I listened to ZMan’s podcast this week. He compares America to a corporation and Trump is the hostile takeover artist trying to fix a failing company.
Pretty good listen.
Category: Trump
He Did It
Donald Trump said he’d end affirmative action and he did. Below I’ve copied Donald Trump’s executive order for, “ENDING ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION AND RESTORING MERIT-BASED OPPORTUNITY”
This is amazing! This is what we’ve needed for generations since the nightmare of the Civil Rights legislation was rolled out in the 1960s.
And I expect the blue state judges and other progressives will fight this tooth and nail. And if Trump wants to secure his legacy in the eyes of his countrymen, he needs to fight back with every bit of power that the office of the presidency provides him. Because this is exactly the policy that will make this country powerful again. Companies hiring the smartest candidate. Police and military authorities requiring applicants for demanding assignments to pass grueling physical tests. No more 5’ 4,” 90 lb. women pretending to be firefighters who can go into a burning building and haul a 200 lb. man to safety.
No more surgeons or airline pilots selected to their positions based on their skin color or sex (or worse, their sexual deviancy). No more Navy Seals or Army Rangers who can’t do ten pull ups or carry an eighty-pound pack and a rifle. And best of all, no more government programs or agencies endlessly telling us that diversity is our strength. In fact, the executive order requires all of these agencies to strip away all of those buzz words; diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. All that jibber jabber has to go. For example, from the text below:
“(ii) Excise references to DEI and DEIA principles, under whatever name they may appear, from Federal acquisition, contracting, grants, and financial assistance procedures to streamline those procedures, improve speed and efficiency, lower costs, and comply with civil-rights laws; and
(iii) Terminate all “diversity,” “equity,” “equitable decision-making,” “equitable deployment of financial and technical assistance,” “advancing equity,” and like mandates, requirements, programs, or activities, as appropriate.”
And this order has all sorts of clauses to allow the government to go after corporations that employ affirmative action in their hiring and advancement policies. Honestly there are goodies in here everywhere I look. For instance:
“Sec. 4. Encouraging the Private Sector to End Illegal DEI Discrimination and Preferences. (a) The heads of all agencies, with the assistance of the Attorney General, shall take all appropriate action with respect to the operations of their agencies to advance in the private sector the policy of individual initiative, excellence, and hard work identified in section 2 of this order.
………………
(b) To further inform and advise me so that my Administration may formulate appropriate and effective civil-rights policy, the Attorney General, within 120 days of this order, in consultation with the heads of relevant agencies and in coordination with the Director of OMB, shall submit a report to the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy containing recommendations for enforcing Federal civil-rights laws and taking other appropriate measures to encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI. The report shall contain a proposed strategic enforcement plan identifying:
…………………
(iii) A plan of specific steps or measures to deter DEI programs or principles (whether specifically denominated “DEI” or otherwise) that constitute illegal discrimination or preferences. As a part of this plan, each agency shall identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations of publicly traded corporations, large non-profit corporations or associations, foundations with assets of 500 million dollars or more, State and local bar and medical associations, and institutions of higher education with endowments over 1 billion dollars;”
Etc., etc., etc.
And just to make sure the colleges are held accountable:
Sec. 5. Other Actions. Within 120 days of this order, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education shall jointly issue guidance to all State and local educational agencies that receive Federal funds, as well as all institutions of higher education that receive Federal grants or participate in the Federal student loan assistance program under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq., regarding the measures and practices required to comply with Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023).
So, all in all, this is like some kind of dream come true for the Right. Now will all this become law without a fight? Hell no. There will be a knock down, drag out fight for every sentence and phrase. I expect screaming women to march around the White House for the next ten years on account of some angry identity group whose feelings have been hurt.
Federal judges in every blue jurisdiction will declare this order unconstitutional. But I predict the Supreme Court will come down on his side. And that is as it should be. Trump has taken the initiative and he has justice and sanity on his side. Let him continue to act in this spirit and he may end up on Mount Rushmore after all. Well done.
For your ease of access I’ve copied the executive action in its entirety below. I recommend going through the whole thing. It’s very well written. I find it very enjoyable just reading it. It’s a form of therapy. And even for that Donald Trump deserves my thanks.
Presidential Actions
ENDING ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION AND
RESTORING MERIT-BASED OPPORTUNITY
January 21, 2025
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose. Longstanding Federal civil-rights laws protect individual Americans from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. These civil-rights protections serve as a bedrock supporting equality of opportunity for all Americans. As President, I have a solemn duty to ensure that these laws are enforced for the benefit of all Americans.
