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Thread: 2020 Political Chatter

  1. #641
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Honestly, how do these people get taken in? Again.
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  2. #642
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    On the governmental nuts and bolts side of things, my window on the federal bureaucracy indicates that a good chunk of the workforce has gone into full lame duck mode.

    Example: I'm trying to chase something down from one of the currently-disfavored agencies. The deadline for them to provide it was the end of May, which is defined by statute. They've promised it multiple times, and now they've stopped even making up new deadlines.

    I have to imagine all of the political appointees are out interviewing for jobs with oil companies and private prisons and online charter schools, leaving the diminished and demoralized career workforce going on long walks around Silver Spring.

    For those of you who interface with an agency, what are you seeing?
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  3. #643
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Quote Originally Posted by caleb View Post
    On the governmental nuts and bolts side of things, my window on the federal bureaucracy indicates that a good chunk of the workforce has gone into full lame duck mode.
    Hmm, I'd say it felt like that for 24+ months . As an employee where 90% of my workload is via fed gov't contracts, they have had insane delays--expired deadlines, multiple 6-month extensions of existing contracts, which I thought were limited to a year. This was pre-COVID so all I can attribute it to is the high number of "Actings" in positions of decision and priority setting. My 'window' is from company updates (not direct contact with said Agencies)--we always had all milestones met, all data and reports in, all RFI/RFPs in ahead of any deadlines, only to have nothing happen, and repeat the process 6 months later, and then again, and then again...BUT, at least the 5th time was the charm and things got renewed this year despite COVID effects on workforce and timeliness
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  4. #644
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    When the Chump shitshow ends, the full scale of the devastation he and his scumbag minions, family members, general grifters and mendacious MAGAfokkers have wrought will be revealed, and I will bet my Sachs that it is going to be ugly, on a scale we can't begin to comprehend. I imagine the things we already know about are just scratching the proverbial surface. The conservative movement's wet dream for the past 30+ years has been the complete evisceration of 'government' and in Chump, Kushner, et al they found their chumpions.
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  5. #645
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Quote Originally Posted by echappist View Post
    a compromised senile creep at that

    https://www.theguardian.com/film/202...new-borat-film


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



    unfortunately, historic precedence supports your view
    A world famous movie character known by millions managed to get this man trapped in a honeypot. Imagine what a professional intelligence agency could do.

    These idiots are compromised to hell and back.
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  6. #646
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Quote Originally Posted by theflashunc View Post
    A world famous movie character known by millions managed to get this man trapped in a honeypot. Imagine what a professional intelligence agency has already done.

    These idiots are compromised to hell and back.
    Fixed it for you.

    Greg
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  7. #647
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Amateur hr. (on repeat)
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  8. #648
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    That man lying on a hotel bed made his money after being mayor of NYC as a security consultant.
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  9. #649
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    I am gobsmacked by how sexed-up these old guys are.
    Jay Dwight
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  10. #650
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Quote Originally Posted by ides1056 View Post
    I am gobsmacked by how sexed-up these old guys are.
    It's a power thing, not sex. They're abusers.

    Trod Harland, Pickle Expediter

    Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. — James Baldwin
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  11. #651
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Quote Originally Posted by thollandpe View Post
    It's a power thing, not sex. They're abusers.

    You are right.

    I can't help feeling that abuse of power demonstrates, as does narcissism, a very deep seated insecurity. Most of us are content to get on with life and do our best to be fair and nice to people.
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  12. #652
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Love NYC instantaneous graffiti always has what to say

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/135458...posted-public/
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  13. #653
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Quote Originally Posted by HorsCat View Post
    When the Chump shitshow ends, the full scale of the devastation he and his scumbag minions, family members, general grifters and mendacious MAGAfokkers have wrought will be revealed, and I will bet my Sachs that it is going to be ugly, on a scale we can't begin to comprehend. I imagine the things we already know about are just scratching the proverbial surface. The conservative movement's wet dream for the past 30+ years has been the complete evisceration of 'government' and in Chump, Kushner, et al they found their chumpions.
    Read Michael Lewis' book, The Fifth Risk. It's about the Trump presidency during the 2016 transition. The outgoing administration goes to great lengths to prepare the new president's appointees in each department. But Trump essentially either sent no one to any of the agencies to get educated and up to speed, or sent people with absolutely no clue what the function the department performed (and didn't care), or the only question being asked by the incoming appointees was, "who's getting paid the most?"

    I predict if Trump loses, his department heads will be ordered to forgo this crucial step in transitioning administrations, and just leave a crater to be filled.

    HorsCat is right; it's going to be ugly.
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  14. #654
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Polack View Post
    Read Michael Lewis' book, The Fifth Risk. It's about the Trump presidency during the 2016 transition. The outgoing administration goes to great lengths to prepare the new president's appointees in each department. But Trump essentially either sent no one to any of the agencies to get educated and up to speed, or sent people with absolutely no clue what the function the department performed (and didn't care), or the only question being asked by the incoming appointees was, "who's getting paid the most?"

