[JustTheNews] Carey Dale Grayson, who was one of four teens convicted in the death of Vickie Deblieux, was declared dead at 6:33 p.m. at William C. Holman Correctional Facility in southern Alabama. He was 50 years old at the time of his execution.
[JustTheNews] Entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to make the federal government more lean and efficient, want employees to turn to their offices five days a week.
Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX CEO, and Ramaswamy, a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, made their case in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Thursday.
Trump appointed them to run the new Department of Government Efficiency.
“If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home,” they wrote.
Ramaswamy has suggested they to return the office five days a week – 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. – instead of a "mass firing" to trim the federal bureaucracy.
That’s more than the usual 9-5. Why?
A Federal News Network survey earlier this year showed roughly 30% of the 6,338 federal workers surveyed were working fully remote. Six percent was entirely in-office, which would leave about 64% with a hybrid work schedule.
The Office of Management and Budget conducted a survey in August which showed that "telework-eligible federal employees spent 61.2% of their work hours" at federal facilities as of May 2024, according to Government Executive.
Congress allocated billions to federal agencies during the COVID pandemic to setup employees for remote work.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
11/22/2024 9:30 Comments ||
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#3
Need to review a few things boys; some agencies have signed contracts ( from the pandemic time) requiring at home work. Also agencies have terminated building leases, so there is no office to go to. Still haven’t seen the legislation that turned these guys loose; it concerns me a bit.
#7
Working from home isn't the issue. The issue is getting rid of the under producing employees, which is apparently very difficult. There are going to be good employees who will choose to find employment elsewhere rather than go into back into DC full time, leaving the bad employees who are just smart enough to know they wouldn't last in the private sector.
Full disclosure, I spent 16 years as an above average work from home employee.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] An explosion of violence in Haiti has left over 150 people dead in the last week after vigilante groups left the corpses of mobsters chopped up and burnt on the streets.
Criminal gangs have took over most of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince under the leadership of former police officer Jimmy 'Barbecue' Chérizier.
Now he has threatened to attack any hotel that might be hosting politicians.
Haiti's security crisis dramatically escalated this month as gangs shot at commercial planes, flights into the country were halted, the prime minister was replaced, and armed gangs attacked parts of the capital previously spared the worst the violence.
However, following over a decade of violent political turmoil, locals and police have started to fight back against the gangs.
The Times reported that residents in the Pétion-Ville suburb of the city reported seeing police and vigilante groups joining forces to lynch at least 28 suspected gang members before they cut up their remains and left them burning in the street.
The once affluent area of Pétion-Ville has found itself at the centre of the now-chronic barbarity that afflicts the country ever since the then-President of Haiti, Jovenal Moise, was assassinated by a group of 28 gunmen while sleeping in his private home in the suburb.
Criminal gangs have attempted to take advantage of the often vacant government of Haiti which has struggled to control the country ever since the devastating 2010 earthquake which destroyed most of the infrastructure and displaced over a million.
Since then former politically aligned gangs have been replaced by younger gangs interested in using violence to assert control over the nation.
One of the most powerful gang leaders is Barbecue, who is believed to have his own ambitions of one day being president.
One Tuesday he threatened to hunt down politicians living in hotels across Port-au-Prince.
In a menacing social media post he wrote: 'If we can’t take the hotel, if I can’t find the owner of the hotel, then the employees of the hotel can pay.'
He has also demanded the resignation of the entire ruling Transitional Presidential Council,
This is a nine-member body that was installed in April and is nominally responsible for running the country which has been without a president since Moïse's assassination.
On November 10 this year, the presidential council abruptly fried the prime minister, Garry Conille with businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé taking his place.
Following the burst of violence, over 20,000 people have been displaced just in the last week and the US embassy, one of the most heavily protected in the world, announced all non-essential appointments have been cancelled.
Diplomats at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday voiced broad support for converting a security mission helping Haitian police fight into a formal U.N. peacekeeping mission, though Russia and China remained opposed.
[Breitbart] Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Wednesday that all of his fellow provincial leaders are united behind his call for a bilateral trade agreement with the United States under the second Trump administration, rather than a continental deal that would also include Mexico.
