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Federal Shutdown May Send Millennial Workers To Exits (techtarget.com)
dcblogs writes: The federal government measures the "engagement" of its federal workforce once a year with a massive survey of 1.5 million employees. And what it has found is that most federal workers are very dedicated to their work. Its most recent survey -- the 2018 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey -- asked employees if they are "willing to put in extra effort to get their job done," 96% of the survey takers responded affirmatively. Moreover, 91% agreed with the statement that they "look for ways to do their jobs better," and 90% "believe their work is important." But this job dedication is being tested by the U.S. government shutdown, and most at risk of leaving are Millennial-age workers. Less than 6% of federal employees are under the age of 30 and represent half of all people who leave an agency within the first two years. The best employees have options, and "a major concern is that the brightest, hardest-working, and most capable, dedicated government employees may opt out of government service and take jobs in the private sector," Talya Bauer, professor of management at Portland State University in Oregon and president of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, said. The shutdown could hurt the reputation of the government as a good place to work, she said.
How credulous do you have to be to think a survey like this means anything? Might as well ask, "Who here doesn't want to get fired?" Damn.
-Dave
Didn't Trump say he wanted a smaller government? Seems like a quick way to achieve that.
Yes, this. I bet most of the Republican party are on cloud 9 right now, dreaming about their libertarian, small gubbermint ideologies. Meanwhile, millions of not so ideological people suffer from a lack of government services. In practice, Libertarians are just a bunch of sadistic perverts.
Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
If you think workers are concerned about politics resulting in a government shutdown, consider this:
If you work in private industry, you can be a victim of a mass-layoff, and you never know its coming, so you should have emergency $$$ savings to prepare for that possibility, just as you should if you work for government - in case of political issues causing funding shortfall come the end of the fiscal year.
With this US government shutdown... employees had more than 60 days' warning that this was extremely likely to happen, essentially; the coming political clash was evident from miles away immediately after the election --- this eventuality became almost certain. Unlike a mass layoff; its presumably going to be temporary, and many furloughed employees will be entitled to automatic back pay - full wages for the time they didn't work, when the deficiency is resolved.
So, not only do they have ample warning to plan and make sure to reign in unnecessary spending: nearly 60 days warning is plenty of time for the best employees to have arranged some kind of alternate work or gig for earning money while on furlough, And after the shutdown's over, they come back on, and get paid double ---- making the whole thing essentially a 20+ day paid vacation where they could amplify their pay
or avail themselves of other opportunities.
What's going to happen when the TSA, which has to work without pay, quits? It's not a great paying job, and these workers are the most likely to quit and work somewhere else. Each time one quits, you have to cover the hours somehow, and it's going to be near impossible to replace them during the shutdown.
We can't operate a country without air travel. This is going to be the lynch pin in the whole system.
"The federal government measures the "engagement" of its federal workforce once a year with a massive survey of 1.5 million employees. And what it has found is that most federal workers are very dedicated to their work. Its most recent survey -- the 2018 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey -- asked employees if they are "willing to put in extra effort to get their job done," 96% of the survey takers responded affirmatively. Moreover, 91% agreed with the statement that they "look for ways to do their jobs better," and 90% "believe their work is important.""
Okay, I know we pretend these things are serious in office pc meetings but you know only the absolute dumbest people ever say anything else when given options like "willing to put in extra effort to get their job done," in supposedly anonymous workplace surveys.
"But this job dedication is being tested by the U.S. government shutdown, and most at risk of leaving are Millennial-age workers. Less than 6% of federal employees are under the age of 30 and represent half of all people who leave an agency within the first two years."
If they lack job dedication why should we employ them? This seems to make some sort of odd claim that these could be the "best of employees" having no dedication makes you a shit employee by definition.
'When asked if they are "willing to put in extra effort to get their job done," 96% of 2018 survey takers gave a positive result, said Mallory Bulman, vice president of research and evaluation at the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that works with government officials on workforce management issues. Moreover, 91% agreed with the statement that they "look for ways to do their jobs better," and 90% "believe their work is important."'
96% sounds amazing... but when you ask that same question of non-government workers in similar jobs, is it any different? Is it higher, lower, ...?
#DeleteChrome
>> the brightest, hardest-working, and most capable, dedicated government employees may opt out of government service
Wait - I thought you said "Millennials"
The Republicans win by getting a smaller gubbermint. They win again by dragging the gubbermint through the mud thus tainting it for the future as a place to do good work. And they'll win again after they've fucked up the gubbermint operations by campaigning under the slogan that the gubbermint doesn't work well, so elect them to fix it.
