TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2025
The Mayo Clinic speaks: We'll never forget our one-on-one luncheon with MSNBC's Chris Matthews.
It was post-election 1996, or it might have been post-election 1998. No one ever explained to us why the event had been arranged, though we came away with a speculation.
Inevitably, we lunched at The Palm. Inevitably, the other guy paid.
This morning, Chris appeared on Morning Joe, during the 7 o'clock hour. At 7:15 a.m., he used some suggestive language.
He spoke about the way the commander has removed federal protection from Dr. Fauci, but also from General Milley (and others). Suggestively, Matthews said this:
The idea that Milley, with all those stars on his shoulder, has to protect himself? It's crazy!
"It's crazy," the gentleman said. We'll assume he was speaking colloquially.
That said, we've been asking a basic question for a very long time. Is something "wrong" with Elon Musk? How about with President Trump?
No really—is something actually wrong with these guys? Could something be "clinically" wrong?
As we noted yesterday, the very concept of "mental illness" can be a bit complex.
Physical illness is relatively easy; mental illness can be hard. For example, here's some of what the leading authority says about the late Professor Szasz:
Thomas Szasz
Thomas Stephen Szasz (1920–2012) was a Hungarian-American academic and psychiatrist. He served for most of his career as professor of psychiatry at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University. A distinguished lifetime fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a life member of the American Psychoanalytic Association, he was best known as a social critic of the moral and scientific foundations of psychiatry...
[...]
Szasz was a strong critic of institutional psychiatry and was a prolific writer. According to psychiatrist Tony B. Benning, there were "three major themes in Szasz's writings: his contention that there is no such thing as mental illness, his contention that individual responsibility is never compromised in those suffering from what is generally considered as mental illness, and his perennial interest in calling attention to the political nature of psychiatric diagnosis." According to Williams and Caplan, Szasz is "best known for his view that without a diagnosis of neurological disease or damage, a psychiatric diagnosis was meaningless." Though his ideas had little influence on mainstream psychiatry, many were supported by some behavioral and social scientists.
His books The Myth of Mental Illness (1961) and The Manufacture of Madness (1970) set out some of the arguments most associated with him.
Mental illness is a myth
In Szasz's view, people who are said to have a mental illness only have "problems in living." Diagnoses of "mental illness" or "mental disorder" are passed off as scientific...He argued that psychiatry is a pseudoscience that parodies medicine by using medical-sounding words...
("Without a diagnosis of neurological disease or damage"—we'd say those are key words.)
For the record, we're not saying that Szasz was right in his beliefs and claims. We are saying that the basic conceptual premises of "mental illness" can at times perhaps be challenging.
That said, is it possible that something is clinically wrong with the gentlemen we've mentioned? As of late yesterday afternoon, it seemed to us that one of these fellows had come close to answering our question.
(We'll offer more this afternoon concerning what he said.)
Questions like these are being avoided, even disappeared, within the mainstream press. That said, we recently re-explored the nature of a well-known (clinical / diagnostic) "personality disorder"—a form of "mental illness."
Inquiring minds on our campus wanted to know! When we googled the relevant term, the very fine people at AI Overview instantly started with this:
AI Overview
Sociopathy, also known as antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), is a mental health condition characterized by a persistent pattern of disregard for social norms, laws, and the rights and feelings of others.
Symptoms:
- Lack of remorse or guilt
- Shallow emotions or inability to empathize
- Manipulative and deceitful behavior
- Impulsivity and aggression
- Irresponsibility and disregard for consequences
- Violation of social rules and laws
Causes:
The exact causes of sociopathy are complex and not fully understood. Factors that may contribute include:
Genetics, early childhood trauma or abuse, brain abnormalities, and neurochemical imbalances.
The report continued from there. To our ear, the symptoms sounded extremely familiar, though we're not entirely sure what that means.
In fairness, the gang at AI Overview is quite new to the game. We also checked with the Mayo Clinic. Here's what we found there:
Mayo Clinic
Antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder, sometimes called sociopathy, is a mental health condition in which a person consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others. People with antisocial personality disorder tend to purposely make others angry or upset and manipulate or treat others harshly or with cruel indifference. They lack remorse or do not regret their behavior.
People with antisocial personality disorder often violate the law, becoming criminals. They may lie, behave violently or impulsively, and have problems with drug and alcohol use. They have difficulty consistently meeting responsibilities related to family, work or school.
