Trump / Musk (other than DOGE)

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nycfan said:
Related — reportedly, the U.S. Attorney who just publicly called himself “President Trump’s lawyer”’ refusing to cooperate in a DC police investigation of a Friend of POTUS (but benefit of the doubt, maybe he is just incompetent):



MAGA has convinced themselves that prosecution of any of their rank for virtually any reason is “weaponization” of justice. With people in the government sharing this belief all the way to the top, it means there is no rule of law for MAGA (or at least not for friends of Trump). It is how Putin runs Russia, for example.
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The Trump admin is blocking publication of study section meeting announcements in the Federal Register, essentially blocking reviews (and awards) of grant applications. Study sections meet 3 times a year so this likely means a 4 month delay at best. A lot of research labs will be in need of bridge funding to retain staff. Those purse strings are going to be tighter than ever. Making matters worse, I’m hearing to not even bother with no cost extension requests. If money is allocated, spend it before the deadline. This could get really ugly if congress doesn’t step in and put a leash on the WH.
 
nycfan said:
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We all know who ACTUALLY runs DOGE, we just don’t know if there is some figurehead appointed somewhere between Musk, presidential advisor who definitely does not run DOGE according to the DOJ, and the Musketeers wilding through government systems.
 
Kraftyheel89 said:
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It really is funny to see adults, employed by the Federal Government of the United States, get so upset over being asked essentially that: "What would you say you do here?".

Anyone who is a)engaged with the details of their role and b) actually executing the responsibilities of their role should be able to respond in minutes.

BTW, the role/performance of any employed person, whether they know it or not, is likely being assessed on a daily basis.
 
ZenMode said:
It really is funny to see adults, employed by the Federal Government of the United States, get so upset over being asked essentially that: "What would you say you do here?".

Anyone who is a)engaged with the details of their role and b) actually executing the responsibilities of their role should be able to respond in minutes.

BTW, the role/performance of any employed person, whether they know it or not, is likely being assessed on a daily basis.
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Very few are upset about the underlying question, which is one they have to answer within their department. With millions of employees, the federal government is certain to have its share of slackers who may resent any additional efforts, sure, but all large employers have those (and most small employers do too). What people are angry about is that most of them have very well defined job descriptions, so this is not about "what do you do here" -- that is prescribed and documented. They mostly also already have to do departmental self-evaluations and get supervisors to provide performance reviews that are in their records.

The five bullet point demand would be lazy circumvention of the existing and available records if that is what Musk is up to. But it is not. He is creating some sort of ad hoc response system, with zero meaningful instruction, that he now claims will be fed to an AI to determine who is worthy of continuing work and who should be fired. Based on five bullet points about a 4-day work week. Musk doesn't actually run DOGE, per DOJ repeated filings and statements in court, so it is not clear how Musk has any authority to make any such demands of anyone who works for the Federal Government.

The process is asinine harassment as a PR stunt and to undermine the morale of federal workers generally. People who support DOGE keep using the "what would you say your do here" consultants from Office Space as a hilarious joke to support DOGE, and that is somewhat accurate but not at all positive for DOGE since those consultants were soulless outsiders brought in to slim down the ranks, not brilliant good guys defending the company's righteous efficiency.
 
Other than such point failures as the validity of self assessment and the proper interpretation of that assessment by the initial reader, I only see the overall cost and lack of apparent purpose as problems. You can't really cross index this. There's too many jobs with totally different requirements. I mean, what do you do with this?

I think it's just Trump mentally masturbating Musk while they both fantasize about peons jumping at their beck and call
 
nycfan said:
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nycfan said:
Very few are upset about the underlying question, which is one they have to answer within their department. With millions of employees, the federal government is certain to have its share of slackers who may resent any additional efforts, sure, but all large employers have those (and most small employers do too). What people are angry about is that most of them have very well defined job descriptions, so this is not about "what do you do here" -- that is prescribed and documented. They mostly also already have to do departmental self-evaluations and get supervisors to provide performance reviews that are in their records.

The five bullet point demand would be lazy circumvention of the existing and available records if that is what Musk is up to. But it is not. He is creating some sort of ad hoc response system, with zero meaningful instruction, that he now claims will be fed to an AI to determine who is worthy of continuing work and who should be fired. Based on five bullet points about a 4-day work week. Musk doesn't actually run DOGE, per DOJ repeated filings and statements in court, so it is not clear how Musk has any authority to make any such demands of anyone who works for the Federal Government.

The process is asinine harassment as a PR stunt and to undermine the morale of federal workers generally. People who support DOGE keep using the "what would you say your do here" consultants from Office Space as a hilarious joke to support DOGE, and that is somewhat accurate but not at all positive for DOGE since those consultants were soulless outsiders brought in to slim down the ranks, not brilliant good guys defending the company's righteous efficiency.
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I don't disagree that there's probably a PR aspect to this and DOGE in general. I don't think it's uncommon for administrations, at every level, to publicize their accomplishments or really anything that they believe their constituents would like. It's like the "Your tax money at work" signs I see occassionally around town.

Yes, I'm sure there are slackers. There are probably also slacker supervisors who don't much care to make sure their subordinates are not slacking themselves, which is why I'm not opposed, in principle, to what is being done. I told another poster that I don't trust all of government to "right size" itself or be truly conscientious of waste, whether it be money or people.

