today "the new york times" reports that a typical federal worker has already missed $5,000 in pay from the shutdown. air traffic controllers are among the hundreds of thousands of employees who are not being paid but are still on the job. just yesterday a judge denied a request from unions to force the government to pay them. earlier on this network one air traffic controller in atlanta described what it's been like to have to work during this shutdown. >> it's a new kind of stress we're not used to dealing with. and it's leading to people not sleeping. it's leading to people being upset at work. everybody at work -- i was at work this morning and yesterday. everybody looks like they lost their best friend. it is not a pleasant place to be. >> with that let's bring in our lead-off panel on a wednesday night. john heilemann, msnbc national affairs analyst. he's also co-author of "game change" and co-host of "the circus" on showtime, soon to return to the air. a.b. stoddard, columnist and associate editor at real clear politics. and jill colvin, we mentioned earlier, white house reporter for the associated press.