    I predict if Trump loses, his department heads will be ordered to forgo this crucial step in transitioning administrations, and just leave a crater to be filled.

    HorsCat is right; it's going to be ugly.
    If apparatchiks and loyalists go without leaving notes, isn’t it less damaging than if genuine professionals do so? Of course, genuine professionals wouldn’t do so ...
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  15. #655
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    How much of a transition is required from an administration whose marching order was to leave nothing of good government standing?

    If the Biden folks aren't planing to build from the ground up we are in trouble.
    Guy Washburn

    Photography > www.guywashburn.com

    “Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”
    – Mary Oliver
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  16. #656
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Quote Originally Posted by guido View Post
    How much of a transition is required from an administration whose marching order was to leave nothing of good government standing?

    If the Biden folks aren't planing to build from the ground up we are in trouble.
    Biden’s team undoubtedly has a copy of the Obama playbook to use as a template. As long as the incompetents are voted out a week from Tuesday, the new administration should be able to hit the ground running. I’m hopeful science and professionalism will be the orders of the day. The bigger question will be how much damage the lame orange duck does between now and 1/20/21. I’m betting pardons will be more prevalent than toilet paper at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue...

    Greg
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  17. #657
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Don't jinx it, you assume alot. Just sayin'.

    FWIIW the next chapter in burn it down is playing out now with no recourse >> https://www.federaltimes.com/managem...ing-employees/

    You ain't seen nuttin' yet.
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  18. #658
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Quote Originally Posted by Too Tall View Post
    Don't jinx it, you assume alot. Just sayin'.

    FWIIW the next chapter in burn it down is playing out now with no recourse >> https://www.federaltimes.com/managem...ing-employees/

    You ain't seen nuttin' yet.
    Yep, fire everyone on the last day.
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  19. #659
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Given the corporate and big money interests that have long wielded out-sized power in government and dominated in policy issues, I've long been fearful that we simply won't be able to make necessary changes even with the election of a sympathetic administration and majorities in both houses.

    In war the key trick is to flood your enemy with as many problems as possible, all at once. The USA has a relatively large number of serious, long standing problems to address. Two examples: 1) How do you re-shore blue and increasingly white collar jobs when the economic advantages to off-shoring are so large? 2) How do you morph sprawled urban growth and the associated transportation infrastructure who's topology, scale and societal expectations are an organic result of, functionally, unlimited and dirt cheap oil?

    Even if we, the entire electorate and body politic of the USA, agreed on the necessary steps remediation would be extremely difficult and painful.

    My oldest brother who has long lived in Italy sent this relevant link the other day; the author makes a pretty good case that these sorts of fears may be well founded: https://rall.com/2020/10/13/after-the-donald-the-deluge

    This was my reply but it didn't make me feel better:

    In our current political context the author is basically warning us about the ultimate peril of our Democratic party's "fake left, go right" behavior, irrespective of the reasons; entrenched powerful at the helm, well meaning incompetence, more probs than can be rectified given the time/resources available, intransigent electorate too ignorant or ideologically wed to accept the necessity for fundamental change. Can't argue with the thesis; the three of us have been aware of MOL that sort of reality for a long time.

    Add the C19 baggage and associated difficulty of trying to dig our way out of it's ramifications and it just gets worse.

    But the author doesn't explore the likely results of another four years of Trump; the economy and opportunity horizons would continue to deteriorate for the, what, bottom 80% or so? White supremacists would gain additional traction and be emboldened in both the general population and government, including the police of course; the courts would be further packed with religious fundamentalists; destruction of our democratic institutions and regulatory bodies would accelerate even more; the oligarchs would grow in wealth and power; I see no reason for race/cultural/poverty based violence to abate in such an environment, and so on. But given the firearms in the general population I think even a Trump govt would have difficult time squelching full-on large scale civil unrest that might be generated.

    I think that the likelihood of accelerating economic & civil devolution is substantial on either trajectory. At this point all I can do is hope that our population of progressive MOCs (hopefully larger after this election) along with a wiser and more circumspect Biden and a pretty large population that seems to increasingly grok the probs and is leaning a bit progressive will be able to adequately address enough core problems to maintain adequate stability. If so then a growing progressive movement may have the chance to become politically and functionally viable. I hope so for the return to Mayberry that Trump is selling is a mirage.
    John Clay
    Tallahassee, FL
    My Framebuilding: https://www.flickr.com/photos/21624415@N04/sets
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  20. #660
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    Default Re: 2020 Political Chatter

    Quote Originally Posted by j44ke View Post
    Yep, fire everyone on the last day.
    Read it again. A fast read might give you a impression this brings needed reform to Federal Employment management. It's way way not that.
    Last edited by Too Tall; 10-25-2020 at 09:29 AM.
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