If I were being asked the question, I would look at it as an opportunity to tout my performance and showcase my work because I'm sure there are also people who do more than their job description or are picking up the slack of the slackers. Then there are people who are probably so disengaged, that they didn't even see the email.
 
Healing said:
It’s really funny (pitiable) to see educated adults valorize chaotic and incompetent destruction, simply bc they hero worship grifting, drug addled, antisocial billionaires.
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There are assumptions that the changes, "destruction" as you call it, have done or are doing damage. I haven't seen any negative results, so far.

Just lots of setting of hair on fire.
 
ZenMode said:
If I were being asked the question, I would look at it as an opportunity to tout my performance and showcase my work because I'm sure there are also people who do more than their job description or are picking up the slack of the slackers. Then there are people who are probably so disengaged, that they didn't even see the email.
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It’s asinine to do a performance review based on less than 2% of the year. Is your job so mundane that your workload is steady state throughout the year?
 


“… But now the delivery of therapeutic food assistance to nearly 400,000 severely malnourished children abroad is in doubt due to ongoing firings at USAID, two manufacturers of this product told me in interviews. The raw materials needed to make the product are sitting in warehouses, but the manufacturers say they’re uncertain whether to proceed, because they don’t know if the U.S. government still wants to buy the product—and they can’t be certain it will be shipped.

The product in question is called Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a sterile, bureaucratic name that masks the horrific nature of its life-saving function. It is a sweet paste largely made of peanuts, milk, and vitamins. It’s designed for safe ingestion by young children inflicted with what’s known as “severe wasting,” meaning they’re suffering extreme, acute malnutrition or hovering on the edge of starving to death. It’s packaged in foil packets that don’t need refrigeration, making it suitable for delivery to areas inflicted by extreme deprivation.

“It’s the only treatment that can cure a severely malnourished child,” says Navyn Salem, the founder and CEO of Edesia Nutrition, which manufactures the product in Rhode Island. …”

——
Back on the old IC ZZLP I had encouraged folks to donate to a UNICEF program to provide RUTF to prevent famine from becoming starvation — the stuff has been miraculous at keeping kids in horrific food shortages alive and at least subsisting (rather than literally starving to death).
 
nycfan said:


“… But now the delivery of therapeutic food assistance to nearly 400,000 severely malnourished children abroad is in doubt due to ongoing firings at USAID, two manufacturers of this product told me in interviews. The raw materials needed to make the product are sitting in warehouses, but the manufacturers say they’re uncertain whether to proceed, because they don’t know if the U.S. government still wants to buy the product—and they can’t be certain it will be shipped.

The product in question is called Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a sterile, bureaucratic name that masks the horrific nature of its life-saving function. It is a sweet paste largely made of peanuts, milk, and vitamins. It’s designed for safe ingestion by young children inflicted with what’s known as “severe wasting,” meaning they’re suffering extreme, acute malnutrition or hovering on the edge of starving to death. It’s packaged in foil packets that don’t need refrigeration, making it suitable for delivery to areas inflicted by extreme deprivation.

“It’s the only treatment that can cure a severely malnourished child,” says Navyn Salem, the founder and CEO of Edesia Nutrition, which manufactures the product in Rhode Island. …”

——
Back on the old IC ZZLP I had encouraged folks to donate to a UNICEF program to provide RUTF to prevent famine from becoming starvation — the stuff has been miraculous at keeping kids in horrific food shortages alive and at least subsisting (rather than literally starving to death).
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“… As it happens, enormous amounts of this life saving paste are manufactured in two American factories: in addition to the Edesia facility in Rhode Island, another organization called Mana pumps out the product in Georgia. USAID has been contracting with the two operations—both nonprofits—to send it to the world’s starving children, mostly in Africa, for over 15 years. Both have current contracts with USAID, signed during the last administration, to treat a total of 1.2 million children for seven weeks between the two companies, which would mean full rehabilitation from severe malnutrition for those children.

But the latest round of cutbacks at USAID has left these operations flummoxed and frustrated. As part of its current contract, Edesia has enough raw ingredients left in its warehouses to manufacture the paste for 160,000 children, Salem says. The company hasn’t decided whether to complete it, because the removals at USAID have put on paid leave the employees who oversee her contracts, Salem notes, and she can’t get clarity from USAID about whether the food will be either paid for or shipped.

… Meanwhile, the Georgia-based nonprofit Mana Nutrition, has enough ingredients to manufacture the product for around 200,000 badly malnourished children, according to its co-founder and CEO, Mark Moore. He cannot figure out who at USAID is now overseeing or processing the contract, or get confirmation that USAID wants it completed.

…This was supposed to be sorted out by now. Earlier this month, when firings first started to hit USAID, both companies were initially given stop-work orders, but then the administration lifted them. With Secretary of State Marco Rubio promising not to hamper the most desperately needed aid, it appeared that the paste would keep being shipped.

This week, however, both companies have discovered that this promise is in question. The firings have largely led to USAID’s system for paying contractors to break down, and have emptied the agency of people who had overseen the contracts, with no indication of who’s supposed to be replacing them, the two CEOs said. …”
 
ZenMode said:
There are assumptions that the changes, "destruction" as you call it, have done or are doing damage. I haven't seen any negative results, so far.

Just lots of setting of hair on fire.
Click to expand...
It’s really funny (pitiable) to see educated adults valorize chaotic and incompetent destruction, simply bc they hero worship grifting, drug addled, antisocial billionaires.
 
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