This type of regulatory over reach and power is just unacceptable.

The FDA forced Costco to recall 80,000 lbs of butter . Why ? e coli or listeria ? No Because unsanitary conditions in processing ? No

The recall is because the labels on the butter did not disclose that butter has milk. The FDA says milk is an allergen and needs to be disclosed .

Costco butter recall issued for missing 'Contains Milk statement': FDA (https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2024/11/11/costco-butter-recall/76205341007/)

Butter has been made by churning milk since humans discovered it can be done. The assumption is that we are stupid and thus need the protection of the leviathan nanny state . Now there is a case to be made that Americans are becoming more stupid. But it is more likely that some desk jockey bureaucrat with an ego was flexing muscle

We saw that type of power recently abused by a senior FEMA official that hated Trump supporters
FEMA employee fired after telling relief team to skip houses with Trump signs following Florida hurricane | CNN Politics (https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/08/politics/fema-employee-trump-florida-hurricane/index.html)

Costco recalling butter will not save a single life. What is will do is contribute to the cost of food inflation that greatly exceeds other inflation in the country.
The only thing it benefits is an army of federal employees who look around for something to justify their weekly check.
Trump is tasking Elon Musk to do an efficiency evaluation of the executive branch. There is a lot of fat (milk fat ? ) to trim.

Well it's not assumed stupidity, but they wonderful litigious nature of your countryfolk.
Didn't turn out to well for McDonalds: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Restaurants

When Trump drains the swamp, hopefully he'll cut ties with Elon Musk who isn't even a U.S. citizen.

Wrong He became a naturalized citizen in 2002 . He can't run for President . But neither could Henry Kissinger .

Ben yeah that hot coffee . Me I just assume that when I order coffee it will be hot .

A lawsuit between 2 private parties is one issue. In the Mickey D's case .if the nanny state mandated that coffee be served between 50-60 degree C then that is nanny state overreach.

However ;if the temperature was close to 85 degree C then it was too hot and they deserved to have to pay up medical expenses and have their a$$es sued.

As for me ;I think Mickey D's coffee taste like used dish water and would not purchase that swill.

Marn'i Washington is the FEMA official who told staff to avoid homes in Florida with Trump signs that had been impacted by hurricanes. She went public and said this was not isolated and that FEMA workers got the same instructions in the North/South Carolina. Basically she threw FEMA leadership under the bus . They have some 'splainin' to do

FEMA worker accused of telling staff to skip hurricane-ravaged Trump homes claims it was common practice: 'This is not isolated' (https://nypost.com/2024/11/12/us-news/fema-worker-accused-of-telling-staff-to-skip-hurricane-ravaged-trump-homes-claims-it-was-common-practice-this-is-not-isolated/)

Wrong He became a naturalized citizen in 2002 . He can't run for President . But neither could Henry Kissinger .
Ha! I made you look that up, didn't I!!!

The compliant press is still ignoring this FEMA scandal like they ignored the IRS scandal during the emperor's reign.
The game plan is the same. Deny it and claim conspiracy theory first . Then when it is found to be true isolated it and blame a rogue operative.(Lois Lerner)


It seems unlikely that some random supervisor would just come up with this on their own and direct their people to do this, that it didn’t come from higher up.

RealClearPolitics: Is FEMA Apology the End of the Story That Disaster Relief Teams Avoided Trump Supporters? | Video | RealClearPolitics (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/11/12/realclearpolitics_is_fema_apology_the_end_of_the_s tory_that_disaster_relief_teams_avoided_trump_supp orters.html)

Marn'i Washington was not going to take the fall. Lois Lerner was allowed to retire with full pension for her silence. Washington is talking.

The next step is the compliant press will bury it and fill the space with stories of how terrified the federal workforce is of the coming Trump purge.

She went public and said this was not isolated and that FEMA workers got the same instructions in the North/South Carolina. Basically she threw FEMA leadership under the bus . They have some 'splainin' to doI'd like to see the Trump DOJ investigate this as well as a few other things such as the terribly poor performance of the Secret Service in protecting Trump. Apologies are not enough. People should lose their jobs if these allegations are true.

