Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

[Max Peck]

I was riffing on the urban legends about expensive hammers and toilet seats, not the sort of things you were describing.



So Hep's $20K toilet seat seems like a bargain...

But to get back on topic, you just know that DOGE is going to proceed as if any and all conspiracy theories are true and actionable. It's kind of Memelord Musk's thing.

[Skinypupy]

I'm reminded of the "shrimp on treadmills" issue from a few years back.

Short version: Scientists received a government grant for around $3 million to do a study about shrimp, part of which was creating a literal treadmill for shrimp and observing their behavior. The study was roundly criticized as a "massive waste of taxpayer funds" and has been held up for years as a prime example of government waste.

Turns out, the study was done to measure the impact of currents on shrimp migration patterns and see how they react. This would allow researchers to better understand these patterns and provide data to the fishing industry so they can adjust their fishing patterns accordingly. Oh by the way, the US shrimp industry is a little over $8 BILLION per year. You don't think this will help them a bit?

So while some of the spending may sound very silly on the surface and end up as immediate targets for people (like Musk) who don't want to bother understanding them, they do most often serve a purpose that actually helps people. Those people affected might not be me directly, but when I hear about a government study about the wind patterns of noxious weed pollen that sounds absurd, I typically find out later that the results of the study saved 500,000 cattle in Wyoming (or something similar).

I'd love to say we should stop knee-jerk reacting to things people have very little actual understanding of, but that's just the way the US rolls now. OUTRAGE DU JOUR!!!

[hepcat]

So Hep's $20K toilet seat seems like a bargain...

Please pay attention. I said the whole toilet, not the toilet seat only. Your misinterpretation just makes it sound silly.

But joking aside, there may be justifications for some of the high costs, but there are absolutely instances of overspending at a huge level. Ernie Fitzgerald carried proof of that to Washington for years.

So yes, I was joking. But there’s a grain of truth in that joke.

[Pyperkub]

Yeah, these guys will tank the economy...

Trump advisers and officials from his newfound Department of Government Efficiency have, for example, asked whether the president-elect could abolish the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., people familiar with the matter said.

[El Guapo]

This is gonna play in my head so many times in the coming years.

[Punisher]

Even though it was short, my stint in Basic makes me believe the need for a hardened toilet.
We all ate the same thing but I'll be damned if we all processed it the same.

Partial jokes aside, it would help if they did a better job of explaining why the costs of toilets and hammers were high for example instead of leaving it to our imagination because I'd bet they they are paying crazy amounts for things that there is no reason to.
Have they ever explained the hammers and toilet thing for example?

[Unagi]

Even though it was short, my stint in Basic makes me believe the need for a hardened toilet.

I have no idea what this sentence means.

[Max Peck]

Even though it was short, my stint in Basic makes me believe the need for a hardened toilet.

I have no idea what this sentence means.

I took it to mean that Army food during basic training produced weaponized poop that would shatter normal civilian toilets.

[Unagi]

Even though it was short, my stint in Basic makes me believe the need for a hardened toilet.

I have no idea what this sentence means.

I took it to mean that Army food during basic training produced weaponized poop that would shatter normal civilian toilets.

Okay - that helps.

I was thinking BASIC for some stupid reason.

[Punisher]

Even though it was short, my stint in Basic makes me believe the need for a hardened toilet.

I have no idea what this sentence means.

I took it to mean that Army food during basic training produced weaponized poop that would shatter normal civilian toilets.

Bingo.
Like we all ate the same but definitely didn't process it the same.

[pr0ner]

Vivek is already OUT at DOGE, the faux government agency that technically still doesn't exist, per MSNBC.

[Holman]

Vivek is already OUT at DOGE, the faux government agency that technically still doesn't exist, per MSNBC.

Earlier, Trump suggested that he would a good fit for Vance's senate seat, but that has gone to someone else.

No surprise, though. Vivek is easily the most annoying person in any room.

[Max Peck]

What, DOGE is is ditching its token brown DEI billionaire? Who could have seen that coming...

[LordMortis]

What, DOGE is is ditching its token brown DEI billionaire? Who could have seen that coming...

That was literally my first thought upon hearing of the Viveksection.

[Skinypupy]

hearing of the Viveksection.

[Grifman]

As noted, DOGE just got more efficient:

https://twitter.com/jstein_wapo/status/ ... NcXCfN8s1g

[coopasonic]

Vivek is already OUT at DOGE, the faux government agency that technically still doesn't exist, per MSNBC.

Earlier, Trump suggested that he would a good fit for Vance's senate seat, but that has gone to someone else.