Yet today, roughly 60 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, critical and influential institutions of American society, including the Federal Government, major corporations, financial institutions, the medical industry, large commercial airlines, law enforcement agencies, and institutions of higher education have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) or “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” (DEIA) that can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation.
Illegal DEI and DEIA policies not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system. Hardworking Americans who deserve a shot at the American Dream should not be stigmatized, demeaned, or shut out of opportunities because of their race or sex.
These illegal DEI and DEIA policies also threaten the safety of American men, women, and children across the Nation by diminishing the importance of individual merit, aptitude, hard work, and determination when selecting people for jobs and services in key sectors of American society, including all levels of government, and the medical, aviation, and law-enforcement communities. Yet in case after tragic case, the American people have witnessed first-hand the disastrous consequences of illegal, pernicious discrimination that has prioritized how people were born instead of what they were capable of doing.
The Federal Government is charged with enforcing our civil-rights laws. The purpose of this order is to ensure that it does so by ending illegal preferences and discrimination.
Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to protect the civil rights of all Americans and to promote individual initiative, excellence, and hard work. I therefore order all executive departments and agencies (agencies) to terminate all discriminatory and illegal preferences, mandates, policies, programs, activities, guidance, regulations, enforcement actions, consent orders, and requirements. I further order all agencies to enforce our longstanding civil-rights laws and to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.
Sec. 3. Terminating Illegal Discrimination in the Federal Government. (a) The following executive actions are hereby revoked:
(i) Executive Order 12898 of February 11, 1994 (Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations);
(ii) Executive Order 13583 of August 18, 2011 (Establishing a Coordinated Government-wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce);
(iii) Executive Order 13672 of July 21, 2014 (Further Amendments to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government, and Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity); and
(iv) The Presidential Memorandum of October 5, 2016 (Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in the National Security Workforce).
(b) The Federal contracting process shall be streamlined to enhance speed and efficiency, reduce costs, and require Federal contractors and subcontractors to comply with our civil-rights laws. Accordingly:
(i) Executive Order 11246 of September 24, 1965 (Equal Employment Opportunity), is hereby revoked. For 90 days from the date of this order, Federal contractors may continue to comply with the regulatory scheme in effect on January 20, 2025.
(ii) The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs within the Department of Labor shall immediately cease:
(A) Promoting “diversity”;
(B) Holding Federal contractors and subcontractors responsible for taking “affirmative action”; and
(C) Allowing or encouraging Federal contractors and subcontractors to engage in workforce balancing based on race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin.
(iii) In accordance with Executive Order 13279 of December 12, 2002 (Equal Protection of the Laws for Faith-Based and Community Organizations), the employment, procurement, and contracting practices of Federal contractors and subcontractors shall not consider race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin in ways that violate the Nation’s civil rights laws.
(iv) The head of each agency shall include in every contract or grant award:
(A) A term requiring the contractual counterparty or grant recipient to agree that its compliance in all respects with all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws is material to the government’s payment decisions for purposes of section 3729(b)(4) of title 31, United States Code; and
(B) A term requiring such counterparty or recipient to certify that it does not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.
(c) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), with the assistance of the Attorney General as requested, shall:
(i) Review and revise, as appropriate, all Government-wide processes, directives, and guidance;
(ii) Excise references to DEI and DEIA principles, under whatever name they may appear, from Federal acquisition, contracting, grants, and financial assistance procedures to streamline those procedures, improve speed and efficiency, lower costs, and comply with civil-rights laws; and
(iii) Terminate all “diversity,” “equity,” “equitable decision-making,” “equitable deployment of financial and technical assistance,” “advancing equity,” and like mandates, requirements, programs, or activities, as appropriate.
Sec. 4. Encouraging the Private Sector to End Illegal DEI Discrimination and Preferences. (a) The heads of all agencies, with the assistance of the Attorney General, shall take all appropriate action with respect to the operations of their agencies to advance in the private sector the policy of individual initiative, excellence, and hard work identified in section 2 of this order.