Clueless Joe's team is working overtime to kneecap Trump's reform of the leviathan state . The latest example is they rushed through a new agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees allowing them to work from home through Trump's 2nd term ending in 2029 .
The AFGE represents over 40,000 SSA workers .
Part of the plans by DOGE is to end remote work. They reason that alone will lead to attrition of the Federal work force because they will resign rather than return to the office.

Trump's Plan to End Working From Home Faces Roadblock - Newsweek (https://www.newsweek.com/trump-plan-end-working-home-faces-roadblock-1995284)

You know my take . Public service workers should not be permitted to unionize. They negotiate for wages and benefits that taxpayers pay for . The early labor movement and progressive libs used to agree with this .

The founders of the labor movement viewed unions as a vehicle to get workers more of the profits they help create. Government workers, however, don’t generate profits. They merely negotiate for more tax money. When government unions strike, they strike against taxpayers. F.D.R. considered this “unthinkable and intolerable.”

F.D.R. Warned Us About Public Sector Unions - NYTimes.com (https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/02/18/the-first-blow-against-public-employees/fdr-warned-us-about-public-sector-unions)

Stunning report from Senator Joni Ernst . Only 6% of the Federal work force report to their jobs at the office .


Bureaucrats have been found in a bubble bath, on the golf course, running their own business, and even getting busted doing crime while on taxpayers’ time. Members of President Biden’s own cabinet claimed to be on the clock while being out of office and unreachable. Just three percent of the federal workforce teleworked daily prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, six percent of workers report in-person on a full-time basis, while nearly one-third are entirely remote. Most federal employees are eligible to telework and 90 percent of those are. Some come to the office as infrequently as once a week


Final Telework Report (https://www.ernst.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/final_telework_report.pdf)

We so need DOGE !!! And Musk is the guy to do it. He canned 90% of the workforce when he purchased Twitter ....now X . Not only did it survive . It has thrived under his leadership to become the go to social media site for the news.

Much of the goals of eliminating waste in government will be achieved just by culling the herd of the slackers. The American people suffer as the services they are paying for is denied while they are put on hold .

According to the report it has cost American lives.

More than 100 days passed before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took action on whistleblower complaints about the unsanitary conditions at a baby formula factory67 linked to the deaths of nine children and illness of dozens of others.68 Desperate parents struggled for months to feed their children when an FDA recall then caused a nationwide shortage of formula.69 The whistleblower complaint detailing safety concerns at an infant formula plant was delivered to the FDA in October 2021. But “mailroom staffing issues due to COVID-19,” namely employees working remotely,70 “prevented the hardcopies from reaching FDA senior leaders” until February, when the plant was then shut down.71 While there were numerous causes for the baby formula crisis, the FDA’s curtailing of “required food facility inspections” during the pandemic impacted its ability to ensure food safety.72 A former senior government official with firsthand knowledge of the FDA’s response shared these insights: “When critical FDA safety officials don’t show up to work, people die. The FDA’s remote work policy allowed problems at infant formula plants to fester into catastrophes by failing to catch issues before they harmed infants and families. By working remotely, FDA officials failed to catch problems before they grew worse, failed to keep tabs on industry, and failed to protect infants and their families who rely on the FDA’s gold seal of approval to mean something. There’s no excuse for FDA’s failure to send safety inspectors out into the field, there’s no excuse for FDA inspectors to not be in the plants, working with industry, to keep Americans safe. Were it not for the failed policies of the FDA, shortages would have been mitigated and lives would have been saved.”

I worked at plants that were subject to routine FDA inspection. It is just a fact that plant management is more attentive to levels of compliance when inspectors are watching.

