The thing is, with using probationary employees as a target, the administration is not only going after the easiest targets but essentially attempting to cut off the future of the agencies. These are the developing leaders, recent grads with all of the fresh science, the spark of enthusiasm, not yet disillusioned with decades of … red tape … that may have jaded them. It’s a knife to the throat ma dudette. Don’t worry, we are fighting back.
Hear Here. Well said. I think more and more people then ever of our generation are taking the current situation as a wake up call to get off our asses and get involved, and I think that's great. I wish I had done it before last November, that's for sure.
Amanda, so sorry I didn't find this sooner. You are right, calling local NPS and USFS offices is useless. Many that are working have been asked to say nothing. Make Noise with Senators, Congressmen, local to your home politicians, newspapers, journalists. There is a lot in progress right now, especially for the USFS, Forest Service will change dramatically over this. Right now fire is the absolute priority. Stay in touch with substack @thehotshotwakeup - also, you can see on usajobs.gov as of yesterday that they are now hiring (in some areas) for fire and the jobs are open to the public. Up till now they have had to hire internally, from those still working. So some progress as been made. Recreation and information folks are suffering the worst. Long term forest research also suffering. Please keep making noise.
I agree with you 💯 percent, what you said was done in a polite but well worded manner. Being 63 I myself wouldn't have been so nice writing what you have. We've only been to one National Park which is the Sleeping Bear Sand dunes. But living in Michigan we have been to many of its State parks and recreation areas. Even though the state park system is state run, if the state stopped hiring the so called seasonal workers, then everything that had to be done in each park would have to be full filled by the small amount of full-time Rangers. Many parks here only one maybe two at the most. Of course the bigger parks have more, but to have to do their jobs that's required plus the so called menial jobs these parks would look not as kept up. I definitely enjoy reading what you have to say. Right now I'm in Kentucky visiting family. While looking out her sliding door I'm looking at the 3 to 4 inches of snow that fell last night. So enjoy the winter while you can.
You really bring it home. Reading news articles, a lot of what’s going on feels remote. People need to understand not what’s going on in Washington, but what is happening on the ground. This is the most valuable thing I’ve read since the madness began.
Honestly I'd suggest starting to write letters to the editors of your local newspapers about the impacts your *your* community, particularly if you live close to federal public lands and have federal employees in your community (like a Forest Service station or a National Park nearby). We need to make this real for people in every single community across the West.
Amanda,please, they need to reach higher than local news papers. Congressmen, senators, local and regional USFS offices. Complain with purpose. End each communication with how can I help. Organize groups that can help as a team.
I appreciate this! I feel like I've been trying to find action items that people wouldn't already think of (like calling reps) but good to repeat those things, of course. Thanks for the reminder. But do you think calling local and regional offices is the most effective way to share concerns with the FS? (I'm asking genuinely and would love to hear your thoughts!)
We're a civilization in its decline-and-fall now globally, succumbing to the inevitable laws of entropy. There isn't a scenario out there that won't be getting bleak. (Unless you're a vulture or a carrion-beetle.) Right now on this ball, a pettty and vindictive guy called Trump has maneuvered skillfully enough to have his moment to unleash his specific brand of virtue-sigalling to the equally vindictive base that elevated him. One way the larger picture is painting itself in this moment. Trump and his policies are a blip, one detail of a myriad, while where we're headed is permanent, at least relative to a human lifespan, or a score of such. I think it's important to recognize this, cos this is the script going forward. Contraction, mandated or not. The 20th Century was the party, the 21st is the hangover. There will be no shortage of ways to use your body and strength for good over the next few centuries. Increasingly little alternative to using your body and strength, perhaps.
Well here's the thing: if these govt workers had been more respectful and less nasty to the rest of us (they ARE the minority and need to remember that.. most of us don't live on the taxpayer teat), then maybe we'd feel more compassion. As it is? Nah. Figure out a way to provide goods or services people directly pay for. Stop being so lame and dweeby and angry about it. Grow up and make something of yourself. No, having a freemasonic university "degree" doesn't cover it. No, getting a job where the rest of us put food and medicine in your children's mouths doesn't cover it either. Seriously, these people's self esteem will skyrocket once they get actual jobs in the private sector (like in factories and plants). They will wonder why they ever bent over for park service rulership clowns in the first place.
