The Fourth Reich?

[Scott75]

31 minutes ago, Deluge said:

Trump's policies are either good, or not fully developed: meaning, we're still in a wait and see period. 

Talk about the policies you think are bad. 

Sure. Again, from Chris Hedges' article:

**

The Trump administration has expelled or fired officials who investigate wrongdoing within the federal government, including 17 inspectors general. Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, such as the FBI and Homeland Security, are being purged of those deemed hostile to Trump. Courts, as they are stacked with compliant judges, will be mechanisms for the persecution of state “enemies” and protection rackets for the powerful and the rich. The Supreme Court, which has granted Trump legal immunity, has already reached this stage.

[snip]

One of Trump’s final acts in his first term was signing the order “Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service.” This order removed employment protections from career government bureaucrats. Joe Biden rescinded it. It has been resurrected with a vengeance. It too has echoes from the past. The Nazis’ 1933 “Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service” saw political opponents and non-Aryans, including Germans of Jewish descent, dismissed from the civil service. The Bolsheviks likewise purged the military and civil service of “counter-revolutionaries.”

The firing of over 9,500 federal workers — with 75,000 others accepting a less-than-ironclad deferred buyout agreement amid plans to cut 70 percent of staff from various government agencies — freezing of billions of dollars in funding and ongoing seizure of confidential data by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is not about downsizing and efficiency.

[snip]

The “Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day Holiday Establishment Act,” introduced by Congresswoman Claudia Tenny, is a harbinger of what lies ahead. The act would designate June 14 as a federal holiday to commemorate “Donald J. Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day.” The next step is choreographed state parades with oversized portraits of the great leader.

**

Full article:

https://scheerpost.com/2025/02/24/chris-hedges-the-purge-of-the-deep-state-and-the-road-to-dictatorship-2/

Now, I will say that perhaps DOGE is making a few things more efficient, but I suspect that for the most part, it's about removing the civil service protections that block him from enacting ever more tyranical measures.

[Deluge]

4 minutes ago, Scott75 said:

Sure. Again, from Chris Hedges' article:

**

1. The Trump administration has expelled or fired officials who investigate wrongdoing within the federal government, including 17 inspectors general. Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, such as the FBI and Homeland Security, are being purged of those deemed hostile to Trump. Courts, as they are stacked with compliant judges, will be mechanisms for the persecution of state “enemies” and protection rackets for the powerful and the rich. The Supreme Court, which has granted Trump legal immunity, has already reached this stage.

[snip]

2. One of Trump’s final acts in his first term was signing the order “Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service.” This order removed employment protections from career government bureaucrats. Joe Biden rescinded it. It has been resurrected with a vengeance. It too has echoes from the past. The Nazis’ 1933 “Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service” saw political opponents and non-Aryans, including Germans of Jewish descent, dismissed from the civil service. The Bolsheviks likewise purged the military and civil service of “counter-revolutionaries.”

3. The firing of over 9,500 federal workers — with 75,000 others accepting a less-than-ironclad deferred buyout agreement amid plans to cut 70 percent of staff from various government agencies — freezing of billions of dollars in funding and ongoing seizure of confidential data by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is not about downsizing and efficiency.

[snip]

4. The “Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day Holiday Establishment Act,” introduced by Congresswoman Claudia Tenny, is a harbinger of what lies ahead. The act would designate June 14 as a federal holiday to commemorate “Donald J. Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day.” The next step is choreographed state parades with oversized portraits of the great leader.

**

Full article:

https://scheerpost.com/2025/02/24/chris-hedges-the-purge-of-the-deep-state-and-the-road-to-dictatorship-2/

Now, I will say that perhaps DOGE is making a few things more efficient, but I suspect that for the most part, it's about removing the civil service protections that block him from enacting ever more tyranical measures.

1. Rather, those deemed hostile to America, meaning woke operatives. 

2. Schedule F would also make woke operatives vulnerable which is the whole point of Schedule F. Of course Joe Biden rescinded that because he too, is a woke operative. 

3. This has all been well covered. Cut the fat (useless employees) and eliminate bad funding (DEI bullshit). It's necessary AND it's beautiful. 

4. Yeah, that's stupid. Just keep it Flag Day. Dump Juneteenth and Pride Month, and just keep it Flag Day. 

[Deluge]

We haven't even scratched the surface on the 400+ federal agencies and you woke zombies are already foaming at the mouth. 

