by Reid Fitzsimons
I received an email from a highly accomplished, highly qualified mid-level civilian employee of the Dept of the Air Force. He really doesn't like Trump, as can be intuited from the subject of his email: Quote from Trump’s OMB (Office of Management and Budget) director nominee about me and my fellow civil service employees: “We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected,” he said. “When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains. " That's a pretty harsh statement and the question is, "Are bureaucrats and civil service employees the same thing?" Being a retired civil service employee, I think- and hope- the answer is no. Below is my response to his concern.
Alfred
Again, the "Voice of the Masses" speaks the truth. I would not fair so well in that situation. Not only would I have been demoted, I would have been run right out of the service. It is simply wild to think that it is more important to use a proper pronoun than to be good at what you do! Thanks Reid for another "Spot ON" article!
Carole Ann Milljour
That was quite an in-depth article, Reid. I certainly do hope you compile all these articles in a book so future generations can get a more thorough understanding of the nature of things!
It is truly amazing how people can be bought, or even forced into things they don’t necessarily agree with for whatever reason, i.e., being accepted, allowed to hold a position, cowardice, who knows!
I remember so many times I’ve seen injustices done. Not anything to do with the LGBTQ, but just people in general. Once while working for the state no less, there was an opportunity for individuals to get a bonus in their pay (a bonus of $1,000) if they received a highly effective rating on their yearly evaluations. This was suppose to be an incentive for employees to better their work performance. Well, needless to say, supervisors were handing those out right and left. Those that received one, bragged about it and that caused a lot of problems. There were individuals who didn’t receive one and, of course, complained about the unfairness. It did not go well at all. Some highly effective recipients no doubt didn’t deserve it and some who didn’t get one probably should have! Well, that was the consensus at the time; and of course, was the only year that incentive was ever offered again. It certainly wasn’t fair because a great many did take advantage! No doubt even the best intentioned supervisors played the game of favorites. I often wonder how many still received highly effective ratings after the bonus incentive was dissolved.
One other time corruption raised its evil head was when I was volunteering for at an historical site. Our president thought we should side the building. This came after she enlisted the advice of a contractor, who was a friend of hers. She had him perform the appraisal without any members present or informed prior. Well, that building was over 120 years old, it certainly didn’t appear to be in bad shape at all. So after getting that news, I asked a contractor, who was a friend of mine, to check it out before any work was done. So, I went over with him while he assessed it (without the president’s knowledge) and he noted that there was nothing wrong with the original siding. There was no rotting wood as she tried to point out to the members. After explaining to her in an email (since our group only met one evening a month) that a contractor had looked over the building and hadn’t found any damage I asked her if she was going to get other estimates before any work was done, explaining to her that at least two or three is always good prior to making any repairs. Her response to me was simply an email that contained the prayer, “The Our Father” ….what was her reason for that, I have no clue! She had the building sided, and along with that the windows (original ones with the waved glass), all replaced (which she had never mentioned to the members). After all was said and done, I just walked away from that organization. I just didn’t want to be a part of something that was that corrupt, dishonest, whatever you want to call it; and, of course, that historical site lost it’s historical integrity/value! What a shame! That was a very sad and disgusting abuse of power! The odd thing was that shortly afterwards she quit, left the area and a new president was selected from the members, after which I was approached and asked to rejoin! However, I just couldn’t get myself to go back! She ruined it for me to say the least!
Needless to say, once again, money was turned over in order to accommodate an individual who was a friend to someone in power. It’s not that I’m perfect because I’m not! I just find that when individuals have any kind of power over others, it is easy to see how corruption and dishonesty can occur. We all need checks and balances in our organizations, but as I have found in other areas, it doesn’t always happen.
So, all in all, people can be bought. It is not hard to find good honest individuals, but we all know not everyone is, and that certainly isn’t going to change. Thank God for Donald Trump in starting to put an end to the woke nonsense and all the corruption and dishonesty that has invaded our nation for far too long. It is definitely time for our country to get down to some serious business for a change.
I don’t have a problem with LGBTQ people or most individuals, for that matter, Everyone is entitled to live the life they choose, but when it comes to harming others or taking advantage of individuals, businesses, organizations, etc., then it does need to stop. We need to build up instead of tear down. I’m glad we are starting to see less emphasis on the LGBTQ community and more emphasis on what truly matters. It’s about time! The tide is turning and what a breath of fresh air that is! Thank you Reid for such a wonderful take on the nature of serious issues such as those you’ve described!