Isn't that just what conservatives have been working toward for decades?
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
I live near DC and never hear the end of all the moaning and whining when government does a shut-down. I mean, it really does reach the absurd at times. I remember last time there was a shutdown, I was at a full service car wash in Gaithersburg, MD. This lady in front of me rolls in with a high-end luxury full size SUV, and asks to have it fully detailed and waxed. While we're standing in line, she proceeds to tell me how the government shutdown has made everything so stressful for her.... and she just decided to get the car all cleaned up since she had all this time to kill now.
It only took about 2 days of this shut-down before people were on all the news stations, talking about their struggle. (None of them were even close to missing 1 paycheck yet!)
I really do get that the younger people, who just got a first "real job" doing something for Federal govt., would be far more impacted ... But hey, I *never* accepted a government job for this reason. Always felt like the private sector made more sense. I don't like knowing my paycheck is covered by tax revenue they forcibly take from everybody else who works, and everything is subject to voters voting people in or out of office, legislation changing what government plans to do next, etc. Federal govt. jobs have different sets of perks, too, though. It's very difficult to get fired from most government jobs, for example. Even the idiots trying to watch porn while on the job often just got a slap on the wrist and kept their employment.... If you're a real screw up, you sometimes even get a promotion, because it's the only easy way for your superior to get rid of having to deal with you.
I have a family member who is a federal agent. He has to work even when he is "furloughed." He just doesn't get paid until the next spending bill is passed. It's not like a paid vacation for all federal employees.
DRAIN THE SWAMP
... of what talent is there.
What are millenials doing working for the government anyway. Private sector is on fire. Go make some money while it's easier to make.
Why didn't they do that in the first place?
your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
The longer the government shutdown lasts, the more this sounds like slavery. I mean not quite, because ostensibly air traffic controllers could quit and become baristas at Starbucks or whatever (assuming the government does not compel them to not do so), but pretty close.
Particularly appalling is the fact that during the shutdown, all vacations are cancelled, and anyone on vacation is required to immediately terminate that vacation and return to work (because after all, otherwise everyone essential would take vacations), creating pretty significant hardship, particularly given that it happened during the Christmas holiday. I'm pretty sure if I worked for the federal government, I'd have said, "Screw you. I quit," and I'm not even a millennial. I can't imagine how they didn't have an absolute exodus.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
A large quantity of patriotic native born Americans, who are millenials, are impacted by this. I personally know of quite a few that had been considering work in data security and in intelligence or law enforcement services for the US who are affected.
How can you trust people when they throw you under the bus because they don't want to look foolish?
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
This is a tell for a Russian agent. Dividing us and making us fight with one another with ugly hate language. Nice try, Ivan but we Americans are stronger than you.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
The 2018 report has historical results for the same survey questions from 2014-2018, and 2013 report show results from 2010-2013 (it appears the questions in the summary were introduced in 2010).
"willing to put in extra effort" has remained consistent at 96%. "look for ways to do job better" consistently between 90%-91%. "work is important" consistently between 90%-91%. Basically, government employees' attitudes about these factors has not changed in 8 years (which takes us through one change in President's party, control of the House, and control of the Senate). And there is no evidence to indicate they are changing.
The survey questions whose results did change are:
These are the survey questions which indicate changes in government employee attitude (apparently there was more doom and gloom around 2014). That TFA focuses instead on three survey questions whose results have not changed, and discussed them with respect to a current event which could not yet have influenced the survey results, suggests the authors of TFA were just looking for an excuse to write an opinion piece, not report the news.
Classic GOP. Reasonable terms = "my way or the highway"
Trump didn't get his wall in 2017. He didn't get his wall in 2018. And he won't be getting his wall in 2019. This temper tantrum is the result of the "master" negotiator.
Well, most federal workers are off, just off. Unpaid leave, effectively (for now). There are however about 400,000 workers deemed "essential" to the functioning of the country, including ATC, TSA and other workers who are forced to work without pay.
What's happening now is that those workers are basically calling in sick - because they have to attend to a second job to get some money flowing in.
And imagine how much worse it is for those in a highly stressful job (Air Traffic Controller ranks in the top 10, if not #1 most stressful job). Now you have the added stress of working for free and worrying about the mortgage, food, etc. This isn't good.