(b) To further inform and advise me so that my Administration may formulate appropriate and effective civil-rights policy, the Attorney General, within 120 days of this order, in consultation with the heads of relevant agencies and in coordination with the Director of OMB, shall submit a report to the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy containing recommendations for enforcing Federal civil-rights laws and taking other appropriate measures to encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI. The report shall contain a proposed strategic enforcement plan identifying:
(i) Key sectors of concern within each agency’s jurisdiction;
(ii) The most egregious and discriminatory DEI practitioners in each sector of concern;
(iii) A plan of specific steps or measures to deter DEI programs or principles (whether specifically denominated “DEI” or otherwise) that constitute illegal discrimination or preferences. As a part of this plan, each agency shall identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations of publicly traded corporations, large non-profit corporations or associations, foundations with assets of 500 million dollars or more, State and local bar and medical associations, and institutions of higher education with endowments over 1 billion dollars;
(iv) Other strategies to encourage the private sector to end illegal DEI discrimination and preferences and comply with all Federal civil-rights laws;
(v) Litigation that would be potentially appropriate for Federal lawsuits, intervention, or statements of interest; and
(vi) Potential regulatory action and sub-regulatory guidance.
Sec. 5. Other Actions. Within 120 days of this order, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education shall jointly issue guidance to all State and local educational agencies that receive Federal funds, as well as all institutions of higher education that receive Federal grants or participate in the Federal student loan assistance program under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq., regarding the measures and practices required to comply with Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023).
Sec. 6. Severability. If any provision of this order, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of its provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
Sec. 7. Scope. (a) This order does not apply to lawful Federal or private-sector employment and contracting preferences for veterans of the U.S. armed forces or persons protected by the Randolph-Sheppard Act, 20 U.S.C. 107 et seq.
(b) This order does not prevent State or local governments, Federal contractors, or Federally-funded State and local educational agencies or institutions of higher education from engaging in First Amendment-protected speech.
(c) This order does not prohibit persons teaching at a Federally funded institution of higher education as part of a larger course of academic instruction from advocating for, endorsing, or promoting the unlawful employment or contracting practices prohibited by this order.
Sec. 8. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to and does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 21, 2025.
Where’s My Slide Rule?
Thank you, Donald Trump. Watching your show on Monday and Tuesday was like a canteen of cold clean water to a man dying of thirst in the desert. I feel I’ve been paid back for any trouble I’ve taken on your behalf in the last four years. Hallelujah and amen.
Okay now it’s up to Trump and his merry band of madmen to fix Washington and fix the country and do that list of a million impossible things that he said he’s going to do. Have at it, boys. Give ‘em hell.
So, what’s for me to talk about tonight? Well, I’ve got to talk about what’s chasing around my head tonight. First off, I’m grumbling about how damn cold it is today. The heating system at the Compound is undersized. Or maybe the insulation should be the focus. When the outside temperature dips below zero Fahrenheit, it won’t hold a set point above seventy. And that’s too bad because I hate being cold inside my own home. Camera Girl holds me directly responsible because I never put the weatherstripping around two of the external doors. I explained to her that these small insulation problems are only a minor part of the problem and that I’m addressing the problem holistically by spending considerable time thinking deeply about all the ways that a solution can be reached. I’ve considered the thermodynamic aspects of the problem. The psychological ramifications of the fear of cold. The physiological mechanisms by which the human body adapts to hypothermia. The cultural involvement of cold in the human industries that are called clothing and shelter. The quantum meaning of absolute zero. And finally, the latest bill from the heating oil company. All these things I showed her and admonished her to have patience and faith in my stewardship of the Compound’s Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient (U). None of this registered with her at all. She made certain primitive Sicilian gestures with her face and hand that I won’t dignify with detail. Suffice it to say they were not helpful in the least. I’m going out tomorrow for other reasons. But I may also pick up some weatherstripping. Maybe.
I was recently in a discussion about General Relativity with a friend. The question of the curvature of space came up. I told him I’ve never been convinced of the idea that mass curves space-time. I stated that what is the difference if gravity bends the path of light and matter when it comes close to an object like the sun but space is unaffected? How would we know the difference? After all, how the hell can you bend something that isn’t even there? It’s empty space. Now sure, particles are always popping into existence because of quantum effects. But by definition those things aren’t empty space they’re matter. So how the hell can something that’s nothing bend? Anyway, after the argument got us nowhere, I got hold of a book on general relativity and started reading it. But my mathematical skills have degraded so I’ve had to break out a book on vector analysis to try and remember what tensor notation means. Oh, my aching head. I had an old advanced calculus test from my undergraduate days that would be very helpful on some points but then I remembered I threw it out (stupidly) about thirteen years ago when I moved. I was going to buy it used and was amazed how expensive text books have gotten. Yikes!