Symptoms
Symptoms of antisocial personality disorder include repeatedly:
⦁ Ignoring right and wrong.
⦁ Telling lies to take advantage of others.
⦁ Not being sensitive to or respectful of others.
⦁ Using charm or wit to manipulate others for personal gain or pleasure.
⦁ Having a sense of superiority and being extremely opinionated.
⦁ Having problems with the law, including criminal behavior.
⦁ Being hostile, aggressive, violent or threatening to others.
⦁ Feeling no guilt about harming others.
⦁ Doing dangerous things with no regard for the safety of self or others.
⦁ Being irresponsible and failing to fulfill work or financial responsibilities.Adults with antisocial personality disorder usually show symptoms of conduct disorder before the age of 15...
Such people "lack remorse or do not regret their behavior?" That sounded even more familiar! But what might such familiarity turn out to mean?
At this point, we turned to the leading authority on every such condition. Here's what we were told:
Wikipedia
Antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a personality disorder defined by a chronic pattern of behavior that disregards the rights and well-being of others. People with ASPD often exhibit behavior that conflicts with social norms, leading to issues with interpersonal relationships, employment, and legal matters. The condition generally manifests in childhood or early adolescence...
[...]
Although behaviors vary by degree, individuals with this personality disorder have been known to exploit others in harmful ways for their own gain or pleasure, and frequently manipulate and deceive other people. While some do so with a façade of superficial charm, others do so through intimidation and violence. Individuals with antisocial personality disorder may deliberately show irresponsibility, have difficulty acknowledging their faults and/or attempt to redirect attention away from harmful behaviors.
That sounded extremely familiar. To see what the Cleveland Clinic said, you can just click here.
These description of this (clinical) "personality disorder" sounded very familiar. But what might such points of familiarity mean?
As we understand it, the conceptual question breaks down something like this:
If a person is diagnosed with "ASPD," are we simply offering a capsule account of the way that person behaves? (Of the way that person chooses to behave?)
Are we just describing the way the person in question behaves? Or is that person in the grip of some condition over which he has no control, as would uniformly be said of the children down in Texas who have now come down with the measles?
As best we understand it, that's the basic question. That said, you'll never see such questions explored within our nation's "public discourse," a relatively childish endeavor which hides behind the torrents of praise our elites tend to heap on themselves.
Putting it a different way, is "mental illness" perhaps a bit like color blindness? (Technically, "color vision deficiency—CVD.")
No one thinks that people with CVD are simply choosing to fail to distinguish between certain colors. Is "antisocial personality disorder" a bit like that? Or is it somehow different?
You'll never see such questions explored within our public discourse. That said, is something just flat-out wrong with Elon Musk? Is something possibly wrong (unusual; different from the norm) with the wiring inside his head?
It seems to us that the gentleman keeps providing something resembling an answer. As he does, the leading actors on our academic and journalistic stages just keep averting their gaze from the strangeness of the behaviors and statements to which we refer.
What the heck is "sociopathy?" The Mayo Clinic has spoken, but what exactly did they say?
What should their statements be taken to mean? What might our flailing nation be dealing with at this time? Is anyone planning to ask?
Tomorrow: Plainly, she's no slouch
This afternoon: His latest crazy statement
those symptoms apply to most all major politicians. All American presidents of our lifetime for sure.
ReplyDeleteWhere’s Bob’s remorse and guilt?He voted for leaders who allowed Trillions of government dollars to be misspent. Where’s his appreciation for Trump and Musk working without pay to fix the problem his people created?
ReplyDelete“The Treasury Access Symbol (TAS) is an identification code linking a Treasury payment to a budget line item (standard financial process).
In the Federal Government, the TAS field was optional for ~$4.7 Trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost impossible. As of Saturday, this is now a required field, increasing insight into where money is actually going”
You’re a stinkopath.
DeleteHow do you get to Socio City?
DeleteWalk on the Sociopath.
You believe everything your cult leaders tell you, DiC, and continually repeat misinformation here. You’re embarrassing.
Delete"The Treasury Access Symbol (TAS) is an identification code linking a Treasury payment to a budget line item (standard financial process).
Delete"In the Federal Government, the TAS field was optional for ~$4.7 Trillion in payments and was often left blank, making traceability almost impossible. As of Saturday, this is now a required field, increasing insight into where money is actually going”
Total. Complete. 100%. Bullshit.
If it was in fact 'almost impossible' to be able trace the purpose of a given Treasury payment, then how is Treasury balancing its books?
