DOGE

[Whack9]

LAURENS COUNTY, S.C. —
Laurens School District 55 in South Carolina is pushing back against a decision by the U.S. Department of Education to withdraw a $13.5 million federal grant, alleging it supported Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

https://www.wyff4.com/article/school-di ... nitiatives.

We were hit last week with a very hard blow. It was something that we were not anticipating and we did lose our Laurens Learns grant," said Dr. Jody Penland. Officials received confirmation last week, 18 months into a three-year grant, emphasizing the funding's critical role in enhancing classroom teaching through master teachers, resulting in improved national and state benchmark scores.

The district insists the grant was not used for DEI initiatives. "I want to go on record and say that it is 100 percent not true," stated Amanda Lecaroz, the Director of Accountability, Federal Programs and Professional Development with Laurens District 55.

...

This issue reflects a broader challenge across the state, as noted by Sherry East of the South Carolina Education Association. "But because of the way there was some language that someone picked out of a piece of paper, they're told their funding's going to be cut," East remarked.

Laurens county went to Trump with roughly 70% of the vote. I guess they got what they wanted

[O Really]

So far, Trump's bunch has fired more employees than it has deported "illegals."

[Vrede too]

So far, Trump's bunch has fired more employees than it has deported "illegals."

So, not all of the fired federal workers will be able to find jobs picking strawberries, working in meat packing plants, washing dishes in Mexican restaurants, mowing lawns, doing menial work in nursing homes or cleaning houses. Darnit.

[neoplacebo]

And the cult gushes in awe. Make that gushing in stupefied awe.

[Whack9]

Laid off federal worker explains why he wishes he didn't vote for Trump

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/lo ... a/4124901/

When asked by NBC10 political reporter Lauren Mayk if he supported President Trump in the last election, Smith hesitated with his answer before ultimately saying that he did.

"Honestly, uh, yeah, I did," Smith said. "I thought, you know, he would be someone that would, you know, cause he talked a lot about taking care of the military, taking care of the veterans, taking care of the people that put him in office and it just hasn't happened so if I could go back in time I would have voted for Vice President Harris in a heartbeat."

[neoplacebo]

This is quite funny and illustrates the existing chaos......last night trump stated in his LAW (Lying And Whining) speech that Musk is the head of DOGE. But the administration has filed court papers in at least one pending case stating that some woman (currently on vacation in Mexico) is in charge of DOGE. I suspect the judge in this case will want to address this controversy as to who runs DOGE since the case names Musk as the defendant who represents DOGE. In this case, the DOJ attorney stated in court that the woman in Mexico is the head of DOGE. I suppose it's anyone's guess as to whether this condition has resulted from lies or from incompetence and stupidity. But then a lot of times, those things act in concert. As we can plainly see.

[GoCubsGo]

This is quite funny and illustrates the existing chaos......last night trump stated in his LAW (Lying And Whining) speech that Musk is the head of DOGE. But the administration has filed court papers in at least one pending case stating that some woman (currently on vacation in Mexico) is in charge of DOGE. I suspect the judge in this case will want to address this controversy as to who runs DOGE since the case names Musk as the defendant who represents DOGE. In this case, the DOJ attorney stated in court that the woman in Mexico is the head of DOGE. I suppose it's anyone's guess as to whether this condition has resulted from lies or from incompetence and stupidity. But then a lot of times, those things act in concert. As we can plainly see.

It's been noted.

[Vrede too]

And the cult gushes in awe. Make that gushing in stupefied awe.

Hold that gush. Looks like POTUS Musk and PINO are not ready to force a constitutional crisis . . . yet.

Trump Abruptly Walks Back His Directive To Fire Thousands Of Federal Employees
His administration is suddenly changing tactics after a federal judge ruled that its mass firings of probationary workers were probably illegal.

