DOGE

[GoCubsGo]

She adds that neither she nor her Republican colleagues have any influence in efficiency operations....

I didn't know that, she basically said that Musk is off on his own. There's zero accountability.

Isn't Large Marge the chair of this empty caucus?

[Vrede too]

She adds that neither she nor her Republican colleagues have any influence in efficiency operations....

I didn't know that, she basically said that Musk is off on his own. There's zero accountability.

Isn't Large Marge the chair of this empty caucus?

... A House DOGE Caucus formed on November 19, and its corresponding Senate Caucus was formed on November 22. The House counterpart functions as a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee. The caucus is separate from the DOGE House subcommittee led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

I have no idea what that means.

[GoCubsGo]

I have no idea what that means.

WTF?

[Jasmine]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting head of the federal agency responsible for responding to disasters said Monday that he’s suspending payments sent to New York City to house migrants and that staff who made them will be held accountable, after Elon Musk blasted the transactions on his social media platform.

Musk, who as head of the Department of Government Efficiency has consolidated control over much of the federal government and is working to cut costs and shrink the workforce, posted on X that his team “just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants.” He said the money is intended for disaster relief and would be clawed back.

Cameron Hamilton, acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, reposted Musk’s comments and said the payments were suspended as of Sunday.

Isn’t it a good thing that DOGE exposed this kind of spending?

[Supsalemgr]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting head of the federal agency responsible for responding to disasters said Monday that he’s suspending payments sent to New York City to house migrants and that staff who made them will be held accountable, after Elon Musk blasted the transactions on his social media platform.

Musk, who as head of the Department of Government Efficiency has consolidated control over much of the federal government and is working to cut costs and shrink the workforce, posted on X that his team “just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants.” He said the money is intended for disaster relief and would be clawed back.

Cameron Hamilton, acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, reposted Musk’s comments and said the payments were suspended as of Sunday.

Isn’t it a good thing that DOGE exposed this kind of spending?

The logic in defense of this spending will be interesting.

[Vrede too]

Isn’t it a good thing that DOGE exposed this kind of spending?

The logic in defense of this spending will be interesting.

It's fake news from POTUS Elon and 1.5% DonOLD, again. This was debunked in October:

FEMA Isn't Running Out of Hurricane Relief Money Due to Migrant Aid
"FEMA spent over $1 BILLION in taxpayer dollars on providing housing and services to illegal aliens," an X user claimed.

... Separately from FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund, Congress allocated $640.9 million for services to noncitizen migrants in 2024. FEMA is the agency charged with distributing this money to nonfederal organizations that help localities with noncitizen migrant arrivals. Contrary to rumor, this does not deplete funds appropriated for disaster relief.

The appropriations process is such that executive branch agencies like FEMA are not authorized to reallocate funds to other programs without congressional approval....

On Oct. 7, 2024, former U.S. President Donald Trump shared these rumors on his Truth Social account. He added that "billions of dollars were going to foreign countries" while the government abandoned North Carolina

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrum ... 4144642679

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

The GREAT people of North Carolina are being stood up by Harris and Biden, who are giving almost all of the FEMA money to Illegal Migrants in what is now considered to be the WORST rescue operation in the history of the U.S. On top of that, Billions of Dollars is going to foreign countries! NORTH CAROLINA HAS BEEN VIRTUALLY ABANDONED BY KAMALA!!! DROP HER LIKE SHE DROPPED YOU - VOTE FOR PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP. MAGA2024!

Dishonestly exploiting tragedy for partisan purposes, typical MAGA.

While it's true Mayorkas warned that FEMA was running out of funds for disaster relief, the realities of how the agency is funded and how it deploys its funding are much more complicated than online rumor-mongers claim. FEMA, like other U.S. government agencies, obtains its funding through an appropriations process in the U.S. Congress, which means it cannot simply reallocate funds authorized for one program to another....

There's nothing to defend, SoupySales, and "DOGE exposed" nothing, Jasmine. It's all a RW lie, we would have to see these so-called "luxury hotels", and we would have to search the congressional record to understand why this bipartisan spending was authorized in the first place. I'm fine with a debate on Congress going another route. I'm not fine with acting on a LYING dictator's whim.