How does the government know when it's paid out the proper amount for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, various types of salaries, grant amounts? How is all of that tracked if it is 'almost impossible' to do so?
And why would Treasury officials do this? Why would they make their jobs infinitely harder if all they had to do was add a wee little entry in the TAS field?
Even your own quote says adding the field 'increased' the understanding of where money was going. But according to your logic, without the TAS entry, they had no idea where the $ was going. So which is it?
DiC, your gullibility passes all human understanding.
Delete"If it was in fact 'almost impossible' to be able trace the purpose of a given Treasury payment, then how is Treasury balancing its books?"
Ha-ha. You're funny, Soros-bot.
Not much of an answer.
DeleteDIC is a troll. Nobody could be that gullible. He should be ignored.
DeleteHector—I would guess that the problem is auditing the money that Treasury spends. Can an outside auditor check to be sure that some money isn’t being misspent?
DeletePossibly, but there's a pathetic clinging to what he's told to believe that makes me think he's sincere. He really does believe additional data entry in Treasury makes the gvt. more efficient.
DeleteCan an outside auditor check to be sure..
DeleteWhy don't you ask the OIG, Dickhead.
To 1042: AM - go fuck yourself.
Delete"Hector—I would guess that the problem is auditing the money that Treasury spends. Can an outside auditor check to be sure that some money isn’t being misspent?"
DeleteYes.
It sounds like Musk/DOGE, having little experience with governmental accounting, expected to find a full explanation for a given payment within Treasury records.
But it isn't Treasury who decides whether, for example, a Medicare payment is made. It's the Center for Medicare Services. CMS most likely sends a document to Treasury saying, 'Pay hospital X the amount of Y dollars'.
Treasury makes the payment, but it is CMS who can ultimately explain why the payment was made.
This must have been explained to DOGE. But because they're under pressure to produce 'results', they've made it sound as if the federal gvt. was wildly incompetent in how they made payments until the great DOGE came along and straightened things out.
And you believed them.
ReplyDelete"He argued that psychiatry is a pseudoscience that parodies medicine by using medical-sounding words..."
Duh. Most of the so-called "sciences" are pseudo-sciences, of course. Economics, women's studies, black studies, social sciences, etc, etc, etc.
All completely useless meaningless shit.
The social sciences including psychology exist for females to "study" astrology under other names.
DeleteRight, and physics is science fiction for boys. And Musk is Buzz Lightyear.
DeleteAt 10:25 AM - God ruined a perfect asshole when he
Deletegave you teeth.
ReplyDelete"No really—is something actually wrong with these guys? Could something be "clinically" wrong?"
Yes, Bob, something is actually, "clinically" wrong with these guys. It's that they are not idiots-Democrats like you and I.
And everyone who is not an idiot-Democrat like you and I, something is actually, "clinically" wrong with them. Every idiot-Democrat (like you and I) knows it.
There is only one coherent quality in the Democrat party now and it is mental illness, most prominently cluster B disorders.
DeletePersonality disorders are not considered "mental illness".
DeleteAt 10:53 AM - piss off.
DeleteTrump, Musk and others are doing illegal things that are harming our nation. THAT is the only issue worth talking about. It does not matter whether Trump or others are mentally ill or not. What matters is holding these guys accountable for their actions under our laws.
ReplyDelete"§4. Misprision of felony
DeleteWhoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both."
If you're aware of someone doing illegal things, you must call the cops immediately, Soros-bot. You're liable.
The "cops" in this case are our legislators, because they are the ones who must bring charges against Trump via the impeachment process. I have contacted my elected officials many times now. I will keep doing so until Trump is held accountable for violating his oath of office and the US Constitution.
DeletePretending to find illegality is not the same as finding illegality, trumptard.
Delete
DeleteSo, you were lying about "Musk and others" "doing illegal things"?
Musk posted classified info on the DOGE website. How's that for illegality?
DeleteI was telling the truth about DOGE pretending to find illegality.
DeleteAgain, if you know that Elon Musk has done something illegal, call the cops. Now. Or you're going to jail for up to three years.
DeleteNah, 11:10. Calling out musk’s lies and illegal acts is saving the country, so you can’t break any laws doing that. Dear Leader said so.
DeleteMr. Soros did?
DeleteIs your leader Soros, 11:14? If so, I have no idea what he said. Trump, however, said a day or two ago.
