Shame he’s going to leave, Donald Trump will be creating plenty of new veterans in the next four years. Read more
It sucks. That the most blunt way I can put it for progressive thinking troops like me and those published here. I sincerely want to get out, but I fell for the military trap. I don’t know where else I can find comparable benefits to provide for my family while making a better living all without a degree. Read more
True. When I was in Navy’s nuke school, there were plenty of Republicans, but just as many Democrats. Nukes always were a different breed than the rest of the Navy for better or worse. The idea that the military is a monolithic political bloc never held a lot of sway with me. Read more
I am in almost exactly the same boat. I joined up at the tail-end of Obama’s first term; back then, I was pretty generic Republican, having voted for McCain before I joined. When Iraq and Afghanistan started winding down, I was personally and quietly relieved. I took an oath to the Constitution; if I was still active… Read more
When I was in the Air Force, the people I met were more split 50/50 between D and R. This was also before the Security Forces became the backbone of the AF, so it’s changed. Airmen attracted to Security Forces were always a lot different then the ones attracted to, say, air traffic control.
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I joined when Reagan was president, served through Clinton’s second term. When I enlisted I was pretty generic Reagan Republican, but the Iraq War (Number One) killed my idealism pretty quick. I volunteered, I served without complaint but I had problems. I spent the bulk of my time quietly involved in the drug war,… Read more
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To be fair, some percentage of those 5-7 million folks who turned out for Obama and did not for Hillary were unable to do so due to voter suppression laws that have been passed in the last four years. Probably a large enough percentage that she would’ve won the election if so many hadn’t been turned away at the polls… Read more
My fear is they’re going to spend a HUGE amount of resources trying to get the voters who flipped Obama to Trump, instead of focusing on the people who just didn’t vote or didn’t vote for president in 2016.
I feel the narrative of “ignored poor white America” is going to drive the political direction for the next 4… Read more
I hear Chelsea’s considering a move into politics. So we got that going for us... Read more
The DNC: running a prevent defense, if that defense were composed of people who are not very good at football and who had also been chloroformed and hobbled. Read more
I’m a part-time M.P.P. student at a school in the D.C. area and this past Tuesday 7 or 8 alumni visited to talk about their careers. One man works at the EPA. My first question was obviously about the election. He said that his office is bummed that a lot of projects will probably be shelved and they’ll likely have to… Read more
I am a federal employee with the DOT, specifically the FAA. I deal with large projects and getting them implemented. Technically, we stand to get a lot of money from Trump’s “infrastructure” plan.
However, we have no idea what that means. The rules of government spending mean that we have to plan out our projects… Read more
I’m a legal consultant doing research for a firm that primarily represents trade unionists, their constituency and admins. We had our quarterly board meeting yesterday morning and the ground was figuratively shaking beneath our feet the entire time. All I can say is that every attorney I have spoken with has every… Read more
I just had someone say that I should apply at the VA for a nursing job. (I’m looking to diversify my skill set because shit’s about to get real in healthcare, and I don’t want to be a pigeonholed nurse). This article has made me think better of it. VA already has ridiculously poor staffing, and few presidents have… Read more
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“This is already a hell of a time to be a federal employee. We’re a favorite congressional scapegoat. We haven’t had raises in years. Our health insurance is shitty, and the prices keep rising for us too. We are at constant risk of furlough. We’re overworked and understaffed. So now we’re looking at freezes of pay,… Read more
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The best part of these letters is that, for the most part, they serve to show how deeply our public servants care about the cause for which they serve. These people are speaking anonymously and thus have little reason to lie, and what I get from reading these pieces is the terror that Trump will undo the work they’ve… Read more
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I’m a Fed scientist at the USDA. We’ve had steady growth since a reorganization of 2008 (while others had layoffs) and finally started hiring again in the past year and a half. I don’t know what this does but the heads say the outlook is not good. Read more
RE: The regulatory attorney. I fear *this* will be what Obama’s legacy winds up being (especially if the ACA is gutted/repealed). Every batshit crazy decision trump makes will be caveated in history books with “He was able to do this because Obama consolidated more and more power in the executive branch through… Read more
Access to infrastructure makes the property more desirable and increases competition among potential renters causing prices to rise. It’s got little to do with taxes. Its occurring in real-time with the second avenue subway in New York City. Taxes didn’t go up, but rents are rising significantly in anticipation of the… Read more