So anyway, I’m ensconced with the Kronecker delta, the curl and the Laplacian. And I think I’ve made a big mistake. I predict by the end I’ll have nothing but a murky idea of the meaning of the proofs of relativity but no explanation as to why we would think of space as being curved. I think the idea that space is curved is just a figure of speech. The reality is “space’ goes on endlessly in every direction. I don’t think it loops back around behind us or anything like that. It just keeps going. It’s the same as physicists saying that the beginning of the universe was the Big Bang. Well, what about five seconds before that?
So here I am with my cave man cosmogeny and cosmology trying to relearn Einstein’s equations (at my age!). Well, why not? Trump’s fixing the country. The least I can do is straighten out the theoretical physicists. Camera Girl! Where’s my slide rule?
The Time for Speeches
We got the promised four inches of snow last night so I had to clear it this morning. I didn’t get out there until ten-thirty so I was busy when Trump was sworn in. After a shower and lunch, I put on the video and listened.
Well, Donald Trump did his thing. He gave a half hour address and he surely went to town. I think he touched almost all the bases. He left out the J6 pardons which did surprise me. But other than that (and I guess Greenland) he went through the litany of actions and policies that he promised during the campaign. And I gotta tell ya, it was pretty great.
Now I have to be honest, I do get tired of all the pauses for applause. They’re not really necessary. But some of them were justified. When he said he was going to end government racial and sexual interference in people’s lives I’m pretty sure I gave off a whoop. And when he said that he was going to restore freedom of speech by putting a stop to all government interference with speech I smiled. And when he said that there are officially two genders (he meant sexes) recognized by the United States government I think I may have clapped.
He said the government would put an end to the sexual struggle sessions in the military. And he said he would be declaring a national emergency at the southern border. He said he will be reinstating the stay in Mexico policy for people seeking asylum. He said he’s taking the Panama Canal back and he said he’s declaring the cartels terrorist organizations. He said he’s ending the Green New Deal and the Electric Car subsidies. He said he’s going to “drill baby drill.” He said he’s going to restore impartial justice and end lawfare. And he said that God saved his life to give him the chance to restore America to greatness.
He said everything. He didn’t take a swing at Joe Biden but nobody’s perfect.
Alright, good. He got his say and all those applause lines and he criticized his opponents and their awful policies. Splendid.
But Inauguration Day is one day. Tomorrow, I want to hear what you’ve done for me lately. We all went to a lot of trouble to drag our butts down to the Middle School cafeteria to vote for you. We did that even though we believed there was a better than even chance that the Democrats would steal this election too. So, we’ve gone out on a limb to look like saps for you Mr. President, so it’s time for you to have your minions sweep up the confetti and busted balloons and roll up their sleeves and actually check off one or two items off of that list of promises you made today.
And how about starting with the J6 pardons? That’s the one that is most urgent. These people have been shut away for years for misdemeanors or for nothing in some cases. Setting them free is the right thing to do and it’s the smart thing to do too. He shouldn’t wait. He owes them that.
After that, shut down the FBI. That’s a no-brainer. After that just start putting the wheels in motion for all of the stuff that takes time to get moving. Call up the yahoos in the Senate and get your appointees confirmed and let’s get this show on the road. The time for speeches is over.
Update:
I saw last night that he did sign pardons for about 1,500 J6 prisoners. Good.
We’re All Rooting for You
The snow is falling pretty fast here in Dunwich. It’s starting to cover the ice over the swamp and pretty soon it will force the lycanthropes back into their caves along the bases of the hills. And that will quiet the howling that kept me up last week. It’s always annoying when the moon is full. Between the howling and the scratching at the door and the screaming of the stranded motorists who get eaten alive while walking down the road for help it’s a real pain. I mean come on, have some consideration for other people. Either be eaten alive in stoic silence or bring a revolver loaded with silver bullets. It’s not that complicated. Read the town ordinances. Your survivors are going to be fined for the after-hours noise violation so use your head.