... In revised guidance issued to the heads of federal agencies, the Office of Personnel Management ― the human resources agency of the federal government ― tries to rewrite history by claiming it never actually ordered agencies to fire probationary employees (people who generally have held their jobs for a year or less). Instead, OPM claims it’s been up to each agency all along to decide who to fire.

LAW, Lie And Whine, is what MAGAts do.

And now that that’s clear, OPM says individual agencies have until Sept. 13 to submit their plans to OPM for firing probationary employees.

Some tens of thousands won't be probationary, anymore. So there's that. As for the others . . .

... Underscoring that this move is more about the Trump administration covering for itself than preserving essential government jobs, OPM’s guidance doesn’t say anything about federal agencies being encouraged to rehire all the people who were fired.

Ah-ha, the lawbreaking is already accomplished.

Everett Kelley of the American Federation of Government Employees, which brought the lawsuit in Alsup’s court, said the new guidance shows that the Trump administration knows that what it’s been doing is illegal.

“OPM’s revision of its Jan. 20 memo is a clear admission that it unlawfully directed federal agencies to carry out mass terminations of probationary employees — which aligns with Judge Alsup’s recent decision in our lawsuit challenging these illegal firings,” Kelley said in a statement. “Every agency should immediately rescind these unlawful terminations and reinstate everyone who was illegally fired.”

Tens of thousands of lawsuits over the illegal firings coming. How is that "Efficiency"?

... Federal labor unions have been filing lawsuits aimed at blocking the probationary firings and getting workers reinstated, arguing the White House has usurped Congress’ control over spending and violated rules that govern federal layoffs....

Yup. Lock Elon up!

And the cult whines in victimized distress.

[Vrede too]

Elon Musk and DOGE promised up to $2 trillion in government savings. How much have they actually saved so far?
DOGE is claiming $105 billion in savings — but its own "wall of receipts" shows just $19.8 billion.

Even then, the accounting is riddled with errors, likely bringing the "savings" lower. Opps, such inefficiency! Fire Musk amateurs to strengthen government.

[GoCubsGo]

Elon Musk and DOGE promised up to $2 trillion in government savings. How much have they actually saved so far?
DOGE is claiming $105 billion in savings — but its own "wall of receipts" shows just $19.8 billion.

Even then, the accounting is riddled with errors, likely bringing the "savings" lower. Opps, such inefficiency! Fire Musk amateurs to strengthen government.

Not only are they not efficient, they're incompetent.

[1 CAT FAN]

So, not all of the fired federal workers will be able to find jobs picking strawberries, working in meat packing plants, washing dishes in Mexican restaurants, mowing lawns, doing menial work in nursing homes or cleaning houses. Darnit.

You can relate, huh.

[Vrede too]

Not only are they not efficient, they're incompetent.

And we are increasingly learning they are ILLEGAL:

More Than 5,000 Fired USDA Employees Just Got Their Jobs Back
The Merit Systems Protection Board significantly broadened a previous decision to restore six federal workers' jobs after Trump illegally terminated them.

More than 5,000 employees who were fired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture are getting their jobs back, at least for now, after a government employee oversight board decided Wednesday they were illegally terminated.

The Merit Systems Protection Board, a panel charged with protecting federal merit systems against partisan or political abuse, announced it is broadening its previous decision that restored the jobs of six federal employees to all USDA employees who were similarly and haphazardly fired by the Trump administration. All of these federal staffers are probationary employees, or people who have generally been in their jobs for a year or less.

The decision means thousands of USDA workers who were unlawfully fired can return to their jobs. It also strengthens the case being made by legal groups like Democracy Forward, which brought this request before the board, that none of the mass firings being carried out by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency have been legal.

“The Merit Systems Protection Board has again confirmed that the Trump-Vance administration’s firing of tens of thousands of hard-working federal employees is unlawful,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said in a statement.