Delete@11:10 -- In the case of Musk's destruction and illegal access to government systems, the police are the Inspector Generals who Trump/Musk fired. How do you report a crime when those responsible for overseeing legality of things like access to data have been fired, removed from their jobs by our President?
DeleteTrump needs to be impeached. Now. Our legislators do that and I have definitely been complaining to them about Trump.
Call the cops, Soros-bot. It's 9-1-1.
DeleteThat's tellin' em, trumptard.
DeleteHow do you impeach a guy who is not in a government position running a group that is not part of the government? An officer of the law should arrest these pests if they won't stop trespassing on Federal Property just like a Portland Antifa asshole.
DeleteMusk is the greatest figure of our generation. He deserves every cent he has earned and we are lucky he is lending his talents to ending the Democrat grift in the US government. He lives the life everyone aspires to and those who have accomplished nothing seethe with jealousy. Grok 3 is spectacular.
ReplyDeleteI sold my Tesla Model 3 and bought a Nissan Ariya. I hope others will do the same.
DeleteWe are on our second Teslas and will have them for life. They just keep getting better. It would be embarrassing to have any EV alternative.
DeleteThe car is fine. It is Musk that is the embarrassment. I get attitude from other drivers now (unrelated to my driving) and people will write messages in the dust on your car if you don't keep it washed. It used to be that the Trumpies were the problem, rolling coal (which is unlawful in CO). Now it is the anti-Muskers who want to get their point across. I agree with them about Musk but it is difficult being hated for your car as you drive around town.
DeleteAh yes, Corby and her imagined Tesla.
DeleteTeslas are imaginary? Who knew? That must be a fraud perpetrated on the many Tesla owners.
DeleteEvery third car where I live is a Tesla and no one hates them except boomer feminists.
DeleteThose could be nasty, though.
DeleteI am a boomer feminist and I drive a Tesla. So I guess your generalization is inaccurate.
DeleteThere may or may not be others here who are tired of the influx of right wing trolls. They have made these blog comments unreadable. Somerby apparently doesn't care.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, here are some things you can do personally to resis the coup:
https://choosedemocracy.us/what-can-i-do/
Why are there so many maga trolls here? Could this be Somerby’s legacy?
ReplyDeleteSzasz is only pointing out that mental illness is a social construct, as is the entire concept of disease and illness in other medical senses. That doesn't mean our bodies don't malfunction, nor that we cannot try to ameliorate whatever goes wrong. But that is Step 2 and Somerby has the cart before the horse. Step 1 is preventing Trump and his minions from harming people. Until we do that, nothing can be done to address Trump's mental state (or our own).
ReplyDeleteTrump’s family should have had him committed years ago, but they were too busy feeding at his money trough.
DeleteI wonder why the MAGA trolls feel the need to be here, every day, every post, to engage in their pathetic, comical fact free Trump toadying and grade school level mockery of Democrats. Do they feel that lies and propaganda are necessary to keep the Trump cult going, or to stifle dissent?
ReplyDeleteThey are stifling resistance, not dissent.
DeleteI am totally stifled. That's it, I'm moving to Canada.
Delete@11:09 thinks that disputing liberal statements is the same as stifling them.
DeleteYou’ll have to get your parents’ permission, 11:20. Minor children can’t emigrate on their own.
DeleteDiC, the trolls here are using childish invective against Democrats. It’s an attempt to drive liberal commenters away. You used to call stuff like that “cancel culture”, when people dispute YOUR views. The more troubling thing, Dic, is that this attempt to stifle dissent is happening from the president and the GOP on down. It doesn’t matter what happens at this blog, but it is a microcosm of what is happening in our political environment today. If you don’t realize that then you are part of the fascist problem in this country today.
DeleteAgree -- the trolls here aren't disputing anything. They are trying to mock (ineffectively) and filling up comments with one-liners that are just annoying and don't really say anything. Soros-bot? Give me a break!
Delete
DeleteI'm seeing a whole lot of whining bots here today.
Is this a new Soros-bot tactic? Not too appealing.
11:09, this bullying tactic of the Boris-bots to litter the comments with childish elementary school level insults is their attempt to force everyone to surrender to the orange tyrant.
DeleteThere used to be a word for people who have delusions of thinking they are Napoleon.
I wonder why the left-wing crybabies feel the need to be here, every day, every post, to spew their pathetic, delusional, fact-free anti-Trump hysteria and childish mockery of conservatives. Do they feel that lies and propaganda are necessary to keep their failing narratives alive, or to silence opposing views?