Trump says he is going to un-classify and reveal the remaining records from the Kennedy (JFK and RFK) and King assassinations. Now that’s pretty great. People have been teasing these things for scores of years. Of course, I’m not assuming that the records are the truth. Probably they don’t say anything definitive about anything. But the veil of secrecy has been used like some magic spell to keep us wondering what the people in the know don’t want us to know since we were kids. At this point I doubt we’ll ever know what actually happened but at least they can stop acting like we’re peons who can’t be trusted with the higher mysteries of the cult. But right now, I am excited to hope maybe there are names like Castro or Khruschev or the CIA or the Mob. That would be like a Tom Clancey novel instead of that nit-wit Oswald.
It’s funny. A month ago, if you asked me whether I thought I’d be excited about Trump’s inauguration I’d’ve said absolutely not. But I’m surprised to say that’s not the case. I am looking forward to it and excited about the prospect of someone on my side taking over and beginning the daunting task of chopping away at the roots of the monster that ate the United States. I just read today that this year Argentina had its first budget surplus in fourteen years. Wouldn’t it be a miracle if Trump could make that happen in 2026?
And maybe tomorrow he’ll hand out pardons to the J6 prisoners. That would breathe life into the base and bring tears to the eyes of Garland and his stooges. And while he’s at it he should use an executive order to provide recompense and apologies to anyone the US government punished for not getting a COVID shot. Now that’s overdue.
But before anything else, give Kash Patel the keys to the J Edgar Hoover Building and have him begin the process of emptying the offices of all the creeps and thugs that the FBI employed over the last twenty-five years to spy on and persecute American citizens. And he should quickly cancel all their passwords and clearance ratings so that they can never again cause us harm. And while he’s at it put a blanket hold on FISA warrant requests and stop spying on Americans altogether. That would really start the new administration on a patriotic foot. That would really be a change for the better.
And if he really wants to release records that need de-classifying let him de-classify the records of the operations that targeted Americans; including the Russia collusion hoax. Name names and appoint special counsels. Put those guys in jail. If need be, have the trials far away from Washington. Maybe a small town in Florida or Texas. They’re Americans too, I think. They can provide the jury of twelve men and true, I believe.
Well, I’m letting myself run away with things but as I said I’m more excited about all this than I thought I’d be. Good luck Donald Trump. We’re all rooting for you.
Even If You Are from Queens
At long last the abysmal presidency of zombie Joe Biden is finally about to end. His re-animated corpse has been submerged in a large bottle of formaldehyde and all the pardons have been printed out and prepared for publication. And now that they’re making up constitutional amendments out of whole cloth maybe we’ll find out that cats have been given citizenship just so the blue-haired crazy women will have another victory to embrace.
But the imminent departure of Biden has me considering the Trump phenomenon. Even David Brooks had to grudgingly admit that “Trump is the most consequential politician since Reagan.” And he means that negatively in that the American people have chosen Trump for the things that Brooks thinks are faults. Well, what can you expect from David Brooks?
And you know, for most people the idea of Trump being part of our political world only began with 2016. But I remember when Trump was trying to involve himself in politics as a young man in New York City. It was back in the mid-eighties and New York was, as usual, broke and the skating rink in Central Park had completely disintegrated through neglect and there was no money in the budget to fix it. Ed Koch was mayor and he was trying to spin some plan for Albany to pay for it but they wouldn’t bite. Now this was about the time the city was going into another decline. Violence was starting to resurface after a lull in the early eighties. I think that maybe Trump was thinking of running for mayor or something. Well, he volunteered to rebuild the rink and pay for it himself. And he did, under budget and on schedule. But New York City had not yet hit bottom. It wasn’t ready for a Republican. That would happen after New York’s first black mayor, David Dinkins unleashed anarchy on the streets of New York. And that proved to be Rudy Giuliani’s time to fix the city. But he had a lawman’s background as a prosecutor. And he knew that the police would be the key to saving New York City. So, Donald Trump retreated to his business and his entertainment projects.
But thirty years later he decided that if someone as talentless as Barack Obama could be president for eight years then he could easily figure out the ropes himself and get something done for America. And he did. But why?
I think I understand a little bit what motivates him. He’s a twentieth century New York City American. I also am one. Of course he came from money. But not old money. His ancestors and mine came to the United States at about the same time. He and I lived in New York City at the same time. Of course, I came from the more interesting borough of Brooklyn and he came from Queens which as far as I’m concerned is more like part of Long Island but whatever, we both were part of twentieth century New York City which was the heart of twentieth century America. And we both watched it degraded from the capitol of the world to a dirty, poor, crime-ridden refugee camp. So, I think I know what he means when he talks about making America great again. He’s talking about restoring the people and the ethos that catapulted the United States to the status it had in 1945.