“We are gratified that this unlawful action has been stayed for USDA employees, and we remain committed to ensuring the tens of thousands of other civil servants receive this same reprieve,” Perryman said. “This is about protecting the people who work for the American people. It’s about fairness, stability, and the rule of law. That means protecting the non-partisan civil service from an Administration bent on creating chaos and uncertainty.”

... Wednesday’s decision is the latest legal defeat for the Trump administration as it moves aggressively to try to hollow out the federal government. In addition to being directed by the Merit Systems Protection Board ― twice ― to restore various employees’ jobs, a federal judge ruled last week that the Office of Personnel Management had no authority to direct federal agencies to fire people and that it was probably illegal.

That led to Trump’s OPM on Tuesday abruptly walking back its directive to agencies to fire thousands of probationary employees. Now, in its effort to avoid more lawsuits, OPM is rewriting history and claiming it’s been up to individual agencies all along to decide to fire people, not OPM.

Liars. Cowards.

It’s the clearest sign yet that the Trump administration knows that what it’s been doing is illegal.

“Our civil service protections exist for a reason—to prevent politically motivated purges that undermine the integrity of our government,” said Rob Shriver of Democracy Forward’s Civil Service Strong, its public resource center.

Duh, it's Civics 101.

“This decision affirms that impacted USDA employees should be judged based on their own job performance and not on the perceptions and biases of an unelected billionaire, and we will continue working until this decision is rightly expanded to cover all civil servants,” he said.

x 5000.

Of course, "illegal" only matters to RepuQs if it's brown people.

[Vrede too]

Not only are they not efficient, they're incompetent.

Yet another example:

'Read This E-mail Immediately': CDC Tells About 180 Fired Employees To Come Back To Work
The nation’s top public health agency said the employees laid off two weeks ago can return to work “after further review and consideration."

Opps.

[Whack9]

[Whack9]

AGAIN

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/doge-j ... reddit.com

PARKERSBURG, West Virginia, March 7 (Reuters) - Jennifer Piggott proudly hung a red-and-blue Trump campaign flag outside her one-story home during the November election race. Now, after she was abruptly fired from her civil service job, her days of supporting the president are over.

Piggott is among more than 125 people dismissed in February from the Treasury Department's Bureau of Fiscal Service in Parkersburg, West Virginia, unsettling a community that voted overwhelmingly for Republican President Donald Trump.

"Nobody that I've talked to understood the devastation that having this administration in office would do to our lives," Piggott, 47, told Reuters in an interview, saying she would not have supported Trump if she knew then what she knows now.

"As much as I think that President Trump is doing wonderful things for the country in some regards, I don't understand this at all," she said.

...

Support for Trump's shrinking of government can, however, be heard in places around Parkersburg - a middle-aged couple singing DOGE's praises over breakfast at a local diner; a hotel patron saying remote workers deserved to be fired; a young bartender lamenting federal workers' relatively high pay.

...

It's a major economic disaster for our community," said co-owner Wayne Waldeck, likening the potential scale of the expected job cuts to another factory leaving town.

Parkersburg Brewing, a local bar and eatery, is also worried about a hit to demand. Roughly one-sixth of the brewery's 65 members, who pay an annual fee for a larger pour and other perks, work at BFS, manager Samantha Gibbs said.
"They have the extra money to come spend at places like this and give back to the community, and now a percentage of that is lost," she said. "That's going to affect us tremendously."

[O Really]

"Nobody that I've talked to understood the devastation that having this administration in office would do to our lives," Piggott, 47, told Reuters in an interview, saying she would not have supported Trump if she knew then what she knows now."

Nobody? Really?

[Vrede too]

"Nobody that I've talked to understood the devastation that having this administration in office would do to our lives," Piggott, 47, told Reuters in an interview, saying she would not have supported Trump if she knew then what she knows now."

Nobody? Really?

No sympathy from con families, either:

Thrust into unemployment, axed federal workers face relatives who celebrate their firing

MAGA = Sneering cruelty

[neoplacebo]

"Nobody that I've talked to understood the devastation that having this administration in office would do to our lives," Piggott, 47, told Reuters in an interview, saying she would not have supported Trump if she knew then what she knows now."