TSA agents are similar - they aren't highly paid people (about $30K or so annually), and now have to work long hours with no pay dealing with an increasingly irate public.
And now half your coworkers call in sick because they need some money.
The economy will grind to a halt - the highly efficient air transport system cannot sustain such pressure. Already you see some of the effects - long lineups at security, for example. But you'll see it worse in the air because stressed out controllers can't do anything to reduce their stress, other than to hold air traffic back. So instead of being able to have an aircraft take off and land every minute or so, they will be forced to slow down the rate - one aircraft every couple of minutes halves the airport throughput, but it will become a necessity in order to lower their stress. Ditto for increased spacing between aircraft so a burned out controller will have more time to think and process. This will lead to inevitable delays.
Farmers are missing their subsidies as well, which may not matter to you, but they need the money to buy their supplies on time so they can plant on time.
Of course, one wonders why they don't just give him his wall, and pay for it with a new "wall tax" that basically reverses the big tax cut that was given. He gets his wall, the tax cuts are effectively rescinded and you get to nail supporters with a new tax to pay for it.
How do they get you to immediately terminate a vacation if you are not in the country? What if you are not reachable?
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Having been a fed employee, the problem of younger people leaving has been a problem known for a while. I remember taking a survey around 2006 (may have been the one mentioned in the article) and accompany info for the survey included the high leave rate of young employees. One can deal with less job satisfaction for more job security if they have things such as marriages, kids, mortgages the younger don't have. This shutdown will just encourage a little more of the known issue
another job. The reason to work for the government is so you don't have to do that every 2-3 years when the stock price dips a little or the CEO wants a new boat. If you take that away you'll end up with bottom feeders.
But that's kind of the point. The GOP is actively trying to sabotage the government so they can privatize everything and turn every aspect of our lives into cash cows. They even have a name for it, they call it "Starve the Beast".
TL;DR; Put people in charge of government who either don't believe in gov't or believe gov't is only for them and you get bad outcomes. Who knew?
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
I think that may be the best reason I've ever heard for "losing" your official cell phone.
You: Whoops. Sorry, I didn't get your voice mail. My phone went crazy in Paris.
Boss: Crazy?
You: In Seine.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
Or you may be in an area that doesn't even have cellular service... happens to me regularly when I'm on vacation, for several days at a time.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Who gave you the idea that Republicans were libertarian? Democrats?
Both sides slander libertarians; they don't want an effective third party.
-- Alastair
Plenty of millennials in the Coast Guard, who aren't getting paid.
The shutdown could hurt the reputation of the government as a good place to work, she said.
Since when has it had that reputation?
it's only because the GOP has been actively sabotaging the government that this is a problem. This entire shutdown mess is entirely a creation of the GOP.
And I see what you did there with your anecdote where you tell a story with the most obnoxious person anyone can imagine (Big SUV, detailing, of course a Lady because there's a meme for that). Let that rub off on anyone who complains about the shutdown.
I mean, if we're gonna talk about obnoxious folks in the shutdown there's this gem. But there's also a lot of folks trying to figure out how to afford gas. Real Wages are down yet like the article says the GOP base is thrilled. Meanwhile it's not free to go to work. That "hurting the people he's supposed to hurt" lady (meme intended) has a 7 hour commute. Some folks need money for daycare too. Screw this noise.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
Who gave you the idea that Republicans were libertarian?
Indeed. Libertarians believe in small government, elimination of subsidies, reduced military spending, and free trade.
This is the precise opposite of Trumpism, which is an ad-hoc blend of the dumbest ideas from both the left and right.
Stop it with your facts and common sense, this is democrat safe space, your reality isn't welcome here
The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it. -- P.J. O'Rourke
If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
What I find interesting is that it seems the worst impacts of the shutdown are being felt by demographics that tend to vote Republican. That makes the political fallout for this shutdown potentially disastrous for Republicans.
Maybe they'll forget come 2020. But we'll see. The Republican party's behavior has been pretty uniformly reprehensible, and there's a chance that these events will cause a few Republican voters to open their eyes and see the party for what it is: a party for the rich, by the rich, who only panders to non-rich voters by promising to harm "those people". When they find that they're often in the crosshairs, maybe they'll start expanding their news sources beyond the conservative bubble and actually learn something.
Not many, of course. It's rare for people to change their minds like this. But it does happen. And it could be the beginning of the end for the Republican party (aside: if the Republican party ends, it will be replaced by another party: our system is only stable with two parties in power; hopefully that other party will be less terrible so that we can actually have a reasonable national political discussion for once).