Ftr, land doesn't belong to ANYONE. Not to some idiot gaggle of park rangers who think they get to tell people they can't have campfires (we'll make fire where we want; we are adults, deal with it), not to some frat boy VC creep of the shadow govt trying to take control of entire mountain ranges, not the people who have lived there for hundreds of years. *Land cannot be owned, only occupied.* This is clear to anyone who is familiar with Adverse Possession Law. Nor can rivers, lakes, oceans, or the atmosphere be owned. Those things are not things we create, and so they cannot exist as products on the market.
Furthermore, the people who are fearful and obedient enough to stick around in a govt job may be the best people *you* know, but almost everyone associates with way better people than they. "The young ones aren't ruined and jaded yet." Yes, and here you admit that the job is psychologically damaging.
Is Elon trying to create a techocratic dystopia? Ofc he is. Do you think the other side, had they won, would have worked for something different?
*Both the left and the right work for the same people and both want to enslave us further using tech.* It's time we stepped away from their silly little two party paradigm.
People who think they have authority don't really have any. All they can do is follow orders. One who is weak enough to play that stupid game will win a stupid prize: the ol' pink slip in this case.
Let Trump and Elon clean house and cut govt spending. Then when they try to bank us into the tech dictatorship, YANK that wheel straight. More of us than there are of them. Time for a plan.
At first it made no sense to me at all, but as the days pass I see more clearly that Trump and his cronies most likely want to sell off parkland or license mining and lumbering interests to devastate parks for profit. With them, everything is for sale, including government buildings! So gross and immoral!
I just read Mr Bessent said they’re getting ready to “financialize our assets.” This is the neolib corporate raider mentality. I think they’re getting ready to swap those assets along w Fort Knox for bitcoin with a caveat that they can’t sell the bc for 20 years.
Guess they ran out of countries to destabilize so it’s our turn. They’ve extracted all the value out of the economy, time to crash it and swoop in and buy it all for nothing.
The thing is, with using probationary employees as a target, the administration is not only going after the easiest targets but essentially attempting to cut off the future of the agencies. These are the developing leaders, recent grads with all of the fresh science, the spark of enthusiasm, not yet disillusioned with decades of … red tape … that may have jaded them. It’s a knife to the throat ma dudette. Don’t worry, we are fighting back.
I didn't even think about that—thanks for bringing it up. This is unfathomable.
Good point so true
Hear Here. Well said. I think more and more people then ever of our generation are taking the current situation as a wake up call to get off our asses and get involved, and I think that's great. I wish I had done it before last November, that's for sure.
Yeah, let’s get rid of the people willing to work hard for shit wages out of passion and privatize everything.
Colorado's senator Michael Bennet had sharp words for the cuts today. https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=notif&v=1167195375011417¬if_id=1740001753467246¬if_t=live_video_explicit
Amanda, so sorry I didn't find this sooner. You are right, calling local NPS and USFS offices is useless. Many that are working have been asked to say nothing. Make Noise with Senators, Congressmen, local to your home politicians, newspapers, journalists. There is a lot in progress right now, especially for the USFS, Forest Service will change dramatically over this. Right now fire is the absolute priority. Stay in touch with substack @thehotshotwakeup - also, you can see on usajobs.gov as of yesterday that they are now hiring (in some areas) for fire and the jobs are open to the public. Up till now they have had to hire internally, from those still working. So some progress as been made. Recreation and information folks are suffering the worst. Long term forest research also suffering. Please keep making noise.
Great perspective. Lots of change needed.
I agree with you 💯 percent, what you said was done in a polite but well worded manner. Being 63 I myself wouldn't have been so nice writing what you have. We've only been to one National Park which is the Sleeping Bear Sand dunes. But living in Michigan we have been to many of its State parks and recreation areas. Even though the state park system is state run, if the state stopped hiring the so called seasonal workers, then everything that had to be done in each park would have to be full filled by the small amount of full-time Rangers. Many parks here only one maybe two at the most. Of course the bigger parks have more, but to have to do their jobs that's required plus the so called menial jobs these parks would look not as kept up. I definitely enjoy reading what you have to say. Right now I'm in Kentucky visiting family. While looking out her sliding door I'm looking at the 3 to 4 inches of snow that fell last night. So enjoy the winter while you can.
You really bring it home. Reading news articles, a lot of what’s going on feels remote. People need to understand not what’s going on in Washington, but what is happening on the ground. This is the most valuable thing I’ve read since the madness began.