No surprise, though. Vivek is easily the most annoying person in any room.

Has he ever been in a room with Ted Cruz?

[Holman]

Vivek is already OUT at DOGE, the faux government agency that technically still doesn't exist, per MSNBC.

Earlier, Trump suggested that he would a good fit for Vance's senate seat, but that has gone to someone else.

No surprise, though. Vivek is easily the most annoying person in any room.

Has he ever been in a room with Ted Cruz?

Such a room is theoretically possible, but due to the ego singularity no coverage could possibly escape.

[Carpet_pissr]

I actually did read Vivek got the boot bc Elon found him so annoying.

[Skinypupy]

The reason government fails is because they don't work 120 hour weeks, according to Elon.

Billionaire Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under US President Donald Trump, defended his agency's work ethic on Sunday, touting its relentless pace compared to traditional bureaucrats.

"DOGE is working 120 hours a week. Our bureaucratic opponents optimistically work 40 hours a week. That is why they are losing so fast," Musk wrote on X.

...

Musk has dismissed such concerns. Over the weekend, he suggested that DOGE's tireless work ethic gives it an advantage over entrenched bureaucrats.

"Very few in the bureaucracy actually work the weekend, so it's like the opposing team just leaves the field for 2 days," the SpaceX CEO wrote. "Working the weekend is a superpower."

WORK MORE, PEASANT!!!

[Blackhawk]

Opponents?

[Pyperkub]

Air traffic controllers working 120 hour weeks is so effective.... Nothing bad could happen.

[RunningMn9]

Opponents?

I mean, they aren’t even hiding it.

[LordMortis]

Opponents?

I mean, they aren’t even hiding it.

The opposing team... Federal Government... The mechanism that fed him all of his wealth...

[Grifman]

Finally someone is saying something:

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1886 ... NcXCfN8s1g

[Grifman]

SBA in the gunsights now:

https://twitter.com/lbarronlopez/status ... NcXCfN8s1g

[LawBeefaroni]

Can they just tell them to fuck off? What authority does DOGE have to demand these records?

[Isgrimnur]

Complicit department heads.

[Holman]

The little technobrats Musk has out there stormtrooping for DOGE are now getting doxxed six ways from Sunday.

Normally I'm against doxing, but if it facilitates these assholes getting swirlied and stuffed into lockers, I'm for it.

[Smoove_B]

You're nicer than I am. I'd say we're about 10 days beyond the point where I would have been ok with guillotines for quite a few of the main characters we've been introduced to since 1/21.

[Zarathud]

DOGE needed secrecy for musk’s stormtroopers to act. Expose these assholes, so they turn in their masters.

[Blackhawk]

I worry that the objections are being set up as a way to take further power. Go after independent agencies, rack up some objections/lawsuits, have his personal Congress or his pocket court change the rules, and then go after the bigger agencies.

[Smoove_B]

I mean, they also just need to wait until after 6pm or this Friday night to resume their attacks. Unless we're expecting volunteers to bar entry for eternity or that someone is going to hire armed guards to keep people out that don't belong there.

It's cartoon level insanity at this point.

[RunningMn9]

Finally someone is saying something:

But still nobody is doing anything?

[LordMortis]

Well no one is putting out a full stop.

The suggestion here is lots of stuff is being done. How effective is it and is it quick enough? shrug

https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/is-som ... -something

[LawBeefaroni]

Well no one is putting out a full stop.

The suggestion here is lots of stuff is being done. How effective is it and is it quick enough? shrug

https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/is-som ... -something

After Lebryk’s refusal to grant Musk’s team access, he was placed on administrative leave. Only then did Lebryk announce his retirement after 35 years of service.

I mean that sounds like it's ultimately a win for Musk. Merely a speedbump.

The job of politicians from the party that is out of power is to make the political argument for why their party should be returned to power. That means highlighting the misdeeds, mistakes and malfeasance of the other party. It means providing clear statements about the rules, norms and processes that were violated so that the press can report on them from experts whose job it is to understand legislation and limits on power.

In normal times, maybe. Now? The very ability to return to power is in question. "Rules, norms, and processes" are disappeared. Relying on "the press?" Pffff.

[gbasden]

You're nicer than I am. I'd say we're about 10 days beyond the point where I would have been ok with guillotines for quite a few of the main characters we've been introduced to since 1/21.

More guillotines, please.

[Blackhawk]

Heads will roll.

[waitingtoconnect]

Order 66 is happening and no one is doing anything about it.

[Isgrimnur]

I'm sure some kids will come along in a couple decades.