DOGE

[Isaac]

After all, it really deserves its own thread.

Here's the latest I heard - retirements are processed on paper in a mine. Yes, a MINE as in mining coal.

Elon Musk describes limestone mine used for processing federal workers' retirement papers: ‘Like a time warp’

Elon Musk took aim at a limestone mine in Pennsylvania, where they said federal employee retirements are processed using an outdated system.

www.foxnews.com

What do you think about DOGE?

 

[AccessBlaster]

What do you think about DOGE?

For me, it's too early to tell. I see that some people are rocked back by the pace at which Elon and Trump are moving. Usually, we complain about the slow pace of government, but suddenly, we are seeing the opposite.

 

[Isaac]

I know right? I do think they have done some too-hasty things, but for the most part, fast is better than the norm, for me anyway.
He just needs to be careful because everything he does will trigger litigation, so it will be like, which battles do you want to fight as federal judges' injunctions are stopping them in some cases.

Definitely too early to say much; as others have pointed out, you really need to get to Defense or entitlements to save the big bucks.

They better be super careful with Defense!

 

[AccessBlaster]

He just needs to be careful because everything he does will trigger litigation

I tend to believe litigation is already baked into Trumps plans.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

They better be super careful with Defense!

True, but then again, Defense is notorious for playing "rice bowl politics" - as in "you keep your chopsticks out of my rice bowl." And I have personally witnessed 28 years of "let's spend everything left in the budget so that next year they see that we didn't leave anything on the table." (Because leaving stuff on the table means you had too much budget and someone else would stick their chopsticks into your rice bowl to get those few remaining grains.) In fact, one of the CPU upgrades for one of my assigned systems was a "spend year-end money before we lose it" case. BUT it DID get us a more powerful machine that never once got saturated in memory or CPU capacity. And the disks on EVERY system were ALWAYS verging towards overflow anyway so that was nothing new. AND it was actually cheaper than a lot of the machines other projects bought. But the moral of that story is that Defense Dept. is rampant with the tendency to spend to the limit so that you DON'T get shorted next year.

 

[moke123]

a MINE as in mining coal.

Actually it was a limestone mine. Has been a storage facility for many years.
My sister was a VP at iron mountain, now retired.

So when do we find out what all the fraud and abuse was that the musk-a-teens found since they must also be forensic accountants as well as coders?

 

[AccessBlaster]

So when do we find out what all the fraud and abuse was that the musk-a-teens found since they must also be forensic accountants as well as coders?

Maybe he should just give up? Oh wait, this guy can re-land Rocketships.

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

I see that some people are rocked back by the pace at which Elon and Trump are moving.

That so-called 'Nazi salute' from Musk? Clearly, he was just stretching after another day of outpacing the competition. It's a 'Blitzkrieg' alright, but in the world of innovation and deal-making. The opposition is on the back foot because they've never seen speed like this before. They're not just outmaneuvered; they're outclassed, outsmarted, and out here wondering what just hit them. So, while the slowpokes play politics, Musk and Trump are redefining what it means to lead!"

Composed from my observations by a far better writer than myself named Grok

 

[Isaac]

Actually it was a limestone mine

Yes, I'm aware. "as in coal mining" illustrated the word "mine", it did not mean they found a coal mine.

I'm familiar with Iron Mountain, except the company I used to do document management tasks for related to IM eliminated, of course, about 99.9% of its paper, as should the gov.

 

[Isaac]

Actually it was a limestone mine. Has been a storage facility for many years.
My sister was a VP at iron mountain, now retired.

So when do we find out what all the fraud and abuse was that the musk-a-teens found since they must also be forensic accountants as well as coders?

He announces like 5 things a day.
Usually confirmed by the inevitable defensive statement released by whoever-it-was, such as the $59mm that the mainstream media breathlessly portrayed as "baseless" (their favorite word it seems), until NYC confirmed it, with a minor kerfluffle about what 'luxury hotel' meant. tee-hee

 

[Isaac]

This particular one had some extra funny ones, if you just need a good laugh.

DOGE slashes millions more in 'nonsense' contracts across several federal agencies

The Trump administration's DOGE effort has canceled several million dollars in contracts across various agencies, all aimed at slashing government waste.

www.foxnews.com

My favorite is the diversity consultant to teach agricultural leaders.

