Reporting In

Is it really so outrageous to be required to record your work achievements? The lingering indignation of federal workers at being called upon to actually account for their time is a source of endless entertainment to me. Can they not justify their well-compensated employment--funded by the taxpayers, no less--with a few bullet points?

At almost all of my jobs, a weekly or monthly report of my job activities was required. It went to the department manager, then to the next executive, up to the CEO. In my last position, I was the contact point for all department managers to submit their reports by a certain recurring date. I sent reminders if needed and never missed a deadline. That routine will likely sound like business-as-usual in the real world of most working Americans.

I'm retired now and if asked I can still submit a report of my productivity. Let's see, in the past week I got the car smog checked as required prior to this year's DMV registration, submitted my 2024 tax documents to my CPA, trimmed the shrubs in the back garden, finished the book I was reading, and wrote and posted a blog piece. There, easy! I'm also planning for a family event in April, but that's been an ongoing project and is not confined to one week. (I'll save that one for the quarterly report.)

If you're working, it's really not hard, and it's not an unfair question. Tell us, what the heck are you doing all day? This taxpayer, for one, would like to know.

Save It

Are you having as much fun as I am watching the Democrat hysteria over The Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.)? I find it absolutely hilarious.

So D.O.G.E. will have access to my "sensitive information"? Well, join the club. I'm sure even Beijing has my sensitive information. The IRS, Social Security, Medicare, all of my past employers, all the credit card and insurance companies I've ever worked with, plus all the hackers in the extensive Home Depot, Target, Visa, AT&T, Scripps Healthcare, and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) data breaches know all about me, including my social security number. Let's not forget the doctor's and dentist's offices. Oh yes, the oral surgeon and endodontist have it, too.

The one that bothered me the most was the 2015 breach at OPM. Those data files were compiled for my security clearance and contained information about my entire family, not just me. No one in politics or the media seemed overly concerned about "sensitive information" at the time. As I recall, they all moved on from the story rather promptly.

If it will save the country from bankruptcy and benefit U.S. taxpayers, I say go for it. The overwrought media and Democrat obstructionists are also screaming about the 20-something-year-old D.O.G.E. employees working on the government savings project. It's quite ironic that these are the same people who were captivated by the teenaged Greta Thunberg scoldings a few years ago, as Vice President Vance noted in his recent speech in Europe.

I visited the D.O.G.E. website today. It's quite impressive, even this early in the process. Keep digging, D.O.G.E. Based on the opposition's reaction, you're definitely on the right track. And by the way--thank you.

From the D.O.G.E. website - doge.gov

Sore Losers

Over the course of a 40+ year career, I was laid off from my job four times (or was it five?). So, while I empathize with anyone who has been let go, I find great amusement in reading the reactions of federal workers who suddenly find themselves in the unthinkable position of being unemployed.

News flash to these outraged, newly out-of-work workers: Nobody owes you a living. I've been let go at highly inopportune times, left without income when I was paying a child's tuition, when my husband had cancer, and when I was a newly self-supporting widow. There were no lavish, half-year severance packages for me, either. On one occasion I received one month's severance pay; all other layoffs offered only two weeks' pay. Yet it never occurred to me to carry a placard and march around my former employer's building protesting this cruel and unfair treatment.

There was no time for such self-indulgence after being let go from my job in trying circumstances. Each time I lost my job I sat down and polished my resume, called my network contacts, set up interviews, and got myself re-situated in a new position as soon as I possibly could. I wasn't picky, either. Any job offer that was reasonably comparable to my lost position would do and was accepted promptly.

This was back when five days a week in the office was required. There was no such concept as "remote work." You got yourself into work on time Monday through Friday for at least eight hours each day or you would find yourself job-hunting again quite quickly.

Having recently retired and experienced Medicare glitches, I've had occasions to contact federal workers. I've spent up to three-and-a-quarter hours on telephone hold times. When I did finally reach a live person, there was either a dog barking or a child crying in the background. There was extreme indifference to my issues, and it took three months to find an interested federal employee (who happened to be in the office) who possessed enough work ethic to straighten out the problems in my account.

For the most part, the laid off federal employees had an entitled and unrealistic impression of the working world. A good job is not a birthright; it's a privilege, and it needs to be earned every workday. Put down your protest signs and get busy networking and job-hunting. There is precious little sympathy for you among most American workers. Good luck in the real world.

The Karma Train Arrives

President Trump's endless parade of Executive Orders is tantamount to a continuous supply of Christmas gifts. He is getting so much done in so short a time that the media and the Democrats are both suffering from information whiplash, in addition to mental breakdowns. If the initial furor over USAID put them this far over the edge, they'll all be hospitalized by March.

Currently my favorite entertainment is to watch Democrats and their media minions losing their minds over Trump actually keeping his election promises to the American people. From their hysterical reactions, it appears they never imagined such an outcome was possible.

The favored target of left-wing wrath seems to be Elon Musk, who we are constantly reminded was "not elected." Well, he is part of a new Executive branch of government established by the new president under his executive powers. Musk was part of the promise President Trump campaigned on to cut waste in the federal government and provide transparency to the public. We voters knew this fact, approved of it, and elected Trump decisively. No one seems to object to Elon Musk's waste-trimming except the lefties.

And here's a question for all the screamers against Musk--just who elected Anthony Fauci, who ran our lives and our country into the ground for years during the Covid pandemic under the last administration? There are a couple of big differences. First, Fauci destroyed our nation's way of life and supplanted our personal freedoms; Musk is trying to preserve our national economic health by right-sizing government and saving taxpayer money.

Secondly, anyone who had the courage to speak out against lockdowns, vaccines, closures, social distancing, or face masks during Fauci's reign of Covid terror ended up canceled, fired, and/or arrested. Keep in mind that the only reason protests against Musk are possible is because the First Amendment right to free speech has been restored by Musk himself and President Trump. The irony runs deep.

Democrats and leftie media have gotten used to getting their own way and controlling the show for all of us. Donald Trump is in charge now, with four years of planning and strategizing behind him. His like-minded team works as fast and effectively as he does.

Buckle up. It looks to me like the Democrats' karma train has pulled into the federal government's station, and plenty of grifters are getting caught on the tracks. The meltdowns on the left are glorious to behold.