During covid at our company many office staff worked remotely . But due to the nature of the products we made, we in the plant were deemed to be essential and were required to work.
But evidently that was not the case at HHS."Up to 30 percent of HHS employees “did not appear to be working” on any given day at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.77 This analysis is based on HHS employees’ login activity used to access the agency’s email and file systems remotely collected by the HHS Office of the Chief Information Officer and disclosed by a whistleblower.78 Apparently, the government doesn’t consider health department employees to be essential workers, even during a once-in-a-century global health emergency"

Starting on page 38 ,the report makes 5 key recommendations .Legislation to require them should be part of Congress' priorities in the next session.

Va . Dem Sen Tim Kaine tried to push through a law called 'Saving the Civil Service Act ' that would protect swamp critters from Trump's goal of dismantling the leviathan state.

H.R.1002 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Saving the Civil Service Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress (https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/1002#:~:text=Introduced%20in%20House%20(02%2F14%2F 2023)&text=This%20bill%20generally%20prohibits%20changes ,unless%20certain%20conditions%20are%20met.)


Kaine told reporters that while his effort Tuesday may have been unsuccessful, he believes support for his legislation will grow on a bipartisan basis in the months to come.


Repub Mo Senator Eric Schmit blocked a Dem motion to move the legislation forward by unanimous consent .


Last-ditch effort to block Schedule F’s return thwarted by Senate Republicans - Government Executive (https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2024/12/last-ditch-effort-block-schedule-fs-return-thwarted-senate-republicans/401738/)


This is not over . The Repubs need to make sure this does not pass in this lame duck session .

'Saving the Civil Service Act 'Maybe the repubs can introduce a "save the taxpayers" act. At any rate, it sure makes it clear who butters the dem party's bread.

They just voted on a very watered down version . Trump endorsed it . Still it failed because about 3 dozen Repubs voted no. Time for Trump to twist Repub arms . His agenda for the 1st 3 months is on the line.

The US taxpayers are now the proud employer of a record 23,516 million government employees . That is up over 3 million in the last 4 years . This totals all Federal State and local governments.


The new jobs report showed an increase in new job (which rattled the stock markets yesterday) . Unsaid is the fact that in 2024 ,more than half the jobs created were government jobs .

The BLS in October said that we were adding 45,000 new government jobs a month .
Current Employment Statistics Highlights September 2024 (https://www.bls.gov/ces/publications/highlights/2024/current-employment-statistics-highlights-09-2024.pdf)
(page 17)

23,516 million government employees Huh? Pretty sure we don't employ that many since there aren't that many people alive on earth. At any rate, job 1 of Trump's first year must be to reverse that trend of every increasing govt. employees. Another of your very good posts.

23,516,000


All Employees, Government (USGOVT) | FRED | St. Louis Fed (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USGOVT)

Here is the tally for 2024
Congress passed 175 laws . The deep state unelected branch made 3,248 rules .


While many laws address routine matters like post office renamings. recent major legislation—such as the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act—fuels expansive and expansive rulemakings. This dynamic enables agencies to subsequently implement substantial policy changes without direct congressional oversight, often bypassing notice-and-comment rules with informal guidance, policy statements, memoranda and other forms of regulatory dark matter.

Is Congress even trying? 3,248 new rules vs. 175 laws - Competitive Enterprise Institute (https://cei.org/blog/is-congress-even-trying-3248-new-rules-vs-175-laws/)

How many of them are unconstitutional ? We won't know until they are challenged in court .
The good news I guess is that SCOTUS ended the "Chevron deference " that assumed that what the regulatory agencies dictated was constitutional .
But that is just a start .

So what are the odds, in your view, of this swamp draining happening on anything even approaching a meaningful level? I am not just filled with hope.

With everything Trump ; I watch what he does ;not what he says . My hope is that in his first term he relied on Repubs in the swamp to make personnel decisions and to advance policy. He got burned too often.

I am impressed for the most part with his appointments to lead these agencies . My hope is that they do what they say.
But this won't happen in a single term;and we need to vote in more reformists at all levels .