What's the matter with you people? Don't you want to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse? 

[impartialobserver]

Do you know what gets tiresome? The constant attempts at shock value by using Hitler, Nazis, fascism, communism to make your points. Every time X person does not like Y leader/policy.. it is fascist, communist, whateverist. Why the need for hyperbole? 

[robosmith]

22 minutes ago, impartialobserver said:

Do you know what gets tiresome? The constant attempts at shock value by using Hitler, Nazis, fascism, communism to make your points. Every time X person does not like Y leader/policy.. it is fascist, communist, whateverist. Why the need for hyperbole? 

It's NOT hyperbole to point out CURRENT parallels with the EVIL of the PAST.

It IS a valid WARNING NOT TO IGNORE THEM.

[Deluge]

23 minutes ago, robosmith said:

It's NOT hyperbole to point out CURRENT parallels with the EVIL of the PAST.

It IS a valid WARNING NOT TO IGNORE THEM.

You're an activist AND an a$$hole. Of course you're going to draw parallels. They're irrelevant parallels of course, but it's all you cultists have. 

Personally, I enjoy them - they amuse me.  

[User]

42 minutes ago, robosmith said:

It's NOT hyperbole to point out CURRENT parallels with the EVIL of the PAST.

It IS a valid WARNING NOT TO IGNORE THEM.

No, you pointed out things that are false and show your ignorance of history. Which is why you are running and hiding from this comment pointing it out:
 

 

[Radiorum]

5 hours ago, User said:

What are these parallels, then?

I clearly explained the parallel, which apparently went over your head. Read it again.

I'll add to that - Hitler and Trump both have the same megalomanic leadership style - both have a messianic complex - they manipulate their base with lies that the entire country is "broken" and at risk of. being overrun with "vermin" and in the words of both Hitler and Trump "I alone can fix it."

When Trump says "He who saves his Country violates no law." he is echoing Hitler.

The "Führerprinzip" (Leader Principle) was the basis of executive authority in Nazi Germany, emphasizing a single, supreme leader (the Führer) whose word was law, with all subordinates expected to obey unquestioningly. 

Trump sees himself in the same way Hitler did - as "the genius, the man" who alone held the key to the country's destiny.

 

[User]

2 minutes ago, Radiorum said:

When Trump says "He who saves his Country violates no law." he is echoing Hitler.

Ah, yes, and when Biden was quoting Mao, I guess that made him dangerously close to killing millions! 

 

 

 

[CdnFox]

7 hours ago, User said:

What are these parallels, then?

You guys make the assertions, but never seem to be able to make the argument. 

For god's sake, it's OBVIOUS! They both BREATHED AIR!!!!! LIke constantly, they were both practically addicted to the stuff!!!  Also, hitler once started a speech with 'My friends.... " and trump did EXACTLY THE SAME THING!!!!!!!!! REEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Seriously @Radiorum,  you guys have to stop this.  There is no reasonable parallel between hitler's rise to power and trumps other than in such broad sweeping terms as to be applicable to most or all political leaders. They were both elected i suppose   

And the world was entirely a different place. Germany had just barely begun flirting with democracy and prior to that had been a monarchy and many still wanted to go back to that. Structure of the government was different, pretty much everything was different.

There is literally nothing in common unless you stretch the definition of things to a point of Ridiculousness. And these useless and pointless accusations already cost you an election. It's time to wake up and smell the coffee.

It is beyond childish to continue to try and make the argument that somehow trump is connected with Hitler. Or the asinine statement that if we somehow avoid thinking about that we do so at our own peril.

It's time to grow up and deal with trump for being trump. You can take a look at what he's doing now and judge the success or failure of his policies based on that result but all you're doing when you mention the word Hitler in connection with him is causing people to look at you and tune you out as being infantile and not serious.

 

There's plenty of real concerns to raise and discuss about trump. We don't need fake crap to try and frame the discussion

[Hodad]

10 hours ago, impartialobserver said:

Do you know what gets tiresome? The constant attempts at shock value by using Hitler, Nazis, fascism, communism to make your points. Every time X person does not like Y leader/policy.. it is fascist, communist, whateverist. Why the need for hyperbole? 

The right time to point out where we may be headed is before we get there. After is no help at all. 

