Every Time You Roll the Dice

 

By Sandy McReynolds 

Grump jumped on Truth Social to bark orders at unpaid air‑traffic controllers, dangle a $10,000 “patriot bonus,” and threaten to “dock” or replace anyone who won’t play along. Cute post. Not how any of this works, Dipshit.

TL;DR (for the folks stuck on a taxiway)

Controllers are already required to work during a shutdown. They’re just not getting paid until Congress funds the government.

“Docking” only applies if you actually skip required duty. No magic eraser for legally owed back pay. Trump can’t “DOCK” anyone.

A $10,000 bonus can’t be paid during a funding lapse. That’s not a check; that’s a press release.

You can’t “replace them with patriots” in a weekend. Certification takes years.

DHS found lawful funding pathways to keep some agents paid (and ICE recruits get bonuses up to $50,000). $70,000 as a signing bonus? Not backed by official program terms.

The Post vs. Reality — Line by Line

“All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!!”

Reality: They already are. Controllers are “excepted” employees. In a shutdown, they report to work and keep the system safe while pay is delayed. This isn’t a strike. It’s a country telling essential workers, “Do the job… we’ll pay you later.”

Verdict: Performative Bullshit. Yelling “NOW!!!” at people who already showed up is a vibe, not leadership.

“Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked.’”

: If you no‑show when you’re scheduled and “excepted,” you can be marked AWOL and not paid for those missed hours. That’s normal HR, even outside a shutdown. But retroactive pay for time worked is baked into law; the White House can’t just vaporize it with a post.

Verdict: Horseshit. Standard rules apply; sweeping punishments don’t survive due process.

“I will recommend a BONUS of $10,000 per person for those who stayed on the job.”

Reality: Announcing a bonus during a shutdown is like promising bottle service at a dry wedding. You can’t disburse discretionary bonuses without appropriations. After funding returns, maybe there’s a program—subject to budget, HR rules, and the union. Today, it’s an IOU scribbled in Sharpie.

Verdict: Checks notes… no checks.

“We’ll replace them with ‘true patriots.’ I’ll welcome resignations.”

Reality: Air traffic control isn’t a gig you learn on YouTube. Academy, on‑the‑job training, facility certification—1.5 to 3 years is typical, longer at complex towers and centers. “Replace them all” is not a plan; it’s a safety hazard dressed as bravado.

Verdict: Action‑movie energy, real‑world faceplant.

“America is crippled by the shutdown.”

Reality: It’s not melodrama to say the system is under stress. The FAA has already told airlines to trim schedules at major airports and is throttling certain operations to preserve safety while controllers work unpaid and short‑staffed. The sky isn’t falling—it’s being managed down because the people holding it up are doing it with empty wallets and limited rest.

Verdict: Half truth, half hype. The strain is real; the word “crippled” is set dressing.

“Controllers aren’t being paid while ICE is getting paid.”

Reality: Shut‑down pay is governed by law, not moods. DHS had access to money that let them keep tens of thousands of law‑enforcement personnel paid during the lapse; the FAA doesn’t have the same levers. Is that a policy choice about priorities across agencies? Absolutely. Is it as simple as “refusing” to pay controllers? No.

Verdict: Accurate outcome, wrong villain.

The Boring (Important) Part: What the Law Actually Says

No strikes: Federal employees can’t strike. NATCA (the controllers’ union) isn’t striking. Controllers are showing up.

Back pay is a thing: When the shutdown ends, excepted employees are owed back pay for hours worked. That’s not up for debate on social media.

AWOL vs. discipline: Skip your shift without permission and, yes, you can be marked AWOL and lose pay for those hours. But blanket punishment without process? Nope.

Bonuses during a lapse: You can approve them on paper. You can’t pay them without appropriations.

“You’re fired!” fantasy: Wholesale removals of non‑striking, excepted controllers would collapse in court and push aviation safety into a ditch. You don’t tweet your way around training pipelines and due process.

What’s Actually Happening in the Skies

Controllers are separating aircraft safely with fewer people, longer shifts, and zero paychecks. The FAA’s already made defensive moves—reducing schedules at busy airports and limiting some operations—to keep margins intact. Airlines have responded with fewer flights, more delays, and rolling cancellations on the worst days. This isn’t because controllers “won’t work.” It’s because they are working heroically in a system the politicians chose to defund.

I’m sure threatening them all will help them work harder, though. LOL.

Who’s Getting Paid (and Why It Looks Unfair)

DHS carve-outs: ICE, CBP, Secret Service, air marshals—many kept receiving pay during the lapse because DHS could legally tap other funds.

FAA controllers: Also “excepted,” but unpaid until Congress passes funding. They’ll get retro pay later. Translation: the people guiding your aluminum tube at 35,000 feet are involuntary creditors to their own government.

Does that feel lopsided? Yes. Because it is.

About Those ICE/DHS Bonuses

Real: ICE has been recruiting for select roles with signing bonuses up to $50,000 during the shutdown..

Context: ICE Goons and DHS Gestapo have been paid HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS throughout the shutdown. Trump would rather fund kicking the shit out of people of color than let you land safely or on time.

“Receipts That Never Arrived” — Money Promises vs. Reality

You’ve heard these. You might even have planned around them. Here’s how they aged.

$10,000 “Stayed On The Job” Bonus for Controllers (2025)

Status: Not payable during a funding lapse. Needs appropriations, policy, and a formal program. Today, it’s a headline—not a deposit.

“Tariff Dividend” Checks of at Least $2,000 to Most Americans (2025)

Status: A marketing sentence looking for a legal authority. No enacted program, no checks.

“10% Middle‑Class Tax Cut—Next Week” (2018)

Status: Talked up before midterms. No bill. No law. No cut.

$2,000 COVID Checks (Late 2020)

Status: Floated publicly. What actually landed then was $600. The $2,000 did not arrive before the hand‑off.

$5,000 Tarrif checks are coming (Early 2025)

Status: NADA

$3,000 checks to direct into your health care premiums!(yesterday)

Not happening, physically impossible.

Pattern recognized? Announce the cash. Don’t deliver the cash. Rinse, repeat, retweet. It’s what Conmen do. .

The Grown‑Up Fix

You want fewer delays? You want rest rules honored? want the next generation in the pipeline so we’re not one retirement wave away from ground stops? Then fund the government. Pay the controllers. Negotiate bonuses within the rules. Expand training classes. Staff to target. This isn’t complicated—unless you’re trying to trend on a platform that rewards shouting over solving.

Until then, spare us the all‑caps threats. The people on the scopes are doing their jobs. Time for the people with pens to do theirs.