The Bee nails it again

Democrats Warn Trump’s Unelected Shadow Government Is Dismantling Their Unelected Shadow Government | Babylon Bee (https://babylonbee.com/news/elon-is-an-unelected-official-warns-government-with-3-million-unelected-officials)

Great article.

Nobody voted for Musk !!!

Nobody voted for Soros

Far-left billionaire George Soros has a legion of loyal lieutenants who’ve racked up over two dozen meetings with top officials at the White House since President Biden took office, The Post has learned.
The progressive kingmaker’s unrivaled access into the Biden administration extends well beyond his 37-year-old son Alexander, who chairs the powerful, liberal grant-making network Open Society Foundations (https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/)founded by his dad, and as The Post reported on Page 1 last week, has taken on the role of a de-facto White House “ambassador” by making at least 14 visits there (https://nypost.com/2023/04/08/george-soros-son-has-easy-access-to-white-house-honchos/).
At least four other past or present leaders at Open Society Foundations have amassed a combined 33 private meetings and other confabs in less than two years, according to recently updated White House visitor logs. (https://www.whitehouse.gov/disclosures/visitor-logs/)



George Soros' army of lieutenants has easy White House access (https://nypost.com/2023/04/15/george-soros-army-of-lieutenants-has-easy-white-house-access/)

George Soros' son has easy access to White House honchos (https://nypost.com/2023/04/08/george-soros-son-has-easy-access-to-white-house-honchos/)


Musk is a private citizen with access to confidential and personal records .

Yes but so does a number of government contractors .

From Google AI


Deloitte provides audit support services for the US government, including government contractor compliance risk services and government audit support. Deloitte also helps federal agencies modernize and improve performance.

Deloitte works with the US government on a variety of projects, including defense, agriculture, health, and technology.



Yes, Deloitte may have access to personal information that includes government identifiers like social security numbers. Deloitte may collect this information to provide services to clients.

Department of Defense Financial Audits | Deloitte US (https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/public-sector/articles/department-of-defense-financial-audit-remediation.html)

Moss Adams routinely audits for the government .
Federal Contract Compliance Audits (https://www.mossadams.com/services/accounting/assurance/contract-compliance/federal)

As for questions about Musk security clearance; He already had clearance from his government contracts with Space X . However the President has the power to award clearances on a temporary basis . Musk's DOGE has "read only " access.

Treasury says Elon Musk's DOGE has "read only" access to payment systems - CBS News (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/treasury-says-elon-musk-doge-has-read-only-access-to-payment-systems/)

Yesterday's revelations is that USAID has allegedly pumped $millions of dollars to foundering compliant press outlets . The charge is that the Slimes received money from both USAID and the National Science Foundation .

People on X provided screen shots from publicly available info at
Government Spending Open Data | USAspending (https://www.usaspending.gov/)

There is back and forth about the accuracy of the amount of these funding awards . Dems say the amount is not that much and the purpose was to purchase subscriptions .

The real question is how many subscriptions and why is it necessary spending ? The libs keep reciting that USAID ONLY represents 1% of Federal Spending .

But $million here and $millions there adds up to real money that is monopoly bucks. Taken 1 by 1 it never amounts to much compared to overall spending. $27 million for Moroccan pottery is chicken feed. What's a few $million to produce Sesame Street in Iraq ?

Americans who have to decide to spend their scarce resources on eggs or gas may not be so cavalier .

According to Benny Johnson on X $8.2 million USAID funds went to prop up left wing rag Politico. When funding was suddenly cut off ;Politico could not make payroll.