[Radiorum]

6 hours ago, CdnFox said:

There is literally nothing in common unless you stretch the definition of things to a point of Ridiculousness. And these useless and pointless accusations already cost you an election

You have provided no counterpoints to anything I said but you have shown that you belong to the category who does not know what they do not know. You need to broaden your knowledge base to look at Trump's presidency in the context of history and human societies and then you might get a clue.

I made no accusations. I made valid observations. But there is none so blind as those who will not see.

Better minds than yours see the parallels between Hitler's rise and Trump's capture of his base.

And now he is going after the DoJ to make it his weapon.

My word was apt. We live in perilous times.

 

[CdnFox]

1 hour ago, Radiorum said:

You have provided no counterpoints to anything I said

 

You haven't really said anything. As he pointed out you don't really show these alleged similarities

Pointing out that your claim that he's come to power like Hitler is ridiculous is in fact a counterpoint to something you said

Quote

but you have shown that you belong to the category who does not know what they do not know. You need to broaden your knowledge base to look at Trump's presidency in the context of history and human societies and then you might get a clue.

Awww muffin  it's always so cute when you pretend to be smart in language that makes you sound like a 4th grader  LOL

Quote

 

I made no accusations. I made valid observations. But there is none so blind as those who will not see.  

Better minds than yours see the parallels between Hitler's rise and Trump's capture of his base.

And now he is going after the DoJ to make it his weapon.

My word was apt. We live in perilous times.

 

Blah blah blah  - and still didn't make a single argument as to why trump's coming to power was the same as hitter except in the broadest sense, 

Never play poker kid. Your tells are so huge you could drive an oil tanker through them. 

You always do this. You know you're wrong and you know you cannot defend your position so you bury your head in the sand while taking pot shots at the people who demonstrated your argument was weak.

 

Sorry that it hurts your feelings, but there are no similarities except in the most broadest possible sense that could apply to most politicians between how Hitler came to power and how trump came to power and there's absolutely no value whatsoever and pointing it out and it just makes you look uneducated and childish.

Now why don't you (and the democrats hopefully) put that kind of nonsense behind you and actually address the issues at hand. Are you really having that much trouble to find something to criticize trump about that you have to make up fake crap?

[Scott75]

15 hours ago, Deluge said:

16 hours ago, Scott75 said:

The Trump administration has expelled or fired officials who investigate wrongdoing within the federal government, including 17 inspectors general. Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, such as the FBI and Homeland Security, are being purged of those deemed hostile to Trump. Courts, as they are stacked with compliant judges, will be mechanisms for the persecution of state “enemies” and protection rackets for the powerful and the rich. The Supreme Court, which has granted Trump legal immunity, has already reached this stage.

Rather, those deemed hostile to America, meaning woke operatives. 

You haven't provided a shred of evidence that a single one of the 17 inspector generals fired were "hostile to America". Here's the summary from the linked article on the matter:

**

• Summary

• Dismissals may violate federal law requiring 30-day notice to Congress
• Independent IG group says firings illegal
• Democrats decry move as late-night purge
• Senators Schumer and Grassley express concerns

**

Biden did fire a single Inspector General, but only after an investigation. From the same article:

**

Last year, Trump's predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, fired the inspector general of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, after an investigation found the official had created a hostile work environment.

**

More interesting information from the article:

**

The Washington Post, which was first to report the dismissals, said most were appointees from Trump's 2017-2021 first term.

[snip]

In 2022, Congress strengthened protections for inspectors general, making it harder to replace them with hand-picked officials and requiring additional explanations from a president for their removal.

**

[Scott75]

16 hours ago, Deluge said:

16 hours ago, Scott75 said:

One of Trump’s final acts in his first term was signing the order “Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service.” This order removed employment protections from career government bureaucrats. Joe Biden rescinded it. It has been resurrected with a vengeance. It too has echoes from the past. The Nazis’ 1933 “Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service” saw political opponents and non-Aryans, including Germans of Jewish descent, dismissed from the civil service. The Bolsheviks likewise purged the military and civil service of “counter-revolutionaries.”

Schedule F would also make woke operatives vulnerable which is the whole point of Schedule F. Of course Joe Biden rescinded that because he too, is a woke operative. 

Looks like the Nazis and the Bolsheviks had similar reasoning, they just called their targets different names such as "non-Aryans" or "counter-revolutionaries" instead of "woke operatives".