Having grown up around farmers, let me just say best of luck trying to host a workshop teaching a farmer about their white privilege!

 

[Steve R.]

What do you think about DOGE?

We need it. There is a bit of irony in this.

• Recall the Simpson–Bowles Commission, or in government speak: National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. This commission was created to promote government fiscal responsibility under Obama. Essentially, this commission was a publicity stunt by the Obama administration for the optics of doing something. Obama ignored the findings of the commission. Obama never had any intention of implementing the findings of the Simpson–Bowles Commission.
• Now that a president has actually brought an axe to the chopping block, Democrats are claiming fowl. Quite amazing, we are trillions $$$$ in debt with continued deficit spending and the Democrats do notwant to reduce spending! That is insane.
  • Biden "cancelled" student debt, actually transferred that debt to the taxpayer without Congressional approval or even acquiescence from the US Supreme Court. Since they apparently believe that Biden's (illegal) actions are correct, they can't complain about Trump "cancelling" the granting of money.
  • Maria Bartiromo, asked one Democratic Congressional person about the USAID scandal. His response, in short, was obfuscation. She asked if he considered grants for DEI programs in foreign countries to be outside the purview of USAID and if that constituted waste and fraud. He did not answer the question, instead he sidestepped by responding along the lines that this is not where the "big" fraud is, that efforts to solve waste and fraud should be directed towards those "big" programs, and that waste and fraud concerns should to be discussed in Congress, essentially non-action and kicking the can down to a later date. So it appears that Democrats are not interested in uncovering waste and fraud. They are actually obstructing Trumps efforts to reduce waste and fraud. That is not being fiscally responsible.

 

[AccessBlaster]

 

[Isaac]

View attachment 118504

If, and this is a big if, it is true that this place is actually just an Iron Mountain storage site, then that is a common vendor used by many businesses to store documents. And they literally their claim to fame is that they are literally in the side of a mountain or below ground.

 

[Steve R.]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1889503358207271192

 

[Steve R.]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1889756471484883237

 

[moke123]

I'm familiar with Iron Mountain

I spoke to my sister earlier. She was involved in the acquisition of the site in PA. She was also familiar with the gov operations there.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I would suppose that the temperature and humidity of those underground sites is conducive to paper preservation. (Just thinking out loud as a chemist.)

 

[Thales750]

We need it. There is a bit of irony in this.

• Recall the Simpson–Bowles Commission, or in government speak: National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. This commission was created to promote government fiscal responsibility under Obama. Essentially, this commission was a publicity stunt by the Obama administration for the optics of doing something. Obama ignored the findings of the commission. Obama never had any intention of implementing the findings of the Simpson–Bowles Commission.
• Now that a president has actually brought an axe to the chopping block, Democrats are claiming fowl. Quite amazing, we are trillions $$$$ in debt with continued deficit spending and the Democrats do notwant to reduce spending! That is insane.
  • Biden "cancelled" student debt, actually transferred that debt to the taxpayer without Congressional approval or even acquiescence from the US Supreme Court. Since they apparently believe that Biden's (illegal) actions are correct, they can't complain about Trump "cancelling" the granting of money.
  • Maria Bartiromo, asked one Democratic Congressional person about the USAID scandal. His response, in short, was obfuscation. She asked if he considered grants for DEI programs in foreign countries to be outside the purview of USAID and if that constituted waste and fraud. He did not answer the question, instead he sidestepped by responding along the lines that this is not where the "big" fraud is, that efforts to solve waste and fraud should be directed towards those "big" programs, and that waste and fraud concerns should to be discussed in Congress, essentially non-action and kicking the can down to a later date. So it appears that Democrats are not interested in uncovering waste and fraud. They are actually obstructing Trumps efforts to reduce waste and fraud. That is not being fiscally responsible.

I guess next you will say that the Clinton Administration didn't have the most balanced budget in 50 years.

 

[Thales750]

I think the White House Hacks are proving that it's not about saving any real money, it's about cutting out all semblance of power, or any service, that is not MAGA, or at least super right wing fascism.

So, 36 thousand billions to go, and they are celebrating attacking a few hundred millions. The troops are rallying, the pep rallies are commencing and the flags and banners will soon be hanging from the sides of the great buildings, once again .

Innumeracy is such a wonderfully powerful tool.

The Right Wing Machine wields it with such deftness. It's admirable, if you think about it.