Politico’s Payroll Crisis And The Government Spending Freeze: Coincidence Or Connection? (https://dallasexpress.com/national/politicos-payroll-crisis-and-the-government-spending-freeze-coincidence-or-connection/)


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GjB7B4eXsAA87PI?format=jpg&name=large

Politico has a subscription plan called Politico Pro that allegedly costs up to $10,000 . From a 2017 report ;


The new products come as Pro has gone from a 2010 side project to a 200-person operation that drives half of Politico’s yearly revenues. Over the past three years, revenue has grown 30 percent year over year, and it maintains a 90 percent renewal rate with its client base, according to the company.
“A lot of organizations have gotten a ‘Trump bump,’ which has died down. It hasn’t for us,” said Bobby Moran, Politico’s vp and gm. “[Pro] is not a luxury item. This is something [our subscribers] have to have to do their jobs.”
By digital media standards, Pro serves a small audience. Just 20,000 of Politico’s 30 million monthly unique visitors read Pro content, according to Moran.



Politico now has 20,000 paid subscribers that account for half of its revenue - Digiday (https://digiday.com/media/half-politicos-revenue-now-20000-subscribers/)

Ok the question begs to be asked . How many of those 20,000 subscriptions are government bought ? This really smells of corruption .If it is happening here where else is this abuse in the Federal Government ?

The really scary thing is that it is critical that we continue to raise the debt ceiling while at the same time trimming the budget. The idea that you could just lop off $2 trillion off the deficit is a fantasy. The economy would have to grow at the same rate to prevent a Great Depression like event. . This is why Trump was furious at the Repubs in the House who refused to raise the debt ceiling.In the short term we need to continue printing monopoly bucks

The Dems will do everything possible to prevent the cuts . They have already had some success in the courts . They would love an economic collapse during Trump's watch.

That's a great post, Tom. We should go back and look at what Gingrich did in the 90's. Now they weren't looking at the enormous deficits we have now, but they managed to go from a substantial deficit to a substantial surplus in just two or three years.

Handled right it could work the same. At the end of the 90s the market was benefitting from the dot com boom (bubble? ) At the same time budget cutters were looking at what they called a "peace dividend" . Bubba was willing to reform welfare . That is what it took . GW came in and we had the dot com burst an increased spending after 9-11 at the same time there was a tax cut without any structural reform like reducing unsustainable spending Today there is an AI boom and an attempt at budget slashing .

The problem is no one wants to go near the sacred cow ..... entitlements

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GjCvK6eWAAEeBg2?format=jpg&name=small

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GjCKbcBakAA1g_u?format=jpg&name=small

and why did USAID pay $4000 thousand to Gallup for services during the closing days of the Presidential campaign ?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GjEYzNjWcAAeVvZ?format=jpg&name=900x900

Rush Limbaugh used to say that if people had to cut a check to pay their taxes instead of having it withheld people would appreciate the waste and fraud that they pay for .

Elon Musk is ripping the band aid off and oh does it sting !! $100 million here, $500 million there, $5 billion over there, $300 million there.All the taxes I have paid over the years is no more than a rounding error in the game the swamp plays

Maxine Waters led Dems in a storming of the Dept of Education

Is this an insurrection ?

Liberals Have MELTDOWN After Getting Locked Out of Education Department (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUnemjt369w)

There are no thieves or thugs out here---we are members of congress But I repeat myself .

Rush Limbaugh used to say that if people had to cut a check to pay their taxes instead of having it withheld people would appreciate the waste and fraud that they pay for .Correct. I have thought the same thing many times.

According to Wikileaks ;the money that went to Politico was small potatoes.

If what they claim is accurate ;$472.6 billion was laundered through an NGO called "Internews Network" (IN);a 501(c)3 nonprofit in California
According to their propaganda :

We support independent media in 100+ countries, from radio stations in refugee camps, to hyper-local news outlets, to individual activists and reporters. We’ve helped our partners reach millions of people with quality, local information that saves lives, improves livelihoods, and holds institutions accountable.
About Internews - Information Saves Lives | Internews (https://internews.org/about/)

Almost a $half billion funneled through this office at 876 7th St Arcata, CA 95521-6358
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GjPO3FAWEAAG7Bu?format=jpg&name=small

I don't know how much taxpayer bucks filters down to actual journalists ;but the key officers of the charity are well paid.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GjPdmkRXcAApuMH?format=jpg&name=large