Edited March 15 by Scott75

[Scott75]

16 hours ago, Deluge said:

16 hours ago, Scott75 said:

The firing of over 9,500 federal workers — with 75,000 others accepting a less-than-ironclad deferred buyout agreement amid plans to cut 70 percent of staff from various government agencies — freezing of billions of dollars in funding and ongoing seizure of confidential data by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is not about downsizing and efficiency.

This has all been well covered. Cut the fat (useless employees) and eliminate bad funding (DEI bullshit). It's necessary AND it's beautiful.

I disagree. Here's an excerpt from the linked article on the firing of the 9,500 federal workers:

**

Musk is relying on a coterie of young engineers with little government experience to manage his DOGE campaign, and their early cuts appear to be driven more by ideology than driving down costs.

'I'VE BEEN BETRAYED BY MY COUNTRY'

Fired federal workers expressed shock.

 

"I've done a lot for my country and as a veteran who served his country, I feel like I've been betrayed by my country," said Nick Gioia, who served in the Army and worked for the Department of Defense for a total of 17 years before joining the USDA's Economic Research Service in December only to be fired late Thursday.

 

"I don't feel like this has anything to do with federal workers, I feel like this is just a game," said Gioia, who lives in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and has a child with epilepsy. "To sit here and watch people like Mr. Musk tweet out how he feels like he’s doing a great job, he doesn’t realize what he’s doing to people’s lives."

 

Steve Lenkart, executive director of the National Federation of Federal Employees union, which represents more than 100,000 workers, said he expects Musk, whose SpaceX businesses has major contracts with the U.S. federal government, and the Trump administration to concentrate on agencies that regulate industry and finance.

 

"That's really what this whole thing is really all about," Lenkart said. "It's getting government out of the way of industry and incredibly rich people, which is why Elon Musk is so excited about this."

**

Source:

https://archive.is/DA2hW#selection-1433.0-1465.202

[Scott75]

16 hours ago, Deluge said:

16 hours ago, Scott75 said:

The “Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day Holiday Establishment Act,” introduced by Congresswoman Claudia Tenny, is a harbinger of what lies ahead. The act would designate June 14 as a federal holiday to commemorate “Donald J. Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day.” The next step is choreographed state parades with oversized portraits of the great leader.

Yeah, that's stupid. Just keep it Flag Day.

Well, at least we agree on that one :-p.

[Deluge]

On 3/14/2025 at 8:40 AM, Scott75 said:

Gladly, especially considering I only need quote from well known journalist Chris Hedges:

Gladly. 

I just learned that Chris Hedges is a self described socialist and anarchist, which means he's an America hating psychopath. How in the f*ck do you expect me to take anything he says, seriously? The answer is, you can't.

Let's take the first paragraph of your quote:

The Trump administration’s war with the deep state is not a purgative. It is not about freeing us from the tyranny of intelligence agencies, militarized police, the largest prison system in the world, predatory corporations or the end of mass surveillance. It will not restore the rule of law to hold the powerful and the wealthy accountable. It will not slash the bloated and unaccountable spending — some $1 trillion dollars — by the Pentagon.

So how does this guy know any of this? He's not a Trump insider, and we're not even two months in yet. Do you think he's omniscient? You must, because you're referring to a self described socialist and anarchist as if he were Lord and Master of the situtation. 

[Scott75]

1 hour ago, Deluge said:

On 3/14/2025 at 8:40 AM, Scott75 said:

Gladly, especially considering I only need quote from well known journalist Chris Hedges:

Gladly. 

I just learned that Chris Hedges is a self described socialist and anarchist, which means he's an America hating psychopath.

Where do you get this notion that being a socialist and an anarchist must mean that you're an "American hating psychopath"? Wikipedia does mention that he's described himself as a socialist and an anarchist, but it certainly doesn't arrive at your conclusion. Quoting from their article on him:

**

Hedges has described himself as a socialist^[67][68] and an anarchist.^[69][70] His books Death of the Liberal Class and Empire of Illusion are strongly critical of American liberalism.

Hedges's 2007 book American Fascists describes the fundamentalist Christian right in the United States as a fascist movement. In March 2008, Hedges published the book I Don't Believe in Atheists, in which he argues that new atheism presents a danger that is similar to religious extremism.^[71]

**

 

Full article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hedges

[Scott75]

1 hour ago, Deluge said:

Let's take the first paragraph of your quote:

The Trump administration’s war with the deep state is not a purgative. It is not about freeing us from the tyranny of intelligence agencies, militarized police, the largest prison system in the world, predatory corporations or the end of mass surveillance. It will not restore the rule of law to hold the powerful and the wealthy accountable. It will not slash the bloated and unaccountable spending — some $1 trillion dollars — by the Pentagon.