He wants to make a deal with the descendants of the people who fought World War II. If they’ll vote for him, he’ll save their grandchildren from the globalists who want to replace them with the third world. It’s really a pretty simple concept. Now I don’t know if he simply feels kinship with these people or if he sees an opportunity to capitalize on an underutilized resource (us). Either way it’s the best deal we’ll ever get. And at the same time, it’s a kick in the teeth for the Left and for the Bushes and Romneys. Win, win.
So, thank you Donald Trump. As an old neighbor of yours I salute you for lending a hand. Even if you are from Queens.
Controlled Burn
I was thinking about the second Trump administration as you know. I asked folks what they thought would happen and they gave some feedback (thank you). And folks have some confidence from what I can tell, that Trump will probably get some stuff done. Maybe he’ll purge the FBI and Justice Department of the die-hard Democrat partisans. And maybe he’ll reform some of the policies and rules at some of the other agencies like the IRS, ATF, EPA and the DOD. Good.
But what happens going forward? Is it possible to “fix” a giant bureaucracy permanently? I think we all have to agree you can’t. The closest to that that can be achieved is specifying a procedure to prune the bureaucracy on a regular schedule.
One idea I read of that makes a lot of sense is to separate the bureaucracy into two buckets. In one bucket is stuff that is permanently necessary like the Post Office (?) and the military. For these things that have easily defined scope, normal control methods can be used to keep their size in check. For everything else, their charters from Congress include sunset provisions such that if they need to be extended the Congress has to explain exactly why and exactly how much money they will need to continue. And then Congress will have to approve this reauthorization and the president will have to sign it.
I think there may be a state that handles their bureaucracy this way. I think it’s a brilliant idea. I mean, who really believes that 80% of the workers and the rules being made are necessary? Even necessary agencies like the Defense Department are oceans of waste and corruption.
And for that reason, I see the value in having people from the private sector looking at the “books” and recommending cuts and changes to this empire of waste. I know it’s probably mostly a pipe dream but I get a little giddy thinking about what could be done if an honest auditor looked at the government from an efficiency perspective and took a chainsaw to the federal government. How many billions of dollars could be eliminated in salaries and contractors’ fees? It staggers the imagination. Look at the damage that California’s local environmental protection agency just caused because of their ridiculous regulations banning controlled burning. Because of their insane laws some of the richest and most beautiful neighborhoods in Los Angeles were torched to the ground at the cost of hundreds of billions of dollars of real estate. Imagine the gains if the federal EPA were evaluated regularly and pared down to only the functions that need to exist. Land owners and communities would regain millions of hours a year that go into the endless paperwork needed to propitiate the stupid acolytes of the idiot goddess Gaia.
So, it seems clear to me that trimming the federal bureaucracy is a permanent part of every administration’s workload. And this should be one of the selling points that Republicans use to justify hiring them every four years. And the way to sell this is to publish the fact that they reduce the federal budget and the debt every four years. Just like a CEO has to publish the annual report to declare how much the company made in profits or losses the president of the United States should have to give a shareholders meeting to all of us telling us whether he shrank or grew the budget and the debt.
Trump is a businessman of sorts. His is not a public corporation so mostly he’s responsible to himself but he knows the realities of a balance sheet and how awful the United States’ balance sheet currently looks. What he needs to do is teach the voters that they are small shareholders in a runaway corporation that is hemorrhaging money into the ground and the president is the CEO who has to justify his leadership every four years.
I’m really hoping that buying Greenland isn’t his first order of business. I hope a controlled burn of about 80% of the FBI (and the rest of the dead wood) is.
OCF 2025 Inaugural Polls
So, I’ve been talking for a few months about Trump’s new term. But it occurred to me that it would be interesting (to me) to find out what other folks think. I’ve decided on two questions to poll.
- What do you most want to see happen?
- What do you expect to happen
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Loading ...You can pick multiple choices and use the comments for whatever I’ve left out. Have at it.
Trump And the Chairman
Here’s a laugh.
ArthurinCali Has an Article on Realpolitik and Trump
ArthurinCali has a very interesting interesting discussion about how Trump looks at the ways and means of running the American Empire.
“From time to time, the mask slips and the broader public catches a glimpse into the inner machinations of the Global American Hegemon. This can be a striking blow to the ideals and platitudes usually presented as representation of the Liberal international order.”