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If you still think this is about government efficiency, you better wake up FAST. Efficiency, sure, good! Why would you ignore the law? Why would you fire left

If you still think this is about government efficiency, you better wake up FAST. Efficiency, sure, good! Why would you ignore the law? Why would you fire left and right, creating crisis after crisis? Why do you want billionaires to run your country? Why do you give tax cuts to the super wealthy? This all has ++ZERO++ relation to efficiency. On the contrary, it will make problems worse. FAR worse. Shooting down expertise, furthering pandemics by installing a total lunatic (RFK jr): a great way to embezzle money, real world consequences damned. Education, health care, it will be for the few, not you. I urge you to read the news, because this is not a conspiracy theory. It is nuts, yes, but is also reality. Exactly what this submission tracks. It is very telling that HN chooses to suppress this. Very telling. ----- https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/career-civil-servant-end/681712/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/career-civ... «One of the greatest tricks that Donald Trump and Elon Musk ever pulled is to convince millions of people that DOGE, the self-styled Department of Government Efficiency, is about government efficiency. DOGE isn’t really a department; it’s not an agency; it has no statutory authority; and it has little to do with saving money, streamlining the bureaucracy, or eliminating waste. It is a name that Trump is allowing a favored donor and ally to use in a reckless campaign against various targets in the federal government. The whole enterprise is an attack against civil servants and the very notion of apolitical expertise.» ----- https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/defense-department-deputies-qualifications/681670/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/defense-de... «As with Trump’s nominations in other departments, the key factors appear to be loyalty, wealth, and ideological fervor, not competence.» ---- All the DOGE chaos will not even create a dent in the deficit problem of the USA. The ==LAST== thing you should do is to give the billionaires even more tax cuts. https://www.vox.com/politics/398583/musk-trump-doge-fraud-waste-debt-deficit https://www.vox.com/politics/398583/musk-trump-doge-fraud-wa...

hagbard_c 2y ago
> I urge you to read the news I do follow the news but probably not only the 'news' you're referring to assuming you mean the legacy media. The Atlantic is not what I call news but agitprop, a vehicle for agitational propaganda aimed at driving a narrative. If that is 'the news' you are referring to I understand why you are so agitated and I'd advice you to broaden your horizon beyond these types of sources. Look at the entire spectrum of 'news' organisations from Breitbart/Daily Wire/Daily Caller to WaPo/NYT/The Atlantic/The New Yorker/HuffPo/etc and whatever lies in between to get a more complete view, don't let yourself be used as a tool and keep an open mind for a different view - not so open that your brains fall out but open enough to avoid being duped by the likes of The Atlantic.
- exceptione 2y ago
  I can read other languages too. --- Calling "The Atlantic" agitprop while considering Breitbart a valid source of news, ouch. That raises a point though. An American has to work really hard to get a non-distorted view--not only on the world, but primarily on their own home. Like the Soviets think like the Soviets, so is a large part of America drown in a complete clusterfuck of information distortion. You think NYT is on the end of a spectrum, but no, they will never deliver that damning analysis. Sure, they might sound critical compared to the Breitbarts, the fox news etc. But they will always stop short before dots are connected, they will not deliver that damning conclusion that threatens their position. America has a problem with free and independent journalism. It has always had that problem of media moguls and oligarchs. And the more we normalize the bad and the stupid, the less you will be able to find the real critic. You might think people are overreacting, being dramatic. I understand, because we have a tendency to perceive things as normal, and the way press won't deliver you a complete picture. Critical news? Sure! Understanding? That goes to far! ------------------- So in a strange way you remind me to be a bit compassionate. As I realize this is a hard exercise to do, especially if identity and beliefs have formed in such a toxic environment. There is not a big chance you are waiting for my advice, but nonetheless I offer it in earnest. 1. Never fall into the trap of binary thinking. 2. Always ask yourself if what you observe is what is normal, good, constructive behavior or something else. 3. Do not excuse bad behavior. The theater, the chaos, the culture war, it is meant to get your permission so that who hides behind the Project can go further. 4. The goal is to make you mentally complicit, to lock you in. They need your consent, because the USA is not as advanced as the Soviet Union in this aspect. Yet! But they have the tech now to accelerate. 5. Realize that the goal is turn the clock back. No social democracy, no worker rights, private ownership of public affairs. This is only possible if you step away.
  - hagbard_c 2y ago
    You do notice that I put Breitbart on one side of the spectrum and The Atlantic (et. al.) on the other side? Both have an agenda. You quoted The Atlantic, twice. I did not - and would not - quote Breitbart because I'm aware of their agenda. If they published something worth discussing I would look for other sources to confirm their statements and add those to the discussion. You just quoted The Atlantic without any verification. It is not just Americans who need to 'work hard to get a non-distorted view', this is true for any nation on the planet. I am not an American but I do read some American media, this includes the ones I mentioned - from Breitbart to HuffPo/The Atlantic/etc. I also read Swedish and Dutch media as well as German and French and British. All of these show the same pattern, in some cases - Swedish and Dutch media in particular - the variety between different 'legacy' outlets is small and shrinking due to either consolidation (nearly all Dutch newspapers are now owned by DPG Media, a Belgian company) or dependency on state financing (Swedish 'presstöd/mediestöd' is supposed to foster a free press but actually produces the opposite).