So how does this guy know any of this?

You might try clicking on the links in the above quote. I assume you know what the deep state is, so I'll skip that one. As to the U.S. having the largest prison poluation of any nation, here's the link where he proves it:

https://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison-population-total?field_region_taxonomy_tid=All

As to the GOP pushing a 1 trillion dollar defense budget, here's the link where he proves that as well:

https://news.bgov.com/bloomberg-government-news/boosting-defense-spending-is-top-goal-for-armed-services-leaders

 

[Deluge]

8 minutes ago, Scott75 said:

Where do you get this notion that being a socialist and an anarchist must mean that you're an "American hating psychopath"? Wikipedia does mention that he's described himself as a socialist and an anarchist, but it certainly doesn't arrive at your conclusion. Quoting from their article on him:

**

Hedges has described himself as a socialist^[67][68] and an anarchist.^[69][70] His books Death of the Liberal Class and Empire of Illusion are strongly critical of American liberalism.

Hedges's 2007 book American Fascists describes the fundamentalist Christian right in the United States as a fascist movement. In March 2008, Hedges published the book I Don't Believe in Atheists, in which he argues that new atheism presents a danger that is similar to religious extremism.^[71]

**

 

Full article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hedges

Because every socialist/anarchist I've seen, heard or read about is doing shit like burning the flag, waving Ukrainian or Hamas flags, or just protesting every f*cking thing this country does that ISN'T socialistic in nature. It's so blatanty obvious, that it's stupid of you to even think otherwise. 

Disagree? Then talk about Hedges patriotism; talk about his pro-American points of view. 

[Scott75]

5 minutes ago, Deluge said:

20 minutes ago, Scott75 said:

Where do you get this notion that being a socialist and an anarchist must mean that you're an "American hating psychopath"? Wikipedia does mention that he's described himself as a socialist and an anarchist, but it certainly doesn't arrive at your conclusion. Quoting from their article on him:

**

Hedges has described himself as a socialist^[67][68] and an anarchist.^[69][70] His books Death of the Liberal Class and Empire of Illusion are strongly critical of American liberalism.

Hedges's 2007 book American Fascists describes the fundamentalist Christian right in the United States as a fascist movement. In March 2008, Hedges published the book I Don't Believe in Atheists, in which he argues that new atheism presents a danger that is similar to religious extremism.^[71]

**

Full article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hedges

Because every socialist/anarchist I've seen, heard or read about is doing shit like burning the flag, waving Ukrainian or Hamas flags [snip]

The only self described anarchist I know is Chris Hedges, and I've not seen him do any of these things.

  

7 minutes ago, Deluge said:

Disagree? Then talk about Hedges patriotism

Sure. From Wikipedia's article on him:

**

NDAA lawsuit

[edit]

Main article: Hedges v. Obama

In 2012, after the Obama administration signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Hedges sued members of the US government, asserting that Section 1021 of the law unconstitutionally allowed presidential authority for indefinite detention without habeas corpus. He was later joined in the suit, Hedges v. Obama, by activists including Noam Chomsky and Daniel Ellsberg. In May 2012 Judge Katherine B. Forrest of the Southern District of New York ruled that the counter-terrorism provision of the NDAA is unconstitutional.^[87]

The Obama administration appealed the decision, and it was overturned in July 2013 by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Hedges petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case,^[88] but the Supreme Court denied certiorari in April 2014.^[89][90]

**

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hedges

Sadly, the U.S. is moving away from the land of the free it once was. People like Chris Hedges best encapsulate the push to keep that freedom.

[WestCanMan]

On 3/12/2025 at 12:15 PM, herbie said:

The vast majority of MAGAtts are too stupid to see an autocrat in front of their face, or openly want such a person.
Falsely declaring an emergency to rule by decree is just fine in their minds.

So sayeth the vax-fascist 😂

The Trudeau gov't openly bought the media with $1.3B, locked down the country, forced Canadians to take a useless and dangerous injection, forced Canadians to carry a gesundheitspass in order to have full rights, froze people's bank accounts for donating to a peaceful protest, and ranted on TV about how the unvaxxed are "racists and misogynists" and told Canaidans that "we have to ask ourselves if they should be tolerated."