What, putting five billion unbudgeted dollars into an appropriation bill is reasonable? For a project with no corresponding authorization bill?
But you probably don't understand what any of that means, so how about this: Congress asked the president for a detailed breakdown of how he intended to spend the money and he only itemized 1.7 billion, meaning he's demanding 3.2 billion that he could spend any way he likes.
If you think government spending is out of control, wait until this becomes the new normal.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Libertarians generally aren't morons, but plenty people who think they're libertarians are.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
If they're so good, then they can get a job in private industry and make much more money then.
What the heck are you talking about?
Young people do not to get stuck in the 2.5% salary increase for the rest of their lives.
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
Trump just walked out of a negotiation because he's not being offered 100% of the 5+ billion his punk lying traitor faggot ass weakly demands. He also said "I own the shutdown, okay?" He said that.
You'd have to be beyond retarded to think anyone is going to cave to this weak draft dodging faggot. Mueller will literally send him to the electric chair, Trump is a fucking traitor.
Sorry. There's only two of us moderates left.
Actually, generally the federal workers who get furloughed don't go work a second job, they just collect unemployment.
Then when they do get their big paycheck for the time they were on forced vacation, they are required to pay the unemployment back.
Of course, some new workers are dumber than most and spend both the UI and the backpay windfall, then get caught out when later UI catches up with them and wants to get paid back and they've already spent it.
Source: Lived in DC for 8 years, heard it again from furloughed workers this time around.
The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
The folks filing a 13th amendment lawsuit agree.
For a project with no corresponding authorization bill?
Authorized in 2006, spending stopped in 2009 when Obama took office in spite of the bill authorizing the spending.
"His name was James Damore."
It's not 135% on a like-for-like job basis, though.
didn't Trump agree to sign the funding, until Fox news etc. said that would be bad?
https://www.vox.com/policy-and...
Just as one link among a great many that seem to confirm my understanding...
Government is about governing, not 'winning' or 'supporting your base'.
A president is, I believe, supposed to work for the benefit of the ENTIRE country, not just their voters.
Ha ha, well said AC, well said.
Trump IS on record (video is available) as saying he'll accept the blame for the shutdown.
And he IS on record for dodging the Vietnam draft due to, apparently, "bone spurs" (whatever they are).
Dunno about the electric chair, but I strong suspect that Trump doesn't have the best interests of the USA in mind as president, rather the best interests of the Trump family business.
As has been mentioned, with examples, on many other sites including YouTube.
Bingo!
You can't blame the Dems for the shutdown when the Reps had 2 years to "build the wall", "drain the swamp" and "lock her up".
I mean, if such basic and simple promises can't be fulfilled within 2 years of total control of the US govt, doesn't that indicate that such 'promises' are worth.... nothing?
why do (apparently) US citizens object to socialism?
are not your police, firepeople, emergency responders and military and (gasp!) social services funded by the principles of socialism?
It's actually not bad.
Maybe think a bit more before ranting about the evils of taxes paying for useful social services?
I mean, you DO pay TAXES, right?
+1 as I've spent all my mod points on actually useful comments that don't relate solely to the US of A...
(and... I deleted my explanatory post...)
As someone who usually has mod points, it's quite interesting to browse the detritus after I've used them all on upvoting useful, constructive and explanatory comments.
Because...
if the above is typical of the average USAnian.... well....
May your god/s help you all.
That said, I can't say that I disagree with the AC, like many watching the USA and UK, I think that their current govs are . . . absolutely retarded as evidenced by their actions/inactions.
This would be true in a parliamentary system, but the President isn’t elected by Congress, and may very well (as here) be actively disliked by a large fraction or even a majority of his own party. Even if he is well-liked, they may not go along with his ideas, because they are jealous of their own power. Look at LBJ - got a lot of his stuff through, no doubt due to his experience in the Senate, but was so far in the hole when 1968 rolled around that he didn’t even run despite being eligible.
Ah.. Because of how the senate works..
Republicans could not pass such a measure w/o democrat support though the Senate, unless they wished to change the Senate rules (go nuclear) over this issue. This is true today. If ANYTHING is going to get done now it will take compromise and deal making and so far both sides are pretty much saying my way or the highway.
The PR battle is where this will be "won or lost" for either party and so far, it's looking like a pretty even draw.
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
didn't Trump agree to sign the funding, until Fox news etc. said that would be bad?