hagbard_c 2y ago

> I urge you to read the news I do follow the news but probably not only the 'news' you're referring to assuming you mean the legacy media. The Atlantic is not what I call news but agitprop, a vehicle for agitational propaganda aimed at driving a narrative. If that is 'the news' you are referring to I understand why you are so agitated and I'd advice you to broaden your horizon beyond these types of sources. Look at the entire spectrum of 'news' organisations from Breitbart/Daily Wire/Daily Caller to WaPo/NYT/The Atlantic/The New Yorker/HuffPo/etc and whatever lies in between to get a more complete view, don't let yourself be used as a tool and keep an open mind for a different view - not so open that your brains fall out but open enough to avoid being duped by the likes of The Atlantic.

exceptione 2y ago
I can read other languages too. --- Calling "The Atlantic" agitprop while considering Breitbart a valid source of news, ouch. That raises a point though. An American has to work really hard to get a non-distorted view--not only on the world, but primarily on their own home. Like the Soviets think like the Soviets, so is a large part of America drown in a complete clusterfuck of information distortion. You think NYT is on the end of a spectrum, but no, they will never deliver that damning analysis. Sure, they might sound critical compared to the Breitbarts, the fox news etc. But they will always stop short before dots are connected, they will not deliver that damning conclusion that threatens their position. America has a problem with free and independent journalism. It has always had that problem of media moguls and oligarchs. And the more we normalize the bad and the stupid, the less you will be able to find the real critic. You might think people are overreacting, being dramatic. I understand, because we have a tendency to perceive things as normal, and the way press won't deliver you a complete picture. Critical news? Sure! Understanding? That goes to far! ------------------- So in a strange way you remind me to be a bit compassionate. As I realize this is a hard exercise to do, especially if identity and beliefs have formed in such a toxic environment. There is not a big chance you are waiting for my advice, but nonetheless I offer it in earnest. 1. Never fall into the trap of binary thinking. 2. Always ask yourself if what you observe is what is normal, good, constructive behavior or something else. 3. Do not excuse bad behavior. The theater, the chaos, the culture war, it is meant to get your permission so that who hides behind the Project can go further. 4. The goal is to make you mentally complicit, to lock you in. They need your consent, because the USA is not as advanced as the Soviet Union in this aspect. Yet! But they have the tech now to accelerate. 5. Realize that the goal is turn the clock back. No social democracy, no worker rights, private ownership of public affairs. This is only possible if you step away.
- hagbard_c 2y ago
  You do notice that I put Breitbart on one side of the spectrum and The Atlantic (et. al.) on the other side? Both have an agenda. You quoted The Atlantic, twice. I did not - and would not - quote Breitbart because I'm aware of their agenda. If they published something worth discussing I would look for other sources to confirm their statements and add those to the discussion. You just quoted The Atlantic without any verification. It is not just Americans who need to 'work hard to get a non-distorted view', this is true for any nation on the planet. I am not an American but I do read some American media, this includes the ones I mentioned - from Breitbart to HuffPo/The Atlantic/etc. I also read Swedish and Dutch media as well as German and French and British. All of these show the same pattern, in some cases - Swedish and Dutch media in particular - the variety between different 'legacy' outlets is small and shrinking due to either consolidation (nearly all Dutch newspapers are now owned by DPG Media, a Belgian company) or dependency on state financing (Swedish 'presstöd/mediestöd' is supposed to foster a free press but actually produces the opposite).