At Internews, we believe everyone deserves trustworthy news and information to make informed decisions about their lives and hold power to account. We train journalists and digital rights activists, advance internet freedom, and offer business expertise to help media outlets become financially sustainable. We do all of this in partnership with local communities – who are the people best placed to know what works.
We support independent media in 100+ countries, from radio stations in refugee camps, to hyper-local news outlets, to individual activists and reporters. We’ve helped our partners reach millions of people with quality, local information that saves lives, improves livelihoods, and holds institutions accountable.
Internews is an international nonprofit with 30 offices around the world, including headquarters in California, Washington DC, London and Paris, and regional hubs in Bangkok, Kyiv, and Nairobi. Internews is registered as a 501(c)3 nonprofit in California as EIN 94-3027961.
Internews was established in France in 1999 as Non-Profit Association SIRET no. 425 132 347 000 13 and in the United Kingdom in 2013 as Charity no. 1148404 (England) and Company no. 7891107 (Wales).


If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? ? If an non-government agency (NGO) gets all it's funding from the government ,is it really an NGO ?

The swamp is deeper and nastier than was first suspected.

It is clear to me that the emperor really was the puppet master ;and that he used Samantha Power at USAID as his CFO enforcer. She may have been the puppet master behind the emperor for that matter .

She was a campaign advisor to him in 2008. She was in his State Dept transition team. She was part of his National Security Advisor team in his 1st term He elevated her to Ambassador to the UN in his second term. She along with Evita convinced him to do regime change in Libya and support of the rebellion in Syria ,and Egypt . (She was also supported by war party Repubs like McCain and his Sancho Panza Lindsey Graham (I can't wait to vote against him in the primaries )

I considered starting a new post called 'The Schmuck Schumer Comedy Hour . But it is related to this thread

He got on X and posted that he was going to start a new portal where people could expose corruption, abuses of power, and threats to public safety with the legal protections of being a whistleblower. I'm guessing that he wants people in the bureaucracy to report . But he opened it up to general comments and the responses are precious . Here are a few :
Id like to report Chuck Schumer for threatening sitting Supreme Court Justices. Its all on video.


A month ago you were trying to jail whistleblowers.



I did.I submitted my complaint. It reads as such:"I am writing to formally express my concern regarding the ongoing and excessive waste of taxpayer dollars by the U.S. government. As a responsible and hardworking citizen, I find it deeply troubling that our hard-earned money is being mismanaged on inefficient programs, unnecessary expenditures, and bureaucratic redundancies.Specifically, I wish to highlight the following areas of concern:Excessive Government Spending – Reports consistently indicate wasteful spending in government projects that lack proper oversight, leading to cost overruns and mismanagement.Inefficient Programs and Bureaucracy – Many government-funded initiatives fail to achieve their intended objectives, yet they continue to receive funding without accountability or measurable improvements.Misuse of Public Funds – Cases of fraud, abuse, and misallocation of resources have been widely documented, with little to no consequences for those responsible.Lack of Fiscal Responsibility – Budget deficits continue to grow, with taxpayer dollars being spent without adequate scrutiny or transparency.The American people deserve a government that prioritizes fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability. I urge your office to take immediate action to address these issues by implementing stricter oversight, eliminating wasteful programs, and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently and effectively.I request a formal response detailing what measures your office is taking to curb government waste and promote responsible fiscal management. Additionally, I encourage you to support and advocate for policies that ensure greater accountability in federal spending.Thank you for your attention to this critical matter. I look forward to your response and to seeing meaningful reforms that protect taxpayers and promote responsible governance."


Wild that you’re recruiting government employees involved in the corruption to target the people exposing the corruption.Public Servant is a pretentious term for people who went into government because they knew the graft pays well























Great. I'll be reporting you for corruption and treason. They can investigate you after they finish the current investigation for you threatening a Supreme Court Justice.


We already have that… it’s called DOGE.