Uhhh, pardon me, f-stain? What exactly is your plan if you decide to stop tolerating us? Is that what the concentration camps, gulags, oh sorry, "voluntary covid quarantine centers" were for that you had built in remote northern Canada? You know, the ones that you denied the existence of and censured Randy Hiller, an Ontario MPP, for bringing to light, and then finally admitted to having?

This country got all the way to Nov 8th 1938 and you were goose-stepping under their banner the whole time, like Goebbels' own puppy:

[robosmith]

1 hour ago, WestCanMan said:

So sayeth the vax-fascist 😂

The Trudeau gov't openly bought the media with $1.3B, locked down the country, forced Canadians to take a useless and dangerous injection, forced Canadians to carry a gesundheitspass in order to have full rights, froze people's bank accounts for donating to a peaceful protest, and ranted on TV about how the unvaxxed are "racists and misogynists" and told Canaidans that "we have to ask ourselves if they should be tolerated."

Uhhh, pardon me, f-stain? What exactly is your plan if you decide to stop tolerating us? Is that what the concentration camps, gulags, oh sorry, "voluntary covid quarantine centers" were for that you had built in remote northern Canada? You know, the ones that you denied the existence of and censured Randy Hiller, an Ontario MPP, for bringing to light, and then finally admitted to having?

This country got all the way to Nov 8th 1938 and you were goose-stepping under their banner the whole time, like Goebbels' own puppy:

And your BENEFIT was having a FAR LOWER DEATH RATE from COVID than the US.

What a tragedy (in your sewer mind). 🤮

[WestCanMan]

On 3/15/2025 at 1:27 AM, Scott75 said:

I disagree. Here's an excerpt from the linked article on the firing of the 9,500 federal workers:

**

Musk is relying on a coterie of young engineers with little government experience to manage his DOGE campaign, and their early cuts appear to be driven more by ideology than driving down costs.

'I'VE BEEN BETRAYED BY MY COUNTRY'

Fired federal workers expressed shock.

 

"I've done a lot for my country and as a veteran who served his country, I feel like I've been betrayed by my country," said Nick Gioia, who served in the Army and worked for the Department of Defense for a total of 17 years before joining the USDA's Economic Research Service in December only to be fired late Thursday.

 

"I don't feel like this has anything to do with federal workers, I feel like this is just a game," said Gioia, who lives in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and has a child with epilepsy. "To sit here and watch people like Mr. Musk tweet out how he feels like he’s doing a great job, he doesn’t realize what he’s doing to people’s lives."

Of course there are some well-intentioned people working in these bloated bureaucracies, but what does one employee, in one little office cubicle, know about the overall corruption and waste in theirs and all of the other gov't agencies?

And even if they know that they're personally not doing anything, who's going to admit to that? It's basically like saying "Yeah, I got this cozy job where I basically do nothing just because my ____ is a ______, and I give them a kickback. In effect, I'm just stealing $130k/yr from taxpayers." That's kind of like admitting to being a thief and a traitor all at the same time, is it not? Do you really expect anyone to own up? It's like asking for a prison sentence.

 

1) It's probably a case where the Dems have some of these cash cows, and the GOP have some as well, and the GOP probably feel like the Dems have way more than their share, so they're closing down some of them. It would be a stretch to say that they're so awesome that they're getting rid of them all, including the GOP's own. Or maybe there are some that were set up 50 years ago and it's time to cut off Jimmy Carter's gang or Ronald Reagan's gang. Who knows? I just think the least likely thing is that theres no stealing going on. That's the most un-American thing I've ever heard of. That being said, I guess it's just the most un-human thing I've ever heard of, because gov't corruption is the norm everywhere, going back to the beginning of time, and Canada is clearly no exception. 

2) In my experience, when change is too long in coming, the pendulum always swings a bit too far. Eg, coal miners were forced to choose between certain death and being fired for decades, then unions got involved, and now you can't even fire people for being absolutely useless. Similarly; gays used to be killed just for being gay, even in "civilized" countries so to speak, and now LGBTQ@+++++'ers suddenly feel empowered to dress up in sexy costumes to read books to little children. No rights at all -> too much rights -> settle back into a more reasonable situation.