Nobody? Really?

A finer example of the general ignorance of the average American cannot be found. This sort of thing will become more prevalent over the next year if we last that long. I think his goal is to shut down the government this month, then default on the debt, and sit back and watch it all happen before he leaves the country.

[Vrede too]

Efficiency? Deficit reduction?

Trump Golf Weekends’ Cost To Taxpayers Hits $18.2 Million
Donald Trump has played golf at his own courses in Florida on six of the seven weekends since his second term began.

Donald Trump’s insistence on playing golf at his Florida courses has now cost American taxpayers more than $18 million since he regained the presidency, setting him on a pace to exceed the $151.5 million he spent in his first term, according to a HuffPost analysis.

On Saturday, Trump is playing golf for the 13th day of his 48 in office. It was his 10th day playing at his course in West Palm Beach, across the Intracoastal Waterway from his Mar-a-Lago country club home and adjacent to the Palm Beach County Jail.

He spent another three days at his course in Doral, just east of the main runways at Miami International Airport.

According to a 2019 Government Accountability Office report examining the first four trips Trump took to Mar-a-Lago during his first administration, each one costs $3,383,250 — a sum based on 2017 dollars that is likely higher now.

Trump and his entourage fly down on Air Force One while the military brings down the vehicles for his motorcade on C-17 transports. Because Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, straddles the width of the barrier island, police boats with machine guns mounted on the bows patrol the Intracoastal while a Coast Guard vessel is stationed off the beach in the Atlantic. Additional costs include law enforcement and explosive-sniffing dogs.

On his first trip after retaking office to California, Nevada, and, ultimately, his Doral golf resort, reporters aboard Air Force One asked Trump if he would be playing golf on that trip. “No. I don’t think so. I’m busy,” he said.

Two days later, a Fox News reporter posted photos of him playing golf at his Doral course.

[Vrede too]

Donald Trump Supporters Who Have Been Laid Off From Their Federal Jobs Are Having Major Regrets, And The Stories Are A Looooot

Over 62,000 federal workers across February have reportedly been fired by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk....

Ironically, many of those fired have been Trump-voters and some are expressing anger about being targeted by the job cuts. Here's what they're saying over on the r/LeopardsAteMyFace subreddit:

An example:



Traditionally, a wife in her position WOULD regret her vote, and would go get a job.

Veterans say they feel betrayed after firing from federal jobs, including some who voted for Trump

... The mass firing of federal employees since Trump took office in January is pushing out veterans who make up 30% of the nation’s federal workforce. The exact number of veterans who have lost their job is unknown, although House Democrats last month estimated that it was potentially in the thousands.

More could be on the way. The Department of Veterans Affairs — a major employer of veterans — is planning a reorganization that includes cutting over 80,000 jobs from the sprawling agency, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. Veterans represent more than 25% of the VA’s workforce....

Asked this week about fired federal workers who are veterans, Alina Habba, a former member of Trump’s personal legal team who now serves as a counselor in the White House, defended the cuts.

“But at the same time, we have taxpayer dollars, we have a fiscal responsibility to use taxpayer dollars to pay people that actually work,” Habba told reporters. “That doesn’t mean that we forget our veterans, by any means. We are going to care for them in the right way. But perhaps they’re not fit to have a job at this moment, or not willing to come to work.”

Heartless. If anyone knows "not fit to have a job" it's HabbaDabbaDoo. She lost her boss tens of millions of dollars in court and regularly made a fool of herself in the process.

Veterans were much likelier to support Trump than Harris in November’s presidential election, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of the American electorate conducted in all 50 states. Nearly 6 in 10 voters who are veterans backed Trump, while about 4 in 10 voted for Harris....

I have less sympathy for the 6 in 10 veteran voters than I do for the others.