“I just got off the phone with all the premiers, and there’s a clear consensus that everyone agrees that we need a bilateral trade deal with the U.S. and a second bilateral trade deal with Mexico,” Ford said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Ford’s enthusiasm for a bilateral deal apparently stems from President-elect Donald Trump’s criticism that Mexico offers China a means of slipping cheap products past high U.S. and Canadian tariffs.
Ford said on Tuesday that the existing trilateral U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA), which began in 2020 as the successor to the controversial 1992 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and comes up for review in 2026, allows Mexico to serve as a “backdoor for Chinese cars, auto parts and other products into Canadian and American markets.”
“If Mexico won’t fight transshipment by, at the very least, matching Canadian and American tariffs on Chinese imports, they shouldn’t have a seat at the table or enjoy access to the largest economy in the world,” he said.
“Instead, we must prioritize the closest economic partnership on Earth by directly negotiating a bilateral U.S.-Canada free trade agreement that puts U.S. and Canadian workers first,” he urged.
On Wednesday, Ford said he had successfully worked the phones and gotten all ten of Canada’s premiers, plus its three territorial leaders, behind his proposal. He said the next step will be a meeting with left-wing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to get him onboard, and then it will be on to Washington, where they will probably find a receptive audience in the new U.S. administration.
Trudeau might not be a tough nut to crack. He has criticized China’s unfair trade practices and his administration slapped a 100-percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids in October.
Trudeau prefers striking a better trilateral deal with the U.S. and Mexico, but he and his ministers have also expressed sympathy for the arguments made by Ford and Trump. On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said her government shares America’s “very grave” concerns about China.
“We are perfectly aligned with the United States and that means we are not a back door to unfair Chinese traded goods. The same cannot be said about Mexico,” Freeland said.
“We believe that China’s intentional overcapacity is unfair and a threat to key Canadian industrial sectors. It is a threat to Canadian jobs and that’s why we’ve imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs, 25% tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum,” she added.
On the other hand, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that Trudeau “very clearly” told her that he “does not agree” with kicking Mexico out of the trilateral trade deal.
“They are also having their own elections soon, so they are also using these subjects as part of an electoral campaign. But the Prime Minister does not agree,” Sheinbaum said, implying that Trudeau and Freeland were lying to keep their sagging poll numbers up.
Sheinbaum was confident that when USMCA is reviewed in 2026, it would be only a “revision,” and “not even a renegotiation.”
Trudeau said on Thursday, independently of Pardo’s comments, that he discussed some “real and general concerns about Chinese investment into Mexico” with the Mexican president and, while he wants to keep USMCA alive, he is willing to look at “other options.”
As for Trump, he called NAFTA “disastrous” and “the worst trade deal in the history of the United States” on Wednesday when he chose Pete Hoekstra, former congressman from Michigan, as his ambassador to Canada.
“We brought Trade with Mexico and Canada to a level playing field for our wonderful Farmers and Working Families. In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said, with his usual exuberance for capital letters.
Not everyone in Canada is eager to end 30 years of trilateral trade management. Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters Association President Dennis Darby said on Wednesday he hoped Ford’s bilateral proposal was meant as a tough bargaining tactic to get a better trilateral agreement with Mexico.
“I hate when we negotiate with ourselves. Many Canadian companies are invested in all three countries. So I don’t think it serves anyone’s interest at this point to start saying, ‘let’s cut Mexico out,’” said Darby.
[IsraelTimes] US President-elect Donald Trump ...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania... nominates former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to be attorney general of the United States, moving swiftly to replace former nominee Matt Gaetz after the embattled former congressman withdrew from consideration.
Gaetz, who faced opposition from Senate Republicans, was the subject of a House Ethics Committee ...think of a nudibranch pretending to be a vertebrate... probe into allegations of having sex with an underage 17-year-old girl. He has denied wrongdoing.
Bondi served as the top law enforcement officer of the country’s third most populous state from 2011 to 2019. She served on Trump’s Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during his first administration.
Her resume contrasts with that of Gaetz, who has little of the traditional experience expected of an attorney general. Bondi would likely face less opposition from senators involved in the confirmation process.
Trump announces his pick of Bondi on social media, praising her for her prosecutorial experience and saying she was tough on crime as Florida’s first female attorney general.