DeleteYes, it's positively unbearable. Getting sterilized and then going to Canada is the best solution.
DeleteWell, 11:58, you’re at a blog where the blogger asserts that trump is nuts, that musk may be nuts and stupid, and is calling out right wing lies on Fox, and you are here to contradict that. Just a guess.
DeleteSzasz wrote in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Why is it that Somerby seems to never read anything published in this century? Szasz wrote before the emergence of both neuroscience and psychopharmacology. That makes him majorly obsolete when it comes to discussing mental illness, especially its reality.
ReplyDeleteBack in the 1960s, I had a friend who took LSD regularly and lost his grip mentally in a drug-induced psychosis. The salient characteristic of his malfunctioning brain was his suffering. He was afraid of everything and reacted to threats with violence. That caused him to be institutionalized. Without the concept of mental illness he would have been in jail instead of treatment. There is nothing fun about being schizophrenic. It does not enhance creativity or put one in touch with spiritualism or make you one with the universe. It makes you depressed and scared. In the face of the real suffering of people with mental illness, Szasz's RFK Jr.-style musings are offensive. He was regarded during his time as a kook, just like RFK is now (among educated people).
It is offensive that Somerby offers today's massive justification for the acts of selfish greedy men.
"for over four centuries, the Gulf of Mexico has been sitting there, minding its own business, doing its watery thing. ‘what do you need, bro? access to New Orleans? float on by.’
ReplyDeleteeverybody was happy, and nobody thought twice about it.
but that was before Mad King Donny rose to power, stamped his tiny little porcelain doll feet, and threw a technicolor shit-fit because some other country’s name was all over his water.
it’s all so clownfuckingly childish — and yet, here we are."
https://www.jefftiedrich.com/p/mexico-has-had-it-up-to-here-with
Tiedrich quotes Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum:
Delete"Mexico will take Google to court if maps shown to US-based users continue to label the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America across the entire body of water, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday, arguing that US President Donald Trump’s order to rename it only applies to the part of the continental shelf under US control.
Sheinbaum said the renaming is “incorrect,” adding that Trump’s decree “only changed the name within his own continental shelf, which extends 22 nautical miles from the US coast—not the entire Gulf.”
wait, is that true, that bit about the name change only applying to the US coast? let’s look at the text of King Donny’s royal proclamation.
On January 20, 2025, I signed Executive Order 14172 (“Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness”). Among other actions, that Executive Order required the Secretary of the Interior, acting pursuant to 43 U.S.C. 364 through 364f, to “take all appropriate actions to rename as the ‘Gulf of America’ the U.S. Continental Shelf area bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the State of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and extending to the seaward boundary with Mexico and Cuba in the area formerly named as the Gulf of Mexico.”
leave it to Donny’s ace team of parking garage lawyers — most of whom now have cush jobs in the Department of Justice — to fuck up a simple definition of a body of water.
all I know is that it’s nice to see someone standing up to Donny and his overwhelming need to inflict his pathetic self on everything."
It’s amazing, isn’t it, that no edict from Joe Biden ever met with anything but resistance from the magats, but as soon as Trump issues an edict, it’s as if it’s the most natural thing in the world to obey what the president tells us to do. It’s as if they have no will of their own.
Delete
DeleteThe only solution is to move to Canada. It won't happen there.
Personally, I am moving to Canada. As every loyal Democrat should. And getting sterilized. Don't forget getting sterilized.
You’ll have to get your parents’ permission, 11:32. Minor children can’t emigrate on their own.
DeleteI suspect there's no court that would rule on whether Mexico or the US ha the right to name this Gulf. This may be a situation like the Falkland Island, where Argentina continues to use the name Malvinas while Britain continues to use the name Falkland
DeleteThe Falkland Islands are a self-governing territory of Great Britain. Argentina lost the war. Argentina can call the Falklands whatever it wants (for its own purposes, just as Trump is doing with the Gulf) but Great Britain has naming rights. The Gulf of Mexico is not owned by any country, which is why there is a dispute possible. Trump is ignoring history and precedent and antagonizing Mexico. That is not what Argentina did by asserting that it should take over the Malvinas.
DeleteFrom Jeff Jackson, Attorney General of North Carolina:
ReplyDelete"Executive Orders
By my count, the new administration has issued 65 executive orders so far.