POTUS Musk is breaking the law again, along with hyperpartisan MAGAt appointee Cameron Hamilton. It's that ongoing criminal enterprise.

It's very telling that SoupySales and Jasmine are still falling for DOUCHE claims when there's no confirmation from a reliable source. Why not be gullible when the LIE supports hateful White supremacy?

Oh wait, Jasmine edited a very important sentence off the end of her supposedly complete AP citation.

... Musk gave no evidence to support his claim, and information from the city of New York indicated that money it’s received to care for migrants was appropriated by Congress and allocated to the city last year by FEMA....

Busted. Surprise, surprise, bigot Jasmine is both gullible and dishonest, and SoupySales got duped both by POTUS Elon and by Jasmine. Cons are "special".

[O Really]

These guys are like a homeowner who decides to cut costs, so s/he decides just to start with bills in the order they come in. The first bill was for electric, so they just canceled their electric and said "oh wow, that'll save me a bunch this year. I'm good at this."

It's also dangerous to go cost cutting with a machete if you don't actually understand how the costs occurred. People like to make fun of the $200 hammer, etc., but never ask "why?" There was some serious ridicule years ago about the cost of some little item, but the actual story was that the item had to be custom made and the cost of retooling a creating dies, etc. was included in the price of the items. If the feds had bought more, the price would have been "normal" but they only bought a few.

[neoplacebo]

These guys are like a homeowner who decides to cut costs, so s/he decides just to start with bills in the order they come in. The first bill was for electric, so they just canceled their electric and said "oh wow, that'll save me a bunch this year. I'm good at this."

It's also dangerous to go cost cutting with a machete if you don't actually understand how the costs occurred. People like to make fun of the $200 hammer, etc., but never ask "why?" There was some serious ridicule years ago about the cost of some little item, but the actual story was that the item had to be custom made and the cost of retooling a creating dies, etc. was included in the price of the items. If the feds had bought more, the price would have been "normal" but they only bought a few.

The entire time I was in the military, I was involved in procurement. The main reason a lot of the stuff the Defense Department buys cost so much is because they have to meet MIL-SPEC (military specifications) requirements. In many cases an item must conform to numerous MIL-SPECS. Those requirements cover everything from basic design to quality to durability. The hammer you buy at Lowe's does not have to meet any such standards. Private companies that do non military business with the federal government also have to meet FED-SPEC (federal specifications) requirements for many items as well.

When I worked for Newport News Shipbuilding as a liaison between engineering and manufacturing, many many items installed on US submarines are designated ND on the drawings for the items. ND stands for "non deviation" meaning NO departure from the design document is allowed. Just about all of the spherical balls that go into ball valves are designated this way. It means that at any time during the manufacturing process, the item fails any of a series of onspections, it becomes trash. Many other items have tolerances of three or sometimes four decimal places. But ND drawings provide no tolerance; just perfection.

[Vrede too]

19-year-old Musk surrogate takes on roles at State Department and DHS



A 19-year-old acolyte of Elon Musk known online as “Big Balls” has taken on new roles as a senior adviser at the State Department and at the Department of Homeland Security, raising concerns among some diplomats and others about his potential access to sensitive information and the growing reach of his tech billionaire boss into America’s diplomatic apparatus, said U.S. officials familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue.

Edward Coristine, who briefly worked for Musk’s brain chip start-up Neuralink, was recently posted to the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Technology, a critical hub for data both sensitive and nonsensitive, officials said. Coristine, who also holds positions at the U.S. DOGE Service and the Office of Personnel Management, has attracted significant attention across Washington for his edgy online persona and the relative lack of experience he brings to his new federal roles....

“This is dangerous,” said one of the U.S. officials, noting Coristine’s age and a report by Bloomberg News that he was fired for leaking a data security firm’s information to a competitor....