#3
MSNBC contributor warns ‘we should all fear’ Trump’s new AG pick Pam Bondi ‘because she’s competent’
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
11/22/2024 10:42 Comments ||
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#4
Bondi is Former lobbyist for Qatar. Qatar! The place that Hamas had offices until a week ago. The country that all the terror outfits have offices in.
Pam Bondi was also a lobbyist for Amazon and Uber and a whole host of other orgs that are Left of Center.
Pam Bondi is a dc swamp creature. She used to work with GOP RNC RINO Donor Firm, Ballard Partners, a huge dc swamp lobbying firm. Just like Trump's chief of staff Ms.Wiles - another prominent lobbyist Trump hire from the same lobbyist firm.
So much winning here. 4D Chess. Not. #TrustPami stinks a whole like 2016's #TrustSessions.
#5
The attorneys i know choose to represent clients that will pay the bills. They don't necessarily need to align with their beliefs. So who she has worked for is not a solid indicator.
#7
Bondi should work out O.K. Definitely, cuter than Garland and smarter. She has been AG in Florida. Ken Paxton would have also been a good choice. There are attorneys in Trump's sphere who are also very good.
[FoxNews] Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., debuted the "Returning Education to Our States Act" in the Senate, which would abolish the Department of Education and charge various other departments with certain responsibilities and programs that are currently administered by it.
During his presidential campaign, Trump said, "One thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., and sending all education and education work it needs back to the states."
Some experts contested his ability to do this, noting he would need congressional approval. However, with an incoming Republican trifecta in Washington, D.C., and Rounds' bill, he might have it.
"The federal Department of Education has never educated a single student, and it’s long past time to end this bureaucratic Department that causes more harm than good," Rounds said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. "We all know local control is best when it comes to education. Everyone raised in South Dakota can think of a teacher who played a big part in their educational journey. Local school boards and state Departments of Education know best what their students need, not unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.
"For years, I’ve worked toward removing the federal Department of Education. I’m pleased that President-elect Trump shares this vision, and I’m excited to work with him and Republican majorities in the Senate and House to make this a reality. This legislation is a roadmap to eliminating the federal Department of Education by practically rehoming these federal programs in the departments where they belong, which will be critical as we move into next year," he continued.
In the senator's plan, a number of Native American education programs will be redirected to the Department of Interior; loan and grant programs would become the responsibility of the Department of Treasury; disability programs would be overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services; career programs would move to the Department of Labor; and the State Department would become responsible for the Fulbright-Hays Program, which "supports research and training efforts overseas."
#1
Nothing more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
"I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing, and what a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while actually producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.” Petronius Arbiter
#3
Our Indian brothers and sisters get the shaft: Native American education programs will be redirected to the Department of Interior.
Have you ever driven through Navajo Country? I was driving through there once and had three hitchhiking flies fly into my car and they asked me to get them the hell out of there.
[Breitbart] World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
…Ethiopian. Politically he came up through the The Tigray People's Liberation Front, the ethnic revolutionary socialist party that ruled Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018…
was hospitalized on Wednesday night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he had been attending the G20 summit.
Hospital Samaritano Barra da Tijuca in Rio said the W.H.O. chief, 59, was admitted on Wednesday afternoon for "necessary tests, which confirmed clinical indicators with no signs of seriousness."
The hospital said Tedros spent the night under observation and was released on Thursday morning. He was reportedly given medication for high blood pressure.
Brazilian media reports said Tedros presented with "symptoms of labyrinthitis and an hypertensive crisis." He had complained of feeling unwell earlier in the week at the G20 summit and has previously been diagnosed with hypertension. Labyrinthitis is an infection of the inner ear that can cause vertigo and nausea.
"I am fortunate that I was diagnosed early and have access to good medical care," Tedros said of his condition last year. "Unfortunately, the same is not true for the majority of those with hypertension, especially for those in lower-income countries and communities."
Tedros confirmed on Thursday that he was discharged from the hospital and back to work.
"What saddens me the most is that I am unable to deliver on my promise to pick up my daughter from school today, as my departure was delayed due to the illness," he said.
"Even though it might seem like a small thing, these everyday moments are incredibly important. It’s in those interactions that we build our bonds and show our love. Those moments truly matter," he said.
"Please take care of your health — it’s your greatest wealth," he advised.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania...