A handful of them have been unlawful - mostly attempts to bypass Congress and push through policies that probably wouldn’t pass as regular legislation.
I, along with a number of other AGs, have filed suit over four of them.
Birthright Citizenship: The executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship was flagrantly unconstitutional. Over a century of legal precedent would have to be overturned for it to stand. We won both the temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. It’ll be appealed, but for now, the law holds.
Funding Freeze: The abrupt and vague freeze on federal funding was also not a close call. A president cannot unilaterally refuse to distribute funds that Congress has authorized - again, that’s long-standing precedent. We won the temporary restraining order, with a full hearing coming soon.
Medical Research Cuts: The proposed cut to medical research would devastate North Carolina’s public universities and the lifesaving research they’re doing. But it also likely violates Article I of the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act. We secured a temporary restraining order, and the full hearing is coming up.
DOGE Personal Data: There’s nothing unlawful about trying to find efficiencies in government. But there are federal laws that protect your privacy, and in my view, the manner in which DOGE is accessing and downloading data - like Social Security numbers - violates those laws. I joined a group of AGs in challenging it, we secured a temporary restraining order, and we’ll see it through in court."
https://jeffjacksonnc.substack.com/p/executive-orders
Has NC public university research actually saved lives? Anyone know any examples?
Delete“ Medical Research Cuts: “The proposed cut to medical research would devastate North Carolina’s public universities and the lifesaving research they’re doing”
That’s equivalent to saying that a government agency must spend every dollar allocated to them. Unfortunately that’s probably legally correct under current law. It means that an agency can’t benefit from improved efficiency. If they find a way to fulfill all their responsibilities for less money, they still have to spend all the money they saved.
DeleteYes, because all research contribute to shared knowledge. Scientists build their own studies on the backs of the many others studying the same topics. And they are certainly training both the new researchers and the medical personnel who will be doctors and nurses and technicians in NC hospitals. Funds for medical schools come from NIH grants. Are you willing to say that NC hospitals have never saved a patient, just to cling to supporting Trump's destructiveness?
DeleteWhen a researcher submits a grant for funding, they include an itemized budget down to quotes from suppliers for equipment to be purchased, and hourly rates for lab assistants. It is equivalent to the budgeting done by well-run businesses. If you decide they need not spend every dollar, you handicap the ability of the project to meet its goals. There is no waste in such a budget. Review of the proposed budget is done by other experts in that type of research and is part of the criteria for awarding the grant.
DeleteYou don't know this because you have never worked under a govt research contract -- which is not your fault. But it is your fault when you believe the propaganda about waste being spread by the right wing to justify taking money without due process and destroying the work of health researchers. Why would Trump want to do this? Perhaps, like Somerby, he doesn't believe in illness. That is RFK's stance. Illness is created by the researchers, not something people experience in their daily lives that causes them pain and disability.
"If you decide they need not spend every dollar, you handicap the ability of the project to meet its goals. There is no waste in such a budget"
DeleteThat's my complaint. My complaint is that If THE PEOPLE RUNNING THE PROJECT find a way that they meet all the project goals for less money, they still are required to spend all the money originally allocated for the project
@David "find a way that they meet all the project goals for less money"
DeleteI don't think that ever happens. I have the impression that every government project spends 3 times the budgeted amount. And this is in dollars adjusted for inflation. And twice the time. Two thirds of every project goes to waste-fraud. And that's civilian projects. Military projects are much, much worse.
You're probably right @12:44. My impression is that government agencies fight for larger budgets -- for the ability to spend more money.
DeleteWouldn't it be a wonderful world if that were reversed. If every government employee looked for ways to fulfill their responsibilities for less money. Then we wouldn't need DOGE.
DiC, who funds government agencies?
DeleteActually, they are not REQUIRED to spend all the money. They know that if they do not spend all the money, they will get less for their next grant. The money cannot be spent frivolously, so it may be used for equipment or more lab staff hours, but it isn't being wasted or embezzled or going to waste if the principal investigator winds up with funds that can be reallocated at any point during the grant's term.
DeleteIf you start out with the belief that all research is fraud and waste, of course you are not going to feel positively toward any of the projects ongoing.
There is no way to spend 3 times the budgeted amount without approval by the funding agency. And if you ask for more money, the goals are readjusted too. But there is no way to convince people who hold a bad attitude toward research that scientists are not ripping them off.