No, and it was Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh not Fox news who said it was a bad idea. Trump was never going to sign this without wall funding and everybody knew it already. He was negotiating and effectively said "If you want to make a reasonable deal, I'm here to talk." which was interpreted by some as a "I will sign the deal." Go back and listen to Trump's public statements, he may be parsing his words a bit, but he clearly wants that wall and simply isn't talking about any "compromise" that doesn't include significant wall funding of some kind.
For the life of me, I don't understand why the democrats don't just cave, or offer part of the funding and demand something they want in return. Surely they are not saying that 5.6 Billion out of 45 Trillion budget is going to break us. Or, to quote a meme I saw, the Democrats are refusing to spend ANYTHING when they make $45,000 / year and somebody wants to spend $58 on a fence, so they stop paying the bills, refuse to pay the kids allowances or buy gasoline for the lawn mower. Really?
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
What I find interesting is that it seems the worst impacts of the shutdown are being felt by demographics that tend to vote Republican. That makes the political fallout for this shutdown potentially disastrous for Republicans.
Maybe they'll forget come 2020. But we'll see. The Republican party's behavior has been pretty uniformly reprehensible, and there's a chance that these events will cause a few Republican voters to open their eyes and see the party for what it is: a party for the rich, by the rich, who only panders to non-rich voters by promising to harm "those people". When they find that they're often in the crosshairs, maybe they'll start expanding their news sources beyond the conservative bubble and actually learn something.
Not many, of course. It's rare for people to change their minds like this. But it does happen. And it could be the beginning of the end for the Republican party (aside: if the Republican party ends, it will be replaced by another party: our system is only stable with two parties in power; hopefully that other party will be less terrible so that we can actually have a reasonable national political discussion for once).
I chance that it will not be disastrous. We are talking about a core that's been willing to commit socioeconomic seppuku for years as long as someone blows wind through the right whistle.
This problem is sociological and cultural in nature, and it is not one without precedent. Cultures have been known to walk off the proverbial cliff, engaging in self-destructive and self-defeating customs and practices in the name of identity.
It's high time we need to recognize their voting patterns as another manifestation of said types of cultures. Shades of J.D. Vance's "Hillbilly Effigy."
Even if perchance this causes a Republican blow-back in 2020, for as long as these social dynamics persists with these voters, they will continue with these patterns, with these exaggerated outlooks on what America is supposed to be, and animosity towards anything and anyone that doesn't fit the mold.
Cruelty is the point. It's not a side-effect, not a tool. It is the point.
Case in point , read this story of a voter saying "Trump is not hurting the people he's supposed to be hurting". It is quite revealing of the type of shi-that-never-dies we are dealing with. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/8/18173678/trump-shutdown-voter-florida
Authorizations bills on discretionary spending are only for the current fiscal year. Also, you can't spend money because it's authorized. This is part of a belt and suspenders system that prevents Presidents overspending the budget (by dribbling out money in appropriations) or shifting appropriated money to uses Congress does not intend (by appropriating for a specific *authorized* program).
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Well, I may be a moron, but I'm a moron who understands the difference between a budget, and authorization and an appropriation bill. The system is designed, among other things, to restrain presidential power and to force the government to work out its spending priorities in advance. I don't know if *you* are a moron too, but you're certainly an ignoramus.
What Trump wants is off-budget spending to be put into a routine appropriations bill, without a formally authorized program that will prevent that spending for being diverted to other uses. What are his alternatives? Well he's wanted the wall for years, so he could put the five billion in his FY2020 request, which means shovels could be in the ground on October 1 of 2019.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Libertarians believe, first and foremost, in kicking the poor.
President Trump is a populist. He's not playing along with the idiotic, stultifying left/right game. Rather he's doing what he thinks will be best for America.
ALL of America. Including the deplorable rednecks in the flyover. Not just the well-connected uptight latte-sipping queer snobs in the financial centers who are the sole beneficiaries of the bipartisan Establishment's disastrously failed economic policies.
Ah yes, the "no true libertarian" argument, we've seen this bullshit before. All libertarians are idiots because they are ignoring human nature, which has not changed appreciably throughout recorded history. Libertarianism can only work in an environment free of bad actors, which means it's unworkable.
Libertarians are those who want police protection from those who they would abuse, and are incapable of understanding that if they can buy services that harm others, someone else with more money can do it to them just as easily as they can do it to someone else.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
"the only folks younger than 70 in the Democratic party are more or less full-tilt Socialists."