Everybody needs to flood this website with all of the fraud waste and abuse that @DOGE (https://x.com/DOGE)
is uncovering!


I’m reporting USAID and FEMA.

I'd like to blow the whistle on 535 members of Congress who have fraudulently squandered trillions of dollars in taxpayer money.



Chuck Schumer on X: "Today, I’m calling on our brave public servants: I’m launching a new portal for anyone who wants to expose corruption, abuses of power, and threats to public safety with the legal protections of being a whistleblower. https://t.co/pjm1tb4VDt" / X (https://x.com/SenSchumer/status/1888928794498454003)

I must confess that I'm starting to warm up to Trump. As for Schumer and his ilk, they have had years to do something about this disgrace and did nothing. Hopefully, it will be good riddance.

Nobody voted for Musk !!!

Nobody voted for Soros

Nobody voted for Jeff "Skunk Baxter . Who ? Oh he's a musician . He helped create the band Steely Dan ;and then joined the Doobie Brothers.

But he has other expertise. On the side he did things like data compression algorithms that are useful for large capacity storage devises . He self taught himself other skills that are useful in military applications . He wrote a how to essay on converting the ship's Aegis systems into a missile defense system. And his career as a military consultant began.

He got the security clearances to access classified materials and he became a consultant of choice for the DOD and all the military contractors of note. Now every one wants his expertise including NASA .

Nobody questions his role He has been a key player in government for more than 20 years . Governments like to have geniuses as consultants doing projects for them.

'The Hunger Games' is fiction right ? The story centers around the wealthy and privileged living mostly in the Capitol city . The poor live in the outskirts (aka flyover ?)


Larry Kudlow interviewed Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent . This line struck me .


LARRY KUDLOW: And just one last point on the budget being DOGE. DOGE savings, are you, I saw it's interesting, a poll, a Democratic poll, my friend Mark Penn in his poll, 69% favored the idea of a $1 trillion budget savings, I'll call it, from Elon Musk and DOGE. This is a Democratic poll, so it's quite interesting. As you incorporate your big six projections and you put out a Trump budget, you are doing it at OMB obviously. Is there a DOGE, you know, is there a DOGE spot for this, and perhaps how much might that be?

TREASURY SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Larry, I don't know yet, but to think that there's no waste, fraud, or abuse in the US government, you know, think about it.

Now that I live in DC, 25% of US GDP blows through area code 202.

Everybody is trying, there are all these markers on that same thing, Americans with healthcare, every Monday is paying for your healthcare. But when you think about 25% of GDP flowing through area code 202, everybody's trying to skim a portion of it, trying to reallocate it. I don't know what the savings level can be, but I think examining a lot of these contracts, a lot of this employment.

Treasury Secretary: We're Transitioning From Public To Private-Sector Based Economy; "25% of GDP Flows Through Area Code 202" | Video | RealClearPolitics (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2025/03/06/treasury_secretary_bessent_were_going_to_transitio n_from_a_public-sector_to_private-sector_economy.html)

Over 900,000 government jobs were created during Clueless Joe's reign . Will we ever know how many of these are pretty much empty positions that serve no public good?

Over 900,000 government jobs were created during Clueless Joe's reign Not too sure about that. This is from USA Today.


Data show:


The federal civilian workforce (https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/01/07/what-the-data-says-about-federal-workers/) increased by 4.8% during Biden’s term — not by almost 50%.
There were about 2.89 million federal employees when Biden took office, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES9091000001) — not 2.1 million.

When Biden left office, there were about 3.02 million federal employees (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf), Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show. The count includes about 600,000 postal workers who were not paid by taxpayer dollars because the U.S. Postal Service is generally self-funded. It also included congressional staffers and other employees outside the executive branch. It excludes the military’s 1.3 million active-duty uniformed service members (https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN12449/2), who are generally not counted among federal employees.
How much did the federal workforce grow under Joe Biden? (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/politifact/2025/02/20/how-much-did-the-federal-workforce-grow-under-joe-biden/79187967007/)