Nowhere have the group’s tactics played out more visibly than at the Treasury Department, where 25-year-old DOGE staffer Marko Elez was posted before leaving the administration last week after the Wall Street Journal surfaced racist online posts. Musk, with the support of Trump and Vice President JD Vance, vowed to bring Elez back. When they arrived at the agency as DOGE representatives, Elez and Silicon Valley executive Tom Krause were at the center of a dispute over whether DOGE should have access to a sensitive Treasury payments system; Krause now formally oversees that system as an assistant treasury secretary....

A DHS official said DOGE’s apparent inroads into the agency “may have significant national security implications,” given DHS’s mandate over border security, disaster response and counterterrorism, among other areas.

“They’re basically touching and breaking things without knowing what they are,” the official added, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic....

The tech frat bros are running the government. Smart.

[O Really]

The main reason a lot of the stuff the Defense Department buys cost so much is because they have to meet MIL-SPEC (military specifications) requirements. In many cases an item must conform to numerous MIL-SPECS. Those requirements cover everything from basic design to quality to durability. The hammer you buy at Lowe's does not have to meet any such standards. Private companies that do non military business with the federal government also have to meet FED-SPEC (federal specifications) requirements for many items as well.

Yep, it's like why the fed specifications for chocolate chip cookies is 150 pages long. The government buys a lot of cookies, so has the ability to basically make or break contractors. So if neoplacebo, as purchasing officer, just says "hey, we'll buy them from my cousin who has a company", all sorts of scandal would be raised. So neo says "we'll put out a request for proposals for the cookies and take the lowest bidder". But it turns out the lowest bidders were fudging on their cookies. Fewer per bag, smaller cookies, fewer chocolate chips, cheaper ingredients. So neo says, "wait, we have to have good, high quality cookies - we'll specifiy the size, the weight, the number of chocolate chips per cookie." But the bidders still found ways to cheat. They cut down from butter to margarine to generic vegetable oil; they wrapped the cookies in cheap packages that ended up with cookie crumbs. They shipped them in "Two Men and a Truck" deliveries. So neo goes back to the specifications and details each ingredient, specifies the packaging standards that must be met, and the delivery timing requirements. As he leaves the office, with his 150 page document, he is met by a Muskrat who says "all that is waste, just order them from you cousin or don't serve cookies."

[neoplacebo]

The main reason a lot of the stuff the Defense Department buys cost so much is because they have to meet MIL-SPEC (military specifications) requirements. In many cases an item must conform to numerous MIL-SPECS. Those requirements cover everything from basic design to quality to durability. The hammer you buy at Lowe's does not have to meet any such standards. Private companies that do non military business with the federal government also have to meet FED-SPEC (federal specifications) requirements for many items as well.

Yep, it's like why the fed specifications for chocolate chip cookies is 150 pages long. The government buys a lot of cookies, so has the ability to basically make or break contractors. So if neoplacebo, as purchasing officer, just says "hey, we'll buy them from my cousin who has a company", all sorts of scandal would be raised. So neo says "we'll put out a request for proposals for the cookies and take the lowest bidder". But it turns out the lowest bidders were fudging on their cookies. Fewer per bag, smaller cookies, fewer chocolate chips, cheaper ingredients. So neo says, "wait, we have to have good, high quality cookies - we'll specifiy the size, the weight, the number of chocolate chips per cookie." But the bidders still found ways to cheat. They cut down from butter to margarine to generic vegetable oil; they wrapped the cookies in cheap packages that ended up with cookie crumbs. They shipped them in "Two Men and a Truck" deliveries. So neo goes back to the specifications and details each ingredient, specifies the packaging standards that must be met, and the delivery timing requirements. As he leaves the office, with his 150 page document, he is met by a Muskrat who says "all that is waste, just order them from you cousin or don't serve cookies."

The fucking cookies have to be zesty; that's it. Apply that to the potatoes and the uniforms and the balls in submarine ball vales and it adds up in a hurry. But you could have half ass products in all those areas and then deal with the expense of the effects of it later. trump and his cult are hell bent on maximum chaos; he knows he won't be around much longer and doesen't care about anything else. The cult is in awe of the avalanche of stuff they don't understand but cheer for nonetheless. Bottom line; you have quality or you have shit. Some are unable to tell the difference.