💯 Amanda. Those boots in the ground are so critical to everything. Such a great piece thank you for adding your voice to this.
Thank you, hope to see you out on the li e again.
This is all so heartbreaking. Thanks for documenting and storytelling the reality.
Serious question, how can we advocate?!
Honestly I'd suggest starting to write letters to the editors of your local newspapers about the impacts your *your* community, particularly if you live close to federal public lands and have federal employees in your community (like a Forest Service station or a National Park nearby). We need to make this real for people in every single community across the West.
Amanda,please, they need to reach higher than local news papers. Congressmen, senators, local and regional USFS offices. Complain with purpose. End each communication with how can I help. Organize groups that can help as a team.
I appreciate this! I feel like I've been trying to find action items that people wouldn't already think of (like calling reps) but good to repeat those things, of course. Thanks for the reminder. But do you think calling local and regional offices is the most effective way to share concerns with the FS? (I'm asking genuinely and would love to hear your thoughts!)
We're a civilization in its decline-and-fall now globally, succumbing to the inevitable laws of entropy. There isn't a scenario out there that won't be getting bleak. (Unless you're a vulture or a carrion-beetle.) Right now on this ball, a pettty and vindictive guy called Trump has maneuvered skillfully enough to have his moment to unleash his specific brand of virtue-sigalling to the equally vindictive base that elevated him. One way the larger picture is painting itself in this moment. Trump and his policies are a blip, one detail of a myriad, while where we're headed is permanent, at least relative to a human lifespan, or a score of such. I think it's important to recognize this, cos this is the script going forward. Contraction, mandated or not. The 20th Century was the party, the 21st is the hangover. There will be no shortage of ways to use your body and strength for good over the next few centuries. Increasingly little alternative to using your body and strength, perhaps.
Well here's the thing: if these govt workers had been more respectful and less nasty to the rest of us (they ARE the minority and need to remember that.. most of us don't live on the taxpayer teat), then maybe we'd feel more compassion. As it is? Nah. Figure out a way to provide goods or services people directly pay for. Stop being so lame and dweeby and angry about it. Grow up and make something of yourself. No, having a freemasonic university "degree" doesn't cover it. No, getting a job where the rest of us put food and medicine in your children's mouths doesn't cover it either. Seriously, these people's self esteem will skyrocket once they get actual jobs in the private sector (like in factories and plants). They will wonder why they ever bent over for park service rulership clowns in the first place.
Ftr, land doesn't belong to ANYONE. Not to some idiot gaggle of park rangers who think they get to tell people they can't have campfires (we'll make fire where we want; we are adults, deal with it), not to some frat boy VC creep of the shadow govt trying to take control of entire mountain ranges, not the people who have lived there for hundreds of years. *Land cannot be owned, only occupied.* This is clear to anyone who is familiar with Adverse Possession Law. Nor can rivers, lakes, oceans, or the atmosphere be owned. Those things are not things we create, and so they cannot exist as products on the market.
Furthermore, the people who are fearful and obedient enough to stick around in a govt job may be the best people *you* know, but almost everyone associates with way better people than they. "The young ones aren't ruined and jaded yet." Yes, and here you admit that the job is psychologically damaging.
Is Elon trying to create a techocratic dystopia? Ofc he is. Do you think the other side, had they won, would have worked for something different?
*Both the left and the right work for the same people and both want to enslave us further using tech.* It's time we stepped away from their silly little two party paradigm.
People who think they have authority don't really have any. All they can do is follow orders. One who is weak enough to play that stupid game will win a stupid prize: the ol' pink slip in this case.
Let Trump and Elon clean house and cut govt spending. Then when they try to bank us into the tech dictatorship, YANK that wheel straight. More of us than there are of them. Time for a plan.
At first it made no sense to me at all, but as the days pass I see more clearly that Trump and his cronies most likely want to sell off parkland or license mining and lumbering interests to devastate parks for profit. With them, everything is for sale, including government buildings! So gross and immoral!
I just read Mr Bessent said they’re getting ready to “financialize our assets.” This is the neolib corporate raider mentality. I think they’re getting ready to swap those assets along w Fort Knox for bitcoin with a caveat that they can’t sell the bc for 20 years.
Guess they ran out of countries to destabilize so it’s our turn. They’ve extracted all the value out of the economy, time to crash it and swoop in and buy it all for nothing.