake of giving oligarch's an unneeded tax cut, which will begin to impoverish Americans in 2026. Trumpf's policies to destroy the US economy is no surprise as he has been publicly denounced in Europe as being a Russian asset. Moreover, previous investigations, such as the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane or ex-MI6 officer Richard Steele's Kompramat dossier, have indelibly linked Dummkopf Trumpf to the Kremlin. The map below reflects airports affected by the GOP government shutdown.

https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Untitled-design-88.jpg?w=2400&quality=85&webp=1

Comments

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Any major airline disasters are on Trump.

He's been screwing with the air traffic controllers since he got into office.

#1 | Posted by Zed at 2025-10-09 10:28 AM | Reply

#1
Republicans have been screwing with Air Traffic Controllers since Aug 3, 1981.

FTFY.

#2 | Posted by Wardog at 2025-10-09 12:06 PM | Reply

Last century I knew one of the laid off ATCs. "FS" hated Ronald Reagan as much as the UK miners hated Margaret Thatcher.

#3 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS at 2025-10-09 12:10 PM | Reply

Likely this will be the reason that puts enough pressure on politicians to discover something called compromise. It used to be on display a lot in the halls of congress but in today's world, it's a rare critter to find.

Corporations will dislike the ability to move their people across the nation to do the business they need done. Through the back doors of communications the congress critters will receive notices that their campaign contributions will be in danger if they don't get their act together and restore the government's budget. It was the spur that provided the necessity to cure this problem last time the government was shut down.

#4 | Posted by BBQ at 2025-10-09 12:43 PM | Reply

don't care.
THE SCHUMER SHUTDOWN is not going to get
tax payers screwed over paying for democrat
voters health care and other benefits
paid.
what's that you say ? illegals can't vote ?
reaaaalllllly ??
google Ian Roberts....a maryland registered democrat
voter arrested for being here illegally.

#5 | Posted by shrimptacodan at 2025-10-09 05:22 PM | Reply

#3
Those Controllers were never "Laid off".

They were fired and told they could never be ATCs again.

Their Union, PATCO was de-certified, and 18,000 ATCs were fired on TV by Ronald Reagan.

Laid off isn't fired, and fired isn't laid off.

Just sayin'.

#6 | Posted by Wardog at 2025-10-09 05:22 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

Liie it or not, it's illegal for Federal workers to strike, so firing them was not unexpected.

I remember this being a polarizing event when I was a child. I suspect it was after this that Republicans really started dismantling unions, and moving factories to China.

#7 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-10-09 05:27 PM | Reply


I suspect it was after this that Republicans really started dismantling unions, and moving factories to China.

#7 | Posted by snoofy

True, about the same time Democrats tossed Union workers to the ravages of illegal immigration.

Union workers never had a chance.

Unless Government Union workers, they seemed to have survived as a Democrat fundraising arm.

#8 | Posted by oneironaut at 2025-10-09 06:11 PM | Reply

I personally haven't had a problem flying IFR around the SFOBayArea.

I haven't heard of any issues either.

#9 | Posted by oneironaut at 2025-10-09 06:16 PM | Reply

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