Oddly, people who go into govt funded research could be making more money elsewhere but have chosen to work on govt grants because they are curious about their research questions or have a desire to help people (in the case of medical research). The advantage of working on govt grants is that no one tells you what you have to study, and when you get results, no one censors what you can publish about it, as occurs in private corporations. Also, it is fun working with students. These are all non-monetary considerations that have nothing to do with the greed that seems to motivate those in business. It seems to me these critics of govt research assume that everyone is like them -- trying to grab every dollar they can with the least amount of effort. That is certainly what Trump and Musk are like. There are people with other motives in the world.
David, who is paying Musk and his band of cyberpunks? How much are we paying for his ignorant propaganda?
DeleteMusk who sleeps in a sleeping bag in a government building and has 400 billion dollars is trying to steal my Social Security number. My fortune teller told me that.
ReplyDeleteMy doctor said I was clinically insane so I fired him because western medicine is a conspiracy.
It is not insane to worry about who is stealing your social security and bank account numbers. How does an ordinary citizen protect himself against unauthorized access to government data? You tell me? It sounds like you are dismissing my concerns as paranoia, but Musk and his crew are already doing this stuff, so it is not imaginary. You can't not pay taxes and cannot work without a social security number, so what do we do to prevent theft should one of Trump's cronies be a little short of spending money?
Delete
DeleteOne word: Canada!
You do know people who work in government know your Social Security and bank account numbers, right?
Delete
DeleteI agree with Soros-bots here. And the first thing to do is to get rid of the IRS and personal income taxes. They need to be replaced with tariffs.
Govt employees are vetted and have oversight. Musk and his crew do not. In fact, there are good reasons why those guys wouldn't be hired in a legitimate company. Look at the intern who "leaked" proprietary data to a competitor and was fired from his internship, now working for DOGE. Why wouldn't he leak a few numbers to the dark internet to generate some spending money? He's already proven to have no ethics. Identity thieves get their data somewhere.
DeleteElon Musk has had top security clearance for years.
DeleteHis company is building military satellites, you know.
DeleteBut I'm sure any resident Soros-bot could do a much better job, and cheaper.
The rest of the DOGE crew have no clearance to do what they are doing. Elon's security clearance does not give him access to the entire government.
Delete“ Elon Musk has had top security clearance for years.”
DeleteAnother MAGA lie, another day ending in “y”:
“I can confirm he’s a special government employee,” [White House press secretary Karoline ] Leavitt replied. “I can also confirm that he has abided by all applicable federal laws. As for his security clearance, I’m not sure, but I can check back with you.”
“…As for his security clearance, I’m not sure, but I can check back with you.”
https://newrepublic.com/post/191100/elon-musk-security-clearance-sensitive-data
And
“Elon Musk will not receive highest-level government security clearance – reports”
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/16/elon-musk-government-security-clearance
Thom Hartmann is what Somerby should be. He is effectively supplying people with the information they need to resist Trump and Musk. For example:
ReplyDelete"And then there’s DOGE, the official title of the iron-fisted, massively rich oligarchs who ruled Venice for ten centuries that’s been reclaimed by billionaire Musk for himself and his work. The logo is arguably explicit, as Jim Stewartson points out at his excellent mind-war.com newsletter/website:
“On the DOGE logo there are 8 stars above the cartoon, and 8 stars on the flag inside the gear. This is another National Socialist signal. It means Heil Hitler. Musk has used this signal numerous times, in addition to quite literally doing two Hitler salutes at the inauguration.”
There are also 14 teeth on the gear that makes up the O in DOGE in the logo, a direct rip-off from Hitler’s Nazi labor movement of the 1930s, reflecting the famous “14 words” memorized by every white supremacist: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” Check out this 30-second video, courtesy of Jim Stewartson at mind-war.com:"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raaqErbNeI0
Like Somerby, Hartmann asks why the press is not reporting on the explicit Nazi symbols being deliberately used by Trump and Musk. That seems a lot more important than asking why the press isn't calling Trump crazy.
https://hartmannreport.com/p/see-no-nazis-hear-no-nazis-is-the-a34
Canada, I am coming!
Delete11:53, as much as you might like to, minor children aren’t allowed to emigrate on their own, much as you’d like to abandon the US as if it weren’t worth fighting for.
DeleteI became a Democrat for two reasons, one to support the swat teams going to homes to question Americans who send mean memes, and the other to protest the investigation of waste and fraud in government.
ReplyDeleteAsshole.
DeleteYes, to be an asshole is the third reason.
Delete