[Supsalemgr]

The point about specs is well made. I agree some things for the military might require that. However, it has most likely gotten out of control by the desk officers in the Pentagon. We will find out soon enough when the Musk troops begin snooping around the Pentagon.

[Vrede too]

The point about specs is well made. I agree some things for the military might require that. However, it has most likely gotten out of control by the desk officers in the Pentagon. We will find out soon enough when the Musk troops begin snooping around the Pentagon.

No comment on your having been duped both by POTUS Elon and by Jasmine with the whole FEMA/migrants/"luxury hotels"/disaster money thing?
viewtopic.php?p=208344#p208344
Figures, it's your norm when exposed to undeniable facts. No wonder you worship the lifelong cowardly "bone spurs" Chickenhawk in Chief, you identify with him.

Anyhow, kudos for joining the team questioning Pentagon spending and "endless wars". I've literally been on it for decades. We'll see if POTUS Musk really does anything or whether it will be the same GQP impotence there's always been. Let me know if you have any questions.

[neoplacebo]

The point about specs is well made. I agree some things for the military might require that. However, it has most likely gotten out of control by the desk officers in the Pentagon. We will find out soon enough when the Musk troops begin snooping around the Pentagon.

That concept of having to meet stringent specifications is the reason airplanes cost more than cars. Virtually every part of an aircraft, whether civilian or military must meet exact requirements. So, is that the "fault" of the "desk officers" at the Pentagon and or the FAA? Or is it something that safety and common sense would suggest is the right way to proceed? In general, a company that manufactures jet engines is primariily concerned with costs and profits. Mandating those companies adhere to strict specifications naturally results in more expense. How many plane crashes per day would you deem acceptable? How many submarines suffering an implosion due to substandard welds in the HY-80 steel inner and outer hulls is acceptable in order to save maybe ten percent of the total cost of the sub? It is not a wise thing to arbitrarily slash rules or spending based solely on a theoretical amound of money it saves. Especially when the slashing is done by someone with no valid experience in any particular area.

[Supsalemgr]

I obviously was not referring to essential parts of an airplane. It is outlandish costs of things like commodes, screwdrivers, screws, etc;.

[O Really]

So I've never been an accountant, but I've had friends who were. And I've done a lot of compliance audits on employment issues. Both take a lot of digging, analysis, and cross-checking to be able to either find discrepancies or certify all clean. For a tax audit on a large-but-not-huge company, it can take its several-person audit team a month or more - and these are the guys who already know the company and did the audit last year.

Maybe somebody who thinks Doggie is a good idea can explain to me how relatively unexperienced people - totally inexperienced in government operation - can come into an office and without consulting with those running it miraculously come up with huge amounts of "waste." Well, I suppose if you start from the premise that the entire department, and the government itself is waste, then it's pretty easy. But so far the only examples they've produced were lies.

[O Really]

I obviously was not referring to essential parts of an airplane. It is outlandish costs of things like commodes, screwdrivers, screws, etc;.

Even if every reputed incident of over-priced commodes, etc. were true (and they aren't) it would be a very tiny blip on the budget - hardly worth the cost of ripping everything apart. You're like the "do not eat" warning on the moisture packs in electronics. Some time, somewhere, some place in the past some drunk guy accidentally ate one and got sick. So now everybody has to be warned.

[Supsalemgr]

Sometimes it is necessary to destroy something in order to rebuild it.

[Vrede too]

Sometimes it is necessary to destroy something in order to rebuild it.

Thank you for finally admitting that unilateral destruction is the America-hating plan. Shame that the POTUS Musk/DonOLD team is too incompetent, inexperienced and unqualified to rebuild, isn't it?

[O Really]

Sometimes it is necessary to destroy something in order to rebuild it.

Even if that's true, there's destruction with responsibility, and there's random mess. If your neighbor is replacing his house, would you rather him take it down piece by piece with wrecking balls and cranes, or would you find it better if he just blew it up, along with the houses next door?