Only a very very stupid socialist would join the Democrats, given their leadership's open contempt for working people.
> Libertarians believe, first and foremost, in kicking the poor.
Democrats do it far better. They hand over their own social responsibilities to government and then whine about taxes just like anyone else. The end result are piss poor government services that are gravely under funded.
If you point this out, liberals will either deny that there is a problem or they will cheer on the "cost cutting".
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
AOC is an innumerate moron that doesn't understand what things cost. All she will do is make sure everyone suffers as important things are handed over completely to the government and then deprived of necessary resources.
The "poor" that rich liberals sneer at so much understand this because unlike rich liberals they have some experience with government and government programs.
They are acutely aware of how government really works.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
who only panders to non-rich voters by promising to harm "those people".
Every year that goes by, that becomes less and less of a winning strategy. The republican party has not been friendly to either women or minorities, and I can't imagine that they're all going to suddenly forget the party's history at some point in the coming decades and vote republican.
Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
Oh well if it's on YouTube, then I guess it couldn't be as cataclysmically stupid as your rendition made it sound.
Translation: "I'm going to pretend anarchists are libertarians, then attack anarchists. See how I can win arguments? I'm a fucking moron."
Libertarianism isn't anarchism, but that's where it would naturally lead. You can't implement it anyway, so no worries there, but it is unfortunate to have the libertarians out there wasting their effort on sky pies.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
who only panders to non-rich voters by promising to harm "those people".
Every year that goes by, that becomes less and less of a winning strategy. The republican party has not been friendly to either women or minorities, and I can't imagine that they're all going to suddenly forget the party's history at some point in the coming decades and vote republican.
Awww, that's so cute! You believe that people vote based on well-informed reason. They won't remember a thing when the next election cycle is in full swing. They'll be bombarded from all sides with appeals to emotion & vilifying anyone they identify as "other." All of this will be enthusiastically reinforced by the main stream media and especially social media. After all, that's what social media is designed to do; keep people's eyes on their web pages by promoting indignant outrage inducing comments, headlines, & memes.
Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
Republicans aren't Libertarians? Mmm... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
If you were in charge of spotting Russian agents, all you'd do is identify people who you don't agree with or dislike for some reason or other. I bet that'd be a very long list. Probably easier to not count the small group of knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing Republican Libertarians you follow & declare everyone else a foreign agent. BTW, there are far more foreign agents with a great deal more influence at American citizens' expense from Saudi Arabia & Israel than from Russia. Your elected representatives & administrations sold you all out a long time ago.
Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
Education doesn't make you smarter, it teaches you to make use of of the capabilities you already have, and it gives you a piece of paper which may convince others to employ you.
Free education for all on the other hand means there will be more people competing for the jobs, and might actually make you poorer.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
You can always spot Russian agents because they're the ones trying to divide us into warring camps and spewing bitter hate against the Dumbocrats or the Rethuglicans. We can spot you a mile off, Ivan. And if for some reason you aren't getting paid to spread hate, you should be. Daddy Putin pays good money for posts like yours. Why be a sucker and work for free?
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
1. Yes, consistent libertarianism would lead to a state in which most if not all human interactions were guided by mutual interest rather than coercion. Some call this "anarchism," but that term is highly ambiguous, so many of us prefer to describe it as "voluntaryism." 2. Libertarianism differentiates itself from most other "isms" not by ignoring human nature, but by advocating social constructs that are compatible therewith. We do not say "humans are flawed, and therefore need to be ruled by other at least equally flawed people," but, rather, "no one has a right to rule over another without consent, and, therefore, human interactions should be governed mostly if not entirely by voluntary, consensual agreement."
Nonaggression works!
You can always spot Russian agents because they're the ones trying to divide us into warring camps and spewing bitter hate against the Dumbocrats or the Rethuglicans.
Nah, Russian agents are much smarter & more subtle than me. What you've described sounds more like Fox News. Perhaps they need to be infiltrated by Russian agents to at least bring the quality of their journalism up to Russia Today's. Seriously, RT's news is waaay more accurate & balanced than Fox News'.
Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
Well, if you're not getting paid to spread division and hate among Americans, all I can say is that you should be. Doing it for free is a sucker's job. Contact RT and see what they can do for you.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
You don't need my help.
Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
How so? If a Government service is essential it will get funded anyway. If it's non-essential then what right does it have to exist? Let the states take it over. Military & border protection are really the only things that make sense at a federal level.
Make SELinux enforcing again!